'State of the RP' feedback thread

[Green Ranger]

So, having been involved in a few discussions in the suggestions board, as well as looking over some OOc talks, skype chats, PMs etc. etc, it feels to me like there is a fair bit of concern about where the RP is at right now. Given that this feedback is isolated and sort of...sprinkled across various boards, chat services etc, it kind of loses its impact because there's not really a central spot to look over everyone's thoughts or issues with where things are at right now, so I figured a single thread about people's feedback on the RP in general might be a good way to gain feedback, get information on problem areas, look at what needs improving, what the memberbase want, potential options to fix issues, and so on.

So that's what this thread is for. Let's share our thoughts about the RP. What do you enjoy? What is working? What's not working as well as it should? Is anything outright broken? What do you want to see moving forward? How can the RP experience on the website be improved? And so on.

I also invite and encourage discussion on any and all points raised, since there's a lot of ideas and a lot of opinions floating around, and they're worth exploring and discussing openly. Let me hear your thoughts!

 

[Bee]

Please, sir. It's Christmas. No discourse on Christmas.

 

[Green Ranger]

Please, sir. It's Christmas. No discourse on Christmas.

Denied, meatbag.

 

[Padmé]

Boli resides in the future though.

 

[Gamov]

Was 100% expecting Padmé's message to be "le Lock".

Am now 100% disappointed.

 

[Padmé]

Was 100% expecting Padmé's message to be "le Lock".

Am now 100% disappointed.

It's Christmas though.

 

[Green Ranger]

She'll ban me tomorrow.

 

[Calixis]

Roleplay was a mistake.

Generally, the site itself needs some cleanup with regards to descriptions, information threads, etc. The Republic forum description still states that the Border Alliance is a thing for example. Information for new members, particularly PvP, is scattered between the Rules and Guidelines, Roleplaying Help and The Story. Consolidating it would go a long way to making things seem less scattered and prevent confusion.

The Suggestion thread has shown us, if nothing else, that the rules regarding territory need clearing up. I don't think there's anything, especially with how the Faction Territories map looks now, that you can develop and undertake Missions/Battles for just about anywhere. Overall, consolidating all PvP information - Phoneix's How-To guide, Factions & Missions, etc, into its own thread would help because right now a lot of said information is scattered compared to everything else, particularly when it's such a key part to the timeline and compared to 99.9% of roleplay sites that lack such a PvP system.

I realise neither of these suggestions are strictly roleplay based, but we've had a huge influx of newbies recently I feel and would go a long way to making their lives - as well as returning members - easier. I like to think I have good reading comprehension but I missed a lot of it myself.

More to follow, but it's late so I'll probably dump it tomorrow.

 

[Roen]

Mandalore hasn't been glassed, and PvP is terrible. Balancing issues between technology and Force powers should be addressed if they haven't already been. Needs more interfaction Role Play. Needs more player content that doesn't revolve around territory acquisition.

 

[Crim]

The Republic forum description still states that the Border Alliance is a thing for example

Huh. TIL the Border Alliance isn't a thing anymore.

 

[Sreeya]

Force/tech issues need to be addressed for sure. I think the overall pvp system is okay tbh but I'm probably a small minority.

Story-wise is definitely lacking, but I'm excited as there's a lot of effort going on to bring some cool plots out for everyone to participate in. So once that gets going, I think it'll address the bland nature of the faction territory rinse/repeat plot.

 

[Berlioz]

So, having been involved in a few discussions in the suggestions board, as well as looking over some OOc talks, skype chats, PMs etc. etc, it feels to me like there is a fair bit of concern about where the RP is at right now. Given that this feedback is isolated and sort of...sprinkled across various boards, chat services etc, it kind of loses its impact because there's not really a central spot to look over everyone's thoughts or issues with where things are at right now, so I figured a single thread about people's feedback on the RP in general might be a good way to gain feedback, get information on problem areas, look at what needs improving, what the memberbase want, potential options to fix issues, and so on.

