Backstage - OOC Forums
EVE-Online RP Discussion and Resources => EVE OOC Summit => Topic started by: Laerise [PIE] on 21 Apr 2010, 12:17
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Accomplishments mean little in terms of present day effects if they have no lasting impact except circumstance; faction warfare has little effect on roleplay. It's currently the first and only iteration of a flawed idea system, and CCP has a lot of history in terms of adopting such things and leaving them be at the fundamental level when they suck.
Again, a lot of people will disagree with you on this.
Just because you do not consider FW and combat to be RP acchievements we do, it would be too kind of you to accept this.
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Accomplishments mean little in terms of present day effects if they have no lasting impact except circumstance; faction warfare has little effect on roleplay. It's currently the first and only iteration of a flawed idea system, and CCP has a lot of history in terms of adopting such things and leaving them be at the fundamental level when they suck.
Again, a lot of people will disagree with you on this.
Just because you do not consider FW and combat to be RP acchievements we do, it would be too kind of you to accept this.
Or you could both agree that you disagree about FW's impact on roleplay ;)
For my own part, I think FW impacts RP in terms of occupancy, but after like 6 months in Minnie Militia I can't not agree that FW itself is completely terrible as a game mechanic. I also can't not agree that CCP's handling of it is pretty poor when it took so long for an official IC acknowledgement of Caldari militia completely conquering Gallente FW territory. I would hope that after that they have pre-baked IC news items to post and medals to hand out if any militia ever completely crushes the other side again, but unfortunately we'll never know for sure unless they tell us "yes, we do" or it happens and they post the canned responses before another 3 months rolls by.
FW is a different topic, though, so I'm going to split these two posts off to their own threads (not moving them to the FW subforum because it technically isn't a discussion of goings on in facwar).
One more thing: this has the potential to be a subject of much controversy; be mindful when you post that your opinion is not the only 'valid' one.
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Accomplishments mean little in terms of present day effects if they have no lasting impact except circumstance; faction warfare has little effect on roleplay. It's currently the first and only iteration of a flawed idea system, and CCP has a lot of history in terms of adopting such things and leaving them be at the fundamental level when they suck.
Again, a lot of people will disagree with you on this.
Just because you do not consider FW and combat to be RP acchievements we do, it would be too kind of you to accept this.
Or you could both agree that you disagree about FW's impact on roleplay ;)
For my own part, I think FW impacts RP in terms of occupancy, but after like 6 months in Minnie Militia I can't not agree that FW itself is completely terrible as a game mechanic. I also can't not agree that CCP's handling of it is pretty poor when it took so long for an official IC acknowledgement of Caldari militia completely conquering Gallente FW territory. I would hope that after that they have pre-baked IC news items to post and medals to hand out if any militia ever completely crushes the other side again, but unfortunately we'll never know for sure unless they tell us "yes, we do" or it happens and they post the canned responses before another 3 months rolls by.
FW is a different topic, though, so I'm going to split these two posts off to their own threads (not moving them to the FW subforum because it technically isn't a discussion of goings on in facwar).
Yes, of course, it just galls me when I am told that the sweat, blood and tears so many roleplayers have shed in the last two years are null and void because a very vocal minority on this board has decided thusly. :roll:
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I can understand that, but remember just as your opinion isn't the only valid one, neither is theirs :)
It's all kinda subjective, I think, in that to you (PIE Inc.), as an active FW plexing corporation, it's a lot of effort, it's a lot of time and conflict and very meaningful RP surrounding each earned Victory Point. But for a lot of others who don't go anywhere near the business end of a warp scrambler, let alone the FW warzone, it's as distant and irrelevant to them as ongoing violence in Somalia is to many of us in the United States.
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...it's as distant and irrelevant to them as ongoing violence in Somalia is to many of us in the United States.
Quite relevant then?
- Black hawk down!
- Damnit the pirates got my iphone delivery again!
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Hehe, yes, of course.
However, the fact that this certain minority brings it up in every n'th post and rubs it into our collective face is extremely frustrating.
