OOC: you and the Main storyline organisations and clans

[Cyani]

Originally posted by Tarryk


Sometimes I thank the higher powers for that fact, knowing some of the "influences" certain people would want to implement. *shudders*

Tarryk is obviously calling you out personally Nevver.. I myself wouldn't stand for that

[Keldros]

Originally posted by Cyani


Tarryk is obviously calling you out personally Nevver.. I myself wouldn't stand for that

He's probably talking more about posts like this one, which was promptly ignored by all the roleplayers on RK2.

(Well almost all. I did have to email events, for one simple reason:

The secure transmissions were to be expected, but you'd expect her to check her office for bugs first. --especially considering her earlier posts led me to request an official Omni-pol investigation about a month earlier. )

((definitely OOC: Fantaghiro, what's the official status of that now? Is it being ignored, taken under consideration, or posted as a joke on the office door?))

[_______________Lunya]

I am sorry to say I just read that story you posted, Keldros.

No, I'm lying. I tried to read it. I got almost halfway.

1) Someone needs a dictionary.

2) Wow. Just wow. They call that believable roleplay? Wow.

[Keldros]

Originally posted by Lunya
2) Wow. Just wow. They call that believable roleplay? Wow.

((It truly boggles the mind. I was frustrated for an hour or so, then couldn't stop laughing for almost a week.

Elsewhere in the "Rimor Buzz" forum, the same person has also claimed camping reclaim terminals in Borealis was roleplaying when the events team dropped the gas to 25%. Most people didn't know it was coming and couldn't leave due to lag, and the event itself was cancelled due to what seemed like every OT PVPer on Rimor coming to gank people.

Really! I'm not making this up! I don't think I could make this up.))

[AiymaNeut]

w00t for Fantaghiro and co. finally cracking down on this. Far too many people frankly abuse the names of the "official" organizations to further their own agendas, and it's about time that someone stood in and said "enough".

Though, one thing that is worth mentioning, is that a great number of the people who roleplay the "official" departments/clans/corporations do so as a result of the relative absence of these organizations in-game. While this certainly does not justify their actions, I think it's the result of a great deal of frustration felt on the part of the RPing community regarding the lack of official involvement in the day-to-day affairs of Rubi-Ka.

Case in point? The ICC. Aside from the NPC peacekeepers, VERY little mention is made of them any more, and no one ever sees anyone like Isidra Derousse in-game. Yet, the ICC is supposedly the central governing authority that reigns over Omni-Tek. Similarly, aside from cryptic references to Sol Banking Corporation and TruSpace Networks, no story characters are ever seen from them.

At an Omni-Tek level, you have many departments who's leaders have not been seen in what seems like years. Ivan Sergeyevich, the true director of Omni-Pol; the mysterious "Janus", director of Omni-InternOps who was rumoured to have infiltrated the Clans; and a host of others from Omni-Admin to Omni-Trans.

We're certainly not asking for miracles, but clarifying certain matters would undoubtedly help ammeliorate the chronic mis-use of storyline departments.

[_______________Yohon]

I realize ignorance of the law is no excuse, however I must say in my own defense...

I have never read the official storyline

*pleas guilty then escapes under floorboard*

[Arila]

Ammicus as you say, tehn tehre is a lot of good background story behind AO, but in case you did not notice, then the entire orginale story was dumped just prior to release. They turned this game into a fantasy clone ith SL etc.

Anyway, many of those NPCs you tlak about dont exsist anymore, due to the changes to the storyline. There are no ront-page updates or editorials besides the postings on these boards. A huge mistake, but they were cancled due to lack of resources.

It is the same with the NPCs i think, there is not enough resources to have them running around all the time. Eleena, Joshua, galahad, Ivan, Janus, Eva, Rita, all, are NPCs and all are some we have seen very little too, and i think it will remain that way.

Just another question for ya, what the heck would the head of the ICC board go to Rubi-Ka for??

[AiymaNeut]

Originally posted by Arila
Just another question for ya, what the heck would the head of the ICC board go to Rubi-Ka for??

Maybe she's got a "thing" for Philip Ross that we've yet to discover?

[Myers]

Originally posted by Arila

Just another question for ya, what the heck would the head of the ICC board go to Rubi-Ka for??

Probably has something to do with the all important notum and the groundbreaking research with an actual alternate dimension and the creatures living in the shadowlands making this the most important planet in the know galaxy.
Or she just can't get a decent Bronto Burger on Earth.

[Autumnleaves]

I get the point, but one of the few things Funcom has done right is in the degree to which players can affect the world. The chance, however small, for players to make a difference is one of the "holy grails" of on-line game design. Making someone feel something is difficult enough in a tightly scripted single player game. Anyone who can accomplish this in an on-line game where expectations are not just high, but impossible deserves alot of credit.

There is no longer much debate over whether persistent on-line games create their own communities. The debate is now over whether and how much the design can affect the kind of community. I believe that the designers do have a degree of control over this, particularly in regards to the extent that player events are monitored and are given a response.