So that's what this thread is for. Let's share our thoughts about the RP. What do you enjoy? What is working? What's not working as well as it should? Is anything outright broken? What do you want to see moving forward? How can the RP experience on the website be improved? And so on.

I also invite and encourage discussion on any and all points raised, since there's a lot of ideas and a lot of opinions floating around, and they're worth exploring and discussing openly. Let me hear your thoughts!

Thank you so much for doing this. Forgive me, I tend to rant a little but it seems like now's a good time to. Also, I'm a new player, so forgive me if I'm chiming in out of place. I like to give my opinions when I can, and these're all just based from observations I've had around the site or conclusions drawn from people I've talked to. If I'm wrong, then by all means, please correct me.

1) What do you enjoy?

Spoiler

I enjoy having a community and setting to write in. And I certainly like being able to directly talk to an Admin or moderator in regards to criticism and thoughts on the site. There's a lot of room for creativity here on the site, and as a new member, I'm very happy to have joined. I also hugely like the amount of resources that're put out infront of me for making a character (When me and @SonOfTheo joined we lost our shit when we saw that you guys had a map). There are clear, laid-out rules as to how to go about things and I very much like that and that there's clearly been some attention to detail.

2) What is working?

Spoiler

The current faction system and actual forum setup works well, in my opinion. People've got places to write, and they have a lot of people to write with. Mechanically, the site works well and it's good stuff. As a writer, I feel like I have everything I need to write. The "Mission" and grid system laid out is really cool, and I sincerely do think it's working well, to a degree, as it gives factions and players clear guidelines as to what their boundaries are and what to expect when writing in a given place with an Open tag.

3) What's not working as well as it should?

Spoiler

Forgive me, I'm not one for sugarcoating. Never been my style, never will be. As a new member I can't help but feel like there's a very big disconnect in between the Faction Leaders as to how things should go/work, and what the inherent objectives behind the RP should be. This is an OOC problem that can be addressed simply by talking, which is why it's in this category. The importance of it, however, shouldn't be undervalued, since factions're essentially the primary method for players to do things together.

Faction Leaders should be working together. Not against each other. The purpose of it all, to my knowledge, should be promote content and story-telling opportunities for subordinate writers. At the end of the day, nobody here is dying IRL because of the loss of a checkers grid. We're all writers, collaborate, man.

God I sound like a fucking hippie, but I mean it. Work together god damn it, if you don't, everyone beneath you pays for it. Cut the crap.

4) Is anything outright broken?

Spoiler

PvP. Absolutely, positively, unabatedly. I feel as if you guys' PvP system is the single worst thing currently affecting this site. I've ran writing communities before, and I've had to chew people out for writing what you guys do. Let me be frank, in my opinion, there is no such as competitive writing.

No such thing.
​

If you, the person behind the keyboard, is trying to out-think the other person, it no longer is about your character or the conflict they're engaged in. It's about two people with action figures arguing over which action figure has the best moves, which is exhausting. People (at least, I certainly don't) want to debate with someone about whether or not their character predicted ____.

When you, the person behind the keyboard, become involved in the battle as anything more than an intermediary - it becomes about you, and your ego.

Rants aside, let's talk mechanics. As it stands, the current system is centered around (in my opinion) writing the other person into a corner where they can't reasonably act. I recall reading a thread when I joined that featured a Sith fighting a Bounty Hunter or something, and it was filled with crap like "Holds her saber at a slight angle, predicting them to dodge right" or some other garbage. It was horrible.

Let's take a second and ask a vital question,​

Is PvP supposed to be fun?

If you answered yes to that, then how is forcing the other person into a corner fun? How can the person on the other side derive a sense of enjoyment from, being blunt, is essentially you being an asshole? The entire objective of PvP at the moment doesn't line with the objective of collaborative storytelling. I'm new to the forum, but I've been writing with people for a long-ass time. The objective, for me, is to create a story where both parties involved derive some sense of enjoyment out of it. If the other person isn't having fun, why in the absolute hell would they want to write with you?

