Some Major Changes!

[Engage]

Some Major Changes!

After discussing some options with a few members of the RP community I have decided that a few changes are necessary. Hopefully these changes will help the RP community interact with one another and entice new players to join in!

The planned changes are as follows (some are already under way):

• Adding major guilds to the RP islands. This is an ongoing thing and more guilds will be added shortly
• Improving performance and usability of the islands
• Slightly expanding the good island and adding the following (all outside of the town of Agathys):
  • • Small Savage Camp
    • Small Orc Fort
    • Cemetery/Graveyard
    • Thieves Guild master/Guild House (similar to what is currently on the Evil island)
    • Evil healer, Banker and a few other NPCs
• Complete removal of the Evil island and town
• Updating the RP Portal Room
• Reducing size of the mines that connect the two islands

Essentially it means creating a single area for all the guilds to interact which is still separate from the main server. This means we keep the benefits of being able to easily make changes without impacting on the server too greatly whilst also making it easier for all guilds to interact with one another.

The general population/non-RP community will be encouraged to make use of the island now that the lag issues are being dealt with. This may lead to the occasional 'griefer' turning up, however if it ever gets too out of hand we can easily ban players from the island. This is made even easier now that the entire island is basically a giant house! Furthermore will be no recalling/gating onto anywhere on the island which will help keep griefers out.

Extra "Sparkles" can be added around the world if people think they need additional means to access the RP portal room.

The cannon can be removed from the entrance to Agathys also, although the "Evil" guilds will have some protection around their forts in the form of NPCs to make it more fair.

This is still all a work in process and nothing is set in stone. If anyone has any comments, questions or criticisms feel free to post about them or contact me via AIM: SeerEngage.

 

[Engage]

Re: Some Major Changes!

Here are some pictures of the just finished Orc fort made by GM Tessa, looks pretty damn impressive if you ask me! Now just to get in touch with some Orcs to work out who is going to own it

The bridge across is located about 2 screens east of the mine entrance on the northern side of the island.

 

[uonoobs]

Re: Some Major Changes!

sounds hot! thanks alot!

 

[Sintoo]

Re: Some Major Changes!

You guys have the best seer's ever, appreciate them, adore them...
Make sweet, sweet love to them...
Or I will steal them from you.

 

[LordCool]

Re: Some Major Changes!

Hear hear! This is the kind of revitalization we need.

 

[Vek]

Re: Some Major Changes!

That fort may be good for looks but its no match for Vile Clan! *Battlecry*

 

[amish_ned]

Re: Some Major Changes!

might need some curtains on the entrance, looks awesome tho, really appreciate the hard work

 

[nephlim463]

Re: Some Major Changes!

Looks sweet.

 

[plague_spores]

Re: Some Major Changes!

No need for curtains... we just need some old school orcs who can krimp people there with just gm weaps and armor!

 

[Vek]

Re: Some Major Changes!

Hoowah!

 

[Ozzy]

Re: Some Major Changes!

Just a fyi, since I have finally decided to give something back to the community I am sponsoring RP guilds, helping them to move to the rp islands etc.
I transfered some money to engage the other day that will go to the savages and I will make sure the milita gets some cash aswell once I see they are getting active.
So if you need sponsoring send me a PM or AIM me.
AIM: GameAnything

 

[Engage]

Re: Some Major Changes!

Status Update:

Inserting Island into plot = Completed
Graveyard with TcD entrance = Completed
Orc Camp = Completed
Savage Camp = Underway


Thanks a lot for the player input and feedback and also massive thanks to GM Tessa for all the help she is providing.

 

[Vek]

Re: Some Major Changes!

Once again Ozzy ty very very much the donation will really help ^.^

 

[Paul-hybrid]

Re: Some Major Changes!

This is not to sound ungrateful, or to undermine what is obviously a lot of hard work. But why not just use Malas as the roleplay and or Trammel area? There would be no load lag, because it is already part of the map. There is already a good and evil city there. It just seems like it is ready made for this kind of thing.

 

[Engage]

Re: Some Major Changes!

We already tried a similar thing with Imbus and a few other projects. None worked very well as it is impossible to easily customise everything and make it fit the needs of the community. By building an area ourselves we can easily add, edit, change whatever we like without opening new lands or using extra maps. Furthermore it allows players to move more easily between the major RP areas (Yew, Jhelom, and the Islands etc) which leads to easier interaction.

Emokid69 - I have your money ready for when the savage area is completed.

 

[Paul-hybrid]

Re: Some Major Changes!

We already tried a similar thing with Imbus and a few other projects. None worked very well as it is impossible to easily customise everything and make it fit the needs of the community. By building an area ourselves we can easily add, edit, change whatever we like without opening new lands or using extra maps. Furthermore it allows players to move more easily between the major RP areas (Yew, Jhelom, and the Islands etc) which leads to easier interaction.

Emokid69 - I have your money ready for when the savage area is completed.

I understand what you are saying. I think it could probably work either way. Anyway, in my experience which goes back all the way to being an immortal on a very popular Diku Mud, the problem with roleplaying areas and communities is that they are not really self sustaining. They require tons of work from a few dedicated people who have to be willing to do the work for a fluctuating group of people who all have their own ideas about how things should be done but do not actually want to do the work. To keep the roleplay community interested there has to be constant events, and changes happening. In a game with a player base like what Hybrid has. Average 800 connected clients, probably 450 people actually playing and the other 350 macroing or multiclienting. You are probably going to be lucky if 10% of them would be interested in roleplaying. Most of those people are only going to roleplay when there is an event going on.

