Aurora Server is Not a Heavy RP Server

[Damarik]

Okay...before you go off on a warpath (because let's face it...I'm here to rustle some jimmies about this), take the time and actually read through what I'm going to say because if I end up getting banned for speaking my opinion, then I want it to be over something worth saying and because people actually took the time to hear me out and become angry with EVERYTHING I've said and not just the title of my rant.

Many of you know me. Those that do know that I often play the oddball roles that end up secluded away doing whatever in their own little corner of the station. Or, I take a general station-side role and really work to make it my own. I am probably the fore-front runner advocate for changing up the Drone Rules (I know a lot of you got sick of hearing me before over that), but compared to this, that's trivial.

Aurora Server is, despite all claims to the contrary, NOT A HEAVY ROLEPLAY SERVER. I will be quoting from sources multiple opinions of what Heavy Roleplay is and isn't, along with personal experiences in the matter. Hopefully, some of you will come to see that this server, if it's going to continue saying it is Heavy Roleplay, needs some adjustments.

To begin: What is Light Roleplay?

(Taken from https://www.lotro.com/forums)

 

Light - Players are not roleplaying focused and generally enjoy other aspects of the game such as raiding or questing rather than roleplaying, however they may make their characters switch between roleplaying in /say and OOC in /say. Characters do not need a background or reasons for performing certain actions, even if they are roleplaying.

 

- The people you are playing with have no understanding of basic language skills, nor can they spell

- Some of these people have no knowledge whatsoever of the lore

- Out of character references keep spoiling your immersion in the RP

- There's too much messing around and not enough actual RP

- Nobody has a character background story to help you get to grips with their character and inspire your RP

- It's lacking structure, too informal and uninspiring

Then the RP is too light for your taste.

 

Aurora is infested, literally infested, with some of the above bold/italicized/underlined issues. Not every player displays every trait, nor does one person embody all of them. However, this does not remit Aurora from the fact that these problems exist en-masse.

Particularly as of late, we've had people with the worst character names showing up, literally breaking rules of character creation for the server. This isn't by far the worst, but it is definitely one of the most noticeable.

 

Players are not roleplaying focused and generally enjoy other aspects of the game such as raiding

Vox? Traitors? Syndies/Nukes? Wizards?

Yes, these characters are supposed to be here. They have a function to the game, and they are necessary for some level of action and drama aboard the station. However, it should not be entirely focused on them. It's to the point where the Players forget that their characters aren't supposed to be expecting these things to happen...but their characters are suddenly super-prepped for something bad to go wrong. It's like everyone is totally focused on that aspect and leaving out the part where you're part of a living breathing environment that in the confines of the game world in-fact DOES last more than 2.5 hours.

 

... however they may make their characters switch between roleplaying in /say and OOC in /say

OOC chat. It's also there for a reason. It can be used to ask for help. It can be used to joke around at the end of the round.

Why then am I constantly seeing walls of blue text mid-round, including IC/OOC commentary about what's going on? Hell, that last part is in the rules, people! Why is this still a problem? And before you go and say "Oh, just turn off OOC in your Prefs", forget it. I leave it on just in case someone has a problem that I can help with in the off chance that there's no one around who knows the answer. It's happened before, it'll happen again. That's the way things go.

 

The people you are playing with have no understanding of basic language skills, nor can they spell

Christ...this. So much of this right here. This issue happens enough to make me wonder how many of us actually graduated primary/elementary school. I was just in a round where a player standing not 5 tiles away from me couldn't write five words without misspelling one of them! For the love of everything literary, people ... this is just ridiculous.

 

Out of character references keep spoiling your immersion in the RP

Particularly as of late, we've had people with the worst character names showing up, literally breaking rules of character creation for the server. This isn't by far the worst, but it is definitely one of the most noticeable. Even then, we've got names that are clear references to popular culture and the like. At least try to be original with your names. Hell, use the random name generator. That's what it's there for!

 

There's too much messing around and not enough actual RP

We have our share of chucklefucks, and you know who you are. There's nothing wrong with the occasional odd scenario or fun bit of light action, but there's too much nonsensical idiocy running rampant around this server. I witnessed someone using "kek" as a character spoken phrase. Most people in the timeframe of the station wouldn't even get that reference, let alone know where it came from.

Now, Moving along: What is Heavy Roleplay?

 

Heavy - Characters always have and are guided by a background/story. Players (at least when IC) only perform actions with that character if it fits the characters story.

 

- There are many rules

- You might utter something that doesn't fit with the lore if you're not well versed in it

- Your language skills are important

- Character Creation is restrictive, but with enough freedom for creativity

- You have to create a full character background story before you are allowed to join in [and it must be peer reviewed (not always the case)]

- It's structured / regimented / formal

Then the RP is probably on the heavy side.

(Edited to showcase the actual realities of Heavy RP)

This is Heavy Roleplay. This is a living, breathing world full of vibrant diverse characters who have rich and full backstories with histories that give them depth and meaning. These people are not just 2D spacemen. They are more. When someone sees Phoebe Essel, they know that she has a history for being strict, stiff and unlikable depending on who she's talking to. They know she's a more than competent medical doctor with the skill and ability to save your life even if you're ten seconds past dead.

