Random thought thread from general discussions 09/30/2008 05:08 PM CDT
Solomon ordered this thread be taken elsewhere, and I really just wanted to add a comment.

I have played Plat a little in various guises, the most recent was only a few weeks ago. I found the characters there to be helpful and generally friendly but I just can't seem to see a great deal of difference between plat and prime as Reene commented. This is by no means a bashing or anything but I was put off after the 'party' at Raven's Court.

Bear in mind I am on GMT so I don't expect to see much event wise but I decided to have a late night and attend the event after being cajoled by one of the helpful fellows. I even did a few extra tasks to earn some coin for a modest outfit but I think despite the majority of the population including at least 2 GMPCs (one of them a Guild Leader) being there, only 2 people spoke to my character, and when I left after I got bored my absence was not noticed for a while I later heard.

It was a bit disappointing to be sidelined due to the presence of a guild leader and I felt like a bit of a wallflower. Don't get me wrong, I have had some great times in plat, especially years ago taking a circle 1 through the Dunshade quest. The problem is probably down to my time zone, I was seeing maybe 2 to 3 online (myself included) until later in the evening when I was logging out.

I will probably play again when the fancy takes me, and as I said this was not meant to be a bashing, but Reene's and others' comments spurred me into a post.

Oh and the CHAT function should really really be ON by default. I spent the first week or so blissfully unaware of its existence and thinking nobody communicated (obviously nothing was on the gweth).

Synyster Shadowmaiden
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Re: Random thought thread from general discussions 10/02/2008 06:17 AM CDT
I'm sorry you find it that way. For myself with the influx of trial players over the summer, there have been so many new people that I can't keep track of it. Also an event like that cause distraction. I myself was tired, had a few drinks and left, though I tried to acknowledge everyone there at least once. Again please don't let a one-time invent spoil the beauty of Plat.

Tellienis
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Re: Random thought thread from general discussions 10/02/2008 01:11 PM CDT
I was unable to attend that event actually. I would have talked to you I am sure. I had a fussy little baby that night and the event would not have been enjoyable to me. I am sorry you had a hard time, I hope you could give us another chance. Plat is great to me.


Sitara



~If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years how man would marvel and stare.
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Re: Random thought thread from general discussions 10/02/2008 03:49 PM CDT
I'm personally not inclined to re-try for the third time an instance in which people call me a liar because I say I had a bad experience. :|

Maybe it's just me though.



Rev. Reene

"Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken. Although its light is wide and great...The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass."
- Dogen
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Re: Random thought thread from general discussions 10/02/2008 04:03 PM CDT
I'm just not a big fan of planned roleplay. I prefer spur of the moment stuff, where people are forced to adapt to situations as they present themselves.


____________
Satfiki wipes a bit of Rmel's spittle from her arm.
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Re: Random thought thread from general discussions 10/03/2008 03:50 AM CDT
<<I'm just not a big fan of planned roleplay. I prefer spur of the moment stuff, where people are forced to adapt to situations as they present themselves.

And I think that's what can make plat such a niche server. With such a small number of people there, it's hard to not do anything pre-planned. It happens though, but unplanned RP is more of a quantity than quality thing. You can have a few quality people drive an event but you need a massive quantity of them to find the right person at the right moment to click with.

Nikpack
player of Celeiros

Climbing List:http://www.elanthipedia.com/wiki/Climbing_skill
Swimming List:http://www.elanthipedia.com/wiki/Swimming_skill

And while I am evil, I try to avoid being just plain mean.
-Z
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Re: Random thought thread from general discussions 10/03/2008 08:18 AM CDT
<<I'm personally not inclined to re-try for the third time an instance in which people call me a liar because I say I had a bad experience. :|

Maybe it's just me though.>>

I wouldn't call you a liar, it was your experience and I bet it did happen, and I am assuming you tried the trial of Plat, when the plat community is flowing with others on the trial, so you are not coming across many of the players that are there all year round.

Plat is not for everyone, there are a few things that can irk many people, like the scarcity of the population, I play usually early in the morning, and I am surprised to see more than 2 others on at that time. And it is amazing when we come across each other.

<<With such a small number of people there, it's hard to not do anything pre-planned. It happens though, but unplanned RP is more of a quantity than quality thing.>>

I find the majority of the players are always RPing, again this is taking a look at the playing outside of the trial. Each character I have met and come across is somewhat different.

I see very little planned events, outside of the 2 parties this year. I have seen evasions with no reason, and though it's only happened once with me, I have talked too many that have had spur of the moment interaction with a GMNPC, that has turned into a fairly large event, and a few of these are younger characters, not the elite (another plus of a small population). Have seen player run events with little or no help from the GMs. Seen conflict between characters and relationships built.
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Re: Random thought thread from general discussions 10/03/2008 01:09 PM CDT
<<I'm personally not inclined to re-try for the third time an instance in which people call me a liar because I say I had a bad experience. :|

Maybe it's just me though.>>

Reene, I'm having a hard time understanding where you are coming from with this comment and an earlier one about being attacked by Plat players when you say you didn't have a good experience. As has been stated, Plat isn't for everyone. Some will have bad experiences, others good. Another player stating their experience is different than yours is not an attack, but two differing personal observations.

