A New Year, a new RP?

[Roadbuster]

If it ever does kick back off, I might try to talk my wife into signing up here as Starscream and only using her account in the Rp section. She's a fan too, but not to the level I am. So any posting done in the non-RP section would be by her and not me. I can't see myself RP'ing as an Autobot and have a pretty extensive history Rp'ing in the Decepticon camp on other Rp forums.

[Time Traveller]

Do you have any input from your other forums? I'm just curious as to how things were done at other places you've enjoyed.

[Roadbuster]

They really operated no differently than the RP operates here. Maybe a bigger cast of people posting regularly and a more structured/tiered system. There's also a few things that tends to drive me away from RP boards.... like when it's heavily live action movie influenced or there are more OC's (created characters) than established characters.

[Time Traveller]

Well, we had a bigger cast at one point... What do you mean by tiered/structured system?

[Roadbuster]

Well, we had a bigger cast at one point... What do you mean by tiered/structured system?

Ah, just more organized by planets, factions or wars. Maybe create a new forum for the RP (outside of Transformers Universe) that way you can divide and reorganize the threads into separate sub-forums?

[Time Traveller]

I see, and I like. I will start setting something up.

[Minerva]

Good to see you around, Rattrap!

I might be interested in participating in a new RP as well.

Feel free to make more RP comments and/or suggestions!

[Time Traveller]

Also, I think Minerva finally fixed it so you guys can post in here. I was having some confusion with the new admin control panel. Please let me know if you are having any difficulty here.

[Rattrap]

Also, I think Minerva finally fixed it so you guys can post in here. I was having some confusion with the new admin control panel. Please let me know if you are having any difficulty here.

It seems like viewing and posting is working now. I guess if we are starting with a small multi-faction group we could maybe do something again an external threat to all of cybertron? Chilling and eating energon pizza would work too. I would be down for trying whatever people wanted to get going. I think Redline would be willing to give it another shot too.

[Sideways]

A place to 'break the ice' would be a nice start to the RP. A bar or pizza parlor (Salvatore's, TT? lol) would be ideal. We can establish a motive or reason to start a conflict, and we can move off-world again and perhaps visit Earth or any other planets in our travels.

The whole "Cybertron's dying, let's evacuate" plot could come into play. Something happens in the OLD rp that causes a cataclysmic event that forces us offworld. We could make for the stars and get lost and crash somewhere. Maybe a time-displacement event that leaves us stranded in the past/future. Cambreaker's flagship gets lost in one section of time while we get flung to another.

(TT, If you have any future problems with post permissions, you can ask me. I know my way around the phpbb ACP)

[Time Traveller]

I like all the suggestions so far, and I'm glad it seems to be working so well for everyone. I do like Roadbuster's idea to have it a little more G1-centric this time around, and I like Sideways' idea to have the main cast off Cybertron, and I'd maybe even be willing to give Earth a shot (so long as humans don't get TOO involved). Since we're starting out small, perhaps we could follow a more modern archetype where each team has a few players to begin with, and each struggling to get back to Cybertron... as new players come in, we could introduce them as having crashed somewhere else, or have stumbled across the skirmish some other way.

[Rhymus]

i've been lurking. Resuming posting has been my New Year's resolution. (How's my driving? Call 1-800-FAIL.)

i wrote a fanfic, which should function as a stand-alone story, but could work as a setting for the RP reboot. You can read it here.

I figured you'd be in on it. Did we not have a bar or something where our characters can mingle (Cybertronian Pizza Parlor? :P ). We can just take time and talk with one another before we try and get a story going again. I'm going to branch out to my friends and see if anyone is interested in a RP.

i wrote about a bar. i called it the Space Bar, but i also thought about naming it Maccadam's, Swerve's, maybe something with a Rollbar pun (the Roll Bar, Rollbar's Bar, something like that), a gag reference to mixing drinks (like Mixmaster's or Quickmix's or the Blendtron), or something like CHUG (or CHUGGER or CHUGGEUR). See also: http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Destron_Pizza

i botched the "take it slow" thing, but i deliberately scripted my Threat To Both Factions (TTBF) to be an easily deleted bit at the end of my post, so we can replace it with a different TTBF, and/or have the TTBF later, if ever. (Minor spoiler alert: My TTBF is for Cybertron itself to go missing. Possibly the Tonka GoBots, as part of some attempt to preserve the existence of their entire universe, actually stole the planet Cybertron?

