Factions, Oldbies, and Balance

[Clowndog]

I absolutely agree

It's a roleplaying game. Play the role.

The npcs are there to help move things, we're supposed to do the heavy lifting as players to flesh out around the static world. It's not world of warcraft where you're you and you're just grinding quests. You're supposed to be immersed and by not being immersed you're yanking everyone you interact with out of immersion and that kills the game community.

I know - because I have silently rage quit (and not so silently on occasion) a number of times. I'm having a hard time coming up with fresh character concepts without sounding too similar to previous ones but meta-gaming has been the no.1 problem for me.

Someone sarcastically said 'why pay for intel if you can get it from your friends on discord' and I would laugh if it wasn't so on the nail. That is the death of rp. Don't be like that.

Someone was making a map of the wastelands and it was clearly going to accelerate meta-play through the roof. I don't know all the places in the game and I don't want to - nobody should want to - its what keeps me exploring and dying when I explore and it goes wrong. Thats how you inspire roleplay! Even if you DO know where stuff is or what stuff is - making an adventure out finding out has given me hours of content with people who are either doing the same thing as me or clearly new to the game.

The same applies to factions. Make content and people will come back and stay. I know I will and when I come back I always try to create, too. Last few times it ended badly for me (and I am sorry to say at least one of those times was because of gamification and meta-gaming).

[Seth]

As Tony Montana said "Fuck Gossip Discord and fuck the AiMs brothers" It is one of the worse things that keeps happening. I've been cussed out on discord. I just wish some players would put away their pride. Your new character isn't gonna run the town at the start. Also they all should watch Kenshiro and Shin fight. I never would want to be an admin because of how the players bitch. I would rather fight an admin/corporation vs. have a sex cult or privately be cool to my couple of friends.

[Anaphora]

100000%. The Discord cliques going on in recent years is a large contributor imo to not only the issues ICly in the game but also the OOC drama and gossip-mongering. Yes I'm aware it's always been an issue even when we were on AIM and ICQ but it's gotten so much worse in recent years. I'm not saying let's go Sindome nuclear on people and I'm not saying don't make OOC friends but I feel like the rules of the official Discord should apply to everyone no matter where they're talking to someone else: don't be a dick, leave IC shit IC, and don't be a fucking cheater. If you aren't going to play the game right then stop ruining it for everyone else and go play a MUD or something. Or go God Mode in a Bethesda game. Ffs.

[Pennywise]

So here’s the thing - we’ve tried repeatedly to address this. To the point that the players who have screamed about the lack of faction based roleplay have literally thrown tantrums and rage quit because they were told that because they belonged to a certain group, they were expected to behave a certain way. Like, not conveniently being “away” while their boss send them a message that their people are under attack, and they should go help them. Because being a member of a syndicate or a gang just means that you go out and grind credits between pretend kink and marathon fuck sessions that I’m not supposed to call people out on because who am I to tell people how to roleplay.

TLDR;

I can’t speak for other admin but short of completely out of character and unthemely instances, I’m done policing roleplay. I’ve given alternatives, begged, pushed, pleaded and threatened in the past. If you see a problem with the way your peers are roleplaying being faction members, police it yourselves. Otherwise it’s just going to continue.

[Clowndog]

I agree and I hope to do my bit.

[Anaphora]

Can't police people who won't RP with me because I don't engage in rampant ERP.

Edited to add if that's the way you want to play then fine I'm not judging, but at least don't cut entire swathes of the player base out because they choose to play differently. It's the same both ways.

But I'm getting off topic. Anyway.

[dicanomi]

Maybe if the Cartel boss told the ERPers to go out and Honeypot/Black Widow the rival faction members they'd be more into it?

[Clowndog]

Maybe players can suggest that to them and create rp from it.

As Pennywise says, we have to take responsibility for our peers cause they aint taking any notice and this isnt a new problem.

[Ogwhitey386]

Maybe if the Cartel boss told the ERPers to go out and Honeypot/Black Widow the rival faction members they'd be more into it?

Lol. Lmao. Roflmao even.

