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EVE-Online RP Discussion and Resources => EVE OOC Summit => Topic started by: Halete on 05 Sep 2012, 03:23

Title: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: Halete on 05 Sep 2012, 03:23
Or 'how I learned to stop caring and post a thread in OOC Summit despite not knowing what subforum to post in'.

Long story short, I know I haven't been around much lately except for dropping in on the IGS.

- I want to be around.
- I have five or six months of sub prepaid anyway.

I'm struggling to keep my interest, though. I like EVE. I like the game. I enjoy all of it's aspects. I'm going through a lot right now in real life as any of you who've taken the time to know me will know and my free time is pretty precious, however. I love the community and as an extension of that, Roleplay.

To make a long post short; I'm hitting a bit of a brick wall with RP. I want to reinvigorate Halete, but I'm not sure how. She kind of occupies a weird space in the EVE RP and there are many disadvantages to playing a Minmatar (cough stagnation) that aren't going to change any time soon. Is this a worthwhile pursuit, or am I better off sorting out my head first?

Encouragement? Advice? Words of 'go die in a fire'?
Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: Lyn Farel on 05 Sep 2012, 04:16
I don't know, I always thought the Minmatar faction was one of the less subject to lack of players involved. I do not see a lot of disadvantages playing a minmatar. What would you consider a disadvantage in that case ?
Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: Louella Dougans on 05 Sep 2012, 04:21
what's the weird space that Halete's in right now?

hope your RL stuff gets better soon.
Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: Halete on 05 Sep 2012, 04:36
I don't know, I always thought the Minmatar faction was one of the less subject to lack of players involved. I do not see a lot of disadvantages playing a minmatar. What would you consider a disadvantage in that case ?

I consider the entire Amarr/Minmatar conflict to be pretty toxic at this point. It's unfortunately a pretty big thorn in one's side to overcome even when one is not directly involved in it, because many of our roleplayers are.

Halete seeks resolution. She's in an awkward spot, because she wishes to see an end to the violence however she also wishes to see her people free from slavery (whether or not they choose to re-integrate back into the Empire on their own volition is their freedom). However, she's also critically aware that were many of the "freed" to choose to return to the Republic, the population influx would be incredibly difficult for them (and she has very little faith in the Republic, not supporting it's Government).

I really do enjoy roleplaying Halete - she's very opionated on everything politically and it makes it very easy to jump in. But that's all that she can do, because she ended up locked in with the Amarr/Minmatar blob,  where the players have absolutely zero power to move anything forwards.

Of course, she does also have a very specific set of beliefs and outlooks on the various powergroups in EVE that makes her difficult to place in an RP Corp, but that's an issue I can work around and isn't the major problem.
Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: Louella Dougans on 05 Sep 2012, 04:49
might I suggest something relating to anti-piracy in Minmatar lowsec, the bits on the sort of Angel border of the Republic, not the Amarr border ?

That would be pro-Minmatar, without necessarily being involved in Amarr/minmatar things ?
Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: Halete on 05 Sep 2012, 05:07
might I suggest something relating to anti-piracy in Minmatar lowsec, the bits on the sort of Angel border of the Republic, not the Amarr border ?

That would be pro-Minmatar, without necessarily being involved in Amarr/minmatar things ?

It's an idea, certainly. Probably not something I would do long-term, but yeah.

I was considering along the lines of something more drastic that would open up the opportunity for her psyche to be shaken some. The Cartel suggestion would give her something to do, but ultimately she'd still be moonlighting as this pseudo-politically minded figure whose day job is shooting at pies.

I'd rather shove her towards something less  :psyccp:'ed up. It's just upsetting, really. As a Roleplayer, sure, you have complete freedom to do anything - on a Capsuleer corporate level. Want a character involved with the Empires? EVEs backstory? Yeah, you're gonna have a bad time.
Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: Leopold Caine on 05 Sep 2012, 05:14
Whatever you decide, waiting for CCP to fart out some kind of an amarr-matari resolution is a waste of time. Also remember, not all matari are republicans, some are independents, some are anarchists, some are cartel, etc.

might I suggest something relating to anti-piracy in Minmatar lowsec, the bits on the sort of Angel border of the Republic, not the Amarr border ?

