Archived Rp "hubs" In Regalia & Their Effects On Players

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FireFan96

FireFan96

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Well, idea discussion.

After reading the lovely World Staff Housing thread, I started to sidestep into what will be the topic of discussion: RP "hubs."

One thing I mentioned that causes rental regions to not be used efficiently was the presence of "hubs" in Regalia. These hubs are the places where almost all public RP occurs (so 80% of it) and as such suck in everyone due to probably our human desires to be drawn to crowds.

There are three that I personally find to the be the "hubs" of the server: The Regalian Park, The Mossy Poss, and the Golden Willow.

From a city design layout, it's not surprising to see why these attract attention. The park is pretty and serene, the Poss is the only real sewer RP generator, and the Willow is literally on crossroads in the main stretch. So, anyone would expect these to be populous.

But, this is not why I wrote this thread. I wrote it because these places literally mask the rest of the city. Tell me the last time you legitimately went to the Library, or went to the Commerce district for your character to watch vendors peddle their wares. by this I mean actively IC, not just passing by OOC. For me, it probably has been 3 months since the Library and 1 for Commerce. ICly, I only pass through them during a guard patrol, which I don't count as active IC RP unless I'm emoting and speaking. Now When was the last time I ICly RP'd at one of the "hubs?" about 3 hours ago when I was last online. At the Willow.

So, to the topic at last: What do you feel about the notion of "hubs" taking up the majority of RP from other areas in Regalia? And to an extension, how do you feel about "hubs" consequently snuffing out any rental regions not on the main strip?

For me, it is a love/hate relationship. I see the need for all of these "hubs" as they should be generating Roleplay and effectively are great places. But at the same time I loath them because everyone just passes by the tiny shops because "everyone is at the Willow."
People flock to players. And lots of the time I just see them reading the chat while waiting to be talked to. Why can't players afk in one of the other lesser-known businesses. Why does everyone seem to just drink til they pass out while not using any of their charcter's job backstory? I've tried Roleplaying my characters trade (heck, my first character was literally built around a trade). The end result: I sat ICly at my shop with /glow on for hours on end to see maybe 1 OOC guy pass it by. Needless to say I started a new character to generate a new plot. But, ultimately my first character was shelved because despite the shop being in a logical place in the harbor, there was no "hub" for it. Currently, I'm starting to see my new business The Dragon's Den falling into the same rut. My opening week was beautiful, and I even had it become a scene for a player quest (soon to be released). But now it sits empty after going through a beautiful renovation to become a lounge. Yes, I knew it wouldn't grow to be another Willow, but I did expect to see maybe 4 people use it on a regular basis. Now I don't even have 1. So it sits empty on the main road as everyone just walks on by.

So, what do you have to say about it? Are regions essentially doomed due to the "hub" monopoly on RP generation? Or is there a way to entice players to RP IC at other places?

By no means am I suggesting that "the Willow needs to shut down again like last winter to generate RP elsewhere." In the end people just flock back to it when it reopens. What I want to discuss is how to end the "flock" mentality that "hubs" present.

Comment below, and let the discussions commence.
 
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There's not really much you can really do about it except for a few little clever ideas. It's tricky because nobody's going to go sit somewhere nobody goes and wait for someone to rp; a lot of the people on the server have jobs and school and consequently want quick RP activities.

The reason the three places you mentioned are so popular are because of 3 reasons:
1. Availability
2. Good IC backgrounds
3. People.

It's probably possible to create a new hub if you meet these three requirements-- especially the third. You need a constant stream of people so when people walk by at any point in the day, they'll stop and take a look.

The easiest way that I would go about doing this is getting me and my friends to RP in that spot as much as possible, then they could get their friends and so on. I've seen some examples of people doing this in the past with great success, with one of the players sitting in their place for 10 hours a day for people to RP with.

In short, perseverance is the best thing I can think of for this.
 
Okay. Disclaimer. I have not read a single word on this thread because I'm tired. So please do not kill me. I'm just putting my 2 cents on this subject, even if it's not cohesive.

I believe two big things for rp hubs are two things. Accessibility, and advertisement.

The reason I feel that the golden willow is as famous as a spot it is is because A) It's advertised. Right as you walk out spawn, there's a little message that essentially says "Go to the willow, it's just down the road!". And, this brings me to my second point. Accessibility. People will go to a place if it's easy to get to. In this case, the Willow is just down the road from spawn. A giant road. That runs through the whole city.

Now, you may be wondering. What about the poss? There's no advertisement for that? Right? Kinda. There's no server advertisement directly for the poss, however, there is a sign that says the sewer is also a cool place to RP. Most advertisement is player-done, instead of staff done. Also, the poss is pretty easy to find, it has good accessibility.

