In the last couple of month there were hardly times when i dident have a full party going on or having a large group rp'ing and I'm in EU time zone
I remember Glim asking us to give him pointers to get players back into Amia and i have a feeling that whatever they did seams to be working
Its fun to log on again these last couple of months , just wanted to get it out there, could be wrong about it or gotten lucky but i really have a feeling our player base is larger or/and allot more active.

Anyone else noticing a change?

_________________
Plays:
Ragnar Ungorn
Hasam Alrab

Really? Servers seem a bit undermanned to me

I think there's on average, less players than there used to be. I remember the server being full on a continual basis. But it's not the amount of players we have, it's the quality of effort put into role-play. I think the role-play has evolved, and become more mature and intense. Also, the DM and Dev staff are more committed and involved, thus making the experience more enjoyable, as well.

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Excuse me as I do an attempt to literally laugh my head off.
This this will be my last post on this forum I'll have succeeded and am now dead.

The reason myself and a good deal of others likely won't be coming back in a good long while is because there is a gross discrepancy between what is available up front as setting information and what actually is status quo in game, to the point it can only be found in a sixteen page thread no new player is going to read, or should have to, to dig up the necessary information to play someone from their country of origin. Amia is advertised as a Forgotten Realms server. It says it is a Forgotten Realms server.

The problem is, it is not a Forgotten Realms server. Things have diverged excessively from any canonical source without any easily accessable information on such where it should be:

The character creation info, right under "New? Start here!".


Furthermore, the way these changes are introduced is specifically one thing: A railroad. If you go about making massive, global changes to characters' backstories and origins, affecting their interaction directly for anyone playing a canonical citizen with some ties to his place of origin and you are slamming it down as "It happened, deal with it" without giving these players a chance to do something about it, nor reacting to their attempts to, you are running a railroad.

And you need to stop.

You need to seriously rethink if your approach is something enjoyable for your playerbase, or even for yourself, because all the fallout this piss poor DM approach creates is directly on your plate, SikNihilius.

I am going to be fair here and say, the general vibe I get is "let's get it over with". That is fair. If you want it done, if you don't actually want to run it, then end it and run something you do want to run. Something you are motivated to and will reflect better on yourself and be better for your players. There is no shame in simply dropping a plot like that. The setting is more than big enough to, realistically, clusterfuck the Arcanum on its own. You can plausibly simply drop it and think up your own baby, where you may be motivated to do better, the way I'm confident you can, because otherwise you would not have gotten a global plot int he first place. Right?

I apologise for targeting a specific DM here, but frankly, the majority of the problems I had with Amia stem from this plot, how it is handled and the lack of information provided where it should be, namely when I made my character and not a few months in.

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GSID: Piranha, Borntokill, Free Beer, Bad Luck Inc.
Player of: Nothing atm. Busy elsewhere.

Grell: I would like to hire the Kossuth maid service. Do you do waste disposal? I've a list of homes you could visit

Well, this went negative quick.

Come on, guys..

Lord-Hadies: That'll be the last post, but for other reasons.
BorntoKill: Posting that publicly serves no purpose. You can send DM criticisms directly to the staff, and it will do just as well, rather than introducing negativity to a discussion that began with positive intentions, please.

Actually, no. Born, you edited that and made it worse. Please refrain from such, for the reasons cited above. We have a No 'Dirty Laundry' policy regarding players referencing other players like that-- and the same applies to DM's.

This is a forum warning. Let's please not turn this thread into a meta-rant.

Fair. Editing to make it my own assessment alone then. No problem.

What I am saying is simply this:

If you make drastic changes to the setting, you need to put them in the setting info. Citing the forgotten realms canon is not enough, if said canon is no longer valid. This is showing one problem and showing how to fix it.

If it is a metaplot critical event that cannot be changed by players, do not be afraid to outright say so. I, for one, realise some servers do these things this way and it's cool, as long as I'm not left in the illusion I can affect the outcome, and then get annoyed when it turns out things seem fairly set in stone. The key is being transparent about it and telling people up front what they're signing on for.

The third thing I'm saying is that I can get burnout, I can get lack of motivation, I really can. I feel you there and I know a harsh tone doesn't necessarily make that better, but I like to be open about things because I think it is decent to knock on the front door and tell it to folks faces. And the vibe I am getting, because I otherwise view people here as largely competent, is that this is an old plot that "has to be done". Been there myself, done that myself, regretted it later because I didn't put in what I could have and found my own handiwork rather "meh". So I'm saying: if you don't wanna run it, it's cool. Run something you want to instead. If no one wants to run it, well, figure out an IC way to put it on hold or resolve it that keeps your players happy and able to continue playing.

