This is the topic for all future VO RPers. Here you can discuss everything related to RP in Valiance Online.
This thread should be seen as a first contact point for all players who plan to RP in Valiance Online.

I think we can discuss several issues here as there is no sub-forum like "Player to player" or something similar.

As we already know there will be one megaserver to run VO. This means no RP-server for roleplayers. So we have to form our RP-community within the casual players "world".
Meaning that we should start to talk about issues like:
- RP Channel
- RP hotspots
- RP Supergroups/Villaingroups
- RP friends list
- RP places in game

Some topics will be discussed later as the game development progresses. But we can start our anticipation here and discuss things that we RPers will need later in game.

I hope this topic will be a success.

Cheers
Gerald

woo! it begins!

No Designated RP server works great for me. Always hated being seperated from my friends because of multiple seperate servers. that MMO structure is so 1990s.

Thanks for posting this Gerald. We haven't expressly went into details regarding RPing in Valiance, but I'll say now that we will eventually have 2 megaservers-style infrastructures and one will be specifically for RPing. Valiance is inherently role-player-centric, so we understand that many players would enjoy a dedicated role-playing experience. Therefore, we will be providing a server structured dedicated to that audience. This is something that, however, won't be available during Alpha or Beta, and is expected to become available within the first year of the full product release. Players will also be able to port their characters between servers, so if you choose to continue your role-playing experience within the dedicated role-playing server environment, you'll be able to do so.

I don't want to discourage you from continuing your efforts here as I'm primarily a role-player myself and will definitely be on the role-playing server with you and others. I just want you to be properly informed as to future expectations.

I can't remain in character 100% of the time but I would like to join a roleplay oriented server if it means most of the community would be roleplayers.

I just don't want to be expected to ALWAYS be in character because I can't do that.

how freely will we be able to transfer? maybe it could be like seperate roleplay instances or something? that way anytime someone feels like being in character they can switch there, and when they feel like not being in character they can switch to standard.

IronSight wrote:
Let me say it with the words of Trevor (GTA5) "I love you! Really! I love you!"

This is so great! In my opinion every MMO RPG should be played that way to get the ultimate experience with a game. I mean if you played a MMO RPG on a RP-Server you never forget that great experience. Everyone talks and acts IC-wise and no one is disturbing the "world" with OOC talk or zone chat spamming. This gives the hole experience an upvalue. This makes a RPG a real RPG where you really can dive into another world and enjoy intelligent characters (not only NPCs).

I´m so happy with your solution and I bet there are other RPers that feel the same way.

And: This is something what other superhero MMOs don´t plan. So with this great character customisation and a RP shard you will get the RP community coming to VO. I´m sure.

Again: Thank you very much.

Gerald Deemer wrote:
I'm sorry but not everyone can be in character 100% of the time and those people still want to be with the RP community. an RP server should not have strict rules like that.

ZeeHero wrote:
i havent ever seen a game with strict RP rules. i honestly dont think i have ever even seen one with official rules. it was just a tag so RPers knew where to find each other. general/global chat is still mostly for people to ask for help, group up and occasionally be stupid, and I've never seen anyone kicked from an RP server for failing to roleplay. (trolling or harassing RPers is a different matter, of course)

sersi wrote:
Well people should be punished for harassing other players regardless of the server they are on.

ZeeHero wrote:
I suggest to change to the RP-server when you are in the mood of PRing. When not you can use the "casual" server.
It´s the best possible solution. A mix up is nearly unbearable. This always ends up in 2 people RPing and 10 people standing around and talk OOC trash. This really DESTROYS the RP experience.
If a RP-server has no RP-rules - it´s no RP server, right?

sersi wrote:
LotR Online had (or still has) a RP-server with strict RP rules. And it was great to play on that server. No matter what place you entered the other players were always IC. Really great RP, nice and fun gaming. Sadly the fantasy genre is not my favourite one so I left after a few years...

ZeeHero wrote:
This is absolutely true. But I have to admit that some RPers sense OOC talk as a harrassment. I remember the days in Champions Online when casual gamers came to Club Caprice and started trash talking. Everyone knew that Caprice is a RPers hotspot. You could not punish them for be there and talk OOC but it was definately a harrassment for all the roleplayers there.

Gerald Deemer wrote:
I dunno Maybe some people should learn just a little tolerance. Not ONCE have I been told I was annoying someone else by speaking OOC in caprice. and If I was I honestly would have been amused.

When people take RP too seriously it becomes no different from raiders who take raiding too seriously. it ruins the experience for everyone else.

I'm a roleplayer by default in that I don't come to a game world to talk about real-world politics or sports teams and stuff like that. If we're talking, it should be about things local to the game world. (Well, except for necessary interruptions when you have to answer the doorbell or the dog puked on the carpet.) And the personality you see in game is the personality of my character, not necessarily my own (but not the opposite either - I really have trouble playing villains or sneaky characters realistically.) You wouldn't be able to tell that my characters had the same player unless you looked at the global handle, and even then not necessarily: I had 4 paid accounts on the US servers and two on the EU servers. So yeah, pretty hardcore that way.

