World of Warcraft®

03/30/2015 08:43 AMPosted by Ketiron

One of the reasons the AAMS exists, after all.

On that subject, just a friendly reminder. Pleeeease if you think you're going to need the AAMS's translation services at an event get in touch and give some notice that you'll be needing it, I've seen it happen literally the day of the event before (sometimes only an hour before!) and most of the available staff are either busy elsewhere or really wanted to attend on a different character to enjoy the event for themselves. Don't assume the AAMS just keep an eye on the calendar and see things pop up - get in touch with as much notice as you're able to give and say you're going to need translators :)

I'd also put forth that serious RP requires a MASSIVE time commitment, more than anything else in this game.
That's not an excuse, just an observation, and a pretty big reason why this old Bull doesn't engage in RP much at all anymore.
(That, and, well, there's only so many times I can say the same thing to YAA*, I've got no time or interest in romance, think most goblins smell like grease ((THEY DO THOUGH!!)), and have a horrible case of Olditis...it's a tragic disease.)

* - YAA = Yet Another Alt

<span class="truncated">...</span>

I'm not sure in the context of barfights because then you run into questions of trolling, but crossfaction RP? Absolutely.

One of the reasons the AAMS exists, after all. And there are some on the red side who don't want to kill you (or more likely, be killed by you). Yeah, I'm looking at you, Clottia. *grin*

There's a lot to be unpacked here...

First, I'm sorry, but my character is always going to have problems with the Horde. If you're interested in finding out why, we should RP. Suffice to say, my character holds quite a few nuanced opinions which I spent some time on - uninformed assumptions will not get you far.

Does that mean that I can't engage in crossfaction RP? No, and that RP doesn't have to be RP-PVP either. That goes for all characters, not just mine.

But to a more general point, with respect to the AAMS, even if your character isn't skeptical about them ferrying information or materials which could get people killed, it is a mechanism. One of the great strengths of the server is that we're very good at creating mechanisms of course, but there are drawbacks to this as well - namely the loss of spontaneity and diversity. I'm not saying that the mechanisms are bad, but I AM saying that we have relied too heavily upon them.

...

One of the reasons the AAMS exists, after all. And there are some on the red side who don't want to kill you (or more likely, be killed by you). Yeah, I'm looking at you, Clottia. *grin*

There's a lot to be unpacked here...

First, I'm sorry, but my character is always going to have problems with the Horde. If you're interested in finding out why, we should RP. Suffice to say, my character holds quite a few nuanced opinions which I spent some time on - uninformed assumptions will not get you far.

Does that mean that I can't engage in crossfaction RP? No, and that RP doesn't have to be RP-PVP either. That goes for all characters, not just mine.

But to a more general point, with respect to the AAMS, even if your character isn't skeptical about them ferrying information or materials which could get people killed, it is a mechanism. One of the great strengths of the server is that we're very good at creating mechanisms of course, but there are drawbacks to this as well - namely the loss of spontaneity and diversity. I'm not saying that the mechanisms are bad, but I AM saying that we have relied too heavily upon them.

If the king of Stormwind can have a friend that’s a Sin'dorei, why can't I? What better mechanism, than the AAMS is there to use in helping me correspond with her? Is my character just supposed to turn her back on her best friend? There are factors in RP that don't control what happens. My character never thought they would end up in direct communication with a Sin'dorei, but ever changing dynamics in plots have strange ways of creating scenarios we have no control over. It’s both exciting and strange at times. I am glad the AAMS is there to help when I need it.

I'm with Noikona on this one. I can try my best to emote my way to a cup of tea with the Feathers in Booty Bay.. does it mean I'll get one? Nope!

Can I send them a message informing them of my war on their number for snubbing said cup of tea? . . . . . well yes. Only because the AAMS exists and bless them for it. I imagine it can be a thankless job for them at times.

I'm not saying that the mechanisms are bad, but I AM saying that we have relied too heavily upon them.

Toss up some suggestions on how to enhance things. If you have an alternative that can be used in lieu or in coordination with the AAMS, I'm all ears (even if I get most of their names wrong in person).

04/01/2015 10:26 AMPosted by Clottia

I'm all ears

Are they your ears, or did you take them from someone else?

(A walker I know is inquiring for inventory purposes)

04/01/2015 10:30 AMPosted by Bralox

Are they your ears, or did you take them from someone else?

(A walker I know is inquiring for inventory purposes)

Ehm.. I think I will decline to answer that. I just had my nose sewn back on and I am currently on the market for a brand spankin' old magical eyeball so I can finally see!!

