#but there's only maybe 1-3 sections where those dungeons are mandatory. and they take maybe 1-4 hours each (a lot nicer than again ff7

[mejomonster]

truly shocking how good the yakuza games Can be. i mean, of course a game can be good. but when i’ve played games like dragon age inquisition that wasted 60 hours on meaningless fetch quests without even the reward of interesting story, games like yakuza like a dragon where i’ve spent 50 hours and the entire time doing only stuff i wanted to do and enjoyed? fucking incredible

i don’t want a long game if it’s going to waste my time with things not designed to be fun for the players sake. story is nice to me, so the quests of Nier Automata and Nier Replicant were generally a fucking delight, because even if sometimes they were just fetch quests, you got regular story from them and it was interesting story (not to mention the Nier games reward you with Weapon Stories if you’re just spending time grinding to upgrade weapons, so even that potentially dull task has an interesting benefit besides just a stronger weapon). minigames i personally Enjoy Playing are enjoyable to me, so when Spyro has me do a bunch of minigames its not a waste because they’re Fun. when yakuza offers minigames, they’re nearly ALL optional, and i spend hours on them because they’re just personally Fun to me (and they often do reward with Story at certain milestones which is an additional fun part for me ToT).

i’m just so beyond irritated with games that tote 40+ hours of gameplay (or god forbid 100) but most of those hours aren’t gameplay you’d want to fucking do. either make the game 20 hours of genuinely good fun stuff to do, or make the other ‘added’ hours of gameplay optional so people who’d rather not do 60 hours of harvesting/collecting things can at least ignore that portion. (yes this is also about FFVII Remake’s 10 hour long Reactor dungeons, which was to me the biggest flaw of the Remake I couldn’t manage to overlook... some other changes were A Choice sure, but the Reactors that took 15 minutes to 2 hours at a stretch in the original, took 7-10 hours in the Remake, with nothing happening during them additional but just more grinding battle after battle. it felt like a way to pad play time. i’d have preferred a 20 hour tight game with fun interesting things happening every 1/2 hour at least, over a game padded with a lot of 5 hour chunks of nothing but grinding. I get it... the makers spent Forever on VII Remake... so they didn’t want to show they’d wasted all those years on only 20 hours and the first 1/3 of the game lol. But i’d have preferred 20 hours of a really solid Remake. i get why they made the decision though. it just makes me really Not want to replay the Remake part 1, despite all of the other parts i genuinely loved and liked. At least when i replay the original FF VII I don’t ever feel like its wasting my time. And yes I klnow long hours spent grinding is a pet peeve of mine specifically, and it is perfectly neutral or enjoyable to plenty of others - which is why a lot of people like FF13 fine whereas i quit every time i hit the required 10 hour grind section, and the reason people enjoy many a jrpgs that Are 100 hours of gameplay with a significant portion of grinding, that i’ve mostly never played cause the jrpgs i like tend to be paced more on the ‘if you do no grinding and only the battles you run into on the core path, you’ll generally always be leveled up enough’.)

