Shu's Quest Chat

[rn7]

what should i be doing right about now

[CATS]

be all enthusiastic and random and call people ol' kidders and stuff

[Ragnell]

Sorry, but I'm dropping out of this RP. I don't know what the protocol is, since this was my first RP, but I've got a hundred and one other things to do every day recently, and I just don't have time to keep up with this (I don't think I've read anything in the last page and a half of the story, so...). Sorry. This is a good RP as far as I can tell, I just don't have time.

If someone wants to take over Blaine, feel free. Just go ahead and do it. I was really just winging it with him. I planned to get him killed off in some spectacular way eventually, but that was about it. Otherwise, yeah, sorry.

[mr_e_s]

No worries, guy. No one's going to hassle you for letting real life come first. As for Blaine, I dunno. We'll see if he's going to bite the bullet or something'll come of him.

[CATS]

Sorry to see you go, but yeah, understandable that real life comes first.

[rn7]

so dang, what's with the standstill lately

[CATS]

the collaborative nature of RPs is what's with it

it's not a standalone work, you can't do it if you don't have multiple people contributing; if one guy has his characters in an important position, then decides to stop posting, the whole thing grinds to a halt (as clearly evidenced by the standstill to which you refer), which is why it's so hard to keep them alive for a long time, eventually at least one or two important people will stop caring enough to post

[rn7]

good thing i dont have an important role

[Kanami]

An important role being what? I always had the impression that an important character would fluctuate depending on the individuals activity (free time), And that a character could phase himself into an important position if they wanted, and suffer relatively little consequence even if they were to leave.

I hate to put LoAF in a brighter light, but even if one of their most actives left, the plot would probably keep rolling, obviously we subtract that persons contributions, but it wouldn't bog down the entire RP. Not from what I've observed at least anyway.

Only case of it actually slowing down would be if no ones willing to fill the role of the leaver, (As in, no one steps up their activity) or you have a low member pool to begin with.

