Four steps back to take one step forward

[Kenrath]

So I started to post this in Corvus' most recently weekly report thread and I realized that perhaps it was not the most appropriate place to do so. So instead I am going to do it here in it's own thread.


As the topic says it seems like we are taking four steps back just to try and take one step forward.

So we have a Faction Leader which always brings in a wind of change at least on the surface anyway. I don't know what Taeli has planned for her tenure as Faction Leader. I can only hope We are not facing another debacle like when Kiskla took over for Popo and propose a merger/downgrade. And before you guys grab the rope to string me up I am not bashing Kiskla or anyone just expressing concern during an uncertain time based on past experiences.

If we can let's look at the Senate and this United Front proposal.

On the surface I can respect some of the points being made from an IC perspective. A time of war always brings a little chaos into the fold whether you are winning the war or losing it. However from an OOC perspective it is the most ludicrous thing I have read in a long time. Ok so you want to change the name of the head of the Republic from Prime Minister back to Supreme Chancellor. Ok that point I can agree with as I never understood why it changed to Prime Minister anyway. However it is simply a title and has no bearing on the position itself. More specifically what the character holding it does. At best it is misdirection and serves no common good.

I think the Senate would be best served looking outward towards the future and governing the Republic as a whole and not policing itself through political agendas. And yes I know some of you are saying wait isn't that basically what political types are supposed to do.


Now we come to the Jedi. From an IC perspective while a dangerous idea to exclude them it is based on a concept many have thought of before. Get rid of the Jedi and maybe the Sith leaves the Republic alone. It is a slippery slope but one can see how you got there.

From an OOC point of view it is utter suicide for this faction. I would wager 90% of this faction is Jedi characters. You take away their ability to do semi-meaningful to meaningful RP and we no longer have a faction. I have always been under the impression that this faction is less of a Galactic Republic Faction and more of a Jedi Order Faction that let's NFUs hang around. That point of few based on as long as I have been here Jedi writers have made up most if not all of the Faction staff.


Now we come to the recent Military overall, restructure, or whatever you want to call it. Even though I have partially offer points in this discussion it is largely a complete and total unnecessary waist of time. The military has been restructured at least 4 times that I know of and it has never made a solid impact of Military RP in this faction. It makes no difference what so ever what ranks you use, what units your create, or even what you call them if you can't garner and maintain solid RP for NFU Military. Every time the military has been redone there is a mass uptick in RP that lasts maybe a month and then nothing. It dies down and those writers take there characters to other factions searching for solid activity of a military variety. Then a month or so later somebody goes hey what happened to the military, there is another restructure and the cycle begins anew.



I don't have all the answers and let's face reality what answers I have nobody wants to hear. I am only doing this because I no longer can sit back and watch what happens while saying nothing. So there you have it, KenRath as gone off his rocker again, like all things they are short lived and then they are gone. I am 0 for 4 on GR characters and I just don't have it in me to do this anymore whether IC or OOC. So I guess this is my last will and testament in the world of the Galactic Republic. I am throwing in the towel, and I am done.

 

[Jerek Zenduu]

I'm kinda thinking you may be jumping the gun here. I understand the basis for your concern, and I see what you're saying. But I think you've mostly reasoned yourself out of your own concerns, for all but one.

What to do with the military?

I think our new FL is going to have to think long and hard how to make the Republic a more NFU-friendly faction. Clearly the Republic is always going to have a draw in the Jedi Order for FU types, and there will be some who come for the Senate. But as long as the OS keep wiping the floor with us on the map, I think we're going to keep struggling to maintain a coherent force of military players.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

I don't have all the answers and let's face reality what answers I have nobody wants to hear. I am only doing this because I no longer can sit back and watch what happens while saying nothing. So there you have it, KenRath as gone off his rocker again, like all things they are short lived and then they are gone. I am 0 for 4 on GR characters and I just don't have it in me to do this anymore whether IC or OOC. So I guess this is my last will and testament in the world of the Galactic Republic. I am throwing in the towel, and I am done.

I hesitated to respond to this post, because it is obviously a ploy for attention, and the best thing to do with people who try to gin up attention by saying ridiculous things is to ignore them. But then I got to this paragraph and I couldn't quite let it go.

I don't actually see any answers in your post. I see lots of complaining, and posturing as if you're speaking truth to power, but when it comes down to it, it's only stupid platitudes: "You have to create sustainable RP for NFUs" -- OK, how? If it's not been done correctly until now, how do you change it? What do you want to try? "The Senate should look outward" -- OK, how? At what? What proposals do you have?

This is poo-flinging and sour grapes at its worst. If this is the most you can contribute for how to improve the faction, it's no wonder you're 0 for 4.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

The funny thing is that, since becoming an FA, I spent less time on the Jedi Order both because I had less time frankly and because I wanted to ensure it didn't feel like the Faction was being run by Jedi, for Jedi.

