Willy
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Post by Willy on Mar 8, 2012 3:03:58 GMT -5
Alright. Anyone who has been around DN2 for a while has noticed that individual character threads don't tend to be directly driven by the overall plot of the site, for various reasons. More often than not, they get some indirect influence, usually in the form of the Dimensional Guard or something. Now, it isn't accurate to say that no advancement to the overall plot was ever made. Plenty of advancements have been made. But, about 99% of them have been erased by peoples comings and goings, as well as the fact that this site has had 3 different homes over the years.
In the last site, an attempt to push the plot forward was made. 17 plot threads designed to place the Odd Diamonds in known locations all over DN2 were made. Only a select few ever started up, and of these, I don't recall any that got past the first page of posts.
I don't want to go into an analysis of what may have gone wrong. A lot of things were happening at the time. People had school and other real life things. And of what was left, there weren't enough of us to populate even half of those 17 threads. In theory it was a good plan. In practice, it didn't go so well.
But, why not try again? This is as good a time as any to give it a shot as far as I can see.
What I'm suggesting is ONE thread. One thread in which characters that would like to seek the Diamonds, are given the means to locate and obtain the diamonds. Now, obviously we can't just have some character be like "Oh yeah. I saw an Odd Diamond over there a ways." That would be silly. No. I have a couple of ideas in mind, but I would like to hear what other people think first.
For the possibility of overpopulation, each person will be limited to 2 characters. At least at first. Perhaps as the roleplay goes on, we can add others.
These characters can be new or old. Doesn't matter. As long as they've been accepted, they're good to join the thread.
If someone is unable to post for a period of time, the roleplay may continue as if the person was no longer there. As if they poofed both out of existence and memory. Who knows. Perhaps we'll make it a plot device if it happens enough.
By the same token, if someone wants to rejoin the group (or join it for the first time) they may simply enter as if they've been traveling with the group the whole time if they wish. Though, for newcomers, it might be best if they introduced themselves, but it would be a shame to make this thread too difficult to join. It would be hard to explain how you met up with the group in some abandoned ruins or something, and we could end up in a place like that for a while for all we know.
Also... the Mods can and will rotate. Especially if one of us suddenly falls off of the face of the earth. Other mods will be encouraged to take over without hesitation if necessary. Perhaps at times, the group will go back and forth with posts daily. Perhaps at other times, you may post once or twice a week. But-
“It doesn’t matter how slowly you go-so long as you do not stop.”-Confucius
As for the plot, I have thought of a couple possibilities. Obviously, the group meets in one of the fields. Either by chance or possibly because of some message sent out by an NPC. Digi and I had talked about a sort of family of characters that dealt in artifacts with strange powers. Perhaps we could use them in this thread. Perhaps there are other entities that know a good deal about the Diamonds.
I'm not sure. Either way. Point being, there are ways to do it without getting all sidetracked by shiny things, or making it boring by simply going from one diamond to the next.
In any case, if you're interested, please reply to this post with the following.
Are you interested? Yes or no? Character(s) you think you might use: Any issues with the way the group will work (i.e. simply poofing characters in and out of existence): Questions, concerns, comments, complaints, remarks?:
Please keep in mind I have posted this at 2 AM my time, so I'm likely forgetting things. I will likely remember them later, edit them in, and also post them somewhere below. If there's a big gap in my thinking somewhere in here, that's why.
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Post by Aura Fox on Mar 8, 2012 17:21:35 GMT -5
I don't know if this is what you're referring to, but what about that one CP we had with the legion of pokemon that basically wanted all the humans dead? I really enjoyed that idea and think it'd be perfect for an official plot thread. Perhaps the Odd Diamonds would pretty much be the only way for the humans to overcome the legion's god-like leader.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Mar 8, 2012 17:30:45 GMT -5
I'm not really sure if we can gather enough interest to support such an idea.
The way things are going right now, we'd only be able to get 3-4 regular posters in on it, and half (if not all) of those would be mods anyway.
IMO we should probably wait for summer or whenever we get a few more active members and motivation.
