[Poll] Local or inter-ducal RP focus?

[mystry]

I agree with the other posters that the playerbase is not large enough to support more than one city. And while I've successfully interacted with other duchies through plots, I feel like a more contained atmosphere might be better for the game.

I wouldn't mind the map itself having some more secret areas and stuff added though.

[Sparkles]

Also, I think the poll is asking something different than the question in the OP at the beginning of the thread.

I think there are plenty of people (particularly the GLs) who enjoy or -want- involvement in wider politics at a kingdom level given there are kingdom wide plots.

However that does not directly equate to the thinking the way to represent that wider RP focus is by physically expanding the game grid.

[Geras]

I've been an advocate for growing the grid, but IMHO that should be in areas attached to the main grid, not in separate duchies. So Talfore yes Tubor no please.

[Kinaed]

I'm not certain about the number of players versus size of the theme or grid concern because I see it being little different to being a starting game with a theme.

It's really not possible for our current staff to run plots to simulate the wider world, but we have significant, ongoing "raising a concern" that GLs have kingdom-wide roles without kingdom-wide RP availability.

I suppose if you look at it from the new game perspective, it's a question about whether we're compelling for growth on a local perspective, or if most of the people we're targetting as potential players are more attracted to international and higher stakes politics. As it is, our current pbase is just about the same size as our pbase has been for years.

In terms of travel and grid size, I don't think accessability is about size, but rather about tools. The ability to have alts is a bonus to filling in a multi-national world, and being "unrealistic" but simulatory would probably handle a lot of travel time issues.

I tend towards wanting to do it because it'd be new and fun for me, but I acknowledge there are some pretty big risks. That said, as Taunya indicated, TI used to have other cities, and the game did just fine with those areas being frequently empty - because the "hopping" places were well known, and TI had adequate tools to bring RPers together.

[Mallin]

If the new locations are able to offer more to the MUD and allow for more options, particularly when a coded effect is needed (if that makes sense), then I think that would be useful.

I'll go back on the not enough people argument because I realized that, as it is, there are tools to bring people together for RP and that should be good enough for any world above a certain size.

I also changed my vote.

Edit addition: I'm surprised more people haven't voted.

[Myrella]

It's really not possible for our current staff to run plots to simulate the wider world, but we have significant, ongoing "raising a concern" that GLs have kingdom-wide roles without kingdom-wide RP availability.

More staff then?

I suppose if you look at it from the new game perspective, it's a question about whether we're compelling for growth on a local perspective, or if most of the people we're targetting as potential players are more attracted to international and higher stakes politics. As it is, our current pbase is just about the same size as our pbase has been for years.

I don't see how building out rooms for all the other cities/duchies etc would help here significantly. If empire wide politics is what you want the theme to be, then you'd have to open up nobility or provide some other sort of politcal position for more players to take. Most characters that play aren't noble or guild-leaders, That is already a smaller percentage of the playerbase.

I would solve this 'problem' by more systems. Track something similar to city metrics for different regions, and have the relevant players have to balance that stuff somehow. But that also sounds like more staff work, and focused on things that wouldn't effect most of us.

Really I think its just a bad idea all around.

[galaxgal]

The thing is, grid space is just grid space. The scope of what players need to do with inter-ducal plots won't change, because it will still be 'I need to figure out what powerful foreign NPC <X> wants/thinks/feels and or I want to try to influence them'. To really take the burden off of Staff, there would have to be active, consistent players populating those roles.

I don't know if that's possible, because players already seem some mix of intimidated, overwhelmed, or disinterested in roles like Grand Inquisitor, Seneschal, or and sometimes even run of the mill nobility.

I would solve this 'problem' by more systems. Track something similar to city metrics for different regions, and have the relevant players have to balance that stuff somehow. But that also sounds like more staff work, and focused on things that wouldn't effect most of us.

A 'Foreign Relations' system comes to mind. Abstractly model how the other duchies feel about, say, Lithmore and each other with some default modifiers and a couple of other descriptive stats. Maybe have different levels of influence and access based on character race, Guild status, etc so that it's not entirely limited to high-rank players. (Put a special command in for Bards because my motives for giving the Guild more toys are very transparent.)

But that's just spitballing really.

[Kinaed]

Hiring new staff isn't as easy as it sounds and even when you do hire staff, getting consistent and heavily interested plot staff has been very difficult.

I'm not convinced building more systems is the answer for a few reasons, but personally I'd like to imagine that the most superior form of "simulation" in an RP game is the act of RP itself. In short, having a PC Duchess of Vavard deciding how to interact with the Seneschal and RPing her part seems to me to be 1000 fold more interesting than RP Staff answering mails, generally trying to supress top-level RP and redirect it back downwards into the pbase.

As for most players not being GLs - 38% of the active pbase has a GL on their account, and it's almost always their main. If GLs are feeling these characters are stifled in terms of fulfilling their roles, perhaps rather than supressing and pushing RP downwards, we should consider elevating the RP?

Mind, I'm not certain I'm right. I'm floating it to understand the pbase's view on the whole. I suppose I have to ask - if you saw an advertisement for TI as a high politic, multi-kingdom game, would that be more exciting than a game about insidious local politics? Does one call out to you more than the other?

[Taunya]

I do agree the game has felt a tad stagnant.

We've had some fun drama here and there and been through a number of rulers, but nothing really feels changed in a significant way. I suppose part of that is players' decisions, such as not going with Roland and what changes that would have brought. (Prisca was a big part of the blame there, but I would've been happy enough to fail in retrospect)

How much power for change in the hands of players are you thinking of allowing?

[wimple]

It's really not possible for our current staff to run plots to simulate the wider world, but we have significant, ongoing "raising a concern" that GLs have kingdom-wide roles without kingdom-wide RP availability.

Are the GLs using the plot system appropriately, though? Not a GL, but as an ambassador-lite character I've done plots to reach out to Hillmen/Charali leaders often during various events, and while I've sometimes been told to kick rocks, 100% of the time I have had a response that I could add into political RP and sometimes had major outcomes/impacts as a result of one of those plots. Are GLs/nobles using the current system to reach out to other regions when needed to impact their RP? Are existing nobles being used as touch points for inter-ducal RP? Is the issue with staff that they are using those means and it's too much for staff to take on or is the issue that people want staff to run quests/plots/stories from the POV of a duchy and interact with that instead of self-instigating plots themselves?

If the issue is that 'this is part of what the helpfile says X GL does' but it isn't realistic for our playerbase/staff/size, I'd personally rather just see responsibility split amongst GLs change. Rather than having the distinction being "1st GL is kingdom-wide and 2nd GL is local", functionally it can be different GL tasks that need to be completed, i.e. 2nd GL may do more day-to-day with managing the ranks/progressions of people in the guild and 1st GL more focused on Council and city metrics. Or however that shakes out in a way that makes sense for a particular guild within our current systems.