[Official Event] Weekend Getaway

[Lythrilux]

The idea is not to just have people make low-effort posts, though many of them will be that. The idea is to have people use this requirement as an opportunity to develop existing RP, or create new RP arcs.

Have to be honest, this is wishful thinking and in my opinion not worth having a mandatory roleplay requirement for. Splitting participation and RP rewards would be a much better way of encouraging good roleplay out of this event, whilst also allowing people to participate casually, even when the profit rewards aren't stellar. Good roleplay will surface regardless of requirements at the end of the day. I also think there is a misunderstanding of players' mindsets; players focused on roleplay will care little for cosmetic and pvp rewards, and the reverse is true. Why not appeal to that for stronger event participation?

This for example is excellent roleplay that surfaced out of interactions that happened because of the event, one of the IDs involved isn't even eligable for event rewards. It simply happened based off an encounter, and progressed from that point onwards. Stuff like this is good, and it is 100% natural and organic. At the end of the day it's a roleplay server, and people will pursue opportunities for roleplay if they arise in game. We don't need to tell people "YOU MUST ROLEPLAY ON THE ROLEPLAY SERVER", it's already obvious surely? Highlighting Ramke again, they actually make a reference to this event in an ongoing story for an established character, without the incentive of rewards for that character, which helps make the setting and universe feel more connected and alive even if that character isn't directly involved in the event. Trust me people will react to what is going on in the universe, without being forced.

Ultimately imho we should prioritise participation above all else - as that is the basis for which roleplay will form off of and contribute to server longevity, not people being forced to make roleplay for throwaway characters that they feel no attachment to. If there is a lack of participation, because mandatory roleplay deters people, it means everyone loses. Roleplay on the roleplay server will not end if people are allowed to claim rewards without a roleplay requirement (as evident from events in the past).

If the justification for forced roleplay is to encourage long term activity, have to be honest I think that is also silly. Gallia will not spring into activity overnight after a flurry of roleplay posts. It critically needs gameplay and economy changes to make it more interesting for players to fly there. That is (vastly) out of players' hands. My parody of Dr. Harlow from OSRS isn't going to revive the Brigands. But something that encourages my UC character to continue their story (cough cough Gallic POB wine/nox refineries) could. This is another subject though, and I'm not expecting you to be able to make those changes as you are working with what you have.

Those few people who did (except, basically OS&C|) run the Event worked out that having a UC ID gave them a free run from being pirated. Most of the people were using the UC ID. Even saw that some would log Brigands against the rest and then log UC IDed Liners to do the runs when no others were on.

Not entirely true. I encountered an LWB on my Liner. I also heard he tried pirating other Liners, but was not very succesful and died. I'd say there was about an even balance between IDF and UC IDs outside of OSC running this event. It did seem like Rheinland IDs eventually dried up though. Passengers are a tricky commodity to work into worthwhile cargo piracy.

As for incentives, is there a need for 'rewards' for every Event? The extra credits made and capability for those that want to do the RP to be able to do it, should be incentive enough.

If you keep throwing a huge amount of rewards out, especially for the PvP Events, you will eventually run in to the 'I don't need anymore of those as I have loads from the previous Events, so I am not going to bother logging'.

This is a good point, therefore rewarding people with roleplay rewards (in game mentions etc) is a good solution.

---