MISSION FEEDBACK POST / OPEN DISCUSSION

[616]

In light of the comments registered here, and of course in light of the end of our first mission, I would like to open up this post here as a discussion post for our first mission plot! It was very much a test run of what I'd like to try out in the future, but I'm interested to know about any suggestions, ideas, or feedback that you guys as players might have on the missions for the future.

I would love for us to be able to come together to improve the overall enjoyment of the missions in-game, as well as find a good way to roll them out for everyone in an open setting. I'm all ears here and I would love to hear your thoughts!

I've done my best to ensure that IP logging is turned off and anonymous commenting is enabled here, so that if you would prefer to register your ideas anonymously that is okay too! A few things that I have put on the table to do for next time:

➦ Better opportunities for players to add in their own plots during the overall missions post; making the mission open for player plots and ideas.
➦ Saving the outcome of the mission (victory / non-victory / etc) for the debriefing log (instead of during the main mission log).
➦ Utilising player and character involvement in the outcome of the mission, so that even if the victory or non-victory is known ahead of time by the mods, it may be affected by player involvement in a big way.

Any and all suggestions, ideas and concerns are welcome here and I look forward to your feedback. Thank you, everyone!

Comments

[fintastic]

I sort of agree with the comment's OP, but that might be a personal problem. I was definitely a little bit disappointed, but I know I have a lot of trouble getting into any kind of plot or thread where I know EXACTLY how it has to end. I think the posts themselves were really good but even if they had been staggered each by a day to even just start some threads before the next part, that would be kind of cool.

I think using player and character involvement MIGHT get a little hectic for the mods without any prior planning though? I don't know, maybe there could be a test run or something, but it seems like it would require the mods to be on top of the post at all times, and that's a lot to handle, even for someone who has nothing else to do with their day.

Possibly an alternative would be to build in some player roles into the plot and have people sign up for them? Another game I was in did that for plots, so that players were still involved in the outcome of the plot, but it wasn't done completely on the fly. And it really helped in getting immersed in the plot in general, to have other characters who were a part of it. Made for lots of good CR too, so there's that! Like for example, what i mean is like... this was the modpost where I signed Feferi up to play a specific plot role, and then I actually carried it out here. Not that I expect you to do it this way exactly, but just for potential inspiration. 0u0

[notthatjason]

Agreed, player roles/plots could get out of hand if you had like 5 different plots going on at once. But I think if we had plotting posts or sign-ups that would be helpful, yes. Just something to give both players and mods and idea of what people are thinking of doing for upcoming missions.

[noble_nate]

The only thing that felt jarring to me was having the aftermath in the same post as the main mission. I like the idea of making that a seperate post (like you did later).

Other than that, I really liked the plot. I was a little bummed that there weren't a whole lot of people involved, but I just figured it's a busy time of year for people, especially those in school.

[notthatjason]

Okay, I'm posting this just before sleep so if this doesn't make sense let me know. Also, if I tl;dr I apologize. Double also, I realize this was the first mission thing so it's a work in progress and I appreciate you guys looking for feedback from us!

Speaking as the person who was partly responsible for the Roman sub-plot thing (ie attempting peace talks with Romans, possibly having them steal the Legion's standard for ransom, diverting the Romans to another village, etc). I would like if there was the opportunity for more player involvement in the outcome. It's okay to have a set end/outcome in mind, but allowing for players to have their own say in the plot is a major part of what makes games like this fun. Like I said, you can still have a "win" or "lose" in mind, but you probably shouldn't post it along with all the other sub-threads.

Heck, you can even have alternate-endings based on said player involvement. I realize threads like this are difficult to finish in a decent amount of time but generally with plotting you can figure out if a characters' plan(s) are going to work and the "ending" or whatever should change to reflect that.

Using the recent mission as an example of what I'm talking about. Say Jason and his crew managed to get through to the Romans and get them to turn back. That would have ended the mission early and also counted as a success. It may have even reflected differently in the future. On the other hand, if it had failed and Jason and the others were attacked or they had to steal the Legion's standard, well, that would also effect the future in a different way and result in a different ending for the overall mission.

I guess I'm just saying keep your player's plots in mind. I was able to work around Jason not being able to use his plan and honestly it was fun to see him react that way...but it also would have been fun to use his plan since I had a lot of people interested in it. (Of course, oocly it helped that it failed since I was busy that week and it would have been difficult to set up the plan).

Also, for pre-mission posts and probably other stuff it might be helpful to be more active with NPC presence. Right now I don't think a lot of the Transports trust ANY of the NPCs because there has been little interaction. It may be helpful to have the NPCs pop in on broadcasts or if you want to restrict it to mission stuff have players put "NPC NEEDED" in the header and that way you know where to send the General or others.

[notthatjason]

I feel like there was other stuff I was going to say but this got...kind of long and I am tired |D

[life_binder]

(Feferi-mun commenting from another account because LAZY...)

Oh yeah! I agree with the NPC thing, basically. Or at least lay out what NPC availability is.

[implying]

Seconding/thirding/WHATEVER about the NPCs! And if the reason for their scarcity is the feeling of being overwhelmed (TRUST ME, I'VE BEEN THERE, YOU HAVE MY UNDERSTANDING), remember that you can always ask for help from your players! RP is all collaborative and shit, and while mods are there to guide us, you don't have to hold our hands through everything!

whoa what's up with this out of game journal

[septim]

Agreeing with all of this.

[redheadpowers]

I'm going to second this.

I would like there to be some player influence on the plot, so we too have a hand in how our characters shape this world. And giving us a heads up about the plot, coupled with a chance to plot with other people would also be a great idea. The Roman sympathizer plot mentioned above is a perfect example of something that could have been really interesting as a subplot.

I think withholding the finale of the plot until the legit last day would also spurn more interest and more interaction.

I also wouldn't mind there being an opportunity to allow the characters to explore the time period they're in when there's no battling, or if they don't plan on fighting at all. There should be some elbow room not confined to the one plot post with three different threads, if that makes any sense.

[onemoredeath]

I agree about knowing the ending did put a damper on a lot of the responses and while we were able to find some way to work within the frame work, it really didn't feel like there was as much flexibility concerning roles some of the characters could act in. I've also been in games that have a list of player roles within a mission that would probably be something that can be used in any future missions much more effectively.

I've also thought that once the missions start that the United Earth will also notice the Transports getting moved around and start getting involved too by backing the side the Transports are being sent to stop.

[theguideless]

I'd like to see pre-mission plotting posts or sign-ups in ooc for the purpose of players being able to connect and see what plans are on the table or formulate CR interactions prior to jumping in. Given parameters (re: do's and don'ts characters must keep in mind while formulating shenanigans) can help keep everyone on a similar track without giving people no options other than to follow what's been predetermined.

And yes to outcomes being secret until the end I am down for that :]