I would consider this, well, constructive criticism. I hope at least. It's my two cents anyway.

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GSID: Piranha, Borntokill, Free Beer, Bad Luck Inc.
Player of: Nothing atm. Busy elsewhere.

Grell: I would like to hire the Kossuth maid service. Do you do waste disposal? I've a list of homes you could visit

I don't mean disrespect, but the problems you have stated are things the staff is really quite well aware of. There are fixes in the work, they're just not obvious. Plenty of private discussions, designer planning, plot movement, preparations.

What you're saying isn't new, so that's why we get tired of hearing it. It's not that it's a poor message (Though targeting a specific DM was done in poor taste, mind!), it's that we've already had 20 people come to our door saying the exact same thing. And it's being addressed.

We're full force working to fix these problems. But change isn't going to happen immediately.

It's cool and it's awesome. Just...tell folks, really. Put it up there right on top as an announce and your PM quota will probably plummet to stuff that you may want to read instead. That's all most people need to hear and I'm certainly happy with it. +5 vorpal wrench awarded

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GSID: Piranha, Borntokill, Free Beer, Bad Luck Inc.
Player of: Nothing atm. Busy elsewhere.

Grell: I would like to hire the Kossuth maid service. Do you do waste disposal? I've a list of homes you could visit

It is true that we have lost players. Almost all of Winya Ravana's players are gone. Shrine of Eilistraee seems deserted as well.

From experience however it's just the typical trend of "rise and fall". It will rise again soon, don't worry.

The reason rp is dying down is because there is no conflict.

And those who try to create conflict are quickly pushed down and perma-killed by the forces of "good."


You do it to yourselves.

_________________
Plays Wicket
And Caige!

"No, You're worse the a simple slobbering beast. A simple slobbering beast seldom shows cunning, attempty at manipulation and use of diplomacy. No, You're a far more dangerous beast than that." ~Tuomas

I see plenty of people online in my usual timezone, moreso than usual which is likely school being out. However I see DMs online in off hours more and more and am pleased!

To any negativity, I'd ignore it. Amia is the best thing out there I've ever seen out of many servers by far. My only criticism of it would be that DMs running storylines have a very definite timeline in mind to bring closure to them in a timely manner so we avoid these situations where things just linger on and on and on leaving the pbase in a lurch.

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Rashad the Azure, Zakharan Merchant-lord Most Fair and Master of the Desert Wind
Loremaster Tukson Devers, Oghmanyte Wrestler of Knowledge and Child of the Passive Voice

(No tells for Rashad while I'm playing other characters please.)

I had a long, long comment prepared for this, but I cannot be bothered, since I do not play anymore.

Suffice to say you are wrong. People I know who left, myself included, left for completely different reason, which I will not post on purpose as it would devolve this thread to flames so quickly that the spontaneous combustion would appear as slow-mo-process.

And by the way, it's not because of any DM as well - just saying, in case anyone would try to abuse my worthless two cents.

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Daegan Van'Straaten - Duty to Helm is above all!

So.

How do we get more trafficking then? We need more to keep the server alive and compensate for the loss of players.
Because the more the merrier, right?

_________________
NWN Damage Calculator: http://www.afterlifeguild.org/Thott/dnd/
NWN Build Calculator: http://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn2/other/tool/characterbuildcalculator-nwn2-cbc2

Although that may be an unpalatable statement, I will hang a wreath of "truth" on it, because I've been spouting it for years. I see it all the time. I also see the opposite, as well, but I see this more. I don't think it is done maliciously. It's just the playerbase mentality, which is ingrained because classic adventure and fantasy, to which I think a lot of the playerbase is hardwired, is you playing good against evil. It's freakish whack jobs like Flameborn (I admire you) who make a career out of wickedness to provide some fun for the other players...and usually getting the short end of the stick.

I've never encouraged any solution, I think, than for players of good to be mindful of that dynamic and work against it where it would be dramatically appropriate. Some folks have picked up on this, I like to believe. Not enough, but some.




And on a side note, blame me for the plot dissatisfaction. I started the damn thing and never could get to finishing it. The current team is making the best of a bad situation I saddled them with.

