[Interest Check] Feast of Prosperity Saturday RPs

[Imazi]

tl;dr Come RP in the event area during the new seasonal event to help bring in new faces and new RPs.

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Ok time for an interest check! A new seasonal event will be starting up on Oct 20th and it seems like an excellent opportunity for us to rally together for RP. It's also a good time for some open world RP to remind people that there are still RPers on Satele Shan... us in particular!

As I've said to others, "New blood is the lifeblood of an RP community."

We need to get more new people coming in. So, who's with me?

For those that haven't been following news of the event, the Feast of Prosperity will be a new story-driven season event for fall. Nar Shaddaa Nightlife is the summer event and Life Day is the winter event.

Players will apparently get the chance to support one of two Hutts to guide the event towards being a truly charitable event or a shiny, goodwill front for making money. The event will come with story that unlocks each week along with mini games, typical event rewards, and a spiffy event area on the Promenade of Nar Shaddaa with lots of little bars and tables to sit at.



Here's the official description:

Over the years, the Hutt Cartel's reputation has taken a hit. The once powerful organization no longer instills respect and fear. To restore the Cartel's influence, two up-and-coming Hutts, Gaboorga the Abundant and Duuba the Magnanimious, are throwing the most lavish "charitable" banquet" in history for the Galaxy's underprivileged. And if the Cartel happens to advance their business interests during the Feast, everyone wins!

If Gaboorga and Duuba can cooperate, they could rocket the Cartel back into the upper echelons of the galactic underworld. But the Hutts conflicting priorities means they're constantly undermining each other. Each week a new story will unlock to progress this storyline, leading to the climactic choice during the third and final week. Gaboorga or Duuba? Only one Hutt can win, and the fate of the Feast of Prosperity is at stake. Choose wisely.

 - SWTOR October Events News Article

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While this may not be everyone's cup of tea, the event looks like it could be a lot of fun. The mini games are not bad, there's missions including a worldboss ingredient hunt, and decos! I know you want tables with food on them... I know you do. Not to mention the food fight launcher ought to be fun.

So, if you are willing to tolerate potential trolls and hang out in the open for a while, let me know and please post suggestions in the thread. Also, keep in mind that legacy ignore is another QOL change in the works.

[Karmic]

I voted for my "best time to be able to make it" - if I can make it!

Question though - any idea if any of this is behind the paywall?  Esp. that "special event area" you're talking about - is it available access for FTP players as well?

I can't remember how SWTOR Free Vs. Sub works when it comes to this stuff =D

[Imazi]

Thanks. :)

Nothing so far has indicated a paywall and the event area is on the upper floor of the promenade, like the GSI store. So everyone should be able to get there even if they don't want to do the event. Well, everyone that has made it to the end of Dromund Kaas or Coruscant at least.

[ThyssenKrupp]

7, 8, 9 and Utini PM are my what got my votes!

[Imazi]

Haha, gotta love Jawa time. :)

For people that don't have casual RP characters, would providing RP hooks help?

There's RP room for:

• Characters seeking to find out what the Hutt's are really up to
• Infiltration
• Theft
• Colusion with the Hutts
• "Freelance" shipping
• Laundering credits through the Hutts for a cut
• Making genuine goodwill donations of food or credits
• General information gathering among the variety of wealthy and underprivileged people
• etc.

[SquigglyV]

It would help for me, most of those ideas would be good hooks for my two civilian-ish characters.

I forgot to pick a time other than Jawa time and don't know how to change my vote, 7 or 8 PM would be ideal but I can probably make 9 PM too. Is this going to be on all three of the event saturdays?

[Imazi]

Ideally, I would like to be available each Saturday to help drum up RP in the event area and provide a place for RPers to congregate/mingle at which ever time gets the most votes. However. that also kinda depends on interest.

As much as I want to get RP going again, waiting around with no one coming is not something I want to do anymore. Hopefully by the time the poll closes, I'll have a better idea of what is practical.

How much of a hook do you need to help set up your characters to drop by @SquigglyV ? Is the list above enough?

[SquigglyV]

Those are good hooks! The first and last ones specifically, but most of the others would probably work too.

I can't be there on the 24th but I would like to visit on the other two weekends, since I have been hoping to find more public open world RP for a long time! I occasionally see private RP groups in the world and it makes me sad we don't have big server stuff like this anymore.

[Imazi]

Yeah I really miss meeting new RPers and having people come and go from week to week. Hopefully we can make this work and even attract RPers from outside of our community. I intend to try to play through the story ahead of time and get a better bead on the RP opportunities.

[Karmic]

Just a suggestion -

If you do find RPers 'free playing' with the event stuff or at any of our gatherings (or anywhere) - the only way to keep them is to keep Rping.

"Fresh blood" is only helpful and great if there is other RP going on to keep them engaged after they get interested/meet us.  And we all know that ain't happening right now.  This isn't pointing fingers or blaming at all - this is just a statement of the facts as they stand now.

So if any of these public-night events do drum up more RP, and you've got people sticking around to RP at these gatherings - the *only* way to keep them engaged is to continue to have scheduled nights where they will find RP.

Whether that's you (the player, personally) getting with that new RPer and scheduling times to hangout and RP in game with them or whether that's trying to get more group stuff going per a schedule - things will need to be scheduled.

