Michael Brookes
Game Director
General discussion thread for Elite: Dangerous roleplaying
- Thread starter Michael Brookes
- Start date
Excellent idea and about time! I'm really looking forward to all the RP opportunities that Elite Dangerous will create as well as taking part in some forum RP while I'm away from my PC.
Will you be resurrecting your stroppy female character from Lavecon?
I would if I could remember her name.
To me Elite is primarily a RPG anyway. The immersion and the promise of a huge, living universe means that I and my friends can get into the spirit of actually being there. Unfortunately it means that if roo many other players turn out to be immersion breaking brats, I suppose we'll have to create a private group.
Roleplaying has no need for character sheets.
Roleplaying has no need for character sheets.
In some ways Elite Dangerous can be seen as more akin to "live" roleplaying, given the simulation aspect. In our "pen and paper" group it is the actual interactions that give me the most enjoyment, while others are discussing rules ad infinitum, so it will of course be different to each person. A Commander Biography page is perhaps something I would miss the most.
I would like to know what kind of game mechanics FD will add to the game, supporting the RPG gamer? I my world there need to be some mechanics so that you can immerse yourself into the game.
The minimum would be the mechanics from the Arma series, wounding, meed of medical treatment. If you take it a step further the next in line would be DayZ. Of cource there are many games you could pic, however I would like to know if there is game mechanics in the pipe line in this matter.
The minimum would be the mechanics from the Arma series, wounding, meed of medical treatment. If you take it a step further the next in line would be DayZ. Of cource there are many games you could pic, however I would like to know if there is game mechanics in the pipe line in this matter.
Imo the only game mechanics FD needs to provide are 'local' chat and a simple die roll mechanism.
Seems to me that people have very different ideas of what roleplaying is and what sort of roleplaying this forum is intended for. Will be interesting to see how this develops.
My thinking was about roleplaying threads that would tell stories set in the Elite universe, but not be part of the game itself. A game master could start a story of a planned coup on some distant system, for example, and players would take part in the story in the thread.
Combining in-game experiences into a forum roleplay thread sounds like a chaotic idea, but I guess it could work.
My thinking was about roleplaying threads that would tell stories set in the Elite universe, but not be part of the game itself. A game master could start a story of a planned coup on some distant system, for example, and players would take part in the story in the thread.
Combining in-game experiences into a forum roleplay thread sounds like a chaotic idea, but I guess it could work.
Hmph. A roleplaying forum and I wasn't invited! I feel snubbed! ;-)
I love the idea of having a place for each thing mentioned above, but I think having a central location where people want to be "in character" would be a nice idea.
It would be awesome to run a session of the Elite Encounters RPG on a thread here too. I'd be up for it, but would obviously have to prioritise getting the book finished before committing to it.
One other idea that worked well on another forum I was on was the "neverending story". Some one posts a couple of paragraphs (about 500 words or so) in a post and another person comes along later and continues the story. Certain rules would be in place, or example "no suddenly killing off characters just to showcase another one", or the like. Or just keep it completely freeform!
Looking forward to seeing what comes up in here.
I love the idea of having a place for each thing mentioned above, but I think having a central location where people want to be "in character" would be a nice idea.
It would be awesome to run a session of the Elite Encounters RPG on a thread here too. I'd be up for it, but would obviously have to prioritise getting the book finished before committing to it.
One other idea that worked well on another forum I was on was the "neverending story". Some one posts a couple of paragraphs (about 500 words or so) in a post and another person comes along later and continues the story. Certain rules would be in place, or example "no suddenly killing off characters just to showcase another one", or the like. Or just keep it completely freeform!
Looking forward to seeing what comes up in here.
rootsrat
Volunteer Moderator
Hi guys. If you're interested in role playing Elite and want to join forces with other like minded Commanders in an RP in game private group, please have a look here.
Fly safe, Commanders!
Fly safe, Commanders!
Hi Everyone!
Unlike a lot of folks here I'm sure, I'm actually completely new to the world of Elite - never played the previous games, and had never even really heard much about it until the whole "kickstarting of space sims" thing started getting traction from news outlets. But from everything I've seen, I'm excited to be here now, and moreso to find that there is apparently some interest in RPing in the game and forum storytelling, which I've got a bit of a history with in other, more traditional MMOs.
But, coming as I do from a position of no experience with the Elite 'verse, I would love to run some questions by the community - some related to canon, some philosophical to what the community believes is appropriate for a player in the game.
In no particular order...
Thanks all, for any insight you can provide!
Unlike a lot of folks here I'm sure, I'm actually completely new to the world of Elite - never played the previous games, and had never even really heard much about it until the whole "kickstarting of space sims" thing started getting traction from news outlets. But from everything I've seen, I'm excited to be here now, and moreso to find that there is apparently some interest in RPing in the game and forum storytelling, which I've got a bit of a history with in other, more traditional MMOs.
But, coming as I do from a position of no experience with the Elite 'verse, I would love to run some questions by the community - some related to canon, some philosophical to what the community believes is appropriate for a player in the game.
In no particular order...
- It seems from what I've read of the wiki and news articles that Elite's 'verse is basically a far future version of humanity, where we've spread out across the stars and colonized. While characters might not be from Earth, or even have stepped foot on it, it's still the cradle of galactic civilization and its history is our history. Correct?
