After last night’s Fight Night (results for that and last week’s will be forthcoming), Wastelands roleplayers gathered to discuss the future of their roleplay management. The goals of the individuals and available faction leaders were to establish rules of behavior due to past confusion and disagreements as well as some understanding of future direction. There will certainly be other issues or items to be discussed and those may be brought to the community’s attention via the Wastelands Forums. (The notes below are courtesy of Expedition Offcourse and available also on the forum. I’ve added some Dev/Editor’s Notes to elaborate or clarify a couple of minor things for any first time readers – Sandusky)
1. IC identification. Ruin’t proposal.
Town Hall vote was taken of all present. The result was: Maintain the practice of placing the “Ruin’t” tag prefix in faction group names to flag an avatar as being “in-character”.
(Editor’s note: “Ruin’t” is the abbreviation for Ruin Nation: The Official Wastelands RP Group. Roleplayers who are not in a faction (Loners) should most definitely join this group not only for news/info but most importantly, use its group tag while conducting roleplay with other Wasteland roleplayers to avoid confusion.)
2. RP and HUD relationship.
Town Hall vote was taken of all present. The result was: The following practice has been mandated. If an avatar is “in-character” and currently in the Wastelands, that avatar must wear the WL HUD and be prepared to deal with WL game combat at any time. If the person wishes to go “Out Of Character”, then remove the HUD, and de-activate the “Ruin’t” group tag on said person’s avatar.
(Dev Note: As most are aware, the WL game and WL Roleplay are separate things. The WL game HUD is used by the roleplayers as a supporting element of their RP. People can play the game and not RP. If a Roleplayer experiences combat with someone not roleplaying, it’s merely combat. Defend yourself or die. Run away and perhaps die also. If you’re wearing the HUD, regardless of IC/OOC, you’re fair game. In the heat of battle, there may not be time to figure out what’s IC/OOC especially if they’re not following the Group Tag rules mentioned above. In the aftermath, communicate clearly, reasonably, and with maturity to clear up any confusion and then laugh about it. It’s just a game. REPEAT: IT’S JUST A GAME. “Death” via the game HUD has no penalty other than lying dead for 90 seconds before you get back up and you can play again. Just laugh it off with each other and move on. If you can’t do that, then perhaps it’s best to just steer clear of each other and calm down. Do not bring the issue to the Devs. We will not be involved in RP/IC/OOC disputes. All of the above is pretty clear to all experienced Wastelanders. Newcomers may be confused. Confusion of course can lead to frustration and anger, but do your best to help patiently inform and guide them. I know we’re a proud and tough community but you’ll always get more flies with honey and good word-of-mouth.)
3. Opt-in vs. Opt-out
Town Hall vote was taken of all present. The result was: Anyone that wishes to participate in Wastelands Community Roleplay must do so explicitly by “Opting-In”. The process to opt in is to join the “Ruin’t Nation: Wastelands RP” group and wear the “Ruin’t Scavanger” default group tag. Once the individual has done this, and is wearing the group tag, that individual will be considered “In-Character” until the tag is de-activated. NOTE: Once the individual activates their “Ruin’t” tag, they should be wearing a WL game HUD, or aquire one ASAP and wear it.
4. Cross-faction OOC cooperation for story driven RP.
Town Hall vote was taken of all present. The result was: “light” cross-faction co-operation for story driven RP. All participation is voluntary, and factions may opt-out if they so choose. Faction Leaders should give ample time and clear instructions to their faction members in order to facilitate co-op RP sessions.
(Editor’s Note: The PA Press is available to help facilitate this also. Notecards containing hints or rumors to be circulated may be dropped in the Mailboxes available at the Press in the Wastelands. Just hold control and drag and drop to the mailbox to do so. I check them almost everyday or so.)
Wastelanders in Attendance were: Aki Shichiroji (PA Press), Aposiopesis Fullstop (Trade Post), Banrion Constantine (Scarabs), biche Xue (Scarabs), Cutea Benelli (PA Press), Deermid Lynagh (Scarabs), Dogma Trevellion (Scarabs), DevilChild Zimmer (Ruin Nation), Expedition Offcourse (Ruin Nation), Facekick Haystack (Moskvitch Mercs), Ferryn Myriam (Ruin Nation), Kanuck Heliosense (Scarabs), Kezz Mauriac (Trade Post), Leovinus Skytower (Vile Sun), Malice Shepherd (Ruin Nation/Scorpions?), Perriwinkle Waves (Ruin Nation), Pietro Moskvitch (Moskvitch Mercs), Pirate Graves (Trade Post), Robin Varriale (Ruin Nation), Sandusky Kayvon (WL Devs/PA Press), theblackcloud Oh (Shadow Claws), VoidTraveler Seetan (Scarabs)