I'll admit freely to being part of the Good side of the Player base prone to wanting to see major threats to those under their character's care stomped down hard (and ideally permanently).

This usually comes from eventual threats or actions against their charges, and direct threats at that. Tuomas wasn't always so ardently inclined to stopping evil permanently, hell when he began , all he wanted to do was make Dolls and eventually develop a sentient construct, and I'll bet you I could find a number of people who remember him when he was even kinda against the guards using violence to subdue a criminal!

This however changed as a result of what he's seen in game. Time and time again he's seen factions of violent individuals who have threatened the safety and sanctity of the innocent with violence, subjugation, torture and worse. He HIMSELF has at least once had malign experiences at the hands of one of these factions which has shaped him as well.

My point to this is, that there is a history of such forces on the server , and thus reasonable cause to ICly react strongly when they hit a certain point.

The polarization of good and evil is just one facet of RP, and I do firmly believe that there is a certain level of responsibility and understanding that needs to be had by evil players in that they will be defeated, and they will be "permakilled". But that's just evil for you, the saying goes: You can be a slow burning candle that illuminates for a long time or you can burn bright and fast. To play evil is to burn bright and fast. And it serves it's purpose well, if you're evil you're the biggest thing on Amia (outside of DM plots, which I will address) for the time you exert your will. the problem I believe is that players don't have enough freedom and liberty to create intricate and interactive plots. Too much of the server's attention is reliant almost exclusively on DM plots. (Amnish, Blood mages, Quintessence) All of these plot lines hold very high regard to a large number of characters who then sit back and wait for their chance to do something with them (IE DM mandatory involvement, and from what I can see they are often reliant on INDIVIDUAL DMs which can slow down progress immensely and I'm sure hell breaks loose when a DM gets tired of a plot.) How long have some of these DM plots been going on? Why can't they be sparks between player inspiration, month long stints?


You want life? Give the players more power, let us tear the ground up, build the world, the status quo is real and the solution would be to divide the power and work with the player base for roleplay rather than shouldering the burden on DMs with absolute power.

Examples: I have heard from multiple players ICly that building actual structures on the server requires 100s of millions of gold, as well as using a largely outdated and nothing-but-fluff "job" system. What value does anyone get by roleplaying chopping down a forest? That's damn right, not anything. And last I checked a warship cost 25,000-30,000gp Source: Player's handbook (Transport
Item Cost Weight
Carriage 100 gp 600 lb.
Cart 15 gp 200 lb.
Galley 30,000 gp —
Keelboat 3,000 gp —
Longship 10,000 gp —
Rowboat 50 gp 100 lb.
Oar 2 gp 10 lb.
Sailing ship 10,000 gp —
Sled 20 gp 300 lb.
Wagon 35 gp 400 lb.
Warship 25,000 gp —).
If there's a problem with inflation I can see how that might not be easily addressable but the measure put in place (crafting system, exorbitant grind-inducing prices) only serve to waste valuable time that could've been spent fleshing out plots, developing / destroying relationships and pursuing creative player-made plots.

I also think there are too many "MMO" aspects to Amia that detract from the calling of a roleplay server. People who want to actually generate conflict, or will be polarized characters are forced to grind on a dreadfully slow pace for what? All of that time could be spent pursuing more meaningful goals that stimulate RP. No one gets anything from grinding unless they're doing it for RP fluff, at which point XP is no longer a factor and there's no reason it shouldn't be exponentially higher. And even if you do hit max level there's a degenerate loot system which only further propagates the grind by enticing players to spend easily hundreds of hours grinding for end-game gear, or the currency to purchase them. This is wasted time, and every person out grinding is using valuable time that could've been spent roleplaying. Their grind also creates a large degree of work required per character that shouldn't really be there, no one should log onto amia to WORK(Unless they're DMs and at that point there's a certain level of "work" dm-side that is offset by the joy of doing DM "work") it should all be for roleplay and fun. Of course not to discredit the effort DMs put forth, again I understand you are all very busy and work hard to keep the server fresh, but I digress.

The grind is work, and that work creates artificial value to a character. For example, I am personally the sort of player who would like to have a character live and die on Amia within a reasonable spectrum of time. The immortal villain and hero is dry, and stagnant. But I am torn by the amount of work I need to put into any individual character to get them to play out the inspirations I may have crafted. It makes me apprehensive at the though of perma-killing my characters because I know I'll spend quite literally months getting them back to 30, and in a condensed more accurate timeframe, literal weeks of no progress, no value grind. I'm curious what would happen if the work was taken away and people could max out their characters in days and where they would be lead when the only thing left to do for them is to play out the stories.



