People of Olden

To be truthful, I'm actually not sure how many 'people' there even are anymore, but please read this.

I've been with Olden since the previous forum (I guess I could be referred to as an 'Oldfag' now, despite being one of the youngest people here), and have watched this community die multiple times. I can't say it really prides me to be here after that, but it does pride me when I remember how many times it's bounced back, probably defying odds most other communities wouldn't even have a chance with, by doing so.

Now it seems to be happening again, without any permanent server or consistently reliable player-base. But I know you guys can pull through again, if you will just put more effort into it. We may have members, but that doesn't mean we try to just jump into finding a server--that's not as essential as other things. We need more actual members, because if you haven't noticed, we have 365 members listed as of writing this, with probably less than a quarter being actually active members. It'll make us seem like a popular community, yes, but it's not true. 'Why?' you ask; It's because 134 of those members have never posted, and 57 more have posted less than 3 times.

This is excluding other single-digit post counts, but, still, this means that more than 174 of our 'members' have only been on a few times--probably little enough to count on a single hand.

What does this mean OA? You may be thinking. Well, it means alot of things need to change. For one, and this is just my personal opinion, I think we need to change to a different forum with a more fitting URL (I'm pretty sure 4Chan or whoever spammed us before has forgotten about us). Then, before we even think of releasing the forum to the public, we need to fix all the lore. Every single page of lore, and make it as original as possible, make it pleasant on the eyes, provide plenty of facts about everything, make it a good read, make it fun and exciting (Unless, of course, it's purposely melancholy). The better we make the community with small things, the more people will want to be part of us in the end.

Now, people, don't start complaining and bitching about this. This is just my honest opinion about what we should, not have to do. If you do reply to this, express your opinion clearly, and if you agree, maybe even things you can add to the list of things we could better. Lastly, I'm closing this with a post I found on the forums from a while ago that I think is actually a very, very good point;

"We don't need events, really. What we need is actual character development, not "Surna getting attacked by monsters". Sure, it gives us something to do, but really, nothing comes out of it."

TL ; DR ?

Fuck you, read it.

I agree with you 100%. Specifically about the part of cleaning up lore. While I myself don't RP on Gmod anymore I'm still a part of Olden and I'd love to see this community sprawling with activity again. I'd be more than happy to help in any way I can, to return Olden to what I remember it as, or better.

Well I'll be, truer words were never said. I'll do as much as I can when I'm not working but, I can't do much when it comes to drawing in new members, most of my list is all oldfags. That being said, I can and will help out getting lore working and give a hand with whatever organizational issues arise, such as server, forum and soforth.

Now excuse me while I re read the post while listening to this.
A fitting song indeed.

I'll write lore if you want, and I have personally thought that olden lore really needs to be re-written and actually put down, the old lore is so flimsy and guarded as though it's meant to be secret.

You can also thank Ruta for bringing this thread to my attention, I have stopped checking the forums tbh.

I can purchase you guys a domain and certify it + security if you want. I've also got spare hosting space on my webhost if anyone wants to pinch some.

You know, I actually agree with this.

I have new-found respect for you, OA.

Olden has a fierce tendency to stay alive, and why not? We love it. I'd be willing to give it a shot.

Hopefully we can bring it alive soon, but with school just starting soon it will cause the activity to fluctuate a bit.

Commander Cuddly Muffin wrote:

Hopefully we can bring it alive soon, but with school just starting soon it will cause the activity to fluctuate a bit.

Yes, but when all of this starts, we don't need to immediately jump into roleplay. It's best if we just tried to fix, improve, and add things in spare time instead of trying to force activity when no one really is available for much of it.

I like this idea, and agree we need to get the word out and what not. Anon probably doesn't care anymore and on top of that Olden is not being led by furries and egotistical cyber obsessed dickbaits. Personally I have been getting the vibe of not being too interested in Garry's Mod altogether but I am all in favor of forum RP.

Get your asses to 40k.

A bit of a random question, but how many of you lot were around when forestvillage was our main map?

no,



fuck you.

Rutabega wrote:

A bit of a random question, but how many of you lot were around when forestvillage was our main map?

You, Pat, Me, Zaku, Mack, Psyche, Kain, Krug, I know 100%, but some of them seem to have abandoned Olden.

(Also, I'm guessing you are talking from way back, when Donixs was here.)

EDIT:

Narran too, if I'm remembering correctly.

I was there as was narran. And Gambit. And Blitz. And Munroe.

edit:

"We don't need events, really. What we need is actual character development, not "Surna getting attacked by monsters". Sure, it gives us something to do, but really, nothing comes out of it."

On this point, big events need to happen, EVERY so often. Seldomly. Rarely. But they have to be there to give a feel that there's an over-arching plot. To not have an over-arching plot is just lazy.

