There are still people who go to ESD? And leave the Chat Window open? Set on Zone?
I do. And ignore it. It's just a long line of scrolling text I don't even notice. I stop by ESD simply out of convenience for missions/grinds/whatever. And don't even notice the zone chat.
I do. And ignore it. It's just a long line of scrolling text I don't even notice. I stop by ESD simply out of convenience for missions/grinds/whatever. And don't even notice the zone chat.
I hear ya on that one, I do. Totally agree. I do the same.
What I find most amusing about this thread is there are people who think RPing on what amounts to an Open Channel are surprised and angry when the bored target them. I RP with one or two of my toons. The people I RP with are smart enough to not wave fresh red meat in front of starving Rottweilers. We RP on a private TS server. Problem solved. Without overburdening the STO servers or drawing unnecessary/unwanted attention to ourselves. Both the Server and the Client for TS are free to download and the server isn't hard at all to install.
Would I like to be able to RP in Chat? Yup, sure would. Will there ever be a time when such is possible? Not that I can see without some rather drastic alterations to STO as it is right now. Adding GMs to STO probably means volunteers who are unpaid by pwe/cryptic. Volunteers sometimes have a tendency to be a little overzealous and somewhat selective about enforcing rules. And they are all but impossible to remove when they do so. Doesn't happen as often as some think but it does happen. Are there cost effective alternatives to what the OP suggests which are available right now? Yup, sure are. And they work. All without pwe/cryptic having to get involved at all.
Saying there are no alternatives and pwe/cryptic has to do something about this means admitting the bored and the trolls have won. Might as well go back to playing Internet Solitaire or a Web browser game.
A six year old boy and his starship. Living the dream.
I read half the thread. I dare not read the other half because I have only so many keyboards...
D'angelo specifically said that the new map was being done for two reasons. First, It was functionally awkward for new players to navigate (And it really was. Every 5 minutes in zone chat you get some noob who is asking where the Shipyard is, or the bank.. or the exchange...) Thus, it was not serving it's purpose of being a good central hub for players to navigate, get task done, learn those task, and then move on with the game. Second, it was not very "trekkie" looking. And as this game is a Star Trek Game, and this is the first real social zone new players see, it should be the best of the best. More immersion, more trek. More polished sets would mean one less hurdle for new players, meaning more player retention and thus a healthier game. Thumbs up all around!
To the OP: Welcome to the Internet. This is how people act when you give them anonymity plus an audience. You will never totally get rid of gorn jokes, political jokes, or people with a grave misunderstanding of Temporal Mechanics. You are going to have people trolling your RP. You are going to have people detreading the zone. Adapt to survive! Take your RP to a private, invite only zone. Or simply ignore the trolls and the actions of your avatars.
How many times have you started to type something, but forgot to click "enter"? The result: your avatar spazzes out and starts jumping like a lunatic. Do the other players make a remake like "are you ill?" or "Is that a new dance?"? Generally... NO!! Rule of thumb is to have a buffer for stupid actions like that and just pretend it didn't happen. The Show must go on. Same thing applies to Subspace party amps. If one is thrown on top of your quiet tea party, continue have the tea party and ignore your avatar. All the dialogue happens in chat (which, is hopefully team chat, as to dodge Spam); you can easily roll your eyes and continue your scene as if you're sitting quietly sipping Earl Grey.
It's called Improve, Suspension of Disbelief, and Selective Focus.
Regardless of the trolls and the ban of Zone chat, I will visit the New ESD. I applaud the work that Cryptic is putting into it. And will continue using the Socials zones as much as I do now.
Live on Earth. Work in Space. Play with Dragons. Join the best add on to STO, the Neverwinter holodeck program! Only 14 GPL a month.
First, It was functionally awkward for new players to navigate (And it really was. Every 5 minutes in zone chat you get some noob who is asking where the Shipyard is, or the bank.. or the exchange...) Thus, it was not serving it's purpose of being a good central hub for players to navigate, get task done, learn those task, and then move on with the game.