This applies to factions as well. Envision yourself as having devoted so much time and effort into creating a faction, why in the absolute hell would you be okay with someone ruining that? Last I checked, I wasn't riding into battle with Space Genhis Khan to conquer Tattooine, but to write on a forum. That isn't how this should work. Interpersonal player reactions should be fun, for both parties.

This isn't a bloody war, it's a writing forum.

A point that I'd like to make is that, some people're good at the current system and do enjoy it. Good for you. My suggestion would be to (prior to any form of PvP conflict), connect with the other player OOC and see what they want to do, Current PvP or the "Theatrical PvP" where I saw a while ago, which is centered more around the fight itself. If they're down for theatrical, adhere to that and don't write them into a god damn corner. This isn't saying battles have to be scripted, between mature writers, they don't. Both parties should inherently understand the capacity of their characters and be prepared to lose should the story call for it. If that isn't something that you're willing to accept, then you shouldn't PvP.

That much, I can agree with most on the site, I feel.

​

5) What do you want to see moving forward?

Spoiler

Besides taking a look at PvP, I'd certainly like to see a more drawn out approach to main threads/faction battles. A colossal space battle isn't decided over your thumbwar in a closet, it should be a reasonable discussion between Faction leaders as to strategy and available resources. Now, before you say it - I'm aware that this site's attempted pre-established battles before. Reasonably, players responded negatively because that throws out the opportunity for players to act and it completely nullifies any motivation to get involved.

An objective process for how battles're won needs to be made. Key word: Objective. No bias, no bullshit. Player involvement needs to be accounted for and weighed in value proportionately to the contributions that player is making to the overall battle. Upon examining the Objective approach, and then weighing the player contribution - a winner is called. That's what I want to see.

6) How can the RP on the website be improved?

Spoiler

I'll be blunt, Skype blows. Royally. If people aren't added to one another, it's useless. The software sucks, and you need have everyone added to want to talk to people. A community Discord would go a long way to fixing the site's current communication issues, as coordinating between players' a lot easier through Discord than Skype. You see everyone on the right, every faction's got their own private chat, admins/mods're in reach and supervise the whole thing, it's a great tool and there's a reason a lot of communities use it. In my opinion, we really, really, need a better way to coordinate stuff OOC.

Also, yes, I did read the "Why there is no Chatbox" thing. I know. I'm just rather adamantly opposed to Skype, as I feel it's a horrible, horrible piece of Software and I will use every chance I've got to crusade against it. Damn it.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Anyways, that's about all I got. Sorry for ranting there, but I hope I've helped.

Edit: Spoiler boxes to prevent clutter.​

 

[Crim]

I think it would be interesting if the Sith attempted to destroy the Republic from within (because that hasn't been done before). Maybe fund some rebellious Senators, cause some strife, etc. I could see a War of the Five Republics or somesuch happening. Draw parallels to William the Conqueror, the European Dark Ages, maybe the War of the Roses. Could explain the switch from Chandrila to Coruscant. This doesn't have to be a cut-and-dry Republic vs. Sith fight; we've seen more than enough of those already.

The Jedi expansion has been interesting but... very not Jedi-like. That said, this could be a good thing and could actually give some credibility to Palpatine's assertion of the Jedi rebellion a thousand years later. I think it would be really interesting to see the Jedi go through this change.

 

[Calixis]

I'd actually like to see more Main Factions appear, particularly ones that aren't so PvP driven. Even though I only stuck around in it for a bit, one of my favourite things about last timeline was the Hutt Cartel, because they had their own Missions, influence, rewards and unique feel whilst not being so wrapped up in the Imperium vs Rebellion conflict. It was a great stepping stone for new members I thought as well because it gave their shy, new semi-Indies a bit of a bridge into meeting others through Missions and such, but not in such a way that "I was a member of the Jedi/Sith" wouldn't be so defining. Anybody could've done work for the Cartel. My impression is that 'Independent Factions' were supposed to arise by themselves but it's pretty apparent that hasn't occurred, or at least they haven't been able to wield the same influence. Death Watch appeared and took Mandalore... but again, that was through PvP, so. People just don't seem to respond well to factions that aren't given a shiny, exclusive forum on the front page. The complete mess that are the sub-forums for Independent Factions doesn't help either, looking more like a dumping ground than anything concise.