Trial periods are unfortunately a mixed bag because someone in on trial doesn't necessarily know who is a regular Plat player and who else is in on trial. And regular players, just as in Prime, do have history with one another in various guises that may make the trial player feel excluded, shunned or put off.

The feelings of being ignored or not noticed isn't a Plat-unique issue. The past 5 times I was in Prime with long term characters, I had a total of one person say a thing to me. Each time there were between 300-500 players in. Do I make a scathing condemnation of Prime for that? No.

I do thank you for at least trying the Plat instance. I personally found it to be more like the community was when I first started DR in 1996. For me, it kept me in DR.

<<With such a small number of people there, it's hard to not do anything pre-planned. It happens though, but unplanned RP is more of a quantity than quality thing.>>

Unplanned activity and interaction happens constantly. We all use the term RP but each of us has a different idea of what RP is. I have seen more consistency in the player base being and staying in character in Plat than in Prime, but I temper my observation by acknowledging that there is a much different player base between the two instances.

Given the small population when there are player initiated events, pre-planning a time, date and the general event theme are needed in a macro sense to try to get as many involved as possible. The same really can be said for GM initiated events like the tour of Raven's Court to show us the new changes.

Asbhuan
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Re: Random thought thread from general discussions 10/03/2008 03:25 PM CDT
>> I am assuming you tried the trial of Plat, when the plat community is flowing with others on the trial, so you are not coming across many of the players that are there all year round.

Once was during the trial and that's when I ran into the Prydaens + one self-styled promiscuous Cleric I also knew from Prime (same name) that I won't name here. I was told by my sponsor that all of these people were in fact Plat regulars. They also sympathized with me for leaving after running into them.

The issue for me is (and pretty much every Plat player I've talked to agrees with the assessment, though YMMV) that people in Plat seem very GM-driven and less willing to do things spontaneously whereas most of my roleplay over in Prime happens without any GM intervention at all.

>> Another player stating their experience is different than yours is not an attack, but two differing personal observations.

I'm actually referring to someone in the other thread repeatedly stating "what you are saying is false" (i.e. not true) in response to an experience I related.

Well, no, it wasn't false, and it was behavior coming from a couple of regulars too. To unequivocally assert that I must be making stuff up is pretty rude IMO.



Rev. Reene

"Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken. Although its light is wide and great...The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass."
- Dogen
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Re: Random thought thread from general discussions 10/03/2008 03:55 PM CDT
>I'm actually referring to someone in the other thread repeatedly stating "what you are saying is false" (i.e. not true) in response to an experience I related.

>Well, no, it wasn't false, and it was behavior coming from a couple of regulars too. To unequivocally assert that I must be making stuff up is pretty rude IMO.

I will say that my gut reaction to your post on RP was somewhat similar in that my experience has been different, both in Plat and Prime. It came across to me as an absolute statement of truth rather than your expressed opinion based on your personal Plat experiences VS your Prime experiences. A cross you have to bear, in my observations, is that many people take your posts as gospel. That places an added burden on you on making sure your opinions don't come across as statements of absolute fact.

Over time, and much more so lately, I have noted an increasing tendency for posters to read much more into response posts than was stated or intended. Seems skins are getting thinner, paranoia and intolerance is more rampant and "sound bites" happen all too often.

Again, I appreciate the fact that you were willing to try Plat and continued this discourse with me in a civil manner.

Asbhuan
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Re: Random thought thread from general discussions 10/03/2008 04:05 PM CDT
>> It came across to me as an absolute statement of truth rather than your expressed opinion based on your personal Plat experiences VS your Prime experiences.

That's fine, and I can see where that part came from, but the response was to what I elaborated with, specifically the bit about the baby-talking Prydaens.

It doesn't matter that much, it just reinforces my own impressions that it's a very insular community. My style would likely not go over well there anyway. And that's fine, it's not for everyone. I'm glad that a lot of people do seem to enjoy it, and who knows, I might try it again some time to see if anything's changed that would make it appeal more to me personally. It's not meant to be a dig on the people who do like it at all, we just have different styles.



Rev. Reene

"Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken. Although its light is wide and great...The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass."
- Dogen
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Re: Random thought thread from general discussions 10/03/2008 04:05 PM CDT
Ashbuan is always so polite. :)
If your reference Reene was to me, I am sorry if I came across that way. I also was just stating my opinion. I have also ran into a few cutesy wutsy prydaens that drive me up the walls but I just usually have an unveiled hatred for them when they act that way in front of me.