AAMS Might be able to help with that.

04/01/2015 10:26 AMPosted by Clottia

I'm with Noikona on this one. I can try my best to emote my way to a cup of tea with the Feathers in Booty Bay.. does it mean I'll get one? Nope!

Can I send them a message informing them of my war on their number for snubbing said cup of tea? . . . . . well yes. Only because the AAMS exists and bless them for it. I imagine it can be a thankless job for them at times.

I'm not saying that the mechanisms are bad, but I AM saying that we have relied too heavily upon them.

Toss up some suggestions on how to enhance things. If you have an alternative that can be used in lieu or in coordination with the AAMS, I'm all ears (even if I get most of their names wrong in person).

First, I'm glad that you bolded that piece instead of taking Noikona's position that half of what I said didn't matter, and that I somehow wanted to do away with the AAMS or shun crossfaction RP.

As for the solution, I'm not sure that we're on the same page as to where I'm coming from.

My contention is that the server relies too heavily on established mechanisms. We have events here and then every week, we meet in the same RP spot every week. If you want to do crossfaction RP, that goes through the AAMS, etc. As I said in an earlier post, I'm not taking anything away from those mechanisms or the people who set them up. I AM saying that we rely too much on them, and that said reliance has made things stale.

Again, my suggestion is for us to focus on having more random, spontaneous RP in more places. I might call on the AAMS to help with that, I might not. (Heck, despite my character's reservations, she has hired them before) The AAMS is the furthest thing from "the problem", here. The problem is that we've squeezed ourselves into this box where we believe that in general, in order to have RP, there has to be some apparatus set up to do it, or some established way to get it going. It's that kind of mindset that I want to challenge.

Perhaps I am just blind and don’t see the problem. I have been enjoying the RP on CC for three years now. I tend to keep myself fairly active to the point if I can’t find something to do, I start creating things. Whether it be tripping a random gnome, throwing rotten fruit at newbie DK’s, to more serious and involved RP of assaulting the LO tower.

Maybe it’s because of my priorities that I don’t see an issue. I do like PvE more than RP (yes believe it or not, I love to play the game).

That being said I still try to be active in stories, if people see a place for me. That may be an issue that should be addressed. Apprehension and or the fear of becoming overbearing or appearing to, can cause people to be standoffish to RP possibilities. I won’t hesitate to put feelers out to see if maybe I can be a part of something (yes I will even talk to a gnome). Other people may not know that they are welcome to be a part something.

That I don’t know how to fix. Not everyone will do a cannonball into the pool.

My contention is that the server relies too heavily on established mechanisms. We have events here and then every week, we meet in the same RP spot every week. [...] As I said in an earlier post, I'm not taking anything away from those mechanisms or the people who set them up. I AM saying that we rely too much on them, and that said reliance has made things stale.

04/03/2015 08:32 AMPosted by Kyalin

The problem is that we've squeezed ourselves into this box where we believe that in general, in order to have RP, there has to be some apparatus set up to do it, or some established way to get it going. It's that kind of mindset that I want to challenge.

Not saying the rest of what you had to say, Kyalin, wasn't just as important only that these points made me think of this...

If we all reacted the same way, we'd be predictable, and there's always more than one way to view a situation. What's true for the group is also true for the individual. It's simple: Overspecialize, and you breed in weakness. It's slow death. -Major Motoko Kusanagi
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113568/quotes?item=qt0333535
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CripplingOverspecialization

A bit to Noikona's point here...

04/03/2015 12:24 PMPosted by Noikona

Apprehension and or the fear of becoming overbearing or appearing to, can cause people to be standoffish to RP possibilities. I won’t hesitate to put feelers out to see if maybe I can be a part of something (yes I will even talk to a gnome). Other people may not know that they are welcome to be a part something.

I agree. This fear or apprehension may be something that needs to be addressed.
I can only speak for myself using personal examples, so for now I'll refrain from doing so simply because I don't want to appear as though I'm hijacking this thread to air personal grievances :P ...but I do agree. At some point we should have a discussion about such things and see what comes of it.

03/28/2015 09:15 PMPosted by Clottia

I would like to see an updated list of events on both sides. A nice current list with days, times and locations.

Yep.

I can do that and update the thread no problem if someone wants to give me all the events. I've been out of the loop.