A topic that has been agreed upon as "matter of choice" is and will remain just that - unless of course you continue to bring it up often enough and your oponent stops bothering, then it becomes the historical truth. :bash:
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...it's as distant and irrelevant to them as ongoing violence in Somalia is to many of us in the United States.
Quite relevant then?
- Black hawk down!
- Damnit the pirates got my iphone delivery again!
Blackhawk down was the 90's.. I can't remember the last thing I heard about that particular conflict in Somalia (the piracy bit is only loosely related, imo), aside from that I know I haven't heard Somalia is at peace and on its way to joining the rest of modern civilisation yet. That's what I mean, though.. I'm pretty sure they're still killing each other over there, but it has no bearing on what I do here in the States.
Perhaps a flawed analogy on my part, but there's the logic behind it at any rate.
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Yes, of course.
However, this does not make the conflict less relevant to those involved - or those who follow it by whatever means.
The main problem is that there are two factions from what I can see.
One is in FW or interrested into it, and the other is not and does not appreciate those who take part one bit.
It would be nice if both factions could just agree to disagree and finally 'get on with it', so to speak.
FW is a fact, it exists and it mends the game world, one way or another. :roll:
P.S.: Sorry for the ranting and raging, its just... this is not the first time this comes up.
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Yes, of course.
However, this does not make the conflict less relevant to those involved - or those who follow it by whatever means.
Of course it doesn't. I think part of this is the people to whom it is relevant taking offense at the fact that it's not equally relevant to everyone else?
Relevance in a video game is 100% opinion. Everyone's entitled to theirs. RPers for whom FW is relevant will have RP that has to do with FW. RPers for whom it's irrelevant likely won't, or if they do they'll probably have much less of it. But nobody has to embrace it - it's a big cluster, right?
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For me, with the actual game mechanics in FW so flawed, it almost becomes a pure RP mechanic in some sense.
I can't think of anything in EVE that has absolutely no relevance to RP. Some things more than others, but in general it comes down to "what do you want to RP today?"
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It is not that the contributions to and effects of faction warfare are irrelevant to the content one can draw upon while roleplaying. That is simply not the framing of my statement, and claims to the contrary are, shall we say, short-sighted.
I am almost prepared to suggest that such an argument on your part, Laerise, would be framed in bad faith.
It's that:
-in the context of the discussion, which included chest-beating and mention of accomplishments as validation for upholding a specific structure as relevant to the institution and practice of roleplay rather than its content, participation in faction warfare was rightly set aside, and
-one's capacity in factional warfare does not somehow create a capacity in roleplay, and
-one's doings in factional warfare do not somehow create new venues and capacities in roleplay.
Now, if you just have an urge to be offended after accepting all that, fine, but it won't earn you much of use.
And if you don't accept my statement, I'm gonna fuckin' shrug and carry on.
Also.
Yes, of course, it just galls me when I am told that the sweat, blood and tears so many roleplayers have shed in the last two years are null and void because a very vocal minority on this board has decided thusly. :roll:
If sitting in front of your computer is costing you significant quantities of sweat, blood, or tears, something is out of balance with your gamin' - and your level of competitiveness.
Roleplay is not about outdoing others; it is primarily collaborative for the sake of storytelling and has a different relationship with competition than does the sort of gaming you describe.
It is not a lolhardcore practice; I think we tend to do things like reminding each other to reduce stress, if possible. Increasing your stress level for the sake of accomplishment is hardly a point in the favor of the people involved, especially when you seek to elevate assessment of the merit of that accomplishment. Hardening the fuck up, in roleplay, does not equate to doing MOAR of it, ALL DAY. As such, the link between it and hardcore perusal of a flawed mechanic grows only more tentative.
Cue links to youtube videos featuring that WoW south park clip, I'm sure.
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Cognitive dissonance theory would say that once you did spent blood, sweat and tears in front of your computer, you cannot help but consider your work an RP achievement and very relevant to RP if you are an avid RP-er.
To me FW feels like the RP equivalent of the WWI trench war, both in typology and effect. A lot of fighting for inches back and forth, with the conquest of a few yards having no noticeable impact on your actual day-to-day activities. Generals working hard to keep the troops inspired and morale up while they start to slowly zone out with no hope of any end in sight while the difference between enemies and friends fade.