When you see the name Mo'Taki, you know that generally, whatever position they're in is getting filled to its required (and sometimes above that) standards. You know to expect a walking bag of fur that can (depending on the family member) sometimes be a little brash, uncivilized and irritating...yet friendly all the same.

These two examples are what characters in a Heavy RP Server should be about. Sadly, we're lacking a great deal of that. We have plenty of players who have primary characters with histories or backstories...but the vast majority of the side characters just get thrown together for the lulz to play a role that's something different from what the primary character is. Anyone see a problem with this? No? Then you're part of the problem.

Defining Heavy Roleplay: Lore

Jackboot and all of the Lore Team have put together some very good and definitely in-depth stuff for this game world we choose to inhabit. So...how many of you know any of it? I'll admit that even I don't know anywhere near as much as I should, and for that, I'm guilty of the same offense.

They have taken their time to write, edit and rewrite things that they didn't have to. They have spent hours upon days thinking of new and engaging ways to add stuff to the Lore that is meant to serve as a springboard for world events. Where does most of it end up? Stuck On The Damn Forum with No Fucks Given. Tell me I'm wrong. Try it. I have only once or twice seen any real debate about what was lore and what wasn't in game because it pertained to a current event, and I'm willing to wager it's because no one has read enough of it to know that there's more you can use!

We will occasionally get telecaster reports featuring some news article or another pertaining to it, but who even reads those? I have not ever seen anyone read one of those telecasters with the occasion of one or two Rev Rounds where it was something that related to the current station problem.

If not because you want to enrich your characters, at least go read and use parts of the lore because someone put their time and effort into it. They didn't have to, but for you, they did. That should be enough reason alone.

Defining Heavy RP: Timeline of Play

"I have nothing to do and I'm bored. Crew Transfer Vote!"

"Nukes have blown the SME. CALL THE SHUTTLE!"

"I don't like how this round is going because I got killed early on and don't want to wait to respawn. CREW TRANSFER VOTE!"

What the Hell is wrong with you people? Are you all so interested in playing Stab the Tator that you have no imagination? That's what Roleplay is about!

I have spent YEARS developing characters in worlds where Mods or Admins only posted one major event a month, and those typically only lasted Two to Three Hours. In the intervening time, it was left to us, the players, to create situations and stories for ourselves...and by God, did we come up with some damn good ones. For example:

My character, spy and assassin for the royal court, was sent on a mission to a neighboring country to retrieve a prisoner that could help our crown in uncovering a plot for total control of the realm.

In the course of that time, I was captured, broke free, paid a visit to their Empress unnoticed by any of her guards in her own personal bed chamber to obtain valuable information from her (as the rulers themselves were not at odds, but factions within their kingdoms/empires were) and eventually managed to enact a prison break that lead the eventual death of the character I was trying to break from jail because a bad turn of luck found her caught by the guards after an untimely wrong turn lead her into a dead end.

The character was summarily executed on the spot (by complete accident, as it turned out) because a piece of building fell, causing her to leap forward towards the unsuspecting guard who brought up his spear in defense...and impaled her.

This resulted in my character getting completely unmasked when he went to retrieve her, put on trial in a foreign country's court for crimes against their Empress (despite her not wanting to actually punish me but having no choice as the ruler of a nation crying out for justice against perceived crimes) and suffering the consequences of said actions. (They were mitigated by my own royalty watching out for me, however, and because of their ties to the Empress, I was actually let off rather light, all things considered.)

None of that was Moderator or Administrator planned. That was all the doing of the players. And this all happened in the span of maybe two weeks. Two Weeks. Yet 3/4 of the honkmotherlovers on this server can't even go on for more than two and a half hours without complaining.

That is what being part of a Heavy Roleplay is ABOUT.

"Oh, but I don't have the time for that!"

Then why are you on a server that's supposedly dedicated to "Heavy Roleplay"? If you can't incorporate time for your own creations into your daily life, then what the Hell right do you have to take that chance away from other people? Just because some chucklefuck with an LWAP took your head off, you want to ruin everyone else's fun? You, sir or ma'am, are part of the problem.

Roleplay is defined by Dictionary.com as:

1.

to assume the attitudes, actions, and discourse of (another), especially in a make-believe situation in an effort to understand a differing point of view or social interaction.

2.

to experiment with or experience (a situation or viewpoint) by playing a role.

To some, this form of escapism is the only relaxation we get. We jump into our characters shoes to live someone else's life for a time.

What kind of life does that lead to when it's constantly interrupted with the Star Trek: Voyager style raping of the Reset Button?

It doesn't lead to anything! All the work you put into that 'round' gets flushed down the friggn' drain because people want to whine and complain that they're bored or they were unfairly murder-boned and want a do-over. Not to mention all the structural stuff that (when not caused by antag shenanigans) gets reset. I know people on this server (myself included) who put a lot of effort into modifications to the station because it brings the atmosphere of the game to life, only to have it reset every round. Every round, you have to start 100% from the beginning, like nothing you did in the last two or so hours mattered at all. What is that?

