Progression Pattern And Thoughts

[Conflee]

Hello! I want to open this with the obligatory "dont turn this into a salt fest" "no offense meant" "dont be a jerk about your point" blah blah blah.

Now onto the actual topic: Progression Repetitiveness. I have noticed, and it has become a bit of a server meme at this point, that progression tends to follow a pattern, alternating between Regalia being invaded or occupied, and "screw the elves". Like, constantly, that's the pattern. As far as the invasions go, as unrealistic as it is for Regalia to be around after 47 occupations (exaggerated number) , I do like that they tend to bring the conflict directly to Regalia itself, where it can be ROLEPLAYED and not just reacted to in threads. So I am 100% ok with ignoring a little logic and foregoing a little realism for the sake of fun there. My issue sits with the other half of the pattern.

It is at the point where, in my opinion, the whole "screw the elves" thing has just gotten old. I thought this would be sorted and done with, excluding casual racism on the street, with the 11th Creed, but now that has randomly been revoked seemingly just for "conflict". But... I agree racism is a decent plot device in Aloria, but when it is the same people over and over and it keeps flip flopping back and forth it just feels cheap and stale.

Beyond that, I do like the general direction the war is going. It has always been "Regalia invades ___ because Deus Vult!" Now the whole alliance thing makes it feel a bit more unique. Which is fun. Plus military RPers having the chance to change the direction of things is a nice touch. Gives a real use to the perms that were before now basically worthless.



Anyway, I figured I would make this not just to state my opinions, i'm curious about how the rest of the RP community feels about it. The few people I actively talk to tend to agree with my points so I dont have the best.... widest range of people to bounce this stuff off in private lol.

Just remember to keep it salt-free!

 

[Enkiduu]

Funny thing, there was actually a thread by the staff saying something similar and letting people make suggestions for progressions. But that progression suggestion thread has already been closed.

 

[Conflee]

Funny thing, there was actually a thread by the staff saying something similar and letting people make suggestions for progressions. But that progression suggestion thread has already been closed.

Click to shrink...

I vaguely remember that. A decent amount of ideas tossed in but not a lot that fit the bill from what I heard.

 

[FireFan96]

All I can say is one city being taken over, albeit being a capitol, doesn't mean that everything halts. Regalia has been occupied every year, but not the entire Archipelago. If Regalia fell, most of the Empire could run on autopilot until the city was retaken (which it has done). Sure there's no Emperor able to enforce his will, but the feudal peasants are loyal to the nobles, not the Emperor. It doesn't change anything except maybe allow for noble infighting to escalate in the aristocratic realms.

As for screw the elves, recall that Regalia was founded from smaller human kingdoms, which weren't strong enough to take on the then existing Elven Empire. I see the elf racism as being a direct result of the Elven Empire. Now the roles have reversed and the elves are on the shit end of the stick in Regalia. Their arrogance was their own downfall, which could possibly be Regalia's.

All I can say is there's ways to cause a different conflict already in place. Criminals could always dig under the Willow and blow it up, killing hundreds of people. Or gangs could try and infiltrate parts of the city and be ready for some big attack. Or some Ombratores could join the ranks of guards and nobility to be ready to carry out the Vampire Convergence. There's ways to create conflict is what I'm trying to point out.

For me, I'd rather people form complex relations with one another. Maybe you only praise somebody because you need them at the moment. Maybe you remain neutral to the one group who is the punchline of every joke, knowing you could use their one good trait.


As far as progression goes, there's opportunities to get involved. It just takes some work to plan things out and dedication to follow through with things.

 

[The Golem]

From someone who generally sticks to non-Ailor, I kinda understand that it gets old when Regalians are always being racist to someone else. I think it's still a good plot hook though. It makes it a much easier "Us vs. Them" situation where if you played a disliked race (rip Torrp) you instantly have an RP hook. Alliances are being formed oceans away and if you notice the way racial groups are aligning, the same can happen in Regalia. Granted, I've been away from the Roleplay scene for a little bit but I think invasions and racial conflict are fun to play (especially in comparison to the Bone Horrors which did basically nothing.)

I'm for the current plot progression as it occurs, so long as it becomes a worldy conflict and strays from the "X ailor Noble turns on Y ailor Noble, losing his power over the territory of this unknown but existant territory!!!"

 

[leafnosedbat]

I'd love to see more player driven progression. What are people actually doing in game? How do things like this Orange Rabbit or the Nenyarina's restructuring affect Regalia?

 

[Conflee]

As for screw the elves, recall that Regalia was founded from smaller human kingdoms, which weren't strong enough to take on the then existing Elven Empire. I see the elf racism as being a direct result of the Elven Empire. Now the roles have reversed and the elves are on the shit end of the stick in Regalia. Their arrogance was their own downfall, which could possibly be Regalia's.