Solution: Create a crafting system that allows the same levels of depth as you could get from the most epic of loot, and then for truly above and beyond gear we have DC coins which can become the new grind, and just imagine for a second what could be possible if people put as much effort into grinding the dungeons/gear as they did towards the DC system? The grind is to roleplay.

Additionally I believe more DMs is possibly the best thing that could be done for the server. The staff seems largely splayed thin, every time I have tried to engage them (and boy have I tried!) they all are too busy with something else. And that's fine, I get it y'all got a lot on your plate but there's a solution for that, and that's get more hands on deck.

BornToKill raises an incredibly valid point about the DM plots and their drawling crawl pace, as well as the illusion of interaction. Not to mention the heavy resistance I have seen met with those trying to get involved without nepotism on their side. Again this can be addressed by transparency, actual openness or higher staff volume.


So in a condensed form:

-More DMs to better engage and facilitate the players' natural desire to create and explore their inspiration
-Destroy the time spent doing anything other than roleplaying
-Give players more power to exert their wills on the server

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bad man

DMs need to support their players. Players need to think of this as an ongoing story and not a win/lose scenario. Those two things would improve this server.

As someone on the opposing side to team good, I see quite often where the other side refuses to back down. It starts with a good character challenging an evil character. If the good character 'wins', then the evil character is suppressed. If the good character 'loses', then the machine gets invoked.

The machine is an overwhelmingly negative force on our server which stifles RP, creativity, and railroads the ongoing story.

OpenTheRift- I agree with you on all points, except I disagree with how you see evil characters as different than good characters.

The DM Plots are wasted time in my opinion as well. I think the DMs should do more things the players want to do. A lot of things characters want to do should be doable, right? The options for creating meaningful role-play between opposing forces may be improved. Even just more random events would be better than the DM plots.

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Alrighty then my Original plan was to bring something positive and what i said still stands, i really feel Amia is improving in bothe its Rp,player base,hunting grounds and overall difficulty of hunting (witch was drop death easy at high lvl's)
I personally after all these years never had a problem with any dm,nor the plots they held
Never had a problem with another player OOC
The only thing bad that happened to me is that the Ilithid lair got removed!, other then that i'm happy
But thats my point of view
Must be a lucky bloke for playing her for over 9 years and never having any conflict

In eater case big thanks to you all for running this server for so long! and give a hug to Disco and demand him to return
*Edit* And when your forcing Disco, go ahead and force Uberuce to hold his Friday arena battles again!!

_________________
Plays:
Ragnar Ungorn
Hasam Alrab

I largely think we're fine. As a player involved in an openly evil faction, I learned a lot. But the question: "How do I make positive conflict on Amia?" is a very complex question deserving of a dynamic and well-thought answer.

I've had to revise my entire 'Philosophy of Evil'. I've also implemented different and unique strategies, and I'm very curious to see how they're received by the playerbase. But maybe that's a subject for another time.

Flameborn, we had talks about this, and not a single Goodly person involved ever pushed Permadeath for our PC's. That's just categorically incorrect. And Carebear, we often don't see the entirety of the picture, and have an inflated sense of self when we're approaching this issue. You just can't make a claim saying, "The other people thought this way" without really knowing what they were thinking. Without seeing how they were reacting 'behind the veil'. Until then, it's silly to make claims to what the other groups of players are trying to do, how their PC's are receiving conflict we're providing.


On Amia, we have yet to develop a perfect arrangement for PC conflict. There are so, so many variables to the situation. I've thought on it for years, and I don't have the answers.

There a perfect solution one i always apply -> Poor a shipload of water into your wine and poof never ever had a conflict, O right and put your pride into the shelf for a moment

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Plays:
Ragnar Ungorn
Hasam Alrab

What?

(I personally blame Alanna)

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@Thanatopsis#6293

An issue I've always found is that newer players don't get the attention they deserve. People on Amia form their little social circles and rarely accept anyone into them. This is just because human nature though, people find people they're comfortable with and call them friends. In real life if a stranger walked up to me and suddenly wanted to hang out, I'd probably be a little bit freaked out, but this isn't real life.

Players do it, DM's do it, everyone does, myself included.