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Cognitive dissonance theory would say that once you did spent blood, sweat and tears in front of your computer, you cannot help but consider your work an RP achievement and very relevant to RP if you are an avid RP-er.
To me FW feels like the RP equivalent of the WWI trench war, both in typology and effect. A lot of fighting for inches back and forth, with the conquest of a few yards having no noticeable impact on your actual day-to-day activities. Generals working hard to keep the troops inspired and morale up while they start to slowly zone out with no hope of any end in sight while the difference between enemies and friends fade.
Figure of speech, but I agree with you. It is a lot like WW I trench warfare - as much as I can say that, I wasn't there - and I kind of doubt that you could find a comparable environment for RP as easily anywhere else.
Thanks to FW I could experience Lae' in an environment of constant warfare, warfare that involved more than the occasional skirmish.
Constant patrolling and eventually meaningless battles take a toll on your character if you want it or not.
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Yes, of course, it just galls me when I am told that the sweat, blood and tears so many roleplayers have shed in the last two years are null and void because a very vocal minority on this board has decided thusly. :roll:
If sitting in front of your computer is costing you significant quantities of sweat, blood, or tears, something is out of balance with your gamin' - and your level of competitiveness.
Blood, sweat and tears is a figure of speech that basically amounts to :effort:, which trying to win at FW (in terms of occupancy through the plexing and bunker mechanics) definitely is. Not as much :effort: as sov warfare, but definitely :effort:. It's a huge grind. Choosing to participate in it certainly speaks to the player's competitiveness, but I don't agree that it's necessarily out of balance in the sense that a 13 year old kid throwing himself out a window because his mother wouldn't let him play WoW was out of balance :p
Myself, I spent the better part of two weeks plexing heavily almost around the clock with Dark Rising when they were in Minmatar Militia, the end result of which was one system being occupied. I respect the willpower and strong competitive nature of the folks willing to dedicate their available play time in EVE to the FacWar struggle, I just didn't have it myself.
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Surely Factional Warfare can be a RP outlet too, but I begin to have problems when it is becoming the only outlet. Having half or more of the threads on the IGS about this and that system being occupied/liberated is becoming a dreadful bore. They are all about passed events that for outsiders are completely irrelevant, as there is nothing to interact with, and worst of all makes the IGS look very much like COAD in the early days of EVE. RP smack talk is still smack talk and rarely opens up for any other topic than comparing e-peen RP style.
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Because the Federation retook a large swathe of star systems, the entire storyline was turned on it's head.
How so, you ask? Anyone that had seen the situation playing out in chronicles and news items understood this to be the case: Formerly, the pressure was on Foiritain due to the Caldari occupation. He had started cutting deals, allocating secret funds vis-a-vis the Ishukone/Mordus arrangement in Intaki. Eventually, because of the continuing poor state of affairs, he was forced out of office, and Roden was elected.
At the time of the election/ascent of Roden, systems were being retaken.
By the time it was all said and done, Intaki was reconquered, the Assembly freed of any obligation to the State, Ishukone chose to remain in the system under Assembly/Federation political support/consent.
The vast array of investments the megacorporations had set up in the occupied territories were nullified, along with it, a large chunk of their liquid capital. various megacorporations got out better than others (SuVee (systems untouched in the Abune pipe towards Old Man Star), Ishukone (because of backroom deal)), and , but all were impcated. Interestingly, it is SuVee and Ishukone that have been meeting in recent weeks.
Additionally, Caldari Funds Unlimited, in which Kaalakiota/Provists (And KK, who just lost all of it's holdings in the Placid Region) has a plurality share, http://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Caldari_Funds_Unlimited , begins experiencing intense distress. Since the Caldari pensioner system is the bread and games that binds the corporate structure together, this has massive political implications.
Indeed, it appears that CFU investment capital was used in relation to the KK attempts to colonize the Placid region, and this asset vanished due to FDU action, backlash occured throughout the complicated Caldari financial system.
