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+---- Thread: Let's Improve (and Overhaul) Roleplay! (/showthread.php?tid=1478)
Let's Improve (and Overhaul) Roleplay! - Sydney - 05-24-2021
Most people seem to be in agreement that they want more roleplay, so I'll try to come up with a few solutions instead of saying "oh this doesn't work". I posted this in the Discord, but it ended up getting buried so I want to talk about it more in depth.
First off, I want to say that this server is the best developed mafiarp server that ever came out. There is no doubt about that, and I'd say that most people agree with it. If the development keeps being as good as it is, and you can fix the roleplay issue in mafia "roleplay", I think Diverge will thrive even more than it is now. In the end, the people that care about mafiarp want it to thrive, so when people suggest things, it's something that they have personally seen that they want to improve.
About the community and roleplay:
I think, one of the ways to improve this, is to have some sort of "roleplay board" team. It doesn't even have to be just staff or gamemasters--gamemasters are more in charge of events. It might be nice to maybe have a group of people have a meeting every week or so and just talk about the roleplay on the server, how it can be improved, and what staff can or cannot do to fix the issue. This can consist of one person from each faction, or people that you believe have a say in the community and/or are known for being good roleplayers. It can be a civilized discussion and might really help out the server. There can be specific points to talk about in each meeting so things don't get too off topic, but if UA can understand where, specifically, the roleplay is being hindered, they can focus on those things instead of everybody being like "roleplay sucks" and there being no solution. You don't have to disclose names or specific people included even, but it's something that might be good to figure out.
Another way to do this is to have a solid gamemaster team. Maybe they need to pitch an event to UA first before they do it. I know that can be frustrating and can hinder the amount of events, but we seem to have more bad events than good events. This might help in the long run to pump out great events with good incentives instead of bad, mingy events. Have a gamemaster, or roleplay team, divided into legal and illegal events/faction-based things. That way, there can be people who focus on mob-related events and police/gov related events instead of always involving both of them in everything.
The genuine people in this community want serious roleplay, and their suggestions (for the most part) are something that they do want staff to consider when it comes to roleplay. If they didn't care about Diverge or didn't want it to thrive, they wouldn't bring it up because they wouldn't care enough to. There's a difference between constructive criticism and bitching, and though a lot of people draw that line, it's good to have a distinction between the two.
About minging:
Speaking of mingy, crack down on mingy behavior. If you just look at City Hall, you can see the amount of minging going on just from standing there for 5 minutes. It's a minge hotspot, and if I was a new roleplayer, I would see it as "oh, this server is all about minging and not serious at all." It can really effect people's first initial perception of the server. I know someone can't be there 24/7, but if you maybe come out with an announcement that mingy behavior won't be tolerated anymore and how you're going to focus more and improve roleplay, it might get through a lot of people's heads.
About rackets:
Rackets need to be redone to include more roleplay. Easier said than done, but something that needs to be said. Making drugs and doing that over and over again using the same method is...exhausting. Yeah, the npc to player to player to npc creates a little roleplay, but other than that, it's the same as what you were trying to avoid with drug labs--people just sit in a room and grind drugs over and over again. Maybe do more legal rackets, like wineries and stocks, and have more of a variety of illegal rackets instead of just drugs. Some examples include: forged documents/passports, stolen artwork, counterfeit cash, and a lot of others that can be added. Even with the drugs, make each system do something a little different. I know that takes a lot of time and effort, and things do need to come before that, but maybe it's something that can be implemented down the line.
Gun rackets also need to be redone. It's been oversaturated, and we all know it, but maybe a gun wipe might do us all good honestly. Maybe have less guns even, so that when events happen, there are more rare guns. I know this isn't specifically about roleplay, but it is something that needed to be addressed.
About UA & RP:
One of the big issues I see, though it's a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation, is that no UA+ roleplays on the server. Not really. Of course, it's great because it prevents biases against one faction or another, but I think that's one of the reason why roleplay is affected. They don't really see the roleplay (or lack thereof) within the community.