It's a circle. How is a circle hard to navigate?
Second, it was not very "trekkie" looking.
Again, the shape of the outside of the station is a circle. Inside, it's a circle. Looks as trekkie as could be with all the ships flying around that you can see from the windows.
I'm not against updating ESD. I'm not really for it either. Just don't care enough.
But the current ESD is really easy to navigate. And it does tend to follow the shape of the structure.
And as this game is a Star Trek Game, and this is the first real social zone new players see, it should be the best of the best. More immersion, more trek. More polished sets would mean one less hurdle for new players, meaning more player retention and thus a healthier game.
I've been to it on Tribble. It didn't move the needle on immersion for me at all. It doesn't even look all that more Trek. It looks nice. But so does the current ESD.
It does make some things easier to find since they just clumped them all up. Which is probably the only way they could have made things easier to find than placing them in a circle.
The only time I've experienced an area-of-special-effects griefbomb was right after the third anniversary when everyone was setting off the balloon things. I turned my physics objects setting way down and life returned to normal. The party amps, the noise makers, those don't actually stop you doing anything, and they only affect you if you're standing still. The only time you stand still at ESD (or any hub) is if you're interacting with an NPC or console, and everything outside the window is easy to ignore.
Zone chat, OTOH, can be a problem. I seem to have the misfortune to be on ESD when Zone chat is full of ill-informed right-wing asshats. If I get annoyed at this, I just close the chat window. The only time I ever came across some RPGers was during an Aademy event - there were two of them sat at a table by the bar, and my particle popped a hologram. I shot it with a KB3 pulsewave, and it landed on their table. Up until that point I thought they were NPCs, but then one of them jumped up, and the other said "aaah! what's happening?"(commendably fast typing there, really). I checked the chat window (Local) after I killed the hologram, and saw more of their conversation. So, no, RPGers aren't a problem.
The problem with social hubs (apart from chat being full of ill-informed right-wing asshats) is that everything you can do there can be accomplished remotely. The only exceptions are skill re-spec, BOff training/recruiting, personal/ship tailor, a very few DOff assignments, and buying a new ship. Everything else can be done elsewhere - missions from the journal, sector space traders and replicators for commodities and consumables, the SS Azura II or a Ferengi bridge for bank/exchange/mail, Dil store on the inventory tab, components and regenerators for healing (they drop like flies in STFs), and now you can even change ships in space. The main reason ESD is underused is not because it doesn't look sparkly or because it's difficult to navigate, or because of other players being asshats, it's because there's only about three things to do there that you can't do elsewhere. As for minor hubs, like Ganalda or DS-K7, they're ghost towns. I suspect DS-K7 and Ganalda only have visitors because you don't need to run a mile between the bank and the vendors.
If the new-look ESD is shiny, I will approve. If it is not, I won't. Either way, I (and probably hundreds of others) will not be spending more time there than we already do, unless more genuinely unique interactions are added. And if they change the outside to be different to the familiar overgrown mushroom we all know and love, I suspect there will be much anger heading Cryptic's way.
are you trying to defend cryptic CS like its renowned thats what i was getting at i put it this way again a lot of what cryptic lets ppl get away with in this game would have my wow account banned 10 times over and right now im just talking about the chat like what goes on in ESD this not counting harassing a player that just trying to RP that some unnamed fleet loves to do i got a final warning on my wow account for using /spit on some one who had me on ignore so that tell you a lot about pwe cryptic CS and about what they do and dont care about
Sorry, but that was borderline incomprehensible and consisted mainly of whining from what I did understand.
Please carry on with white-knighting for an admitted pedophile, I am sure this will bring many wonderful things into your life and gain you a lot of popularity.