That would be pro-Minmatar, without necessarily being involved in Amarr/minmatar things ?

So mean.
Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: ArtOfLight on 05 Sep 2012, 06:01
Well Halete, I can honestly say that I empathize with you. It's a tough situation to overcome and one I'm struggling with as well.

My personal advice is to not be afraid to have the character challenge her own place and purpose in-character, let her go through the same doubts you're going through. Maybe she thinks there's more she could be doing? Maybe she needs to focus her time and attention on something else to keep her from getting bitter about the situation? Maybe attempting to help the Minmatar requires being apart from them for a time to see how the rest of the cluster views/interacts with them and get some cultural references and understandings from an outside perspective?

There's a number of ways she can challenge her own understanding and complacency and perhaps that would help reinvigorate her. Beyond that, the Amarr/Minmatar RP bloc is pretty rough at the moment, I definitely understand that. I wish I could offer you better advice but I really can't.

I really hope whatever has you bogged down in real life gets sorted out in the best possible way. RL issues have cost me quite a lot lately, so I can relate on that level too. We still owe each other a talk, as well.
Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: Halete on 05 Sep 2012, 06:04
We still owe each other a talk, as well.

That we do, it's weighed on my mind but I haven't much been around (as aforementioned) to follow up on it.

I'll try to get on sometime soon.

Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: Lyn Farel on 05 Sep 2012, 06:18

Halete seeks resolution. She's in an awkward spot, because she wishes to see an end to the violence however she also wishes to see her people free from slavery (whether or not they choose to re-integrate back into the Empire on their own volition is their freedom). However, she's also critically aware that were many of the "freed" to choose to return to the Republic, the population influx would be incredibly difficult for them (and she has very little faith in the Republic, not supporting it's Government).

Then your problem might come from the lack of representatives and powerblocs tied to some political parties of the Minmatar faction. What you describe to me here is quite midularite in mind (the bit about no faith in the Republic excepted).

It is not an awkward spot, it is what used to be the political minmatar mainstream before TEA.
Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: Saede Riordan on 05 Sep 2012, 06:57
I'd suggest detaching your RP from the eve storyline as much as possible. It isn't going anywhere and you'll just get frustrated that you can't actually win OOCly.
Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: Halete on 05 Sep 2012, 08:14
Then your problem might come from the lack of representatives and powerblocs tied to some political parties of the Minmatar faction. What you describe to me here is quite midularite in mind (the bit about no faith in the Republic excepted).

It is not an awkward spot, it is what used to be the political minmatar mainstream before TEA.

Not exactly, whilst Midular expressed a lot of opinions that Halete embraces (the ever-said burning flame axiom, of course) there are many points of her regime that Halete disagrees with heatedly. That said, Halete agrees on some points with Shakor, she still very much dislikes him.

I'd suggest detaching your RP from the eve storyline as much as possible. It isn't going anywhere and you'll just get frustrated that you can't actually win OOCly.

It's not about winning. I'd like to say this clearly. It's about progression any which way. I've said many times in "OOC" that I'd be happy with an Amarr 'victory' because it would mean the story was going somewhere.

Thinking about it, if I wanted to do anything with Halete, it'd probably be some sort of crisis of faith (or conversely, some kind of epiphany of her faith) as that is a major part of her and allows for exercising the EVE lore without touching on it's plot.
Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: Nicoletta Mithra on 05 Sep 2012, 10:12
There is no (real) progress in the Minmatar-Amarr conflict, never will be. It's not wanted by CCP, there has to be the conflict (as "EVE is about conflict") so it will stagnate in that state until the end of times in eternal perpetuity - as progress would mean steps to resolving conflict.
Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: Kybernetes Moros on 05 Sep 2012, 10:35
The issue I seem to perceive in Minmatar-Amarr RP is that it seems more dependent upon ideological shifting ("Let my people go!" vs. "You can be redeemed!") rather than allowing smaller victories or concessions. This puts it much more at the whim of CCP's storyline rather than player action. That could very well be a result of my not being actively involved in it for years, though, rather than any legitimate impression; feel free to correct me, if I'm mistaken.

