Story, Lore, Canon...not for me, thanks.

Discussion in 'Fire Lotus Tavern' started by BillRoy, Aug 31, 2013.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. LoneStranger

    LoneStranger Avatar

    Messages:
    3,023
    Likes Received:
    4,761
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Petaluma, CA
    Even if you want to ignore story, there will be instances where it is more difficult.

    Sieges are going to make it difficult to get into cities from time to time, so you'll have to adjust for that. I assume the astronomic events will also have an effect.
     
  2. BillRoy

    BillRoy Avatar

    Messages:
    997
    Likes Received:
    1,033
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Arizona
    @Goblin~ You've mentioned min-max'ing a few times, and for many people that's all they can understand. Not the case for me, but I think the vast majority of gamers can't see beyond that.

    @Stranger~Just because you don't pay much attention to the story doesn't mean you have to ignore the game or the things in your environment. By all means man the walls.

    According to RG/LB SoTA wont be set up like WoW where you mostly have to follow the story or stay in town forever RP'ing or trolling TradeChat.
    *Look into how dynamic events,heart quests, jumping puzzles and "personal" storys are done in Guild Wars 2 (there are plenty of explinations and tutorials on YouTube), you can play to max level and never touch your "personal story", just traveling the lands doing whatever you want and bypassing the things you aren't intrested in. I did it and so far it has been the best MMO I've ever played that was not UO.
     
  3. Archaaz

    Archaaz Avatar

    Messages:
    97
    Likes Received:
    40
    Trophy Points:
    20
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Born and raised in Texas. Currently in India.
    It depends. As far as single player games, I do like an overriding storyline, though I also enjoy a sandbox approach to achieving this. I loved Ultima V, and think it struck just the right balance (I have not played any Ultimas after this, though I hear that they were similar). I like the storyline being in the background, and being able to strike out into the world and explore, do my own thing, and not experiencing the storyline in a linear fashion.

    My MMORPG experience is somewhat limited. I played UO for about a year and a half, starting from a few months from release. I also played WoW for about six months, and dabbled in a few others here and there, but not long enough to give an accurate account of the experience.

    I actually returned to computers after a long hiatus specifically to play UO (I had previously only owned an Apple II). My initial experience was similar to yours. I had a vague character concept, the good guy knight, and wasn't quite sure what to expect. I played the game as a game, made some good friends, and allowed things to develop as they happened. Bear in mind that I am not a PvPer, PKer, min-maxer, or powergamer. I was not terribly good at the "game" aspect, just did my own thing and enjoyed it (and died a lot). I was rather lost for a good portion of my experience, but loved every minute of UO and the freedom it provided; tons of personal triumphs and tragedies, and unexpected occurrences.

    I am more into immersion, and do not want anything to break that fourth wall. During my stint in UO I gravitated more and more toward a more RP mindset (though my in-game friends were not RPers), wanting to really get into my character. I happened to meet a similarly minded player, and this is when I really started to get into the more RP aspect. Our RP was a bit different from what I have usually experienced later. We simply played our characters and what actually happened in-game (while giving our character certain personality quirks, manners of speech and such).

    I want to really be my character, with his motivations, etc. and never have my reactions with others (NPC or PC) feel artifical, scripted, or forced. Just as it is difficult for me to get into linear quests and being lead by the nose through a more or less static world, it is likewise difficult for me to get into roleplaying that is more or less scripted and artificial, lead by a player gamemaster, like a play (though I did enjoy it many years ago in PnP DnD). I prefer a game to provide ample systems, conflict, diversity, and immersion to really pull me in, make me feel I am part of the world, and provide a sort of organic foundation that makes me, and others, naturally gravitate toward this role or that; to foster a sense of RP organically. And this wthout stuffing a linear storyline down my throat.

    I think that WoW is an excellent game for what it is, and quite enjoyable, though ultimately it could not hold my attention, mostly because it was linear, instanced, and the antithesis of an open world sandbox experience . I consider it more of a single player game, but for small groups, than an actual MMORPG. While I went along the quest track like evey one else, I just clicked through the text as quickly as possible, disregarding it, but completing the quests. I never really got into the lore of WoW. I had a small group of friends (non-RPs), and tried to RP my character a bit, but only through a few (mostly humorous) quirks and such.