A game where players can get on the front page of a website, have an item named in their honor, or even change the landscape and politics, there is an ethos. If you work hard enough, make a website, become the leader of a large organization, host an event, succeed at PvP, etc... there's a chance you can point to a web site or the patch notes and say, "Hey! That was me! I did that! That's my name on that item! That's my clan's name on that item! That was my roleplaying event that got reported on!"

This is a good feeling. Both for the players and for the developers.

Ownership.

This is what retains players in the long run, even through bugs, balances, and camp-fests. You can't count on features to keep your players. A new game, starting from scratch, can outmaneuver you with alot fewer developer resources. You can't count on social ties. Players can move en masse to another game (or maintain ties outside the game with IRC, IM, RW and other tools). But when a player feels that something in the game belongs to them (regardless of what your EULA says), whether it is a high level, a fat lute, a job, a duty, a guild, a tower base, a town, a nightclub, etc., they will have a "barrier to departure."

Players should not expect to change the world, but the more power you give them, the more loyal they will be. I worked in the game industry for seven years, and learned too much of this from experience. Only later did I realize that other developers discovered the same things and that alot of pain and frustration could have been avoided if only I'd listened. So don't take my word for it.

[Whaynn]

I think orgs in AO should strive to make their own name in the community. Most organizations that base their names on major storyline groups simply show their own weakness, their lack of creativity, and their refusal to make an effort. I find it ridiculous that someone would stoop as low as to claim they're a major character in AO without earning their place. On the other hand, there's been some orgs in the past that I respect that I feel have earned the right to use this storyline name. An example would be Omni-Pol. I remember two years ago they were not recognized by FC or ARK as an official department. OP, back then, usually stood back a bit and played their moves carefully. As I recall, during the time they were beginning to grow as important roleplayers, they did not declare themselves to be the official Omni-Pol, but simply a lower department of the organization. As time passed and they made a name for themselves, they managed to get FC to recognize them. Even though they remained in a lower tier than the commonly-seen "Greenie" OP's back then, they could say the were official Omni-Pol officers, and RP accordingly, with respect from their fellow players (usually). As you can see, it -is- possible to use a major storyline name for your org, but one must remember to play their moves right, and realize that very careful steps must be taken. To earn respect as one of these organization, I believe it may be much more difficult than to make a name for an original one.

Enough of my ramblings, this is just my incoherent half-pence of though O.o

[Nevver]

Originally posted by Whaynn
I think orgs in AO should strive to make their own name in the community. Most organizations that base their names on major storyline groups simply show their own weakness, their lack of creativity, and their refusal to make an effort.

Says the director of Rompa Entertainment.

Nevver ducks!

Sorry! I couldn't help it, Whaynn!

[Noticiero]

Well, his org is named after the business they intend to run IC, they don't say they bought and own the place (even tho it would be plausable IC).

Also it was better for publicity, so Rompa Ent is original, based on the location they work in.

If they had said they are Omni Entertainment...that would be different.

[Whaynn]

*throws evil beanie babies of pain at Nebber*

Well, Rompa Entertainment, first of all, is just a generic name for the organization that runs Rompa (which it does). As far as ownership goes, I -did- contact Funcom on making it official in some way or another, and whenever anyone asks Whaynn if he's the -OWNER- of Rompa's, he says "I've submitted the paperwork for Omni-Tek for evaluation." Whaynn can't claim to own Rompa, and he never really has. As far as originality goes... I luv Rompa, that's why I run it, if you think that sucks I'll just pack up and move out! bwahahhahaha! (cough). I do my best to get RE to earn its own reputation, so does every member in our ranks. So Kthnxbai [flame] I hate U Nebber [/flame]

[Sallust]

For a long time the only noticable existence of some of these major orgs has been players. Sometimes these extreme fans of certain groups have done much better than ARK at playing the factions appropriately.

These supposedly large, powerful, and ever-present organizations are often the least felt unless players are going out there and playing them appropriately.

Playing an established faction or organization is no different or weaker than an actor who plays from a script rather than improving. It generally builds a better character and a better story. Those who do so just need to remember that the factions, and main characters belong to Funcom and not them. Just as the script an actor might use for his character doesn't belong to him.

There shouldn't be a fear that people might enjoy playing factions that Funcom has created. Rather it should be embraced because done appropriately it helps enhance immersion. In fact I believe more tools should be given to allow players to do so. I.e. more armors like the Sentinels armors to allow people to display an allegiance or belief in their style of dress. While done inappropriately (players trying to contradict established storyline or character personalities) it ruins things, done well it makes for a much better game. Which is why most RP orgs that took side with an official faction have long been abiding by a set of rules like those originally posted here.

i.e. if it wasn't for the work of my Clan, then the entire storyline of The Pilgrims Clan would be non-existant other than a single webpage hosted by FC for a quick read. how would that improve the story?

[Timelapse]

Sorry guys,

This isn't a debate here. You need to take notice of what Fantaghiro has mentioned -- if you have issues with that please send your feedback to events-feedback@ark.anarchy-online.com