Lack of RP, or trying too hard to RP?

[Renomaki]

I been around for a fair amount of time now, having come back and forth to this game and watched it grow and grow with every little update. But if there is one thing that has gotten me thinkin as of late, it is the argument on how there is little to almost no RP whatsoever in game. To that, I ask: Is it because we try to hard to find it?

I myself tend to be a decent RPer, nothing real fancy, no fat paragraphs are expected from me. And like many players, the moment combat starts, I tend to get less chatty and more shooty and movey in order to keep alive for my squad. However, I still have had many moments of RP take place, big and small. Some of them creating very interesting storylines during the course of the match.

The thing is, I don't so much try to force RP, as I let the RP come to me.

See, the best RP for me seems to come when you least expect it. It is very easy to try and force RP, only for it to end in disappointment.. But sometimes, to get the best stories within a story, you just need to have a casual conversation, or tell a funny story, or just... Let the round itself write your story for you.

It isn't even major epic tales, either.. Something as simple as referencing earlier conversations or events can be quite amusing. I remember one round where I told fellow marines a story about a previous mission that involved a hellish rat infestation, and made it a bit of a running gag to amuse the marines.. And when people started referencing it themselves, it was pretty cool. It built more personality to the round.

Really, what I'm sayin is that you should just go about your business and let the RP come naturally, rather than try to force it out like a direct-to-TV movie. Your job, your persona, and the world around you all contribute to a round's narrative. The main story only has a few stories, but it is the smaller stories that really make rounds interesting, be it between a squad, a bridge crew, a mere two marines... Or even just you.

But that is just my thoughts on the matter. Maybe I just find it easier to RP compared to others. What of your thoughts?

[Karmac]

Comes down to what individual people want, CM can facilitate RP, but it's not required, therefore you'll usually find those that do are in the minority.

[Diggman88]

That's me there never been good with RP. I can make the witty remark or going with a gag but thinking up stuff is not my strong point. I still try for what it's worth.

[Swagile]

Spontaneous RP is very fun but the conditions for it to appear make it so rare that most of the time I don't see it for weeks on end.

For example, when we got given FOB duty, a fellow combat medic played blackjack with me via the set of cards we had that spawns in Cryo. We ended up having 4-5 players constantly playing throughout the entire round (from Ice Colony West LZ1 FOB, to LZ1 FOB, to Canteen FOB fighting against Marine Prep Xeno Landing). It was quite fun.

[EXOTICISME]

Do you really expect RP from people who:
>Try to overthrow chain of command because one lawbreaker is getting brigged justly.
>Insult other as daily basis
>Have high salt level in blood
>Literaly just here to shot aliens and eat marines, not to communicate in obviusly a community game
>"unga dunga me want attachment"

and the list goes on

[Skycave1]

>Tries to RP.
>Gets stabbed or yelled at.
>Generates salt for doing what the game is meant for.
>Remember that there are Xenos with an already unfair advantage.
>Better off not saying shit, and trying to survive.
>Round resets, and you rinse and repeat.

[McRipfist]

We have a group of players who do most all the talking and "RP" stuff and can be considered the primary characters. Surrounding them are stock characters that are just here for the fighting and it doesn't matter what they say or do as long as it furthers the round progression. The most immersion breaking thing on the server is how some characters look (Neon hair dyes, long hair, massive fucking beards). Aside from that only once and awhile do we have immersion breaking actions that are dealt with by us.

You aren't here to RP as snowflake-y Nano-Trasen employees with trouble pasts and elaborate descriptions, you're here to RP as Vietnam-esque marines in the mood for killing shit and freaking out when the Op goes south. Nothing more is required.

[Kerek]

(Neon hair dyes, long hair, massive fucking beards).

MY BEARD!! Yeah youre not wrong though. I dont mind the beards just the green hair. Irritates me to hell.

[Crab_Spider]

>Tries to RP.
>Gets stabbed or yelled at.
>Generates salt for doing what the game is meant for.
>Remember that there are Xenos with an already unfair advantage.
>Better off not saying shit, and trying to survive.
>Round resets, and you rinse and repeat.

Or do what I do, go into LOOC and address the people involved and while they're typing, give them an ass kicking.

[Enceri]

Honestly, I do lots of RP in Colonial Marines, and thats because I play liaison a lot.

[Bigchilly]

We have a group of players who do most all the talking and "RP" stuff and can be considered the primary characters. Surrounding them are stock characters that are just here for the fighting and it doesn't matter what they say or do as long as it furthers the round progression. The most immersion breaking thing on the server is how some characters look (Neon hair dyes, long hair, massive fucking beards). Aside from that only once and awhile do we have immersion breaking actions that are dealt with by us.

You aren't here to RP as snowflake-y Nano-Trasen employees with trouble pasts and elaborate descriptions, you're here to RP as Vietnam-esque marines in the mood for killing shit and freaking out when the Op goes south. Nothing more is required.

this,

Love seeing floor length hair BO's running around screaming with a wielding pulse rifle, just to see them get beheaded via young runner 696.

