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Old 09-05-2010, 02:51 PM   #28
prof1515
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Re: Veterans of Roleplay Intensive MUDs

It seems quite a few posts in this thread aren't really relating to the original topic so I'm just going to skip through them to try and find relevant ones.

One of the great disadvantages of the RPIs was the steep learning curve. However, one of the great advantages was the pool of veteran players and staff who knew a lot about the games and were able to assist new players through the learning period and transition them into the game. Inevitably good staff drift off for a variety of reasons as do good players but when the rate of departure far exceeds the influx of suitable replacements, you start to see a decline in the quality of instruction. Some players inevitably try to learn for themselves and while a few are successful, others are not. However, without anyone to

A few months back a friend sent me a link to the forums of one of the RPIs and asked if the information provided in a discussion was correct. I had to tell them that it was not. Worse, the incorrect information supplied to a new player was given by a staff member and a "leading" player. Just to be sure that things hadn't changed in-game since I'd played years ago, I dug around a bit on their site and found that the critical information pertaining to the question was still the same as it had been. In other words, the information provided to the new player by both a staff member and their clan leader was incorrect.

And being on staff during that time I can tell you it wasn't all it appeared to be. In fact, one of the reasons I resigned from staff was due to the increasingly immature playerbase. Sure there were players who were a joy to work with but there were also a torrent of twinks. But new players weren't the only problem. While the vast majority of my fellow staff members ranged from above average to excellent, there were also a few who were at best incompetant. Through a few old timers I've kept up on SoI over the years and some have even on occassion mentioned the identities of new staff though I'll be vague so as not to embarass them. While most have been unknown to me I've heard grumbling about a couple and at least one that shocked the hell out of me because while I was on staff this person was known as pretty much an incompetant twink. When I inquired if they'd matured I was told, "Not really." How, I asked, could they have made it on staff then? "The others were even worse," was the reply.

This is pretty much the exact same thing seen in the example I gave above. Good staff and players leave and if they do so in great enough numbers you end up with replacements who are not up to snuff but are the best that can be found. Compound this over years and you begin to see a marked decline.

I don't know much about the Northlands but I find the claim about Moria to be suspect. The majority of former players and staff that I've talked to have cited the opening of Moria as low point of SoI. Mines of H&Sia, Mines of More H&S, Mines of Meh, Mines of Horrible are just a few of the nicknames I've heard for that area. Reasons for why this area was so bad have varied. Some have said that the staff running it weren't up to the challenge. Others have said that concept itself was the opposite of RPI, focusing on combat far too much which only further catered to H&Sers.

However, some have defended the design and staffing and cited the immaturity of the playerbase as the reason while others have said pretty much the same but charged that had the staffing been better they might have been able to deal with the unfortunate results. In any case, the verdict I've encountered in regard to Moria has been overwhelmingly negative and thus I find your citation of it as a heyday would only apply in regard to popularity or playerbase figures but those are not good indicators of quality RP.

Arm has always been a mixed bag. Some of the best RP in some areas and little better than H&S in others. I've heard good things about the proposed Arm II or reboot or whatever it'll end up being so maybe that will turn out better.

Not yet having tried your game (I've learned from experience that beta, to say nothing of alpha, doesn't always present a fair representation of what a game will be like, especially after such a short development time, so I'd rather see it with the kinks worked out) but I can say I've never heard "complete control over the destiny of the entire gameworld" uttered by RPIs as a goal. Quite the contrary, while many PCs are often classified as the "special exceptions" characters on RPIs have always been part of a larger, well-developed world and thus complete control was not a reasonable or desireable expectation much less a goal.

What exactly is that supposed to mean? "Organic role-play"? I think I see what you're trying to say but that's not really anything difficult to achieve.

I commend you if you can maintain this because that's been one of the great factors in driving off veteran RPI players, myself included.

I've had similar responses with regard to TSOY. A couple veteran players who have left RPIs for a few years now routinely message me asking about our progress while a few others that I hadn't even heard from in half a decade came out of the woodwork to inquire about TSOY. But that's just it. "Old veterans who quit playing other RPIs" is the very problem

I'd take a completely different view of the situation. The problem is not RPIs failing to take chances, it's RPIs taking chances with the elements which made them appealing to their niche in order to attract a wider playerbase. The same philosophies that I criticized about SoI when I was on staff there continue to be prevalent today, namely the belief that more players means a better game or a more lax enforcement of the gameworld. More good players means a better game. A character application and a pulse isn't enough. Likewise, bending the game to accomodate a player or character, whether as a result of staff showing favoritism or simply not employing quality control, turns off those who play their characters within the game setting and with respect for it.
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