If it ever does kick back off, I might try to talk my wife into signing up here as Starscream and only using her account in the Rp section. She's a fan too, but not to the level I am. So any posting done in the non-RP section would be by her and not me. I can't see myself RP'ing as an Autobot and have a pretty extensive history Rp'ing in the Decepticon camp on other Rp forums.

Either/both Mr. and/or Mrs. Roadbuster are certainly welcome, but i'm not sure if you said what you meant or meant what you said. If she's not to your level, wouldn't "any posting done in the non-RP section would be by" you and not her? Didn't you change your screen name to Roadbuster precisely because you intended to rejoin the RP as that Autobot? i think you also said in another thread that you could play Starscream in your sleep, so i guess you do mean for that role to be your wife's (and you could help her if she gets stuck, is that the plan?)

As for fans making up their own Original Characters, i can think of at least one argument in favor of OCs, and at least two arguments against using canon characters as Player Characters. OCs are a way for fans to add something new and unique to the universe they love so much, while using a canon character as a PC deprives other players access to that part of the universe they love so much--especially if the player (deliberately or accidentally) plays that character too differently from any canonical portrayals. That being said, i think the TFL RPGs tend to be small enough :-( to accommodate OCs and canon characters.

[Roadbuster]

If it ever does kick back off, I might try to talk my wife into signing up here as Starscream and only using her account in the Rp section. She's a fan too, but not to the level I am. So any posting done in the non-RP section would be by her and not me. I can't see myself RP'ing as an Autobot and have a pretty extensive history Rp'ing in the Decepticon camp on other Rp forums.

Either/both Mr. and/or Mrs. Roadbuster are certainly welcome, but i'm not sure if you said what you meant or meant what you said. If she's not to your level, wouldn't "any posting done in the non-RP section would be by" you and not her? Didn't you change your screen name to Roadbuster precisely because you intended to rejoin the RP as that Autobot? i think you also said in another thread that you could play Starscream in your sleep, so i guess you do mean for that role to be your wife's (and you could help her if she gets stuck, is that the plan?)

As for fans making up their own Original Characters, i can think of at least one argument in favor of OCs, and at least two arguments against using canon characters as Player Characters. OCs are a way for fans to add something new and unique to the universe they love so much, while using a canon character as a PC deprives other players access to that part of the universe they love so much--especially if the player (deliberately or accidentally) plays that character too differently from any canonical portrayals. That being said, i think the TFL RPGs tend to be small enough to accommodate OCs and canon characters.

You misunderstood what I said. "IF" I can talk my wife into registering here, she IS a Transformers fan, but mostly from what she's seen in the live action movies. Therefore, she doesn't quite have the history that I have with the franchise being a fan for 30 years. She is more of a conversationalist and the entire forum would be hers to post in by her (in her own words) and I would only be "borrowing" her account (assuming she even registers as a Decepticon, or at all) to partake in the RP. Something she has already stated having no interest in.

The Roadbuster moniker/username was NOT chosen by me because I have an interest in playing him or any Autobot for that matter in the RP. I drive for a living....a lot....therefore the name itself fits me and who I am on a personal level. Nothing more, nothing less. I've had a few username changes here at TFL, but hey.....so have you if I recall.

I've played Starscream on Transformers Role Playing forums before where all the people there do IS Role Play. It's (the RP) held to a really high standard over there and I've been told by more than a few that I've got a good feel for Starscream and bring out his personality really well within the context of the written word. Both through his speech (thought process) mannerisms as well as his deviancy through action. But I've also played a host of others (Decepticons) and don't really care who I get, I can make it work. I'm versatile in that regard.

As far as Canons go vs. OC's....OC's require A LOT of work for everyone else involved in the RP (that isn't using the character) to get a feel for the character and every time a battle/confrontation ensues, having to revert back and "study" someone elses character profile sheet for generalizations, strengths, weaknesses, powers...exc, is not only mundane/boring but a repetitive drill that can be avoided when there are G1 (Canon) characters available (especially major, influential ones) that any passerby or wayward fan can click on the thread and instantly know/visualize who they're reading about. Not to mention everyone knows where everyone stands in battle and takes some actual skilled writing ability for a character with less firepower to get the upper hand on another who has some serious firepower. Personalities aren't set in stone either when playing Canon characters. You can go by the animation/comic for inspiration, of course, but I always put a personal spin on my Canon characters personality when playing them.