Please carry on with white-knighting for an admitted pedophile, I am sure this will bring many wonderful things into your life and gain you a lot of popularity.
im just calling cryptic CS as i see it i do not like it any more then you do but its true
TL;DR. Things make me upset and hurt feelings, these things are OP please lock down the social zones so I can no longer be hurt feelings and sore bottom. Anyone who says otherwise is a troll/ idiot/ whatever and is OP, pls nerf. Also somebody gets their internet diddly-do on with children or something.
Its the hostility of in game social zones that make safe harbors like Praetorian so popular. I wish Cryptic would begin policing the server as well, but its just not going to happen.
LOL! This entire thread over a guy crying about discoballs. It is my right, nay, my DUTY to use the discobomb at all times everywhere I go to promote cheer and fun!
Do people REALLY feel "unsafe and harassed" by the bloody things?!?
Just today my fleetmates found a fleet posing for a group photo on Defera and I did my part to make it fun!
LOL! This entire thread over a guy crying about discoballs. It is my right, nay, my DUTY to use the discobomb at all times everywhere I go to promote cheer and fun!
Do people REALLY feel "unsafe and harassed" by the bloody things?!?
Just today my fleetmates found a fleet posing for a group photo on Defera and I did my part to make it fun!
How many times have you started to type something, but forgot to click "enter"? The result: your avatar spazzes out and starts jumping like a lunatic. Do the other players make a remake like "are you ill?" or "Is that a new dance?"? Generally... NO!! Rule of thumb is to have a buffer for stupid actions like that and just pretend it didn't happen. The Show must go on. Same thing applies to Subspace party amps. If one is thrown on top of your quiet tea party, continue have the tea party and ignore your avatar. All the dialogue happens in chat (which, is hopefully team chat, as to dodge Spam); you can easily roll your eyes and continue your scene as if you're sitting quietly sipping Earl Grey.
It's called Improve, Suspension of Disbelief, and Selective Focus.
This is probably the single best advice given regarding RPers with panties in a bunch over party amps and something I cannot figure out why isn't more common.
Honestly, as an RPer myself what my avatar is actually doing is completely irrelevant to what the RP is about. Heck, 95% of the time avatars are just standing there playing their idle animations, the other 5% they're sitting down. As kyeto said others involved in the RP don't take notice of physical peculiarities why should it be any different if everyone suddenly breaks out in dance? Ignore it, and continue your scene just like you would if someone suddenly spazzed out due to forgetting to hit enter, or as I have seen on some occasions, those who don't even bother to use a sit animation on chairs and just stand on them. No one asks if you've had a seizure or wonders why you're standing on chairs.
The fact of the matter is that if your RP is so fragile a disco ball is able to ruin it, your RP isn't that good, or you're putting way to much into what an otherwise idle avatar is doing.
Want to annoy the person who just dropped an amp into the middle of your shindig? Ignore it completely and carry on like nothing happened. If you don't feed them they'll get bored before the amp even expires.
This is probably the single best advice given regarding RPers with panties in a bunch over party amps and something I cannot figure out why isn't more common.
Honestly, as an RPer myself what my avatar is actually doing is completely irrelevant to what the RP is about. Heck, 95% of the time avatars are just standing there playing their idle animations, the other 5% they're sitting down. As kyeto said others involved in the RP don't take notice of physical peculiarities why should it be any different if everyone suddenly breaks out in dance? Ignore it, and continue your scene just like you would if someone suddenly spazzed out due to forgetting to hit enter, or as I have seen on some occasions, those who don't even bother to use a sit animation on chairs and just stand on them. No one asks if you've had a seizure or wonders why you're standing on chairs.
The fact of the matter is that if your RP is so fragile a disco ball is able to ruin it, your RP isn't that good, or you're putting way to much into what an otherwise idle avatar is doing.
Want to annoy the person who just dropped an amp into the middle of your shindig? Ignore it completely and carry on like nothing happened. If you don't feed them they'll get bored before the amp even expires.