It's wasted time.

If you want to keep spamming the Transfer Shuttle, then by all means, do so. But do not, and I repeat, DO NOT have the temerity to call yourselves players on a Heavy Roleplay Server if you can't think outside of the "Round Mentality" box, because all you're doing is lying to yourself and others.

This will be the end of my rant. There is not TL;DR. Go read it from the beginning, else you'll wind up missing a shit-ton of context for this final paragraph. I'm not singling any one person out, nor am I attempting to. I am merely stating a claim based on the title of this server, and the fallacy behind why that claim cannot be true.

If you indeed ARE a Heavy Roleplay Server, Aurora...then it's time for serious change. If not? Welp...I've said my peace. Say what you will about me, but I am nothing if not straight forward. I treat others the way I wish to be treated, so when I came to this server expecting what it was advertising, that's what I was hoping for. Instead I've been treated to time after time of sub-par plot, false advertisement and more, and I don't want to see others of my like become trapped in the same situation where I love this place too much to leave, but am so unhappy with how it works.

Take from this what you will.

[Loow]

Read the first half a sentence and the title. We have this talk every few months. I look forward to seeing how it goes this time. If it's in line with past trends, then nothing of consequence will happen.

But don't stop.

Edit to avoid double-posting:

While not exactly new sentiments, it's nice to hear all that's been said again. I won't play it up like posting this is a very big accomplishment, but here's to hoping that a few people read this and find they agree with a detail or two.

While I may not feel I know you or your RP, I can at least say you've got some perspective.

Even if it is worded a tad self-righteously and drips with expectations of melodrama.

Good on you, guy.

Stay critical.

[Guest]

It's going to be that sort of song and dance again, yes.

1.) OP is acknowledged for what they say, temporary outcry is amiss about how the server isn't heavy RP enough. Discussion dies because it turns out, nobody cares that much about the community.

2.) Shitstorm happens because people (aggressively) disagree with OP's premise. Flame wars abound, nobody has a good time and peer relationships are forever tarnished because they disagreed with each other using aggressive and violent rhetoric.

3.) Playerbase recognizes OP's post more as bait and not as an actual topic of discussion (whether this is true or not will never be known). Thread gets saged.

Every single time we have these discussions, it never debates what solutions we could come up with in response to the "RP problem." It's always just complaining for the sake of complaining rather than offering courses of action to help out.

"But people should think for themselves!"

People are different. And often simple. There's a reason why most people stay poor and impoverished while a few stay at the top. The former have to be told what to do and how to do it in order to survive, whereas the latter tell the former what to do and will find a way to live on their own terms.

It requires too much effort to uplift simple people into more complex, successful and rationally-thinking beings. Thinking is already difficult for some people, could you imagine the amount of headaches if those people had to put their thoughts to actual work and try to succeed in doing something?

Nobody would play on the server because they'd be in bed early popping ibuprofen and moaning about how difficult things are, and how they wished they had it easier.

One thing leads to another and we're back to square one because it requires less thinking and overall effort to maintain the rather low bar of the status quo.

Once again, though, I've posted really helpful and conducive thoughts on the matter, but I'll basically say this. Only very few people really possess the mental fortitude to bring up revolutionary concepts and then be able to execute on them, improvise based on the circumstances and receive results. And who the fuck in their right mind would want to do that?

[LordFowl]

These threads never progress anywhere because they fail to outline concrete steps to remediate the problem. A call to action is useless if it is built upon vague "should-bes" with no conception of how to get there, no matter how valid the premise.

[Loow]

We could break this thread into several smaller, easy to chew threads. That's also been done, but it's a fine notion none the less.

I guess I could mention feedback. Feedback is good.

I give it sometimes and it's usually only 50% humor.

Other people could give feedback too if they want.

Also if people feel like trying their hand at writing and don't mind critical responses or commentary, they could try writing out character backstories or just scenes. I have seen a few of these that were pretty good. If nothing else, it's fun for the writer.

So...

If people wanted to write, that'd be cool. Get some feedback. Have some fun. Get judged by strangers.

What's not to like?

[DatBerry]

Im too sleepy and on my mobile to reply to every point, i do agree that its been feeling a bit less heavy than i used to remember, but one thing i want to point out is that you only need to know the lore summary of humans, not every character has a PhD in each species history and follows their politics up to date, playing ignorant of a race's trait is fun too, like tajara's 3rd person habits.

Most new people start of with empty/bland characters that start to shape up with time, having everyone write a character just to join is not only ganna scare of new people, it would be counter productive.

[incognitojesus]

Neat.

EDIT: SINCE THIS WAS BOINKED FOR NOT CONTRIBUTING.

These threads pop up all of the time, and nothing typically ever comes of it, typically because while you may feel it isn't Heavy-Roleplay, our player counts and the fact that there are still community members here from longer than you've been here shows that we're preserving something that people keep coming back for it. Your anecdotes do not prove much of a point, because there are plenty of people who have had great experiences here.

