What are my positive ideas for improving stuff?
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Seriously, I was shocked by the negativity on these forums and the amount of people who clearly do not enjoy Arabel who are really just here dragging the vibe and community down. Even kvetching in threads to new players and returning players. Its toxic. It should stop.
I've been awol for a year really because of a whole mess of personal problems. I came back awhile ago just to chat in IRC and occasionally say hi on the forums to folks. What I saw here was a bit sad.
So stop being dicks those of you who are. Those of you who are cool and love Arabel and want to help it out, here's a thread to point out what you LIKE and what you want to IMPROVE upon and helpful, kind suggestions on what you'ld LOVE to see.
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@TL:
- Likes V4's idea of giving more power to the players, thinks it can be improved with some rebalancing within the setting to allow a finer degree of what can be achieved whilst not upsetting the ebb and flow and making everything a confuddling mess. Would love to see DMs be able to take control of other DMs creations without hassle to ensure plot completion in the face of AWOL DMs or RL issues.
- Likes flavourful features such as Summoning Themes, Sorceror Themes, Animal Companion System ect. Hopes they are improved upon with additional themes, the crafting system, and would love to see a monk theme/fighting style system.
- Likes certain module changes, would hope they are improved to cater to the lower player numbers of the server currently via cutting away needless areas. Would love to see the focus of the server become Arabel as a City once more.
- Likes likes new factions, would hope they are improved with some rebalancing in relation to the setting in regards to what their purpose is (IE: Less obvious antithesis) and would love to see easier-to-relate factions similiar to the Noble Houses that mesh easier with the initial setting but provide sufficent opposition.
- Likes 'already-in-module'/DMless plots to pursue, would love to see them improved with some clever scripting to make everything seem less static.
- Likes the new website, would love to see it finished.
@TL:
- Likes the increasing tolerance to PvP, would hope it is improved with a balance of common sense and maturity, would love to see less used for the sole purpose of 'solving' a problem but more as a symptom of a problem.
- Likes the use of faction policies (IE: Mage's Guild Novice/Sheriff Deputies) as a plot device, incentive, extention of power ect.
- Likes the increasing willingness to push plots in unnconventional ways, would love to see more requests to the DMs like.. (IE: I want to go out and arrest these NPC Bloodstone dealers) .. be used by aforementioned DMs to foster the intrigue.. (IE: Said NPCs or allies thereof contact evil character players to hire or inform them of what happened, new NPC dealers come in but their wares are more expensive. Opportunity to stage a prision break. Basically using whatever players come up with, even if it involves an NPC, and making it involve PCs.)
My dickish sense of humour does not mean I hate Arabel and everyone in it.
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Its summer.
This happens every summer Mol. ;)
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Location: Profesional Cynic since 1918
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Everything BG said +1. Honestly, the increasing complaining has become a bit of a drag. I love this sever for its customized nature and rich depth.
I love the DM team here and their imagination. What I want more than anything else is more player/DM cohesion and plots that other DMs can pick up without stepping on another's toes. That change alone will help many.
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What do you mean by 'already-in-module' style plots?
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- I like the class customisations we have. They outshine what most other servers have in terms of my personal taste of DnD, despite many of their scripts and customisations being much more elaborate.
- I like our system of questing compared to grinding of other servers. I think it can be improved further by making some more easily available (IE. cutting redundant areas between the quest and the city) and put in some pointers where quests outside town might be found.
- I like the rich and varied environment we have, but I would love to see it improved by putting the focus back on the city and flesh out its contents more, while cutting some wilderness.
- I like the back alleys and hidden paths around town and think they can be vastly improved by expanding them more, as well as adding some roof areas where acrobatic people can traverse town outside the main streets. I would love to see a network or alleys and rooftops in the city.
- I would love to see the city improved by reshaping it and make it more ergonomic. Four quarters (east, south/slums, north/central, west), each with its own gate and a network of back alleys and sewers to traverse the city out of sight.
- I like the ruins below the city and think it can be improved by expanding them into more levels and I would love to see it open up for dungedon-esque parts, like the Haunted Halls and the Myrietar.
- I like the level of player-driven initiatives we have, and think it can be improved by increased player-DM communication, and I would love to see more multi-DM cooperation on metaplots and factions.