So in a week or so I'll be devoting more time to TJO. So expect more Jedi activity, not less. Is that a good thing? Only the other members can decide.

 

[Kenrath]

[member="Aurelia Volcata"]

It is very easy to reduce another's point of view as attention seeking, grandstanding, poo-flinging or any other adjective you want when that point of view does not compliment your own.

I could spend the next 2 hours digging through every thread and PM I have ever written participating in ever discussion I have been part of since I created my first GR character, a fleeter, almost a year ago. I can dig up every thread I have ever created public and private too illustrate exactly what I am trying to say, what I have attempted to do, or recommended to others to resolve any issues I may perceive myself or have been present by others.

I won't because it would be a waist of my time to post them and a waist of your time in not reading them any way. I have offered up suggestions even at times going into great detail to representative characters of all three subgroups of this faction Jedi, Politician, and Military both in the past and recently. Just because you were not part of those discussion does not disprove their existence.

You don't have to agree with me, heck you don't even have to respect my point of view. Those are two things I have never asked from anyone. Nor do I intend to ask that now.

You are perfectly free to demonize me for putting voice to my thoughts just like so many others have. It doesn't bother me in the least. A week from now if it even takes that long people will have forgotten this thread ever existed or what was contained within it.


[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Even as I typed out all of that perhaps it is best if you just delete this thread so we can all move on as if it never existed.

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Spoiler

*checks list*
Tried to say he needs more power? - No.
Started BS in a different thread only to come here when he didn't get his way? - Nope.
Claims everyone else is toxic? Noperooski.

*senses a legitimate concern for GR and not just another queen thread*

[member="Aurelia Volcata"] [member="Shamus Walker"]

Let's not cast blame or call each other out. We shouldn't be afraid to have a voice and we shouldn't feel the need to jump each other when there is a difference of opinion. We're all here for one common goal.

As for the stuff about the senate kicking the jedi out of the club house Idk. I haven't been paying attention to that.

As a writer of a pilot I can testify for the random burst of activity in the military. I desperately want to rp him but the other pilots seem to drop off the edge of the galaxy when a thread starts. What can we do? Start fun threads and objectives? Yeah that was kinda done and then activity plummeted... >.>

The worst thing to do (and I was almost guilty of doing it) would be to go else where. I can get wanting to go in search of rp (I wanted to...) but in order to keep NFU's active we have to keep our NFU's visibly active. (sorry if confusing)

I get the feeling some might see GR as FU vs NFU at times. No not at all. We're all in this together. I honestly think the best thing to do would be to search each other out for threads. This goes for both NFU AND FU. (Currently rping with the jedi ace above) Nothing says a soldier and a jedi can't go on the same mission. Nothing says you are exempt from playing body guard for a senator. It's all great looking at the military and other jedi for rps but that's not the only place to look.

 

[Tyl Ro]

One of the best ways to demonstrate being active is actually posting in the ooc! I know we've been crazy busy with the back to back Invasions but the GR boards especially these last two weeks have seemed incredibly empty. I know quite well that there are a ton of talks going on behind the scenes too, but not everyone is privy to that, and as a result, some of the people who would be rping aren't because they simply don't see the necessary activity for them to get interested.

Some factions solve this by having a faction-wise skype chat. I think it has been very well proven that those do more harm than good, but at the very least there is an avenue for constant interaction. If we don't interact on a regular basis, activity falls, rp falls through, and so on.

That is my suggestion for now.

 

[Jerek Zenduu]

I desperately want to rp him but the other pilots seem to drop off the edge of the galaxy when a thread starts.

Where's my Lugus reply, then? Huh? Huh?

 

[Uri Aureleos]

[member="Jerek Zenduu"]

Shhhhhhhh.... >.>

I'm making a calendar (so lame escuse but so true). I shall get you your post I promise.

 

[Jerek Zenduu]

[member="Jerek Zenduu"]

Shhhhhhhh.... >.>

I'm making a calendar (so lame escuse but so true). I shall get you your post I promise.

It's so lame, it's gonna need a prosthetic!

 

[Popo]

I think I've been out of the Republic stuff for long enough to kind of give a third person opinion on things and a more or less unbiased statement on what I was trying to do when I was leading the Republic in the past. Maybe I can help out or shed light or give inspiration or... iunno, at least make sense of the clusterkark that the place used to be lol


The Senate

Eh, I tried to set the Senate up to guide and lead the faction. Did it work? Not quite, but it did allow the Senate more freedom to be used as an area of free speech and to allow the faction members as a whole to determine the fate of the faction. Had its problems, but the goal was worth the risk in my opinion at the time I was leading things. I'm out of the loop for the faction as a whole currently, but, let's be honest, in the case of political agendas there will always be someone pushing one whether for IC or OOC reasons.

