Is anyone out there?

[Eelime]

Greetings, everyone!


This thread is about a request. I will go into more detail about the request once I go into more detail about myself, and my dilemma. So, without further adieu, lets jump right in, shall we?



I am constantly trying to RP with people when I see them in-person (that is, see their Avatar). But usually, they are afk, busy talking in another channel (a lot of the time I will see them actively RPing in the RP channel), or for some other reason ignore me/cannot respond.

This is sometimes frustrating as I only do in-person RP. I'm thinking I may have to try RP in the RP channel, which I am dreading because my character likes to keep strict to the Istaria lore as it can. Unfortunately, this is near impossible for me as there are a lot of fur dragons, people RPing characters that don't actually exist in the game (as far as I can tell?), elemental dragons, even domestic cats that can speak, it seems.

Now, this stuff in small doses may be interesting for my character to interact with, but when every other person that he runs into has fur, isn't really who his name says he is, or some other extremely odd, wonderful thing, it gets annoying and frustrating.

My character wants to live out his Istarian life as a normal dragon in Istaria may live it. That is, start as a hatchling, work hard at adventuring, crafting, interacting with other people (which is hard to do when most people wont respond to you when you try to speak to them in the general or /say channel), so that he may one day become an adult, and then keep on continuing his life as a dragon in the lands of Istaria.

And, just because all my rp is in-person, that doesn't mean there can't be dramatic, drawn out adventures and such. There is the /emote <whatever you want here> command that will do the same exact things as *'s.


I like to incorporate game mechanics into my RP. That is, if I want to RP gliding around, I will go find a tall peak or something, jump off, and glide. If I want to hug someone with my wing, or nudge them with my head, I will get close to their avatar, close enough to actually touch them, and then do something like "/emote extends his wing over ***** and wraps it tightly around them, hugging them tightly with his wing" or some such.

I find (in my opinion) this kind of RP helps me enjoy games, not just Istaria, a lot more. That is why I love games that do not have global channels, or if they do, not actively used ones. Because it forces players (for the most part) to do the kind of RP I love.

If you RP your character in-person, you are more likely to actually care what your character does, instead of being fickle with it. You also learn to manipulate the game mechanics and achieve things that you may not have thought possible before. You also find that you stick to the games lore a lot closer.

Anyways...

So far, I haven't actually been able to do much RP, as I haven't been able to find anyone who is willing to do more than exchange greetings and a few words, or if they do, they break character pretty quickly.

This has become a bit of a rant, but it's not against the players of Order, or Istaria as a whole. It's no ones fault that there aren't more RPers out there that RP like I do. But it is frustrating.


So, I am here asking: Are there any others on Order that feel like I do, and enjoy RPing in the way that I do? If you do, please, feel free to post here or PM me here on the forums.

[LungTien Temeraire]

The Order shard's population is rather weak, so it can be hard to see a lot of people in game. I'm, sometimes, roleplaying like that, but I'm more often on the Role-Play channel. You might have more chances to find on-lore characters there, I think, but it depends of the days. Feel free to tell me in game if you want to RP with me in the local channel, and to ask anyone else as well.
Anyway, everone has a style, feel free to go with it or ignore it as it suits you.

[Eelime]

The Order shard's population is rather weak, so it can be hard to see a lot of people in game. I'm, sometimes, roleplaying like that, but I'm more often on the Role-Play channel. You might have more chances to find on-lore characters there, I think, but it depends of the days. Feel free to tell me in game if you want to RP with me in the local channel, and to ask anyone else as well.
Anyway, everone has a style, feel free to go with it or ignore it as it suits you.

Thank you for the kind offer. I will try your suggestions as well Though, I am more partial to the "spontaneous" RP, that is, unplanned stuff, or not doing rp just for the sake of rp (it's hard to explain... like I don't want to sit around a city just to RP. Maybe if we're exploring the city. Or someone who is more accustomed to it is giving a tour of it to show off its POI's. Or if we're going to kill a monster for some reason or another. Or just exploring Istaria... like I said, It's hard to explain and I fear you'll misunderstand what I mean =[


An example, lets say I am on my way to do some work on my newly purchased lair (I did recently purchase a lair) and I see you in Brist. I'll stop to say, "Greetings, Great Ancient. How are you today? /deepbow" you'll respond, I'll respond, and it'll continue. Then, either I can continue on to my business, or you yours. Or, maybe you'll show an interest in my lair, so I'll offer to show it to you, and then we'll travel together to my lair and I can show you my progress, you can comment on it. Then maybe you'll talk about your lair, and then we can go see yours...


