ECRP Moving Forward

[Swattpup1989]

So I already know that this is probably going to get hated on or get a whole lot of negative emotes, but, honestly I don't really care due to it has gotten out of hand. And yes this is mainly targeted at crim.

Recently I started a faction called Sons of Odin and the outreach regarding it on an OOC level has been very welcoming and nice due to it's a faction following very closely to lore and it's unique to ECRP in the sense, no one has ever done a Norse style faction. However with that comes a whole host of issues because of the very limited clothing. I wanted this idea to fit into how Vikings dressed, lived, made money, etc. So naturally I put on a leather vest and instantly Sons of Odin has become a trademark symbol of being a MC (which it's by far, not a MC). On top of this I have been trying for a few days to do RP regarding who Sons of Odin is and been met with some encounters that leave me wondering if we are here to RP or not. Now obviously not every encounter we have on the server will be a huge RP situation where it's a blast but some RP is always better than none. Well lately I have ran into some of the other factions on both my characters and it seems the only time they even speak is to insult you, rob you, clap you, or to tell you to shut the fuck up. The standard that the factions are currently held to seems to be not watched or at a high standard.

I bring this up due to recently a few factions have been started by staff on the server, Original Covenant Ballas - Lost MC, for example. Obviously they are automatically official due to being apart of staff and it is what it is. However, I have met with people in Lost MC and they have conversations and talk to you as a person. They know the meaning of RPing and enjoy doing it. There are other groups which aren't crim who also love RPing with people and having conversations. Now why is this? Well for starters these Staff Started factions have a high standard they want when beginning them and they monitor to make sure the shit is going like it should. They keep tabs on things and they make sure if people don't understand the standard that they get the help to fix it. Sons of Odin is my baby and dream, I want it to hit this point, but, sadly other factions are not wanting to adjust to the higher standard. I still am seeing people using the old system of /me and /do, but, now responding with /do in /me.

I love ECRP and have been here for 3 years. My original character was in Rooks and it was the best time of my life but due to IRL reasons I had to sadly kill the character off because it became too hard to play. Now I have my legal character who was crim at some point and the RP he was always in was so high it was unreal. I interacted with FSO, Triads, Zetas, OG Aztecas, New Aztecas, and other groups. Even as a MEDIC they still always shot for the stars regarding RP interactions. I remember sitting at the Paleto Hospital next to the church and just hanging out with Aztecas before they had ceremonies at the church or just bullshitting with them. Sadly, now the only time I ever run into any crims is if I am being robbed OR giving them rides to a hospital because they got clapped (Or calling coroners for their dead body).

So I ask, what happened? Is the money and grind really all that important? Is having a title of "Top Gang" that important? Where did the RPers go? Where did the fun times of the OGs go? I know the OGs left and moved on, but, does that mean the crim world and the RP had to go with them.

Also I know some of you are going to come on here claiming "Staff killed crim and blah blah blah".... I call bullshit. We the players killed Crim World. We are all in control of our own RP and those of us leading our factions should be controlling the RP standard that comes from our members. Help them make a better world for current and future players.


Legal side wise... well I was in LSEMS but left due to I began to hate it. This new influx of NEW PLAYERS took a toll on me due to well I was sitting on /b almost 75% of the time trying to explain how to RP a broken leg or a broken arm. The RP became dull and very lacking. Upon talking to other people I knew in PD and SD, they said the same thing, they were dealing with a lot of scenes filled with /b. It sucks, it really does. I have been around for 4 of these MASSIVE influxes and every time it's the same thing and every time, the same issues. So in my honest opinion the only way to fix this is CHANGE THE QUIZ. The quiz in its current state as stated by a staff member, is meant to see if you know the server rules....nothing about if you know how to RP. Maybe it's time to change that, make the quiz so they need to show examples of how to RP and make it so the quiz will be random every time so it doesn't end up on REDDIT or on YouTube videos with all the answers.
We have factions being made by STAFF with a high standard of RP with a quiz tailored toward BEGINNER RPers. So I ask the staff to please look into this further and decide what standard of RP you want ECRP to be before it gets so far out of hand, it becomes problematic. I love the things people are putting in the Staff Factions, hell I have begun taking pointers from them for my own faction. But it can only do so much when the level of RP on the player side is not up to par. It would not be fair to deny one person because they are a novice RPer and then take someone else because they are a Pro RPer.

Suggestions to fix any of this stuff is pretty much above in what I said. Hopefully others who feel the same way speak up. Hopefully this post isn't taken the completely wrong way. I love ECRP and if I didn't I would not have as much as I do donated. I have made my fair share of mistakes on this server and learned from them every time. Now all I can do is hope that the voices of the players who have been here for so long get heard and changes can be made. I hope one day Sons of Odin goes down in the books and to a RP standard of the Staff Factions, but, I can only do that if other factions are willing to promote that same level of standard.

Edited March 18, 2021 by Swattpup1989

[Icarus]

I totally agree with this. The pier is the worst place for this. People have full on conversations OOC and the use of /b is insane. It's one thing if you use /b to ask how to do a certain action as there a ton of random commands in the server, but using it to troll and just talk? Excessive to say the least.

[Brant]

Providing critical feedback is an important facet to community and player growth. I know that you're bracing for a ton of negative comments, but when feedback is given in a respectful, calm way, you shouldn't be greeted with negativity. There's a pretty big line between "debating" and "arguing" in this case, and I hope the responses to your post will have meaningful responses from the people that agree and also the people that disagree.