So, yes, facwar matters. Moving on.
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Surely Factional Warfare can be a RP outlet too, but I begin to have problems when it is becoming the only outlet. Having half or more of the threads on the IGS about this and that system being occupied/liberated is becoming a dreadful bore. They are all about passed events that for outsiders are completely irrelevant, as there is nothing to interact with, and worst of all makes the IGS look very much like COAD in the early days of EVE. RP smack talk is still smack talk and rarely opens up for any other topic than comparing e-peen RP style.
I don't see FW as the only outlet for RP, any more than I see IGS as the only place RP occurs. :) Certainly, though, I agree with you about your other conclusions regarding IGS overall.
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So, yes, facwar matters. Moving on.
The Matari booted the Amarr out of all the systems that had originally been Matari, and pushed them onto the back foot (for a while).
And nothing changed.
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The minmatar-amarrian front is very different. It's like two immovable forces forever trying to push against the other: Minmatar survivalist drive, Amarrian imperial/religious ambition. It's highlighting a totally different aspect of conflict and/or human nature than the Caldari/Gallente front. CCP does this all the time, they are story writers, after all. =p
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It seems that CCP has been lax on updating the Amarr/Minmatar front in general. Plus insert the gripe about the Tribal Assembly storyline that's supposed to be going on, when the hell was the last news item on that? It's been months since it was supposed to have formally organized.
Was there ever a news piece about the retaking of Lantorn or...well any of it? It was disappointing to see all the work by EM and co. not get recognized by the ISD/Mercury.
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I love FW. Utterly.
95% of my RP is involved in FW.
FW may not matter to those who don't participate in it, but to those of us who do FW, it matters a great deal. Every system gained or lossed, every plex taken or fought over, every little skirmish on an accel gate or a big ole fleet hot dropped on ya matters.
I think it is wonderful and provides a vast amount of RP. At least for me.
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I would suggest the problem isn't FW, the problem is CCP.
Let's all face it, the players aren't really relevant in CCP's eyes when it comes to the story. They're pretty much just going to do whatever they want to do whenever they want to with the story, and if it happens to go along with what the players are doing, yippie.
This is something that should have even been evident back in the days of AURORA.
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My real issues with FW have much more to do with the game design and very little to do with the RP. If they'd fix those things, I'd get one of my FW alts back and going in a flash.
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My real issues with FW have much more to do with the game design and very little to do with the RP. If they'd fix those things, I'd get one of my FW alts back and going in a flash.
My problem with FW is that only the Empires are included and only the Empires will be included. What about the Guristas? Or the Angel? Or Sansha?
It's a flawed system from the get go, and CCP's lack of giving a crap about the RP community is evident within it.
Also I don't fault them for this: We're a small chunk of the populace, and the vast majority of their players are either nullsec monkies or empire monkies, not RP-monkies, so the system is going to be built for them.
It's a PITA, but then again I am one of those weird people that considers anything you do in the game to be "RP". (Save for specific times you are talking to someone specifically OOC, which is generally less common than one would think)
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The problem is that, once you try to include -everyone- you will have to do just that.
Now imagine what a problem claim mechanics for factions like SF (who change their goals every second sunday) or minor, playermade factions like the Pod Pilot Liberationfront for Male Birthrights. :s
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I've outlined the issues before, and they're well-known to those who participate in it, but a great deal of it comes down to the fact that the incented behavior (mission running) doesn't really have anything to do with the militia objectives in a gameplay sense (victory points in systems). I seem to recall that they started to award LPs and such for PvP kills, but I can't remember the details.
The plex shuffling mechanic vis-a-vis downtime is another major downer, but I think the first one is larger.
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From a mechanics perspective I'd find the downtime spawn mechanics to be the most frustrating. As it ends up hurting players who come on later in the day (late US TZ people like me), because fewer plexes are spawning. I'd be interested to see how the missions could be tied in more, especially if it meant farming them less for pure LP to make ISK and more for the actual military objectives they are supposed to support.
I'm still disappointed that they didn't add in LP for non-mission plex capturing, they just added it for kills. I thought that would have added a decent incentive to plexing.
