Elite roleplay: Q&A and OOC
11 Apr 2021, 4:13pm
And, if done correctly, criticism of another player's roleplay choices is often what helps them become better roleplayers. "Anything you come up with is awesome because you're special"-type validation does not.
Last edit: 11 Apr 2021, 4:26pm
11 Apr 2021, 4:25pm
Synthya WylderI'd simply decline to involve myself (character) with their RP.
I wouldn't refrain from getting involved but simply deny the lore-conflicting parts. For example, if Sakashiro were to show up in one of those scenes, I'd describe her interaction with a woman in a fox costume who for whatever reason is convinced she's an alien. In fact I think that's pretty much what Creamy is doing. Note that his character has at no point acknowledged Rain's alien identity as factual (unless I missed it somewhere). He's literally roleplaying circles around it, and it's fun to read.
11 Apr 2021, 5:29pm
Synthya WylderI'll point out that (as I recall) Drew Wagar himself left writing based on E:D basically because of the unwillingness/inability of the FDevs to broaden the scope of E:D lore. I'd have to research again for the specific quotes, but afaik, they're still out there. Drew has gone off to write his own works, perhaps in the same Sci-Fi flavor, but not strictly based on & for the E:D lore. He said something about his having more freedom to express himself.
I'd just like to highlight this part of your post. Matt made it very clear why Wagar isn't writing for FDEV anymore.
Now to this part of your post:
All that while doing a decent job remaining within the narrow & stifling boundaries of the E:D universe, originally based on simple pew-pew & not developing much beyond that ever since.
I enjoy seeing you still haven't bothered educating yourself about E:D and its history but take on the mantle of expertise.
It's clearly not about quality RP or a healthy community around it. You're in it for your ego.
11 Apr 2021, 5:48pm
Synthya WylderI'll point out that (as I recall) Drew Wagar himself left writing based on E:D basically because of the unwillingness/inability of the FDevs to broaden the scope of E:D lore. I'd have to research again for the specific quotes, but afaik, they're still out there. Drew has gone off to write his own works, perhaps in the same Sci-Fi flavor, but not strictly based on & for the E:D lore. He said something about his having more freedom to express himself.
I get it, the feeling that some would prefer to maintain the stranglehold on all things E:D, even in 3rd-party sites like Inara.
But, it's called "Role-Play" for a reason, right? I mean, just how much latitude & freedom does one have to try to write something other than strutting around in a bar, ordering drinks, posturing, talking about smuggling, armed conflict, assassinations, etc. etc. etc., all more or less along the same lines as so many others ad nauseam?
Have you read Matt's novels? They're excellent and they go with the flow of Elite's lore. There's a bit of speculation and things based on theories people have had about certain events and details, but he's gone out of his way to keep within the lines of Elite, and as a result has created what are probably some of the best works of Elite fanfiction out there.
Synthya Wylder
All that while doing a decent job remaining within the narrow & stifling boundaries of the E:D universe, originally based on simple pew-pew & not developing much beyond that ever since.
If it was done in-game, I could see the reason why some would be calling foul upon seeing something that crosses the so-called borders, but hey, Inara is a 3rd-party site, yes? In-game, how many options for character design are offered, while on Inara, the sky is more or less the limit.
While I personally may not agree with another's choice of character (description/design) doesn't mean that I think it my place to criticize & crush their creativity beneath a despot's heel.
I'd simply decline to involve myself (character) with their RP.
Elite as a universe is vast and has well-established lore - the problem is that Frontier has waffled on things in the past. That being said, it is entirely possible - and easier than one would think - to create and roleplay within the Elite universe and do more than just sit and talk about in-game activities as if they didn't matter. It simply requires a bit of creativity and people willing to play by the rules. Even in a place like this where the RP is informal and spur of the moment, you can look back through old posts and find rather compelling storylines that evolved naturally.
The important thing to remember is not whether or not it's canon, but rather that it could be canon. That's the ideal to strive for.
As for people breaking in-universe rules and throwing whatever they like into the mix, well... there's a reason I rarely come around here anymore. Inara has always been the Wild West in terms of RP, and only a handful of events that have taken place here on these boards have worked their way into my character's personal canon. Most of the time it was pure fun and enjoyment, not necessarily to establish some major character arc, although that has happened before too.