Speaking of which how many of you are there? I can only think of Purg, CATS, Mr e_s, Slaveblade and rn7 off the top of my head :/

~~~~~~

As for joining, I've received several general invites from alot of you, but sadly, the RP setting just isn't something I can connect with. And I've declined all offer thus far. I appreciate it, but it's just not something I can stick to.

Now with a change of pace (not really) alot of people I've talked to criticize the rate at which this RP moves, LoAF used to propel at ridiculous speeds, getting 100posts per days on average. Lately that's decreased to a more manageable 50. But SQ progresses at 3 posts a day on average. I admit, SQ posts are alot more thorough and interesting to read. That's still a pretty slow rate don't you think?

[lunarAegis]

Nope.

[CATS]

good thing i dont have an important role

i know right

An important role being what? I always had the impression that an important character would fluctuate depending on the individuals activity (free time), And that a character could phase himself into an important position if they wanted, and suffer relatively little consequence even if they were to leave.

Important role meaning others are waiting on the character to do something or respond to something before they can proceed with what they want to do; basic example being a conversation, your char asks another char a question, usually you wait for the response before proceeding with the rest of the conversation, but what happens if the other char takes a week to respond to your char's question? Now you have a problem

Obviously characters can break away from the group or a specific interaction at any time to go off by themselves, but this can interfere with prior plans people might have made, lead to awkwardness when someone isn't sure what to do next or how to get back with the main storyline, or etc; besides, if you find yourself having to lone wolf alot just to have something to post about, I take it as a sign that something is not working right with the rp in general

I hate to put LoAF in a brighter light, but even if one of their most actives left, the plot would probably keep rolling, obviously we subtract that persons contributions, but it wouldn't bog down the entire RP. Not from what I've observed at least anyway.

Only case of it actually slowing down would be if no ones willing to fill the role of the leaver, (As in, no one steps up their activity) or you have a low member pool to begin with.

It's true, and that is one thing LoAF has going for it, it's really not in any danger of dying or becoming stagnant. I truly wish the same could be said for every RP I've done, or even all the RPs I'm doing currently. On the other hand, though, the level of activity and interest required to do this isn't always a good thing. As you pointed out, LoAF moves really fast, certainly too fast for someone like me to keep up with on top of my classes and numerous other things I want or need to do throughout my day.

Speaking of which how many of you are there? I can only think of Purg, CATS, Mr e_s, Slaveblade and rn7 off the top of my head

also SuperFush, Android, lunarAegis, and Script posts every now and then, so 8-9 active atm

Slaveblade only posted once, and it was a good while back, i don't count him

We had a couple others (Ragnell, Csquared) but they dropped due to RL stuffs

We had alot who posted like once or twice but didn't stick with it

I blame the general negative stigma this RP got when it first started, I still don't understand why, but alot of people here seemed really opposed to it, obviously that's going to hurt enrollment when others see that the RP is being criticized; I also blame LoAF already existing on this site and claiming alot of the people here who are interested in RPing

Even regardless of all that, LoAF is the only thing I've ever seen with so many people who are so strongly active. From what I've seen the number of RPers this thing has is much more typical of a long-term RP's population than LoAF; people being busy or just plain losing interest tends to result in the population of an RP declining over time, especially if you're operating in a place where people are at least college-age and thus actually have lots of stuff to do IRL, as opposed to middle or high schoolers who can afford to just go to school, come home, and get on the comp until bedtime almost every day. Usually an RP starts out with a good number of people, but due to the above factors, they will drop until you're only left with a few dedicated people who have serious amounts of both free time and interest available to commit to the RP.

Now with a change of pace (not really) alot of people I've talked to criticize the rate at which this RP moves, LoAF used to propel at ridiculous speeds, getting 100posts per days on average. Lately that's decreased to a more manageable 50. But SQ progresses at 3 posts a day on average. I admit, SQ posts are alot more thorough and interesting to read. That's still a pretty slow rate don't you think?