[Damarik]

We have this talk every few months. --- If it's in line with past trends, then nothing of consequence will happen.

Seems to be a glitch in the matrix then. Why do you think that is? It's because:

 

1.) OP is acknowledged for what they say, temporary outcry is amiss about how the server isn't heavy RP enough. Discussion dies because it turns out, nobody cares that much about the community.

2.) Shitstorm happens because people (aggressively) disagree with OP's premise. Flame wars abound, nobody has a good time and peer relationships are forever tarnished because they disagreed with each other using aggressive and violent rhetoric.

3.) Playerbase recognizes OP's post more as bait and not as an actual topic of discussion (whether this is true or not will never be known). Thread gets saged.

 

Well, let's first and foremost get out of the way that this was meant to be any kind of 'bait'. I'm not trying to start any kind of flamewar or the like. As I said in my initial post, I love this place too much to simply up and leave. That's why I posted this in the first place. It has so much potential that is inevitably wasted on round restarts, OOC shenanigans, Gankwars and chucklefucks.

If you guys see the problem, why don't you do something to rectify it?

 

It requires too much effort to uplift simple people into more complex, successful and rationally-thinking beings. Thinking is already difficult for some people, could you imagine the amount of headaches if those people had to put their thoughts to actual work and try to succeed in doing something?

 

It stays the same because people let it. No one wants to put in the effort to try. Isn't that kinda the whole problem with everything? No Effort = No Payoff? Someone's gotta do something before anything will happen.

So then...how do we begin to tackle this problem? I think Lord Fowl has an idea:

 

These threads never progress anywhere because they fail to outline concrete steps to remediate the problem. A call to action is useless if it is built upon vague "should-bes" with no conception of how to get there, no matter how valid the premise.

 

Then maybe it's time someone went that extra mile. I'm nothing, if not tenacious about things I believe in. Anyone who was in my "Support your Favorite Hats" thread about drone rights knows this. I am more than willing to outline a step-by-step process. The problem with that being that a lot of people won't like what's required to live up to that Heavy RP Standard.

Heavy RP requires you to create something of an elitist clique. You attract players by becoming the server that everyone wants to be part of. Why? Because it holds the top standard of Roleplay. Not the BEST, mind you...but the top standard. There is a major difference here.

To do that, however: you need strict standards. There are so many ways to filter out all the problems that the list is varied in its approach. You've got room to try and test and see what works and what doesn't.

 

One thing leads to another and we're back to square one because it requires less thinking and overall effort to maintain the rather low bar of the status quo.

So you want the quality of the game to remain the same? I didn't think so. I don't think anyone who has a vested interest in this idea is happy to see things this way. That comment right there is a mindset we need to get away from for starters, if we're to make any headway. Elsewise: Aurora will remain as it is and nothing will ever change.

As for your other opinion:

 

Nobody would play on the server because they'd be in bed early popping ibuprofen and moaning about how difficult things are, and how they wished they had it easier.

That's already my life, minus the early bed part these last five days. For previous two years, I've been lucky if I had an average of two to three hours a night to myself, not including days off, to get all my daily activities in, and I STILL manage to have time for my RP characters. It requires commitment to yourself as much as anything you set your mind to. If you want to do it bad enough: you'll find a way.

Before I move onto my list, Id like to apologize to you guys for the wording of my post.

 

Even if it is worded a tad self-righteously and drips with expectations of melodrama.

I have been known to get a little more than preachy. My apologies for letting it slip out in what should be more about the game and forum, and less about inconsequential things.

Now then, on to things that would help improve the quality of the RP and the Server in general: (And if you didn't hate me before, some of these might change that.)

1. Character Approvals

Not just whitelists for heads of staff or alien races, but ALL characters. This will help us cut down on special snowflakes and random jackwagons that think they can come in, throw down whatever silly name they want, and chucklefuck us all to death. The Character App needs to show that they have an understanding of the Rules of the Server. It should also show a good, two paragraph (8 sentence minimum) backstory for their character.

Character traits and attributes should be listed as well. All of this goes into a forum character database like we have for the Whitelists where the already established players of the server (mods and admins as well) can drop opinions on it. Admins/Mods have final say on all approvals, but it should take no less than 5 to 10 people giving the thumb up for a player to get a valid character in the server.

2. Figure out the damn Boundaries for Gank/Murderbone and Valids

There's too much back and forth on this. There needs to be a solid boundary. If it were me, the following would apply -

If, during the course of the day, an antagonistic force appears on the station for any reason and begins to disrupt activites, Security should be the first and foremost option in taking care of it. If/when that fails, Heads of Staff (Captain Excluded because of his or her value) may choose to organize departmental defense systems. Barricades, arming the staff of their department, etc.

Should an antagonist come in contact with a hostile and/or armed opponent, it is NOT considered gank if they choose to fire first/ask questions later. This is a natural reaction in such a scenario for anyone, good or evil. If you see someone looking to visibly harm you, you are GOING to defend yourself or you're going to run. It's the fight or flight reflex. This is standard animal instinct.