Anyway, my experience with prime was very.. reclusive really, I could not stand being around people because they were always(in my own experience) mean, rude and very circle crazy. Any event was monopolized by the biggest baddest event chasers that always ruined it for any of the little guys. I personally, again, prefer when we all work together and the bigger guys let the smaller guys kill the smaller things. Which is what usually happens in plat. I played prime for nearly 8 years and it never changed. I did not know about the glory days of dr only from it being described to me by my rl husband. And well for me, plat seems like what he described.

I am glad you gave it a chance and I am sorry you did not like it. But at least you enjoy playing prime so we can all enjoy a very well written, coded game. Nerds unite! lol jk... kinda.


Sitara



~If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years how man would marvel and stare.
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Re: Random thought thread from general discussions 10/07/2008 05:31 PM CDT
I gave Plat a chance during the trial period and fell in love with that instance of Dragonrealm and haven't been back to Prime since. Most of the interactions I've had with the characters was with the character... just like in real life some people are unpleasent to be around and some will give you the shirt off their back. I've seen players play different characters different ways, some of them I get along with the others I have an extreme dislike toward. Same player, different characters. When I first started found it very quiet place and didn't see many people around and got discouraged and thought about leaving too. However I once I started talking with the characters I found there, I discovered most of them go out of their way to make a new traveler feel welcome and is a traditon I try to do as well now that I have played in Plat for a few months. I just got a character history and personality togather and started talking to everyone I met, finding out who I clicked with and who I didn't. The ones I did I continued to interact with and built connections with until I find them real good friends in game now.

Don't forget that some of the players have been playing togather for a very long time and have come up with personal goals and stories. Just because a character is short with you one day and says they have no time to talk could just mean that they are just on a mission, or something they are roleplaying at the moment and if approached again on another day they could spend hours talking with you. Some of my best times was stumbling across an empath waiting for someone to heal and plopping down beside them and just talking with them. or someone training at ne gate... just walk over and say hi, tell a bit about yourself, ask questions and engage them in a dialogue.

As for baby talking prydean... some of them play that they don't speak common well. I've had times when talking to one they got so tongue tied trying to express themselves that they switched to prydanesse at times. I've even had times when another prydaen actually translated complicated questions to another in their tongue and would then switch back to common and tell me their response. Others are well.... silly sometimes but are still very fun hang out with. As I said before you find who you like to play with and who not. When I first started playing had a very different idea of where I wanted my character to go but because of my interactions with the different characters he changed and evolved to something I didn't expect. But it was fun doing so.

But I agree that at times at events where GM characters appear that most fawn over them, but then again in RL you try to network with the higher ups as well (specially when so few players that the GM characters can actually remember what you were talking about the last time you met and sometimes bring it up). However if you feel like a wall flower doing those interactions (like I do at times as well, since I don't have history with them), I tend to find someone I know and start talking with them instead. I've met some of the GM characters just cause I wasn't afraid to approach them before an event started and offer them a drink or a tart and introduce myself to them.

Just remember that most of the players in the game want you to have fun too and will almost always take the time to talk to you, specially if they know you are new. Not all the time, but most of the time. However you also need to give their character a reason to continue to interact with them. The more you engage with them the more they engage back and who know you may make a good friend.

Uhm... didn't mean to get so long winded

Kitsu
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Re: Random thought thread from general discussions 10/18/2008 02:15 PM CDT
>>That's fine, and I can see where that part came from, but the response was to what I elaborated with, specifically the bit about the baby-talking Prydaens.

You aren't the only one who dislikes them... In fact I think your description of them as LOLcats is wonderful.

However from my perspective there is so much more to be annoyed with in Prime that it is worth it. Sorry to hear the equation didn't work the same for you.

-pete
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Re: Random thought thread from general discussions 02/02/2009 03:22 PM CST
I am broke at the moment.. and decided to give Prime a try (after playing only Plat for over 6 months).

It felt like I was in The Fallen. The only interaction I had between people was "Hey (my name, even though I've never met them), teach me -skill-. I only need half a percent. I need a tenth of a rank of -skill- to circle."

The amount of OOC in Prime was.. mind boggling. I will never go back there. I wish that my Prime character wasn't stuck there. No character deserves to live in that screwy place.
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Re: Random thought thread from general discussions 02/02/2009 03:26 PM CST
>>It felt like I was in The Fallen. The only interaction I had between people was "Hey (my name, even though I've never met them), teach me -skill-. I only need half a percent. I need a tenth of a rank of -skill- to circle."

HEY! We have more interaction than that in TF!




Cute verbs and speaking from hiding are excellent ways to catch a lightning bolt in the face regardless of mystical ninja abilities.

-Armifer
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Re: Random thought thread from general discussions 02/02/2009 04:18 PM CST
Oh where are you hearing that? I've been playing DR for about 11 years, spent time in every city and never heard that once
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