PvP remains a hotly debated topic, one that I'm going to be brief on just because I've not done a lot of it on this site. Honestly from a lot people I've spoken to it feels like more of an intimidating gate barring them from getting in too deep than encouraging them. It could be argued that due to the frequency and consistent 'completion' of Battle threads they're a success, but when you only need to fill 3-5 slots from your faction even the less active ones (well, just GAR) won't struggle.

When I think [Main Thread]s I think of the Battle of Coruscant and Naboo; timeline shaping events that encourage anybody and everybody to take part in one of several open threads, as well as unofficial spin-offs, all focused upon an epic moment. At the very least, they move the plot along. What I don't expect is just two people playing happy slap until one of them messes up their description and 'wins'. Can they have a place on SWRP? Sure, why not. I just don't think they should be the primary driving force behind everything. People are going to argue, 'but you can't be fed by admins' and they'd be right, but it would be nice if there was more than just checking boxes until there's a square that can get scribbled in. Right now, the key issue is that the metaplot revolves around ye olde tired tropes of Jedi/Republic vs Sith Not-Empire.

 

[Jabonicus]

Howdy.

Didn't expect me to post again, huh?

Well, I kinda need to say what I gotta say.

What do you enjoy?

I enjoy stories where the PC's are people, just like the NPC's. They hold no real particular power over them, and they're legitimate threats, if not being a lot stronger in various aspects than the PC's. I enjoy stories of character development, whether it be through combat, the effects of combat, romance, adventuring, or trying to live a dream. I like to write about how it effects my character far more than the actual event itself. I also enjoy the timeline period of the Galactic Civil War. Say what you will about it, but the Stormtroopers are one of my favorite aspects of Star Wars, and I'd love to write a story about the slow breaking down of ones morals and mental barriers as his indoctrination slowly pulls him through.

What is working?

Well, uh... Not much, to be honest. Admins have said themselves repeatedly, current systems aren't perfect. But there isn't real visible effort to change things. It's no secret I don't agree with how the site is run, the current timeline, how the factions work, and especially PvP.

Is anything outright broken?

PvP, in my view.

Now, I'd like to preface this with the fact that I'm part of an RP community that uses the phrase "S2K and S2RP don't mix." What this means is "Shoot to Role-Play" and "Shoot to Kill" don't mix, as in the setting (A Gmod server), they two just don't work.

This isn't a real time server, this is a writing community on a forum. The fact that telling a story and PvP don't mix saddens me. There's not much communication between sides, and the goal is to win an arbitrary battle so they can color in another square on a map that honestly doesn't matter, and somehow the effects of a battle or three can take over the whole planet. The lack of communication is just one thing, the lack of encouragement is another. People are told to ignore storytelling a loss because they need to win the square, even if IC it doesn't make sense for a story.

What's not working as well as it should?

Factions. Main Factions are torn between what they should be and how active the playerbases are. The Republic is supposed to be a giant military and diplomatic powerhouse, but due to lack of player activity it's been shown as weak, and unable to defend itself, while still telling us that it's a massive power. Meanwhile, the Sith, supposedly a small group of elite conquerors, are tearing down walls left and right with numbers that don't make sense.

Not to mention how Indie Factions are basically told that they don't matter, and rules are written to prevent them from gaining even a portion of the power of a Main Faction.

What do you want to see moving forward?

Major changes, basically. I don't have fun writing with how things are currently. There isn't even a real number of people who want to RP the same things I do.

How can the RP experience on the site be improved?

Make changes based on what the community says, instead of either ignoring it or simply saying "We'll take it into account" and then never implementing it. Perhaps, shockingly, the majority of those who consistently use the site know what changes are needed.

