Roleplaying Server

[Vasan]

NCSoft and the Roleplaying Server Discussion

(http://aion.ign.com/articles/news/3736/NCSoft-and-the-Roleplaying-Server-Discussion)Jul 30, 2009 at 3:33 PM - Cydoc - http://csmedia.ignimgs.com/static/franchise/sites/aion.ign.com/img/default/comment_icon.gif 0 Comments (http://aion.ign.com/articles/news/3736/NCSoft-and-the-Roleplaying-Server-Discussion#comments)

Over on the Official Beta Boards (http://betaboards.aiononline.com/) there has formed an ever growing community to promote and support the idea for a Roleplaying Server in Aion. Augusto, who goes by the name NativityInBlack on the boards, is the one heading the charge. He has consolidated the posts and suggestions from the last 2 events on the beta boards in regards to a roleplaying server and has put them in PDF form. The CB #5 version of the thread now includes a response from NCSoft's Associate Producer Lani Blazier. For all of you looking forward to a roleplaying server upon release, there is currently no plans for one; although this could very well change. We at Aion Tower would like to thank both Lani and Augusto for helping Aion become a richer game and for all of their hard work! If you have any interest in a roleplaying server or have questions on what a server like that entails, please head over to the Official Roleplaying Server Thread (http://betaboards.aiononline.com/showthread.php?t=14894) to learn more.

Everyone, please remember that to gain access to the Official Beta Boards you have to have your Closed Beta Account setup. This requires either a pre-order beta key or a key you got from an event.

--- Long Story short, that's a no ---

[Chaelyn]

Well, that saves me from spending 50 bucks or so on a game :)

Scuse me whilst I go cancel my pre-order....

[Fhuul]

That's a shame - was hope for a more or less e-d00d-free experience.

[bluucandi]

While we are refused an actual RP server per se... at least those of us bent on playing Aion should make plans to land on the same server. At least we can have an unofficial RP community.

[Vasan]

Well, that saves me from spending 50 bucks or so on a game :)

Scuse me whilst I go cancel my pre-order....

No idea why they want to lose customers by not throwing up an rp server.

A bad sign really for alot of reasons.

Still, next beta we need to all go post on the beta board asking for an rp server since we don't all want to be playing with ktkbye!

[Korasia]

I looked through a large post of RP servers on the beta boards during the mid July event and most of the comments where from people haveing a misconception about RP servers. Thier claiming the servers provide a place where people can cybor beacuse its "Role-playing".

I know there are some serious RP people but I think the vast majority of people playing on RP servers simply like an atmosphere and the naming convention.

[Korasia]

Still, next beta we need to all go post on the beta board asking for an rp server since we don't all want to be playing with ktkbye!


ktbye is so mild in comparison :P

how about a character named itchyAhole.


yes there was a SM in beta named that.

[Vasan]

Oh well guess that's another argument for joining whatever server the PT warhammer alliance server flock to.

Yeah I don't rp I just like the atmosphere.

RP server to me means less idiots honestly and less, names like the above.

Still why would Aion not want an rp server? I can only think it's cause they don't want to police it with GMs.

And if they are adverse to staffing servers with sufficent GMs, well that going to cause the bot and farm element to skyrocket. Being full of bots has killed NCsoft games before, hate to see the repeat of that on Aion.

Think I will still try Aion out... but on the one month at a time plan.

[Fhuul]

I don't really RP per se, it's not my thing and I sometimes get a little weirded out by the hardcore over the top RP events (Weddings, character funerals, other ceremonies) that take place on those servers.

That being said, I do generally prefer the communities, and under the right circumstances, can be coaxed into having a little in-character fun. Whether it be goofin' off with Ardhed, or stealing Vasan's daggers.. :p

My worry is what Vasan stated - that a more relaxed stance on "OOC" talk will lead to more e-d00d names and a leniency on farmers and botters. RP communities tend to police themselves a little more strictly and can quickly alienate folks who don't play along.

Any discussion on making an "unofficial" RP server for everyone to land on? Even in games where it wasn't provided directly be the devs, those servers tended to thrive regardless.

[Drakhon]

We all know that RP servers (even Percival) aren't really RP for the most part. I have to assume that they were before my MMO time (started with DAoC), but now an RP naming policy is enforced at best. On PT, Mythic only really seemed to deal with the offensive names - a non-offensive non-RP name would last a long time, if it was even changed at all.

There are some people that are consistently in character, but they are a minority. Some like to casually RP on occasion and this was most apparent in WAR with Greenskins (probably because it was easy). Most people, however, roll on RP servers because they feel their population is more mature, but that's a function of the community, not the "RP" next to the server name. The only real benefit of the ruleset is that you have fewer stupid character names.

