A Grand Idea

[Sene Unty]

I decided to post this here, because I know you guys the best and I really want your feedback. I had this idea while i was walking from class to class today, so it isn't really fleshed out, but I thought I would just put it out there so you guys can put in your ideas.

I want to have a war. A large grand war in which all the groups at the forums is involved in individual battles for a single purpose. Friendships should be tested, alliances broken, and characters changed. I think the war should involve everyone here, or at least those that are really interested. This is something that should be seen to through the end, and not left unfinished.

Now I realize the difficulties something this BIG can have, but I think it can be solved if we lay out intricate rules to begin with. I think every battle should have its own thread. Every story line tied into the larger picture. An example would be:

Coruscant: Business Level (Whoever is fighting)

I think all the threads should be kept in the Storylines forum so that no one who is unwanted can join. I think this will weed out unwanted and useless posts.

Every group should have an area where they coordinate there fighters so that the larger story can continue flawlessly. There should also be a single thread in the OOC forum for complaints and general questions.

Now the storyline for this thing has yet to resolve itself in my mind, so I would appreciate any ideas for story here.

I have a title for this thing, but it is a working title so it can be changed : The Fate of the Galaxy.

I would also appreciate anyone who is aware of who controls what in the Galaxy to step forward with the info.

I really like this idea, because I think its the kind of thing that can evoleve characters so much. I like the whole idea of the current status-quo to be shaken up. Please give idea :D

~Sene

[Oriadin]

I quite like this idea. Not only do I think it would be good fun to do, but I also think that it would bring all the people on the boards together. (A war, bring everyone together... wierd). This is going to be extreamly tough to co ordinate though. There is going to have to be the main mission in which the whole cause is for and then you are going to have to have loads and loads of mini missions that are related to the grand scheme for people to take part in.

Dont forget as well though, that there is going to have to be a loser and does that mean they are destroyed, or that they go into hiding. People may not be too keen for this. Plus there are going to have to be some deaths and again, there arent going to be a lot of people willing to sacrifice thier charaters.

As much as I think its a fun idea in theory, I just dont think it would work. Id be interested to hear others ideas though.

[Sene Unty]

There doesn't necessarily have to be a loser and I don't see why anyone should have a problem with losing....

And character deaths can be avoided, you dont have to have someone die for a character to evolve. A drastic emotional injury, can still hurt without having a detrimental effect.....

[Ki-Adi Kindo]

I like the idea, but some sort of plot needs to come about. Such has a tyrannical leader with some army waging war on a few planets or something and he has this super ray gun thing (just an example, a bad one). That always helps.

[Sene Unty]

I am open for plot ideas, I think as a team we can come up with something.....

[Oriadin]

People would have to die. Who ever heard of a war where no one died?

[Sene Unty]

We have had many fights in the Roleplaying forum that have not ended in death so why would this be any different

[Ki-Adi Kindo]

Maybe its the " supreme weapon " that dies? (ex. Death Star)

[Vega Van-Derveld]

Things being as they are, maybe this is possible, maybe it's not. It all depends on people's time constraints and also how willing they are to stick at it. It's a good idea in theory, but putting something this big into practice is difficult and would require full input from everyone involved, which is very hard to keep up.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Well, about people dying, you could always have NPCs die. Sometime the sheer loss of so many lives can drive a person to drink.

[Sanis Prent]

I could set up a planetary invasion with the Confederacy, if you want.

[Kelt Simoson]

I find that with RP'slikethis they always slowly fade away..its a good idea, but..noteveryone has time to do these very large scale wars.

[Vega Van-Derveld]

That sounds like a good idea, Sanis

[Dios Kane]

yeah really! WAR! lets have some fun, grand scale like he said, straight up! :lol but I agree, some serious plot is going to be needed to start it, but Kelt's got a point. Like myself and others, school invades much of the wants in life, we'd have to have some serious dedication to keep this thing from starving and dying out on us.

[imported_Lance Stormrider]

Mhm..could work

[James Prent]

You'd need a roleplayer to act as gamemaster in order to coordinate the entire thing. Maybe one RPer for each side (light/dark) or whatever. Just a thought.

Disorganization always gets the good ideas in the end. So you'd have to be very organized. With a gamemaster, you'd have someone to remind you when you were up to post, or what was going on.

[Liam Jinn]

Gamemaster....I don't like that idea. Just have a thread here or something where people decide what to do. Anyways, work on some sort of plot, might come in handy :)

[Navaria Tarkin]

Yes, but having someone in charge that is willing to coordinate that thread for both sides saves on confusion ... as evident with the Arcan thread between the Jedi and the Dark Jedi

[James Prent]

one other idea: don't start the RP unless you already know how the end is going to turn out. That way, everyone has a common goal to work toward. Yeah, it takes a bit of the surprise out, but in the end, everyone has a lot more fun.

Good RPs imo have a set beginning and end point, and the fun part is getting there. :)

[Marcus Telcontar]

I placed a set of organisational ideas out and some other observations in the OOC forum that I'll replace in here for others to think over.....