OT: People probably only rp during the blandest moments of game because you cant rp awhile holding off things that are gaint, acid for blood, stupidly powerful aliens.

edit: goddammit i salted

[TopHatPenguin]

massive fucking beards

Well fuck.

[Renomaki]

this,

OT: People probably only rp during the blandest moments of game because you cant rp awhile holding off things that are gaint, acid for blood, stupidly powerful aliens.

Pretty much this, really.

It is easy to understand the lack of chatter when shit hits the fan, but during those often underappreciated quiet moments, casual banter really helps to pass the time.

In the real army, no doubt troops who are stationed on guard duty at a location far from the front engage in chatter of some sort. It would get really uncomfortable after awhile if a group of 5 people just stood around silently like robots. Humans, after all, are social creatures, and when they are not being mauled by an alien, they use their free time to strike up conversation with others.

Now, it isn't really GREAT RP, persay. But hey, be it a joke, discussion of current events or even just a question, it helps add to the round more than people just wandering around with their guns out like a crazy shooter on the prowl.

RP doesn't have to be snowflakey paragraphs, and that is the beauty of Med RP. You are welcome to roleplay, but are able to do it at a level that makes you feel comfortable without overwhelming you.

[Martzin]

We have a group of players who do most all the talking and "RP" stuff and can be considered the primary characters. Surrounding them are stock characters that are just here for the fighting and it doesn't matter what they say or do as long as it furthers the round progression. The most immersion breaking thing on the server is how some characters look (Neon hair dyes, long hair, massive fucking beards). Aside from that only once and awhile do we have immersion breaking actions that are dealt with by us.

You aren't here to RP as snowflake-y Nano-Trasen employees with trouble pasts and elaborate descriptions, you're here to RP as Vietnam-esque marines in the mood for killing shit and freaking out when the Op goes south. Nothing more is required.

I take the "primary characters" thing as only being for that of the most prominent people through-out a round, though to each person there's different main characters.

Also fuck people with dyed hair and long beards, just plain stupid and immersion-breaking.

[Casany]

I don't expect others to roleplay, honestly. Many people come here to shoot aliums and win or have fun, and I am absolutely fine with those people. I do try my hardest to roleplay, whether it be quotes from the movie when I aint in the mood or deep conversations with command staff on the rare BO rounds I play. I think the best roleplay is when marines are actually acting like marines. Example:

When a marine see's his friend dragged away by an alium while an attack is going on, and he vocally freaks out during and after like a real human

That is a situation I always roleplay out when it happens. It adds that tiny bit of realism that may not be appriciated instantly but in the long run makes the squad look more like an actual squad. I don't loom for roleplay actively, if I wanted it 24/7 I'd go to another server, but when I do see good roleplay its quite enjoyable and makes the round better.

That's just me though

[Swagile]

I dunno, to me, some of the RP tends to get stale.

Like how many times can you freak out after seeing an alien for "the first time" until it gets redundant?

Its only scary when you put in the passion to be scared / when its actually happened for the first time.

After the 100th round of it being a "first encounter" you tend to lose the flair that got you afraid that first time.

And going outside of the scope of "accepteable" roleplay tends to not happen unless your literally a meme static namer like Bill Carson, who was given wizard powers that let him phase through walls and kill a MP and the Commander (who later got magic powers as well).

So unless your a popular static namer (one of the reasons HG is shit, but thats another topic for later), or you have the grace of an admin for once, doing anything RP wise outside of the usual scope of "first encounter, shoot, be terrified, then more terrified as everyone dies" is not gunna happen most of the time.

Hence why I feel a lot of the roleplay on CM isn't very organic and is more so cookie cutter, hence not very engaging to the more experienced players on the server. Maybe thats just me? Idk.

[TheMaskedMan2]

I don't expect others to roleplay, honestly. Many people come here to shoot aliums and win or have fun, and I am absolutely fine with those people. I do try my hardest to roleplay, whether it be quotes from the movie when I aint in the mood or deep conversations with command staff on the rare BO rounds I play. I think the best roleplay is when marines are actually acting like marines. Example:

When a marine see's his friend dragged away by an alium while an attack is going on, and he vocally freaks out during and after like a real human

That is a situation I always roleplay out when it happens. It adds that tiny bit of realism that may not be appriciated instantly but in the long run makes the squad look more like an actual squad. I don't loom for roleplay actively, if I wanted it 24/7 I'd go to another server, but when I do see good roleplay its quite enjoyable and makes the round better.

That's just me though

Pretty much this, though I try to be more RP heavy than most, but that's just me, you know? My biggest problem is when people don't act their role at all, or comms is filled with memes and "normies" "reeee". That really upsets me. I tend to play in a squad I will just try and have a bit of personality and act like a human, for Sulaco roles it's a lot more RP focused for me, exceptions are downtime as a marine, most marines get impatient and want to run off, me? I honestly can have a hell of a good time sitting in a chair talking to other marines.

Anyways I am rambling but basically if you come to CM to just shoot aliens, that's fine, but please at least act like a human being and not some dope on the internet playing counter strike.