I tested this with my account BruisedNeverBroken on my character Sullivan Ryker, so I know I'm not making this stuff up. People just aren't that welcoming to new players. I asked various questions about the job system, places to hunt, merchants, all that under the impression that I was a noob. Do you know what my most common response was? "Find out IG." or "Dunno."

Another thing is that DM's focus on players they -know- in specific instead of the player base in whole. The majority of DM's overwatch their friends instead of newer players who might want a little bit of spark in their life while grinding through the goblins.

It all forms down to social circles, and the new players aren't part of any circle, so why would they wanna stick around?

Just my 2 cents, if anything here is considered rude or disrespectful, just let me know and I'll delete it.

(Edited for Hackum's post below mine, instead of making a new post)

Two negatives make a positive, we gotta realize these things before anything gets better.

And Amia is still a great place, don't get me wrong, you all do giant amount of hard work for the server and it -is- improving, but these things should be adressed over and over and over again.

I'm sorry to bring negativity to the topic, but I've been meaning to say this for a while too.

I'm fairly certain that this thread was mentioning a positive change.

Why we're all feeling to need to pitch in views about how it's negative instead baffles me.

I to have always wondered why the DC items are the same power as epic loots?
They should be allowed to be stronger, Farming epic loot withv a group is indeed easier then Roleplaying for X weeks to get X coins then to realize that you cant surpass Epic loot and have to RP again for Xweeks to craft the item involving another set of Xplayers, taking screen shots and all that.

Never requested Gear for this reason, other then for purely RP items
Dammed now even i'm talking negative!!

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Plays:
Ragnar Ungorn
Hasam Alrab

My feeling exactly
he next post beter be something positive!!! or i'l ask for a lock ,p

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Plays:
Ragnar Ungorn
Hasam Alrab

Half because there is a wound to lick and half because of a genuine desire to improve our lot would be my guess.

I enjoy Amia a lot and don't quibble over the things I don't like because I feel no sense of entitlement. That's not my snide way of accusing others of having one, mind, it is just how I view my own attitude. When I am IG, I have a grand old time, assault what I think are new characters with roleplay, watch good characters and evil characters unite in the battle of banging their heads against a brick wall and otherwise do my own thing.

Thats like the sweetest thing anyones said to me on the forums, thank you.

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Plays Wicket
And Caige!

"No, You're worse the a simple slobbering beast. A simple slobbering beast seldom shows cunning, attempty at manipulation and use of diplomacy. No, You're a far more dangerous beast than that." ~Tuomas

Bringing your guns and armoring yourself in thorns will make people react similarly. Something people should strive for is it be consciously polite to one another without blaming any specific individual for their bad time. The gossip train was also rather vicious for a time, causing people to quit out right or otherwise taking things from he OOC stage to the IC stage. Thankfully DMs are telling people to save their drama for their mama, though. Reiterating the point/TLDR/In English:

It's going to have to be a conscious effort on everybody's part to make the OOC and IC environment a more enjoyable place for old, new, and returning players.

Edit: A bit of clarity.

So... How are we going to get more people to the server then?

_________________
NWN Damage Calculator: http://www.afterlifeguild.org/Thott/dnd/
NWN Build Calculator: http://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn2/other/tool/characterbuildcalculator-nwn2-cbc2

The gossip train was terrible - it created quite a lot of hostility OOC. I had to listen to quite a bit of ranting due to this train from other players. I didn't come to this server to play around in a high school.

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Devlin Faramond - Warrior Priest of Tempus
Aithne Ryrathrak - Red Dragon Disciple, Bronze Dragon Slayer
May'rinna D'vilrath - Underdarker and Noble House Sorceress

Advertise. Make it appealing to new and returning players, as well. For instance, displaying current events and showing a lot of activity is going to appeal to a lot of people because they know they will have things to do if they come here. All of this I presume is quite likely on the staff's list of things to do, and if not that then on their wish list. As far as personal opinion goes, I can tell you from the looks of this game right now that it is going to be a slower process than it was several years ago due to people getting burned out for whatever reason or moving on to new jobs, going to/back to school, losing interest over time, etc. It's hard work, I can tell you from experience, but rewarding in its own way .

If you want to get more players coming back and getting involved, stop running +5 Endless Global Plots of Doom. Get rid of the requirement of making players wait around for DMs to get stuff to happen or things to change, as with the Quintessence plot.