Obviously, I understand why UA doesn't really rp on the server, and it's something I can appreciate to prevent biases, but again, that's kind of where a roleplay team, whether it's consistent of staff or otherwise, can really help UA understand where roleplay is and the status of roleplay on the server. Again, I want to iterate that this isn't about the map (see more below). Somespy said that he roleplays on the server, which is great, but I wasn't even aware of him roleplaying. That's the thing though--it's not about "proving a point" that UA roleplays. It's about fixing roleplay in the end rather than being prideful and saying "roleplay is fine!" Those that do roleplay should know that roleplay is suffering tremendously.
About Southside:
And I know it's something that's been brought up, and I know I sound like a broken record, but there needs to be a new map to really have roleplay thrive. I know you guys are waiting on Fishke's map, which is fine and all, and that's why I put it at the bottom of the list. I think, one of the reasons people are minging more, is that they're bored. I think, if you can set up solid rp before then, rp can thrive a lot more when a new, fresh map comes out. People know that Southside is a great map, and how much detail is in it, that's not the problem and constantly bringing it up isn't going to get us anywhere. It's more about the time MafiaRP has spent on the map rather than it being a great map.
One thing that Rem said that stood out to me is:
I still find it sad that you get that sick of a map after only 1 year, that's sad lol
Which (and I love Rem) kind of shows how out of touch a lot of people are about Southside. 1 year, in retrospect, isn't a lot. But when you put it into hours played, with some putting in as much as 1500 hours in the past year on mostly the same map, it is a shit ton to be spending in the same place when you're wanting to focus almost solely on rp. I guarantee, if you take a poll about Southside, 90% of people (or more) will say that they are tired of Southside. Which, again, can hinder roleplay when people get bored and start up mingy behavior, as I've said before. As someone who has staffed before and has been UA, I know that the community isn't always right. But when a huge majority of the community feels a certain way, there's a chance that they are right.
Shrimps brought up that DarkRP has been using the same map for years. But again, that is completely missing the point. If we want to improve roleplay, comparing MafiaRP to DarkRP is the exact opposite way we want to go. I know the map discussion is old for everyone, but it is something that does need to be addressed, as much as everyone always argues about it. But this discussion is not about the map, it is about roleplay. So please don't post "yes map bad!!" "no map good!!" below because that will not solve anything (just like how most people missed the point in suggestion-discussion).
About the economy:
I know the economy is important in MafiaRP to prevent people having too much money. Right now, the economy is perfect where it's at in my opinion and from what I've heard. But I think one thing that needs to be reminded of is that roleplay should come over the economy. I know that's a controversial opinion, but I think it's one of the reasons why rp might be struggling. When there is so much focus on making money and obsessively trying to be the richest on the server, it affects businesses & genuine roleplay. Mobster's Paradise was at its best when the economy was broken because people were able to roleplay and not worry about money. I'm not saying that the economy should be broken--far from it--but there should be less of a focus on the economy & money and more of a focus on roleplay & businesses.
Your suggestions:
I want this to be a civilized conversation instead of pinning the blame on certain people or defending the points/shifting the blame onto people. All too often, that's what the Discord spirals into and it's just an overall mess. Instead of people saying "roleplay bad", let's think of ways that we, as a community, can improve roleplay. Not everybody has to agree with one another, but it should be a discussion instead of an argument.
RE: Let's Improve (and Overhaul) Roleplay! - PattyMelt - 05-24-2021
I haven’t been on Diverge too long but I love the new racket ideas. Having a diversity of different rackets would add more depth and obviously variety to criminal rp, and make specializing in a certain type of crime more, well, special. I haven’t been here long enough to give an educated reply to any of your other points but they sound good and more RP is definitely a good thing. +1
RE: Let's Improve (and Overhaul) Roleplay! - Baldrick - 05-29-2021
+1 Would be cool to see some suggestions out of this happening.
RE: Let's Improve (and Overhaul) Roleplay! - Taco. - 10-08-2021
+1 new rackets system, running back and forth between shipments then having to wait some more for the vendor CD.
RE: Let's Improve (and Overhaul) Roleplay! - Pendred - 10-19-2021
A lot of these are currently in the works, can't provide an ETA currently, but stay tuned.