- I liked the Rift and the plots while it existed, but think its current state can be improved by adding some direct interactions with it, such as a multi-layered dungedon sort of like the Flynn Crypts. This is something I would love to see.
- I like the current setting and I think its future can be improved by returning to what made it great in the past while keeping the storytelling elements we have developed. I would love to see a return to a lower fantasy level with less outsiders, dragons, demons, magical beasts, planar breaches and rifts in the fabric of the universe. (Things like the Rift appears a little ripped out of OotS to me)
- I like the DMs efforts for this server and I player mentality could be improved by more communication, and I would love to see more quick responses to IC and OOC requests to at least let us know you're aware of it and looking into things. Having to wait for two weeks and get a "I don't know" is disheartening.
Anyway, thats what I have now.
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Bingo to everything BG and lillesmurfen said.
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@Neolithic:
Everything BG said +1. Honestly, the increasing complaining has become a bit of a drag. I love this sever for its customized nature and rich depth.
I love the DM team here and their imagination. What I want more than anything else is more player/DM cohesion and plots that other DMs can pick up without stepping on another's toes. That change alone will help many.
That just doesn't happen Neo. Over the years, what I've found is that even the DM we bring on who says he'll do that, doesn't.
What always happened was that actually, the players just don't bother to continue following the plot itself. So the DM who didn't start it, loses interest.
Best approach, ask someone to help see something through.
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I would like to see the current setup of a weak city with factions that have little reason to work together at all be replaced with something closer to what used to be:
Factions that might have "intra-city" disagreements but work together to aid the common good.and perhaps some outside faction, such as Legion, that are clear enemies.
Someone else said it much better in one of the recent threads.
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@The:
What do you mean by 'already-in-module' style plots?
"You are free to pursue this whenever you can, XXXXX can already be found in the module." - DMless Plots.
@Neolithic:
Everything BG said +1. Honestly, the increasing complaining has become a bit of a drag. I love this sever for its customized nature and rich depth.
I love the DM team here and their imagination. What I want more than anything else is more player/DM cohesion and plots that other DMs can pick up without stepping on another's toes. That change alone will help many.
That just doesn't happen Neo. Over the years, what I've found is that even the DM we bring on who says he'll do that, doesn't.
What always happened was that actually, the players just don't bother to continue following the plot itself. So the DM who didn't start it, loses interest.
Best approach, ask someone to help see something through.
Player: "Hey, can you help me out with XXXX? It was run by DM Y but they seemed to have vanished."
DM: "I don't know anything about that plot, sorry." OR "I'm not that interested in this plot." OR "I'll put this up to the team for discussion" (Doesn't, but sometimes they do but nothing is said to indicate a conclusion to said 'discussion'.)
Player: "Ok.."I don't think these can be put down to blame on the players this time, Mol. And if it was the case, it is probably because said DM has not indicated to players that the plot is in full-swing, abit of a NPC nudge can have many, many benefits to a players motivation.
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@Broken:
@The:
What do you mean by 'already-in-module' style plots?
"You are free to pursue this whenever you can, XXXXX can already be found in the module." - DMless Plots.
@Neolithic:
Everything BG said +1. Honestly, the increasing complaining has become a bit of a drag. I love this sever for its customized nature and rich depth.
I love the DM team here and their imagination. What I want more than anything else is more player/DM cohesion and plots that other DMs can pick up without stepping on another's toes. That change alone will help many.
That just doesn't happen Neo. Over the years, what I've found is that even the DM we bring on who says he'll do that, doesn't.
What always happened was that actually, the players just don't bother to continue following the plot itself. So the DM who didn't start it, loses interest.
Best approach, ask someone to help see something through.
Player: "Hey, can you help me out with XXXX? It was run by DM Y but they seemed to have vanished."
DM: "I don't know anything about that plot, sorry." OR "I'm not that interested in this plot." OR "I'll put this up to the team for discussion" (Doesn't, but sometimes they do but nothing is said to indicate a conclusion to said 'discussion'.)
Player: "Ok.."I don't think these can be put down to blame on the players this time, Mol. And if it was the case, it is probably because said DM has not indicated to players that the plot is in full-swing, abit of a NPC nudge can have many, many benefits to a players motivation.