It is slow, I agree, and for folks like myself, a leisurely 3-5 posts per day is pitch-perfect. That might seem slow as molasses to some of you who have oodles of free time on your hands, but remember that the same doesn't hold true for everyone. We also spend alot of time discussing the RP and what we want to do with it through other channels, and tend to put a good bit of thought, effort, and length into our posts. The emphasis is on quality over quantity.

Now, recently here, we've been averaging more like 0.5 posts per day, if even that, which is a bit slow even for me. That's the disadvantage of an RP like this which I mentioned above; you have to worry about it getting too slow and eventually dying off, it's hard to maintain interest in something you only post in once every week or two. I hope that's not what happens here, cause I like this RP so far and it's still relatively young.

[mr_e_s]

This latest thing is all on me, and I haven't been quick to really mention it in personal chats, but my life is a little busier then usual. Not anything bad, just really busy. And it's my RP, and the story is waiting on me. And for clarification's sake, for any who might not know, I'm in another RP, on the board my sig links to, and that is priority one for my roleplaying time. I wanted to post today, as I was supposed to have free time today, but I ended up hanging out with my friends... all day. Yeah, the plan after we finish these little scenes we're in (which are going splendidly by the way, great jobs, all around, guys) I'm going to hopefully try and get this story more open again, this seems to kind of be plot point city, doesn't it?

So in short. Sorry, my bad, good job guys, I'll make another too long post in the real near future and we can move on.

[Kanami]

@Important Position

My apologies, I misread "position" as "character" and was trying to work out what defined an important "character" XD

@LoAF

Pacing of LoAF was one of my minor reasons for leaving I could go into a rant flame about my majopr reasons but I'll refrain.... maybe. Apparently some people enjoy waking up each morning (or logging in after work) to find that they've got 5 pages to read to catch up to the story, and any interaction they had going has died prematurely XD I'm on the opposite side of the world to most of you, so it was either way up a 3~5 AM to interact with certain characters. Others were available at later times but it's really not something one wants to do, just for the sake of a poorly managed RP. Leave me alone, I had to get something in XD

LoAF really is a unusal deviations from most RP's I've seen too. Usually when the RP leader becomes inactive or busy the RP deteriorates (Like SQ at present) and people lose interest. Other RP's have LoAF's activity but die within one or two months. I guess being the first RP to start up on Serenes after an extended absence, alot of RP depraved people flocked there XD I know I was one of them XD

@Pacing

An ideal rate of posting for myself would be 20~30 posts per day. Probably 20ish if there as in-depth as this RP, 30ish for LoAF standard. So 3~5 posts per RP'er would be an ideal rate in my mind.

@LAegis

I started wandering if you were like certain RP'ers around here that took any criticsim about the RP their in, as personal attacks. :/ But maybe that's just your preference...... I don't know

[mr_e_s]

I've actually stated multiple times, that my ideal pacing for this RP would be in the 5-10 post per day range. And I realy don't think SQ is deteriorating, but maybe that's cause of Generic, an RP that's been around since early 09 and has many lulls and spikes of activity, but it's still progressing to this day. Actually, Shu's Quest is based pretty heavily on the Generic model of RP style, if the RP itself is actually a pretty different course. If it's not your speed, or if the writing doesn't suit you (not necessarily directed at you, specifically, Kanami, more in general for those that find this RP not meeting their needs) that's cool. I don't expect anyone to do anything that doesn't measure up with how they have fun, but I am not going to change how I have fun to match for them either.

I guess the point buried in that rambling text is, your points are very valid, and the RP isn't super active right now (that's still my fault, but I'm too tired atm to put out anything of actual quality, just rambling messes of text like this post), but I think there's something of value here, and as long as someone else is willing to get there with me, I want to tell this story. So far I think the RP has been enjoyable both to read and to write, and as long as that holds true, I figure we're doing alright.