    I do actually enjoy a background lore, and tend to stick to it, at least in an open game such as UO. By stick to it, I mean I like to have a basis for creating my character's personality, desires, etc. For example, if I were to play UO now, I would probably follow one of the professions, and would adhere to the virtue system (or at least make it part of my experience). As far as sticking strictly to canon, not so much (for example, though I never played Ultma 6, the gargoyle angle just does not agree with my aesthetic for some reason). I do rather like the notion of having come to New Britannia from earth, but then I have always enjoyed stories of people finding secret passages to fantasy lands. I also enjoy the freedom of being provided with a plethora of skills and choices, and being able to do whatever I desire (found a tavern, run a bakery, man a ranger outpost, hunt, etc), but I also like it to have a foundation upon which to rest, a context, and I rarely venture too far outside this, while still making my character my own. As an Ultima exampe, such a character would make in-context references to Lord British, the virtues, etc. And f it is not possible to be an elf, vampire, dwarf, etc. in game, then I am not.

    I am interested in SotA's system of attempting to group people with those who share a similar playstyle. I seem to fall into a weird sort of category. I do not enjoy being surrounded by mostly non-RPers, min-maxers, and those who play it solely as a game (with "non-RP" names), but I likewise do not like really hard core RP of the more scripted, GM lead variety. I do like staying and speaking in character, reacting to actual in-game occurrences, referencing the lore, having a real, in-game reason fordoing what I am doing, and being around those with the same approach. Not that I think there is any proper way to play, it is just my personal preference.
     
    BillRoy likes this.
  4. BillRoy

    BillRoy Avatar

    Messages:
    997
    Likes Received:
    1,033
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Arizona
    @Archaaz~I think we have a great deal in common, friend. If this game ever matches us up (*if the matching system does what we think it is suposed to, it should), I believe we will get along quite well. ;)
     
    Archaaz likes this.
  5. Arkhan

    Arkhan Avatar

    Messages:
    674
    Likes Received:
    517
    Trophy Points:
    105
    The problem is, this game is designed to be single player as well, so if you want to just wander around and screw around trying to find adventure, you're going to run out of steam in a weekend.

    UO wasn't single player. You always had new people running around.
     
    BillRoy likes this.
  6. Archaaz

    Archaaz Avatar

    Messages:
    97
    Likes Received:
    40
    Trophy Points:
    20
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Born and raised in Texas. Currently in India.
    I l
    I look forward to it, my friend. The more I get my head around this matching system, the more I like it. If t works as expected, it should cater to just about every playstyle.
     
    BillRoy likes this.
  7. BillRoy

    BillRoy Avatar

    Messages:
    997
    Likes Received:
    1,033
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Arizona
    True, it's the interaction with others that kept you intrested. Even if you weren't interacting there is something good about seeing other "real" people going around doing thier buisness, it makes the world feel alive instead of like an empty stage.
     
  8. Arkhan

    Arkhan Avatar

    Messages:
    674
    Likes Received:
    517
    Trophy Points:
    105

    Yeah. If UO was left as is, but was designed for only single player, it would get boring very fast. It lacks the rogue-like elements like random dungeons and stuff to keep you interested once you can run through the entire game with your eyes closed, spamming whirlwind attacks with an axe and killing anything that gets in your way. :)


    Side note: What was your favorite axe to use on UO? I was a fan of the large battle axe.
     
    BillRoy likes this.
  9. BillRoy

    BillRoy Avatar

    Messages:
    997
    Likes Received:
    1,033
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Arizona
    I always liked the hatchet becaus of it's basic look, or the regular battle axe, also basic looking with the same skin as the hatchet (they also had good skill powers, but I can't remember what they were now). The only one I'd avoid at all costs was the War Axe, because it was a mace weapon and would un-adjust your swordmanship skill and put points into mace fighting.
     
  10. Arkhan

    Arkhan Avatar

    Messages:
    674
    Likes Received:
    517
    Trophy Points:
    105
    I once had a demon slayer hatchet I found in a dungeon. It had 40% damage increase and a bit of swing speed increase and hit-energy-area.


    I could stand on top that demon temple and kill the demons faster than they would appear. It was a mess. ;)





    Hatchets had armor pierce and disarm, IIRC.

    and the battle axe had Bleed and Concussion!




    The large battle axe had whirlwind for crowds, and bleed for soloing. That was why I favored it. It was my favorite weapon to slaughter liches with.
     
