Yang
Flea Market Artist
Posts: 1,001
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Post by Yang on Jan 5, 2022 13:12:47 GMT -6
For my own Nefarious Purposes, I'm looking for feedback, opinions, any what-you'd-do or won't-do, and other statements under the umbrella concerning text-RPG-through-forums as-a-whole! Any response is a good response, whether thats a few words or a few paragraphs. These were written with HxR in mind, but can be applied/replied with any text/forum RP experience you've had, and that you feel is applicable or worth mentioning!
GENERAL; Whats' the most enjoyable aspect of text RP? What do you feel can be done better? What could be axed out of RP/Text RP/a forum in general without loosing sustenance of the game? Do you enjoy freeform, personal RP-plotting format? Which areas do you enjoy RPing most? Which do you enjoy the least? What do you wish there were more/less of? Is there an easy answer for what you want/need from an RP forum or is it vague/multiple things?
MECHANICS; i.e. gardens, free breedable requirements, Mansion, quests, etc Which mechanics do you like/enjoy? Which mechanics are you not fond of? Do you prefer accomplishing smaller goals to achieve a larger goal (ex. garden for x plants, exchange for pachee, breed pachee for x offspring)? Do you prefer accomplishing one large goal? (ex. post 30 times to get a polar PHIL)
- More questions may be incoming- I'll be sharing the link for this thread around, if/when more queries come to light!
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Post by Morgan on Jan 5, 2022 14:29:08 GMT -6
GENERAL; Whats' the most enjoyable aspect of text RP? -For me, it is being able to tick off goals from my list for the most part, but also feeling accomplished when a critter of mine gets its training completed, or being able to get cool stuff for my characters. I really do like being able to tell stories, so it's a win-win.
What do you feel can be done better? -Better intercommunication between the mod team and the regular members. I feel like sometimes decisions are made based on a small slice of the already small community, and sometimes said changes aren't announced. Things are changed via piecemeal that need to be changed all at once to keep things from falling through the cracks. It's not really a big deal though, overall.
What could be axed out of RP/Text RP/a forum in general without loosing sustenance of the game? -I honestly think the site is fine as-is. Personally I don't really interact with other users roleplaying-wise, and I honestly wish there were more ways to earn stuff from the 'competition' shops that didn't force me to compete with other (real people) users. This is a personal thing, I'd hate for the systems to be changed over an issue that Only I Have.
Do you enjoy freeform, personal RP-plotting format? -It depends. I like the site as-is. If it were more strict on the setting than it is, I think I wouldn't have as much fun at all. But I love the world as-is.
Which areas do you enjoy RPing most? Which do you enjoy the least? -The Mansion, I love the mansion. Within reason anything can happen and it's THE BEST. -I'm meh about fishing. I don't really like fishing in real life. Especially if it is taking a while to get rolls, it is hard to just... Repeatedly not catch anything IC for however long. I kinda just use it as an excuse to have my characters hang out and train or swim or something. On one hand, how is someone catching fish with a fishing rod (mechanically) if they aren't sitting on their butt with the line in the water (ICly) you know?
What do you wish there were more/less of? -I both would really like to have more small goals to hit, and really don't feel comfortable doing stuff like the Pit, so I'm between a rock and a hard place.
Is there an easy answer for what you want/need from an RP forum or is it vague/multiple things? -It's vague. I really just... Like this place. -wiggly hand gesture- The pets are a HUGE draw though. I don't think I'll join another Text Based Roleplaying Forum that isn't this place... Unless it has a pokemon-like vibe. c:
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MECHANICS; Which mechanics do you like/enjoy? -Breeding. I like our breeding systems the way that they are! All of them. Just perfect. -chefs kiss- It isn't for everyone, but I love it. -Loot Areas. I wish there were more, but I do get the art workload issue. -Being able to play by yourself without losing too much of the functionality of the site/without feeling forced to do something on is uncomfortable with. -Being able to have your own plots and being able to write your character's views of the city as different from someone else's and neither person has to feel like they're being harmed. (IE: Some people like to play characters that do the whole criminal underground/being mean to sentient pets stuff, and some people like to... Not have to write that. Both of those are fine and I love that the site allows for both simultaneously. I'm always afraid this will get taken away somehow...) -A lot of times people like to state that they don't like the grinding/rolling, but when there was a system onsite that did not have a specific stated numerical post goal in order to get prizes, people didn't like it. So I hope eventually that the 'grindy' aspect of the site is realized to be a necessary evil of not just 'getting handed everything immediately'. This is what makes the game Fun, really! That you don't get everything handed to you with minimal effort. (IE: There are STILL items/colors that I haven't gotten from the mansion, and I've made 2,000+ mansion posts on this account alone! That's cool! It keeps me coming back for more.)