Little hint: It might also have to do with the fact that it FORCES someones Character to do something. Also, did you ever consider that when someone roleplays in a Social Zone, that they want the setting of the zone, or, as protogoth earlier stated: The one disturbed might be using an Emote that is activated via limited item.
Keep in mind that when the Breen Episode came out originally, there was a Grenade that did freeze people in the area of impact, it did not work in combat, but it disrupted emotes, stopped people running when they tried to get somewhere on the station. Surprise, it got nerfed.
We have ignore, we have the ability to disable whole channels. So there is no reason to not give a 'Disable forced emotes' toggle in the game options. Or even better: Remove the forced dance, keep the flashy effects. Done.
Also, who the hell do you 'RPers have no right of first way in channels' guys are? So Roleplayers have no right to be undisturbed, but Dancing Griefer Ball Users have the right to fire an object that forces someone into an interaction? Suuuure there.
Little hint: It might also have to do with the fact that it FORCES someones Character to do something. Also, did you ever consider that when someone roleplays in a Social Zone, that they want the setting of the zone, or, as protogoth earlier stated: The one disturbed might be using an Emote that is activated via limited item.
You are more than welcome to use the social zones, but you also cannot force people out of the zone you do not like. Anymore than the trolls wish to push you out.
Again, Suspension of Disbelief. Your Character dances? Ignore it. Just like when you spaz out if you misclick something. Or if you mistype something... Of if you CORRECT a typo. You just roll with the punches and keep playing. There have been several times I have been RPing, and due to my mistyping, my avatar jumped up, sprinted across the room and began pinballing around the mess hall. Did that ruin my immersion? Did my party think I was a spaziod? Was I under attack by a devidan? Nope... No Comment. I stopped what I was trying to do, typed out my reply and calmly went back to my seat as if nothing happened. No one batted an eye at that behavior. Neither should they when you suddenly have a jig in your pants.
It is a Q item anyways, If he can make an android, who is physically unable to understand emotions, bust a gut laughing, I think he can make your Stoic Vulcan with two left feet do the mambo. Hell, USE IT! Make it part of your RP where you are suddenly under attack by Q who is bored and trying to make you dance for ihs entertainment. How would you approach this? How would you confront an omnipotent being who is bored and using you as a puppet? Maybe you reason with him? Maybe you fire an anti-tachyon pulse to disrupt his control? OMG SO MANY OPTIONS!!! All more exciting than drinking tea and chatting idely about a war no one is quite sure about.
Also, if you REALLY just want the setting, you can create a private map of most social zones in the foundry. Add some NPCs wandering around, some friendly patrols. and BAM! you have a private map where you and your friends can RP to your hearts delight. You can have a map set up within a half hour if you are new to it.
Keep in mind that when the Breen Episode came out originally, there was a Grenade that did freeze people in the area of impact, it did not work in combat, but it disrupted emotes, stopped people running when they tried to get somewhere on the station. Surprise, it got nerfed.
We have ignore, we have the ability to disable whole channels. So there is no reason to not give a 'Disable forced emotes' toggle in the game options. Or even better: Remove the forced dance, keep the flashy effects. Done.
Your character is forced into dancing... but you can still conduct business, and more importantly MOVE OUT OF THE WAY. Big Difference there. The cryo grenade was nerfed because you it stopped you from moving, put you in combat, and closed all your windows. AND it could be used in social zones. That made it prime ammo for trolls to lob them at the Exchange and Bank, forcing everyones window to close and freezing them there. Add a friend or two, and you can chain them and leave the group of victims stuck there permanently.
With the Party Amp. You can still conduct your in-game business. You can still open windows. And, most of all, YOU ARE STILL ABLE TO WALK AWAY!!! . Literally the only group that has an issue with this are the hardcore RPers with thin skin.
Also, who the hell do you 'RPers have no right of first way in channels' guys are? So Roleplayers have no right to be undisturbed, but Dancing Griefer Ball Users have the right to fire an object that forces someone into an interaction? Suuuure there.