Kind of like that. I don't like doing "Hey, anyone want to go to Brist and RP with me in-person?" I like it to happen as if it were nothing special that was planned out, but was just another day in my characters life. But, that doesn't mean that it can't become something special. Or that once our characters become familiar with each other that we can't make plans to visit one another in-person in the future.


I'm trying to explain as best as I can. I'll stop for now, because I fear I may have confused you or made it so you misunderstand :S Sorry.

[LungTien Temeraire]

I think I understand. It can depend if I have an idea to keep roleplaying, but I'm open if you want to RP in these styles you have said. I'd just say it is rather hard to RP while fighting foes.

[Eelime]

I think I understand. It can depend if I have an idea to keep roleplaying, but I'm open if you want to RP in these styles you have said. I'd just say it is rather hard to RP while fighting foes.

Ah, yes. That's the problem that keeps most people from doing the RP that I enjoy People get caught up with RPing in the RP channel (because it's easier while leveling and such), and get caught up in leveling, fighting, etc.. as much as they can, they forget that the game is more than just fighting. You can stop to smell the roses, so to speak.

You may not level as fast, but if you were to take your time, stop and have conversations to everyone that says hello to you in /say, etc... the game would probably seem more interesting, more alive to you.

That's how it is for me, when I RP the way I do in my other games. When I was in SWG, I ran a Jedi Order on my server. In SWG, the planetary channels weren't used often, and so all RP was done in-person, using /emote (it worked like it does here in istaria) or /commands (like /hello, /bow, /slap, etc... it had a LOT of / commands for that kind of stuff).

I loved that game and I felt so attached to it, and my character, because I treated every second I played it as if I were actually in my characters shoes. If I saw a building that looked interesting, I would take the time to go inside it and look around. If I needed an item made, I would make arrangements to meet in-person with the crafter to place my order. I spent hours decorating my house with all the stuff I had gathered over the years (tho I guess that's impossible in Istaria :S but lairs and plots are similar in that you spend a lot of time with them).

I may not have leveled as fast as some, but I got to the top eventually, and my character had three-times the resume and history as people who had been at the top level for months before I was, and I had thrice the contacts (meaning I could get almost anything I wanted for little to no cost, I could even get money) and I was made a member of the ruling council of a guild that was 400+ members strong (at the games peak).


Well, if you can't tell. I miss SWG




Anyways, the point I'm trying to make is, if you stop for the little things, and don't try to rush towards the big things, your world(As in how you see the game world) will seem bigger and more important.

I'm not saying that you personally need to slow down, but I do know of some people who do nothing put constantly level and such and have little interaction with other players outside the game-wide chat channels like RP chat. Which, to me, is a bit sad

[LungTien Temeraire]

Well, I'm not often moving these days, mostly sitting down and roleplaying. In the roleplay, there are sometimes battles taking place on a channel, and involving players's characters only, or some who'd play external characters like a big naughty golem, though this last thing is rare.
Also, I'm always greeting those I meet in game, unless I am afk, and I often cast buffs on them, unless I'm busy or there are 15 players around.
About the emotes, I'd like to see a true /dance emote for dragons

[Shinkuu]

All my characters are listed in my signature and I just want to say to the TC that I do NOT play with my Avatar much at all.

I find doing that repugnant because I cannot really make my Avatar do much in regards to what I would actually be doing and if I need to type it all out then I may as well do it in a channel. Also there is very limited things you can do in-person in terms of adventure or anything interesting at all.

I also do not have time to waste sitting around in-person when I should be out grinding my levels so that I am some day a lvl 100/100 or higher character instead of some eternal loser at anything less than that. So I prefer to RP only in the text chat where I can RP WHILE doing my grinding.