These two places are where staff have fallen short in the past, most notably, in silverwind. (Not meaning to bash anyone's hard work on silverwind, by the way. It's a wonderful place, just implementation could have been better.) Silverwind was not advertised at all, save for one forum post, which was quickly washed away by the daily bustle of the forums. (Guess what, I'm going to start giving suggestion for silverwind, because I want to see that place succeed. because it's general idea is marvellous.) I feel that silverwind should have been advertized better. Perhaps, in the beginning intro area that all new rpers go though, silverwind is mentioned as an alternative to regalia, and given its own portal as well. As well as in spawn, it is given some publicity, and people are encouraged to RP there. Maybe make a little silverwind pamphlet. That'd be neat. Dunno.

As for the poss being that big-boss hub, perhaps instead of saying 'go to the poss, it has rp' from the getgo in spawn, suggest a few more alternatives as well, such as the regalian park. Or the docks. or something. Maybe active and renowned player businesses could have their own message. Who knbows.
 
The only player run things I see with decent activity are the Obscure Oyster (which has a tp to it) and a restaurant / bar on the harbor run by a Maiar (cant remember the name right now sorry), but they are still not the most active, and I only really see a few players go there.
 
conflicttFTW said:
The only player run things I see with decent activity are the Obscure Oyster (which has a tp to it) and a restaurant / bar on the harbor run by a Maiar (cant remember the name right now sorry), but they are still not the most active, and I only really see a few players go there.
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The one run by the Maiar is called the mariners longue
 
As a newbie I can say that the city is extremely daunting to navigate- I still hardly know my way around a solid 60% of it and the sewers are even worse. The fact that the Golden Willow is right on the main avenue is a pretty obvious attraction, garnering a fair bit of attention from massed nameplates and traffic flow. Unless more experienced players and nobles start stepping up to the plate I don't see this current status quo changing much. As it has likely been reiterated by others in this thread, there's a need for incentive to break the mold and start a new RP "hub" so to speak. Currently, I haven't really seen much provided in this way as the only relevant patronized groups are Violet chapters, which are, again, very much only drawn to the Golden Willow or their headquarters. Ultimately it feels like more avenues for roleplay opportunity are needed, whether it be by staff mandate or otherwise. Aside from tight-knit group RP I haven't found much to be interesting or intriguing given that most roleplayers of all caliber are sitting about in taverns engaged in more personal or cliquey RP.
 
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Anastasius said:
I still hardly know my way around a solid 60% of it and the sewers are even worse.
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slightly off topic but - TBH 90% of the sewers are useless empty tunnels. There is no real need to know how to get anywhere beyond the Mossy, the Hidden Comfort, The Beggar King's Castle, and the Main Entrance. and they are all roughly in a straight line of one another.

(Though I have heard rumors or a Sewer Expansion coming for months now, PLEASE BE TRUE STAFF I FAN )
 
conflicttFTW said:
slightly off topic but - TBH 90% of the sewers are useless empty tunnels. There is no real need to know how to get anywhere beyond the Mossy, the Hidden Comfort, The Beggar King's Castle, and the Main Entrance. and they are all roughly in a straight line of one another.

(Though I have heard rumors or a Sewer Expansion coming for months now, PLEASE BE TRUE STAFF I FAN )
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Plez
 
I agree with the idea behind this, I was just in fact thinking the same thing. Even businesses along the main stretch hardly see any foot traffic because they are bypassed by people making a beeline for the Willow. Unfortunately, its highly unlikely this will change due to the simple fact that, as Aespair said, people are very busy IRL and often times just want some quick RP which these hubs provide in abundance.
 
conflicttFTW said:
The only player run things I see with decent activity are the Obscure Oyster (which has a tp to it) and a restaurant / bar on the harbor run by a Maiar (cant remember the name right now sorry), but they are still not the most active, and I only really see a few players go there.
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@BittaBoBittoBa
 
Aespair said:
1. Availability
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Location Location Location!

#1 is really all you need. #2 the ic stuff is pretty meaningless to foot traffic and can be tacked on at any time. #3 happens pretty automatically if you have #1. I've been saying for years, any location not on the main strip is going to have a real hard time staying relevant.

I don't think I have ever seen a long-term successful RP hub that wasn't straight ahead from spawn. There have been a couple that lasted for a while, but the amount of work (spending your entire life there to encourage people to find it) seems to be beyond what people are willing to do.

People who found it, loved roleplaying at the Abusement Park, but it was off the beaten track and therefore doomed to sounding like crickets most of the time. I am having the same problems with the Hidden Dragon Night Club (though don't mind this time.. cause hidden). Without a warp, anything off the main strip might as well be on the moon for most players.