Encourage player-run factions and support their doings instead. Find groups running dungeons and surprise them with small, fun plots that can be done in an evening. Let players drive in-game plots at their own pace and allow them to rely less on forum posting and more on what's done in the game. You'll quickly find Team Greater Good scheming to increase their power, Team Elf being elfish, Team Good growing sticks in their butts, and so forth. And it will be glorious.

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Primary character:
Gaelruil Arabitylarzair
Alts:
Left Alt
Right Alt

Yes, this is actually quite right. I'd fully support the above.

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Daegan Van'Straaten - Duty to Helm is above all!

I too love this idea. Sort of stand alone adventures that may tie into a larger plot would work too. Just don't have the time for long plots and don't get involved later because I'm lost with what is going on.

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Ciroc Kilgrave: The patriarch of a family of covetors.
Mournal the Guardian: A loyal killer for a mad mistress.
Kuurg the Vandal: An inspiration to savage glory.

And how do we advertise, and where, to get more players?

_________________
NWN Damage Calculator: http://www.afterlifeguild.org/Thott/dnd/
NWN Build Calculator: http://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn2/other/tool/characterbuildcalculator-nwn2-cbc2

+1, this is what keeps me coming back, the hope that -perhaps- something will happen. Not really so much on the endless plots of doom looming over our heads. More small little ones!

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Silith Rithix- Shifting Coward
Hesk Suhet- Lizardfolk, Red Tribe Shaman

If it's the players running the plots with DMs supporting and occasionally running small plots, it's much easier for new players or less frequent regulars to get involved, as long as the players are inclusive.

The problem with +5 Epic Global Plots of Doom is that they rely way too much on the availability of whichever DM is running the show. They drag forever and have a ton of loose ends, and it's hard to get involved because the "middle" of the plot is way too big--it's hard to zap a new player into the plot because there's no clearly defined entrance point for them; it just becomes a matter of "wait and see," and that usually just means "wait."

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Primary character:
Gaelruil Arabitylarzair
Alts:
Left Alt
Right Alt

Echoing Cortroy a bit here:

The only pet peeve I have is when I witness players who are exclusive, especially concerning DM plotlines, and use their characters' status to coerce new, less powerful, or more sensitive players out of the scene.

If you really do need to exclude players for genuine IC reasons that can't be worked around, it can't hurt to try and be nice about it. This is just a game, after all, and the ultimate goal is FUN for as many people as possible! I think showing a little empathy can go a long way - at least ooc. You can send a polite tell letting them know you enjoyed their rp and hope they can join in another time, for example. Some may consider it immersion breaking or bad form to send ooc tells like this, and while I get where they're coming from, I consider it the sign of a good person. Someone who respects themself enough to respect the emotions of fellow players.. and there is absolutely nothing 'bad form' about that!

It's good to remember: just because it's 'in character' doesn't mean that the real people behind the characters aren't feeling ostracized. Not a fun emotion (and also consider, some people feel emotions more intensely than others!). And while the responsibility of emotions ultimately lies with oneself, there are just no good reasons not to try to be as inclusive as possible! It's our playerbase, after all.

_________________

I truly believe we have touched on something here. And if I hear correctly, the player base wants LESS Gloom and Doom Never Ending Server Plots and MORE spontaneous, one-night/day DM supervised/helped events!

I could not more whole heartily agree.

Murex said: "The DM Plots are wasted time in my opinion as well. I think the DMs should do more things the players want to do. A lot of things characters want to do should be doable, right? The options for creating meaningful role-play between opposing forces may be improved. Even just more random events would be better than the DM plots."

And he's absolutely correct. These slow-moving, stop and start DM run plots are just creating shear boredom and listlessness on the part of the player base. A good example: I am laughing right now as I think of how many times I've talked to others on the server IG about "When are the Amnians attacking?" Soon is the general consensus. We've been asking this for months now it seems. It should have ended months ago, along with two or three other server plots. We have become so beholden to these plots that it stymies the RP altogether.




And a second point was made by OpenTheRift that is on the money!

"Create a crafting system that allows the same levels of depth as you could get from the most epic of loot, and then for truly above and beyond gear we have DC coins which can become the new grind, and just imagine for a second what could be possible if people put as much effort into grinding the dungeons/gear as they did towards the DC system? The grind is to roleplay."

Or more succiently, earn DCs to buy epic or above average loot. Make a list with prices if you must. The goal is to RP your blessed little hearts out so you DO NOT have to boss hunt. And believe me I've been one of the biggest boss hunters on this server the last decade. I love to RP but when it is so stagnant that you get more enjoyment from boss hunting, something is wrong.