You have every right to RP. You have every right to play the game how you like. However, you cannot demand the behaviors of others be modified to fit your behavior. Yes, it is a dickish and trolly move of people who ambush RPers. I am not encouraging this behavior. I am against trolling and severely punish anyone in my fleet who have been convicted of such crimes.
It is much easier to modify the attitude of yourself rather than the behaviors of others.
Live on Earth. Work in Space. Play with Dragons. Join the best add on to STO, the Neverwinter holodeck program! Only 14 GPL a month.
Also, who the hell do you 'RPers have no right of first way in channels' guys are? So Roleplayers have no right to be undisturbed, but Dancing Griefer Ball Users have the right to fire an object that forces someone into an interaction? Suuuure there.
Easy there, Mate. The origin of this thread was clearly yet another camoflaged attempt to claim the Disco Balls are Heresy. I find them fun and entertaining. But I get how some people do not. I, for one, exercise restraint and decorum with these items. My friends and I like them and we always have a good time with them.
But if you're going to tag with me with some overly emotional name which is just this side of a ToS violation, when I've never fired one off near you and you have no proof that I did, then I may need to rethink my position on this topic. I play this game for my entertainment, not yours. I am more than willing to adjust my play style and use of ingame items to accommodate others playing in the same instance as myself. The key word in the last sentence is compromise. In case you missed it. I am more than willing to compromise. To a point.
But I am not going to act like I am in some sort of church or temple while I am playing STO. Immersion is immersion. You're either immersed or you're not. This is something no one outside yourself can help you with. If shiny flashing lights and a catchy beat which runs for 120 seconds can distract someone to the point of anger, then I sincerely hope they do not have a driver's license or access to firearms and ammunition.
A six year old boy and his starship. Living the dream.
new ESD will look good when ready and hopefully mostly bug free.
now we all know that disk balls are here to stay. and the kids have there weapon to make the old people mad.
now you will give old people new gun "antidisco" now save time you use the "Avalanche" remove the snowball and put into it a "anti-discoball" now "them" the player would need to buy from GPL Vendors.
now say that you are busy using the bank and a kid start a discoball over your head now at that time your gun come active you just aim and shot, big bang and ball is gone.
Comments
Un-frakkin'-believable. :P
I do. And ignore it. It's just a long line of scrolling text I don't even notice. I stop by ESD simply out of convenience for missions/grinds/whatever. And don't even notice the zone chat.
What I find most amusing about this thread is there are people who think RPing on what amounts to an Open Channel are surprised and angry when the bored target them. I RP with one or two of my toons. The people I RP with are smart enough to not wave fresh red meat in front of starving Rottweilers. We RP on a private TS server. Problem solved. Without overburdening the STO servers or drawing unnecessary/unwanted attention to ourselves. Both the Server and the Client for TS are free to download and the server isn't hard at all to install.
Would I like to be able to RP in Chat? Yup, sure would. Will there ever be a time when such is possible? Not that I can see without some rather drastic alterations to STO as it is right now. Adding GMs to STO probably means volunteers who are unpaid by pwe/cryptic. Volunteers sometimes have a tendency to be a little overzealous and somewhat selective about enforcing rules. And they are all but impossible to remove when they do so. Doesn't happen as often as some think but it does happen. Are there cost effective alternatives to what the OP suggests which are available right now? Yup, sure are. And they work. All without pwe/cryptic having to get involved at all.
Saying there are no alternatives and pwe/cryptic has to do something about this means admitting the bored and the trolls have won. Might as well go back to playing Internet Solitaire or a Web browser game.
WoW had RP servers. That's where I'd start.. petitioning the dev's for an RP server, and a free xfer to it.
Do you, OP, have ANY clue what you sound like here? Obviously not ......
It's not going to change peoples. Emotes, Balloon Guns, Party Favors are in via the dev team. Get used to it.
Chat is too easy to fix: make your own RP channel in a separate tab........but the dude in pink hair doing pushups on your head will not stop.
