In the interest of retaining players and trying to get a better understanding of why people leave the duels, duel irregularly, etc, I'd like to have a poll where you can tell us why.
If you have come back, please tell us why you came back and what made that happen.
Inactive here can mean irregular as well. Anyone who isn't really present I'd say weekly or bi-weekly. Or if you just feel you fall into this area.
Feel free to also state your reasons. Please be respectful and avoid naming names if your issue was one related to personal conflict.
To those who have left/inactive- please answer questions!
Moderator: Staff
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Sabine
- Seasoned Adventurer
- Posts: 318
- Joined: Sun Jan 23, 2011 8:55 pm
- Location: 3 Battle Park Lane Rhydin
- Contact:
To those who have left/inactive- please answer questions!
Last edited by Sabine on Wed Jul 06, 2016 8:50 pm, edited 3 times in total.
“We spoke eternal things that cannot die.” -Charles Baudelaire, from The Balcony; Fleurs du Mal (tr. by Roy Campbell), 1857
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G
- Legendary Adventurer
- Ric Flair
- Posts: 4125
- Joined: Wed Feb 11, 2004 1:09 am
- Location: Generally found at the Golden Ivy Tavern. If not there, then on the SpellJammer, his ship.
Issues with players IC
Issues with players OOC
Lost Interest
Rule Changes
I just do it occasionally. I consider myself a casual duelist.
I only like events and tournaments
(Couldn't pick multiple options at once.
)
Issues with players OOC
Lost Interest
Rule Changes
I just do it occasionally. I consider myself a casual duelist.
I only like events and tournaments
(Couldn't pick multiple options at once.
)G'nort Dragoon-Talanador
Duel of Swords Legend. Best In The World™.
First All Time DoS Title Holder.
Listed as "Daddy" in your daughters contacts list.
Duel of Swords Legend. Best In The World™.
First All Time DoS Title Holder.
Listed as "Daddy" in your daughters contacts list.
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The Redneck
- Adventurer
- Posts: 18
- Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 12:31 pm
- Location: Here, there, places. Lots and lots of places.
Issues with players OOC
Lost Interest
Personal Life
I can better express it as:
Dueling is not that fun, honestly. Some people might think it is, but most of the time I would rather be playing a video game or writing something non-dueling.
For what little fun I get out of it, dueling sure takes up a *lot* of time. Hours, usually, just to get one or two duels in, which in and of themselves can take hours to complete. Let's not even get into the slog of actually getting 15 WoL in a sport, especially the first (few) times.
Then it starts to creep into your time away from dueling. Some of that's study and practice, but a lot of it's just stupid 'drama', which sometimes isn't even restricted to RoH itself but shows up on facebook or on other RP websites.
Finally, it impacts friendships or writing relationships. You find out friends have scouting data on you and use it, or a friend is 'busy' and can't RP and it turns out they're just dueling on a secret alt, or worse, said secret alt challenges you or knocks you out of a tournament, and etc, etc. etc.
This leaves me with a hobby that isn't really enjoyable to begin with, takes up a lot of time, invades my time away from RoH, and sometimes isn't healthy for my relationships with people.
Lost Interest
Personal Life
I can better express it as:
Dueling is not that fun, honestly. Some people might think it is, but most of the time I would rather be playing a video game or writing something non-dueling.
For what little fun I get out of it, dueling sure takes up a *lot* of time. Hours, usually, just to get one or two duels in, which in and of themselves can take hours to complete. Let's not even get into the slog of actually getting 15 WoL in a sport, especially the first (few) times.
Then it starts to creep into your time away from dueling. Some of that's study and practice, but a lot of it's just stupid 'drama', which sometimes isn't even restricted to RoH itself but shows up on facebook or on other RP websites.
Finally, it impacts friendships or writing relationships. You find out friends have scouting data on you and use it, or a friend is 'busy' and can't RP and it turns out they're just dueling on a secret alt, or worse, said secret alt challenges you or knocks you out of a tournament, and etc, etc. etc.
