Traveller's Café: Discussion, brainstorming & advice

[Gvozdevsk]

Aside from Excalibur and Mass Effect (and sorta EH, we cover all genres), I have never seen a military rp actually succeed and retain quality.

I again suggest to everyone to keep an rp idea in their head for a week before they write it down anywhere.

This so much. You can make a great war rp set in Sci Fi and it'll be good. But most people seem to try to model them off action movies. Plus then there's also the bugger that constant action is one of the things that can easily spawn terrible roleplaying due a lack of detail as posts get shorter and shorter. Real shame. I'd love for an RP styled like Band of Brothers, but there's just so many problems-

1- Every single decent war movie at least kills off someone. Not anyone is going to make it, but lest you have a great group of understanding people, making an OP decision to kill off someone's character will piss them the hell off most likely, or at least annoy them. Considering that on average you'd want to kill off half the group for it to be good, you'll end up with a very disgruntled group of players who won't like you a whole lot. While you could also have people control multiple characters, this as well gets complicated. Really, people don't like RP's of the realistic nature of:

'You see movement off in the far distance. You look to scan for enemies. There's a flash of light. Make a new character.'

2- Constant action is the enemy of development. Unless it's formed to be similar to an actual theater of war with lengthy pauses and leave and not a single battle- there simply will be little character development, or at least meaningful action between characters. Flashbacks, thoughts, and tiny powerful snippets of chatter are all that can be realistically done. You're not going to spill bits of your thoughts on the war while you're being suppressed by heavy machine-gun fire, getting shot, or looking for where the hell sniper of the week is.

3- No. You cannot make a character with an absurd rank charging into the battle with the rest of his men, because that's not how warfare works these days.

4- No. You cannot all be snipers. Seriously.. And you'll want a spotter if this is a modern-ish setting.

5- No. You cannot know how to fly a plane, drive a tank, and operate an artillery gun. That just doesn't work.

Those are most of the problems I see with them.


However guys, this gives me an idea. What about a Medieval War RP? Something maybe like Chivalry, set in a fictional world however with realistic tech for the time so there aren't wizards and warlocks running around. Although this would still require research to be fairly well done. Just a thought if anyone wanted to do it- as I likely wouldn't be able to be OP, as I'm still cooking my Warhammer 40k RP idea.

The way I could see something like this work is if someone makes a character with the intention of having them die and replacing them later on.

[AETEN II]

That's not California. That's LA.

Davis.

You're mistaking drivers with Nazi Bicyclists in that case.

[Altito Asmoro]

I had a great idea while I was in a shower.

A world project was funded and developed by the world nations to find out if reincarnation is real or not. Three children were tested to determined the true reincarnation.

It was failed, and the project was scrapped, but it turned out it took time to know about their reincarnation age. They became adults and have good careers because of their respective reincarnations.

You, will play as a child or adult who will slowly discovers about your reincarnation and figure it out while also use your reincarnation's abilities for your goals. However, the Reincarnation of Evil, a group of Neo-Nazi who worship Hitler, wants to manipulate all of the reincarnation people and make them to lead the world. Thus, United Nations form the United Security of Reincarnation (UNSR) to stop their actions, and you can be from the United Nations or from the Neo-Nazi.

So thoughts?

[AETEN II]

I had a great idea while I was in a shower.

A world project was funded and developed by the world nations to find out if reincarnation is real or not. Three children were tested to determined the true reincarnation.

It was failed, and the project was scrapped, but it turned out it took time to know about their reincarnation age. They became adults and have good careers because of their respective reincarnations.

You, will play as a child or adult who will slowly discovers about your reincarnation and figure it out while also use your reincarnation's abilities for your goals. However, the Reincarnation of Evil, a group of Neo-Nazi who worship Hitler, wants to manipulate all of the reincarnation people and make them to lead the world. Thus, United Nations form the United Security of Reincarnation (UNSR) to stop their actions, and you can be from the United Nations or from the Neo-Nazi.

So thoughts?

Seriously man? You bumped an idea over three hours? If people pass over it, it means they're not interested.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Seriously man? You bumped an idea over three hours? If people pass over it, it means they're not interested.

I ignore most things that seem like the person just thought of it that very day.

I also feel that almost anything with Neo-Nazis and magic will be bloody stupid.

[Altito Asmoro]

Seriously man? You bumped an idea over three hours? If people pass over it, it means they're not interested.

No, I bumped it since it had been three pages. Beside, every time I posted ideas, in the end I never made it, because of time limit.

[AETEN II]

Seriously man? You bumped an idea over three hours? If people pass over it, it means they're not interested.

I ignore most things that seem like the person just thought of it that very day.

I also feel that almost anything with Neo-Nazis and magic will be bloody stupid.

Didn't EH have Neo-Nazis and magic?

