A Thought

[guitarguy]

Before I begin, I'd like to start off by saying two things:

1) I don't consider myself a "veteran" of disco or any better than any other player or forum user.

2) If you respond, please don't attack the admins or other players. (See below)

Yesterday, I was reading the new posts, and I was shocked to see the sheer number of sanctions being handed out. While I was reading them, I noticed that most sanctions where being given to new players. The new players would then respond by saying how they where playing on disco for the first time and somebody made them mad/ they felt cheated because they got destroyed by a pirate/ ect.

Some people blame the admins, saying that they are too harsh on new players.
Some blame the more experienced players for attacking/annoying the new players, saying they should have helped them rather then attack them.
Some blame new players, saying they should have read and understood the rules before playing.

From these observations, I've drawn a conclusion: Blaming other people for the problem doesn't fix it. Everyone has their share of blame in every situation, so attacking people isn't the answer. So what do we do to help the new people?

I think the best way would be to stop ooRP behavior before it earns a sanction.
We already give players a "Welcome to Discovery" message and rules in their cargo hold. I don't think it's enough. I think a letter or message, written by leading discovery members and admins, could be put in their hold as well.

For example: "Welcome to Discovery 24/7 server, you may be a veteran of other servers, or completely new to online games. Who ever you are, you have just entered a very large and fun online community. By now, you're probably seeing strange messages on your screen by various other players. If you want to go somewhere quieter, try leaving New York and going to a nearby system. But before you launch to space, read the discovery server rules at www.discoverygc.com, maybe even print them off and have them handy for reference. While you're there, register an account so you can discuss discovery with other players.

Now that you've done all that, open up the chat window (the one in the upper right hand corner with a person's head) click on the name column to sort by name in alphabetical order. You'll notice that several players have the same prefix, that's likely because they're in a faction. A faction is a group of discovery players that work together to RP.

What's RP, you ask? RP is short for role playing. In a nutshell, you pretend you're really a pilot and not a player in the real world. You do what you think your pilot character would do (As long as it doesn't break the rules you just read) and interact with other players like they where real pilots.

Now back to factions. On discoverygc.com you can post an application in the faction recruitment sub forum in "Discovery factions" if you're not sure which faction to join, fly around and watch them play, maybe ask them about what they do. Remember to do it in RP, pretend you're a mercenary or a person looking for a job asking for a description of their job.

That was a lot to read, now launch to space. You may see some red players, don't shoot them. You're under level 30, meaning they can't attack you. Even if you where over level thirty, they have to tell you that they're engaging before shooting you. You may also notice players with an [Admin] prefix. They enforce all the rules and make sure everyone plays fair.

Look at your ID, it's civilian, you can't attack other players, and you have to get a new ID at level forty maximum. If you still want the freedom granted by the civilian ID, you can find a Freelancer ID in Texas. By the time you're a higher level, you may have joined a faction with it's own ID. The most important thing about IDs is to always carry one, and only one. Also, carry an ID that matches your ship, for example, if you have a Liberty Rouge fighter, carry a Liberty Rouge or pirate ID.

There's some basic information about playing Discovery RP, you'll understand the ins and outs of the game soon. Remember, it's a game, so have fun.

Signed,

Discovery RP players"

Wow, that was long.
Anyway, that's my thought.

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