Numenorean

Look me up if you're of a mind, want to start meeting people in the community....

Who here is in the PS4 Beta, I'd love to get together and try out the basics if anyone is up for dealing with a noob. Either way, looking forward to meeting some (or all) of you when it goes to public servers.

....and you should watch some Log Horizon during your breaks. It's the perfect chaser.

Fortunately I don't have your problem, no high level characters to speak of. LOL

That was hilarious, thank you. If you're on Balmung I could hit you up sometime if you're interested. I to am in the Beta, we should meet up if you're of a mind. You're not on Early Access? If you've pre-ordered I think you're eligible for the phase 2 beta (which is today). Regardless, it looks damned pretty, is smooth as butter, and the controller implementation is really really good. That said you'll still need your bluetooth keyboard, LOL. I'm actively playing the game... sort of. But yes, I automatically get early access. I got the new beta downloaded and installed last night. Finished the latest update this morning before work. I played Phase 1 and was very pleased. Just sucks that we only have the weekend to play and then have to wait for the final release. Still, better than nothing. True nuff, it nice that the characters transfer though. Good chance to try out a few different character designs before public release. I too am in the PS4 beta, we could meet up sometime if you're of the mind.

That was hilarious, thank you. You're not on Early Access? If you've pre-ordered I think you're eligible for the phase 2 beta (which is today). Regardless, it looks damned pretty, runs smooth as butter, and the controller implementation is really really good. That said you'll still need your bluetooth keyboard, LOL.

Haha, well Balmung it is then.

Oh I get the difference in mechanics. I'm simply laying out how it works in LH, the memory thing is interesting in concept but difficult (and pretty unique) in mechanics. Also, kind of approacing the thought experiement from the perspective of how to implement a system like that. Could be interesting as an outside RP mechanic, but of course no way to reflect that in game (and probably a pain in the ass).

***********Spoilerish (LH Metaplot details)**************** Seriously, if you haven't, and plan on watching the series (which I highly recommend) then you might want to skip this post till around episode 15 or so. If it was like LH then yes, player killing would be pretty common. In that world, death only costs XP and sends you to the last Cathedral you were bound to (which is a big deal cause fast travel no longer works in that setting). Later it becomes clear that there are other detriments, basically you lose little bits of your memories every time you die. It's a small amount, so it wouldn't really do much after even a few dozen times, but it's noticeable. In the series it hasn't really come into play yet It could lead to some unique roleplay situations if you were able to figure out a system to track all of that in FFXIV. Some friends of mine and I have played around with some ideas, but only really focusing on Table-Top play thusfar. Basically the way its structured (based on what we can figure out from the series thusfar) is that most of the memories lost are minor, at least at first. For instance, forgetting the name of your cat. Later it probably becomes more severe. The way we were envisioning is a kind of chart that's basically nodes and connections. Nodes are BIG memories, important stuff, like your first kiss, or the death of a loved one, etc; basically all the things that actually form the foundation of the individual's ethos. From those nodes, you'd have lines (events/people/situations) that somehow link that node memory to other node memories. You'd lose connections first, and once a node is exposed then you stand a chance of losing a node, which would make big changes in the characters. We don't have a fully developed system for it yet, as it's kind of snarly in the details. After that, in series examples kind of run out so we posit that if you lose those big memories, the psyche will probably break for a bit and then repair itself, replacing old memories with more recent ones. That would continue until your old life before becomes like the memory of some old tale a friend or family member told you once, not sure what would happen once you run out of "real world" memories. Big personality shifts would probably result from that kind of dynamic. The system we were coming up with seems too fiddly for something like MMO Roleplay, but I'm a n00b when it comes to MMO RP so that would require someone with more expertise on that end.

Would you treat it like in LH (or SAO) where the idea is that the players (us) are trapped there?

************Spoilerish********************* LOL, my friends and I have been trying to work out a system for that. The problem is the dual nature of the people. They've got skills and abilities that their avatars posess and enact (anima), then they've got their own mental abilities (psyche). It's almost like they are "riding" their avatars, which is interesting. We figure system wise the closest thing out there is D&D 4th (yuck) but it's that psyche (and associated mental skills) and memory loss thing that really messes things up. I suppose it's easier if you don't worry about a system and just role-play it. We did work on a "lite" concept that was just memory related. Basically a relationship/history chart with certain key memories that tie to aspects of your personality and relationships (but not skills or stats). So every time you die, you have to choose something to lose. Big important memories would basically be "nodes" that are tied to each other with "threads" of less critical memories, once you lose enough of those threads, you're in danger of losing something big. Which could of course lead to big personality changes. It's in conceptual phase only, we haven't done a proof of concept yet.

