A vital question

[phinehas]

Hey everyone, I'm new, obviously. I'm new to the extent that I'm still playing the free trial...

I have a question that pretty much decides whether or not I'm going to continue playing this game... I'm enjoying the levelling system, very interesting. However, in the free trial area that seems to be about all there is to it. Just levelling. I'm a roleplayer and I'm wondering if there's going to be more to the game than just tampering with numbers and statistics in the hopes of achieving a better effect. Is there?

[katriell]

I think the difference between the trial island and the mainland (rest of the game) boils down to the fact that Silan is a tutorial, it has "content" that you can go through and complete, and feels rather contrived. The mainland is much more...freeform? You can't "complete" the mainland. If one thinks one has seen or done everything there, one is kidding oneself. But be prepared to "get out what you put in," because the mainland does not coddle or hold hands. I doubt a true roleplayer would have any trouble with the mainland, though. So, welcome. Sorry if my rambling didn't make much sense...

The best thing you can do is to join a roleplaying guild.
Arispotle's guild list
Cho's guild list

[phinehas]

Yeah, that's the sort of thing I was wondering. However, I'm not just looking for endless terrains to explore, or a constantly shifting fauna. I'm looking for people who will make the game interesting. Are there such things as player-run governments?

As for the guilds... I looked and there are like two guilds in that list that are high RP. Not real impressive considering everyone talks about how RP-oriented this game is.

Thanks for the reply, though.

[zangan]

Well, I'm guessing you looked at the Cho list? Well, as you may have heard, Cho is very young so guilds are still poping up, though if you looked at Arispotle, thats something else..

There may only be a few "high" roleplaying guilds, but most every guild role-plays to some extend. That being, if you try role-playing to about 75% of the population, they will at least make an attempt to try to role-play back. As for player run governments and the like, not particularly. Very much so within guilds, but beyond that it deminishes. With the release of the Ring, the role-playing oportunities are multiplied over, that is if people would use it..

if staying or leaving is based on role-playing, then I believe you will find life on Atys very much to your liking. And if you like statistics too htan thats even better!

I hope to see you in-game, and if your on Cho, then look me up. Zandryok, leader of one of the two "high" role-playing guilds on Atys! Well, at least on Cho!

Hope you decide to stay and experience the wonderous planet Atys with all us Homins!

[karmelit]

As for the guilds... I looked and there are like two guilds in that list that are high RP. Not real impressive considering everyone talks about how RP-oriented this game is.
Thanks for the reply, though.

The high RP don't even use the ingame emotes, and I wonder what's the point when they often are good ones? And sending a tell is done with a description of what they are doing, not direct communication. If that's not the level you are looking for, I think you will find the semi-RP guilds more to your liking
And hi, welcome to Atys

[phinehas]

Well, thing is, I'm looking for quality, not rigidity. I'm not looking for people who don't ever talk to each other OOC. I'm looking for people who are fun OOC, but are also GOOD at roleplaying. And by good I mean they know who their character is, what his background and motivations are, and they act on them. That's pretty much all I ask. I can handle it if their English isn't that good, or if they're not able to stay IC all the time... As long as they're not running around saying what their character is supposedly thinking(a big no-no in my opinion) then I don't care if they're not actually super.

So, theoretically, if I'm starting as a new player, would I better off on Cho for a particular reason?

[zangan]

So, theoretically, if I'm starting as a new player, would I better off on Cho for a particular reason?

Well, you are going to get very different opinions on this one from people. There are those who are opposed to Cho and those who love it.

Cho- New server. About a month and a half old. Its much easier for newer players to make a name of themselves and have an impact. In a sence pioneering, though in otehrs its not.

Arispotle- Older, more developed. Karavan run for the most part, though not completly. You can easily join a large guild and get all the gear, weapons, and everything else you could ever want handed to you.

I would say Cho because the newer players can impact it much more than they would on Aris. Also, because I'm there! The server is young and with the gates slammed shut on new players it can't grow or develop. I have a feeling that once the gates are opened Cho will flourish. Just a hunch.

[flume641]

The high RP don't even use the ingame emotes, and I wonder what's the point when they often are good ones? And sending a tell is done with a description of what they are doing, not direct communication. If that's not the level you are looking for, I think you will find the semi-RP guilds more to your liking
And hi, welcome to Atys

Ye, people who talk in 3rd person creeps me out, Roleplay damn it! dont make a fool of yourself, as we can just act like we are in the game, talking in 3rd is NOT!

[philu]

You can't "complete" the mainland. If one thinks one has seen or done everything there, one is kidding oneself. But be prepared to "get out what you put in," because the mainland does not coddle or hold hands.

That's one of the best descriptions of the mainland I've ever read. Pretty much succinctly sums it up. Played this game since Beta and I still see new stuff. Took me 2 years to notice the Kami moves on the character selection screen!

I like that description so much it's going in my sig.

[jennaelf]

Eh, I don't think the description of the High RP groups is entirely fair. Granted, I'm part of one of those groups. A vast majority of the in game emotes are great, and funny, but... not always what's needed (Mexican wave-much?). There's not a simple "smile" emote. There's "smiles kindly" but not all smiles are kind. Some are polite, some are feral, some are just... smiles. There's grins. Which becomes "smiles broadly" but where my faint smile or weak smile or slight smile?

I think a part of that is borne of the fact that I came from a game that had no built in emote system. And from the fact that I've done text based roleplaying, where you pretty much had to describe your actions on your own. I can only speak for myself - which is all anyone can do for the majority when it comes to the RP community on a particular level - and say that I mix the emotes. I use some in game, I type some of my own.

*sticks her tongue out at [name]* for example. However! in testing is a system that will allow us to utilize the emoting system as it is, and customize our emotes, so we can start "/kind smiles impishly at Enon" - which would turn into the pink emote text as: "Jeziellia smiles impishly at Enon" And I don't have to worry about mistargetting on the altar behind him and waving or smiling at it instead.

Cho is a young server. I haven't played there, but the sheer potential there is fairly awesome I'm sure. Don't discount Arispotle though. And most of the "semi-rp" guilds there just generally agree that certain channels are OOC. Region, Universe, sometimes Guild or Team.

House Etchmarc RP's in Guild, Team, generally at least maintaining persona in Region, always in Around. But trust me - there's a lot of OOC shenaniganry in Guild. We just use brackets.

Some people RP via tells, yes. Sometimes there are emotes within, but for the most part it is accepted as mental contact. Some groups, the Seeds of Atys for example (dunno if they are on the guild list yet, haven't peeked recently) roleplay it very well, generally using it to send mental impressions of images of where they are, and vague inquiries. It's not as "efficient" as saying "Can you meet me at the Knot Kami altar?" but it IS very very enhancing of the RP experience.

There are threads about Nano Seed and Homin 'telepathy' and the like though that explain some of that stuff much better than I can here.