Public Rules Proposals

Saul Perth

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Well to piggy back off of that, as someone that is big on story. What if there was a system that embraced quality and impactful storytelling. Plots could be reviewed at the end and be assigned bonus credits for quality writing throughout the whole series of the plot. These quality standards could display things such as:

  • Presented a clear demonstration of putting story and plot progression above pvp outcome. (This could be working with others IC/OOC, coming to agreements, taking hits, sparing another player, and promoting fights that put more emphasis on pushing a narrative and a relationship between the combatants than writing one that comes off as an e-sport. We have seen plenty of personal fights throughout the series, Maul and Kenobi, Luke and Vader, etc. etc. We should push for creating friendly rivalries between members of opposing factions).
  • Showed a clear and consistent narrative for the duration of the plot. We have all been in plots where the threads seem disjointed, and there isn't really anything wrong with that. But, I think giving bonus incentive to players to try and tell deeper stories with their plots. Reward players and encourage players to create engaging and fun NPCs that seem like they exist in the world, tell a challenging and fun adventure that seems to put the player at odds and kindle the spirit of the epic tales that we saw in the movies and made us fall in love with star wars. For example, reward a small group of smuggler players who write a thrilling adventure across the outer rim, engaging with two timing betrayals, always persistent bounty hunters, and those pesky imperial checkpoints as they attempt to get their famed ship back. Encourage players to get creative with plots!
  • Showed a clear character progression and growth through the plot: This one could be hard, because unless you've been following a whole character's journey it would be difficult to see where a character has grown or fallen in terms of their demons, goals, aspirations, etc. I think a lot of players do this well already, but it could be further incentive to try and tell deep and meaningful stories between groups of players.
I don't think there should be anything going against players for misspelling or grammatical mistakes. I think after a time we can all see the different skill levels and writing styles of each member after a certain time. I don't think a player should be punished or come across with a beautiful prose to show that they are putting in effort. I just am of the belief that if we encourage players and give them some freedom to make creative and engaging stories it will keep people continuing to come back.

Well said, but my issue with this is that creates a lot of work for moderators. They already have quite a lot on their plate and they certainly aren't in it for the paycheck. One of the reasons I tried to make my system fall into the hands of the writers was to keep from adding onto the to-do lists of the mods.
 

TWD26

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I had a thought.

Going back to the idea that we are thinking about having separate RP areas for general RPing and RPing that affects the overall site and the site story, should we make it so that all threads done in the main site-story area have to be open? I mean, we have discussed alternatives to death in pvp scenarios in this thread, and there seems to be some real interest in them. That being the case we could make it so that death itself does not need to be enabled, but threads in the main story area have to be open. It seems to make sense to me cause if one of our characters is trying to do something on a galactic scale or make some significant change that affects the Galaxy or a large part of it, shouldn't other characters be free to intervene in order to help or try to stop it?

Thoughts?
Well a lot of the threads are open currently, the problem is that there is a clear skill gap in terms of pvp, and a fear factor to it. If I know that a really good member is on the opposing side,
Well said, but my issue with this is that creates a lot of work for moderators. They already have quite a lot on their plate and they certainly aren't in it for the paycheck. One of the reasons I tried to make my system fall into the hands of the writers was to keep from adding onto the to-do lists of the mods.

Mods already have to review plots. So I'm not sure how much work it would be on top of that.
 

The Good Doctor

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Mods already have to review plots. So I'm not sure how much work it would be on top of that.

Well this is my own opinion as a player, if plot reviews go for for grading quality (which is subjective and what qualifies as quality can vary person to person) then that would pretty much mean plot reviews go from "This looks good" to reading through all the threads and all the posts, lines .etc, analyzing and then pretty much they would be English teachers grading essays with none of the pay. This would be significant more work on top of that I would imagine from logistics standpoint.


Still the suggestion is welcome :)
 

TWD26

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Well this is my own opinion as a player, if plot reviews go for for grading quality (which is subjective and what qualifies as quality can vary person to person) then that would pretty much mean plot reviews go from "This looks good" to reading through all the threads and all the posts, lines .etc, analyzing and then pretty much they would be English teachers grading essays with none of the pay. This would be significant more work on top of that I would imagine from logistics standpoint.


Still the suggestion is welcome :)

That's true, just an idea I had off the top of my head. Didn't really think about it from a logistical standpoint.
 

Wit

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That's true, just an idea I had off the top of my head. Didn't really think about it from a logistical standpoint.
The levels were actually a means to reward what you said. Story participation and good plot development got you more credits, which helped you level up. Of course that got exploited and people spammed inconsequential plots or post fluffed to get levels, but logistically it was a good system. Unfortunately it’s not an easy problem to solve.
 

Ulysses

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I had a thought.

Going back to the idea that we are thinking about having separate RP areas for general RPing and RPing that affects the overall site and the site story, should we make it so that all threads done in the main site-story area have to be open? I mean, we have discussed alternatives to death in pvp scenarios in this thread, and there seems to be some real interest in them. That being the case we could make it so that death itself does not need to be enabled, but threads in the main story area have to be open. It seems to make sense to me cause if one of our characters is trying to do something on a galactic scale or make some significant change that affects the Galaxy or a large part of it, shouldn't other characters be free to intervene in order to help or try to stop it?