By virtue of the same reflex, if an armed crewman comes across someone who is attempting to harm them, they have every right to fight back. However, in both cases, the threat presented must be readily available and showing intent to harm. Meaning: Unless an Antag's motives are to kill everyone (which there is no game mode where this is ever mandatory), they should not be out to shoot up/kill any crewman they see. Nor should a crewman be automatically out to play Stab the Tator just because they see someone walking around with a weapon showing.

Also, if in the event someone aims a firearm of any kind at you, the first reaction should not be to draw your own weapon. It is against the self-preservation instinct ingrained in your brain because doing so will almost always get you killed.

RoL: Getting the Drop - If someone catches you while you are not currently engaged in targeting them for whatever reason, or if your weapon is holstered, and you attempt to unholster your weapon and aim at them while they have you in direct line of sight, it is perfectly valid if they choose to pop your skull wide open. There is no whining. There is no complaining. This is how it works in the real world. People live and die by this technically unwritten law.

3. No More Shuttle Safety (I can hear the denials now)

What? Take away the security blanket that is the shuttle?

Oh well. Just because you board an escape/transfer shuttle does NOT mean that a hostile force will not target you. If a crewman has any relatively believable suspicion to try and take you out because they think you might be an antag, they have every right to do so. They also face every applicable punishment should they be proven wrong. This should primarily be a Security Officer's job, but it is not meant to discourage any crewman from taking action should the need arise. Not all people are cowards, and not all are smart enough to listen to the survival instinct.

Shuttle Safety has gotta be one of the stupidest things I've ever heard of. We can't even agree to like each other half the time...why would we agree to a cease-fire when we know there's the possibility of a hostile presence in what's supposed to be our safe zone? This concept is so unbelievable that it seriously breaks immersion. Either take care of the threat before the shuttle is called, or ride back to Central knowing that you may have a possible murderer/monster among you. That's life.

4. Lore and Character Interaction: Learn the Lore - Learn your Race Roles

I am so sorry, Lore team...I know you guys worked hard on it...but this has to be said if I'm being honest with myself and my post.

Right now, the lore is expansive. It is filled with many great things and even greater problems with stories of solutions. So why is it that it gets lost to the wayside? Because to a lot of people, it's either too politically based, or just not interesting enough. As I've already admitted I haven't read anywhere near as much of it as I should have, the lore that I have read for Aurora is just...bland. Corporate monster owns everything. Couple of wars here. Rebellions there. You can go to any sci-fi game and find this stuff.

Making the lore more encompassing (not necessarily more expansive) may bring more interest in it. It's bad enough we have how many catbeasts who play willy-nilly without any regard for the fact that their characters are essentially the lowest carbon buildup in the world of the corporate greed machine's exhaust pipes.

In conjunction with this, we need more convincing player interaction. For Singulo's sake, learn your lore, people! We should not be treating the Tajara like they're equals, let alone housecats. They are untrustworthy, hedonistic savages just barely intelligent enough to hold the positions they do! I mean seriously, their special wardrobe in the station consists of what amounts to a straw-tunic with wood-block sandals! Medieval style clothing!

5. Remove the Crew Transfer Button (They'll hang me for this one)

People want to leave the station? Cryo out. Cut down the time it takes for cryo to cycle you out of the game. Cut down on respawn periods from 30 minutes to 15/20. That's enough time to get up, use the restroom, grab/make a snack, stretch out and get back to your computer. These are healthy things you should be doing anyway, to keep from getting stiff and screwing yourself up. Take semi-frequent breaks.

Constantly allowing Crew Transfer is immersion killing. No corporate entity in its right financial mind is going to constantly be restaffing a full station every day, let alone everytime someone gets bored.

The only time we should be resetting the map is if the AI goes Delta, or if the station gets so badly screwed that it just cannot be repaired. Continuity is the major premise behind good Heavy RP. Without continuity, all you've got is a series of unlinked events. This goes hand in hand with canon-establishment.

There needs to be a serious canon. Why are people so worried about dying being canon? NT has the ability to clone people...you could be aboard the station again or the next shift if necessary as soon as your clone pops out! With Cloning being part of a way of life, I'd imagine that such occurrences would be normal. People would be desensitized to seeing clones of people they know at this point. It's just a fact of existing in this universe.

These are starting places. A lot of them are going to really irk people, but from what I know about roleplay, this is what you're looking at eventually, no matter what, if you want to continue holding the title of Heavy RP. There's no way in Hell it can happen over night. Adjustments take time to set in, and there's more to it than just these.

[Zundy]

Your face is light RP scrub.

Seriously though I like this and I hope it goes places. I've always thought the server isn't really HRP to be honest and a shake up would be nice.

Edit: Re. The first point: Unless you want the server population to tank over night there needs to be a stop gap in which new players can join as perhaps assistants/cadets/lab assistants/interns/etc to explore the server, get a feel and then apply properly. Otherwise you're trying to put people through a time consuming screening process for something they're not even sure they like.