One can of course get with that 'new rper' and then bring the interest here and get others who are available during XYZ time slot to show up to keep the RP going so that its not just on "you" who met the new Rper.

But just wanting to mention this as a suggestion for those who are wanting to keep some sort of community active on the server.  It doesn't happen without regular, scheduled, RP sessions.  People gotta know where and when to show up in order to find the RP.  That's important even on busy RP servers, but its *required* when its a small community or not very active one.

Meeting them at these Feast events, or anywhere at any time, means nothing if there's never RP in game around to be had otherwise.  Fresh blood won't stay (I know I wouldn't and don't in other games) to RP on a monthly Dancer's Night if the other 30 days out of the month there's no one around to RP with.

IF people are really wanting an actual community again - nothing short of that will make it happen.

Again this isn't pointing fingers or griping or asking anyone for a commitment.  As far as I'm concerned, this is a 'dead' community except for the few of us who are interested in keeping in touch (as we have been).  But because that's how I see it - and because I know there's no real in-game community that remains active - I"m not looking to 'recruit' for that.  I'd actually feel guilty trying to 'drum up' more RP from new players - knowing there's nothing being provided to keep that engagement.  A "bait and switch" situation as you will.  Whether I LIKE that situation is irrelevant, I'm not in a position to change it.  It is what it is. 

But as I've seen the idea of 'let's get new blood' several times in the last couple of months - I also wanted to provide suggestions if that's the "real push" here some people are hoping for.  As well as a possible explanation as to why some of us aren't jumping in to join that idea whole hog.

(And has nothing to do with whether I show up for a feast night or whatever.  As much as I'd love it if there was an active RP community on our server, I also know I'm no longer willing to offer up any commitment to make it happen.  Did that all the prior decade - someone else gonna have to take the torch and make it happen.    But if it was here, I'd join.)

[Imazi]

tl;dr I understand and agree on some counts, but I want to at least try to do something to build up RP again. However, I need to know what I have to work with from this community.

I perfectly understand, Karmic, and appreciate the suggestion. Actually, this isn't my first time in an RP community on the wane, so I know that a lot of people will feel the way you do. But there won't be any kind of RP, scheduled or otherwise, without people. So, I need to see how many people I have to work with.

If I can create stable RP with people from this community as a starter, then great. If there aren't enough people in this community, then I have no choice but to start from scratch and seek new people to even keep RPs going. One way or another, I have to take inventory.

While I see what you mean about the community being dead, not waiting to bring in new players without RP, and not wanting to expend your energy to change that; I'm in a slightly different place. While I've been where you are in other games, I have never fully invested in trying to keep the RP community going here. I've participated but not like I have elsewhere. So I do feel the need to at least make an effort, even if I know the odds. (You don't have to tell me the odds ) And I suspect there are some other people, in a similar position, lurking out there.
 
I want to see how many people are willing to join in if someone else tries their hand at taking the lead. I want to see how many people there are, on the server, that are willing to come together in a loose community (non-guilded). I also want to see if it is possible to rebuild from the ground up.

No community starts out fully formed. It grows and matures over time. If it grew the first time, it can likely grow again. As much as I miss what has been and the memories that went along with it, I've learned from prior experience not to try to recreate or resurrect the past. To a certain extent, what was is gone now, or dead like you say. But, I still need a place to start from... some kind of infrastructure to build on.

So for those of you willing to come hang out, great. I am not asking more than that. To a certain extent, that is what I am going to be doing myself. If you have nothing left to give. I understand that too. But, one way or another, I need to know, in my own heart, that I did eventually do something to try to support and invest in RP I loved. Once I've had my chance at bat, I can be satisfied that I've done what I could.

To that end, I will take the lessons I've learned from the ashes of other RP communities. You can't rebuild without new materials.

[Imazi]

Alright, factoring in that Squigg wanted to vote for 7 and 8 pm it looks like 8 pm (and Jawa time) is the winner.

So, what I intend to do is be in the event area starting at 8pm, probably at one of the bars away from the two hutts and see who turns up. I'll hang around for an hour if no one turns up, but I'll probably let it go for the day if there's no one after that time.

I also plan to make mention of this in the main forums to see if other RPers join. If I can get through the first week's story before Saturday, I may even develop RP material based on what is actually going on in the event story.

[SquigglyV]

I'll be there on the 31st and the 7th! Now it's time to think up some hutt jokes...

[Imazi]

Ha ha. Just make sure it's not loud enough for Gaboorga to hear.

Also forgive me if I get the time wrong in November, I live in a place that doesn't do Daylight savings... We don't have to they make daylight here. 

[Imazi]

Alright, everybody. the first day of feast RP is almost upon us. Originally, I had intended to put out a call for RPers on the SWTOR forums, but I held off so I could see how the lag would go. A lot more people clustered in the event area than I was expecting.

I plan on hanging out at a bar to the right of the kitchen entrance starting at 8pm Pacific. I plan on hanging around for at least an hour even if no one is there yet. This area should be close enough for passing RPers to notice that there is RP going on but not too close to the lag main group.

So far it's looking like Duuba is trying his hardest to keep things legit while Gaboorga is up to old Cartel tricks. Which Hutt will reign supreme and who will ultimately benefit?!

Looking forward to seeing who comes by. General PSA: make sure you patch up early.