What are you thinking right now?

I hate being a redhead in the summer... Although it was rather amusing when the pharmacist thought she needed to explain sun protection to me because of my new medication. Can you not see the layers of SPF 50??

I would've thought the largest disadvantage would be the lack of a soul.

"How does he do that everytime?"

Spells!

I hate being a redhead in the summer... Although it was rather amusing when the pharmacist thought she needed to explain sun protection to me because of my new medication. Can you not see the layers of SPF 50??

I would've thought the largest disadvantage would be the lack of a soul.

Now why would I consider that a disadvantage? Not like I ever had one to miss

[Face]

Silly rotworms!!!!!

Cooking is fun.

I am more than offended.

[Athian]

I am more than offended.

What is appalled.

Do I win?

I am more than offended.

What is appalled.

Do I win?

Actually....yes!

Ich denke, dass viele Menschen ihre Probleme stark stilisieren und
dadurch den eigentlichen Wert des seins vernachlässigen.

Didn't mean to walk in on that...

*Whistles and runs off*

I'm thinking what caused this:



And how do we fix it?

The skeletal forest is no fun anymore *sighs*

edited to add: If you make places where only groups are able to go, the fun of a random meeting and unexpected yet welcomed roleplay won't happen.

Playerbase is tapering before the VBU, as a bunch of people think they'll wait, and since Illa is a game that's built around player interaction, less players around in TB or the main towns means less people log in, since they know they'll find less RP

I'm thinking what caused this:



And how do we fix it?

Well, to be quite honest, I think the VBU is part of the problem. I know it's something that isn't in the control of the GMs, but we keep getting told its coming, but then the date gets pushed back, and it's fairly discouraging. I know I'm going to get a lecture on how it'll go faster if players help out more with it, but the matter of fact is, a lot of us like playing games more than we like making them. It's one of those things, people are either going to help out or they're not.

Also, due to all the GMs having their focus on the VBU, they're putting very little focus on ig quests and things of the sort, and I know they don't -have- to do those quests and things for us, but when you do it a lot for awhile, and then stop, the roleplay eventually starts to go stagnant, which drives down people's interest in the game. Rather than people going out on these cool quests, people either powergame or sit and talk and do nothing. We might get some small conflicts here and there, but otherwise the most I see day in and day out is the occasional treasure map. And I know, I'll be told to go out and make the change and make some roleplay myself.. Well, for my character to do something like that is highly out of character for him. For awhile I did with the whole Knights of Goldburg thing, and we actually did get a lot of quality roleplay out of that, but with working on joining the air force and my new position at work, I don't have time to get in game, all I have time to do is lurk the forums while I am at work.

I know it seems like I'm putting a lot of blame on the GMs, and I know they're only part of the problem, but it is kind of their job to moderate the game to make it attractive and fun enough to keep the players interested. Players don't really join games to see how they can make it better for other people, they play because they're bored and want a game to play, and if the game simply isn't that much fun for them, they'll move along.

My 2 cents.

I'm thinking what caused this:



And how do we fix it?

Recruit more GMs to make more events.

Create your own events. If you are bored, it's your own fault. Think about your characters targets. "I want to be the best..." isn't a exciting target at all and of yourse you are bored because biside of skilling there's noting percious to do for your char. You will just hang around at the workshop and wait for your skill cap release. For some reason the people play illarion as it was a single player game. They are passiv and wait for plots, the gms or other chars deliver. Let me tell you now... you are boring opposites to those who try to create plots. The real reason for the poor guilds in illarion isn't the lack of players, it's the lack of teamplay which reasons them. Be an active player! Create your own Plot. Talk to people, make friends and enemies.

Feed the horse on your own, lazy bum.

Create your own events. If you are bored, it's your own fault. Think about your characters targets. "I want to be the best..." isn't a exciting target at all and of yourse you are bored because biside of skilling there's noting percious to do for your char. You will just hang around at the workshop and wait for your skill cap release. For some reason the people play illarion as it was a single player game. They are passiv and wait for plots, the gms or other chars deliver. Let me tell you now... you are boring opposites to those who try to create plots. The real reason for the poor guilds in illarion isn't the lack of players, it's the lack of teamplay which reasons them. Be an active player! Create your own Plot. Talk to people, make friends and enemies.

Feed the horse on your own, lazy bum.

I agree with the idea that players could make more use of the ability to make player generated quests and events.
Personally i don't strive for "best" on any of my characters, what i strive for is fun and if that means it will take me longer to be the best then so be it.

I have done 1 open RP and 1 player event (Demon possession RP and Dance event) and i have another event planned and i am slowly working to gather everything i need but it is hard because of the fact i lack money so i have to work within my circle of IG friends and barter for my needs.

I have noticed Dji and Rince create events but not many others.

I think one of the various reasons why some players leave is that it's not always actually possible to play your character as you would like and you always have to make certain unnecessary sacrifices to achieve certain goals

[Zak]

I think you guys need to get your own thinking-thread.