Which mechanics are you not fond of? -The Pit. The Pit. The Pit. Ewww gross the Pit. It is just not my cup of joe, which is fine- not everything onsite has to be geared towards one person after all! -I can go on all day about the little things I don't personally like about the pit, so I'll leave it at this- -Going up against other users, one person is going to lose and the other win no matter what and hard feelings seem to just... Occur. -It seems sometimes that Rolls/Move Interactions are sometimes done wrong and when that happens it's like 'oh okay whatever' and it is most of the time left that way because one person or the other doesn't want to hurt the feelings of somebody else. Most of the time, one wouldn't Even KNOW that this was done because the moves/abilities are written horridly. -You can get screwed by rolling a 1. -You can get screwed by someone rolling a 10. -The mechanics of a lot of the moves/abilities are... Seemingly purposefully written in an obtuse way and sometimes interactions get forgotten that have precedence. -People know their competition because anyone can just look at what is being trained and can specifically have pets trained/geared to screw off that one particular competitor. -Thundergugs. -Most of the best moves are one shots and can be put on any critter onsite (I LOVE injections so please don't take them away but still) -Now there's no way anything that isn't 10+ Stamina can survive more than two turns, because Survival Instincts is turned off for the pit. -Even having creatures that DO have Refined Senses and Survival Instincts/Eidolon Endeavor BOTH and are well trained AND have one-turn-kill moves trained on them doesn't allow you to win a tourney; and these are considered 'overpowered'. -Yuck -I also don't think that any of this is 'fixable' or if it even needs to be 'fixed' at all, these are just personal whingings. -Note: I wouldn't want the system changed just because I don't like it, so take my whinging with a grain of salt. <3 Also note that my opinion/s may not be valid for any reason.
+Someday, I may try the whole... NPC monster fight Team Attack thingie for the pit. But as for tournies? I'm Never joining another Tourney again unless there's just some kind of awesome pit-only prize that I don't have to -win- necessarily to still get.
+I still love 'battle training' my critters anyway, because even if we never get the Beyond, it is still fun to pretend to prepare for it for me!
Do you prefer accomplishing smaller goals to achieve a larger goal (ex. garden for x plants, exchange for pachee, breed pachee for x offspring)? -Both are good! Variety is the spice of life! <3 I just love goals.
Do you prefer accomplishing one large goal? (ex. post 30 times to get a polar PHIL) -Both are good! Variety is the spice of life! <3 I just love goals.
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Post by Noa on Jan 5, 2022 20:42:10 GMT -6
GENERAL; Whats' the most enjoyable aspect of text RP? I feel like this depends on the structure of a site. On HxR, the focus is so heavily skewed towards quantitative achievements (stats, rewards, word and post targets, etc.) that I really come here when I'm in a 'make number go up' kind of mood.
On the other hand though, on sites with less tangible goals and more freeform structure, I had way more fun coming up with stories with friends, writing OC pairings or dramatic plots, that kind of thing.
What do you feel can be done better? On HxR specifically, it feels like there's too much to do. Specifically, there's a lot of... 'this is only here for a month' sorts of things, and it always feels like I'm having to prioritize things where the deadline is coming up, rather than having room to work on the plot stuff I want to write, or even other 'grind' activities that aren't limited-time. My writing time and energy has definitely become more limited as I've gotten older (physical limitations too, with my hands and my tennis elbow), and it feels like I'm spending that currency on things I don't actually want to be doing, just to get 'rewards' to keep up.
What could be axed out of RP/Text RP/a forum in general without loosing sustenance of the game? A text RP forum? Pretty much anything, aside from general rules about courtesy and what content goes on which section of a forum. At its core, a text RP site (not a pet collection RP site, specifically) is just people writing in a forum setting. I think it's a lot like letting your kids run loose in the woods vs taking them to an expensive soccer program. People will make up their own diversions if they want to, and I think a sufficiently fun setting OR a good community/environment can both foster that kind of creativity and staying power.
Do you enjoy freeform, personal RP-plotting format? Oh absolutely! I've got a lot of plot and backstory and lore for my pets and characters that I think about and refine, and that's still the thing I have the most fun with.