back to my point. Yakuza Like a Dragon really is a well made game. At least so far, as of chapter 11. Its paced fairly well, its got a story you can follow tightly, with a lot of room to fuck off and do whatever side stories or mini games you enjoy if you want a break from the crime drama Angst story/cutscenes, its really nicely thought out AS a turn base job classes rpg game (I was really happily surprised all the goofing off i do bonding with my party members and playing side quests and minigames actually affects my job classes and what Ichiban can do in other parts of the game - meaning i get a reward for the UFO catcher besides a cute plushie lol, unlike previous games). I love that while it’s clearly designed after Dragon Quest, I can see how the designers thought out how an rpg concept would work FULLY integrated into what a yakuza game IS. They could have easily placed a turn base rpg fight system on top of the existing Yakuza game structure, instead they integrated the minigames and side stories and how bosses Work and how friendships work. I also see a lot of references to other games besides Dragon Quest - Dragon Cart feels like a blatant rip off of Crash Team Racing (one of my fave games ever - or maybe they meant to rip off Mario Cart which is conceptually the same), but i love that in my Yakuza game I can go play one of my favorite Racing games lol! And I love that the racers you compete against come with their own funny little side story the same way the Cabaret Girls game in Yakuza 0 did. I love how the bonding with party members is a lot like how you romanced/befriended cabaret girls in prior games, but being friendship focused it provides a permanent sort of feeling to the bond story deepening - since they’re constantly in your party commenting, and warmer in future cutscenes, and constantly in the game (unlike the cabaret girl sidestories in prior games). i like that because the bond stories are all treated equally, i didn’t have to worry the yakuza writers would make weaker stories for the girls (which generally didn’t happen in cabaret girl stories, but did tend to happen with some lead women in Yakuza games especially in Yakuza 1 and 2 who’s stories got a weaker written once romantically/closely tied to Kiryu). Since they’re all written fairly equally in terms of quality, Saeko’s story feels as solid as Adachi’s, etc, and I appreciate the quality improvement (and I appreciate the way the cabaret girls dating sim got combined into the party mechanic and jobs/level up system). Even the Corporation side story, which is 1 optional if you want it to be, and 2 if you enjoy it like you enjoyed Yakuza 0 Kiryu’s business venture game, then they did a pretty good job of making the Stockholder meetings work a lot like the Turn Based regular combat system, again making the element from another game feel more integrated into THIS Yakuza game specifically). I just... fucking love how much work was put into designing this Yakuza Like a Dragon game so that all the game design elements interweave so well. On top of that, it’s of course got the usual Yakuza game balance of mandatory angst crime drama fight story, and lots of optional side story content and minigame content that is up to you if you want to play and how much (except now these side elements will benefit you a bit more in the main-story portions in some ways if you choose to do some of them - like the party member bonding). 

[noblecrumpet-dorkvision]

Dungeon Narrative Checklist

Partly for myself but also for you guys, here's a list of 15 questions to ask while you are designing a dungeon.

Narrative Impact

1) How does the dungeon impact the campaign narrative?

As the players make progress in the dungeon, what new information do they learn about the overarching story? Will this dungeon lead them to the next one somehow?

2) What is the players' agency for going through the dungeon?

What reason do the players have to enter the dungeon other than XP and loot? What are the stakes and how important are they?

3) What moral questions are brought up in the dungeon?

How will the dungeon affect the players themselves? What choices must they make in order to succeed? Will the players be changed by these choices?

4) How are expectations subverted in the dungeon?

What makes dungeons exciting is turning things on their head. Whether it's what you normally expect a certain creature to do or look like or where you expect traps to be placed, changing it can make the dungeon memorable, fun, and challenging for the players.

History of the Dungeon

5) Why was the dungeon created?

Who built the dungeon? Was it a fortress? Temple? Prison? Mine? What groups originally inhabited it? No one (except maybe Acererak) makes a dungeon for just giggles. It either serves defensive, offensive, religious, residential, or commercial use. Maybe the reason isn't immediately apparent from its complexity.

6) How is the dungeon being used now?

Part of what makes a good dungeon is the passage of time. How are its latest inhabitants using it? Maybe a castle is being mined for materials, or maybe a mine has been turned into a defensive castle. Keep in mind the original purpose of the dungeon and reflect upon that. Both purposes should be obvious to the players after some time in the dungeon.

7) What rumors have spread about the dungeon? How did they spread?

Players need a way to be drawn to the dungeon, and this happens through rumors. How has the dungeon's presence affected nearby areas? What creatures are known to inhabit it? What treasures were lost inside? What evils must be slain within? Furthermore, think about how rumors get out. Did some adventuring parties fail before you? Did something escape the dungeon?

Dungeon Denizens

8) What cultures exist in the dungeon?

Who or what lives in the dungeon and how do they cope with their environment? Do they have a structured society? Do they practice a religion? What art items do they create? What are they famous/infamous for?

9) What factions exist in the dungeon and what motives do they have?

Do those that live in the dungeon interact with each other? How do they get along? Why do they or don't they get along? Some groups might not be on good terms with others, which can let the players take sides. A good example is the Sunless Citadel where the kobolds and goblins are enemies in the same dungeon.

10) What is day-to-day life like in the dungeon?

