Portalarium vs. Role-Play

Well I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I can understand if you don't like the lore direction, but I think "cataclysm" is traditionally the kind of event that opens up all kinds of changes. I don't think that's a stretch at all - maybe a bit lazy, but it's not a stretch.

If you wanted them to give you a reason why souls are joined on multiple characters I'm sure they could cook something up for you. The bottom line is that the Oracle knows it's still you and that you did X, Y, and Z no matter what you may try to pretend by entering the world with a different skin.

It's essentially like saying the sky is "blue" and the grass is "purple", you just have to roleplay around it. Cause that's how it works here.

 

What you quoted from me was a question. If true, then absurd.

 

Well let me say again.. I'm not going to try to tell anyone how they should RP. The point of the thread was never about debating the particulars.. but rather to point out to Portalarium how this approach is perceived as sending mixed messages. If anyone wants to RP shared souls I could care less.. but the devs shouldn't hold any expectations that most people will. But I prefer a world with as few contradictions as possible and that includes taking that world's history into account.

 

The lack of any implication to suggest the answer might be true might make one wonder why it needed to be asked in the first place. So yeah. if true then absurd.

 

I am trying to remember the original issue that brought about the 3 characters. I think it was just Portalarium trying to address the issue.

LB originally wanted everyone to only have a single character - your avatar in this world.

But other peeps would buy additional accounts and thus have multiple characters. Especially since specializations was stressed of levels. There was a feeling this put some peeps at a financial advantage (pay to win was often used in the argument). They could have a character to focus on crafting, one on adventuring, and another on PvP. At the moment, they can truly play as totally different characters. They can play goodie goodie and set up others for their "wicked" character. Without the disadvantages of linked characters.

But those peeps who couldn't afford to buy additional accounts feared the need of specialization would limit how to build and want extra toons to account for possible variations in play styles. This was granted with the idea it is still you. This is your manifestation in the world when your focusing on crafting, or this is you when you focus on adventure, and finally, this is you when you focus on PVP. This I believe was the original intention.

I don't think the idea was to have three total unique characters but three ways to focus your attention when in this world.

 

Richard is.. very set on the idea intentions previously mentioned. Shared souls was his attempt to reconcile those intentions with the demand from the community to be allowed multiple characters on one account. It had nothing to do with any actual lore.

It was always the idea that no one should feel the need to have more than one character.. one could explore all skills with a single character. Perhaps too few people saw how that was even possible with any kind of perceivable limits on skill growth. *shrug* Once or twice early on Richard did explain that.. to paraphrase a bit.. that it was ok to play different characters.. as obviously the REAL you might be different.. especially in the case of 'evil' characters.. Somehow I doubt that Ravicus is a real life liche let alone cannibal. But that the intention that you play your character with consistency and not try to use mechanics to avoid the consequences of your actions.

I am not as convinced as others that Richard intends for his explanations to be taken so literally as people do.. but at the same time he continues to explain his intent in those terms.

 

Well, it is hard to say whether or
not a majority of players will RP a "shared soul" People will RP whatever they are comfortable with. The important thing to realize is that this IS a plausible explanation provided by RG whereby the player is held responsible for his/her actions. ( No less plausible than alternate universes or time travel, which I use extensively in my writing ) Strict adherence to previous Ultima or Blade of the Avatar lore is NOT the approach I would advocate...

 

We're just going to have to disagree on pretty much all counts there. Particularly BotA which IS directly associated with Shroud in name and as canon. You can't make the same disassociation arguments with BotA that people make with Ultima. Though I think the devs are doing a pretty good job at discreetly (and not so much so) making connections between Shroud and Ultima. Just from my experience DMing NWN for years.. I've only know 1 person who really prefers storylines with a heavy emphasis on the metaphysical. He came up with some pretty outlandish stuff but I never once tries to discourage him.

 

Thanks for starting this thread Bowen. When I heard Richard's explanation I had to stop myself from starting a very frustrated thread about the anti-RP stance. Richard does a very good explanation of the difference between role playing and an avatar in world, and then makes it very clear he isn't interested in role players and wants everyone to be avatars. This kinda broke my heart as I am a big time role player.

His excuse for linking the shared accounts is to stop bad PvP behavior (based on his example given) and already acknowledged that with multiple purchased accounts this won't stop that type of grieving behavior. I am very interested how long before Port decides to download a drm so all logins from the same IP/computer have all their various purchased accounts linked up. This will then require multiple computers and VPNs to avoid the newly created system, which then will have to be thwarted in a different way, and repeat ad naseum.

As I do play different character types, it completely kills my attempt to test out different options within the game unless I purchase a second account. This saddens me as it is a penalty against people who want to role play faithfully to different character types and personalities. I've dumped enough into this game that an extra few dollars won't break me, but I can see many situations where this is very limiting.