Thoughts?

I like this. I think it gives a good scope for genuine role play (rather than what can end up being predetermined story telling).

I think the only safeguard you would need is some sort of sense-check on people entering threads so that you don't get eg a mandalorian waltzing into a private room in the senate in full armour to shoot up the two senators discussing an invasion.

I think that it can be managed in two ways:
A) reporting for meta gaming - the example above clearly falls foul of that
B) IC consequences for characters that contravene obvious local customs (such as taking weapons into the senate). These could be:
i) bounty board
ii) compelling characters who do that to do some sort of escape thread and/or
iii) giving the defenders reasonable NPCs

Edit: scrap (ii) as that amounts to simply having the defenders bring in team mates to an already open thread. However, I would give extra credits to characters who assist the story by filling in these consequential roles, rather than pursuing only their own designs.
 

Wit

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With Open threads, having a valid justification for a character being in the thread has always been a thing. A mando waltzing into a senate meeting to pull of shenanigans would definitely have consequences. If someone wants to pull off stupid shit like that then I think they should be prepared to face the consequences. Like staff swat could stay a thing so that they can jump in to stop things like this, or the more stupid stuff could just be voided.
 

Yuan

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Should we talk about the actual TL? Like the time period it will be taking place in? Or the factions we would like to see? Or have the mods already been working that stuff out? @Brandon Rhea
 

Brandon Rhea

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We're discussing amongst the staff 1) ideas for wrapping up the story of this timeline and 2) the concept of the next timeline. We don't have anything to announce yet, though, so discussion here would be premature.
 

Yuan

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We're discussing amongst the staff 1) ideas for wrapping up the story of this timeline and 2) the concept of the next timeline. We don't have anything to announce yet, though, so discussion here would be premature.

Oh no, I just meant should we pitch ideas and that sort of thing? Or is that all being handled on the mod side?
 

Brandon Rhea

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Oh no, I just meant should we pitch ideas and that sort of thing? Or is that all being handled on the mod side?
We're more or less decided on what the setting will be, we're just not ready to announce yet, so I don't think pitching ideas would be the best use of time tbh.
 

Saul Perth

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We're more or less decided on what the setting will be, we're just not ready to announce yet, so I don't think pitching ideas would be the best use of time tbh.

So we're going with Gungan highschool then?
 

Braden

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This is something I have thought about for a bit and its on the level system. I do like the introduction of it as it does give you something to look at when it comes to your character, but I also think it is also limiting, especially when it comes to PvP. (I will say again I am not a PvP expert or even someone who actively participates in it, but this is just my opinion after looking over PvP threads and a lot of OCC threads.)

Anyway my suggestion is keeping the level system, but separating it from a characters power level and solely be a measuring stick for a characters notoriety/fame/political influence.

With the abolishment of Legends Force Powers and the rules of Force Ability added since then, I do not believe that there is as much of a wide force strength gap between individuals as before. You also have non-fs character being able to gain tech at whatever level and subsequently use it in battle be it PvP or Not.

I think this may eliminate a lot of the issues around your (insert level) and I'm (insert level) so you cannot do this and I can do this. And leave it down to the actual writing. There is of course some common sense which needs to be applied, a Sith Acolyte just out of the womb will not be able to kill someone with Force Lightning in one turn. You can keep a rough track of a persons ability through their rank, your are going to expect a Jedi Master to have more power than a Padawan, but it does not mean that the Padawan can't give you a run for your money if your not careful.

By having Level System not locked to combat ability I believe it would allow some writers not PvP focused to perhaps pursue plots which could raise their notoriety quicker, by having certain plots which will reward more credits for an action which puts there self out in the galaxy. (EG: A public bombing on a Sith world and then announcing there the guilty party. Silly example but.)

I also think this would allow a little more flexibility when it comes to character creation.

Anyway just a thought.
 

Die Shize

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I’ve read up on a portion of posts in this thread so far but if I am off the core topic or derailing then don’t hesitate to inform me and I won’t hesitate to correct my course.

I don’t have any outright rule proposals or rule amendments or what have you, but there has been some healthy discussion in this thread on rules themselves and the concept of what this site sets out to achieve when it comes to roleplay in general. I wanted to chime in on that, at risk of repeating others, as a former member and someone who likes Star Wars and has never quite found another RP site that manages to pull Star Wars off like here.

I left this site in part because its roleplay systems just weren’t for me. Nothing right or wrong with that as much as someone might like peanut butter and someone else might not. I just felt like the leveling, the rules, the tech and other elements took away from my enjoyment and motivation instead of adding to it. This is kind of where someone earlier spoke about freeform roleplay and the ‘freedom’ inherent in that system, and someone else spoke of how rules are needed to prevent chaos, and I agree with both because I have experienced enough roleplay here and elsewhere to know where my comfort level is.