Despite the effort at westernization, Aion is still an NCSoft Korean MMO. In my experience, Koreans love them some cosplay, but not so much on the actual RP in the game. In the end, it's all really about how much leash NCSoft West actually has and if they think adding RP servers will make them more money. It's not going to stop me from playing.


My worry is what Vasan stated - that a more relaxed stance on "OOC" talk will lead to more e-d00d names and a leniency on farmers and botters. RP communities tend to police themselves a little more strictly and can quickly alienate folks who don't play along.

Wait, what? How does this have anything to do with farmers and botters? It's not like RP servers in other games haven't had them or that they care about being alienated from the community - they're not part of it anyway.

[Chaelyn]

It's not the RP for me, honestly, it is the naming thing. During the beta I was running into all kinds of names that made me cringe, xXxCrazyxXx, titwhore, etc. I'm sorry, I see those on the free korean games like sHaiya and Rappelz; I refuse to PAY to see them, tyvm.

If I'm going to shell out 15 a month, PLUS buying the game int eh first place, by all that's unholy I am going to enjoy my experience, and seeing names like that kills it.

NCSoft has been around long enough to know the RP community is one of the more stable, generally, and why they're refusing to say "Sure why not" when let's face it, having ONE more server is NOT going to break the bank and will generate MORE interest (from said community) bothers me.

I also agree that if there are no GMs (I haven't seen any in Beta lol) the farming and so on's going to be out of control.

I hate to see such potential wasted... kind of like WAR.. such potential, done wrong..

[Korasia]

The easiest way to help your own gameing expereience without seeing the stupid names is simply turn off 'show player names'.

I've played like that for awhile now, and although it takes some adjustment, you get used to it and simply recognize your friends characters without the names present.

for big raids I always had to turn the names back on.

It doesn't help with RvR since you need to see opposing player names to help located/target them, but at least its a way of filtering out the stuff on your own realm.

[bluucandi]

I too, plan to turn player names off. I did that in WoW, game was no less playable as such. I'll just try not to judge a person by their character names. I've met nice people on normal ruleset servers with peculiar names and I've met some rather arrogant people who called themselves role players. :-/

Still, like the rest of you, I tend to roll on RP servers since they attract the more mature players. I consider myself a light roleplayer - if I'm approached by someone ICly, I'll respect them and respond in kind.

[Fhuul]

Wait, what? How does this have anything to do with farmers and botters? It's not like RP servers in other games haven't had them or that they care about being alienated from the community - they're not part of it anyway.

Just based on my experience - alienated from the community is everything from folks who buy less RMT gold/items, to buying from known farmers/botters on the Auction houses. Like I said, RP communities tend to police themselves and it's a bit tougher to scratch out a living - as even those who take advantage of such services tend to find themselves in a less favourable light amongst the community. Not saying it never happens, but it certainly is less noticeable in my experience.

On "regular" servers where your apt to see more "Pwnzu" and "Titwhores", you're also going to see more of an acceptance of those who bot, buy gold/items/accounts. Again, not saying it's a given because there's no RP, just based on my experience. :P

[Gisli]

My first MMO was EQ. Back then, there were no RP servers. My recollection is that the amount of RP was roughly equal to what I saw in DAOC and Warhammer. Meaning, a bunch of [trolls/orcs/goblins] doing the easy, obvious dumb schtik, the occasional crusty dwarf or aloof elf, and not a whole lot else. My recollection is that WoW didn't have RP servers at launch. Am I remembering that correctly? Didn't really make a lot of difference from what I had experienced before or since. If there were an RP server in any MMO I were starting, I would pick it. But I'm not sure that it makes much difference if they are there or not, unless the company really polices them. And I have never seen much policing, except durning the first year or two of DAOC.

[Vasan]

Yeah WoW had roleplaying servers Argent Dawn and Feathermoon for two, wonderful havens of escape from the kewl dudes. Argent Dawn was such a smash hit, they put out alot more rp servers.

Still people will mostly likely call one server the rp server, unoffically, and hopefully that will scare the kewl dudes people away, since NSoft is too cheap to spring for a real rp server even thought an rp server is pretty commonplace among any major online game launch.

I hope you enjoyed that run on sentence.

[Fhuul]

Yeah WoW had roleplaying servers Argent Dawn and Feathermoon for two, wonderful havens of escape from the kewl dudes. Argent Dawn was such a smash hit, they put out alot more rp servers.

Still people will mostly likely call one server the rp server, unoffically, and hopefully that will scare the kewl dudes people away, since NSoft is too cheap to spring for a real rp server even thought an rp server is pretty commonplace among any major online game launch.

I hope you enjoyed that run on sentence.

It helps me to read it like this: http://fanficofthelegendary.ytmnd.com/

[Warseth]

Yeah WoW had roleplaying servers Argent Dawn and Feathermoon for two, wonderful havens of escape from the kewl dudes. Argent Dawn was such a smash hit, they put out alot more rp servers.

