The Like/Hate Thread

[Kayne]

So, out of curiosity, what do you think will get people to actually RP again?

I'll be realistic and say that I cannot actually force people to write. You can lead a horse to water, as they say, but you can't make them drink; however, I think I might be able to make it a little more...tastier? Is that a good word?

To be honest, I am not entirely sure what combination of tactics will revive this place. We might not even get back to our former glory, however, the one thing that makes me hopeful is that some of the community still remains, and I think that there could be potential in those that left being attracted back by something a little different and accommodating to whatever their time schedules and motivations allow.

There are a few different things that I am going to try, from the aesthetic (board upgrade to 4.2, which I have experimented with with a very old copy of this forum that I was given for the archive site, and was successful with. This is what I had in mind. Simple, clean.) to some content changes. I think Jason had a good point that the DBZ part is dead (or at least not really an integral part of the RPG anymore), but we still have many elements that are very much DBZish that I think can still fit, even if we minimize what we have even further. A vast majority of what we have now is already customized, although we do still utilize elements from that universe (planets like Vegetasei, Nameksei, etc., scouters, things like this). I would like to continue using some of these elements, as they aren't necessarily bad, and I think their removal would be detrimental rather than helpful.

Specifically, I want to add things that will help those who want to write, but have a very difficult time getting started on their own. What we had before the turnover a few years ago was great: we had the NPCs that were the primary source of gaining new techniques, as well as a host of premade quests that writers could pick from and earn a set amount of rewards. That particular feature is what I miss the most. I feel it not only set up a framework to go off of when dry on ideas, it also gave some incentive when there is some idea of what the rewards were, as well as what level of effort should be put into the quest. The ultimate goal is to get people reading through these things and get inspired. It can be very difficult for some people to generate an idea of which to write, and I think giving them something to go off of would be very beneficial. Regular quest updates and quest chains could yield unique rewards that could bring in some desire to write and earn them (weaponry, armor, things like this, although these particular features I am still trying to hash out, as they haven't really been an important part of the game in some time now).

Regular updating, trying to aim for a goal of rolling out a few new quests per month, perhaps a new NPC or something of that caliber with each month's (or every few weeks) update, a schedule of major events that happen at specific times of the year (for example, Dante's Abyss in late Spring/Early Summer, Friend of Foe or some incarnation in Late Summer/Early Fall, and perhaps two other events that are not so death-heavy in late fall/early winter and late winter/early spring). If there aren't very many writers to do so, that's fine. It can still be done, just might not be super long. The major events can run for a week or two so that they aren't overlapping with other events, and when scheduled at expected periods of time, should allow people to accommodate for them rather than having them suddenly sprung on them in the middle of a storyline.

Regular updating, I think, would give the impression that we are at least trying to remain fresh; it is a cornerstone of any successful business or website: if you're going to attract or retain your customers, you have to give them something to look forward to, and introduce new things to keep their interest. Keep them guessing about what is coming next.

I do not want to get rid of all the hard work that has been previously put in before, but I do want to expand upon it, revise it. I am not sure if I can bring over the combat points system, mainly because I do not know what level of customization that has been put into it, and how flexible it is to change. Also, I am not sure if the mod that was used for that current feature is even compatable with the new board, although I have found that it was updated not too long ago. I am looking into that now and seeing if it will still be able to fit in, because I do like that particular feature.

For future consideration, I was thinking of implementing "levels" with unlockables. For example, a person gains so much XP or combat ability points, and gains a 'level'. A level 3 character would unlock the ability to go train with, say, Lord Vine, and learn metal binding. A level 10 character could unlock Spirit Bomb or some equivalent high-level ability, and be able to train for it through an NPC. For items, perhaps a level 5 could unlock the ability to add SONAR or something to their scouter (which is something I would keep, along with the LENS, the smaller, much more compact version of the bulky headset, and that also contains features not found with the scouter, such as heat detection and the capability of being physically augmented into the person via implants).


Long story short: Improve upon what we have, reintroduce old concepts that worked (and also catered to those who have a difficult time coming up with ideas by providing a basic framework to go off of), and regular updating to keep things fresh, and give writers something to look forward to. It is not a complete list of things I want to do, but just things off the top of my head that I could definitely see being done.