That said, if Jugdral ever gets off the ground, I look forward to Rping with some of the people who can't get behind SQ, I'm kind of curious what interacting with some of yuo guys would be like, honestly. Jugdral getting off the ground is a maybe these days though, to be sure.

[Kanami]

That's a fair enough comment to make. Just to be clear though, by deteriorating, I meant it being less enjoyable, obviously not something that affects me, but while it may not feel significant CATS's final comment indicated it picks up a bit more. As CATS also said though, Real Life comes before some online leisure. I didn't mean the RP's turning into rubbish or that it's collecting dust. From what LoAFers tell me, LoAF is turning into rubbish, not sure if it's true though

In regards to catering to your own needs (plus other RP'ers) I suppose that's fair. Another RP'er I know is considering an RP with stats which pretty much would solely cater for people who might enjoy LoAF. And it's ultimately up to opinion I guess.

Just for rn7

Ａｓ　ｆｏｒ　Ｊｕｇｄｒａｌ，　Ｉ’ｍ　ｎｏｔ　ｓｕｒｅ　ｉｆ　Ｉ’ｌｌ　ｐａｒｔｉｃｉｐａｔｅ　ｉｎ　ｔｈａｔ　ｅｉｔｈｅｒ。　Ｌｉｋｅ　ＳＱ，　Ｉ’ｍ　ｎｏｔ　ｔｏｏ　ｆｏｎｄ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｅｔｔｉｎｇ，　ｔｈｉｓ　ｔｉｍｅ　ｉｔ’ｓ　ｍａｉｎｌｙ　ｂｅｃａｕｓｅ　Ｉ　ｃａｎ　ｆｏｒｓｅｅ　ｐｅｏｐｌｅ　ｔｒｙｉｎｇ　ｔｏ　ｌｉｎｋ　ｔｈｅ　ｅｎｔｉｒｅ　ｔｏ　ｈｏｗ　ｔｈｉｎｇｓ　”ｓｈｏｕｌｄ　ｂｅ”　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　ＲＰ。　Ｐｕｔｔｉｎｇ　ｐｅｏｐｌｅ　ｌｉｋｅ　ｍｙｓｅｌｆ　ｗｈｏ　ｈａｖｅ　ｎｏ　ｉｎｔｅｒｅｓｔ　ｉｎ　ＦＥ４　ｉｎｔｏ　ａ　ｐｏｓｉｔｉｏｎ　ｏｆ　ｃｏｎｆｕｓｉｏｎ，　ｏｒ　ｓｉｍｐｌｙ　ｉｒｒｉｔａｔｉｏｎ　（ｄｕｅ　ｔｏ　ｌａｃｋ　ｏｆ　ｃｏｍｐｒｅｈｅｎｓｉｏｎ）。　Ｉ’ｍ　ｃｕｒｉｏｕｓ　ａｓ　ｔｏ　ｗｈａｔ　Ａｓｔｅｌａｉｎｅ　ｃａｎ　ｃｏｍｅ　ｕｐ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｔｈｏｕｇｈ，　ｗｈｏ　ｋｎｏｗｓ，　ｍａｙｂｅ　ｔｈｅｒｅ’ｌｌ　ｂｅ　ａ　”ｅｐｉｃ”　Ｏｐｅｎｉｎｇ　ｐｏｓｔ　ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｗｉｌｌ　ｒｅｖｉｖｅ　ｔｈｅ　ｉｎｔｅｒｅｓｔ　ｉｎ　ａｌｌ　ｏｆ　ｕｓ。　Ａｓ　ｆｏｒ　ｌｏｏｋｉｎｇ　ｆｏｒｗａｒｄ　ｔｏ　ＲＰ’Ｉｎｇ　ｗｉｔｈ　ＬｏＡＦｅｒｓ。。。。。。。。。　Ｉ　ｗｏｕｌｄｎ’ｔ　ｈｏｌｄ　ｍｙ　ｂｒｅａｔｈ　ｘＤ

[rn7]

nonsense guys, the ideal pace is a brisk, expedient zero posts per day

[mr_e_s]

Oh, shit, sorry I posted, then.

[rn7]

yea you kinda ruined everything

[CATS]

Pacing of LoAF was one of my minor reasons for leaving I could go into a rant flame about my majopr reasons but I'll refrain.... maybe. Apparently some people enjoy waking up each morning (or logging in after work) to find that they've got 5 pages to read to catch up to the story, and any interaction they had going has died prematurely XD I'm on the opposite side of the world to most of you, so it was either way up a 3~5 AM to interact with certain characters. Others were available at later times but it's really not something one wants to do, just for the sake of a poorly managed RP. Leave me alone, I had to get something in

I'd be interested in hearing the major reasons, though preferably not in flame-rant form

And yeah, that's another disadvantage of RPs that move fast and don't wait for anyone; people will get left behind and interaction scenes will often be left unfinished. I'd certainly prefer to wait and actually finish one thing before moving on to the next, even if it slows the RP down alot.

That said, if Jugdral ever gets off the ground, I look forward to Rping with some of the people who can't get behind SQ, I'm kind of curious what interacting with some of yuo guys would be like, honestly. Jugdral getting off the ground is a maybe these days though, to be sure.

qft

That's a fair enough comment to make. Just to be clear though, by deteriorating, I meant it being less enjoyable, obviously not something that affects me, but while it may not feel significant CATS's final comment indicated it picks up a bit more.

Like e_s said, very valid point; although I don't think RPs need to be anywhere near LoAF's activity, they still don't need to be too slow either, most especially when they're just starting out. If an RP has been going for a long time and people have become attached to the story and their characters, it's much more likely for them to retain interest even after a lull in activity, but not so much if things are already slowing to a crawl just a few weeks into the RP.

From what LoAFers tell me, LoAF is turning into rubbish, not sure if it's true though

lol, if an RP's own members are hating on it, I'd take that as a pretty bad sign.

[Kanami]

A question for SQ'ers (Or LoTErs)

But first, I want to make it absolutely clear that I'm not trying to impose an idea on you, in no way am I suggesting you should "change" this RP, if you're enjoying it then that's what matters. This question is based solely on curiosity and even if it seems insulting, in no way am I trying to slander the RP or the participants of this RP.

My question is in regards to "stats."

Yes, the thing that LoAFers love so much, but most people here probably would avoid like the plague. Why is it that you disapprove of them? (Not in terms of SQ, but in general, I acknowledge it probably just doesn't work for this project). I'm actually someone who supports stats so I wanted to here the other side of the argument.