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EDIT - Right, I'll get around to writing this out properly at some point
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Essentially, I agree with what Jules said.
From a Caldari/Gallente perspective Factional Warfare/Emperyan Age has had a gigantic effect on their shared storylines/background. Before FW was on TQ, we had sweeping changes in the lead up and since we have had significant arguably player-driven storyline/background changes occur.
We are challenged by roleplaying with the living background and how it influences our goals and actions.
This being said one can ignore the day-to-day flow of FW; day-to-day activities can affect your RP as much as you allow it, just as the pirates in the low-sec system 3 jumps away can affect your RP as much as you allow them.
So, is it relevant to individual roleplay? Depends.
Is it relevant to the story that is Eve-Online? You better believe it.
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Is it relevant to the story that is Eve-Online? You better believe it.
That's what annoys me about FW. It feels to me that the only way to be relevant to the story that is Eve-Online is to be able to log on right after DT and orbit buttons in a soul-destroying grind.
I don't think that ability to endure unbelievably boring game-play ought to be the precondition for relevance.
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Is it relevant to the story that is Eve-Online? You better believe it.
That's what annoys me about FW. It feels to me that the only way to be relevant to the story that is Eve-Online is to be able to log on right after DT and orbit buttons in a soul-destroying grind.
I don't think that ability to endure unbelievably boring game-play ought to be the precondition for relevance.
I didn't say that the inverse is true.
FW being relevant to the Eve story does not mean that to be relevant to the Eve story one has to take part in FW. Even non-space actions can result in recongition from the story.
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I didn't say that the inverse is true.
FW being relevant to the Eve story does not mean that to be relevant to the Eve story one has to take part in FW. Even non-space actions can result in recongition from the story.
Indeed. Requirement of in-space action to be relevant to the story is what I think of as the Jade-fallacy.
Many possibilities to be relevant to the story, even to the FW story, and considering that the FW grind has actually very little noticeable effect in game, I would wager that you can affect the FW story much more by non-grind/non-space actions.
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Cognitive dissonance theory would say that once you did spent blood, sweat and tears in front of your computer, you cannot help but consider your work an RP achievement and very relevant to RP if you are an avid RP-er.
To me FW feels like the RP equivalent of the WWI trench war, both in typology and effect. A lot of fighting for inches back and forth, with the conquest of a few yards having no noticeable impact on your actual day-to-day activities. Generals working hard to keep the troops inspired and morale up while they start to slowly zone out with no hope of any end in sight while the difference between enemies and friends fade.
I just had a flashback to this exchange in Blackadder Goes Forth, in which Captain Darling unveils a map of the territory that has been captured by the British:
Melchett: Erm, what is the actual scale of this map, Darling?
Darling: Erm, one-to-one, Sir.
Melchett: Come again?
Darling: Er, the map is actually life-size, Sir. It's superbly detailed. Look, look, there's a little worm.
Melchett: Oh, yes. So the actual amount of land retaken is?
[Darling whips out a tape measure amd measures the table.]
Darling: Excuse me, Sir. Seventeen square feet, Sir.
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God-dammit.
I just want to make something clear. Now, the following is formatted for the sake of visibility and not malice. I'm not yelling at you, here. I'm catching your eye, because evidently I have come to feel I can't catch your ear.
So.
INSOFAR AS THE FRAMER OF THE ARGUMENT THE OP IS RAILING AGAINST IS CONCERNED, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE VOLUME OF ROLEPLAY SOMETHING, SAY FACTION WARFARE FOR INSTANCE, CAN PRODUCE ON THE ONE HAND, AND THE UTILITY OF THE KINDS OF ROLEPLAY IT PRODUCES FOR CREATING NOVELTY AND ENGENDERING INNOVATION IN EVE'S ROLEPLAY COMMUNITY ON THE OTHER, ESPECIALLY IN TERMS OF THE AVENUES OF ROLEPLAY AVAILABLE TO THE PEOPLE THAT DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THAT PARTICULAR SET OF MECHANICS.
I feel a little better about the exposure that statement's gotten now.