[Nationstatelandsville]

I ignore most things that seem like the person just thought of it that very day.

I also feel that almost anything with Neo-Nazis and magic will be bloody stupid.

Didn't EH have Neo-Nazis and magic?

Sarcastically.

[Altito Asmoro]

Seriously man? You bumped an idea over three hours? If people pass over it, it means they're not interested.

I ignore most things that seem like the person just thought of it that very day.

I also feel that almost anything with Neo-Nazis and magic will be bloody stupid.

Reincarnation is not magic, it is a life cycle.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

I ignore most things that seem like the person just thought of it that very day.

I also feel that almost anything with Neo-Nazis and magic will be bloody stupid.

Reincarnation is not magic, it is a life cycle.

You don't need to explain reincarnation to a Hindu, mate.

[Altito Asmoro]

Reincarnation is not magic, it is a life cycle.

You don't need to explain reincarnation to a Hindu, mate.

Oh, sorry, Night, and I'm a Muslim. But the idea has no magic on it.

[The Empire of Pretantia]

You don't need to explain reincarnation to a Hindu, mate.

Oh, sorry, Night, and I'm a Muslim. But the idea has no magic on it.

No magic, just divine powers swirling around, doing divine stuff. Besides, magic is what witches do anyway.

[Arumdaum]

I have one world for you: California.

That's not California. That's LA.

No, that's Orange County. :|

Driving's fine in Ventura County.

[Constaniana]

I've driven with my father from Pennsylvania to Maine and back twice now for bear hunting and both times we either got held up or nearly hit in Connecticut. Grant it New York drivers suck too but they have nothing on Connecticut.

I have one world for you: California.

I assure you that Maryland is worse.

[Kassaran]

I have one world for you: California.

I assure you that Maryland is worse.

Projects, visit 'em, survive 'em, buy the t-shirt, then brag about it and hope not to get shot while doing so. BTW guys, I once again am bringing up my Sci-Fi RP that I currently have going on. Still in the Prologue and plenty of time to join. Check it out if you get a chance.
Link:http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=264543

[Nightkill the Emperor]

So, you're rping in/as a foreign nation...

Well, you should probably learn things about them, yes?

First off, there's a marvellous list here which helps cover the cultures of many countries so you can roleplay them more accurately, including the USA, England, Scotland, Canada (English and France), Ukraine and so on. Many people (from all nations, not just Americans and Japanese) tend to be bafflingly ignorant about different countries and therefore cause me severe pain when they begin roleplaying that nation entirely wrong. Different nations hold different cultures and different views, which must be researched in depth. Yes, even between America and Canada there can be large differences that need to be looked into. For example, the pages for America differs substantially from English Canada and even more from Québec.

What else? Oh, yes...

Red coloured nations drive on the right. Blue coloured nations drive upon the left. This can actually be meaningful and important. As another note on the subject of driving, cars in Europe tend to be designed to be agile and make turns easily, while cars in the United States were designed for power, as the USA is extremely large (one can drive across Texas for day and night...and still be in Texas. A horrifying thought).

I cannot tell you what an incredible resource WikiTravel is for research. This site expertly explains many countries and cultures, or provides brief overviews - and even goes into detail about the individual towns and cities, and even neighbourhoods. Brilliant stuff.

I'd add more to this, but I've just given you all the resources you need, as well as a brief tangent on automobiles.

[AETEN II]

So, you're rping in/as a foreign nation...

Well, you should probably learn things about them, yes?

First off, there's a marvellous list here which helps cover the cultures of many countries so you can roleplay them more accurately, including the USA, England, Scotland, Canada (English and France), Ukraine and so on. Many people (from all nations, not just Americans and Japanese) tend to be bafflingly ignorant about different countries and therefore cause me severe pain when they begin roleplaying that nation entirely wrong. Different nations hold different cultures and different views, which must be researched in depth. Yes, even between America and Canada there can be large differences that need to be looked into. For example, the pages for America differs substantially from English Canada and even more from Québec.

What else? Oh, yes...

(Image)

Red coloured nations drive on the right. Blue coloured nations drive upon the left. This can actually be meaningful and important. As another note on the subject of driving, cars in Europe tend to be designed to be agile and make turns easily, while cars in the United States were designed for power, as the USA is extremely large (one can drive across Texas for day and night...and still be in Texas. A horrifying thought).

I cannot tell you what an incredible resource WikiTravel is for research. This site expertly explains many countries and cultures, or provides brief overviews - and even goes into detail about the individual towns and cities, and even neighbourhoods. Brilliant stuff.

I'd add more to this, but I've just given you all the resources you need, as well as a brief tangent on automobiles.