All other points are peachy to me though.

[Damarik]

Your face is light RP scrub.

Seriously though I like this and I hope it goes places. I've always thought the server isn't really HRP to be honest and a shake up would be nice.

Edit: Re. The first point: Unless you want the server population to tank over night there needs to be a stop gap in which new players can join as perhaps assistants/cadets/lab assistants/interns/etc to explore the server, get a feel and then apply properly. Otherwise you're trying to put people through a time consuming screening process for something they're not even sure they like.

All other points are peachy to me though.

 

I like this, but that still gives people the option to chucklefuck. You'll still have Shitfaced McIrishwench the Greytide putzing around the station and getting into all sorts of things they shouldn't have access to. Even worse if it's a Cadet or Intern, because then they've got the ability to get into worse places to be messing around in with the access granted to them.

[Gollee]

Neat.

EDIT: SINCE THIS WAS BOINKED FOR NOT CONTRIBUTING.

These threads pop up all of the time, and nothing typically ever comes of it, typically because while you may feel it isn't Heavy-Roleplay, our player counts and the fact that there are still community members here from longer than you've been here shows that we're preserving something that people keep coming back for it. Your anecdotes do not prove much of a point, because there are plenty of people who have had great experiences here.

 

Gonna have to disagree with a chunk of this. I've been here for the longest possible time, and I feel that standards have slipped, I don't really play anymore because I know I will be met with several silly characters who just fuck around most rounds (When I say several, I don't mean specific ones, just in general). A lot of things that were once shitty, and Ahelpable offences now get written off to "It's IC," or "Give it to CCIA" even when they can't do crap about it.

[Zundy]

I like this, but that still gives people the option to chucklefuck. You'll still have Shitfaced McIrishwench the Greytide putzing around the station and getting into all sorts of things they shouldn't have access to. Even worse if it's a Cadet or Intern, because then they've got the ability to get into worse places to be messing around in with the access granted to them.

 

Just a thing we'll have to deal with. That "Cloning Disorder' bit of fluff would take care of this nicely and allow the players to take it in their RP stride whilst the mods can bwoink the ones responsible.

So chucklefuck Mgee can join, try to break into engineering, get arrested by sec and obviously banned by a mod and everyone IG can just get on with their lives.

It also applies to characters with ridiculous back stories which could just be written off as delusions caused by the disorder IG whilst the mods bwoink them.

[Mofo1995]

So, I agree that the quality of RP has taken a dip lately, but I don't think it's endemic or permanent. As far as I can tell, it fluctuates based on the ratio of new players to old players. As a general trend, newer players often stick out with sore thumbs when it comes to RP quality, unless they are migrants or visitors from other HRP communities. In the United States, we're in summertime, and this means floods of greytide, along with the gradual increase in flooding leading up to summer throughout mid to late spring. Does this mean we should lighten up? Of course not, no. I think Gollee brought up some tangible points in the standards of our roleplay and some confusion existing about the territories of OOC and IC moderation. But, while I think a healthy a productive discussion is called for, I also think it's important that we avoid alarmist and overzealous reactionary behavior. If we crack down too hard out of zealotry, it will just lead to witch-hunting each other and knocking skulls for every little RP slip-up. And if you watch anyone closely enough, they're going to slip up eventually. As far as the community itself goes, though, everyone is new once. I got warned and then later banned on my first day here. People come a long ways with time investment despite their early mistakes. Even though their motor functions, typing skills, and roleplay might be bad, engage new players like you would anyone else. They could become regulars one day, and no one gains anything from barricading them out with cliques. Despite new people coming in and being new to heavy roleplay, this is still an HRP server, and I still frequently enjoy heavy roleplay which I would not find on other servers. Incog brings up a good point on his own about the core of our server being seasoned roleplayers who continue to bring fascinating characters to the table and deliver engaging stories while providing well-crafted dialogue. There is a high enough quality to be above MRP which continues to retain those of us looking for an HRP experience. All in all, so long as we continue to enforce our rules fairly without being too zealous or too weak through this trying summer rush and don't relent to the hordes of newbies, it'll all pan out and our collective average roleplay experience will enhance again in the fall. Don't panic, ahelp and report rule breakers, and role-play on. As a great man once told me when I had problems in my life, "It'll buff out."

[Filthyfrankster]

The server now is simply a dying light of what it used to be.

We have good ol' fashion lesbay and shitcurity, with people getting away with the most serious breakage of RP and shit they'd probably get banned for.

Yeah, I say we're totally in the mid rp section now, just with coolkid whitelists and CCIA.

But if people want to ar-pee as if it's a high/heavy roleplay environment? Let them, if they get zapped by an op with a 'kill all sec upon first encounter as antag because you can use the hey they're sec and deadly' excuse, it'll happen.

If people want to RP as professional head of staff getting married and act cutesy cutesy together as HoS/CMO and the CMO some how has firearm training because 'their husband taught them' and will gun down the nearest antag who starts shit in medbay with an energy carbine the HoS gave them? Bite your tongue and live with it, because I doubt anyone will bwoink them for it.