My goodness, has activity around here been dreadful. I'm popping in really quick from a planet far, far away to dispense a few nuggets of wisdom-

On a server that suffered such a dramatic population nuke which, sadly, removed a whole lot of roleplayers from the community on the fringes, you as a player have very little incentive to not constantly hang out in Stormwind, as an example- I've never roleplayed Horde on CC, though not for lack of trying, in the long period of time I spent there- because you can usually bet that there will be at least a handful of other people for you to interact with. So there you have a pin in what you could, for some things, call an issue (IF you're out for world roleplay, which I'm assuming Kyalin, at least, still is.) And how many years can you fall back on doing that for the security of being able to interact with people in-character frequently before what you are doing is boring, and samey, and doesn't promote any effort around it, as it doesn't require any effort to do?

Now for those of you who might remember me, here's where I say one of those things that will bother you- Another huge deal is that, for roleplaying guilds, there weren't a whole lot of them on Cenarion Circle when the population was peaked. Which means we had, at that point, a pretty steady rain-cycle where an alt of an already established or well known variety of character, or guild leader, or guild concept, is fleshed from within by alts of people already in the handful, or even just one of the already very well established guilds on server. This isn't an environment that encourages diversity, which means it also isn't encouraging growth. If you don't have either of those things, how can you expect drive?

Adressing these issues is basically impossible, short of encouraging other people to build guilds with unique premises, or perhaps coming up with a very easily digestable guild structure that allows for a whole metric ton of people to borrow the same internal and story components, and rather than being something utterly never done before and building a massive following in that, focus instead on working with or against the other guilds of similar premise that build up around you.

The problem, I think at least the problem for me, is that Cenarion Circle never changes- This is a server historically rooted in a collection of very permanent guilds and players, and it harms it in ways, in my opinion.

04/12/2015 10:51 PMPosted by Willander

My goodness, has activity around here been dreadful.

... Has it? >> I really don't think "dreadful" is the appropriate word. I've seen servers that are far worse off. We still have a good community here and a lot of things going on.

I've been having a lovely time RPing lately. Usually when I decide to camp myself in the Mage Quarter on Zara I can find someone heading to the Recluse and engage them in some non-tavern roleplay, but I'm not sure if that counts.

I've also had a lot of fun interacting with people from other servers in Booty Bay on Tuesdays, and I really hope that continues.

What I will say is that we need to bring RP out of certain locations on which we have become dependent. I don't really take Zara to the Recluse very much because it doesn't make sense for her to be there. I'm sure a lot of characters don't have much reason to be there, so like Kyalin said, we can't depend on that.

The only reason we depend on the Recluse is because that's where we put ourselves. It's the default gathering place. But we can decide on new gathering places anytime we want to. Since we have a small population, it's unlikely that we will just run into each other. But as suggested, we can put ourselves in other places, collaborate in the ooc channel and decide to run into each other somewhere else.

However, the discussion of random RP on the server only applies to the main cities, Org and SW. Everywhere else ( except pvp zones and Draenor) is connected through CRZ.

I don't think we should be afraid to RP with other servers because they aren't "us". I don't see why we should limit ourselves to RP just with our server.

I know many people have made up their minds about RPers from certain other servers, but my experience thus far has been pretty positive.

Recently I went back to my old server, Thorium Brotherhood, not really expecting to find anything, but I found a lovely community who were very welcoming and very open to the idea of RPing with us through CRZ.

As far as creative ideas to get people to show up to events, coordinating events with the Thorium Brotherhood/ Farstriders/ Silver Hand server would be really great. I've been communicating with people over there and they will be sharing their events with us, and I think we should do the same. They are a small server with a lot of the same issues as us, but also the same good qualities.

I really don't want to annoy people with my constant CRZ campaigning, but I find it silly for people to complain about a lack of RP when there is -so much- RP right at our fingertips now. I think we really need to find a way to utilize it.

04/13/2015 12:20 AMPosted by Zaranae

04/12/2015 10:51 PMPosted by Willander

My goodness, has activity around here been dreadful.

... Has it? >> I really don't think "dreadful" is the appropriate word. I've seen servers that are far worse off. We still have a good community here and a lot of things going on.

I remember Will, and yeah, dreadful is a good word.

I remember back in the days of 40-50 people showing up to RP events. RP in SW was abundant, guilds were populous, active, and many. Not few, MANY. There was lots of RP in Shattrath, and other areas all over the world. I could be leveling and stumble upon RP out in the world. [I actually might never had met one of my best friends ever had she not been RPing in STV randomly as she quested.]

Now, we are lucky if 10-15 people show up. We can name the specific RP guilds horde-side on one hand. Ally side, I think is a bit better off; but I took another hiatus and just came back so I can't confirm or deny.