TL;DR - I tried to give more freedom to the faction to guide itself through the Senate. Didn't work as well as I thought, but I figured it was at least worth a try.


The Jedi

Kiskla's ideas and concepts were actually, as I remember it (and I could be drastically off. It was a while ago), put together over time with influences and help from others like myself and previous Republic staff. The idea was to do something like the US's separation of Church and State to encourage the growth of NFUs in the faction, facilitate a more open military structure that NFUs could place themselves into, and place the Jedi into a more freeform role outside of the rigidity of the Republic's structure. It kind of worked, but ultimately failed. Why? Not sure. My personal opinion? I think some folks just like the idea of a commanding troops with a Jedi and feeling important. That's just me, though

TL;DR - It was an attempt to make the Jedi more versatile and flexible while encouraging NFUs and non-Jedi FUs to step up and contribute more openly. Didn't work as planned, however.


The Military

I'll be honest, didn't do a whole lot here when I was FL/SC. The idea was that once the Jedi were separated from the State function side of the Republic, that the military would flesh out as folks filled in. A new rank system was put in place and new materials tossed in along with weapons and ships and armor. None of it really took off, though. Not fully sure why, but in my opinion from what I've seen as a FL of the Republic, FL of minor factions here and there in the past and present, and a Factory Judge... people like their own shiny stuff. It's not that they don't value someone else's work or ideas, just that they want to make it their own. Their own weapons or armor or ships or military unit. Something they can use that only they made that they can take with them from faction to faction.

Looking back, perhaps the idea of making military units based on canon or non-canon sources could be beneficial, though some have been tried. Rogue Squadron and Havoc Squad were attempted in the past. SJO runs the Antarian Rangers. A couple of faction specific units could work out, but then it comes down to who leads them. It sounds very simple, but it's really complex. Its one of the reasons why I like to write my Mandos when it comes to military stuff. It's very decentralized compared to factions with standing armies and allows greater freedoms. Maybe a concept could be attempted where sections of Republic space have their own militias or that folks who want to form a sort of personal militia for a planet or sector can sign up to make one? 'Tis a thought, maybe not a great one, but a thought nonetheless.

TL;DR - ... Yeah, no real way to summarize that effectively lol Sorry.


In the end, though, do what's fun. Fun for you, fun for your story line, fun for your character. Just do the fun thing. I used to get so bent out of shape over losing planets or fights or having people swap sides and such. Nowadays, I realize its just how the story goes. Sometimes that sort of stuff just makes sense, sometimes you just gotta roll with it. Get too worked up over it, take things too seriously, and you burn out. So... probably my advice over all of the ideas and concepts and things that could be put forward is that the Fun Factor should take precedence over everything else. You lose that, you lose a lot of what it means to have a good time in RPing.

Just my two bits.

 

[Thelma]

[member="Shamus Walker"] okay what are you after from the republic, I am only part time character. I also more interested in my main Sabrina, who you know.
As I did not see a whine as some of others put it, but same time the new leader is new, so give her a chance.
As for [member="Popo"], to be honest he was up against it, the os just got there momentum going when he was in charge. He also came very close to beating us.
As for the os, if your going to ever beat them, then your going have to make whole sail change to your tactics.
I think this is what shamus means

First off all your going have to be happy with idea, that I keep telling [member="Kian Karr"] duels skirmish are for fairness invasions well, all fair in love and war.

Secondly you are the most numerous faction for characters, so how come they all ways seem to out number you. In last invasion Harley, could not get a tag for one on one fight. So start trying to get your characters to actually fight, rather than just be senators and politicians, be more like leia and padme.

Third think about the weapons you bring to fight, and think of how best use them. You have weapons you have tech, plan how best use them in a fight. If does not work, make thread in ooc, and work out why. So you can learn from the mistakes, this what we did in the one sith. We found ourselves against the mandos, first thing we did, was ask how do we by pass that impenetrable armour of theirs. Answer was we don't we beat the man up inside, by throwing things at them, guns that where designed for a concussive blast.
Forth when you have duels, analyzes it work out what you done better, have others critique it. Then learn form it.

Fifth do not be afraid to do a dirty move in pvp, and go straight for the jugular.
this is done by reading the character bio
working out what ic weakness should be
also working out what there ic strength should be
and knowing what you should know
then attack his strength
and break the weakness

Sorry if my last drunk post caused offence, and if this one does.

I do want you to win in the end, but until you learn to fight even if it means fighting an out numbered opponent, otherwise you will lose in the end.
Also if I where the leader of this faction, I would buy force breaking tech form the mandos, and see what you can get from know defunct omega protectorate. As they where the hardest to fight, not you guys.