But the contrast inbetween was too large, atleast I thought. There was either, REALLY INTENSE FUCKING MONSTERS EVER, or absolutely nothing happening Inn RP nothing happening. What was needed was mini-events to bridge the gap. Something that would emulate the random nature of life in a city, that was ever changing, and not just static until demons n shit knocked on the door. Situations that force characters to adapt and affect them either physically, mentally, or in some other way help with character develop, or so I think, I could be wrong.

There should be a balance between these smaller events, larger events, and lack of events. I've never been at a community that has ever done that properly and thouroughly, though TnB did a damn fine job at it tbh for the time I was there.

Just my thoughts if anyone is interested.

Oh yeah I'm talking back from the days of Donixs Peiro...I mean REAL OLDfags.

Btw, anyone still keep in touch with ole' Donny?

Rutabega wrote:

Donixs

God, I miss that bastard.

Rutabega wrote:

Oh yeah I'm talking back from the days of Donixs Peiro...I mean REAL OLDfags.

Btw, anyone still keep in touch with ole' Donny?

I don't think he's logged in, in a long while.

And Phry you weren't there when Donixs was. :Y

I was there when forestvillage was the only map being used. It seemed like that atleast.

I've seen Donixs around on steam, though I haven't talked to him in years and years.

Phry wrote:

"We don't need events, really. What we need is actual character development, not "Surna getting attacked by monsters". Sure, it gives us something to do, but really, nothing comes out of it."

On this point, big events need to happen, EVERY so often. Seldomly. Rarely. But they have to be there to give a feel that there's an over-arching plot. To not have an over-arching plot is just lazy.

But the contrast inbetween was too large, atleast I thought. There was either, REALLY INTENSE FUCKING MONSTERS EVER, or absolutely nothing happening Inn RP nothing happening. What was needed was mini-events to bridge the gap. Something that would emulate the random nature of life in a city, that was ever changing, and not just static until demons n shit knocked on the door. Situations that force characters to adapt and affect them either physically, mentally, or in some other way help with character develop, or so I think, I could be wrong..

I agree with this. Having no events leads to stagnation. We know what that feels like. Passive RP is all well and good, but if there's absolutely nothing to talk about besides the weather or your occupation, there's hardly any character development, and the pacing just feels off. Events, and a plot line, make characters stand out more, give players more excitement and enjoyment, and tell a story, which is what RP is all about: telling stories.

And not all events have to be "get out your swords/spells and blow everything to shit". People who craft events need to think outside the box and stop basing events off of "kill this monster, find this treasure, etc." I don't mean to offend, as those kinds of events have their place too, but there should be more that are not focused exclusively on combat. In fact, the RP itself could benefit from a shift away from combat. Our character pages have lists and charts of combat skills, and training them up is the primary goal of many characters. I understand the medieval ages were violent times, but surely characters also have issues that can be solved or goals that can be achieved without cutting things to pieces?

Here's a few suggestions I can come up with off the top of my head, just to get the ball rolling:
- A character dealing with psychological issues or past traumas (this could become quite common, seeing as most characters have a dark past anyway)
- A character trying to find someone or something (a lost friend/loved one, or an item of significance that isn't an ancient artifact of great power)
- A character trying to find employment, dealing with poverty, hunger, and so forth (this could also become quite common, seeing as few characters seem to have any sort of job)

- An event that involves persuading or talking to someone to achieve a desired outcome
- A stealth event (these have been attempted before, but usually fail due to bloodthirsty RPers. Having hugely severe consequences for breaking out of stealth could keep players in check)
- An event that involves finding something or discovering a lost piece of information (wherein the journey is not necessarily perilous or has a 'boss battle'). Perhaps on the journey the very world of Aeria (or more specifically, Ara'ki) would be the focus, and the event would be filled with detailed descriptions of scenery.
- Local events, such as a resource shortage, economic recession/depression, or something along those lines. Rutabega has done a few of these, though the town always seems fine in the end, back on its feet in very little time.

I had an idea for a type of quest/event for use in Ara'ki - Expeditions. A group is assembled, with the goal of traveling a long distance to map out a location, retrieve valuable resources, or whatever else considered valuable enough to form an expedition, and bring it back. Dangerous, yes, and with some combat, but these groups would have to be assembled with balance in mind. For example, an Alchemist would be of great use should the members of the group come across some sort of poisonous flora, or a woodsman/ranger character would be used to hunt and scout ahead for dangers.

Given the dangerous and overall fantastic and unknown nature of Ara'ki, expeditions would be more suited for Ara'ki than Surna, I think, with the very real IC need of resources and information about their surroundings.

Hey sexy things.

THE PRODIGAL SON RETURNSSSSSSSS!

Donixs wrote:

Hey sexy things.

Please bear my children. Or uh...
Uhm...


No Donixs kidding, ILY. ; u ;

Why does he have an afro. People on the internet don't have afros.

Xeloras wrote:

Why does he have an afro. People on the internet don't have afros.

Gtfo, ye of little knowledge.