What do you want to do in roleplay, to move Halete towards? Alternatively, starting a new character to do different things would be a possibility.
Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: Gottii on 05 Sep 2012, 11:03
I would suggest setting very specific and very personal RP goals.  Instead of things like "resolving the Amarr-Minmatar conflict" which, obviously, isnt going to happen, more like "redeeming myself in the eyes of my tribe/clan/family/whatever" or "finding some kind of contentment as a Minmatar capsuleer" or "breaking away from my Minmatar heritage, and being okay with it" or whatever.

Ive found that despite EVE's grand scope, the best way to enjoy RP is to go small and personal.  The people Ive seen who actually have impacted the PF, and thus the EVE setting, through RP have done it by telling personal, small stories about their character, and the world adjusting or expanding to encapsulate their story line and backstory. 
Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: lallara zhuul on 05 Sep 2012, 11:48
I have to say 'hear, hear' for Gottii here.

Setting yourself small goals according to your personal role-play.

Spiritual and emotional journeys of characters have the tendency to go all Ouroboros on itself if there is no external part in the whole thing.
Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: Arnulf Ogunkoya on 05 Sep 2012, 16:53
Unfortunately what CCP don't seem to have realised is, yes, there will always need to be some sort of conflict to drive the game.

And, yes, the four core empires will always be there to spawn new pilots.

But the conflicts don't have to always be about the same things. And they don't need to be between the same sides. This sort of mixing things up might be easier if the major pirate factions where portrayed more like nations in their own right and less like oversized street gangs who are a handy sub-plot for the empire they split from.
Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: BloodBird on 06 Sep 2012, 06:04
Unfortunately what CCP don't seem to have realised is, yes, there will always need to be some sort of conflict to drive the game.

And, yes, the four core empires will always be there to spawn new pilots.

But the conflicts don't have to always be about the same things. And they don't need to be between the same sides. This sort of mixing things up might be easier if the major pirate factions where portrayed more like nations in their own right and less like oversized street gangs who are a handy sub-plot for the empire they split from.

Another cool aspect would be to give the pirate entities more love as antagonists in their own rights rather than be back-ground annoyance of the highest order that your toons can agonize over, but never kill. I'd love to see a resolution to the Empyrian wars, and a new series of conflicts rising from the Empires declaring wars on the pirate groups, for instance.

@ topic, allot has been said about what you might do, here's another idea.

Building on Gotii's post, you toon might start with small steps to broaden her horizon, for instance by going to the Federation to see how the Federal Minmatar live, and through them gaining more insight into the more general ways of the Republic's ally. From here she could work on building contacts and finding companions who share her vision and perhaps be willing to help out with anything she decides to do?

She could also make a trip to the Empire and see if she can learn more about how most Imperial Minmatar actually live - she would like to resolve the conflict? Then knowing how 'the other side' thinks and acts may be a good idea.

Also, I'll echo the sentiments form others; the 'overall plot' won't be moving to much anytime soon. It won't be to wise, relying on it for your toon's overall motivation - you will need 'smaller' interest-raisers to keep you going, tying into the bigger ones. Lots of small goals can be crammed into your life mission, I'm sure. ;)
Title: Re: (My) Personal Roleplay Issues
Post by: Saede Riordan on 06 Sep 2012, 07:39
Unfortunately what CCP don't seem to have realised is, yes, there will always need to be some sort of conflict to drive the game.

And, yes, the four core empires will always be there to spawn new pilots.

But the conflicts don't have to always be about the same things. And they don't need to be between the same sides. This sort of mixing things up might be easier if the major pirate factions where portrayed more like nations in their own right and less like oversized street gangs who are a handy sub-plot for the empire they split from.

Another cool aspect would be to give the pirate entities more love as antagonists in their own rights rather than be back-ground annoyance of the highest order that your toons can agonize over, but never kill. I'd love to see a resolution to the Empyrian wars, and a new series of conflicts rising from the Empires declaring wars on the pirate groups, for instance.


Totally agreed (https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=150717&find=unread)