Something in regular font and with thoughtful input tomorrow maybe. Too much to do tonight.
If you can speak to that directly, though, do me a favor for the sake of MY comprehension:
(http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/2771/proceed.jpg)
Thanks.
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The factions are at war with each other. Sure, it's a limited war, but it's a war nonetheless.
Now, whilst signing up for the militia isn't the only the only way to get involved, I happen to think that whenever someone pops up claiming to be loyal to faction X, then people are entitled to ask the question "What have you done to support the war effort?"
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Melchett: Erm, what is the actual scale of this map, Darling?
Darling: Erm, one-to-one, Sir.
Melchett: Come again?
Darling: Er, the map is actually life-size, Sir. It's superbly detailed. Look, look, there's a little worm.
Melchett: Oh, yes. So the actual amount of land retaken is?
[Darling whips out a tape measure amd measures the table.]
Darling: Excuse me, Sir. Seventeen square feet, Sir.
Melchett: "Please everybody, now where's my map? ... God it's a barren, featureless desert out there, isn't it?"
Darling: "Other side sir."
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God-dammit.
I just want to make something clear.
Use simple short sentences. Use examples.
Honestly, you've not only bolded the fonted, you've crammed several subsentences into one sentence, including a kind of I-think-that-you-think construct.
It is certainly not making anything clear for me.
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I read Ashar's "ramblings" :P as; just because you can tie RP with FW it doe not mean that participation in FW automatically increase your ability to RP. FW is game mechanics; just because you plex the most every week it does not automatically follow that you now are a strong RP persona that are providing greatly to the RP community. Further, having more people participating in FW does not mean that there are more people participating or even having an interest in the RP side of EVE.
Maybe this should be obvious, but I think we have all seen cases when people, even CCP, believes it is not.
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If Ashar could perhaps clarify his statements, the large-type all-bold text wouldn't be necessary. Like Merdaneth, I'm not quite sure of what he said. Breaking it into sentences would help, sure.
In other words, take a breath, bro. :)
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just because you can tie RP with FW it doe not mean that participation in FW automatically increase your ability to RP.
No, but it is a means to RP. One can RP in and around the story surrounding FW.
FW is game mechanics; just because you plex the most every week it does not automatically follow that you now are a strong RP persona that are providing greatly to the RP community.
Certainly, but that gets into "what makes a strong RP persona?" What it does mean however is that you are dedicating your play time to a certain aspect of the game and the game's story - FW. Various entities/players will place different levels of importance on different parts of the game.
Further, having more people participating in FW does not mean that there are more people participating or even having an interest in the RP side of EVE.
It does however mean that more people are participating in influencing the story between the empires. They may not realize it and may have near 0 interest in immersion aspects, but they are participating in the story, even if it is for the "free wardec."
The factions are at war with each other. Sure, it's a limited war, but it's a war nonetheless.
Now, whilst signing up for the militia isn't the only the only way to get involved, I happen to think that whenever someone pops up claiming to be loyal to faction X, then people are entitled to ask the question "What have you done to support the war effort?"
Rodj's question is a valid one - "What have you done to support the war effort?"
This question is especially potent leveled against vocal wordsmith loyalist. Some non-combat corporations likely have honest answers like "we supply the forward operating bases with ships, modules, and weapons."
As an example, Forgetech can point to Intaki and say they defended Ishukone's holdings in Placid.
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Some non-combat corporations likely have honest answers like "we supply the forward operating bases with ships, modules, and weapons."
Money and guns are often more important support than the actual fighting - given that the pilots don't die.
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Some non-combat corporations likely have honest answers like "we supply the forward operating bases with ships, modules, and weapons."
Money and guns are often more important support than the actual fighting - given that the pilots don't die.
Lol :lol:
Words and debates are more convincing - given that the pilot's don't die and guns are cheap. If you have enemies that never die, you'll better start converting them sooner than later.
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The door swings both ways of course as there are a number of loyalists in FW who scoff at CVA or U'Ks achievements in 0.0. RP is what you make of it and to call anything that happens ingame not relivant to RP is pretty closed minded.