I'm American and I don't know how Football is played, not familiar with Bob Newhart at all save maybe being mentioned a couple times before, don't know who the Fonz are, not really familiar with Archie Bunker at all, and I can pretty easily distinguish race, although don't really care about it. I also realize that World War II was much more than just a war. I also don't give a damn largely about the personal lives of politicians besides taking personal offense unless they're completely stupid. Nearly all the talk shows I watch feature authors especially.


Man, this list must either be old or I'm not close to the average American. Who would have known?
(Although I must agree, making fun of the French never gets old. Although that must be the Englishman in me.)

EDIT

Reading the Canada sections make me think I should definitely move to Canada. I seem to be misplaced.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

So, you're rping in/as a foreign nation...

Well, you should probably learn things about them, yes?

First off, there's a marvellous list here which helps cover the cultures of many countries so you can roleplay them more accurately, including the USA, England, Scotland, Canada (English and France), Ukraine and so on. Many people (from all nations, not just Americans and Japanese) tend to be bafflingly ignorant about different countries and therefore cause me severe pain when they begin roleplaying that nation entirely wrong. Different nations hold different cultures and different views, which must be researched in depth. Yes, even between America and Canada there can be large differences that need to be looked into. For example, the pages for America differs substantially from English Canada and even more from Québec.

What else? Oh, yes...

(Image)

Red coloured nations drive on the right. Blue coloured nations drive upon the left. This can actually be meaningful and important. As another note on the subject of driving, cars in Europe tend to be designed to be agile and make turns easily, while cars in the United States were designed for power, as the USA is extremely large (one can drive across Texas for day and night...and still be in Texas. A horrifying thought).

I cannot tell you what an incredible resource WikiTravel is for research. This site expertly explains many countries and cultures, or provides brief overviews - and even goes into detail about the individual towns and cities, and even neighbourhoods. Brilliant stuff.

I'd add more to this, but I've just given you all the resources you need, as well as a brief tangent on automobiles.

I'm American and I don't know how Football is played, not familiar with Bob Newhart at all save maybe being mentioned a couple times before, don't know who the Fonz are, not really familiar with Archie Bunker at all, and I can pretty easily distinguish race, although don't really care about it. I also realize that World War II was much more than just a war. I also don't give a damn largely about the personal lives of politicians besides taking personal offense unless they're completely stupid. Nearly all the talk shows I watch feature authors especially.


Man, this list must either be old or I'm not close to the average American. Who would have known?
(Although I must agree, making fun of the French never gets old. Although that must be the Englishman in me.)

It's an analysis of a general American, not every single particular one. Though it may be old - it's generally intended for adult Americans regardless.

[AETEN II]

I'm American and I don't know how Football is played, not familiar with Bob Newhart at all save maybe being mentioned a couple times before, don't know who the Fonz are, not really familiar with Archie Bunker at all, and I can pretty easily distinguish race, although don't really care about it. I also realize that World War II was much more than just a war. I also don't give a damn largely about the personal lives of politicians besides taking personal offense unless they're completely stupid. Nearly all the talk shows I watch feature authors especially.


Man, this list must either be old or I'm not close to the average American. Who would have known?
(Although I must agree, making fun of the French never gets old. Although that must be the Englishman in me.)

It's an analysis of a general American, not every single particular one. Though it may be old - it's generally intended for adult Americans regardless.

Lots of misses for me though. Reading it, I really ought to move to Canada. I seemed to be misplaced.

Although I suspect some of the American culture references are a bit outdated, as the more recent generations either don't care, only know the big names because their parents liked them, or take slight interest in some. For example, I largely know about Mary Tyler Moore not through her show, but rather the Dick Van Dyke show.

[Agritum]

Aside from Excalibur and Mass Effect (and sorta EH, we cover all genres), I have never seen a military rp actually succeed and retain quality.

I again suggest to everyone to keep an rp idea in their head for a week before they write it down anywhere.

This so much. You can make a great war rp set in Sci Fi and it'll be good. But most people seem to try to model them off action movies. Plus then there's also the bugger that constant action is one of the things that can easily spawn terrible roleplaying due a lack of detail as posts get shorter and shorter. Real shame. I'd love for an RP styled like Band of Brothers, but there's just so many problems-

1- Every single decent war movie at least kills off someone. Not anyone is going to make it, but lest you have a great group of understanding people, making an OP decision to kill off someone's character will piss them the hell off most likely, or at least annoy them. Considering that on average you'd want to kill off half the group for it to be good, you'll end up with a very disgruntled group of players who won't like you a whole lot. While you could also have people control multiple characters, this as well gets complicated. Really, people don't like RP's of the realistic nature of:

'You see movement off in the far distance. You look to scan for enemies. There's a flash of light. Make a new character.'

2- Constant action is the enemy of development. Unless it's formed to be similar to an actual theater of war with lengthy pauses and leave and not a single battle- there simply will be little character development, or at least meaningful action between characters. Flashbacks, thoughts, and tiny powerful snippets of chatter are all that can be realistically done. You're not going to spill bits of your thoughts on the war while you're being suppressed by heavy machine-gun fire, getting shot, or looking for where the hell sniper of the week is.