    BillRoy likes this.
  11. BillRoy

    BillRoy Avatar

    Messages:
    997
    Likes Received:
    1,033
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Arizona
    I approve this message. :D
     
  12. jondavis

    jondavis Avatar

    Messages:
    1,185
    Likes Received:
    726
    Trophy Points:
    113
    I'm another that don't know the Ultima Lore.
    Yes I've played a couple old Ultima games but never got into many single player games at all.
    I've always looked for multiplayer games and Ultima Online was the best out of any I've played.
    So I'm here for the multiplayer content that UO gave us.
     
    BillRoy and Devoid like this.
  13. BillRoy

    BillRoy Avatar

    Messages:
    997
    Likes Received:
    1,033
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Arizona
    @jondavis~Me too. I never played them other than UO, and honestly I've seen them and I wasn't in a hurry to try them out myself (aka. not intrested in the least). I'm here because of my memories of UO or atleast hopefully something in that spirit too.
     
  14. Tizon

    Tizon Avatar

    Messages:
    29
    Likes Received:
    30
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Corpus Christi, Texas
    Here here!!
     
    BillRoy likes this.
  15. Vladmorik

    Vladmorik Avatar

    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Gender:
    Male
    Story may not be for you, but canon lore is. Without it, you'd be in your home, sitting infront of your computer. Lore is the background, the idea of the unvierse the game takes place in. Lore is where the orcs are. The story is the plot of the character you play. I fully intend to read it once, then disregard it for the rest of forever like most other people interested in RPing.

    That's exactly what I did in WoW and Guildwars. The 'Hero' story is cliche, and honestly, you can't have roleplay if everyone is the exact same unique or extremely rare being. 'Sides, not interested in having my story told for me. Like you, I want my own.

    ...I'm sorry, but I played WoW since vanilla and rarely stayed in town to do RP. Going to town for RP was only done because that's where a reliable source of rpers were to be found, instead of people just out questing. If you wanted to do rp that didn't involve random rpers you've never met, you got friends together for it.

    WoW wasn't set up to have RP like that. It just happened that way because that's where people collected.. safe places they won't get attacked. I mean, if you're going to want to interact with someone in real life, you would.. say.. go to a mall. Not go sit in a forest by yourself.
     
  16. BillRoy

    BillRoy Avatar

    Messages:
    997
    Likes Received:
    1,033
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Arizona
    You have some valid points, my friend.;)
     
  17. Vladmorik

    Vladmorik Avatar

    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Gender:
    Male
    Thank you!

    ..Ehm.. Is there anything left to really discuss in this thread? Or is it going to turn into a thread where folks will come by to give their opinions and move on? I'm bored and not tired enough to sleep >.>
     
  18. Shadow of Light Dragon

    Shadow of Light Dragon Avatar

    Messages:
    309
    Likes Received:
    768
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    Weyrmount
    You're a role-player, Billroy. ;) Not being interested in the pre-set story, lore or canon doesn't change that. You simply prefer to make your own stories and craft them with the people around you.

    I also enjoy doing that (I was a player-run shard for years where the whole server contributed to the ongoing story of our version of Britannia), but I like story, lore and canon because it helps to give a common context of the world around you, and points of reference.

    Dyslexia is something that's come up a few times in these forums. Do you think you'd be more interested in lore if you could listen to it instead of read it? Just curious.
     
    BillRoy and AvatarAcid like this.
  19. Tartness

    Tartness Avatar

    Messages:
    913
    Likes Received:
    1,514
    Trophy Points:
    105
    Gender:
    Male
    That is an excellent point. Maybe even something the Poets' Circle could help out with in some way down the road a bit. A while back Grandmaster Holt Ironfell submitted this story for a competition:
    https://soundcloud.com/pwnmusic/forgotten-secret

    Needless to say he was one of the winners :) Have a listen BillRoy, see how you go!
     
    BillRoy and Sir Stile Teckel like this.
  20. BillRoy

    BillRoy Avatar

    Messages:
    997
    Likes Received:
    1,033
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Arizona
    Probably not, friend. I prefer to experience and see the world as I move through it. As far as lore and such go, I'm more of a theme person, as in. Is the night ruled by vampires?, Is there an evil litch searching for "the one ring" with an army of orcs?, Did we go through a time warp and now have to survive in a land of pre-historic creatures?, That's usually enough for me.:)
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.