A Return to Free(Form) for SWRP

GABA

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@Boli and @Brandon Rhea


Oh how I miss the “stern” emoji!
mU2Ir1z.png
 

Dmitri

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Fine, fine. Noone propose to Johnny.

I...just have to go return something real quick.

*muffled sobs*
I don't think that'll work. Johnny only marries Johnny.
 

Dmitri

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On a serious note, will the change in site operations change the mandate for usage of sub-accounts? Will we still have to use them or will we be able to post with main account again?
 

Brandon Rhea

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On a serious note, will the change in site operations change the mandate for usage of sub-accounts? Will we still have to use them or will we be able to post with main account again?
Don't know yet.
 

Johnnysaurus Rex

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If I make a character and we roleplay together, Brandon, will you promise to only post once a month?
 

Lucid

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We talking Johnnysaurus-style wedding? Rainbow Wedding? Andraste-Exodeus wedding?
The one where dome me brought a fleet to bombard form orbit. Idk which flavor that was.
 

MasterTyvokka

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I am so happy to see this! I popped back in for a while a couple of months ago hoping to do a little writing but tbh I was bit overwhelmed by all I needed to do just to get going . I just didn't have the time. This is not a knock on the staff, but having to wait for the two+ weeks for character approval before I could do much of anything caused me to lose whatever motivation I had to write again.

I can only imagine what it would be like for a new member to see all the things that needed to be approved and get discouraged. Some thoughts...

Indie factions, will the old indie system be returning? I know it may mean approval work for staff but I feel like that was also important to free form and allowed a lot of interesting story telling and there were times ,especially in the 5th timeline, when indies played big story roles.

I feel like, while fun to a point, the 5th timeline rank system was a bit of a grind to advance but the 6th timeline seemed to be a good mix.

I was not around for timelines 7 and 8 nor enough of this one to make any serious assessment with regards to staff involvement in the story but when I first joined in the 5th timeline I don't think there was much staff involvement at all in moving the story. Which was fine but things seem to languish a bit. On the other hand during the 5th timeline time skip and 6th timeline there seem to be a Goldilocks amount of involvement. Enough to help move the story some and add interest but not so much that is caused staff burnout or was restrictive. At least from my point of view. I guess the trick is finding that middle ground.

Also I'd love to see the Main factions return to having tabs on the main forum page instead of tucked within a factions sub tab.

Actually I'd say scrap all of this and return to the TuTu Consortium, THOSE were the good ole' days.
 

Dmitri

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The one where dome me brought a fleet to bombard form orbit. Idk which flavor that was.
That would be Johnny-style, aka Vo Wedding. Rainbow Wedding was the fever-dream wedding between Sisk Renelo and Geist Weiss that involved the murder of Empress Andraste.
 

Green Ranger

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Do we still take a shot every time Weiss mentions Geist?
 

Catbert

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Imho, the sub-accounts by themselves aren't such a bad thing. It's the things associated with sub-accounts that could make things a chore. Here are a couple of examples of what I mean.

The pros:
  • You always see the character's portrait (good for visual reference and navigating the forum).

  • The links to all the relevant stuff are always at hand.

The cons:
  • The level system that determined your character's power and fame. It existed around in 2018, but has been abolished since then. "XP points" for leveling up used to be assigned for the number of words. I'm not sure how it turned out, but my thought is that it might have promoted word-grinding instead of crafting the story together in the best way possible.

  • When something changed about the character (faction, rank, etc.), you'd have to run it by the admins and gather all the threads leading up to it. Even the acquisition of some ordinary weapon (tech plots). It appears that rule simplification has been an ongoing process, because tech plots were a thing in 2018 (when I first joined), and are no longer a thing.

  • The limitation on characters you can write for at a time. Personally, I don't have a problem with this, but I see how it could hamper one's creativity. Like being forced to abandon a character that you don't have inspiration to write for a while.

P.S. I wasn't around during the freeform days, nor do I know what rules existed back then, and what didn't. I just see some cool stuff. Like sub-accounts, or the awesome tech board that gives you the idea how things work in comparison to each other, and how to balance them. And the amount of effort people have put in producing AND reviewing great content.

P.P.S. Either way, I'm looking forward to see how it turns out.
 
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