Personally I think writing out "Bob stabbed Andy" or "Andy dodged Cindys attack" etc as something which would get boring pretty quickly, sure you could dress it up and turn that sentence into a whole paragraph. However it's essentially dressing up a simple maneuver. I also don't see the fun of having "super-being" characters which can overcome any odds. Obviously you'd reject me jumping in, charging into a swarm of enemies, defeating them in .5 seconds without a single scratch. And the only thing keeping this in check is the reasonability of the participants. If so, doesn't it restrict participants to those who are "intelligent" and patient? (Writing the same old thing every battle). I know this isn't a battle based on fighting, or at least I don't think it is

In terms of stats. I can understand how number crunching could just as easily get boring, but it seems the better choice of the two. So I'm just curious, is there a specific element of stats that you're opposed to? Or is it just flat out refusal to try something that doesn't seem appealing?

[SuperFush]

The short form of the answer is that it's too constricting.

The long form is...well, I trust the people I RP with. Really, I rarely RP with anyone outside of the LotE crew (which also includes a few people not in SQ or on SF at all).And we're all friends, or at least people who get along, outside the RP as well. We enjoy telling a good story, and really, basing it on stats isn't the best way to do that. Most of our fights tend to have been planned out in advance with the opposite party, or at least it's that way for me. All that is left undefined is the details of the fight, the specific maneuvers and actions, because none of us are afraid to let our characters get injured in the name of a better story. To use that example of Generic that e_s mentioned earlier (Everyone still posting in SQ is in Generic, hah), I have two characters that have had a lot of screentime. One has taken a few minor wounds through the course of various fights, but in one, he lost his eye. That wasn't decided by stats. That was decided by me thinking "You know, the only way for this fight to make sense considering what happened is for him to lose his eye now." And so he did. Similarly, another character recently suffered bruised ribs, a concussion, and a poisoned wound. All in one fight. Even though I really like RPing as both of those characters, I'm not going to avoid or block or ignore every attack, especially not ones that should really hit. I don't need stats to tell me to do these things. I do them because I feel it makes for a better story. If a character is supposed to be a masterful swordsman, and the dice don't agree, then it kind of cheapens all the description and narration of him being a masterful swordsman. I'd rather leave such things up to the RPer.

Of course, this is all my opinion. Maybe I was just lucky enough to RP with people that can be trusted to not be unfair in fights.

...There's also the fact that some of our best scenes aren't fights anyways. Stats don't even matter in those circumstances.

[rn7]

Man I love writing my way out of sticky situations. It always gives me great joy to totally fake out someone when they do something really out there, kinda like Iceman when he was spewing ice everywhere, or Derwood when he was trying to scam everyone with fake coins. The way I figure, the bigger picture you paint, or the larger the lie you make, the more holes and gaps in logic I can exploit. I don't particularly mind an overpowered character as much as others do-- rather, I find it kind of an invitation of sorts.

I've done stat things before, and it's nice to have that solid basis to always fall back on. Find people are a bit too attached to them, though. Lot of problems come up in places were the stats don't dictate what's going on, and I often play in those places when I write. I'm also kinda burnt out on maintaining and updating stats on a regular basis.

That said, I haven't really posted a fight yet in the RP, I really should. Magic duel was special case to get rid of a character.

Though, what makes stats more interesting than dressed up simple maneuvers? Aren't they pretty much the same, in the end?

[Script]

Man I love writing my way out of sticky situations. It always gives me great joy to totally fake out someone when they do something really out there, kinda like Iceman when he was spewing ice everywhere, or Derwood when he was trying to scam everyone with fake coins.

Those coins were perfectly serviceable in some black market circles I assure you! Yes, maybe, possibly, don't look at me.

[rn7]

Yes, but they tasted horrible and did not have a nice chocolaty center.

[mr_e_s]

Ronny, you undoubtedly saved that awkward scene. Even when it's aimed at me I enjoy you're crazy critique of the RP in RP while also being insane.