 

[TWD26]

I'd actually like to see more Main Factions appear, particularly ones that aren't so PvP driven. Even though I only stuck around in it for a bit, one of my favourite things about last timeline was the Hutt Cartel, because they had their own Missions, influence, rewards and unique feel whilst not being so wrapped up in the Imperium vs Rebellion conflict. It was a great stepping stone for new members I thought as well because it gave their shy, new semi-Indies a bit of a bridge into meeting others through Missions and such, but not in such a way that "I was a member of the Jedi/Sith" wouldn't be so defining. Anybody could've done work for the Cartel.

Several of us are working OOC and IC behind the scenes to bring a hutt cartel with that very nature to life.

 

[Sreeya]

Thank you so much for doing this. Forgive me, I tend to rant a little but it seems like now's a good time to. Also, I'm a new player, so forgive me if I'm chiming in out of place. I like to give my opinions when I can, and these're all just based from observations I've had around the site or conclusions drawn from people I've talked to. If I'm wrong, then by all means, please correct me.

1) What do you enjoy?

Spoiler

I enjoy having a community and setting to write in. And I certainly like being able to directly talk to an Admin or moderator in regards to criticism and thoughts on the site. There's a lot of room for creativity here on the site, and as a new member, I'm very happy to have joined. I also hugely like the amount of resources that're put out infront of me for making a character (When me and @SonOfTheo joined we lost our shit when we saw that you guys had a map). There are clear, laid-out rules as to how to go about things and I very much like that and that there's clearly been some attention to detail.

2) What is working?

Spoiler

The current faction system and actual forum setup works well, in my opinion. People've got places to write, and they have a lot of people to write with. Mechanically, the site works well and it's good stuff. As a writer, I feel like I have everything I need to write. The "Mission" and grid system laid out is really cool, and I sincerely do think it's working well, to a degree, as it gives factions and players clear guidelines as to what their boundaries are and what to expect when writing in a given place with an Open tag.

3) What's not working as well as it should?

Spoiler

Forgive me, I'm not one for sugarcoating. Never been my style, never will be. As a new member I can't help but feel like there's a very big disconnect in between the Faction Leaders as to how things should go/work, and what the inherent objectives behind the RP should be. This is an OOC problem that can be addressed simply by talking, which is why it's in this category. The importance of it, however, shouldn't be undervalued, since factions're essentially the primary method for players to do things together.

Faction Leaders should be working together. Not against each other. The purpose of it all, to my knowledge, should be promote content and story-telling opportunities for subordinate writers. At the end of the day, nobody here is dying IRL because of the loss of a checkers grid. We're all writers, collaborate, man.

God I sound like a ******* hippie, but I mean it. Work together god damn it, if you don't, everyone beneath you pays for it. Cut the crap.

4) Is anything outright broken?

Spoiler

PvP. Absolutely, positively, unabatedly. I feel as if you guys' PvP system is the single worst thing currently affecting this site. I've ran writing communities before, and I've had to chew people out for writing what you guys do. Let me be frank, in my opinion, there is no such as competitive writing.

No such thing.
​

If you, the person behind the keyboard, is trying to out-think the other person, it no longer is about your character or the conflict they're engaged in. It's about two people with action figures arguing over which action figure has the best moves, which is exhausting. People (at least, I certainly don't) want to debate with someone about whether or not their character predicted ____.

When you, the person behind the keyboard, become involved in the battle as anything more than an intermediary - it becomes about you, and your ego.

Rants aside, let's talk mechanics. As it stands, the current system is centered around (in my opinion) writing the other person into a corner where they can't reasonably act. I recall reading a thread when I joined that featured a Sith fighting a Bounty Hunter or something, and it was filled with crap like "Holds her saber at a slight angle, predicting them to dodge right" or some other garbage. It was horrible.

Let's take a second and ask a vital question,​

Is PvP supposed to be fun?