What happens when a family only has one account (each character set aside for a different member of the family)? They obviously aren't the same soul, but still bound up together. I understand the original intention (well past and unable to be reverted at this point), and I understand and respect a design decision by the company (even if I disagree, it isn't my game). It does sadden me though that in order to minorly inconvenience griefers, the role players are being officially told their play style isn't welcome. Yes, as a role player I will be ignoring this, but it still is annoying to be singled out as unwelcome.

You don't have to agree with my take on what it was said, but that is my opinion of his comments and is exactly how I took it.

 

Even understanding the original intention I still cringe more and more every time Richard talks about your soul and who you're supposed to be in-game. Not just because of what it means for RPers but for the futility of it. And yes for only $45 for a new account and no subscription fee it is only a minor inconvenience for those who want to meta-game their characters in scenarios such as those mentioned.

 

If I decide to have more than one character in the MMO world (unlikely) then I'll just RP that my soul was actually fragmented into two or three pieces. They are interconnected and at essence the same but at the same time I can roleplay them with slight differences.

 

Well, $45 might not seem much to you or me, but for a lot of players, it is a lot of money, not a "minor" inconvenience in order to play multiple characters as they see fit...

 

$45 is a lot to me so I'm in a position to call it a minor inconvenience. it's not like the old days where we would fork out $60 up front and $10 a month per account. Spend $45 on going out to dinner one night a month or $45 for potentiallu hundreds or thousands of hours of entertainment. Suddenly it's not that much and if *I* can scrounge up an extra $45 in a couple months.. anyone can. If not then how the hell are you online in the first place? You probably have more important things to do than playing games.

I am VERY lucky to have been able to come in at the level I did.. and I worked for the rest.

 

Thank you for creating this thread. I am one of the people who disagree with Richard on his idea for this. Multiple characters all embodying the same soul that is always you no matter which character you play. If that is his vision for the game, I can accept it and if that's the way it has to be then so be it. I'm still here. I do wish I could role play differently on each character though. I am not for Meta-Gaming to ones advantage to be clear. If I role play a murder with no honor on one character, I'm not going to use my other honorable character to set up victims. I do understand that some people will though and it cannot be stopped. To me that was part of what made online gaming so amazing though back in the day. You never really knew who was behind each character you met therefore you needed to be careful about who you trusted. To me this forced you to get to know people in your community and honestly I felt it encouraged comradery more than the current plan ever will. .. So while I wish we had a multiple character system handled in the same way as UO... If in the end that isn't going to be, then it's okay, I love this game and community enough to stay. . but for all that I am. I wish that I could role play differently on each character, and I feel that having to spend at least $45 in order to do so is, for the lack of a better word, unfortunate, and like I have said previously, the biggest turn off for this game, even more so than not having an open world. IMO of course .

 

Yea, but you can literally make gunpowder from dirt, ash and poo provided you know how, and if the world has steampunk devices there is no reason why you wouldn't be able to machine a musket or revolver.

 

Yeah, my rudimentary knowledge of chemistry would allow some fun explosive devices that cause self oxidizing fire from contact with moisture (including human sweat). And it would be easily accessible from components pretty much already in game. Toss out a few of those and the mob/NPC/player would die a horrible death with douse making the fire exponentially worse. Thankfully, I can't bring in my knowledge to this world...

 

Just catching up on this thread. Interesting topic.

My view is role playing is something owned by the people. Not the game design. The best role players will role play regardless of the game mechanics. Role playing is their game, the game is not their role playing. Take Dungeons and Dragons for example. Just dice, a table top, and imagination.

What SOTA offers in terms of tools to enable that is so much more. It offers so many props for role playing use. However, role playing does not have to relate to the skills given a character by the game at all. A really great role player may be a melee that makes other think he is magician, but his mumbo jumbo spells never work. The art of role playing is in the creation of a grand illusion with the props on hand. Not simply representing the props handed to us.

 

A lot of this is true. You can't however, use the tools SOTA offers to role play a bad guy on one character, and then role play a good guy on another. The oracle will judge you based on what you've done with both characters, so as good as you may be with your good character, you will be treated like a criminal because of what you've done on the other.

 

I agree completely, but it is still disheartening when the game you are wanting to play is saying your preferred play style isn't welcome. Again, the RP community will use the tools provided and find each other (for those who don't already know where to look).

Or to have your evil white washed because of your good character.

 

Spending $45 with no sub fee is nothing. Even with a sub fee most that want it would do it anyway. Everyone who wants to circumvent this will do it, and I mean everyone. It will prevent no one from playing an evil char and a good char. So at the absolute most it is a way to sell more copies of the game, because it definitely will not prevent what they want to prevent.

The RP aspects of this don't matter to me in the slightest to be honest, not my cup of tea. Given the fact that it will fail to accomplish what it aims to do and in the process it presents pretty big problems for a lot of RPers, I can definitely see why some people might be upset about it.