On a daily basis, what do its inhabitants do? Do the orcs have a patrol route? When do the kobolds reset traps? What time of day does the basilisk search for food? You don't have to go into great detail, but it will help you when figuring out how the players meet the denizens. Except for maybe undead/oozes/plants, monsters don't tend to sit in a room and wait for intruders. They have better things to be doing!

Dungeon Design

11) What is the story arc of the dungeon?

What is the beginning, middle, climax, and resolution of your dungeon? How does the dungeon change as the players progress? Things that change could include the environment, terrain, creatures, setting, or mood. Even the players and their goals can change midway through a dungeon. Maybe the dungeon denizens that were initially friendly hide an unforgivable evil in the dungeon. Now the players have to stop their initial allies.

12) What are the story beats of the dungeon?

Break down the individual story elements into one-sentence beats. Make sure they vary in drama, intensity, comedy, and length. In a dungeon setting, an easy way to do this is with the dungeon's rooms. You can control everything the players encounter when separated into sections like that. And never underestimate the importance of empty rooms.

13) What is the expected path for the players to take?

How do you expect your players to traverse the dungeon? Where do they enter and exit? Which rooms do you believe they will investigate first? If you know their path, you can create more interesting encounters through a controlled setting. That being said, make multiple paths to get around the dungeon. Let some be secret and some out in the open. Let players thoroughly explore the space. But manufacture important story moments at "funnels" in the dungeon map where the player can only come from one direction.

14) Which rooms are optional and which are mandatory?

Players don't have to explore every room or find every secret, but reward them with promising loot (potentially guarded by unique threats) if they do explore them. Know which rooms are absolutely necessary for completion or progression and make those rooms enticing to help ensure the players explore them.

15) Is each room and encounter unique?

Make sure the players have a decent variety of enemies to fight, or at least something that makes each fight unique. Equip similar enemies with different weapons, make one into a spellcaster, or include an environmental feature. Alter the shapes of rooms and pathways to add variety. Give each room a unique purpose, when applicable. The only times I might make rooms look the same is for dormitories or cells, in which case I would treat an entire hall as a "room."

[coruscantholonet]

Survey Results Part 3 : The Negatives

Been dreading this section! The question was “ Would like to hear what you feel could use improvement? Please be constructive! “

My comments will be in bold.  Identifying comments may have those portions redacted.

Combat System Related

“The combat system is tremendously complicated to configure and use. You have to make templates to guide the new players or they will not attract you. In my case I have decided not to use it, it requires too much time and there are faster options that favor roleplay “

The template suggestion is a good idea.  This is one of the easier to learn systems we’ve used over the years though, if anyone has any trouble configuring it feel free to poke any online staff board or ask in the Discord, we’re here to help! 

“ LRS needs to be balanced, going all points offense is just too much of an advantage “

We’re constantly testing and considering options,will look into this further!

“ Everything. Meter being #1 on at the moment. “

Sorry you feel that way! We do have meter as a “needs improvement”, and high priority in that category.

“ Less complicated systems not everyone is waaaaayy into the Dungeons and Dragons Aspect. i myself am from a era in SWRP where everything was Combat Meter. People will debate that combat meter is not rp and they are right from a certain point of view. However before we attacked someone or another group we extensively rped out the scenario these days its all DICE MATH DICE MATH i am horrible at math i come to SL to relax and just play out my character with the occasional battle here and there. Now i am aware thats all the current generation of SWRP but the freedom is very limited i'd prefer old school honor FFC above meter and dice but i realize there is a huge trust issue in the community which i gotta admit is somewhat logical considering the amounts of people that god-modded in the past especially the Sith and Jedi who all were SUPAH powerfull. Hell i'm a sith too but i hide it and play like Palpatine nobody knows i'm sith unless they are sufficiently alligned with the force to sense the intense dark energy hidden. 

 Eh long story short. Focus more on ROLEPLAY and less on DICE or any other system.

 In the end we all come to SL to escape the hectics of life adding complicated systems like CLOCKS [Large Events only as far as i heard ] does make me want to just walk away. Turfs work pretty neat but requires more consistent rules like Take 1 turf a week to prevent Big groups such as my [REDACTED] to Streamwall it all I can go on for hours but wont bother you guys ;) I love the casual rp on the sim that's what drew me in “

“ feel like things like clocks and turf are bloat “

We’re looking at things like Clocks & Turf for revision or termination.  Those behind it are no longer with us, and we do feel it’s current version is too heavy.  The add ons such as that are not mandatory for players to know, they’re more for group leads and often something they can opt out of as well under certain circumstances.