Which areas do you enjoy RPing most? Which do you enjoy the least? For HxR, terms of setting, I don't know if I have a 'favorite area', since I honestly don't jive too much (or too closely) with the IC setting of the Labs. Area-wise it's probably Plot just because there's so much freedom there (pets can be in multiple places, you can do whatever you want as long as it obeys site content rules and tells a story). It also doesn't promote quantitative play as much as, say, loot areas or even the questing area, so it's more fun, even if it's harder to get content out for, since I'm not just writing stream of consciousness nonsense to get out as many words as I can.
What do you wish there were more/less of? For HxR, full on, the grind. I do a lot of it, and there's a part of me that likes making number go up, but I don't enjoy it. Personally I don't think the original format of the quest system was 'anti-grind' so much as it was 'you can't actually predict how MUCH grind you were going to have to do'.
IMO an easy-to-hit hard cap on at least some reward systems (in a given time period, on a per-pet or per-character basis, etc.) might be more helpful, because then you can just hit the cap and stop thinking about it for a while, and devote your energy to other things without feeling like you need to farm or play catch-up. Right now a LOT of things on-site feel bottomless in a way that makes me more exhausted than motivated.
Is there an easy answer for what you want/need from an RP forum or is it vague/multiple things? I think it's more about the people/community than the site itself, though a reasonable and friendly staff team is a must, just because staff do create/enforce structure and set the mood of a site to some extent. But like, if I don't have friends somewhere and I'm just trucking along by myself, I fall off a site pretty quickly.
MECHANICS; i.e. gardens, free breedable requirements, Mansion, quests, etc Which mechanics do you like/enjoy? I have a love-hate relationship with HxR's character skills/combat/magic system (and to a lesser extent, creature training, but much less so now with a lot of the new changes). I actually love being able to cumulatively build up a pet or character, and 'earning' the ability to do really awesome overpowered stuff with them -- even if it doesn't actually have a function, the way a lot of character skills are. Actually, I kind of prefer it this way, because then you're not forced to pick up anything in order to hit a target.
I think it adds fun goals that you can tie in to character building, and it's non-competitive and non-timed so everyone can go at their own pace and set their own standards. It's the right balance of some quantitative work but not too restrictive, and plays into the story/plotting aspect that I enjoy.
Having more creative freedom in general is good too. I'm having way more fun now that the setting has more wiggle room than when Spirit was running his tight ship of hyperspecific lore that he curated based on what appealed to him :P
Which mechanics are you not fond of? So here's the 'hate' half of my relationship with player skills specifically: some basic things are skill-gated (like languages a character can speak, or even literacy) that a teen/adult would usually have. With the skill points you have at creation (4, on average), your character... doesn't really know how to do a whole lot. Which makes sense if you're a child, maybe, but it feels kind of awkward to have to do 10+ character levels' worth of posting just to have a guy who's a functioning adult who knows some basic skills for a trade -- and I don't even mean the job system, I just mean having skills enough that you can actually imagine them making a living.
I feel like you might be asking about this from a site design perspective, so I think if character creation had a pool of points you can specifically spend on 'common' skills (ie cooking, literacy, a second language or two, maybe low levels of combat or skilled work know-how), I'd have no quibbles with it at all. Alternatively, maybe 'skills' are just for excellence in a particular field, and it's assumed that everyone knows, say, basic cooking and a little combat, especially if the setting is more adventure-oriented.
Also, I didn't really realize this til I thought about this question, but harvesting specific Garden pets and the way mining familiars work in general both force you to play with a specific pet over a long period of time to get (better) rewards. And I'm running into the problem where those aren't my most interesting pets, and it feels like a chore to play with them, but I have to bring them along if I want the goods. Fishing at least gives a greater flexibility of already-existing pets that you might have that aren't specifically for fishing.
I think it'd be nice if you could just level up a familiar/garden pet to a certain threshold, and then just have them sit in the first post to grant you their bonus without actively having to be included IC or in the word count. That would make it feel less forced for me.
Do you prefer accomplishing smaller goals to achieve a larger goal (ex. garden for x plants, exchange for pachee, breed pachee for x offspring)? Do you prefer accomplishing one large goal? (ex. post 30 times to get a polar PHIL) I prefer small, cumulative goals I can work towards, like training up a pet over time. I think with 'large goals', it feels like a big slog to a payoff, and it's easy to get burned out or run out of things to write about, especially if the posts you're making to 'meet' the goal are restrictive in nature (ie you have to roleplay within a specific setting or prompt; maybe I just don't have 100 posts of spelunking in me)
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