That said, I have no problem with your own desire but if you see my characters do not try to RP with me in-person. I am probably just buying and selling or off grinding. An in-person RP would have be arranged before hand otherwise everything my Avatar does is considered OOC or really as if it never happened at all.

[Unicorn's Lady]

Hi Eelime!
I know you've had to change your mind already from what you originally wanted to do, i.e. the Dragonrider guild, but you are going to have to change a bit more.

Most people that I've seen through the last decade don't want to just sit there with their characters doing chat. They prefer to multitask. That's why most do their RPing on the chat channels compared to face to face. That way they can RP as well as work on their character's skills. There is the side benefit of in a private chat room you can have undisturbed RP. No one can wander by and ruin the ongoing story.


Now, as for a few reasons why folk might not be responding to you when you try to talk to them face to face.

• They may have the chat boxes messed up. I have a few dear friends that always seem to have problems with such.
• They don't have General active at that moment.
  
  • If they don't have their chat box translucent enough then the chat tabs won't flash to let them know there is a message.
  • Lag! Sometimes I get a message delay and by that time I've already run through the area and usually hopped into a portal.
  • Throughly distracted! They are so busy with something they just don't notice that there is someone trying to talk to them.
• You have not been properly introduced. Yes, some folk want very old fashioned manners.
• They are so new to online gaming that they don't know how to talk.
• They are in the middle of a very important chat. They might be an officer in a guild and are being tagged by a fellow member about something. They might be talking down someone that is thinking about suicide, or comforting someone that has just had a loved one die/is dying/is very ill or has just had a bad break up or is being stalked or just lost their job. Kids, Spouse, Parents, neighborhood has managed to come up with something that demands immediate attention. Sometimes someone comes up with something that you just end up stopped in your tracks and don't have the time to use the AFK emblem, much less move your character to an out of the way spot to then respond to them.

As for myself, no I won't sit for a long time often just chatting. My girls are just too busy with their lives. It takes up to four 8-12 hrs. days (real time) for Nellie to do a complete restock of Carmo's Tavern, Kion's tavernkeeper, & low level Festival foods at New Trismus every two weeks and then she needs to go restock her cooking supplies. Ochre does a weekly restock of her Tier 1 spells for New Trismus, which again takes over an hour real time as well as being a guild builder. She is always in demand. That said though, I always try to respond and interrelate to those that talk to me face to face. Although sometimes it will be via an apologetic tell when I'm late with the response.


I do see face to face RPing happen frequently near the shrine in New Trimus. So maybe you'll find others of like minds to RP with there.


Nellie Lovett/Ochre Tekton of Carmo on Order

[Eelime]

Hi Eelime!
I know you've had to change your mind already from what you originally wanted to do, i.e. the Dragonrider guild, but you are going to have to change a bit more.

Most people that I've seen through the last decade don't want to just sit there with their characters doing chat. They prefer to multitask. That's why most do their RPing on the chat channels compared to face to face. That way they can RP as well as work on their character's skills. There is the side benefit of in a private chat room you can have undisturbed RP. No one can wander by and ruin the ongoing story.


Now, as for a few reasons why folk might not be responding to you when you try to talk to them face to face.

• They may have the chat boxes messed up. I have a few dear friends that always seem to have problems with such.
• They don't have General active at that moment.
  
  • If they don't have their chat box translucent enough then the chat tabs won't flash to let them know there is a message.
  • Lag! Sometimes I get a message delay and by that time I've already run through the area and usually hopped into a portal.
  • Throughly distracted! They are so busy with something they just don't notice that there is someone trying to talk to them.
• You have not been properly introduced. Yes, some folk want very old fashioned manners.
• They are so new to online gaming that they don't know how to talk.
• They are in the middle of a very important chat. They might be an officer in a guild and are being tagged by a fellow member about something. They might be talking down someone that is thinking about suicide, or comforting someone that has just had a loved one die/is dying/is very ill or has just had a bad break up or is being stalked or just lost their job. Kids, Spouse, Parents, neighborhood has managed to come up with something that demands immediate attention. Sometimes someone comes up with something that you just end up stopped in your tracks and don't have the time to use the AFK emblem, much less move your character to an out of the way spot to then respond to them.

