09-05-2011, 09:34 AM
Evening, friends,
I'll get to some topics which actually concern and my in fact interest you all now. It may not have been publicly discussed yet, but there is some consideration regarding possible changes to Azshara Crater in the future restart. These are currently just ideas, and thus nothing at this moment is certain, but there is still a large possibility that the crater will either become Horde-aligned or an actual battleground.
Of course, this is not my place to decide or discuss; I don't intend to debate what Kretol will do with his faction and his crater. What is of interest to me though is my intended neutral hub which I had planned for in the restart.
You see, there is something which has occurred to me during my events. I seem to be capable of generating RP, but that RP does not necessarily affect the region it takes place in. Not in a way which will actually generate lasting or even passing RP. Stonetalon was a fun event; it finished, and hardly anyone is seen in that zone now. Dungeoneering was a splendid adventure, but once the event was done the players were simply set back out, and many would just log off.
Is this what we want? In my own opinion, no. As such I have been tossing around the idea to create a dedicated neutral hub come the restart; a place to focus the majority of my events, as to generate consistent RP in a location. Originally this was meant to be the Mistwalker Village, but the matter of neutrality is now one which must be addressed.
As mentioned before, I plan to put the majority of my events in the hub. Not all, but most. In my mind it would be unfair of me to make a hub which caters to only a single faction, or indeed leans so far in the direction of a faction as to hinder the likelihood of both factions participating.
It has been suggested that, even should the crater become Horde-aligned, the Mistwalkers could simply remain neutral. To that I question how neutral one could remain in faction territory; similar to an argent outpost if it were constructed by Orgrimmar. Would a human come there for roleplay? If he were to, would he survive the trip home? Faction oriented land carries an inherent disadvantage to those of the opposing faction, and I'm fine with that. But if I am to host events centered in one place, it would seem grossly unfair to make them only applicable to one faction.
Thus, I've made an alternative. To better gain an idea of a response though I would like both to be seen and considered.
The Mistwalker Village
A troll village; if you've been to Azshara crater, you've likely seen it (and its buggy gate). The basis was a neutral village of trolls gone from nomadic to a settlement, being led by wisdom rather than strength. For matters of preservation they accept both factions within their gates and solicit for help from each, as well as trying to pass on some of their culture to the foreigners.
This hub would be much more ‘good-aligned’ as it were; being part of the crater most of their motives are good. Because of this it may cause some characters to be unable to fit in with it, as well as the fact that for Alliance players they are inside a troll-controlled land.
The Court of Miracles
This idea was my fallback of sorts, though that isn't to say it's a brand new and unrefined idea. I had a previous idea concerning this sort of thing, and even drew up concept art and a logo sometime in the past. It centers around a fairground heavily influenced by such things as the Day of the Dead and general depictions of macabre carnivals. The name was even used in one instance for the old catacombs, for those who recall that.
The goal with this would be a morally ambiguous hub filled with mysticism. A focus on magical arts in the carnival would allow for events taking place outside (via portal, or the like), and would prove for a much more neutral location than a troll village. The drawback is that good-aligned characters may not be as prone to be around avid shadow users and partake in some of the indulgent activities of the ringmasters.
So far I’ve decided that it would likely take place in the Ampitheatre of Anguish, Zul’Drak.
Each of these hubs would have similar events, though perhaps with a different take on each. Arena events are a given, but a house of horrors-esque dream sequence (dungeoneer) as well as some different travel RPs which I’ve thought up.
Thus, to recap the pros and cons;
Mistwalkers
Pros:
+Good-aligned
+Brings RP to a usually unused zone (Azshara Crater)
+Already has faint grounding in server lore
+Nonintrusive; changes no leveling zones.
Cons:
-May no longer keep true neutrality upon restart, or have a large bias towards Horde.
-Troll culture may alienate elves and other races.
-Warlocks are barred from using their magic, and Death Knights their ghouls.
Carnival
Pros:
+Strictly neutral
+While in a questing zone and area, the quest relevant to the arena is unharmed by editing.
+Minimal spawning; most of the structure is already existing, and there would be almost/no use of boardwalk floors. No more falling NPCs and players!
+Highly magical; although in a remote location players will be able to go to and fro ICly from teleports.
+Flying mounts work here!
Cons:
-In Zul’Drak; outside is rather inhospitable.
-Shadowy atmosphere and darker magics may alienate good-aligned characters.
-Plots may be less cohesive amongst one another due to the lack of proper background to the hub.
-Enthusiasm may wane for an everpresent carnival.
-Zul’Drak isn’t comparable to Azshara Crater in terms of concentrating RP.
And that’s about the most I could think of it.
I’d also like to take this time to ask opinions on the idea of such hubs as well; do you think this idea is a good one? While more concentrated RP would yield more consistent RP in one area I question if that’s necessarily what we want. Do you prefer spontaneous bursts of RP in different areas for storylines, or would you prefer they be centered on a hub? Do you like the idea of neutral storylines, or do you prefer the ones which are faction based?
I apologize if there are inconsistencies or oddities in this post, as I've been writing/slacking off on writing it over the last three days. With that said I'm interested in your opinions on these ideas; please post below with your thoughts.