I really can't believe someone would post something like this.
Some people are just silly I guess.
D'angelo specifically said that the new map was being done for two reasons. First, It was functionally awkward for new players to navigate (And it really was. Every 5 minutes in zone chat you get some noob who is asking where the Shipyard is, or the bank.. or the exchange...) Thus, it was not serving it's purpose of being a good central hub for players to navigate, get task done, learn those task, and then move on with the game. Second, it was not very "trekkie" looking. And as this game is a Star Trek Game, and this is the first real social zone new players see, it should be the best of the best. More immersion, more trek. More polished sets would mean one less hurdle for new players, meaning more player retention and thus a healthier game. Thumbs up all around!
To the OP: Welcome to the Internet. This is how people act when you give them anonymity plus an audience. You will never totally get rid of gorn jokes, political jokes, or people with a grave misunderstanding of Temporal Mechanics. You are going to have people trolling your RP. You are going to have people detreading the zone. Adapt to survive! Take your RP to a private, invite only zone. Or simply ignore the trolls and the actions of your avatars.
How many times have you started to type something, but forgot to click "enter"? The result: your avatar spazzes out and starts jumping like a lunatic. Do the other players make a remake like "are you ill?" or "Is that a new dance?"? Generally... NO!! Rule of thumb is to have a buffer for stupid actions like that and just pretend it didn't happen. The Show must go on. Same thing applies to Subspace party amps. If one is thrown on top of your quiet tea party, continue have the tea party and ignore your avatar. All the dialogue happens in chat (which, is hopefully team chat, as to dodge Spam); you can easily roll your eyes and continue your scene as if you're sitting quietly sipping Earl Grey.
It's called Improve, Suspension of Disbelief, and Selective Focus.
Regardless of the trolls and the ban of Zone chat, I will visit the New ESD. I applaud the work that Cryptic is putting into it. And will continue using the Socials zones as much as I do now.
It's a circle. How is a circle hard to navigate?
Again, the shape of the outside of the station is a circle. Inside, it's a circle. Looks as trekkie as could be with all the ships flying around that you can see from the windows.
I'm not against updating ESD. I'm not really for it either. Just don't care enough.
But the current ESD is really easy to navigate. And it does tend to follow the shape of the structure.
I've been to it on Tribble. It didn't move the needle on immersion for me at all. It doesn't even look all that more Trek. It looks nice. But so does the current ESD.
It does make some things easier to find since they just clumped them all up. Which is probably the only way they could have made things easier to find than placing them in a circle.
So there is that.
Zone chat, OTOH, can be a problem. I seem to have the misfortune to be on ESD when Zone chat is full of ill-informed right-wing asshats. If I get annoyed at this, I just close the chat window. The only time I ever came across some RPGers was during an Aademy event - there were two of them sat at a table by the bar, and my particle popped a hologram. I shot it with a KB3 pulsewave, and it landed on their table. Up until that point I thought they were NPCs, but then one of them jumped up, and the other said "aaah! what's happening?"(commendably fast typing there, really). I checked the chat window (Local) after I killed the hologram, and saw more of their conversation. So, no, RPGers aren't a problem.
The problem with social hubs (apart from chat being full of ill-informed right-wing asshats) is that everything you can do there can be accomplished remotely. The only exceptions are skill re-spec, BOff training/recruiting, personal/ship tailor, a very few DOff assignments, and buying a new ship. Everything else can be done elsewhere - missions from the journal, sector space traders and replicators for commodities and consumables, the SS Azura II or a Ferengi bridge for bank/exchange/mail, Dil store on the inventory tab, components and regenerators for healing (they drop like flies in STFs), and now you can even change ships in space. The main reason ESD is underused is not because it doesn't look sparkly or because it's difficult to navigate, or because of other players being asshats, it's because there's only about three things to do there that you can't do elsewhere. As for minor hubs, like Ganalda or DS-K7, they're ghost towns. I suspect DS-K7 and Ganalda only have visitors because you don't need to run a mile between the bank and the vendors.