3- No. You cannot make a character with an absurd rank charging into the battle with the rest of his men, because that's not how warfare works these days.

4- No. You cannot all be snipers. Seriously.. And you'll want a spotter if this is a modern-ish setting.

5- No. You cannot know how to fly a plane, drive a tank, and operate an artillery gun. That just doesn't work.

Those are most of the problems I see with them.


However guys, this gives me an idea. What about a Medieval War RP? Something maybe like Chivalry, set in a fictional world however with realistic tech for the time so there aren't wizards and warlocks running around. Although this would still require research to be fairly well done. Just a thought if anyone wanted to do it- as I likely wouldn't be able to be OP, as I'm still cooking my Warhammer 40k RP idea.

You know, I think that I just solved all of those problems by choosing a virtual reality MMOFPS as the setting of my planned RP. It kinda permits you to get away with stuff like that.

[AETEN II]

This so much. You can make a great war rp set in Sci Fi and it'll be good. But most people seem to try to model them off action movies. Plus then there's also the bugger that constant action is one of the things that can easily spawn terrible roleplaying due a lack of detail as posts get shorter and shorter. Real shame. I'd love for an RP styled like Band of Brothers, but there's just so many problems-

1- Every single decent war movie at least kills off someone. Not anyone is going to make it, but lest you have a great group of understanding people, making an OP decision to kill off someone's character will piss them the hell off most likely, or at least annoy them. Considering that on average you'd want to kill off half the group for it to be good, you'll end up with a very disgruntled group of players who won't like you a whole lot. While you could also have people control multiple characters, this as well gets complicated. Really, people don't like RP's of the realistic nature of:

'You see movement off in the far distance. You look to scan for enemies. There's a flash of light. Make a new character.'

2- Constant action is the enemy of development. Unless it's formed to be similar to an actual theater of war with lengthy pauses and leave and not a single battle- there simply will be little character development, or at least meaningful action between characters. Flashbacks, thoughts, and tiny powerful snippets of chatter are all that can be realistically done. You're not going to spill bits of your thoughts on the war while you're being suppressed by heavy machine-gun fire, getting shot, or looking for where the hell sniper of the week is.

3- No. You cannot make a character with an absurd rank charging into the battle with the rest of his men, because that's not how warfare works these days.

4- No. You cannot all be snipers. Seriously.. And you'll want a spotter if this is a modern-ish setting.

5- No. You cannot know how to fly a plane, drive a tank, and operate an artillery gun. That just doesn't work.

Those are most of the problems I see with them.


However guys, this gives me an idea. What about a Medieval War RP? Something maybe like Chivalry, set in a fictional world however with realistic tech for the time so there aren't wizards and warlocks running around. Although this would still require research to be fairly well done. Just a thought if anyone wanted to do it- as I likely wouldn't be able to be OP, as I'm still cooking my Warhammer 40k RP idea.

You know, I think that I just solved all of those problems by choosing a virtual reality MMOFPS as the setting of my planned RP. It kinda permits you to get away with stuff like that.

Depends on the game. With Planetside 2, everything is heavily organized and any respectable Platoon typically kicks you for refusing to follow orders or wasting ordinance. Anything not moving as a coherent group is typically ripped to shreds. Then there's games like Red Orchestra 2, where not being behind cover is asking to be killed, and simply existing guarantees you'll bite it once.

[Mincaldenteans]

That's not California. That's LA.

No, that's Orange County. :|

Driving's fine in Ventura County.

Hah, someone agrees with me!

And lucky you

[The Empire of Pretantia]

You know, I think that I just solved all of those problems by choosing a virtual reality MMOFPS as the setting of my planned RP. It kinda permits you to get away with stuff like that.

Depends on the game. With Planetside 2, everything is heavily organized and any respectable Platoon typically kicks you for refusing to follow orders or wasting ordinance. Anything not moving as a coherent group is typically ripped to shreds. Then there's games like Red Orchestra 2, where not being behind cover is asking to be killed, and simply existing guarantees you'll bite it once.

Damn you PC gamers and your superior coordination skills.

[Cymbru]

Is there no Middle Earth RPs going? Tolkien must be out of fashion now.

[Agritum]

Depends on the game. With Planetside 2, everything is heavily organized and any respectable Platoon typically kicks you for refusing to follow orders or wasting ordinance. Anything not moving as a coherent group is typically ripped to shreds. Then there's games like Red Orchestra 2, where not being behind cover is asking to be killed, and simply existing guarantees you'll bite it once.

Damn you PC gamers and your superior coordination skills.

Pret, did ya see the RP concept I posted a few pages ago?