Or do the whole good old fashion write up an RP thing of you pulling out your revolver, aiming it at the person infront of you and point blank them because they're the captain/hos/security because it's a good chance the minute you do try to RP holding them up, they'll Han Solo you.

I should know because I did that before and completely got away with it.

[Taintedglory]

I'll throw a hat in here and lightly touch a few points, because I don't do walls of texts and shit.

Is it Heavy RP? Not to those standards no.

But it is ridiculous to expect every human being who joins the server to set up a two hundred page essay about who their character is, why they work here, and what makes them special. Hell, even a two paragraph essay is to much to ask. People do not always know their characters personality, feelings, beliefs, and ways of thinking before actually playing them. Thats not how every one is wired.

As for OOC chat, seriously.. Its a community, we communicate to eachother. Thats what people do. We are social people who want to socialize and be social. If you do not like people talking in OOC, then turn it off. I know you said in your first post you don't like doing it. Well, if you're not going to turn it off, then don't complain about it.

To much messing around? Again, we're people playing a video game. Taking every aspect of the game super serious all the time leads to basically a shitty life. As a human, you'll start getting anxiety and angst from being serious all the time. You'll start thinking you if you break the mold, you'll get ridiculed or even worse, banned. This leads to a series of mental and emotional problems for the player at hand, short term or long term.

Another point: Lore

Wow. You are not very observant. I know a large group of our community reads the ingame Newcaster, and the Out of game Forum Newscaster. I can't name them all, but whenever its posted ingame, OOC chat is usually swarmed with people talking about it.

As for reading the Lore, new players are not going to sit and read it all on their first couple of rounds. Over the course of playing, they'll read bits here and there, and after awhile they'll know whats going on. Expecting them to read it all right at the first round they join is dumb. You need to let people naturally and organically learn things on our server.

About time:

We are human beings, we have jobs, significant others, A life. We can't dedicate 8 hours a day to the game. Even when I was a lonely young buck with no job and no life, I couldnt dedicate more than 6 hours a day for this game. Rounds on my HRP server would last 8 to 10 hours, and as Head Admin, I still could only do like 6 hours before all my RP was gone and I had to go play like, TF2 or some shit. Its unreasonable to expect every HRP server to run hours upon hours long and then get mad at the players when it isn't.

The nature of SS13 is resetting back to square one at the beginning of every round. If you don't want that to happen, find another medium to RP on. Because that is SS13. You don't have permanent anything but interactions with other people. Stories. Love. Friendship. Enemies. All of that goes from round to round, But you can't expect the work you put into the station itself to stay. Thats unreasonable in this game.

[Skull132]

What's curious is that most of these things are clear violations of rules. From breaking character to reference names and stupid character design/flavour text/records. In fact, I've been gently kiting Duty Officers away from dealing with people who have godawful records, in favour of administrative intervention instead. The thing is, we need to be made aware of such violations. Our staff is light and the team is small (for reasons that I can explain, as need be), so a lot of it relies on the players adminhelping things and reporting violations. And while we don't run on a zero tolerance policy, notes will stack and people who keep failing to meet simple standards will get removed. The reason of, "Not here to RP" is still a valid ban reason!

Now, here's an important thing. I can issue orders to staff to crack down on things like painRP, or memes IC, or whatever. But without communication from the players (adminhelps), they can only do so much about it. And without feedback from the players (be it complaints or PMs) of things like, ignored adminhelps or unsatisfying solutions to problems, I can't ensure in the fact that my staff are carrying out my directives. And remember! You have a right to know what resolution an adminhelp has arrived at! If they don't tell you, ask.

Ya, it's a long process, and it's a fight that won't ever really end, as new players will (hopefully) keep entering.

There are a few things that interest me, however.

First off is the introduction of lore and its baring on gameplay. With light staff, I've been very much against having a class of admins specifically dedicated to events or lore events. There is a plan in the works for antag contest v2, which will be mechanics reliant (thus, introducing lore through mechanics), but what else would help making lore more accessible and have a greater bearing?

The second is language. You actually paying attention to how you type and what you type would be a good way of enforcing a standard which helps weed out folks who aren't interested in upholding certain standards. The only downside to such a rule would be how it impacts those, who don't speak English as a native language, but are still interested in RP properly. Thoughts?

Oh, and finally, regarding OOC. Other games, RP games, have cultures which are more centered around forums, shoutboxes, Teamspeaks, whatever. However, the SS13 culture uses OOC chat for basic communication. There are people who just ghost or lobby sit, and shoot the shit on OOC because they like the people they're talking to and the environment we're in. So I will dismiss any point about OOC chatter being too prolific as just people being people and having a good time. (Not IC in OOC, though, which, again, you should adminhelp.)

[Guest]

The only downside to such a rule would be how it impacts those, who don't speak English as a native language, but are still interested in RP properly. Thoughts?