If the new-look ESD is shiny, I will approve. If it is not, I won't. Either way, I (and probably hundreds of others) will not be spending more time there than we already do, unless more genuinely unique interactions are added. And if they change the outside to be different to the familiar overgrown mushroom we all know and love, I suspect there will be much anger heading Cryptic's way.
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
are you trying to defend cryptic CS like its renowned thats what i was getting at i put it this way again a lot of what cryptic lets ppl get away with in this game would have my wow account banned 10 times over and right now im just talking about the chat like what goes on in ESD this not counting harassing a player that just trying to RP that some unnamed fleet loves to do i got a final warning on my wow account for using /spit on some one who had me on ignore so that tell you a lot about pwe cryptic CS and about what they do and dont care about
system Lord Baal is dead
i think i upset you today im sorry can we be friends again?
system Lord Baal is dead
system Lord Baal is dead
Please carry on with white-knighting for an admitted pedophile, I am sure this will bring many wonderful things into your life and gain you a lot of popularity.
im just calling cryptic CS as i see it i do not like it any more then you do but its true
system Lord Baal is dead
Do people REALLY feel "unsafe and harassed" by the bloody things?!?
Just today my fleetmates found a fleet posing for a group photo on Defera and I did my part to make it fun!
http://7thfederationfleet.com/gallery/m/15616310/detail/146510#pid=1744674
I really don't understand why people complain about them so much. WASD key's exist.
This is probably the single best advice given regarding RPers with panties in a bunch over party amps and something I cannot figure out why isn't more common.
Honestly, as an RPer myself what my avatar is actually doing is completely irrelevant to what the RP is about. Heck, 95% of the time avatars are just standing there playing their idle animations, the other 5% they're sitting down. As kyeto said others involved in the RP don't take notice of physical peculiarities why should it be any different if everyone suddenly breaks out in dance? Ignore it, and continue your scene just like you would if someone suddenly spazzed out due to forgetting to hit enter, or as I have seen on some occasions, those who don't even bother to use a sit animation on chairs and just stand on them. No one asks if you've had a seizure or wonders why you're standing on chairs.
The fact of the matter is that if your RP is so fragile a disco ball is able to ruin it, your RP isn't that good, or you're putting way to much into what an otherwise idle avatar is doing.
Want to annoy the person who just dropped an amp into the middle of your shindig? Ignore it completely and carry on like nothing happened. If you don't feed them they'll get bored before the amp even expires.
Little hint: It might also have to do with the fact that it FORCES someones Character to do something. Also, did you ever consider that when someone roleplays in a Social Zone, that they want the setting of the zone, or, as protogoth earlier stated: The one disturbed might be using an Emote that is activated via limited item.
Keep in mind that when the Breen Episode came out originally, there was a Grenade that did freeze people in the area of impact, it did not work in combat, but it disrupted emotes, stopped people running when they tried to get somewhere on the station. Surprise, it got nerfed.
We have ignore, we have the ability to disable whole channels. So there is no reason to not give a 'Disable forced emotes' toggle in the game options. Or even better: Remove the forced dance, keep the flashy effects. Done.
Also, who the hell do you 'RPers have no right of first way in channels' guys are? So Roleplayers have no right to be undisturbed, but Dancing Griefer Ball Users have the right to fire an object that forces someone into an interaction? Suuuure there.
http://1-media-cdn.foolz.us/ffuuka/board/q/image/1347/05/1347051825130.png
Fleet Admiral Rylana - Fed Tac - U.S.S Wild Card - Tactical Miracle Worker Cruiser
Lifetime Subscriber since 2012 == 17,200 Accolades = RIP PvP and Vice Squad
Chief of Starfleet Intelligence Service == Praise Cheesus
Sounds about right.