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Mar 8, 2012 18:36:03 GMT -5
@blah-Well, that's why I posted it now. I kinda wanted to see how much interest this would get within a week, and go from there. Though to be honest, Blah, I don't think our activity levels ever went UP during the summer. If this is something we don't start for a month because we want to make sure we do it correctly, I'm fine with that. But let's not lie here: Waiting for more people never got us anywhere. If more people come, then they come, and I've made plans to accommodate that. If the 'plot thread' becomes 'plot threads' then that's not really a big deal. If we never gain a single person, and in fact the roleplay ends up shrinking to myself and one other person, then I'm fine with that too. This isn't a 'big project'. But it isn't a 'small project' either. It's kind of just a 'project-the-size-and-scale-of-which-do-not-have-any-bearing-on-the-ideal-finished-product'. We don't need a lot of people. We just need at least 2. We're willing to take... well... I doubt we'll get too many. I'll put it that way. Also, the "most of the people involved would be mods" issue is really a thing that doesn't matter when you decide not to worry about that. When someone mods your thread or any other mods thread, suddenly the thread is pretty dang full of mods and nothing else. Me and Digi went back and forth modding one of our threads for a while. We actually enjoyed it quite a bit. The thread didn't die because we ran out of steam. It kinda stopped with the rest of the site. That being said, perhaps it would be better if we ended up with a small thread with a majority of mods. Sure, it's experimental, but it's better than nothing. ------ Aura Fox- I remember the legion idea, and it's not something that's been thrown out, but the Odd Diamonds have always been hinted to cause direct conflict with the Creator, and possibly serving as a way to open some gateway to wherever it is that the Creator happens to be, or something like that. This would also likely serve as a way to get home seeing as the Creator kinda sucked you into this world, so surely he has some way to get you out of it. Or perhaps other characters have different reasons for trying to stir up trouble with the creator. Not saying said legion wouldn't be involved, but I certainly wouldn't place them as the point for an overall plot. The overall plot is the same as it's always been. I'm simply asking what is it that would cause a group of Humans to gather and then go after the Diamonds. I'm asking because I don't want to end up in that situation where we get sidetracked because we use some kind of plot where there would be characters that would be like "Meh. Odd Diamonds. Big deal. Let's not do that. I hate people. Bluh bluh." Sorry. Again. 2AM. Things not really clear.
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Soaring Spirit
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Post by Soaring Spirit on Mar 8, 2012 20:39:36 GMT -5
I know a site I could advertise this one on if that would help get more active members. As for the "legion" idea, I kinda like it. perhaps once the leader of the legion, the creator would call the humans to it? I think it could work and it seems pretty interesting.
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Mar 8, 2012 22:49:25 GMT -5
Right... like I said. I don't think the legion (I actually think it was more like... 20 characters that were pretty dang powerful... I don't remember what they were labeled) ever got thrown out. However, I don't have any information on them. They were created JUUUUST before I became a staff member, and even then, I think that might have been something that Blah and Digi made up at some point (among other people, I'm sure). All things considered, this thread is intended to have plenty of mods. Wherever the roleplay ends up actually going after the initial burst of plot is kind of up to whoever is driving at the time plus probably small agreements made among staff members. Probably.
The plot already exists. It has for years now. Personally, I don't mind the input on what people feel is interesting and what isn't as far as what might be used and all that. It's a very interesting discussion. However...
This wasn't really what I was intending this thread to be about at all. I was much more interested in which characters would be likely to be joining the thread, and if the overall mechanics of how the thread would work were fine. As far as simply being able to poof out of existence and right back in. Do people have issues with that? Do people have any better ideas as far as ways to make sure the thread doesn't die just because one person isn't able to post for an extended period of time? And heck, why don't we even talk about a good date to actually start this thread, seeing as it might be an issue. Like I said, I will be gone next week. I wasn't planning on starting this at least until the 12th anyway. Do we want to wait a month? Do we want to wait until we have at least 8 characters? Maybe 12? Maybe we want to use 2 threads of characters? Do we feel any of that would be more likely to make it interesting?
Plot is only a small part of what is going to make this work. And, believe it or not, it is quite possibly the least pressing one. I will give you it's the most interesting one, and I won't deter any further discussion of things people might like to see in the plot, but I need some of these other questions answered too.
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Post by Aura Fox on Mar 8, 2012 23:09:48 GMT -5
We could maybe create a new legion if nobody has the information anymore. All I remember is the Deoxis that was the leader. I really liked the idea of his ability to fuse with objects and to essentially turn invisible.
As for characters, I'll probably bring in Daimen and Spark. I don't really care about a specific date, but I think maybe we should have individual plot threads for each character? That way, we could have one thread for simple exploration and another for the actual plot. How does that sound?
