A Question of Neutrality

[______________Nelida]

Obviously OOC:

To Tarryk and Vix...

I think you missed my point. But you did get another I guess.
First there are peace efforts that go on continually during wartime and actually make some concessions in how war is waged, how cease-fires come about and how surrender negotiations are conducted.

I really rather doubt anyone here OOC thinks they can, or should be able to, "just stop it" or even make a huge difference. The point I was trying to make is that even with a balance in the benefits and drawbacks of waging war, and even with some benefits to peace, the VAST majority of players would prefer to wage war. Most of them have no interest in RP and need no excuse or prompting from FC to wage war. And, obviously, it is NO fun RPing a pacifist in a peaceful society. That having been said, there should be some slight motivation for peace over war. There needs to be a balance of some type. I rather doubt it would affect their storyline to have a modest 'peace movement' that actually had persuasive enticements.

Originally posted by Tarryk
Vixentrox brings up a very good point I think. This is like a cinematic presentation...it's a war, and we're in the middle of one. To portray a supporter of peace in the middle of a war is to portray an effort of futility. The crying pacifist, as it were, kneeling over the dead, and desperate to find a way to stop the killing...or at least prevent as much of it as possible, in the course of his/her life. But there is no way to just stop it, or even put a dent in it. It's a war, and you are but one person.

Cinematic. Fun, even in it's futility. That's the whole point, I think. But the shape of the world continues to reform and change. Who knows what will be possible in the future.

[Jynne]

Nelida expressed what I was trying to...

It's not that being part of a peace or moderation movement is futile... it's that there's no reason at all, given the nature of the game, to be peaceful or moderate.

It's not that people are hard to convince, it's that there's no argument at all to convince them with.

[Ghiggles]

Blix quote:

You can. To remove the experiences you've gained as Clan members or as Omni-Tek employeees is a drastic step which would surely leave you weakened. but if you feel as passionate about it as you profess, then it is a viable option.

((OOC: Stop you're damn whining people. You cannot return to neutrality easily because you've leveled off the benefits of your clan and omni-tek membership. You used the shops, and token benefits to assist in your development, so to simply switch back to neutral would throw the game off balance. This damn subject crops up all the time, and it gets soooo tiring. Obviously you people want to be neutral- so do it! Reroll! But ya really don't want to do it that badly. You're precious XP is more important than your RP convictions. ))

/OOC

Just for arguments sake, you must not have fully read my vent, Im not whining, Im mearly stating the facts based on my character. For the life of me I wish I knew what benifits came from token boards, or from anything else that is faction based. As for using shops , even neutrals have friends that are clan,or omni or they have alts created for the simple purpose of getting them said objects. But anyway... if you knew anything about this character that Im playing now , your negative and almost offencive comments would have been saved and maybe my opinions wouldn't have offended you so much as they seemed to.
I am a player ..not a gamer. I made a mistake, I have re-rolled.
Forgive me for not asking your approval for being able to miss a character that I started the game with and worked hard on as far as leveling and character wise.

Anyway... Thanks Vix,
Im much happier with Lux as a Clan member, and the Roses are an AWSOME guild and have made her feel so welcomed. And alot happier playing AO then I have been for a long while...
While Bailey my NEUTRAL character is doing alright as well, she is young,but having fun.

Lux has always had a neutral mindset... till now ..
*checks Blix's faction... * j/k

[spookiepants]

Originally posted by Bailey


..., Im no whining, Im mearly stating the facts based on my character. .

for the record, I was not speaking solely of your post, and I don't want to imply that YOU were whining. I merely saw where this thread was heading.

[________________Necc]

Originally posted by Tarryk
Vixentrox brings up a very good point I think. This is like a cinematic presentation...it's a war, and we're in the middle of one. To portray a supporter of peace in the middle of a war is to portray an effort of futility. The crying pacifist, as it were, kneeling over the dead, and desperate to find a way to stop the killing...or at least prevent as much of it as possible, in the course of his/her life. But there is no way to just stop it, or even put a dent in it. It's a war, and you are but one person.

Cinematic. Fun, even in it's futility. That's the whole point, I think. But the shape of the world continues to reform and change. Who knows what will be possible in the future.

((To call it a war and nothing else is cutting it a bit narrow, Tarryk.

It's a game about life on an alien planet 30,000 something years into the future, centering on a conflict between a hyper corporation and dissidents thereof. Now that's a hell of a lot more than just a war.

Rubi-Ka is not a battlefield, it's a world.

Now WWII online, that's a war, plain and simple.))

[Darkbane]

Everyone has made some good points here, and I can't fully disagree with either Tarryk or Nelida/Jynne. Your both right, and your both wrong. And that's the way it should be.

((As an idea, maybe if tower prices were increased each time a controller was destroyed in enemy action - and decreased again over time if no controllers are destroyed - eventually a sort of equilibrium would be reached - just an idea, and would need work, but its one way the effects of a conflict could be made more manifest)).

[Ghiggles]

I apologize Blix, ...its a topic which obviously strikes a chord with me, and damn it I check and checked for typo's or words that didn't look right and there ya go finding one... no was supposed to be not.. Im not whining. But I understand what you were getting at.

Sorry for being on the defencive... I suppose its habit from being more a board stalker, Im afraid my flame resistant clothing is a lower ql then most... hehehe

[LTK]

To call it a war and nothing else is cutting it a bit narrow, Tarryk.
It's a game about life on an alien planet 30,000 something years into the future, centering on a conflict between a hyper corporation and dissidents thereof. Now that's a hell of a lot more than just a war.

Actually, no, hehe. That's a war. It's a war on an alien planet 30,000 years into the future that centers on a conflict (ahem, war) between a hyper corporation and dissidents thereof. But that's still a war, any which way you see it.

Of course, you're speaking to the one person who's entire purpose in the game has little to do with participation in a war, and I am still here, every day since launch date. I know that there is MORE than the war on the planet. But we are not discussing that. We are discussing the war, and the potential for peace. Which is why I'm referring to it constantly. I don't recall once stating that Rubi-Ka has Nothing To Do But Fight. I don't recall even implying that.

That having been said, there should be some slight motivation for peace over war. There needs to be a balance of some type. I rather doubt it would affect their storyline to have a modest 'peace movement' that actually had persuasive enticements.

My only issue with that is: What would such a motivation be? As I said, I'm under the belief that any movement for peace should be done for peace, and nothing more. That's the entire dramatic effect of it. It sounds like you're asking for experience points for roleplaying peacefully. That's obviously not going to happen, and shouldn't. In the game of war and peace, War is ALWAYS the easier path, even though it's not always the right one. Rubi-Ka expresses that.

So obviously, 99% of the people are going to fight. That's what a vast majority of the game was created for--various levels of participation in a conflict. The only reward peace offers is the self-assurance that you're striving for the right thing. Aside from that, I reiterate my opinion about cinematic futility. At least until the world points it's proverbial cameras in that direction.

You'll see a lull. You may even see the winds of change carry true era peace on the planet for a time. But as of right now, here at this moment, Rubi-Ka is in the middle of a very chaotic and often bloody battle.