SSG abandons RP. LOTRO MUSE

[Erennor]

Kind of have to agree with the RPers on this one. Server transfers really are no excuse. If you transferred to a server with an RP tag, you knew what you were signing up for and you knew that you were going to have to change your play style up. [...]

There you touch upon another good point: they do not even have to change their playstyle, which further shows the convenience that there is on playing on Laurelin. One has to go out of his/her way to purposefully disrupt community events and gatherings; to repeatedly take over RP channels for Out of Character talk (unless they are new and genuinely unaware); and to create names of the kind: 'Loredestroyer', 'Roleplaysucks'. And we have seen, (on other forums as well as in-game too from the manner in which some players have behaved) that some create such 'names' knowing full well about the naming rules, yet do so in mockery to stir up the peace and cause unrest in the community.

That many non-role players transferred to the server with the server closures last year, is nothing new on Laurelin, nor a matter of debate. The server has always had folk that did not role play. But here is the difference. They either:

went about their own business without causing trouble

or,

had no desire to role play, yet, liked and valued the atmosphere for which the policy was created for and came to the server for that reason.


The sharp contrast since the server closures, and especially during those times last year, is that then/now some disregard the policy and want it abolished, or lessened. Why cannot these players too, like so many before, -thousands over the years since the game begun back in 2008- simply let the server be, as it has always been? They can, -just like a history of nine years has shown that others can easily do so- but they are unwilling to. Therefore, one may naturally wonder what group of players does indeed feel entitled to, -as another poster said above', special treatment.

It to me is just a special tag that adds more importance to some that do not need it/ [...]

[...] Regardless the RP tags are kinda pointless because they really don't matter [...] The OP claims to care about the Laurelin community but is willing to destroy it over such an idiotic issue such as tags

If that is all one sees about the presence of the RP tag, then either his understanding of it seems to fall short, or he understands but is unwilling to accept it.

By having the RP tag next to the server name in the list of worlds, as was said above, it serves as a, or the, clear way to let interested players know where to go for this kind of playstyle and community that they are looking for, and thus in turn have a more enjoyable and fulfilling time in-game because the enviroment and interests of the community matches theirs. By having that visible official direction there, naturally over so many years it has attracted very many folk that share the same interests, preferences, and values - and in doing so, a large player-community has been shaped that enjoys and respects this atmosphere generated by the common appreciation for a more immersive enviroment.

If there was no official RP tag, all these players would have spread out on all servers, and thus role playing on a server-wide level, or anything close to it, would be impossible (unless LotRO had millions of players, but that it does not). The impact of the RP tag, or one of its impacts, is that it has served as a/the way to gather together, in great numbers, players with these values and interests.

It is nothing about adding more importance to individuals. It is about adding the acknowledgement to a server that, this world, not only encourages role play, and facilitates a more immersive experience, but also supports it.

[...] because of the naming reaction more players turned their backs on the game and our community as a whole suffered for it.

I think this is a weak argument, especially when it comes to Laurelin.

First, if some players turned their back, it is more likely and reasonable that they did so on the server, not the entire game itself. After all there was, and there is an alternative where this ruleset does not apply: Evernight. Now, even if one wants to argue that some did leave the game (and not for a short while), as a result of that, and that the entire LotRO community suffered because of it, one could say also this:

Laurelin has earned far more players than what it may have lost over the years, both for the server itself, and for the game. Community gatherings, events, storylines, kinships, kinless groups, music, poetry, story-telling, and more yet, inspired by the setting and played out in the game in the spirit of Middle-earth, to further immerse themselves, and others, into the setting, have made so many folk over the years rejoice to learn that such a community exists in-game, and they have been leaving their former worlds for Laurelin ever since 2011 when Turbine took over the server. The nature of the server and the doings on it, have rekindled the sparkle of enthusiasm for a more believable Middle-earth experience in the game that many have sought for. It serves as an asset to the game itself, and as a gift to its community. Many receive it gladly, but to some others it may ignite envy. Yes, there can be such a thing in the hearts of people, and it can transfer to an mmo enviroment too.