I'll get to some topics which actually concern and my in fact interest you all now. It may not have been publicly discussed yet, but there is some consideration regarding possible changes to Azshara Crater in the future restart. These are currently just ideas, and thus nothing at this moment is certain, but there is still a large possibility that the crater will either become Horde-aligned or an actual battleground.
Of course, this is not my place to decide or discuss; I don't intend to debate what Kretol will do with his faction and his crater. What is of interest to me though is my intended neutral hub which I had planned for in the restart.
You see, there is something which has occurred to me during my events. I seem to be capable of generating RP, but that RP does not necessarily affect the region it takes place in. Not in a way which will actually generate lasting or even passing RP. Stonetalon was a fun event; it finished, and hardly anyone is seen in that zone now. Dungeoneering was a splendid adventure, but once the event was done the players were simply set back out, and many would just log off.
Is this what we want? In my own opinion, no. As such I have been tossing around the idea to create a dedicated neutral hub come the restart; a place to focus the majority of my events, as to generate consistent RP in a location. Originally this was meant to be the Mistwalker Village, but the matter of neutrality is now one which must be addressed.
As mentioned before, I plan to put the majority of my events in the hub. Not all, but most. In my mind it would be unfair of me to make a hub which caters to only a single faction, or indeed leans so far in the direction of a faction as to hinder the likelihood of both factions participating.
It has been suggested that, even should the crater become Horde-aligned, the Mistwalkers could simply remain neutral. To that I question how neutral one could remain in faction territory; similar to an argent outpost if it were constructed by Orgrimmar. Would a human come there for roleplay? If he were to, would he survive the trip home? Faction oriented land carries an inherent disadvantage to those of the opposing faction, and I'm fine with that. But if I am to host events centered in one place, it would seem grossly unfair to make them only applicable to one faction.
Thus, I've made an alternative. To better gain an idea of a response though I would like both to be seen and considered.
The Mistwalker Village
A troll village; if you've been to Azshara crater, you've likely seen it (and its buggy gate). The basis was a neutral village of trolls gone from nomadic to a settlement, being led by wisdom rather than strength. For matters of preservation they accept both factions within their gates and solicit for help from each, as well as trying to pass on some of their culture to the foreigners.
This hub would be much more ‘good-aligned’ as it were; being part of the crater most of their motives are good. Because of this it may cause some characters to be unable to fit in with it, as well as the fact that for Alliance players they are inside a troll-controlled land.
The Court of Miracles
This idea was my fallback of sorts, though that isn't to say it's a brand new and unrefined idea. I had a previous idea concerning this sort of thing, and even drew up concept art and a logo sometime in the past. It centers around a fairground heavily influenced by such things as the Day of the Dead and general depictions of macabre carnivals. The name was even used in one instance for the old catacombs, for those who recall that.
The goal with this would be a morally ambiguous hub filled with mysticism. A focus on magical arts in the carnival would allow for events taking place outside (via portal, or the like), and would prove for a much more neutral location than a troll village. The drawback is that good-aligned characters may not be as prone to be around avid shadow users and partake in some of the indulgent activities of the ringmasters.
So far I’ve decided that it would likely take place in the Ampitheatre of Anguish, Zul’Drak.
Each of these hubs would have similar events, though perhaps with a different take on each. Arena events are a given, but a house of horrors-esque dream sequence (dungeoneer) as well as some different travel RPs which I’ve thought up.
Thus, to recap the pros and cons;
Mistwalkers
Pros:
+Good-aligned
+Brings RP to a usually unused zone (Azshara Crater)
+Already has faint grounding in server lore
+Nonintrusive; changes no leveling zones.
Cons:
-May no longer keep true neutrality upon restart, or have a large bias towards Horde.
-Troll culture may alienate elves and other races.
-Warlocks are barred from using their magic, and Death Knights their ghouls.
Carnival
Pros:
+Strictly neutral
+While in a questing zone and area, the quest relevant to the arena is unharmed by editing.
+Minimal spawning; most of the structure is already existing, and there would be almost/no use of boardwalk floors. No more falling NPCs and players!
+Highly magical; although in a remote location players will be able to go to and fro ICly from teleports.
+Flying mounts work here!
Cons:
-In Zul’Drak; outside is rather inhospitable.
-Shadowy atmosphere and darker magics may alienate good-aligned characters.
-Plots may be less cohesive amongst one another due to the lack of proper background to the hub.
-Enthusiasm may wane for an everpresent carnival.
-Zul’Drak isn’t comparable to Azshara Crater in terms of concentrating RP.
And that’s about the most I could think of it.
I’d also like to take this time to ask opinions on the idea of such hubs as well; do you think this idea is a good one? While more concentrated RP would yield more consistent RP in one area I question if that’s necessarily what we want. Do you prefer spontaneous bursts of RP in different areas for storylines, or would you prefer they be centered on a hub? Do you like the idea of neutral storylines, or do you prefer the ones which are faction based?
I apologize if there are inconsistencies or oddities in this post, as I've been writing/slacking off on writing it over the last three days. With that said I'm interested in your opinions on these ideas; please post below with your thoughts.
![[Image: 20110128203738!Trollface.png]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/archive/7/73/20110128203738!Trollface.png)