This leaves me with a hobby that isn't really enjoyable to begin with, takes up a lot of time, invades my time away from RoH, and sometimes isn't healthy for my relationships with people.
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Delahada
- Expert Adventurer
- Deputy Director of Dickery
- Posts: 896
- Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2009 6:07 pm
- Location: Rhydin City
- Contact:
The only reason I don't duel, and sometimes fall off the face of the Internet, is because of personal life. I personally prefer writing/standard RP to dueling a large majority of the time, too, so that's why I don't duel all the time. I don't have any issues with anyone, IC or OOC, that would prevent me from doing what I enjoy. Rule changes may be confusing at times, but I can read and figure them out. Though I do have a goal of gaining title(s) eventually, I'm not in any hurry to get to the top, so I suppose you could consider me a casual duelist. I only do it when I want to. In short: I DO WHAT I WANT.
Hi!
For me, it's mainly personal life at the moment keeping me away; most nights these days, I have my work computer up and running instead of my personal one, which leaves me with no AIM, not a lot of talking to anyone OOC and a feeling of disconnect.
Hoping to rectify soon, at least partially.
--Matt
For me, it's mainly personal life at the moment keeping me away; most nights these days, I have my work computer up and running instead of my personal one, which leaves me with no AIM, not a lot of talking to anyone OOC and a feeling of disconnect.
Hoping to rectify soon, at least partially.
--Matt
"If you are thinking a year from now, sow seed. If you are thinking ten years from now, plant a tree. If you are thinking one-hundred years from now, educate the people."
--Kuan Tzu, 5'th century Chinese poet
--Kuan Tzu, 5'th century Chinese poet
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JewellRavenlock
- Legendary Adventurer
- The Empress
- Posts: 2473
- Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:26 pm
- Location: Little Elfhame, Old Market
- Contact:
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Random McChanse
- Proven Adventurer
- Posts: 162
- Joined: Sat May 28, 2005 8:07 pm
- Location: Everywhere and Anywhere
I feel like I exemplify the irregular player, so here goes:
1. Freeform RP is stressful for me. This took me a while to come to terms with. I love dueling and all of your company, both IC and OOC. Duel RP and calling is fine, and some of my favorite RoH experiences have been as a caller. But I found more and more that I'd sit down at my computer at the end of a long work day and realize I wanted to duel, but I didn't feel like playing Random that night. Maybe it's because writing dialogue is part of my work as a game designer, and I want a break from that in my free time.
It's also the main reason I've been unable to bring anyone else into the game. There's often a lack of interest in hardcore RP, and asking someone to create a character and roleplay that character with strangers for hours to see if they like dueling is much more of a time and effort commitment than trying out a quick duel.
2. Personal life. In the last few years I've been cutting back on computer use in my free time. When I'm using the Internet I either use my iPhone (like now) or my iPad, which prevents me from dueling because they don't support Flash.
3. Dueling takes too long. A fifteen minute duel is a best case scenario, and they usually last about an hour. I only duel well when I'm completely focused on it, so the wait between rounds feels interminable. A small note here is that there's no audio notification of when the caller tool is resolving a round or a caller posts into the room, so I can't really idle away the wait by tabbing away and browsing the Internet. Part of the reason I advocated for automated callers in the past was to speed up the OOC feedback loop, while freeing up the human caller to provide IC commentary.
There's also the time spent waiting for the room to reach a critical mass where there's enough players looking for a duel to start them in a timely manner. I think the who's online portion of the main page actually hurts this, as people can quickly check the page and decide there's not enough people, preventing the critical mass from forming.
4. WoL is a poor skill ranking and progression system. It rewards streaks over skillful performances, which is problematic for a game as unpredictable as dueling is. A 5-2 win over a fellow Glass is canceled out by a 4-5 loss to an Emerald using mods, leading to a wash progression-wise from 2+ hours of effort. It creates perverse incentives such as targeting lower skilled players and applying the mechanical advantage of mods against lower-ranked players to ensure more predictable wins. The majority of rules changes in the last few years, as much as I approve and support them, are ultimately band-aid fixes to this systemic problem. I think the WoL progression combined with having to wait for a critical mass is the reason regulation dueling is less popular than the leagues and events.