You are more than welcome to use the social zones, but you also cannot force people out of the zone you do not like. Anymore than the trolls wish to push you out.
Again, Suspension of Disbelief. Your Character dances? Ignore it. Just like when you spaz out if you misclick something. Or if you mistype something... Of if you CORRECT a typo. You just roll with the punches and keep playing. There have been several times I have been RPing, and due to my mistyping, my avatar jumped up, sprinted across the room and began pinballing around the mess hall. Did that ruin my immersion? Did my party think I was a spaziod? Was I under attack by a devidan? Nope... No Comment. I stopped what I was trying to do, typed out my reply and calmly went back to my seat as if nothing happened. No one batted an eye at that behavior. Neither should they when you suddenly have a jig in your pants.
It is a Q item anyways, If he can make an android, who is physically unable to understand emotions, bust a gut laughing, I think he can make your Stoic Vulcan with two left feet do the mambo. Hell, USE IT! Make it part of your RP where you are suddenly under attack by Q who is bored and trying to make you dance for ihs entertainment. How would you approach this? How would you confront an omnipotent being who is bored and using you as a puppet? Maybe you reason with him? Maybe you fire an anti-tachyon pulse to disrupt his control? OMG SO MANY OPTIONS!!! All more exciting than drinking tea and chatting idely about a war no one is quite sure about.
Also, if you REALLY just want the setting, you can create a private map of most social zones in the foundry. Add some NPCs wandering around, some friendly patrols. and BAM! you have a private map where you and your friends can RP to your hearts delight. You can have a map set up within a half hour if you are new to it.
Your character is forced into dancing... but you can still conduct business, and more importantly MOVE OUT OF THE WAY. Big Difference there. The cryo grenade was nerfed because you it stopped you from moving, put you in combat, and closed all your windows. AND it could be used in social zones. That made it prime ammo for trolls to lob them at the Exchange and Bank, forcing everyones window to close and freezing them there. Add a friend or two, and you can chain them and leave the group of victims stuck there permanently.
With the Party Amp. You can still conduct your in-game business. You can still open windows. And, most of all, YOU ARE STILL ABLE TO WALK AWAY!!! . Literally the only group that has an issue with this are the hardcore RPers with thin skin.
You have every right to RP. You have every right to play the game how you like. However, you cannot demand the behaviors of others be modified to fit your behavior. Yes, it is a dickish and trolly move of people who ambush RPers. I am not encouraging this behavior. I am against trolling and severely punish anyone in my fleet who have been convicted of such crimes.
It is much easier to modify the attitude of yourself rather than the behaviors of others.
Easy there, Mate. The origin of this thread was clearly yet another camoflaged attempt to claim the Disco Balls are Heresy. I find them fun and entertaining. But I get how some people do not. I, for one, exercise restraint and decorum with these items. My friends and I like them and we always have a good time with them.
But if you're going to tag with me with some overly emotional name which is just this side of a ToS violation, when I've never fired one off near you and you have no proof that I did, then I may need to rethink my position on this topic. I play this game for my entertainment, not yours. I am more than willing to adjust my play style and use of ingame items to accommodate others playing in the same instance as myself. The key word in the last sentence is compromise. In case you missed it. I am more than willing to compromise. To a point.
But I am not going to act like I am in some sort of church or temple while I am playing STO. Immersion is immersion. You're either immersed or you're not. This is something no one outside yourself can help you with. If shiny flashing lights and a catchy beat which runs for 120 seconds can distract someone to the point of anger, then I sincerely hope they do not have a driver's license or access to firearms and ammunition.
now we all know that disk balls are here to stay. and the kids have there weapon to make the old people mad.
now you will give old people new gun "antidisco" now save time you use the "Avalanche" remove the snowball and put into it a "anti-discoball" now "them" the player would need to buy from GPL Vendors.
now say that you are busy using the bank and a kid start a discoball over your head now at that time your gun come active you just aim and shot, big bang and ball is gone.
Yuuuuuuuup.