Hey there everyone! Welcome to installment 2 of the 'Community Opinion'. Yes. I will be doing more of these. Will they be daily? Probably not. Just have some free time. The Question: What do you think about the use of Non-Player Characters? Non-Player Characters, from now on referred to as NPCs, are characters that exist (or sometimes do not exist) that are controlled by no one. You see them tending bars, guarding city streets and at times murdering people for entering certain areas. NPCs have a number of uses. They are used to allow players to shop or partake in a business without having to interact with a person. They symbolize the strength and influence of factions (kind of). And they add a bit more ambiance to event areas and cities. The Opinion: NPCs have become a bit of a problem, from what I've seen. A problem that lends well to the 'void or die' mentality. As well as the 'conflict cannot ever happen ever' mentality. I'm not talking about civilian level NPCs. Bartenders and shopkeepers are great positions for mods. I'm talkin' about soldiers. Let's all have a sit-down and think about why soldiering NPCs are bad. First: they're really not. They can be used well, add to the ambiance. They make it easier for people to know where they are and aren't supposed to be. They become a problem when they're abused. Militant NPCs are an issue because they are, by their nature, militant(duh). They'll be involved in fights, should they break out. And if they're not, is there really a point in having an NPC at all? If NPCs do become involved in conflict, they are easily used to godmod and cut short events that could prove interesting. This shouldn't be an issue, except that there is a current mentality to avoid conflict. And should it arise, a mentality that you must win conflict. NPCs facilitate this well because they tip the scales ever-further in the favor of a group. But the problem is, that tipping of the scales often cuts short events that could prove interesting. They're used to end fights that could provide character-development. Above all, they turn locations into high-security areas where nothing can happen, and so nothing does. Things stagnate. An Example: Two examples for you today, folks. From the stories I've heard, the Fleet used to be big on NPCs, and though I haven't witnessed it much since I joined, there have been successful times in which NPCs were ignored to provide a better story. The moment that comes to mind is Chaac's one and only kill. Early in my days with the Fleet, a free-spirited human responded to our request to see his face by opening fire on one of our Acolytes. Long-story short, a short chase and small shoot-out resulted in him falling to the ground. During this time any number of NPCs could have been used to stop him (the thought crossed my mind). Instead, the NPCs were ignored for the sake of the fight. By the time he was wrestled into submission and finally put down, even more NPCs (one who watched the fight very closely. I can still feel its cold, lifeless eyes on the back of my head) were ignored. This is what is often best to do. It's not always what makes sense to do, but the result was a rather serious development in a character, and a far better series of events than 'The guards stop you'. Another good example is the usual Knight's Order use of their NPCs, in which they station them in archery towers to actually signify that things are being watched and guarded over. (Could use some guards at the entrance to the Keep too. To say 'shoo' or something.) Next up on the list is a close tie-in. Fleets
NPC should never, ever be used in complex situations. They are, for lack of a better word, props to add ambiance to anything. If a PC (player character, duh) enters an area where death for them is a given, they should not be taken out by an NPC. In fact, any NPC can and should be used as fodder for this person to add depth to his skill and to the skill of anyone (pc) that takes him out. Hell the NPC could very well be used to fix anyones blood lust. A madman runs into the streets and starts shooting? His victims are faceless NPC that no one should have any problem with dying.
IMO NPCs should only be used as bartenders/shop-keeps. Not having them promotes activity on your colony so it doesn't go to hell with all the minge-bag imperviumist's.
I want to agree but at the same time we have things like army factions (i dont know the names dont hit me) who should be able to say they have a large NPC army, in fact any faction that deals with combat should have something like a small militia comprised of NPC in case Which I think should happen in the near future what with everything going on.
The issue here is that NPCs are really simple. Like... Super simple. They can't fight like players can, they can't have elongated battles, they can't do those kinds of things. When NPCs get involved, things go from an interesting struggle to a 'who has more warm bodies?' Factions over-inflate. Where are the NPCs when they're off-duty? What kind of things do they say? All-in-all, NPCs are really, really boring. And the point of an RP server is to have fun and tell interesting stories. Not win. NPCs are like impervium, they exist to win.
I'm not a fan of using in game NPCs for anything more than decoration. They present some of the same issues as using the in game combat mechanics, they just aren't meant for RP. I don't think that anything that an in game NPC does that wasn't dictated by an actual player should be considered in character. However there are times that NPCs can be useful. An example of such: Tetanus is currently occupied by the RA. Of course PCs aren't always around to keep the oppressed populace in check, but that doesn't mean that our characters can waltz around in broad daylight plotting and preparing for a rebellion. We travel out of the way to shady corners, always speak softly and glance over our shoulders, because RA troops should be marching around even if there are no PCs to actually do that. NPC abuse, as well as most other forms abuse that people have been discussing stem from that "I want to win" mentality. Of course RP is not competitive. It's silly to even think that, yet it seems like there are a fair amount of players that don't completely understand that. I feel like that is the root of the problem and should be discussed.
In other words, NPC's should not be used like Imperial Guardsmen and thrown at problems you want to go away.
I agree with Matt in that there are select times that using NPCs are okay, but 99.9% of those times do not involve soldiers or the military. As an example, I needed to use NPCs to "nerf" Crosswell and make the development of his weaponry and technology more realistic, because a single man designing all of that stuff doesn't make sense and is and borderline godmodding. Realistically, he would have a team behind him that he can bounce ideas off of and rely on to do the stuff he is unable to do. Some of this is highlighted in the video logs, and though it only shows the ongoing development of a single project, it's safe to say that that's what happened for almost all of the tech Crosswell designed for the RA. Would you ever actually see these guys in the server? No. But Drissner and his team provide a logical look into the R&D of the Armada. NPCs do have their uses. I do not approve of using them as a way to "win" a conflict, however, because that *is* godmodding. Conflict RP should be explicitly resolved between PCs, not "I send my imaginary troops at you and arrest all of you and you don't have a chance to fight back or react!" They can and should be used to add ambiance to an area where realistically they would be present, but if anything that's meant to put more emphasis on the player characters, who are the ones who should actually be doing something.