Here's a simple ranking system that would better reflect dueling skill and inject more volatility into rank progression. You gain or lose ranking points based on the difference in scores at the end of a duel. If we define 5-3 as a "normal" win, then we simply multiply the rank requirements and everyone's existing WoL by 2 to convert to the new system. For example, it takes 30 points to reach the top rank instead of 15 wins. Negative scores are zeroed out weekly as they are now. With this system big wins are richly rewarded and narrow losses don't erase as much progress, making progression more exciting and in line with the player's performance. It also makes rank promotion and delegation more common, which supports the goals of the WoL system.
An additional option is to reduce the loser's point loss by 1 for each mod the winner used in excess of the loser's mod limit, with a maximum of -1. This allows higher-ranked players to use their full range of mods without unduly punishing the lower-ranked player, which helps the lower-ranked player learn mod strategy. The IC explanation is that your character learns more from exposure to high-skill moves in a duel.
1. Freeform RP is stressful for me. This took me a while to come to terms with. I love dueling and all of your company, both IC and OOC. Duel RP and calling is fine, and some of my favorite RoH experiences have been as a caller. But I found more and more that I'd sit down at my computer at the end of a long work day and realize I wanted to duel, but I didn't feel like playing Random that night. Maybe it's because writing dialogue is part of my work as a game designer, and I want a break from that in my free time.
It's also the main reason I've been unable to bring anyone else into the game. There's often a lack of interest in hardcore RP, and asking someone to create a character and roleplay that character with strangers for hours to see if they like dueling is much more of a time and effort commitment than trying out a quick duel.
2. Personal life. In the last few years I've been cutting back on computer use in my free time. When I'm using the Internet I either use my iPhone (like now) or my iPad, which prevents me from dueling because they don't support Flash.
3. Dueling takes too long. A fifteen minute duel is a best case scenario, and they usually last about an hour. I only duel well when I'm completely focused on it, so the wait between rounds feels interminable. A small note here is that there's no audio notification of when the caller tool is resolving a round or a caller posts into the room, so I can't really idle away the wait by tabbing away and browsing the Internet. Part of the reason I advocated for automated callers in the past was to speed up the OOC feedback loop, while freeing up the human caller to provide IC commentary.
There's also the time spent waiting for the room to reach a critical mass where there's enough players looking for a duel to start them in a timely manner. I think the who's online portion of the main page actually hurts this, as people can quickly check the page and decide there's not enough people, preventing the critical mass from forming.
4. WoL is a poor skill ranking and progression system. It rewards streaks over skillful performances, which is problematic for a game as unpredictable as dueling is. A 5-2 win over a fellow Glass is canceled out by a 4-5 loss to an Emerald using mods, leading to a wash progression-wise from 2+ hours of effort. It creates perverse incentives such as targeting lower skilled players and applying the mechanical advantage of mods against lower-ranked players to ensure more predictable wins. The majority of rules changes in the last few years, as much as I approve and support them, are ultimately band-aid fixes to this systemic problem. I think the WoL progression combined with having to wait for a critical mass is the reason regulation dueling is less popular than the leagues and events.
Here's a simple ranking system that would better reflect dueling skill and inject more volatility into rank progression. You gain or lose ranking points based on the difference in scores at the end of a duel. If we define 5-3 as a "normal" win, then we simply multiply the rank requirements and everyone's existing WoL by 2 to convert to the new system. For example, it takes 30 points to reach the top rank instead of 15 wins. Negative scores are zeroed out weekly as they are now. With this system big wins are richly rewarded and narrow losses don't erase as much progress, making progression more exciting and in line with the player's performance. It also makes rank promotion and delegation more common, which supports the goals of the WoL system.