“ Make LRS more like d20 “

I wish this one elaborated a bit more.

“ Only thing I can really think of, is maybe more instructive ways to teach the LRS system, notecards can be helpful. Explain such things like weapons, armor, items, in general to be obtained, where to get them etc. Host events to maybe entice people to get them. And maybe, have more items with different stats, mind you I realize some share different stats, but from what I can see in the starter items, very few have different stats. Not saying, starter items should be powerful, just saying the things I've noticed. I could be mistaken with the items itself, and may need more experience in it. Anyway, thank you for your time :) “

Some good suggestions here.

“ Leveling/Rank system is kinda meh'. While I do like a system that has leveling/rank to it keeps people honest and cuts down on meta/god emoting and shit. I feel like the gaps between some of the higher ranks and lower ranks seem like kinda insane. Which might be intended if so then I suppose it's fine but I feel like Emi basically can't interact with certain people in a hostile manner once she learns their abilities cause you she would have be insane to try it again lol. “

The gaps are actually much less significant than they have been in the prior systems we’ve used such as SWT & Chimera but will look further into that.  I’ve personally lost to a 1 on a 5, so it’s not invincible mode by any means.

Build/Setting Related

“i feel it might be nice to see more places for people to sit and hang out around coronet, maybe replace some of the derelict vehicles or make it so you can sit on them like benches. id like to see more items handed out as mission rewards even if rarely. “

“ I'd like for there to be more places to sit in Vreni and Corenet. benches or just something as simple like being able to sit on clutter such as crates, vehicles, or even ledges. “

Been working on this, adding in more benches, small parks, etc.  As well as getting more staff the ability to generate items that can be given as rewards. If anyone is running a storyline that they want to request items for ask in the Discord or ask me directly, if I’m busy I can at least point you to someone who can help

“ more fun, less stress ... but I have no clue how to make that happen other than just focusing on RP and letting everything else go entirely “

I agree! I assume this one is more about staff than the playerbase as we’ve been pretty happy with the low number of OOC player vs player incidents.

“ Rentals availability notifier “

“ It's hard to find personal rentals. I wish there was a map or something that showed where there were rentals available. “

“ more rental homes i feels like there's not enough rental homes especially on the lower section there's like 4 i beleave maybe bump this up a little if possible as i would belave it would make it better for more people to have homes there. “

Since the survey have added enough rentals to catch up on the waiting list.  While the waiting list is now empty they are all full last I checked so will add more.  The waiting list is why the boxes often auto-lock and do not notify.  When we do have freed up rentals and no list I let people know in Discord announcements. If you want to get on said list let Zenless know, specify which of the rental types/location.  Generally go down the list when one becomes free but if I don’t hear back from someone in 48 hours move on to the next person.

“ The island build kinda tbh “

Would have liked elaboration as to why, I personally enjoy the contrasts in setting.

“ Add a area we can rez items we buy “

We do have a build box, but yeah need to be in the landgroup to rez, this is to protect the sim from griefers.

“ I feel like the furries need to be toned down, a lot of them seem to be pushing the limit on what is okay for a character. Otherwise I don't have a whole lot that comes to mind. “

If you have concerns about an avatar, contact a GM or an Admin.  No one else should be confronting people about avatar appearance.  Mentors will help those wondering if their avatars conform as well.

“ More open areas, like forests, deserts and snowy mountains, depicting the different Corellian environments and bringing more RP scenario options. “

Worked on it with the addition of the RP scenes, currently there are 4, we may switch them up now and then, any player can use these for their adventures. As of writing this we have a snowy one, a shadowy planet, a jungle and a minimalist desert.  It often depends how many prims we have free how details these are.  Things are also added to them specifically for a story, etc.