--

Planned huge RP's do not work. I know, to the best of my ability, they just do not work. People are keen to begin with they have the best of intentions.... but they die. Lack of eventual interest, lack of time, you get distracted..... I could list a whole lot of cuases.

Wanna know how big all in's happen? They just do. They are never planned, they happen unexpectantly, they aare randon, free flowing and fun. They may have an end point, but the common factor is a lack of planning, but a great deal of sponentaity. A good role play attracts people in.

And there is also a lack of egos and agendas. For all it's fighting and participation, the GJO and TBH thread has egos headbutting and agendas. For all my planning, Several of my threads just die.

You want a big all in? Fine, here is what works in all the big RP's I have seen that have worked beautifully

1) Lack of egos clashing. Ego can be good if used well. But more often than not, it is not. Sure I'm guilty of that and so are most of us. But the ego must be used to make the RP better, not to further a cause.

2) Just go for it.

3) Set out a fixed end, an achieveable end.

4) Have fun

5) Dont plan how you get there.... well sketch out a possible scenario. But dont huggle it and say it must happen. Only have your end point.

6) Write something interesting. Funny. Compelling. Adds to the story.

7) And make it character driven. Artifact / superweapon / murder of the day is good for a novel, it is not the best for an interesting roleplay.

THAt is my experience of what makes a great roleplay and one everyone wants to read / participate in. I cant say that if you follow each step, it will work out. I'm only telling you, his is what I KNOW works for me and some others.

Oh, one more thing. Every single person in that thread should be part of a team, fully combined to reach the end goal. If your not, it will never happen.

And personally, I dont care about slaughter of the Day. I dont care about weapon of the day, or artifact. But a decent, well written bit of teamwork and character driven RP.... I coudl read those all day. I might even be persudaded to join in.

Ignore the mean and badly spelt words, think of the concepts instead. There may actually be a valuable grain of truth that you might agree with.

--

I'm sorry, I just don't see a war working. I do know what I have seen working and I've printed it. The two of my points I simply can not emphasis enough. Without them.... you have a lot lacking. You can have all the ideas in the world, but without characters, without something compelling, it will not work.

And think about teamwork. Liam, you MUST have a gamemaster for something really good. You need a co-ordinator. You need someone to bump the thread along, to add twists, to get ppeople together.

[Wei Wu Wei]

You know, in the end, these artifacts and/or planets, whatevers can be destroyed. Cliche? Yes, but at least no one has to suffer a defeat.

[Sanis Prent]

I wouldn't mind having the Confederacy suffer a defeat. I've always enjoyed playing the loser, so long as initial successes are gained. Besides, there is some underlying bad blood between the Cizerack and the New Republic over Calan, which has yet to be fully RPed out. I really would love a small "brushfire" war between the Confederacy and the Jedi, possibly over the Yavin system. Maybe setting a premise that the sudden shift of Jedi influence away from Yavin and to Coruscant is causing some financial strain within the Pride. They maybe attempt to thread a loophole, claiming some individual holdings on the planet are in default, and use it as an excuse for military action, since they aren't the most aggressively gung-ho faction about unprovocated attack. They'd want to at least appear legal on the surface, but this would be little more than an attempt to gain bargaining leverage they could use to trade Calan's freedom for. This ploy would likely have initial gains, but ultimately would be repulsed, forcing some kind of concession from the Confederacy.

[Sene Unty]

Wow....I like that idea alot Sanis. I don't know if I understand the entire thing (Mainly because I have only a vague notion of who the Ciz and the Confederacy are and what they own...etc.) but the premise can really work. I like it....

As for the Gamemaster thing, I feel very strongly in favor of it. I think it will help the continuity of the whole situation.....

[Oriadin]

Im not sure how doable this is but I dont think it can be too hard. How about if we created a totaly new forum where we could have the latest mission that involves everyone. Like this War would. By doing that we could see exactly whats going on where and when. I think this would make it a lot easier for people to get into the story and it would be easier to manage all the threads.

There could be discussions in the senate, peace nogotiations then, when it breaks down, a full scale war. Something that Marcus said, which made me think. I notice that in some RPs it solely based on fighting. I think it would be better if there were a distinct plan in mind. Trying to capture a building, or take someone hostage or something like that. If everyone knows exactly how the RP ends as well from the begining it will control everything a lot better and stop things from spireling out of control.

[Sene Unty]

I like the idea of a whole sperate forum just for the war. I had thought about this, but I hadn't said anything because I wasn't sure if it was possible. I like it because, like oriadin said, everything could be managed better. I really like the idea of a whole Senate thread seperate to the other threads were discussions can break down and such. Maybe it should start there, in the Senate I mean......

Is there any Ciz presence in the Senate now?

How about the Confederacy?

[Sanis Prent]

They aren't a part of the Republic, so no. Both do have diplomatic agents though.