I make meeting a new PO an event. Whenever someone new arrives it is an event. We greet him (or her). Show him around. Get him anything he might need in terms of armor, food, fishing gear, tools for his trade... anything to get him started. Answer any questions. Help him with game mechanics. Whatever. It's big fun.

I tend to do the same with meeting a new character too. They have to "learn" new things too and need new equipment.

Rincewind: I do agree about a PG'r sleeping off a headache or just waiting around. No RP at all. Very boring. You basically learn who to avoid.

I see no reason why players should post how bad the game is doing. In fact, it's insulting the entire game and developers, so A+ on that.... In my eyes it is all the players fault. I've actually heard people say they are quitting until the VBU or because of the VBU. That's disgusting, how are you going to quit on a game that you haven't gotten to play yet? Or the people that complain that the VBU is taking forever, WELL YEAH! These people are trying to make it perfect and it's not their fault they don't get paid for it. Most of them have actual jobs and more important responsibilities. Me, I'm just happy for what we have NOW. We could have no Illarion at all...

As far as events go, it can be tough to plan some big to do if you are a simple player with little "pull" in the game. My character was starting to plan a big festival for Troll's Bane and sadly I never finished it due to the lack of support along with a few other IG reasons. I still hope to hold it at some point if some players get IG and want to help out. I love quests, GM planned or player planned it really doesn't matter much to me. Although GM's can make things much more interesting....

Now from a PGer's POV (Oh yes, I openly admit to it) Skilling is not the most important thing about Illarion. It certainly helps make things more interesting however. No, I am not one of the "cap and wait, cap and wait" players, in fact my character doesn't even "cap" anymore. Did all the max skills and collecting gems and rare items make my game boring? Hell no! I love my character more than ever BECAUSE of it all. I think of Illarion as a book, a never ending, doing whatever you want kind of story. A good backround story is highly underrated, if you just make a character up without any ideas or clues, I'll give it a month until you quit playing that character. BACKGROUND STORIES! I see less and less of them nowadays and it ticks me off because no person just falls from the sky and just starts walking around. (Although I will admit Leon was more of a side character when I made him, sometimes things do fall in piece, though not often).

Lastly, why give new players everything they need right off? What is the point of that? What will they actually learn other than begging for stuff. Does the phrase "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach him how the fish and he eats for a lifetime" mean anything? I can see give a newbie a tour around to town and basic lessons on where not to go, but if you go above and beyond the player won't learn anything except your name. Sorry thats just the way it is, I never got hand outs when I first played and it didn't stop me from having fun. Some people LIKE to do things themselves.

Example: The first time Leon ever went to Varshikar he HIRED A GUIDE! Oh yes, he paid to be brought there, and I have many fond memories like that.

I see no reason why players should post how bad the game is doing. In fact, it's insulting the entire game and developers, so A+ on that.... In my eyes it is all the players fault. I've actually heard people say they are quitting until the VBU or because of the VBU. That's disgusting, how are you going to quit on a game that you haven't gotten to play yet? Or the people that complain that the VBU is taking forever, WELL YEAH! These people are trying to make it perfect and it's not their fault they don't get paid for it. Most of them have actual jobs and more important responsibilities. Me, I'm just happy for what we have NOW. We could have no Illarion at all...

As far as events go, it can be tough to plan some big to do if you are a simple player with little "pull" in the game. My character was starting to plan a big festival for Troll's Bane and sadly I never finished it due to the lack of support along with a few other IG reasons. I still hope to hold it at some point if some players get IG and want to help out. I love quests, GM planned or player planned it really doesn't matter much to me. Although GM's can make things much more interesting....

Now from a PGer's POV (Oh yes, I openly admit to it) Skilling is not the most important thing about Illarion. It certainly helps make things more interesting however. No, I am not one of the "cap and wait, cap and wait" players, in fact my character doesn't even "cap" anymore. Did all the max skills and collecting gems and rare items make my game boring? Hell no! I love my character more than ever BECAUSE of it all. I think of Illarion as a book, a never ending, doing whatever you want kind of story. A good backround story is highly underrated, if you just make a character up without any ideas or clues, I'll give it a month until you quit playing that character. BACKGROUND STORIES! I see less and less of them nowadays and it ticks me off because no person just falls from the sky and just starts walking around. (Although I will admit Leon was more of a side character when I made him, sometimes things do fall in piece, though not often).

Lastly, why give new players everything they need right off? What is the point of that? What will they actually learn other than begging for stuff. Does the phrase "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach him how the fish and he eats for a lifetime" mean anything? I can see give a newbie a tour around to town and basic lessons on where not to go, but if you go above and beyond the player won't learn anything except your name. Sorry thats just the way it is, I never got hand outs when I first played and it didn't stop me from having fun. Some people LIKE to do things themselves.

Example: The first time Leon ever went to Varshikar he HIRED A GUIDE! Oh yes, he paid to be brought there, and I have many fond memories like that.