Clearly the story lines were rushed, the game mechanics not ideal and there were so many other issues that caused problems for us all 2 years ago. Never stopped me from working with militia corps, helping them and acknowledging that this "second front" was important for the Empire all the while fighting in 0.0
My only shame is in many of my alliance mates who do consider FW irrelevant still :(
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Some non-combat corporations likely have honest answers like "we supply the forward operating bases with ships, modules, and weapons."
Money and guns are often more important support than the actual fighting - given that the pilots don't die.
Lol :lol:
Words and debates are more convincing - given that the pilot's don't die and guns are cheap. If you have enemies that never die, you'll better start converting them sooner than later.
I certainly would agree with that if the war stopped if the roleplay community stopped using the system, but as the war will rage on either way, words mean very little.
In that situation, since the pilots don't die, the ships and guns are of the utmost importance. Lives are cheap. Ships are expensive.
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I think FW is relevant to RP for the people who are involved. Everyone's RP is never going to be relevant to everyone else - one reason why 'relevance' doesn't make a good measuring stick of anything, in my opinion.
I would say that there are other sorts of RP that have a lot less support from game mechanics, however flawed. There is a long tradition in Eve of taking what CCP hands us and making the best of it.
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I would say that there are other sorts of RP that have a lot less support from game mechanics, however flawed. There is a long tradition in MMORPGs of taking what the developer hands us and making the best of it.
Slightly adjusted (with respect) to point out that this, in a nutshell, reflects what RP in all MMORPGs ends up becoming. Some games lend themselves to it better than others, but that's where we finally get, anyway.
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FW, to my RP, is not very relevant since I play one of the side factions. Sure if the State or Empire loses ground then I'm a little sad but on the other hand it all has very little bearing on the Kingdom aside from trade when compared with, say CVA's politics.
Surprised? Lemme explain.
Providence was a place where you could access normally hotly contested resources with little fear of violence. Then it was effectively shut down, so a whole bunch of people found themselves homeless and looking for sweet, sweet nullsec ores and rats. Most of these people either joined a coalition or signed up with the people who kicked them out (Can't beat 'em/Join 'em I guess) but a few wanted something similar to what they had in providence. And low and behold, someone halfway across the cluster was trying something similar: A few RPers were trying to kick the pirates out of Khanid. Specifically, lowsec Khanid. With that tasty lowsec ore and those tasty lowsec rats.
Now we're not talking about some huge migration. Lowsec cash < Nullsec cash and KP-V military ability < CVA military ability so we've only gotten word from a few corporations, mostly caldari, and only a couple have been so generous as to give us loads of free stuff. But the point of the story is that someone else's RP and politics can have a huge effect on you regardless of geographic or political distance, a fact that a lot of people forget.
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My combat main is in the Caldari militia. For the past two months, there has been a continuous wardec between the largest corp and a few smaller corps due to blue ops with the Gallente. The large corp keeps to themselves, often attacking Gallente hi sec. The smaller corps are friendly with the general militia. I was there when the infamous incident occurred and the smaller corps definitely deserved the wardecs. However, the larger corp closely watches for any blue ops and there remains a bit of a civil war in State Pro to this day. And for the record, the war is very light on both sides, mostly just shooting opportunity targets as opposed to all-out war. Anyway, here's where the roleplay comes into it:
The larger corp has more of a l33t public image, but I believe they roleplay "Caldari Patriots" very well. In fact, the smaller corps often smear their leaders a "rp dorks" and give that as the reason for the wardec. However, the smaller corps opposed to them have rp public images, but seem to be all about kb stats as the reason to fight (at least compared to fighting Gallente scum).
Personally, I think they are both roleplaying without even knowing it. The Caldrai-Gallente conflict is a political one. Both blocs differ on what the relationship with the wartargets should be when there is a much bigger threat in the warzone. This is definitely a form of roleplay.
And as for the general roleplay in FW, it is hampered by the inability to form in-militia alliances as well as a reward for capturing territory. Maybe when DUST 514 comes out in 2026, things may change. Still, I am a little disappointed in the lack of Cal-Gal corps interested in system capturing.