I too like LH better than SAO (for the most part), but SAO does establish some nice stakes and plays it out pretty intelligently, plus I love the relationship between the two mains. Not as well written for gamers, but enjoyable. LH is really where it's at for roleplayers.

I discussed that whole "Field Monitor" thing with some friends. I think it has to do with the fact that "reality" makes it hard to keep battlefield awareness, so you need someone calling those kind of shots. A little weird, but works for me. I also love that at least two of the main characters are hard-core roleplayers, specifically Akatsuki (kawaii!!!) and Nyanta-san. LOL As for the theme song, it's horrible on many levels, but there's something about it that I enjoy........I think it's like a "so bad it's good" thing for me, the end title on the other hand is quite catchy (though very J-Pop).

First of all, hi everyone. You don't know me, and I haven't made a character yet (come on PS4 beta!!!!), but already I'm here to make unsolicited recommendations to people I don't know!! Thank you intarwebz!! I have noted an alarming lack of knowledge of a particularly stupidly named show that everyone here should be watching (if anime doesn't give you a rash that is). It's called Log Horizon, and it's genius. It's written by a gamer, specifically a self professed table-top and MMO roleplayer. It's a somewhat familiar premise by now, what with .Hack and Sword Art Online (SAO is another good watch BTW), but this show embodies so much of what this community identifies with and loves that I felt it as kind of a necessary public service to make this known to you all. I'm not a shill for the company, just an unabashed fanboy. I'm not going to say anything about it other than trust me, it plays to us roleplayers like nothing I've seen. http://www.crunchyroll.com/log-horizon http://www.hulu.com/log-horizon

Not too worried about that, good though. I prefer mixed RP groups…..when RP is too much of a sausage fest I find things less dynamic.

Ragnar, thank you. Balmung is looking like a contender, along with Gilgamesh. I have to do a bit of reading, but it's an offer I'll likely take you up on should I choose to go that way.

Zhavi, thanks for the reply. Just picking up on the way you talk about this makes me more interested. Once I get a good character idea in my head I may hit you up here. Koninbeor, thanks for blowing my cover, I merely want to know those with the sweetest souls for later consumption.

Guess what? Another n00b! Fortunately I'm not completely hopeless, I do have a couple decades experience in table-top. I recently moved, and my local options are basically zero so I've been looking at online RP and I think Final Fantasy XIV has many of the attributes I am interested in (plus I've played the game before, so I know it's fun). I'm decently experienced with MMO's, had a good long run with WoW and dabbled in quite a few others of the years. Never really caught the MMO bug the way that some did though; that said, I'm a rank amateur when it comes to the why, hows, and where's of online RP. I am of course reading through the wiki's and have contacted one of the Mentors so this is more just a big hello. I haven't settled on a server or character or anything yet. The local group I played with (and sometimes still on Skype/Roll20) was pretty serious about role-playing and I love the dynamic, collaborative nature of traditional RP. Having a GM who knows when to help/hinder party and PC goals is the real art, and it seems that would be impossible (or much more difficult) in an MMO. I'm not sure how that works out in an MMO sense. It seems better suited to individual scene's and interesting dialogue (which I love) rather than long term directed story arcs. That is of course my side-lines perspective, I'm sure I could be completely wrong. My own play style tends toward the more serious. Story wise I like high-stakes, emotional journeys; epic quests, grand designs, terrible secrets, all of that. Pretty typical gamer fantasies actually. Character wise, I kind of wander all over the place, but have traditionally been fond of redemption arcs or tragically heroic characters. Of course all of this is on the table-top side of things, so I'm not sure how that type of thing translates here. That said, I'm not quite sure what aspect I'll end up enjoying in this scenario. So rather than me talking I'd love to ask those that are willing to share, what's your favorite aspects of online RP? P.S. Who's got the SAO style Nerve-Gear, and where can I get mine?