I'd like to clarify a few things about my post, and the post Nalzaxx made which led to mine. First of all, we are both long time players (though I'm not nearly as much a long time player as he is, and as such, we have noticed trends in the game, and simply put, the statistics show that the game has been slowing down, a lot. If the GMs didn't want the statistics to be known and discussed, why would they even put them there? Were not neccessarily sitting here talking about how this game is doing terrible now and all that, were just noticing a trend and discussing why the trend is going that way, so that something can be done to fix it. What you're saying is like accusing old people talking about "the good old days" of insulting the way things are now.

I'd also like to be clear that I'm not sitting here pointing fingers at the GMs telling them that they're doing a terrible job and that they need to turn they're whole focus onto making the game better for everyone else regardless of their own situations. That would be stupid and arrogant of me. But what I am saying is that when the GMs focus was more on making the game more interesting through quests and events and such, well, what do you know.. the game was more interesting. Again, I'm -NOT- saying that the GMs aren't doing their job and their focus should be on my entertainment. I understand that people have jobs, and other things get in the way of Illa. That's the reason I'm not in game any more - because real life got in the way.

Also, as I mentioned in my last post, there are players out there trying to come up with their own quests and roleplay situations. I've gotten raiding parties together with my knighthood to go attack the orcs in Caelum, and we've raided the caves in Varshikar, and a dozen other mini-quests. You could ask anyone involved and they'll tell you what a good time it was. But, a big problem was that were were limited by our technical abilities. Regardless of how much effort you put into it, you were still fighting the same old NPCs. We knew that 10 minutes after we walked away from our quest, it would be the exact same scene as when we started. If we were able to walk away and be able to go into town telling people of our adventures, and pointing out how the lands in Caelum were cleared of orcs once again, we could have had some pretty cool roleplay, but the matter of fact is, we were unable to make any impact on the game. And that was one of the big things I liked about the game during my first few years - You could make an impact on it. But now, and until the VBU, none of our player quests are GM supported, and were basically stuck in a sort of roleplay limbo.

So whose fault is it? Everyone's. Yeah, if we had an active effort from -all- the players, we'd have some awesome roleplay and conflicts between factions that would make a very interesting Illarion. But since we don't have that, and we don't have the GMs supporting the quests of the players out there trying to make a difference, and because of the combination of the two, players are leaving, causing less roleplay opportunities.

That's my perspective at least.

It's going to be awesome to kill my sisters' character.

Just you wait. Bwahahaha!

Lastly, why give new players everything they need right off? What is the point of that? What will they actually learn other than begging for stuff. Does the phrase "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach him how the fish and he eats for a lifetime" mean anything? I can see give a newbie a tour around to town and basic lessons on where not to go, but if you go above and beyond the player won't learn anything except your name. Sorry thats just the way it is, I never got hand outs when I first played and it didn't stop me from having fun. Some people LIKE to do things themselves.

+1

Even if you do feel the urge to give a new player something let them work for it.
Show them where the pigs are and say i'll give you *item/s* in exchange for 20 leather hides if they are a fighter
If they are a crafter you can offer a pickaxe/shovel/etc in exchange for some coal.

The fact of the matter is that nobody actually "respects" free stuff and many real players would rather earn something through hard work rather than given to them through charity

As helping new people is something i do as well.. maybe i should elaborate for thoughts on 'free stuff'. i see no harm in giving a fishing pole and a pair a scissors and a set of weapons to suit body type. if its winter why not a coat. We are not talking perfect items here these are usually items that wont sell or are free loot drops from maps/creatures. a fishing rod and how to repair the line... um how many days did it take for someone to show me? a pair of weapons and yes they are pointed to the pigs saying i will buy your leather and meat.. very basic items.. enough someone can earn coin to start out or have items to barter on.

we are speaking of new account people here especially and not alts.. we can all tell the difference.. lol usually they walk funny, hell i walked off the top of the seahorse inn the first day i had an account. my first visit to the cross. i lost alot of stuff the first few weeks.. goober that i am.. my bag was the most horrible thing.. and the vendors want a silver for one.. as a new arrival.. thats impossible especially if you just lost everything.. i still remember fondly after cross visit was it two or three Oxi and Ira took me to a cook fire and talked to me and fed me free food and gave me a free bag.. to me that bag was priceless at that point... i simple try to pay my help forward and all i ask of those that ask what they owe.
Po evie

I'm breaking this up, yo..

I AM THINKING... That I wish I would have taken Magery instead of Druidry on one of my chars. =/

I'm thinking...

"Stumpel Rilzchen"

... whut?!

I'm thinking...

"Stumpel Rilzchen"

... whut?!

I was just thinking that too!

[Arien Edhel]

I make meeting a new PO an event. Whenever someone new arrives it is an event. We greet him (or her). Show him around. Get him anything he might need in terms of armor, food, fishing gear, tools for his trade... anything to get him started. Answer any questions. Help him with game mechanics. Whatever. It's big fun.

That idea is almost as old as Illarion itself and it was already practised for some time.
And it's still a good one.

BUT - don't give them goods, armour or weapon.
Give them a job or ideas what they can do besides fighting.
Explain how things work.
Integrate them into your own game.
That way we'll get new player who'll stay and love Illa like we do.

...That way we'll get new player who'll stay and love Illa like we do.

Plus cheap labour!
BONUS!!!!