[Sene Unty]

Is there any way we can tie in the senate into some war with the Confederacy and the Ciz.....

[Dasquian Belargic]

This is starting to sound familiar! The senate sending out Jedi representatives to deal with a quarrel between some factions. Even more familiar with the Trade Federation involved :mneh

j/k :) Sounds like a good plan.

[Lion El' Jonson]

...I agree with Marcus. Large RPs, to the best of my knowledge, don't work. Even if only two or three groups are involved, these things inevitably become laden with both sides throwing characters into the RP until there's 20 fights going on at once. Not only does this take away from the experience, or become very confusing, but it can lead to half of the RPers being tied up by newbies who decided that they don't want to fight anymore.

For example, think of the evacuation of Dagobah thread when the planet got blasted. There was a spaceship battle, NR forces, Dark Jedi, Jedi, and bounty hunters and commandos and stuff. This thread eventually became a headache to read, and was, basically, just not very much fun to look at.

I think small RPs between 5-10 people work best. RPs between multiple groups can work, but not without some kinds of limits imposed on the number of people.

[Marcus Telcontar]

:huh you remember that thread? Didn't know you had been here that long.

The bigger the RP, the more call for planning and especially a GameMaster whose word is Law. And then you have the circular catch that a planned RP often dies due to lack of interest / time. Or something happens and people go sod this for a joke and leave the RP.

[Lion El' Jonson]

I've seen the whole thing...the forest infiltration got so damn confusing that I just shook my head and closed my eyes and popped a few aspirin.

Another big thread, Armageddon Dawn, COULD have been successful. We actually had a GameMaster, who was in that case, Dasquian (I think).

Unfortuantely, nobody really listened. Even the ideas that the other sides of this war listened to were only slightly accepted. If there is going to be a successful big RP, we have to make sure that people actually listen to the Master, otherwise all hell breaks loose.

[Oriadin]

I also think my suggestion of a seperate forum for the 'in rp' would help. Rather than have one huge thread for everyone, have a forum where small groups can do thier missions but its contributing to the overall story. By having it all in one forum, it would be easier to look over what else is going on.

Saves having problems like, Marcus and Xazor are doing one thing over here, meanwhile Oriadin and Helenias are doing this over there. Would make it easier for you to read what parts of the story are relavant to you and if someone decides to drop out, it doesnt ruin things for great numbers of people.

[Sene Unty]

It would definently help Oriadin, but could we do it?

[Oriadin]

I think its do able but we definitely need at least one person to co-ordinate everything and probably some rules for everyone to abide by.

[Sene Unty]

I would be glad to coordinate everything, but I would need someones help as it is a rather large job......

[Oriadin]

I wouldnt mind helping, but you may need someone with a bit more experience in Roleplaying

[Sanis Prent]

I could do it.

[Sene Unty]

Oh that would be fine....I am not very relaible anyway. :D

So can we get this started or what.....I think we need to come up with a finalized idea....any suggestions?????

[Lion El' Jonson]

...Erm, how is it gonna start?

:lol

[Oriadin]

I suggest a start in the senate. A huge debate about something, and something that people are unlikely to agree on. I think it would be fun to involve characters who are political and what not. Eventually, all hell breaks loose and two worlds could decide to go to war with one another.

In come the Jedi, as they do, to try and solve what ever the dispute is about but fail in their nogotiatons. Take it from there.

[Sene Unty]

That sounds like a perfect beginning.......I like the idea alot! :D

[Lion El' Jonson]

Hmm....give the new senate something to yell about...fun...:lol

[Oriadin]

Well, I figure something this big would logically begin in the senate. I think it would be fun to have it begin there too. I havent seen to many RP's from the senate.

[Marcus Telcontar]

What roleplays in the senate? There aint been any.

But she whom removes limbs might be interested. Ask her.

[Lion El' Jonson]

She started a thread to discuss the Senate.

[Oriadin]

Do you think a RP like this, given its own forum could work Mark?

[Marcus Telcontar]

Why would it need it's own forum?

But yes, it could work if someone is prepared to put the time into it and keep things moving.

Keep this in mind - you make it compelling, it'll keep going.

[Oriadin]

Because if there are going to be so many people involved it would get very complicated otherwise.

I figured that by having its own forum you could keep the number of people in each thread to a minimum, making it easier to read meanwhile all the threads are together so people can quickly see whats going on in other places. With me?

[Marcus Telcontar]

What's better is how that RP Helenias is setting up is controlled. Have a thread in a OOC area, keep tabs and checks in there. Or a couple of threads in OOC to keep things in order.

[Sene Unty]

Yeah that should work out fine. Where is this thread exactly?

[Lion El' Jonson]

The Senate discussion....erm, I forgot....:lol

No, hold on, I found it:

http://www.swforums.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23958&highlight=senate

[Sene Unty]

I replied to the OOC discussion, but has she made an IC thread? If no this might be a good starting point.....the war thing I mean.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Ya...i dunno...somebody PM her