In my opinion, if you want the roleplayers to be self sustaining at all, they should be more isolated. Roleplay could almost be its own faction, one roleplayer character per account. Join the roleplay faction and the character is transported to Malas, naked with no runes out. If you want to leave, it takes however long it takes to quit a faction to get out. Don't allow player housing, except for houses placed by seers. With one char per person, and only guild houses allowed those players would interact a lot more. It needs a lot more thought than this, but its an idea.

The problem with roleplaying is that it requires interaction with other players. When every person has 20 characters, there is a lot less interaction. This is why vendor malls are empty. Who buys potion kegs, or armor, or weapons when every person has an alchemist, a tailor, and a blacksmith character?

 

[Ozzy]

Re: Some Major Changes!

I understand what you are saying. I think it could probably work either way. Anyway, in my experience which goes back all the way to being an immortal on a very popular Diku Mud, the problem with roleplaying areas and communities is that they are not really self sustaining. They require tons of work from a few dedicated people who have to be willing to do the work for a fluctuating group of people who all have their own ideas about how things should be done but do not actually want to do the work. To keep the roleplay community interested there has to be constant events, and changes happening. In a game with a player base like what Hybrid has. Average 800 connected clients, probably 450 people actually playing and the other 350 macroing or multiclienting. You are probably going to be lucky if 10% of them would be interested in roleplaying. Most of those people are only going to roleplay when there is an event going on.

In my opinion, if you want the roleplayers to be self sustaining at all, they should be more isolated. Roleplay could almost be its own faction, one roleplayer character per account. Join the roleplay faction and the character is transported to Malas, naked with no runes out. If you want to leave, it takes however long it takes to quit a faction to get out. Don't allow player housing, except for houses placed by seers. With one char per person, and only guild houses allowed those players would interact a lot more. It needs a lot more thought than this, but its an idea.

The problem with roleplaying is that it requires interaction with other players. When every person has 20 characters, there is a lot less interaction. This is why vendor malls are empty. Who buys potion kegs, or armor, or weapons when every person has an alchemist, a tailor, and a blacksmith character?

I disagree, your idea of isolating the roleplayers doesn't really seem like a good idea, if they are isolated you won't be able to make new people interested since you won't really show... And some text on a forum doesn't catch the attention of lots of people.

To keep the RP alive its up to every guildleader(s) to keep their guild interesting, with quests, events, raids, etc.
From what I understand the RP islands is still a work in progress and I am sure they will work well really soon. As I see it the RP on this shard doesn't need any relocating, or a change in any way, since the RP element came back to this shard the community have grown at a steady rate.

I know that earlier we have been quick to neglect new RP guilds, because ex: They are not good rpers or something of that nature.
But as I see it if we completely neglect them as rpers they won't evolve into their full potential.
And as most of you known the RP community is a pretty close knit community so if they all just keep respecting eachother, be understanding and help eachother I think the roleplaying community will continue growing.

 

[Engage]

Re: Some Major Changes!

I agree with Ozzy here, isolating RPers has been tried before and failed miserably. There needs to be some interaction between the main playerbase and the RPers.

Another major issue with your idea Paul-hybrid is that all those suggestions require significant coding. We only have one active developer at the moment (Mark) and he is flat out with a lot of different projects.

The islands have been built by GM/Seer/Admin level staff and do not require any coding or server side changes. They provide an area that is somewhat separate from the rest of the server but still easily accessible by non RPers. Once everything is built it will be up to the RP community to keep it active, staff will assist in small ways and occasionally run events. However some of the best RP events have been those completely run by players.

 

[Paul-hybrid]

Re: Some Major Changes!

I agree with Ozzy here, isolating RPers has been tried before and failed miserably. There needs to be some interaction between the main playerbase and the RPers.

Another major issue with your idea Paul-hybrid is that all those suggestions require significant coding. We only have one active developer at the moment (Mark) and he is flat out with a lot of different projects.

The islands have been built by GM/Seer/Admin level staff and do not require any coding or server side changes. They provide an area that is somewhat separate from the rest of the server but still easily accessible by non RPers. Once everything is built it will be up to the RP community to keep it active, staff will assist in small ways and occasionally run events. However some of the best RP events have been those completely run by players.

I completely understand that issue.

 

[plague_spores]

Re: Some Major Changes!

I understand what you are saying. I think it could probably work either way. Anyway, in my experience which goes back all the way to being an immortal on a very popular Diku Mud, the problem with roleplaying areas and communities is that they are not really self sustaining. They require tons of work from a few dedicated people who have to be willing to do the work for a fluctuating group of people who all have their own ideas about how things should be done but do not actually want to do the work. To keep the roleplay community interested there has to be constant events, and changes happening. In a game with a player base like what Hybrid has. Average 800 connected clients, probably 450 people actually playing and the other 350 macroing or multiclienting. You are probably going to be lucky if 10% of them would be interested in roleplaying. Most of those people are only going to roleplay when there is an event going on.

In my opinion, if you want the roleplayers to be self sustaining at all, they should be more isolated. Roleplay could almost be its own faction, one roleplayer character per account. Join the roleplay faction and the character is transported to Malas, naked with no runes out. If you want to leave, it takes however long it takes to quit a faction to get out. Don't allow player housing, except for houses placed by seers. With one char per person, and only guild houses allowed those players would interact a lot more. It needs a lot more thought than this, but its an idea.

The problem with roleplaying is that it requires interaction with other players. When every person has 20 characters, there is a lot less interaction. This is why vendor malls are empty. Who buys potion kegs, or armor, or weapons when every person has an alchemist, a tailor, and a blacksmith character?

No no no and more of no....

We have tried the whole other map thing. We have tried having guilds isolated. We are doing what we know will work. The best thing that has ever worked for rp on hybrid was tenebrae and tenebrae II. Therefore what we are doing with the islands is more than likely going to work because it is more closely related to the Tenebraes than anything else.

Your ideals of hybrid are completely off and for the most part baseless.