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Soaring Spirit
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Post by Soaring Spirit on Mar 8, 2012 23:21:29 GMT -5
I'll put Janice in. If the characters get the chance to return to their home world in the end, she'd be faced with a very difficult decision.
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Mar 8, 2012 23:22:53 GMT -5
We already have individual plot threads. They're the ones your characters already have. This is to discuss a group thread that will be actively pursuing the plot. If you want to pursue the plot more directly in your own thread, discuss it with the mod.
That doesn't mean the group won't divide into more than one group at times, but we don't need more individual threads. Been there. Done that. Not going to make the mods want to jump off a cliff, updating far too many threads for a simple idea gone awry. Too many threads was the problem last time. I'm thinking this time that simplicity is key.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Mar 8, 2012 23:31:47 GMT -5
Meh you're right, this is the same argument that has been tried for literally years and with the same results. If there's a will, there's a way, right?
Though getting a few more active folks here and there couldn't hurt. If you want to advertise, go ahead. I'm not stopping you :L. I'd do it myself but advertising is one of the big things I seem to be inept at.
I don't quite remember that "legion" idea though, would someone care to enlighten me and future readers? And to be honest, I can barely remember DN2's original plot either (but of course, I'm no stranger to improv).
In the end, I'm more than willing to start up a thread, even if it doesn't get a lot of attention right away or it takes a while to move along. Willy's Confucius quote fits perfectly. I'll try to come up with a quick open-ended starting plot before too long so we can get this gravy-train a rollin'!
Now, for those of you a little confused - any of your characters can participate in a plot thread, and it will run parallel to any other threads you currently have. If you acquire power or an item in one thread, you will immediately be able to use it in the other. Think of it like an alternate timeline between which one soul/body is shared with your alternate selves.
In the meantime, you may discuss where you want the first thread to take place. It would help me greatly to have a starting point, and an idea of the group of characters I'll have in mind while writing the plot.
EDIT: It's easy to get ninja'd when you're distracted easily. That is to say, I began typing up a post a while ago, before half of this thread as it is now existed. Some of what I said might be obsolete, but I'll work on that later after I finish up something unrelated.
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Post by Aura Fox on Mar 8, 2012 23:38:19 GMT -5
The Legion is basically that one chaotic chatplay we all had that we never really finished in the TP where everyone met outside some village and where attacked by several members of the legion. Soon after there was that one really powerful pokemon (I think it was an Alakazam, but I'm not sure) that all the characters ended up being forced to run from and Sora stayed near him for a reason that I can't quite remember (Although, with Sora, I wouldn't be surprised if it was just unwillingness to flee)
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Post by Wombat on Mar 8, 2012 23:49:35 GMT -5
I like this idea quite a lot~ :3 I do feel that it could work quite well. I'd certainly volunteer to be a mod, since I've had experience with such in the past and I'm now in the lovely latter half of my senior year (more free time in other words) so I think I might be able to be more active. As for the poofing in and out of existance... hey this is DN2. Stranger things have happened, right? I think it's fine. Just go with the flow, everything is a lot smoother and therefore more fun. Less moving parts and all that. And characters... Definitely gotta throw poor li'l Tanen into the mix here, and probably either Alora or Lee depending on how I feel. Poor Alora keeps getting upstaged by Lee in my mind nowadays. o3o Aaaand, quick other question... If these characters were adventuring in DN2 previously, will they keep stuff like Power and (in Tanen's case) Forms, or will they just start fresh? ANYWAY. Quite like it. AWESOMESAUCE. I say go for it, and what's the worst that happens? It's inactive? The best that happens is that it thrives and is awesome, and I haven't had a nice roleplay in a while so I see no cons to this plan, just pros. And I've always been curious about how the plot would go if a character managed to make it all the way through.
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Mar 9, 2012 0:29:06 GMT -5
Oh... Blah wants to start the thread? Uh... alright. ^_^
Anyway, I will probably use Doug. If we get to the point where we need to cross a body of water and we don't have any character that can surf, I'll drag Bill in. He had a Wailmer form that I never allocated. And maybe by that point I can drag Sam in too if it would be appropriate. But for now, just Doug.
And Wombat, we did move our characters from the second iteration of the site. I think yours might still be around here somewhere, I'm not sure.
Digi would probably be the best person to ask about the legion. I think he probably had a list, but if not, we can always make them anew if they become a thing that needs making. Might be best to make new ones if no-one remembers them anyway. That is, if we use them.