[Clowndog]

NGL -

Couple hours in and I've already been introduced (almost bare-bones 'these are ATMs' type conversations) to several coded jobs (that I already knew about) that are clearly part of a standard menu of exploitable money pits people are min-maxing (which also already knew went on)

Cybersphere players - if this is how you roleplay, factions are just a pimple on the nose of the problem.

Just because you -can- doesn't mean you -should- and when new players come and this is the example you set, you're furthering the problem.

If you have nice gear, nice set up, then create roleplay and create money opportunities that are not coded and that is how you make CS more roleplay-deep, more interesting, and don't chase people like me away.

I'm seriously wondering why I spent all weekend waiting for this. If it makes you mad hearing this and it makes you not want to interact with me - good! If you read this and agree, please lets do something.

[Anaphora]

Maybe if the Cartel boss told the ERPers to go out and Honeypot/Black Widow the rival faction members they'd be more into it?

Lol. Lmao. Roflmao even.

Glad to see positive contribution to what could be a productive discussion.

Honeypot & Black Widow RP are some of my fondest memories from back in the day, tbh.

Nowadays I don't see anyone willing to do that kind of thing though. Sucks.

[Ogwhitey386]

Maybe if the Cartel boss told the ERPers to go out and Honeypot/Black Widow the rival faction members they'd be more into it?

Lol. Lmao. Roflmao even.

Glad to see positive contribution to what could be a productive discussion.

Honeypot & Black Widow RP are some of my fondest memories from back in the day, tbh.

Nowadays I don't see anyone willing to do that kind of thing though. Sucks.

You can discuss it until you are blue in the face. As you can see this is not a new topic and it's the culture of CS. it's whatever. I wasted a lot of time arguing points of view before I realized you won't change or improve upon the culture of any game where the player base and staff alike are entrenched and set in their ways. I'm not pointing any fingers or badmouthing anyone in particular or saying these people do a bad job or these players suck. Not the case in any sense, I'm glad you guys enjoy what you enjoy. I'm just saying no matter how much you scream into the wind about gamey job mechanics that don't really support RP as much as they support gameing the system, or people ERP'ing the day away, it's just what you have always had and always will have to work with on CS.

Personally, I log in once every now and again and look around and see the same people chugging along. Good for them.
I just don't have any motivation to do anything or feel like there is much mystery or fun to be had. That's a me problem.
The best way to solve a lack of new players, a lack of quality players, etc are thinks staff and player alike have said over and over they aren't gonna do. It's the culture. Always has been, always will be. Thus, lol. Lmao. Roflmao, even, when suggesting that the ERP players go ERP their rivals.

[Anaphora]

Mmmmkay.

[Ogwhitey386]

Mmmmkay.

Thank you.

[Clowndog]

OG whitey - I dont know how you missed the point

But in case the reason this problem persists is because people are somehow missing the point..

The coded systems are not there as the spine of roleplay and so cannot + should not be blamed for the issue.

you dont need a coded job to get your fellow Yakuza together and do a japanese sword ceremony (or whatever Yakuza do)

You don't need a coded job to roleplay about working on your car

You don't need a coded job to plan an expedition into the wastes for a completely self-created goal, for a landmark and item or purpose that isn't coded.

You don't need a coded job to do a 'tiktok'/influencer style lifestyle on the BBs (I remember someone playing a character like this and proving my point)

You don't need coded jobs to be a biker gang, a rogue mutant on the run, or any number of concepts that can drive roleplay and don't even need to involve pvp.

These are just some examples I pulled from the air and from experience - things people did or can do without there needing to be a coded system to back it up.

Paying people to run bullshit errands, gambling on street fights, paying people to sabotage your rivals, paying for information, proactively sourcing things people want and hustling.... again - ways to make and seed the economy wiithout coded jobs.

Yes - at the entry level doing coded jobs is about all you can do to get money in your credstick and get setup, but once you're set up, its time to start supporting the community around you WITH ROLEPLAY.

So, OGWHITEY, the problem isn't a fart cloud that will just drift on its own or needs to be tolerated, it's US who made that fart cloud as players.

Note in all my examples I didn't actually give a single coded job and it was all imagination-fuelled roleplay - everyone can do it (and has done it and still is doing it)