But right now? I wouldn't touch Inara RP. Couple of people seem to insist that others relax their standards so they can get away with shoehorning space foxes and Star Trek into the universe, and I'm not interested in crossovers.
11 Apr 2021, 6:05pm
Isaiah EvansonBut right now? I wouldn't touch Inara RP. Couple of people seem to insist that others relax their standards so they can get away with shoehorning space foxes and Star Trek into the universe, and I'm not interested in crossovers.
Objection! Star Trek (as a franchise) must be part of the Elite Universe as Gene Roddenberry existed.
11 Apr 2021, 6:09pm
Amata LireinIsaiah EvansonBut right now? I wouldn't touch Inara RP. Couple of people seem to insist that others relax their standards so they can get away with shoehorning space foxes and Star Trek into the universe, and I'm not interested in crossovers.
Objection! Star Trek (as a franchise) must be part of the Elite Universe as Gene Roddenberry existed.
Please name one popular sci fi franchise from the 8th century.
I'll wait.
11 Apr 2021, 6:14pm
But if we stick with somehow loose equivalent to fantasy and sci-fi like epic poems, myths, etc., what about Beowulf, for example? Or even older like Iliad and Odyssey and also other works...
11 Apr 2021, 6:14pm
BestSecretaryEverAmata LireinIsaiah EvansonBut right now? I wouldn't touch Inara RP. Couple of people seem to insist that others relax their standards so they can get away with shoehorning space foxes and Star Trek into the universe, and I'm not interested in crossovers.
Objection! Star Trek (as a franchise) must be part of the Elite Universe as Gene Roddenberry existed.
Please name one popular sci fi franchise from the 8th century.
I'll wait.
Ehm... why would people name so many stations and outposts after someone best known for creating Star Trek if Star Trek had been forgotten?
11 Apr 2021, 6:24pm
11 Apr 2021, 6:29pm
I was interdicted by Dr Hans Reinhardt the other day.
11 Apr 2021, 6:31pm
Amata LireinEhm... why would people name so many stations and outposts after someone best known for creating Star Trek if Star Trek had been forgotten?
It certainly doesn't justify ripping off James Kirk and dropping him down into Elite now, does it?
BTW, if you can't think of a sci-fi series from the 8th century I'll take literally anything at all from that time period.
ArtieIf I would like to be cheeky a disrespectful, I would mention even one older, still widely known these days.
But if we stick with somehow loose equivalent to fantasy and sci-fi like epic poems, myths, etc., what about Beowulf, for example? Or even older like Iliad and Odyssey and also other works...
The further back you go in history the murkier our understanding of it gets. What we have of Beowulf is really our best educated answer. It's not like a copy of Orwell's 1984, of which we can easily demonstrate is faithful to the original work penned by the author.
Now consider in canon there was a massive global war on Earth that famously demolished the Elite world's knowledge of human history.
The station names are Easter eggs, plain and simple. There is no other conclusion that can be taken seriously.
11 Apr 2021, 6:32pm
I'm pretty sure Dale Earnhardt isn't alive in 3307.
11 Apr 2021, 6:33pm
Lambast MercyI see plenty of references to small hardly popular sci-fi and fantasy books in station and commander names. All added by Fdev so like it or not it's remembered in Elite.
I was interdicted by Dr Hans Reinhardt the other day.
Iirc lots of them were submitted by players or backers in the earliest stages of E:D.
11 Apr 2021, 6:36pm
BestSecretaryEver....
The station names are Easter eggs, plain and simple. There is no other conclusion that can be taken seriously.
The point is that even old artistic works can be known centuries later. Not all of them, of course, but there is a good chance that those notable will "survive". If we accept that the in-game station names are canonical, the Elite is somewhat a future of our current timeline and that Rodenberry stations are named after Gene Rodenberry, there is quite logical assumption they are named after him right because of Star Trek. Thus, Star Trek as a franchise can be easily a part of canon, as a historical work. Depends what in the game is actually canonical and what is not and as far as I know there is no official statement about it.