There's a lot of GOOD RP plots that can be started, we have a great plot line on going in the world right now, but no one wants to. Not sure how it was Ally side, but horde-side RP lost a lot of people between Wrath and WoD. Most of my contacts have moved on to WrA.

I was saddened when CC was merged with SoE. No offense to them, but they were/are as small as we are community wise and the merging, IMO, did nothing. I was here when it happened and I saw a small increase of RP, but I just got back from my hiatus and I've seen nothing different. I would've loved to be merged with WrA. People say the RP there is "quantity over quality" but honestly I've not experienced anything terribly terrible. A few dragoncatpeople, but since I came back I haven't seen much of that at all.

I'd honestly like to see the CC And SoE Forums MERGED, like other servers that are connected are; but I'm sure Blizzard doesn't care. It also doesn't seem like forums are used much overall anymore anyways.

I don't think we should be afraid to RP with other servers because they aren't "us". I don't see why we should limit ourselves to RP just with our server.

I know many people have made up their minds about RPers from certain other servers, but my experience thus far has been pretty positive.

THIS. PEOPLE THIS. I know some people who will automatically ignore anyone that doesn't have a CC Tag. So when I go to SMC and there's all those WrA people there, they just ignore them even if they interact with us. Personally, I had a fantastic time on WrA when I leveled a few alts over there. I got random RP in all the cities at one point (mind you this was during Cata).

Hello everyone! If you don't mind I've two coppers I could add to this topic.

I've clearly come to the WoW rp scene very late, and I realize that what many of you are speaking of is spanning years. But let me explain where I'm coming from. My tabletop rpg group dissolved rather suddenly when new opportunities in other cities arrived for a couple of my friends; and while I cheer them on in their new endeavors I miss the buzz and excitement of a realtime story-by-many. After moping for a few gamenight-less weeks (Yeah, pathetic I know. But this was part of my week for years), I decided to give the rp servers a try, and see if I could find some of what I enjoyed there.

And the good news is that I have, at odd times and in odd places.

1) Plotlines and events have been casually mentioned. But how does someone like me find out about that in game?

Stand in my beginners boots here. What are my possible sources of information? Same ones you and everyone you want to attend has, even if they are underutilized as Clottia mentioned. Right now I have the forums, in-game chat channels and very recently the Scholar newspaper for my server wide info. With any of those, you can stagger notifications about what you might be hosting over the week or so before.

2) RP can only be found consistently in a handful of locales?

Others have spoken at greater and more informed length than I could on this point. But for the Blue Recluse and similiar places, perhaps make them a rallying point for activities abroad--be they pvp raids, errand runs, questing squads, tavern crawls to other cities or what have you. As long as people are willing to try something new, it can become a new start.

But Zaranae made a good point about picking new places to gather. Since there are a couple things in game that aren't so location dependent, like [some forms of] crafting, perhaps that's something that can be a basis for rp activity out in the open. A craft jam, in-character maker space kind of thing. To keep the blacksmiths and engineers from being left out you could try Thunderbluff by the pond, Silvermoon around the training area/ornamental fountain, and perhaps Ironforge by the Great Forge?

That's about all I have for now. If anyone needs help updating anything for the server, let me know. I'd be glad to help. Other than that, it'll be nice meeting you all in game when the opportunity arises.

I see nothing wrong with the community here on CC/SoE. Yes, it's small compared the the mega-realms, but those who have faithfully remained do their best to provide as much RP as they can. Certainly, the variety is also low, but that's to be expected. There are, however, players here actively working to boost population and morale, if one would merely look.
Sure, we're not a first glance realm. That kind of expectation is really quite rude, imo. If you're looking for instant contact and popularity, you're in the wrong place. If, instead, you are looking for a true community of helpful, dedicated people who are proud of their home, this is it. (Realm jumpers notwithstanding.)
Dreadful is precisely the LAST word to come to mind when I tell people about CC/SoE. Rather, I could not have asked to be part of a better realm and community. Indeed, it's something you do not find on the mega-realms. They have their guilds and their groups, but no other realm is as close as we are.

It is perhaps best noted that certain naysayers have, in the past, committed heinous acts of douchebaggery that lead to swift and long-lived scorn and infamy. And whilst they may poke their cowardly face back now and then to see what has become of us, certainly their opinion is unreliable at best.

And Maxla, dear, welcome to CC/SoE. Glad to have you aboard. I hope you find yourself welcomed by everyone you meet. Just watch out for pink cats and maggots.