If you answered yes to that, then how is forcing the other person into a corner fun? How can the person on the other side derive a sense of enjoyment from, being blunt, is essentially you being an asshole? The entire objective of PvP at the moment doesn't line with the objective of collaborative storytelling. I'm new to the forum, but I've been writing with people for a long-ass time. The objective, for me, is to create a story where both parties involved derive some sense of enjoyment out of it. If the other person isn't having fun, why in the absolute hell would they want to write with you?

This applies to factions as well. Envision yourself as having devoted so much time and effort into creating a faction, why in the absolute hell would you be okay with someone ruining that? Last I checked, I wasn't riding into battle with Space Genhis Khan to conquer Tattooine, but to write on a forum. That isn't how this should work. Interpersonal player reactions should be fun, for both parties.

This isn't a bloody war, it's a writing forum.

A point that I'd like to make is that, some people're good at the current system and do enjoy it. Good for you. My suggestion would be to (prior to any form of PvP conflict), connect with the other player OOC and see what they want to do, Current PvP or the "Theatrical PvP" where I saw a while ago, which is centered more around the fight itself. If they're down for theatrical, adhere to that and don't write them into a god damn corner. This isn't saying battles have to be scripted, between mature writers, they don't. Both parties should inherently understand the capacity of their characters and be prepared to lose should the story call for it. If that isn't something that you're willing to accept, then you shouldn't PvP.

That much, I can agree with most on the site, I feel.

​

5) What do you want to see moving forward?

Spoiler

Besides taking a look at PvP, I'd certainly like to see a more drawn out approach to main threads/faction battles. A colossal space battle isn't decided over your thumbwar in a closet, it should be a reasonable discussion between Faction leaders as to strategy and available resources. Now, before you say it - I'm aware that this site's attempted pre-established battles before. Reasonably, players responded negatively because that throws out the opportunity for players to act and it completely nullifies any motivation to get involved.

An objective process for how battles're won needs to be made. Key word: Objective. No bias, no bullshit. Player involvement needs to be accounted for and weighed in value proportionately to the contributions that player is making to the overall battle. Upon examining the Objective approach, and then weighing the player contribution - a winner is called. That's what I want to see.

6) How can the RP on the website be improved?

Spoiler

I'll be blunt, Skype blows. Royally. If people aren't added to one another, it's useless. The software sucks, and you need have everyone added to want to talk to people. A community Discord would go a long way to fixing the site's current communication issues, as coordinating between players' a lot easier through Discord than Skype. You see everyone on the right, every faction's got their own private chat, admins/mods're in reach and supervise the whole thing, it's a great tool and there's a reason a lot of communities use it. In my opinion, we really, really, need a better way to coordinate stuff OOC.

Also, yes, I did read the "Why there is no Chatbox" thing. I know. I'm just rather adamantly opposed to Skype, as I feel it's a horrible, horrible piece of Software and I will use every chance I've got to crusade against it. Damn it.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Anyways, that's about all I got. Sorry for ranting there, but I hope I've helped.

Edit: Spoiler boxes to prevent clutter.​

Erm.... I'd recommend hanging out on the site for longer than 2 weeks and actually engaging with people more/getting involved before you type out huge rants and make sweeping judgments. You keep saying "yeah i'm new but THIS IS Y U SUK" repeatedly. Stay around long enough and implement the changes you wanna see instead of jumping on a bandwagon. Unless you've been around here for years on another account, I feel like you're just harshly criticizing everything without even taking a stab at it. Most of your points are things we've already covered/established. Furthermore, PVP is NEVER going to go away. So if you think it's horrible and needs to not exist anymore, I think you might have to find a new home unfortunately.

Pvp has been a part of this site for a very long time and every timeline there were groups of people that didn't like it, and others that loved it. There are plenty of sites that don't have it, but this is not one of them. Rules might change, but pvp itself will never go away and it'll never be a scenario where you can only attack another person if they allow it. That might be okay in personal battles (which, if you actually spent more time on the site, you'd have learned that plenty of people do their own theatrical pvps. Hell, I'm in one right now where all parties are completely okay with what everyone's doing and GUESS WHAT? IT'S A MAIN THREAD, so this right away kills the argument about story/pvping not working), but it will never fly in a main battle for territory.

