I would argue that the seriousness of the roleplay itself, the realism of the setting are two different things. A setting with space cowboys wielding plasma revolvers doesn't need to make being shot dead by one any less tragic.
My two cents in this matter (aside from agreeing with wreth). I quite like the mix of casual and hardcore RP. The mixing, when done right, provides fun and interesting RP interaction. And plenty of memorable experiences. Regarding the tech... My own rule of thumb is as follows: You can sorta bend logic, but not break it. As in, sure you can have plasma swords, plasma weapons, power armor, but getting riddled with bullets will still kill you, or having a high explosive go off near you. Or the non-combat stuff. Nanites, nanobots, robits, etc etc. or generaly how people live... That probably makes no sense, but I tried. I think that would work well. (If you could even understand it)
Ya know thanks for bringing that up. This actualy goes in hand with casual/hardcore RPers. Casual RPers probably dont take the time to look stuff up, and just kinda wing it. Without being fully aware of the consequences of say... Well, getting shot. Hardcore RPers are (as far as i know), the exact oposite. Which then causes, well, conflict between the two groups. One wants their way, other wants theirs, and only a few are willing to compromise. (Sorry if thats a tad off topic)
That's not so much casual as it is just being lazy and or not being logical. 'Hardcore' rp'rs wing it all the time. We're not doctors, or mechanics, or soldiers or bandits that we rp as. And while we look up some things for background knowledge (( Which come one people, it's not too hard. Wikipedia shit once in a while for Christ's sake. )) A lot of what we do is winging it. We just do it in a way that's logical is all. If you get shot up, you tend to die. That's how these things work. If you want to eat, you need a job to make money. Insult a gang of thugs and then walk into their turf? You're probably gonna get fucked up or just straight up killed. Lose a limb? That sucks, those cybernetics are gonna be expensive and yer gonna need a cyberneticist and most likely a surgeon to graft it on. Or you could just opt over to a much less expensive basic prosthetic. I mean, 1+1 = 2, ya know? Just apply some basic real world logic to your rp and everyone would be much happier overall.
At the end of the day all of this discussion will go nowhere. If we stay in a middle lane we will clash as we have always done.
I agree that the server would be better off choosing one route over the other, but I've been surprised before. Anyways, let's get things back on topic.
My view of it is that Starbound is just the medium through which we roleplay. Some people use tabletop, some people chat boards, we use a game. And sure, we take advantage of hte games (wierd and sometimes off) logic, as well sa the lore to explain the characters, but I think that if it comes to it we should split off in the direction of Antares lore/logic, not Starbound lore/logic. In terms of realism vs casual, it may sound wierd but I'm more for a realistic casual approach. As in, you don't really have to play out every single little piece of your life, i.e eating, sleeping, etc, but what you do RP you should play as realistic as you can within the boundaries set. For example, fights. If you have to end up fighting, do it realsitically, or as close to as you can get with future tech that we don't -really- know the specs of. Get shot but have a vest? Fall down, break a rib or two. Hunkered in a trench, getting shot at? Your most likely goignt o be cowering down under the lip waiting for the solid sheet of bullets to stop. If you want to go on some advneture, go for it. Also, not every single little detail of all RP has to be based in fact. If so, it would leave so much time wasted of trying to figure out just exactly how Player A obtained BadAssPlasmaGun, for example. If it fits int he story, then and there, let it ride and go with the flow. It's much easier for all parties involved, and will also forge a sense of trust and friendship, as you won't be arguing over just how far into the chest a bullet can penetrate with variable A-F in play. TL;DR Don't be a hero, but don't hide from adventure. P.S: Screw spell check, It don't know mah storeh.
That is alot of opioens going around. May as well add in my two cents. I personly like the casualy realistic rp setting, and hardly see a conflict between the two in themselves, and see the two as being two halves of the same coin. In other words, a good balance, make for good play. But then there is the world wipe issue. I yet to see many opiens on that, or offered solutions, aside from ignoreing the wipe completely. There is also the multiuniverse theory, how there are multiple universes, each a bit different from each other. This one could allow players the option of rebuilding, and keeping there characters with minimal explanation. It could also offer people the chance to make some tweeks to how there character are, and explain it without much problem. Here a very small example to illustrate the point. Old Universe - Flowerstabber was a small floran born with blue petals. He/she was raised on Delta 57, New Universe - Flowerstabber was a small floran born with red petals. He/she was raised on Beta 75 Again, just an option people can consider for the whole universe wipe thing. This option would also explain some of the changes in lore (if any), the addition of Novakids, the altered/added in shipstyles of the current races, as well as the addition of Gates and Hubs in Antaras, as well as the general layout of the universe in itself.