Click to shrink...

It was justified to start, but the fact that it keeps flip flopping back and forth between "Elves are alright" to "Screw Elves" constantly just makes it feel... meh to me. The Elven empire is already long dead though, so the plotline for Regalia taking revenge has already played out as far as im concerned. The casual racism on the side is fine, thats expected, but yea. Legal status needs to stick to just one and stop changing every 3 weeks.

 

[MonMarty]

I'd love to see more player driven progression. What are people actually doing in game? How do things like this Orange Rabbit or the Nenyarina's restructuring affect Regalia?

Click to shrink...

All current progressions with the exception of the actions of the Emperor, are player caused. The fact that (some of, like 2) those players became staff in between attaining political position and being able to excersize power is a mere coincidence.

As for the repetitiveness: The average meantime for player loyalty is 3 months. Trying to come up with something new to bring up fresh planning to the table is really hard, which is why we often opt for the same action with a different thematic twist. The "Anahera Occupation" was not planned. That was Shayin just deciding to do something. The "Montagaarde Occupation" is not an Occupation at all, no matter how much people want to see it as such. Because the average player loyalty is 3 months, repetitiveness is not considered a problem. That is a problem however for players who stay here for years, who are outside of the norm. We try to appease them by changing the theme up, but when it concerns player input to progressions, they inevitably always end up with "DESTROY REGALIA" which is just not a progressive thought or rewarding for the countless hours put into actually creating both the universe and the city.

 

[leafnosedbat]

All current progressions with the exception of the actions of the Emperor, are player caused. The fact that (some of, like 2) those players became staff in between attaining political position and being able to excersize power is a mere coincidence.

Click to shrink...

Is the recent progression based on or the result of IG events? Honest question, as I'm not sure I'm as up to date as I ought to be.

 

[Conflee]

The "Montagaarde Occupation" is not an Occupation at all, no matter how much people want to see it as such.

Click to shrink...

Pfff o god I am really out of the loop if I didnt hear about that one lol. But yea, I get the point there too. I might try and think up some ideas for a different thread in the future, if I can manage.

 

[MonMarty]

Is the recent progression based on or the result of IG events? Honest question, as I'm not sure I'm as up to date as I ought to be.

Click to shrink...

The Government officials send me "orders" basically what they command their NPC soldiers and bureaucrats to do. I then generate "logic" responses that I generate out of common sense based on my knowledge of the vast intricacies of the universe. For example:

• The laws changing were the result of Charles Montagarde forcing them through.
• The war with the Mirnoye was the result of Eirik Valdemar committing a mistake.
• The rebellion in Drixagh was a result of notable families like Santorski and Norrvakt becoming "Imperial" and forsaking their noble roots, and the failure of other Northern families to capitalize on the riots in the Old Gods District.

The time where I basically pointed at a continent and said "Lets have a war" is over. The progressions are almost purely just being generated by players now. During an Imperial Audience the Emperor asked the nobles to wage war on the Songaskia, but due to player actions that was has been scrapped in favor of a war with Mirnoye that was provoked by nobles.

 

[Mortisian]

Progression repetitiveness derives from the same people creating the moves. If you want something new to happen then go for it. My character of Eirik Valdemar believed it was a good idea to steal the technology of the Storm Breaker vessels and as such was bitten back by a war with the Mirnoyes. These things happen in roleplay because people make them happen. I have yet to see any large moves from any criminal organization on the whole of Regalia. They revolve only around petty sewer thievery and or small time things between groups not against the whole of society. I would like to see a crime organization or syndicate try to break into the local banks of Regalia and steal the coin deposited there. Could really screw over nobles and commoners and possibly shift a great deal of attention from the Government as well as shop owners to want to hire more protection from hired security. @LumosJared
While saying this, a few quotes came to mind.
"Do a thousand small things and you will achieve a great end. Do a thousand large things, your end will seem small."
"Leave your stamp on the world, not your stain."
"Never look to the past if you don't have the eyes of a student."
"A blind man won't learn from a flat text, they will learn from bumps and obstacles in their path." (Braille)

Even doing things OOCly like gathering friends to become apart of the same type of group, say some form of School that can be found on the Wiki and making a group that functions together in Regalia could spark things ICly.
There are more and more Skaggers than I have ever seen prior because of the work that @HigherAltidude @Jouster @Eternal_Wrath Myself @Gartono @MantaRey have done. Each bringing a unique outlook of people on the Skaggers, whether positive or negative, it happened because of roleplay and progression of characters.

The most rewarding of progression is progress with yourself.