But why on the other hand should 1 portion of the community get a dedicated server? Why no PvP or raiding server or crafting server or questing servers

Laurelin was bestowed the official RP tag ten years ago with the onset of the game. Why you ask? It has served as a clear direction for all those coming to the game in search of role play/a more immersive enviroment, to know where to go. From this you too may perceive the different on-going growth the server has had.

Perhaps it is like arguing why LotRO should have its own dedicated PvMP. If I remember well, initially LotRO was going to launch without PvMP, but listening to the desires of some of the community, (as well as expectations from without), the decision came about to add it. Can one now advocate against this decision and question why should there be PvMP in the game anymore?

Some people don't like change and refuse to accept it, I'm sorry Laurelin had to bear some of the unwashed masses of refugees of the mergers... we all did.[...] Adapt and overcome, just like everyone else.

Indeed; some people as the time of the server transfers have shown, do not like change and refuse to accept it. But it is not the Laurelin players that had to 'change', it is the transfers. And what they had to change a reader may now ask in his/her mind? 'Names' of the kind 'Ipawnyoulolz', 'Loredestroyer'. And though one may understand that even such names might mean something more to some players, at the same time, just like you have said here, to use the same phrase 'adapt and overcome', or else, make use of the alternative choice: Evernight.

And again here, it needs to be emphasized once more like in the other thread, that at least for those that are not content with the policy, there is a choice. Some argue that that is not an option because Evernight is overpopulated. But for Laurelin there is no choice at all. It is the only English-speaking world with this additional support and protection from the Higher Powers. Players that value that more immersive enviroment free of nonsense names, and rp harassment, can go nowhere else. There is no other option. The other players, those against the rp policy, have a choice.

Laurelin has ever been open to newcomers, and that has been nothing new there. People have been coming from other servers to Laurelin since 2011, and been welcomed well, and in many cases like lost kindred who different servers have for long kept away.

[...] eventually there will not be enough players on the RP servers to justify keeping them running. Why do you think there are only two now? .

On the contrary; due to what the rp community offers, and the more immersive experiences that are played out on the server, even on an every day basis, all that serves as a way to keep players more content with their time in-game. And Laurelin was among the highest most populated worlds even before the server transfers.

If there is one server that can prove itself more longlasting than others, Laurelin is certainly included for many and various reasons that have been talked in length and in depth in other posts, this one too, and elsewhere in a more cohesive form.


As for 'why do you think there are only two now?'

LotRO has had only 3 official RP worlds to begin with: Laurelin, Belegaer, and Estel. Out of these it is only Laurelin that is an English-speaking world. Since the vast majority of LotRO players can communicate in English, it would be unwise to not keep one such RP server up. Estel was closed perhaps because the French LotRO playerbase is much smaller.

[...]
I'm all for Rp but when things get really to the point, I'd say players 'destroying' 'their' community isn't really true. Besides, it's 'OUR' community, Laurelin doesn't have special claim rights on it.

It is our community as in the wider LotRO community to which all of us can relate to and feel a member of - yes. But as it is known, there are different communities within the game, and role playing and others that favor that more immersive experience make up another one (and not small one at that). One can say that Laurelin has 'rights' to the community that has been created there as well as the content that this community generates even on a daily basis. If all these players where to suddenly stop, a tremendous change would come over the server: it would be silent.

The Green Dragon inn the Shire would no longer see such a merry hobbit-merrymaking every week, nor travelling dwarves stopping in for a while; no wandering Elves through the woods of the Shire on their way to the havens; no Elves travelling to and from Rivendell; no dwarf-folk with their own matters and tales in Thorins Hall; no more patrols of the Rohirrim over their lands; no more elvish music in the Hall of Fire; and other things yet.

The immersion of the server, this more believable Middle-earth presentation, would vanish. For it is these people that give the server the 'life' that other worlds lack.


As for what are these rights? As simple and as easy to follow as it sounds: to merely have that enviroment be continued and respected, just like everyone else wants to, on other servers too.

Is that much to ask?










[emphasis in the quotes is mine]