- Re: the above, it would also seem that over the last X-thousand years, political relations have realigned under three major powers (Empire, Federation, Alliance), where controlled planets are wholly controlled by X power. So within a planet it's not as though you have a geopolitical setup like modern-Earth where certain countries or regions are controlled by one power. Yes?
- It appears from what I've read that the player character doesn't align to any one power - they can take jobs from the Federation and the Empire which might even work against the others interests, for instance. Is this just a game mechanic to allow maximum quest availability, or is there an idea of "independence" in the lore in which characters don't need to be politically aligned? Are there independent planets not part of the big three?
- Getting into player style and building off the above... do players who plan to RP in the Elite 'verse plan to go the route of IC independence? Or do most players plan to have their characters affiliated directly with a faction?
- Another playstyle question - is the general expectation of the community that character story should be contained within what a player is mechanically able to do, or what happens to them in-game? For Example: I don't expect to be good at Elite, by any stretch of the imagination. If I were to try to engage in piracy, I'd probably be blown out of the figurative water consistently and without mercy. Does that mean the community would be non-welcoming of my establishing a character concept of a "notorious pirate?" If I make my game-credits as a miner, does that mean that mining is what I should RP about in-game, etc? Basically... how closely do players think my RP or writing should follow what I actually do, in-game?
- Back to lore... can someone shed some light on what's up with the Thargoids? I've looked around a bit and I'm just not sure I understand. They seem to be the only alien species in the game, but what/where are they, what's the history with humanity, etc.
- And last question (for now) is mechanical... what tools are going to be in Elite for facilitating RP within the game? Chat, grouping, friends lists, etc.
Thanks all, for any insight you can provide!
I believe I can answer a few of your questions.
grouping - check the fdev diary for that stuff. They have some grand ideas that are yet to come to fruition - however I am certain that they will.
I also am new to both RP and the Elite Universe so I'm a bit foggy on the Thargoids thing myself.
NOW what I can actually answer...
as far as RP... I rp what my char actually does in game, I think this keeps some consistency while allowing for liberties with the character's mindstate, drive, and life. Obviously there is backstory that fleshes out the character. For example... I don't have a strong standing relationship with the empire.
They don't necessarily hunt me, but they do have a warrant dead/alive for my character. This leaves a bit of liberty where I am able to be in fed space - taking jobs, but not necessarily well liled by people that made beagle 2 their home.
But yes I would imagine you would RP within the skills you intend to play within, hence why Jonathan Everest is a smuggler that does odd jobs and small scale piracy.
make sense?
grouping - check the fdev diary for that stuff. They have some grand ideas that are yet to come to fruition - however I am certain that they will.
I also am new to both RP and the Elite Universe so I'm a bit foggy on the Thargoids thing myself.
NOW what I can actually answer...
as far as RP... I rp what my char actually does in game, I think this keeps some consistency while allowing for liberties with the character's mindstate, drive, and life. Obviously there is backstory that fleshes out the character. For example... I don't have a strong standing relationship with the empire.
They don't necessarily hunt me, but they do have a warrant dead/alive for my character. This leaves a bit of liberty where I am able to be in fed space - taking jobs, but not necessarily well liled by people that made beagle 2 their home.
But yes I would imagine you would RP within the skills you intend to play within, hence why Jonathan Everest is a smuggler that does odd jobs and small scale piracy.
make sense?
Absolutely, thanks for your thoughts.
I'll do more research on the communication - had tried looking it up but I'm late to the game and there's a lot of data to parse through, so I must have missed it. Obviously anyone who wants to boil it down quickly for me in the meantime has my eternal gratitude.
Oh, an additional question! I understand there are quite a few Elite-set books out there (in fact, I think one of the Kickstarter rewards was being allowed to write and sell one?). On the whole, are these worth the time to have? I don't necessarily mean in terms of quality of writing (I find licensed fiction to be a mixed bag but fine if you don't hold too much expectation) so much as if there's any content in there that would really expand the overall lore of the 'verse, help with understanding motivations of factions, etc.
I'm sure it's a mixed bag - if there's one or two books you'd recommend over the others, what would they be?
I'll do more research on the communication - had tried looking it up but I'm late to the game and there's a lot of data to parse through, so I must have missed it. Obviously anyone who wants to boil it down quickly for me in the meantime has my eternal gratitude.
Oh, an additional question! I understand there are quite a few Elite-set books out there (in fact, I think one of the Kickstarter rewards was being allowed to write and sell one?). On the whole, are these worth the time to have? I don't necessarily mean in terms of quality of writing (I find licensed fiction to be a mixed bag but fine if you don't hold too much expectation) so much as if there's any content in there that would really expand the overall lore of the 'verse, help with understanding motivations of factions, etc.
I'm sure it's a mixed bag - if there's one or two books you'd recommend over the others, what would they be?
Greetings all!
Completely new to the game and don't even own it yet. I have to budget in saving up for it....but I /will/ own it eventually.
I only have one question:
Will there be actual ingame RP or just forum RP?
Completely new to the game and don't even own it yet. I have to budget in saving up for it....but I /will/ own it eventually.
I only have one question:
Will there be actual ingame RP or just forum RP?