Story Related

“ Perhaps get more people involved IN the Holonet so we have a wider scope of story coverage from other factions/sources. “

“ StoryLine for the sim. News Reports. “

Would love to! Contact Zenless anytime you have something you would like printed on the news, we’ll take anything from briefs to full length articles. It’s generally me (Zen) who ends up writing most, but would love to have more contributors.

“ Easier access to groups. More storys that involve the "lesser" people that arnt part of a huge faction. Less hiding the roleplayers in faction bases. “

“ More events and gatherings for other time zones. It sucks that all of them are always at 9PM at night US EST. Some of us have jobs... “

“ Perhaps slightly more conflict between the groups. “

“ Most improvements are at the group level. All group leads should be working to give their players some daily content. Whether it be a small quest, large mission, or just something to progress their IC storylines. Right now it seems group leads are more there for policing than GM (game master) “

“ I feel that the Storytellers should put out more events, as well as come to defining the terms of the Clock System in a Simple way. There is too much confusion even among Admins about it. The Sim Build should also be improved to reflect 4D Coruscant. While an Island is nice it is only ever used for beach parties or the Jedi. Whilst every other RP is taking place in Coronet City or the Event Boxes. I am sorry if this was not very constructive but typing it out is a lot harder than explaining on voice. Come hangout with myself or talk to [REDACTED]. “

“ leadership in groups focusing on small scale rp to advance players char's ICly “

“ Could use more roleplay opportunities such as organized events. “

Lot of similar themes in these 6 so I’ll touch on them at once. Our group leads have been great and have been the primary ones responsible for the high levels of activity.  On the other hand since the start we had a story team that did not put much time and effort in other than those who were also group leads.  There was a main story arch yet few if any segments were ever run, and when these people left they asked for their stories not to be used so we had to go back to the drawing board. We’re working very hard to get more people involved in stories/running stories, do let me know if you are interested as we’re always looking for more aid.  Typically we bring on people as mentors first, find out what they do well and help with stories if desired.

“ Not having jedi trying to confiscate lightsabers as if they are the cops... “

You could go to CorSec ICly.  This one really seems like an IC issue as it is technically a violation of Corellian policy/law.

Staff/Management/Leadership Related

“ I feel there is a bias that favors the Jedi with staff “

“ the admins other than Eva do not seem like they care about the players “

“ Some of staff can at times be out of touch with the playerbase and comes off as elitist “

“ One owner has to go as per the jedi discussion on the jedi discord. The rest of the sim is fine. “

“ Admins “

“ Easiest suggestion. Unity. This admin team, just like the old 4D, is being trapped in drama. Things need to be unified and aligned to help the admin team mesh, instead of argue. “

“ some of the staff come off as condescending and rude mostly jedi who are also staff “

“ Consensual basis of decisions by the staff. Seems like things are constantly at odds. “

“ tessa and perry should not be admins “

“ Really wish the admins could be more approachable and stuff :l Except for Ootarian, he cool :D “

“ stop taking on owners who are terrible admins but just have money. wil,perry,lone,keely and so on “

“ I feel the LRS could be slightly more balanced rank-wise. I'd also like to see more LRS items but not too many. Less staff drama would be nice as to not fracture the community and kill RP. More sim-wide events such as Pazaak tournaments, races and even combat-oriented ones would be welcome “ 

“ Not a big fan of LRS but it’s better than most dice systems. Would like to see consensual agreements on staff rather than seemingly duking it out “

As some may have noticed there has been an overhaul of staff, much of this will seek to address any of the comments here. Everyone knows I say what I think to a fault.  So I’ll be transparent in my POV (take as you will) though I’m sure some are going to be unhappy I even touched on this.   The SWL Community was in bad shape after what happened on 4D for those who were here for that, I made a bad judgement call in some of the people I partnered with as our views were incompatible. I was very depressed after 4D (our prior region), and didn’t input as much as I should have when it came to staffing the sim, so they filled the staff with those who I’d consider their “friends”. Staff often became a battlefield of ideology between myself and what I saw as a circle of friends.  In no way am I ever a perfect angel, and there are patches that I could have navigated better so I am responsible for the conflicts within staff as much as the departed are.  Sometimes people just don’t work well together.  What’s done is done though and moving forward I feel we’ve been making a lot of progress in having a more cohesive team.  Still some rough patches as any sim with a decent sized playerbase is going to have it’s share of arguments, but I can say for certainty that everyone involved in leadership now genuinely cares about the community and that we’ll do our best to listen to the players and strive for consistent improvement. 

