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.
no subject
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.