As a self admitted part time player for many years I've been able to have an outside looking in view to Amia. The changes I've seen by the DM and Dev team have been excellent and balance is better than its ever been (although there is still a ways to go), but I truly believe if you give more "Power to the Players!" like everyone has been screaming for and let the players drive the plot lines and not the DMs, this site could explode!

I pray that this happens.

Baden

PS: My wife is calling me and I have to go, as per my usual. *smiles*

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I'm BACK!

Another thought regarding DM plots and how to potentially improve them on the server:

What about an 'Alternate Beginnings' type campaign, but for already established, higher level characters.

Alternate Beginnings are really cool. They generate a lot of interest, and people have such hope and desire for them to succeed. But - they often fall apart, or at the least, the characters never progress the way they were intended to, during and/or after the campaign. I think a possible solution to this problem is to let players play characters they've already fleshed out, invested into, and have rp connections with. Their mains.

Yeah, it could present problems that a blank slate of characters would avoid, but a careful application/selection process by the DM involved would at the least minimize that. And, the DM could specify what level ranges they would be willing to accept for the campaign.

How is this different from ongoing story plots on the sever? Ideally, this would be done as a closed game setting. Meaning, if you apply with your character and get in, you can expect only the other accepted applicants in your pre-scheduled game. Perhaps you would not be allowed to adventure outside the play times - something the player would have to accept if they wanted to play in the adventure.

The biggest advantage I see about this type of campaign is that it could potentially help the newer/less known players who really want to get involved in a story plot, but need that extra push to get their face out there. The 'All Stars' wouldn't be involved (no offense intended here). It would have more chances of succeeding because it would be with characters the players already pour their hearts into. It would encourage more camaraderie and character bonding because it would be a closed setting with the same faces every game.

Just an idea, something I would, as a player, LOVE to see.

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Gael and Freya in an alternate beginnings campaign would be awesome.

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Primary character:
Gaelruil Arabitylarzair
Alts:
Left Alt
Right Alt

That sounds kind of neat. Not sure how we'd design it, but I like the idea.

I tried searching for the topic where I suggested the same concept about two years ago, NaturallyCaffeinated. A pity I could not find it. I still believe it would be a good idea, but I think the counter arguement was that it would be way too difficult because of the power high level mages, clerics and druids get. That anoying high magic setting problem getting in the way here.

Would that not just be a DM event with pre selected players by said DM at preselected times with like no new joiners? because we kind of have stuff like that already.

And who might the 'All Stars' be ( I have yet to see that teams roster posted, because I want first pick) and why should they OOC blocked from attempting to participate in something? because they don't play a ton of alts, interact with people, take part of stuff going on IC? (AKA RPing in a persistent world)

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================-<Cory ShadowFlame>-================
Risenlord-Shifter(OMG a Non-Dragon Shifter that can hold his own in PvE)

First of all I want to say Baden Ironblood got some really valid points (Power to the players!). I really support this as right now it seems like things are really DM dependent, also the plots seem so grand and complex I don't know where to begin to join in on the fun, and if it even will be fun during the process or in the end, (In my experience they end in immersion-breaking lag feasts). I also want to repeat that more and smaller one evening plots is what many of us want, and this has been repeated -SEVERAL- times in similar topics lately. In fact in my experience a server I used to play on lost it's playerbase more and more once the DM's tried to make larger plots, and that the moments I really remember from that server was the smaller events.

When you mention that the posts should be positive(?) the intention of this topic is to keep players and open Amia for more players? therefore I think staying on topic is more important than staying positive.

When it comes to getting new and old players on the server I think improving the welcoming page would go a long way. Along with the current introduction text maybe update the pictures, and add a brief description of the current more popular events, new players need to know what makes the server stand out from other FR servers. Further maybe make the introduction pages more newbie friendly by giving a brief explanation on Amia, mayor and important cities and factions and such as well as some links for in depth information. This is what the DM team can do, as players the best and most important thing we can do is become more welcoming, and I admit I struggle with this myself.

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I am not weird, I am limited edition

@ Cory:

No, because given they have a regular chance to be in the spotlight, it is hardly a problem to step to the side when a limited number of players can apply for such an alt-beginings-epic plot. The same basic reason I do not apply to a standard alt-beginings plot, because I was already part of a fantastic one and like to give others the chance for the same experience.