What to do about it? If you are interested in forming an RP hub here are my tips.
  • Get a location on the main street. (without this it's going to be a real struggle)
  • Hold events to get people used to being there.
  • Have a core of players who will commit to roleplaying there exclusively.
  • Do something different than what everyone else does.
Anyway, that's my 5¢ from someone who has been paying very close attention to this topic for my entire history on this server.
 
A lot of things are active because theyre new. Its like if you are in class.. and your teacher puts up this bright orange poster. Sure for a week or so people will be like, "oh wow look a bright orange poster!" But not after long will it just be commonplace. The oyster was active its first couple months.
 
the best way to get people to frequent the place is probs by hosting a ton of events, because then you not only have people getting in some guaranteed rp, but you knock down advertising with the same rock. it'll also give you some time in the limelight, and maybe if you keep it up people will keep comin regardless. tho that's rather unlikely.
 
The ability for Donors to place 'tp requests' in the RP worlds might help too tbh

the few places who have decent RP off the strip are the ones with TPs- noble places, the Oyster, etc.


EDIT: By tp request I mean them requesting the addition of a /tp to wherever they set, which staff review and if added, costs like 100 regals or something maybe
 
conflicttFTW said:
The ability for Donors to place 'tp requests' in the RP worlds might help too tbh

the few places who have decent RP off the strip are the ones with TPs- noble places, the Oyster, etc.


EDIT: By tp request I mean them requesting the addition of a /tp to wherever they set, which staff review and if added, costs like 100 regals or something maybe
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perhaps this could become the new vote idea. People vote for the server and then once a goal is reached, a forum questionnaire is created for everyone to vote on a tp.
 
The original Regalia's hub was the main square before the tavern became popular. It should also be said that the tavern existed for quite some time before it became the main hub, managed by a number of now ex staff members on their off time when they weren't working. Generating a new roleplay hub is actually not that hard but it requires tenacity and dedication. Mamma morbash's soupery succeeded, the mossy poss succeeded, any place can succeed as long as the people managing it have the dedication to sit through the boring times of trying to generate activity, as soon as the wheel is turning it will keep turning on itself.
 
EdgyWalrusaur said:
I agree with the idea behind this, I was just in fact thinking the same thing. Even businesses along the main stretch hardly see any foot traffic because they are bypassed by people making a beeline for the Willow. Unfortunately, its highly unlikely this will change due to the simple fact that, as Aespair said, people are very busy IRL and often times just want some quick RP which these hubs provide in abundance.
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this is a good discussion, and i think the staff would benefit from our opinions on this. I'm just gonna quickly outline what people have said.

FOR THE KINDS OF PEOPLE THAT DON'T WANT TO READ EVERY SINGLE POST:
this is what was said:
problem: there are about three main hubs for RP, and players don't go anywhere else (maybe because Regelia is big and crowded and roads are small)
discussion about other smaller hubs that have existed.
proposed voting reward for players to vote on forums on a /tp location in Regelia after a certain goal has been reached.
discussion about how these hubs have come into existence. (players and staff working mindbogglingly hard to advertise and promote a hub, then the golden willow being put in Regalia V2) and Monmarty's claim that once you get it rolling it keeps rolling on it's own.

now somebody mentioned that in the old Regelia (for those that don't know there was a switch to a new Regelia about a year back) there was kinda a RP "square" thing. what i want to know is why we cant have more of those? i think everyone would benefit from there being little, mostly flat, gardens/parks throughout Regelia with /tp commands. i think some people mentioned that navigating in Regelia is rather hard, which may be part of the problem. learning from what people have been saying, this is what i think:

1. Regelia isnt very organized. i realize that this is intentional, as its supposed to be an over-populated, crowded capital city. however if staff were to label the streets and maybe have teleports going to random center squares, i think RP would spread out more. organize the areas, and i think less players would get lost in Regelia, thus being able to visit other places with ease. having bigger "main" streets would also help i think. if i where to design a roleplay city, i would try to have it as organized as i could, with as many parks, /tp locations, and main roads as possible.

2. i think that staff think that roleplayers need a place to live, and in a huge city like regelia, we would need lots of places. however, players dont actually live on the server, they dont and cant have a sort of a "second life" there. i think empty houses should be anticipated, because players really dont need a house rented to RP.my friend rented a house once, and it was not really worth it. he never really used it for RP. shops, however, would definitely be used for RP. so in my mind, a bunch of empty (or even hollow, to reduce lag) would be totally fine. if needed, put NPCs walking around to make it seem more busy and populated.

if you dont wanna read all that
3. im sorry, im typing a lot, but i think a lot. to summarize: i think a few (2 or 3) park-squares with rentable shops or even thinks like libraries or a clinic would greatly help spread out roleplay and give roleplayers more variety and quick access to other places. then also bigger and more organized streets would also help. =)



 
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