You need rules on a roleplay site as much as you need laws in a city. But you don’t need such rules/laws to the point that they become overbearing. I know that this is opinionated and subjective as to whether the site was at that point, even beyond PVP, but in general the principle remains. One thing that led to me pulling myself away from here is that I felt like I was indirectly being pushed away by the systems in place. Again, that could boil down to personal preference—if you don’t like peanut butter then don’t eat it—but I don’t think that my sentiments are totally unique.

I came back recently but isolated myself to Alternative/Chronicles so that I wouldn’t have to deal with character sheets and tech approvals and leveling up and all that, and I enjoyed my time because I enjoy SWRP. So the solution isn’t to totally transform this site into something that goes against what it aims to achieve; and Brandon Rhea did an excellent job hitting those notes in his announcement thread.

I guess, in a longwinded way, and from a formerly active if minor member, what I want my SWRP experience to be is something that is controlled, so has rules, but has more focus on creativity and collaboration and is more focused on the freeform aspects. Take that with salt, of course, because I really haven’t stretched my limbs over this site enough to really comment on any creativity gaps and whatsuch, but this is from my personal if limited experience because that’s what it boils down to for each of us.

I’ve been on a RP site with rules yet with a great(er) deal of freedom, and there will always be problems but for the most part it worked. But that site is not this site. SWRP is centered on overall lore that was established outside of SWRP and that is of course Star Wars. So the staff has to tread carefully in preserving that lore and keeping integrity with its roots. SWRP also has timelines and a core plot for each one. So overall some more focus on rules and mechanics make sense, but a grand examination on those rules and mechanics would only do the site well, as less emphasis on these things would pull me and others like me back in.

We all just want to write and roleplay and experience Star Wars together. For some of us, that means Solo...but less I say about that movie the better. xD

Just my two cents and ten pence.
 

Phoenix

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This is something I have thought about for a bit and its on the level system. I do like the introduction of it as it does give you something to look at when it comes to your character, but I also think it is also limiting, especially when it comes to PvP. (I will say again I am not a PvP expert or even someone who actively participates in it, but this is just my opinion after looking over PvP threads and a lot of OCC threads.)

Anyway my suggestion is keeping the level system, but separating it from a characters power level and solely be a measuring stick for a characters notoriety/fame/political influence.

With the abolishment of Legends Force Powers and the rules of Force Ability added since then, I do not believe that there is as much of a wide force strength gap between individuals as before. You also have non-fs character being able to gain tech at whatever level and subsequently use it in battle be it PvP or Not.

I think this may eliminate a lot of the issues around your (insert level) and I'm (insert level) so you cannot do this and I can do this. And leave it down to the actual writing. There is of course some common sense which needs to be applied, a Sith Acolyte just out of the womb will not be able to kill someone with Force Lightning in one turn. You can keep a rough track of a persons ability through their rank, your are going to expect a Jedi Master to have more power than a Padawan, but it does not mean that the Padawan can't give you a run for your money if your not careful.

By having Level System not locked to combat ability I believe it would allow some writers not PvP focused to perhaps pursue plots which could raise their notoriety quicker, by having certain plots which will reward more credits for an action which puts there self out in the galaxy. (EG: A public bombing on a Sith world and then announcing there the guilty party. Silly example but.)

I also think this would allow a little more flexibility when it comes to character creation.

Anyway just a thought.

Personally, I would argue against having level be locked into your notoriety. We tried it before and it didn't really work. A character that should have been extremely famous for participating in X, Y, Z galactic event wouldn't have the credits to be well known despite being a huge war hero or a famous tournament winner. They were still locked into being "level 2 notoriety" or whatever. Unless you're suggesting just immediately granting level 3/4 notoriety for major events. Maybe if you wanted to do level = notoriety then you could actually apply for level based on character actions (and by extension do away with credits).

As for levels in combat, I could go either way. It definitely has its benefits but also has its drawbacks. It kind of bothers me that a Padawan would be able to go toe-to-toe with the Emperor imo, but I think the levels have become a bit too stringent/stratified. I think they'd probably need a revamp or maybe make power (loosely) based on rank.
 

Ulysses

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I think @Phoenix has to be right that people should be able to transcend their level organically through RP - the most obvious way is by killing the emperor and claiming the title themselves. No one should be able to say "errr... I think you'll find... A level 2 can't be emperor". (Although it might influence how the new subjects would take it)

However, the credit system is a good way to sense check things where other people aren't also seeking the same goal - eg someone really wants to be the rear-vice admiral of a lost fleet of Gungans. Their character cannot start in that role, but there is no clear way of showing progress up the chain without the hard graft of plots etc.

The result is therefore this: that characters should be able to justify their notoriety/power/influence on either specific RP achievements, or abstract credits/level. I don't think that that creates any contradiction.
 

Brandon Rhea

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I think the idea of doing something notable leading to a jump in levels is interesting. For example, if you're a Level 2 who manages to kill the Sith Emperor/Empress, there's no reason (IMO, challenge me if I'm wrong) why they shouldn't jump to Level 4 in recognition of that. And if it turns out they're not able to translate that into holding onto power or the benefits of their notoriety, that's okay too. They can be overthrown, deposed, etc - all things that happen organically, thus making the leveling system a reflection of a story's evolution rather than limiting story potential based on your level.

Thoughts?
 
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