Its a ten year old problem mate.
Issue is, you're just not paying DMs.
Like I said, even those who we bring on board who say "I'm gun-ho to do this" wind up not doing it.
As someone whose tried to do it myself quite a bit, my main problem is trying to arrange times with the people who were involved to do it.
This may be one of those issues where you just have to learn to let go. Not every story can get an ending when DM's aren't paid and it often is not fun to steer a story you didn't create into a harbor for people who rarely remember to say "thank you" after a DM quest.
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Why focus on player created plots than? That way if the player who is running the plot drops off the map than it's not such a biggie. I know there was a bit more of this in v3 and it really gave character's the opportunity to tell their stories with 1 or 2 long term large metaplots running in the background.
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Isn't the focus of v4 player driven plots?
I mean, as much as some complain over the "faction of the month" element of v4–it was entirely player plots pushing that stuff.
Or do I not understand your question? Because v3 had almost nothing player driven or as a player plot.
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Its a ten year old problem mate.
Issue is, you're just not paying DMs.
Like I said, even those who we bring on board who say "I'm gun-ho to do this" wind up not doing it.
As someone whose tried to do it myself quite a bit, my main problem is trying to arrange times with the people who were involved to do it.
This may be one of those issues where you just have to learn to let go. Not every story can get an ending when DM's aren't paid and it often is not fun to steer a story you didn't create into a harbor for people who rarely remember to say "thank you" after a DM quest.
That's the thing. Most other servers that players have or continue to play now do not seem to have this problem, and their DMs are certainly not 'paid', it makes one think cohesiveness is feasible. I don't know how or why, but this is the sort of stuff CoA competes with for future player prospects and current players.
If its still not feasible to the Team then perhaps consider an alternative and take a leaf from popular servers such as Arelith and Amia and make absolutely everything about the players, not in the sense as we have now, but more about taking the leadership roles of NPCs and giving them solely to PCs. It's difficult to explain but I am sure someone here has jumped on these places and seen how they go about remaining active and avoid the staleness. It most definitely involves loosening the proverbial leash to a much greater degree.
Basically, I don't believe in a working middle ground. Strict, consistent and canon friendly or Loose, player-created and completely player run.
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Those of you who are cool and love Arabel and want to help it out, here's a thread to point out what you LIKE and what you want to IMPROVE upon and helpful, kind suggestions on what you'ld LOVE to see.
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Why don't we all take the summer off this whole "plot" and win thing?
Everyone focus on their character and what they'd do with a nice summer. Try to find a hot mate, go on troll slaying competitions with their buddies, lay around and wait for some problem to crop up, throw drunken archery contests, try to race to the bottom of the underdark and back for no reason, sit around RPing research in the mages guild or arguing whether necromancy is good. Really spend time RPing with others and getting to know, love and hate a bunch of people IC and then as summer winds down go back to trying to PVP win the crap out of them.
DMs can hop on and just control NPCs and monsters at random, on quests, snag random people without looking at the forums of list of player plots and just work with whoever is laying about. Do all the fun crap there is to do. Not worry if they player or the DM will be around next month to "finish" anything, just go and RP along with the DM, slay some sh*t and get phat lewt and all that. One-off quest whoever happens to be around. Turn people into Zhenterim spies, offer up demonic contracts with random people, say they're being watched as possible Harpers - see if they do anything with it.
Maybe IC a massive truce is called and there's just a huge NPC enforced stalemate.
Most days I just want to hop on and play and I'd think some DMs would just like to DM.
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I love everything Nikko just posted.
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Those of you who are cool and love Arabel and want to help it out, here's a thread to point out what you LIKE and what you want to IMPROVE upon and helpful, kind suggestions on what you'ld LOVE to see.
I was explaining to Moloch what perhaps Dond had meant. My bad, I thought that was obvious.
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Amen to what Nikko said, let the summer's focus be on roleplaying interesting characters and forget about what war is going on or who's gonna blow up the city next just relax and enjoy Rping with one another. Didn't mean to side track the topic was just responding to Moloch's comment and yeah BG you got what I meant.