One thing I want to touch on is your comments about roleplay quality, and the newer crowd joining the server recently. This is why I made a "how to" article just the other day regarding adding depth to roleplay without the use of /do able? /do yes /do no, etc. The changes that we want to see in terms of higher roleplay quality will come in time, but it will take the regulars in the community to pick up on this and show the people they're interacting with that this is our roleplay standard. So many times I've seen people say, "oh its not our responsibility to teach people how to rp" "if i wanted to help people I'd join support" "they should know how to rp before getting accepted". and my response to that is this:

Everyone starts somewhere, and when you're learning how to RP, you often look at people that have been around a lot as a way to learn. When new players see /do able? /b respond with yes or no, we're setting that example for them, so as they move forward in the community, that's what they believe is the right approach.

We all need to take it upon ourselves to create the environment we want to be in, and that's what is going to drive us forward. The phrase "be the change that you want to see" comes to mind. I've spent time helping people learn the "new" system, and I've seen others benefit from the explanation I've given so people are 100% willing to learn if they're given the assistance that they need in order to learn.

[Appelgi]

42 minutes ago, Swattpup1989 said:

So I ask, what happened? Is the money and grind really all that important? Is having a title of "Top Gang" that important? Where did the RPers go? Where did the fun times of the OGs go? I know the OGs left and moved on, but, does that mean the crim world and the RP had to go with them.

OG's have left, some OG's have stayed, regardless there are not that many factions remaining which makes the dynamic of the server a bit odd. Believe me, there are plenty of RP'ers within the crim playerbase. To be frank, I do feel like that constant conflict is causing less time to RP and conflict has always been a thing, but never as much as the crim playerbase has experienced in the past 4 or so months. 

Also, I've not really encountered you guys before but I am pretty sure if you would approach members of a gang in a respectful way they wont talk shit.

[GeekyMeepy]

I 100% agree with the OP.

The rules of this server are way more strict than other places I've seen, but the quiz to get in is laughable to be brutally honest. It feels more focused on rules than it does actual roleplay. And so we end up with more people focused on ruleplay than roleplay. Or we end up with Trolls who don't seem to give a sh*t about RP or new players who want to learn but have no clue how and haven't done the homework ahead of time and so half my gametime is instructing people how to roleplay.

I didn't sign up for this server in order to be a roleplay teacher to be quite honest. I'm happy to help people when needed but when I have to explain what IC and OOC is.. We have a serious problem. Yes, people need to learn and start somewhere, but if they honestly want to learn and put in the effort to really play here they should be doing the homework ahead of time. Google about roleplay, search youtube videos, watch some of the streamers, ask questions on the forums or the discord. (Even though I had been text RPing for over 20 years, I watched streamers and youtube vids of people in ECRP and read through the discord to get an idea of how this place worked before I even applied. The good RPers we will get out of the masses are the people who are willing to put in some effort.)

It would be refreshing to see more roleplay focused questions. For example, giving RP scenarios and asking people to write out an actual roleplay story. Not just basically reiterating a rule as it seems now.

The way things are right now i've been on a very thin line and teetering on moving along. PD isn't as fun anymore when dealing with people who just want to scream at me for nothing and offering 0 roleplay behind it, or I'm trying to explain how to roleplay to new players, or combat loggers, etc. I barely manage to get my minimum hours in these days because it's just so tiring.

Just my 2 cents and support for the OP. I'm sure I could say more but I am brained out right now.

[Swattpup1989]

23 minutes ago, Appelgi said:

OG's have left, some OG's have stayed, regardless there are not that many factions remaining which makes the dynamic of the server a bit odd. Believe me, there are plenty of RP'ers within the crim playerbase. To be frank, I do feel like that constant conflict is causing less time to RP and conflict has always been a thing, but never as much as the crim playerbase has experienced in the past 4 or so months. 

Also, I've not really encountered you guys before but I am pretty sure if you would approach members of a gang in a respectful way they wont talk shit.

I have had a few run ins with Goblins on my current main and its always been a good time. However, on my crim, I have approached Goblins and tried to spark a conversation and have got told numerous times to "shut the fuck up and leave the area". Meanwhile this has happened on the pier, at parking, at the bank, and at a few other locations. The only difference between the two is...my current main is known.... my crim is not. It kind of puts things in perspective when your on a character who isnt known to anyone compared to a character who has been around for over a year.

I really want Sons of Odin to become something and help progress ECRP and the other factions into a lot of really good RP situations but as it stands right now, even the most basic of conversations cant even be had so why would I bother trying to get more. I will not be giving up on Sons of Odin but the fact of trying to establish connections with other gangs right now with the constant conflicts just doesn't seem worth it in the end. If Sons of Odin sides with one group and they get wiped out, then Sons of Odin becomes the next target for helping someone who was friendly to them.....Sons of Odin helps the side who wins, then Sons of Odin becomes a target for helping the other group who was friendly to them. That's the sad thing with all of this, people and groups affiliate with others due to SOME common goals and its not always the enemy of my enemy is my friend type deal... alot of times its for mutual gains as far as manpower, weapons, vehicles, or just friendly conversation. When shit goes south, well you help the people who helped you and had your back. Doesnt necessarily mean you hate or have issues with the other group your friend is fighting, its just they asked for your help. A smart decision is to avoid it due to its not your conflict but sadly, with how things have currently been going, it seems that also would make you a target.

ECRP has become the land of CLAPPERS honestly. Hopefully the RP standards of ACTUAL RP return so we can get factions to have Legacies like Aztecas, Zetas, Triads, and FSO. But if the RP standard stays the way it is... factions will just become another group to vanish and become archived.