Still people will mostly likely call one server the rp server, unoffically, and hopefully that will scare the kewl dudes people away, since NSoft is too cheap to spring for a real rp server even thought an rp server is pretty commonplace among any major online game launch.

I hope you enjoyed that run on sentence.

Actually those with Dudz names will be my main targets in Aion. Just like those with those manticore mounts were in War. Soon as I saw manticore it was like crack...I had to chase them down and kill them.:th_Jttesur:

[Chaelyn]

Actually those with Dudz names will be my main targets in Aion. Just like those with those manticore mounts were in War. Soon as I saw manticore it was like crack...I had to chase them down and kill them.:th_Jttesur:

:( But I LIKE my flapping kitty :(

[Warseth]

:( But I LIKE my flapping kitty :(

Time to go Kitty hunting :sniper: Chaelyn on a kitty.

[Gisli]

OK, now I remember. When WoW went live, we had to choose between a PvE-RP server and a straight PvP server. They wouldn't give us a PvP-RP server. We chose the straight PvP server.

I agree that it probably is true that the names are a bit better on an official RP server. However, based on my experience, I cannot honestly say that games with RP servers have more roleplaying on their RP servers than games without RP servers have just at random. Nor can I say that the overall behavior of the realm is any better on an RP server in a game with RP servers, than it is on a random server in a game with no RP servers.

[Scarr]

Did you ever see anyone actually roleplay in WAR? I did not. Not that I was looking for it either way... RP or not RP, has about zero effect on me. I would rather play with higher skilled players anyway both on my side and against me. Whoever that may or may not be.

I like talking smack in games, so if I WTF PWN some newb named MegaTron or GabrielArchAngel, it is all the same to me.

[Chaelyn]

Did you ever see anyone actually roleplay in WAR? I did not. Not that I was looking for it either way... RP or not RP, has about zero effect on me. I would rather play with higher skilled players anyway both on my side and against me. Whoever that may or may not be.

I like talking smack in games, so if I WTF PWN some newb named MegaTron or GabrielArchAngel, it is all the same to me.


Seeing as I belong to an RP guild, yes *giggle* We RP, though it's not required.

I do agree, though, that most people join RP servers in the hopes of a more mature player base, as well as (usually) naming policies (DAoC was pretty good about that for a while).

[ScarDar]

I remember when this same exact thing happen with WoW. Their up to what? 10% RP servers now?

[ScarDar]

Also I hate names like MegaTron and GabArchAngle, it just ruins the game for me. No I don't roleplay but I hate playing next to some kid who things PearlNecklace is a cool name, usually their mental age is revealed. RP servers attract mature players who I like to play with.

[Warseth]

Also I hate names like MegaTron and GabArchAngle, it just ruins the game for me. No I don't roleplay but I hate playing next to some kid who things PearlNecklace is a cool name, usually their mental age is revealed. RP servers attract mature players who I like to play with.

its too bad there isn't some IQ test before you pick a server... so those with a higher IQ can roll on certain servers. That should thin the herd some.:D

[Chaelyn]

Pfft; an IQ test wouldn't help, there are some immature arsehats with high IQs. I think they should be booted from the server the moment they use leetspeak ;) lol

[Drakhon]

http://www.aionsource.com/forum/general-discussion/34669-making-unofficial-rp-server.html

Also, this was posted later in the thread: http://www.aionroleplayers.com

[Gisli]

It looks like the aionroleplayers.com crew will be picking an "unofficial RP server" for their community, if NCsoft doesn't decide to make official ones (which could still happen). They promise to name it clearly, and in advance of launch. I am inclined to just go along with what they pick. Besides being with a higher percentage of "RP types", it is pretty likely that this will guarantee a larger population on that server. Personally, I would far rather risk suffering too many people for a week or so rather than end up on a low-population server.

[[ASC] Squiggie]

It looks like the aionroleplayers.com crew will be picking an "unofficial RP server" for their community, if NCsoft doesn't decide to make official ones (which could still happen). They promise to name it clearly, and in advance of launch. I am inclined to just go along with what they pick. Besides being with a higher percentage of "RP types", it is pretty likely that this will guarantee a larger population on that server. Personally, I would far rather risk suffering too many people for a week or so rather than end up on a low-population server.

If there is no official RP server, this is likely the one the Aion chapter of ASC will go to (http://theunholylegion.mmoguildsites.com/)

[Gisli]

If ASC is planning a startup in Aion, can you please post to http://www.waronphoenixthrone.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2864. Thanks!

[aishrod]

If ASC is planning a startup in Aion, can you please post to http://www.waronphoenixthrone.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2864. Thanks!

Will do, I have been so busy setting up recruitment threads and creating the website I just havn't even looked here :(