As for myself, no I won't sit for a long time often just chatting. My girls are just too busy with their lives. It takes up to four 8-12 hrs. days (real time) for Nellie to do a complete restock of Carmo's Tavern, Kion's tavernkeeper, & low level Festival foods at New Trismus every two weeks and then she needs to go restock her cooking supplies. Ochre does a weekly restock of her Tier 1 spells for New Trismus, which again takes over an hour real time as well as being a guild builder. She is always in demand. That said though, I always try to respond and interrelate to those that talk to me face to face. Although sometimes it will be via an apologetic tell when I'm late with the response.


I do see face to face RPing happen frequently near the shrine in New Trimus. So maybe you'll find others of like minds to RP with there.


Nellie Lovett/Ochre Tekton of Carmo on Order

Thank you for the response.


About the bit about the dragonrider idea, I haven't had to change my mind yet. Infact, I've found a few people supportive (even tho one or two of them may have to hate the idea from their characters perspective, they still think it's an interesting idea).

But, like I said in my thread, I wont be ready to actually do anything with the idea for a long time (a few months at least) from now.

And, I've actually found a few people that enjoy doing some face-to-face RP. Also, most of the RP I do isn't long and drawn out. It's just an exchange of greetings, introducing ourselves, telling a bit about our current task, discussing them shortly, and then usually one of us has to get going, like I did earlier. I had to leave abruptly while speaking to someone in Dralk, he said a quick farewell and left. Next time I see them, my character will be sure to apologize and beg forgiveness next time I see them. That's the kind of RP I enjoy. Where our characters development in-game is actually part of our character.

Also, I'm not blaming anyone for being busy. I'm not blaming anyone for anything, I understand that some people are busy. The purpose of my thread is to find those that are willing to "stop and smell the roses", so to speak. Not to find those that I should try to avoid, like Shinkuu.

Like I said to Ling, I don't want to meet with anyone for the soul purpose of RP. I want to randomly meet someone and let RP flourish. If it's only a quick greeting and an asking to be excused because you're busy, that's RP to me (as long as you don't say something OOC with ('s, like "((Srry, making t1 spells for newbies))").

And, if the conversation happens to go longer and get drawn out, it happens. Like in real life, but in an Istarian setting. Sometimes you greet someone and you hit it off and talk for longer than a minute, sometimes the person is busy or just doesn't want to talk and they go after a few words.


Again, to clarify, this isn't a thread to ask why people ignore me, or to blame them for ignoring me, but to find people that like to stop and enjoy the little things in the game (like a conversation in-character with a person you've never met before), so that when I do see them in-game, my character can introduce themselves to me.

Like I said, it's started to get a little better. I don't know if it's just luck, or some people saw my post and realized when they see my name that I'd be willing to do a bit of RP in /say with them or what.

If you ever run into me in-game and try to talk to me in /say (or other channels, except the OOC channel which I frequent), I'll usually do my best to answer in-character. I try to avoid using (('s as much as I can.


On a side note, Eelime, Thenalth, and Shikai should be having their ascension on the 27th (or 28th in some places, or something xD), along with the Ascension of Thenalth's adoptive mother into Ancienthood. I think one of us plans to make a forum post about it sometimes soon, so if you'd be interested in seeing that/attending, keep an eye out for the post, please

[Frith-Rae]

I would encourage you to read the RP related threads that have been recently posted - as some of them are discussing what you are having issues with and this thread is kinda a repeat of some of what has already been talked about.

So I won't elaborate other than this -(because in the other thread I completely explained the pros/cons/reasons for chatroom RP and why its awesome in Istaria - and confusion as to why other games don't adopt it more fully lol).

Considering I can go literally weeks in game without seeing another player - it is too limiting, I feel, to limit yourself to /say RP (face to face) Only. If you really want to "get involved" in much RP - limiting yourself to /say may end you up with many empty and lonely gaming sessions.

The population of Istaria, and the limitations of the engine for RP, is a reality we all must deal with. Hence why you find so much RP in chatrooms (or deeper RP). Because if some of us only had RP in /say - we'd go weeks or months without any contact at all . And because if we limit ourselves to only what is seen in face/to/face RP would be nothing more than dragon circles of conversation wihtout movement. Somethign that while FUN - is limiting .