Alright then.
Dear new RP-Forum Devs.
Please give us either the same possibilities and features over there, as had been in the Saga-Board, or give us even more.
I know a while back I asked for a better way to view posts in the RP Section and a completely separate RP-Board is one way to treat this wish, but it brings with it several problems that can not be solved by shutting down our negative responses.
The Saga-Board, while very much buried under everything else, gave us the opportunity to be seen by everyone.
Even by non-RPers and thus giving them a small glimpse into our game-play and world. Some actually jumped over their shadow and participated, even if just to mock us, but they did.
Because they could see the post was there and it held something of interest to them. And new RP Interested players had almost no trouble finding it. (Some strangely did, though these were a minor few)
Some few former non-RPers maybe even found an interest in RP through it.
With the new only-RP-boards its a mixed blessing.
On the good side, almost there´s everything an RPer might need to ply his or her trade.
On the bad side is the "almost".
First, it´s missing the above stated connection to non-RP boards, which might result in fewer players even knowing about RP in Ryzom, or trying it out.
Second, it´s damned ugly to look at. Sorry to say so bluntly, but it desperately needs a nicer, less technical look.
The upper section is really nice and cool, but the text sections are as clinical as a hospitals floors.
And about as much as lively as the terminal patients ward.
Many RPers need something fancy to spur their imagination. We need colors, we need pictures, we need more ways to express ourselves.
As far as I know some of you guys up there come from a background of Pen&Paper RPGs.
Remember your sessions at the table?
Maybe the GM played some fitting music to get all of you into the right mood for a scene. Maybe he dimmed the lights or lit candles for a particularly spooky scene. Maybe he gave out pictures of NPCs, self drawn or from the Net. Maybe you had Minis of your characters on a battle-sheet. Maybe you had some item that helped you to get into the role of your character. Maybe you had favorite dice to throw, or lucky dice.
Whatever.
Wouldn´t you wish to have an equivalent of these things in an Online RP?
Something bright and fancy to help you get "into the mood"?
Something that would help you gather your friends around the "table", help you to make them interested in your game?
That´s what the new RP-Boards are severely lacking.
They´re like a RPG Session set a a clean table with nothing but the dice and the character-sheets in front of you.
Oh, you might use your imagination to fill all the literal blanks, but its not the same!
At most conventions I attended I played sessions with GMs I´d never before met.
After a few tries I decided to only sit down at those tables where a certain amount of "creative chaos" reigned.
Tables that were littered with stuff, from maps, to dice, to minis, to character-sheets, to source-books, to chips (both for edible and plastic), to pencils, to pictures and so forth.
And there was a guy/girl GMing it that actually smiled and laughed and had a colorful shirt and maybe even some crumbs of something on it.
Tables that looked like someone had just cleaned them and were occupied by just a guy in sensible trousers and a clean shirt as a GM and his stack of source-books and rulebooks, I learned to shun.
At the moment your new Board resembles this last guy with a funny hat.
It looks like he´s trying, but doesn´t quite get it right.
So, give us more to "play with" and I think we will gladly join your sessions over there at your new table.
CU
Acridiel
) I won't try to stop you posting suggestions or comments here.