But the thing is, I never thought of RP as a separate activity. Being in character is what you do on missions, and during downtime with your team. That's where you show what kind of person you are. It is not something I do in a separate room, standing around for hours telling my life history or flirting. I realize some people are just inherently more social than me (and more sexual, evidently) and social interactions is what makes them feel good. Me, I feel good setting imaginary bullies on fire. ^_^; Sorry about that...

So I hope if there ever is a RolePlay server, it is mainly a place that is blessedly free from US presidents and min-maxing debates, not a non-combat zone.

Then I dearly hope there won't be a dedicated RP server. it would feel oppressive and I wouldn't care to RP in VO at all.

I absolutely relate to both sides here. Some days I'm in the zone to hardcore RP my character. But some days I just want to relax and level up or play through the game while I think about possibilities for the character I'm playing without actually having to worry about responding to people ICly right then and there.

Having instanced servers (not sure if I'm using the correct term here, but I'm sure you understand what I mean) - one for RP and one for regulars - would allow people to freely switch as their mood suits them. Otherwise it's going to segregate the community in a way that could become toxic. This thread alone has proven that. There are roleplayers who want to RP, but who won't if they feel their freedom's taken away. Being able to switch on the go allows the atmospheres of both servers to be maintained - and gives people the freedom to enjoy both without their other goals ruining the experience of the people who call that particular server home.

Having two entirely separate servers would be cumbersome because then you have to have either two versions of your character - or decide that you're never ever going to RP the characters you have on the regular server and that you MUST ALWAYS be IC at all times on the ones you have on the RP server. This kind of extreme and forced choice can be very harmful, especially considering it takes place right upon character creation. A decision which is often regretted as the player and their characters evolve.

From what IronSight said, we may be able to move between servers freely. But he may have been referring to a server transfer feature as opposed to a quick switch. The cost of that feature (in time as well as price, if there is one) is definitely a determining factor.

TigerOpsF36 wrote:
Yes if theres going to be rules like some people here seem to want on an RP server, then you will ABSOLUTELY NEED to be able to freely and easily switch at will like with instance swapping. A server transfer wont cut it.

The best solution is to have an unnoffical RP server or instances and people who don't want to be interrupted by OOC chatter can always group with their friends who share that desire and avoid people who aren't IC while they RP.

That's possible with or without it being enforced from on high. you are always free to avoid those who interrupt your RP experience.

Maybe they could add the ability to spawn private instances of social zones just for people and their friends, so nobody is forced to deal with things they don't like.

How can you RP without acting IC?

Anyway, if there is a switching option everything will be fine. Today it should be no problem to switch a character between 2 servers or shards. Look at DC Universe Online where you could do that switching between PVE and PVP server without waiting times, costs or any "negative effects".

I think the main problem is this:
If you force RPers and "regulars" or "casuals" to play together, the RPers always lose out. They have to find a place where nobody is trolling or destroying the IC-talk. On a RP-server you can go everywhere and RP. It´s a matter of freedom.

If someone don´t want to be IC all the time: Feel free to RP on the "casual" server.
By the way you can talk OOC on a RP-server by using brackets or writing "OOC:" infront of your sentence.

I can only hope that VO will have a RP server/shard 1 year after release. I would transfer all my characters to the RP-server and enjoy playing like no other game. I´m sure this would attract tons of RPers because there are not much games that offer a RP-server.

*Crosses fingers*

I RP while IC, I just cannot be in RP mode constantly. I can't sustain an IC persona indefinitely and sometimes some OOC chatter is even required in RP to figure out what happens! you just mark it with ( )

If theres an RP shard which players can transfer on and off of at will while still in game (like CO instances) I would be happy to have it. Otherwise, it would end up being a reason I'd think twice before trying to RP in VO.

As a long time RPer, I have no choice but to say this, and I can't believe I HAVE to, but a server with strict rules enforcing a 100% IC-status is stupid as hell. Most RPers don't have the patience to, say.. level, while IC, and a shard system would frankly just be irritating, especially since does hurt the communities.

I am all for an RP server, but we RPers cannot and should not get it all to our greedy little selves. MANY more "casual" players prefer them for their communities generally being less toxic than other servers, and this wouldn't exactly be toppling the oppression of RP trolls--this would be a shift in power. This would be a peasant revolt bringing about a new, crazier generalissimo to the stage--only this one has more power over the "other" (getting someone potentially banned where an "ignore" or a /w, depending on the offense or "offense" would work just as well, vs. mildly annoying somebody and potentially getting banned).

If there is a full-time "No OOC allowed ever" server, that would be as much of a turn-off to me as if either the opposite, more insane option were true, or if there was a server that disallowed any nonhuman characters, or one that disallowed any HUMAN characters. Do those last three seem silly to you? Because all four should.