An additional option is to reduce the loser's point loss by 1 for each mod the winner used in excess of the loser's mod limit, with a maximum of -1. This allows higher-ranked players to use their full range of mods without unduly punishing the lower-ranked player, which helps the lower-ranked player learn mod strategy. The IC explanation is that your character learns more from exposure to high-skill moves in a duel.
Don't underestimate me, for when I'm working I'm super shiny and sit on a post.
And I walk on ceilings, so try to mess with that, fool.
And I walk on ceilings, so try to mess with that, fool.
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PrlUnicorn
- Expert Adventurer
- Posts: 1194
- Joined: Thu Jun 15, 2006 4:48 pm
- Location: Navarra
For me it is mostly personal life.. I'm 4 hours behind EST and by the time I get home, feed the kids, etc, and finally have free time.. regulation dueling is already over.
I'm also kind of a casual duelist, I guess. I'd probably duel every night if I could because I enjoy it, but it's just not possible in my life right now.
Kind of like Bob mentioned though, some nights I get on and have free time and I'm like 'play a game/watch tv/browse the internet.. or write?' and I find I'd rather just veg out.
I'm also kind of a casual duelist, I guess. I'd probably duel every night if I could because I enjoy it, but it's just not possible in my life right now.
Kind of like Bob mentioned though, some nights I get on and have free time and I'm like 'play a game/watch tv/browse the internet.. or write?' and I find I'd rather just veg out.
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Rena A Cronin
- Seasoned Adventurer
- Posts: 479
- Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 12:56 pm
- Location: Somewhere on the outskirts of town
I picked Personal Life: I went from not working a year ago to working 15-20 hours a weeks to picking up a fulltime spot that seems to have me closing most nights(which I question a lot since there were others doing so before I took the job). Closing at 11PM and having to straighten up the area before leaving means it's 11:30 or later before I actually get to leave and by the time I get home, dueling is all but over. The nights I don't work, the urge/the mood to duel isn't there.
I also feel I get lost in the room-I don't say much to start with and the more others talk/interact with others, the more I feel like retreating to a corner and just watch/lurk. As IRL, my character has a hard time meeting new people or carrying on a conversation-and the few who knows her past, understands why that is::slight grin:: Maybe one day, the mood will return or something will push the urge back on to duel/PR more.
Like Bob and Duci said, other things seem more important with what free time I have than dueling.
I also feel I get lost in the room-I don't say much to start with and the more others talk/interact with others, the more I feel like retreating to a corner and just watch/lurk. As IRL, my character has a hard time meeting new people or carrying on a conversation-and the few who knows her past, understands why that is::slight grin:: Maybe one day, the mood will return or something will push the urge back on to duel/PR more.
Like Bob and Duci said, other things seem more important with what free time I have than dueling.
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Kruger
- Seasoned Adventurer
- The Anvil
- Posts: 370
- Joined: Sun Dec 18, 2011 11:40 pm
- Location: Kruger's Exotic Weapons Armor & Leather
Personal Life: I do love the duels, writing and RP. I really throw my entire self at them. The problem is that I am like that with my personal life as well. Am I guilty of over-committing? Okay, yes... I over-commit myself to things and when it comes to what's happening in the next room or here. I'm afraid that I have to take care of the next room. They're closer to the kitchen... there's knives in there! I don't want to wake up dead! JK. 
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Bailey Raptis
- Seasoned Adventurer
- The Stolen Child
- Posts: 481
- Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2015 9:25 pm
- Location: Can be found many places, but resides in Old Temple
Moved from Central to Pacific, so I had to take some time away to prepare for the move, actually do it, and get settled in to my new digs. What I've found since is my new job doesn't allow me as much free time to think about RP/dueling and requires me to stare at a computer a lot more. That plus the fact that dueling starts much earlier in this time zone means a lot of times I get off work and just don't feel like staring at a computer for another hour or two.
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