There are actually a lot of issues that occur when the two clash. First that comes to mind is combat RP. Let's say Phil and Jim are in a fight; Phil is a casual roleplayer, while Jim is more hardcore/realistic. Phil wields a sword and wears bullet proof combat armor with gadgets on it. Jim has a handgun and is lightly clothed. Phil charges Jim with his sword, and Jim fires his gun. Phil may say he was hit in the chest to avoid powergaming, but by his standards, it may still be okay for him to keep running and slash at Jim while he is reloading, or something of that nature. Situations like this, where one person is trying to keep themselves in the normal bounds of things, and another is simply doing what they do for fun, puts the more realistic roleplayer at a natural disadvantage. Another example is in factions. Let's say there are two factions, and both of them are trading factions: Comcorp and SpaceTrade. Comcorp is more tedious in its work, keeping track of its shipments, accounting for reasonable expenses and games. SpaceTrade is more casual, and is simply a group of players who got together to have fun and are less focused on how they get their wealth, or to what degree of wealth they will get from their means. Both companies are trying to purchase a cargo vessel from a player. They enter a bidding war, and Comcorp eventually offers half its funds, which is the highest they can afford to spend. SpaceTrade, however, still manages to top them. Thus, realistic roleplay is again at a disadvantage. My last point is an issue of entitlement. I've seen it a thousand times on this server alone, where in a compatibility conflict, one player feels entitled to their actions being correct because they were doing it for the sake of fun, and the other feels equally entitled because they put more effort and investment into it. The two styles simply aren't able to be compatible in the same environment. In my opinion, players should be able to have casual RP, but only on the player level. Events which will naturally and inevitably affect everyone, such as combat, factions, and companies, should be more realistic and tedious. However, I do stress again that It's just my opinion.
Though I do agree that when it comes to player interactions, casual players, will admittedly often have an advantage for many situations, I don't agree on them being incompatible. Infact from my point of view, you have listed one way they could be compatible: Being able to compromise on things, is one form of compatiblity. But none the less is is ultimately left up to the individuels if the server itself doesn't take a stance, and would likely end up with three groups. Those of complete casualness, those of complete realism, and those who are willing to incoorporate both.
I'm all up for having fun but in rp situations where the setting is in a fight or even boring office work I try to keep it realistic. Like for instance my character Gerik a while back got shot a few times. He was wearing light armor but he was still badly wounded, had to go to the hospital and get stitched up and was out of action for an irl week.
I joined this server because I thought it was going to be a casual but not illogical roleplay server. After coming from some more 'hardcore' roleplay backgrounds, namely HL2RP, I was feeling almost burnt out when it came to RP due to all the finnicky rules and accusations of metagaming,powergaming, etc. I'm seeing a trend of people saying 'Starbound doesn't make sense, but that doesn't mean the RP has to not make sense'. Like alot of people, I think that Starbound is kind of the book that we're writing our story in, or the 'medium' of the roleplay if you will. No, Starbound doesn't make sense. And that's where the challenge comes in. If its played liked its meant to be played, it's a lighthearted game with a somewhat challenging, fun, and often rewarding survival aspect. If it's played like we're playing it, it comes off as more difficult, nonsensical and perhaps not the best environment for roleplay. ((BUT THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE I CAN ROLEPLAY AS A TALKING VENUS FLYTRAP SO IM STAYING)). The fact that the game is silly makes way for a unique blend of roleplay. Cause-and-effect is still cause and effect, but sometimes the lines get blurred between realistic and not realistic. It can also give some more issues, because we don't have set limitations on things like the technology (Just how much damage can a Starbound ship withstand? Would the most likely upgraded futuristic kevlar-body armor whatever actually stop a plasma bolt? Stuff like that) The somewhat blurred lines, like I already said, make for some unique roleplay. People don't seem to argue semantics as much, because it's really hard to. They just accept and play around it. There's a unique atmosphere this server has because of it- if you want to start up a company in game, Sure! Go right ahead. As long as you have a good excuse as to why you can afford all this stuff, you're golden. With some other games though, it's alot harder. If you want to be a space-ninja-pirate, be prepared to get called edgy, but Sure! go ahead! The universe is big, and it can fit another pirate! Not sure if that made sense, but the end of the line is, I don't think we need to have a set 'direction' for Antares to head. The server has only been updated for a few days, and we're still finding our place in this bigger, newer universe of ours. Let's see what happens! Sure, we as the community will almost surely need guidance in this eventually, but for now, let's try and make sense of it ourselves without being given a direction we have to follow. Oh, and as for the wipe? I'm just going to say for my characters (unless something bigger is decided), that they left the area of Antares they previously lived in because the only major safe place, Asani, fell.
Seeing as a lot of mods aren't adapted for giraffe, and some characters have been wiped I'd propose this. Mass evacuation (black hole possibly) or alternate universe, or as painful as this is.....the rp leaves Antares and moves to, I don't know the Si Sector, or Novatron Sector. Meanwhile as far as realism goes, while Starbound isn't realistic, the lives of the characters we create are.