“ Telling myself that "You seem to be breaking the system, the sith might need their own story system" isnt encouraging. We are here to help the story move along but because we are the only ones really using the Clock system. Our use of it in my opinion should be rewarded not, not discouraged so that way other groups are encouraged to use it also. And this isn't me complaining, this is how what is being said is being perceived. “

The staff member who said this is among those who departed (who have been mentioned often here). We’ll strive for a fair environment for everyone/all groups where goal posts aren’t moved on a whim.

“ More freedom and less bureaucracy “

You and me both :D

“ My friend who had been rping here for a few days before me and participated in two events got told she couldn't rank up because she "only earned 1 exp" meanwhile I got enough to level up and that isn't cool because we both pretty much did everything together so it feels like there might've been some bias there. “

I know it’s repetitive but the person who did this is among those who departed.  Fixed this personally as being consistent is of extreme importance to us.

“ Maybe a little more staff so no one feels overburdened. Would love to see currency added to LRS (kind of like Chimera), most inventory items/upgrades/mods/etc. Otherwise, I love this place. Great people and great fun! “

We are currently interested in taking on another mentor or two as there is a lot of work to be done, but we’re being careful in that we want a staff that can get a long to avoid a lot of the feedback that was brought up here on staff environment being internally hostile.  

MISC

“ Clear advertisement of those willing to mesh-build or animate on commission for players would be nice! Even if we don't take them up on it, knowing it is available helps. “

I like this suggestion, will think of ways to try to advertise for them.

“ - More sim events for common people 

- More story events at current scale before we try and move large scale. We really haven't even tested the waters here and yet we're trying to move larger? It's like an amusement park with one slide saying we need to buy more land rather than build more attractions in the available space to entertain people. Lets try and utilize the current setting to its fullest before we decide it needs to go larger - The main social hub moved to a neutral ownership.

 - More balanced meter 

- Less outrageous things being brought onto sim. The more outrageous things get, the harder it is to bring content because that content gets dismissed by one person with the snap of a finger rather than being a tension and toil to overcome It also puts newer players at a huge social disadvantage. “

This one touched on a lot of things so put it in misc.  Pretty much touched on everything but “outrageous” in other sections.  What people consider outrageous is very subjective but we do try to avoid anything too crazy.

“ A lot of people are a bit bossy and obligating others what to do with their character, especially how they look. That makes people, certainly those who put a lot of effort in them, really pissed. Maybe a send out that we all should respect each other in how we look and how we roleplay. Not everyone is a rich ass who can buy what they want or so experienced in roleplay as the other. So the basic thing is respect. “

True.  If any issues with an avatar or anything else, a GM or Admin should be contacted.  Players hostilely confronting other players is often something that will be considered a minor offense which can lead to disciplinary scenarios.  If you need any help do let one of us know, it makes me very sad when I hear about someone being given a hard time over something like that.

In conclusion, thank you to everyone who filled out the survey.  This was the hardest section to give feedback on as it does touch on a lot of “drama” elements.  I’m not the smartest admin, def not the most PR or PC, I speak from the heart.  It means a lot to me that after six years and all the obstacles that people are still here. I’ll do my best to try to improve everyone's experience.  Please keep in mind we are a VERY diverse role-play community and it’s literally impossible to fully please everyone, sometimes the good of the many will outweigh the good of the few but the tyranny of the majority is also something you always try to keep at bay.   

SWRP as a whole has now lasted about fifteen years as you can trace it’s origins back to 2003 while the first groups and sims really got going in 2004 with groups like the Mandalorians under Dazzo Street,  Jedi under Marcus Moreau and others,the first Galactic Empire.  Then in 2005 sims exploded with Korriban, Sirius, New Holstice, Tatooine, the founding of GAR & DLOTS.   We may have had to do a lot of adapting and changing with the times to still be an active community, but fifteen years is an amazing accomplishment for any roleplay community.   We’ll have our ups and downs but I think we’ve proven ourselves to be as resilient as they come.  :)