In any case, like I said I have a few ideas for the plot, Blah, if you're having trouble with it.
As far as the starting point goes, pick a field, any field. That's my vote. Perhaps we could start with Daetus.
EDIT: Nope... Wombats characters never got moved. Q_Q
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Post by Aura Fox on Mar 9, 2012 0:41:00 GMT -5
I think it might be a good idea to start in Tunican so that we might be able to include Dr. Porygon. Then again, Dr. P's lab would probably be a bit too much of a distraction.
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Post by Digizel on Mar 9, 2012 15:15:27 GMT -5
Aura Fox: No, the Legion was NOT simply that Chatplay. It was a LOT bigger than that. In short, this Legion was a small group of 10 extremely overpowered Pokemon that were completely loyal to the Creator. If the Dimensional Guard is the Creator's sword, then the Legion was the Creator's almighty shield. They are pretty much his greatest line of defense as they are the most powerful Pokemon in the entire Dimension, second only to the Creator himself. And each one was individually hand-picked by him as well. The leader of the Dimensional Guard may very well be the only Pokemon on a level playing field with the Legion, and is probably level with the Deoxys in terms of rank in the Creator's army. Also, I dunno about starting in Tunican. I mean, perhaps a character can point out Dr. Porygon's lab (as Tanen, Jennifer, Sora AND Jet have all been there, among others) but I think it would be better if they find a Diamond first, then somebody brings up the Lab. So perhaps another Continent instead. I'm all for Daetus, simply because it comes first in "DN2" xD Wombat: I don't think your characters were ever moved over from the second site. However, profiles should still be on the original DN2 website. And I belive I can remember a bit about Tanen's most recent statistics. But there's no way I can remember his items. xD As for everybody else, I don't quite remember them at all, so...yeah. xD @willeh: I'm quite fine with them just poofing out of existence. In fact, this is how I've always dealt with the problem. It's fast, it's easy to do and understand, and easy to remedy if the character comes back. As for characters I will be using, if Tanen and Doug are there, certainly Jet must be there. And just to make this situation socially more interesting, I would naturally throw Haru into the mix. xP All in all, I like this idea. However, what if we had two different threads, and you couldn't use the same characters between the two threads? They would start on a different continent entirely, and thus have a different adventure. Whether the two threads would be running together or not would be up for debate. I simply believe that this way, people with multiple characters could actually get some use out of them. Secondly, people with only 2 characters wouldn't be forced to put both of them in one thread together. Finally, people with only one character could choose which set of characters would be more interesting for them to join. I'm well aware of some of the negatives this idea could get, so I'm willing to just put it down if few people think it's a good idea.
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Mar 9, 2012 20:35:20 GMT -5
See, I like the idea of having a second thread. I really do. But perhaps it's something we should wait to start. We can start this thread now, and if down the line we get a large influx of people wanting to get involved with the plot thread, but don't really feel comfortable with just poofing in, or feel that this thread is already overcrowded, we can then start the new thread. Not to mention if this thread gets to big, we can always split the team up.
And yeah... to be honest, I think starting with Daetus would be best. The other two have areas that can be much harder to travel in for certain pokemon... Like mountains, and the bog... Stuff like that. Daetus areas seem to be more neutral... ish...
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Soaring Spirit
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Thank Jessie473 on DA for the Avatar! (Although I might get an actual Icon sometime.)
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Post by Soaring Spirit on Mar 9, 2012 23:52:37 GMT -5
Well, nevermind about that advertisement. Apparently that site doesn't have an advertising board. Sorry!
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Mar 10, 2012 18:12:46 GMT -5
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Mar 15, 2012 22:52:14 GMT -5
Don't everyone jump in at once. >_>
Heh, actually, I'm still on tour, so I really don't care how slowly this starts. Though the longer it waits, the more nervous I get about this thread. :/
Perhaps after reading the first post some people are starting to wonder how they'll get into the thread? If you are, there's no harm in saying so. We need to make sure we're getting people involved from the get go. Not saying we can be too picky, but if people have some legitimate issues, perhaps they're something we can work to resolve?
Or maybe there isn't an issue and it's just taking a little while for people to reintroduce themselves? What's up?
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Post by Aura Fox on Mar 16, 2012 0:56:51 GMT -5
I just don't think it fits my character's personality to join a group of explorers for wealth and fame.
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