 

The first person I can cite in regards to this in terms of how it recalls to memory would be PoZe. Several months ago when they first joined us, their English wasn't that good, but I believe the entire community was willing to let it go as they were at least making a valiant effort, and whenever they were confused the community at least made an attempt to educate them on certain nuances or metaphorical stuff. That was probably the most beautiful and civil thing I've seen from the community in response to non-native English speakers trying to improve their language and fluency skills. His English got way better, it may not be perfect but there's notable improvement.

[Bedshaped]

Aurora may not be a "Heavy" RP server but it is definitely the "Heaviest" RP server as I've seen so far. I haven't been here long enough but you can definitely see symptoms of why the server might be deteriorating.

I'd like to see more rounds of Extended and custom events. Too many of these "action" rounds end up turning every role that isn't security/heads/antagonist into a pointless waste of time because the moment the last badguy is cuffed; crew transfer, everyone go home.

I also don't have a lot of faith in admins right now. I've sent off quite serious ahelps and received nothing when asked about the results other than "it's been dealt with". I'd like to see server broadcasts every time an admin action is taken with the reason it was taken (warning, jobban or ban) so that players can actually see first-hand that there's a base-line of policing of RP going on.

[Damarik]

Okay. I like this. We've got both positive and negative feedback here. This is good, and it's what I was hoping for when I first posted this thread. It got you all thinking about it and the problems that are persistent. That's step one.

Now, can we actually get to working on step two, which is coming to terms that people will (if not 100% agree with) at least give a chance? I know that this isn't your standard game, and it has its methods of play. I'm not brainless enough to think I can turn this into a pure roleplay game, because that's just not going to happen. However; and I do really mean this, it can be much, much more than it is, and really live up to that title of Heavy RP.

So, can we get a bit of thought/suggestion out here (besides what's already been posted) on how we can go about enacting changes for the better? Leave the debate out for later until we've got some concrete stuff. Then we can bicker back and forth about why certain things should/should not be implemented, if any at all.

[Skull132]

I also don't have a lot of faith in admins right now. I've sent off quite serious ahelps and received nothing when asked about the results other than "it's been dealt with". I'd like to see server broadcasts every time an admin action is taken with the reason it was taken (warning, jobban or ban) so that players can actually see first-hand that there's a base-line of policing of RP going on.

 

Nope. I am, on principle, opposed. We do not make examples of people, not like that. Unless the matter concerns IC information, a mod or an admin is required to tell you what action was taken against a specific player. If they do not, and you ask clearly while being involved/the one who reports the matter, then they are breaking SOP and need to be reported to me. We do forget sometimes, because too much shit going on, but you should always receive an answer if you ask. If you don't, you talk to me, and I'll fix it for you.

It should also be noted that our SOP is relatively warning heavy, and as a result, somewhat forgiving. If a person does not have a prior history, and the matter is not outright grief, chances are, they will be warned. The chance to square their shit away is a chance handed to everyone. If they fuck up twice in the same vein, however, more tangible punishment should be administered. And once again, if you feel unsatisfied with a resolution to an issue, you let me know, and I'll see about fixing it.

[Outboarduniform]

Alot of things that were once heavily enforced are now kinda overlooked. Clone Disorder used to be a serious issue and you weren't supposed to tell the person they were died and cloned. Now , in medbay , you will legit get straight up told you died and were cloned. Also , with some other things in mind , It seems there are alot more.....sticky situations. Nuke Ops has become kill everything and blitzkrieg as usual. There are some gimmicks , but those are far and few inbetween. Heist is more RP orientated , because you aren't armed to the teeth with assault rifles , shotguns , and SMGs.

people now SSD and ghost as soon as they're arrested for a 15 minute term. there is alot of stuff that needs to be worked on imo

[UnknownMurder]

Rather debating on issues... Why not... You know? Do something about it rather complain and argue.

[Skull132]

Misconception: CMD is no longer a thing. It is very much still a thing, and you are expected to roleplay it as a traumatic as fuck experience.

The difference is that current medical SOP requires doctors to help you come to terms with that trauma.

If a doctor heaves your old corpse onto the table and says, "Welp. See, you died here, lol," then you adminhelp them. Ideally this would be done through a psych, but if the situation dictates otherwise, you need to at least be tactful and careful about it.

On the flip side. If someone is informed of them being cloned, and goes, "Owell.jpg," then again, you adminhelp them. They are not properly roleplaying out the associated trauma.

The fact that SOP has changed IC has absolutely fuckall and nill to do with the OOC requirements for roleplay.

[Nanako]

On the flip side. If someone is informed of them being cloned, and goes, "Owell.jpg," then again, you adminhelp them. They are not properly roleplaying out the associated trauma..

 

this is a pain and in practise never seems to be enforced. Some people, especially security, have been cloned hundreds of times, they generally can't be bothered roleplaying out trauma for the nth time, and forcing them to doesn't seem like it'd go well

Imo, what's proper for a character, isn't always something you can expect a player to do. some rules, if seriously enforced, would just drive people away

This exact thing is the primary reason that most of my characters are DNC

[LordFowl]

One might argue that an HRP server should employ rules specifically designed to drive people away, to maintain an elite community. HRP is a very niche service.