I recommend you construct your argument better because right now it just seems like you have a huge hateboner for all pvpers and everything pvp, and you're coming across very immaturely. I'm sure you can make good/solid points, but right now it's getting lost amidst all the 'asshole' and other outright rude commentary you've put into your arguments. There's no need to attack people that enjoy pvp.

 

[Berlioz]

Erm.... I'd recommend hanging out on the site for longer than 2 weeks and actually engaging with people more/getting involved before you type out huge rants and make sweeping judgments. You keep saying "yeah i'm new but THIS IS Y U SUK" repeatedly. Stay around long enough and implement the changes you wanna see instead of jumping on a bandwagon. Unless you've been around here for years on another account, I feel like you're just harshly criticizing everything without even taking a stab at it. Most of your points are things we've already covered/established. Furthermore, PVP is NEVER going to go away. So if you think it's horrible and needs to not exist anymore, I think you might have to find a new home unfortunately.

Pvp has been a part of this site for a very long time and every timeline there were groups of people that didn't like it, and others that loved it. There are plenty of sites that don't have it, but this is not one of them. Rules might change, but pvp itself will never go away and it'll never be a scenario where you can only attack another person if they allow it. That might be okay in personal battles (which, if you actually spent more time on the site, you'd have learned that plenty of people do their own theatrical pvps. Hell, I'm in one right now where all parties are completely okay with what everyone's doing and GUESS WHAT? IT'S A MAIN THREAD, so this right away kills the argument about story/pvping not working), but it will never fly in a main battle for territory.

I recommend you construct your argument better because right now it just seems like you have a huge hateboner for all pvpers and everything pvp, and you're coming across very immaturely. I'm sure you can make good/solid points, but right now it's getting lost amidst all the 'asshole' and other outright rude commentary you've put into your arguments. There's no need to attack people that enjoy pvp.

If you're going to have a venue for criticism and opinions, then don't lash out at those giving it. I'm new to this community, yes. But I'm not new to writing, nor am I new to RP'ing, nor am I new to RP'ing communities and these're all things that I've personally seen before. When it comes to PvP, I'm not saying get rid of it. If you read the last part of my point, I promoted 2 styles of PvP: The theatric style (Which is how I've always done it in other communities) and the Mind-Checkers style you guys've got right now.

I've seen both, and I applaud that you've currently got a thread that's applying that theatrical style. That's great, and it's good stuff. As for why it will never fly in a main battle for territory, why not? I legitimately would like to know.

As for my rude commentary, forgive me. I've, literally within the hour and change that I made a post featuring my Skype name, had 4 people add me to discuss the current state of PvP and they agree - it's abysmal. If you enjoy it, congratulations, I'm happy for you. But it's currently acting as a barrier for a lot of people, since they don't enjoy the OOC politics that currently go into it. Many feel it isn't fun for them, and there-in stay away from it.

If people don't enjoy what they're currently doing, they're not going to do it.

Edit: If you open the floor for criticism, be prepared to receive it.

 

[Prudence]

The thing about PvP is that really you don't have to participate unless you want to. That being said, if you put yourself into a position of importance (Darth, Supreme Commander, Dark Lord, Jedi General) then you should expect PvP, because those are high profile positions. But if you don't want PvP you don't have to, it comes with it the caveat that you may not be able to have as many prestigious positions. The problems with 100% consensual PvP is that no one would lose if they didn't have to. The Republic would indefinitely say "not now" to any battles I tried to start against them, anyone that's ambushed would say "no thanks" to the ensuing fight, etc. And as such, nothing would happen.

 

[Green Ranger]

TBH I'd like to hear everyone's input regardless of the length of their membership or experience. Sometimes the perception of how things are can be just as important as how they actually are, so it's important to get everyone's take on where the RP stands right now.