[Time Traveller]

It sounds like you've played in some very rigorous games! I guess we've never had the population to really pull something like that off. Have you read any of our old roleplay threads? What do you make of them?

[Roadbuster]

I haven't RP'ed in at least 4 years. Yeah, they take it pretty seriously over there. It got to the point where I couldn't keep up, due to life getting in the way and all, so I bowed out gracefully and relinquished the majority of the canon accounts I controlled.

I was never really involved in the RP here, and when I actually became "a regular" here all the Deceptions had already left...well a good majority anyways. I did dig through the archives a time-or-two and it looked like a fun place to interact.

[Rattrap]

I vote that we establish a "Robo-rat's Pizza" thread in whatever the active subforum should be called, under the always useful "if you build it, they will come" principle. I would certainly be willing to start such a thread if the appropriate subforum where created.

[Time Traveller]

Do we want to have our setting on Cybertron, or stranded on another planet? The benefits of Cybertron being openness and familiar turf, the benefits of being stranded would be tight-knitted groups and a strong central story thread. Opinions?

[Rhymus]

I vote that we establish a "Robo-rat's Pizza" thread in whatever the active subforum should be called, under the always useful "if you build it, they will come" principle. I would certainly be willing to start such a thread if the appropriate subforum where created.

i built it (CLICK HERE) and no one came. The "tl;dr" in the title was supposed to be a joke! If i change the title of the thread and the name of the bar to "Robo-rat's Pizza", will i get a better response?

Be honest with me:

Does what i wrote suffer from "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all"?

or is it actually too long for anyone to bother reading? (It's about 3 pages in Microsoft Word, but it's really just a pile-up of Transformers-themed puns and one-liners.)

Or does my track record with the RP make people mistrust the possibility of RPing with me?

Or is it that i wrote a fanfic with numerous characters, including quite a few OCs, without focusing on a single individual the way "we" generally advocate in TFL's RPGs?

Does it work as a fanfic, but not as a part (or a start) of an RPG? or vice versa, or neither, or both?

ROADBUSTER: i most certainly did misunderstand you! i'm glad i asked for clarification, and i hope you weren't offended by anything i said. Also, since i misunderstood you once, i wonder if i misunderstood you previously?

http://www.transformerland.com/forum/vi ... 0&start=89

Hollow, Skyfire, Skywarp and now Roadbuster.

you have a major identity crisis.

I prefer to call it an "upgrade."

Another Autobot for the RP?

In due time yes. Though the RP wasn't my primary motive for changing usernames. I will let the sides even out first and then I will write my character in...possibilities are endless with this character and I am looking forward to it.

i'm not insisting that you RP as Roadbuster or any other Autobot, but i'm wondering if you previously planned to and changed your mind (and if so, what made you change your mind), or if i misunderstood what you said then, too?

As for changing names, i'm sure not criticizing anyone for it (see sig below). As i told you before (and i still think this is funny): http://transformers-mosaic.deviantart.c ... s-99056410

As for canon characters being easier for other players to recognize/remember, that kind of depends on the specific character and other player(s) involved. Not every fan who wants to RP knows every canon character, not even characters so prominent as Roadbuster and the rest of the Wreckers. (i think G2 was over--finished--before i even heard of Roadbuster or Marvel's G1 comics.)

For this RP, i was thinking i would make OC Chaser my primary character; after reading about your preference for canon characters (but before reading your reasoning for that preference), i considered repurposing a member of the Decepticon rescue squadron (the silvery-whitish one in this picture) as Chaser, then started considering canon G1 characters like Doubledealer, Doubleclouder, Swindler, Scamper, Slammer, Six-Gun... all fairly obscure characters that many serious TransFans still might have to look up to refresh their memories of the Transformers' looks, personalities, abilities, etc. (Not helpfully, in the cases of Swindler and Scamper, i like the look and personality of each character, but kind of wanted to change their names. Doubleclouder, meanwhile, might be like TFL RPG Minerva, retconned as an actual Transformer rather than an organic creature with a Transtector.)

The bar i wrote about could be anywhere--Earth's surface, in orbit around Nebulos, a free-floating space station--it could even be on/near Cybertron if we delete the Threat To Both Factions i wrote at the end. For sitting around chatting, delete the Threat To Both Factions i wrote at the end and let the rest of the story i wrote stand as is; for a bit of action, Trunk and the unspecified Decepticon car (or anyone siding with either of them) could start a bar fight.

[Roadbuster]

ROADBUSTER: i most certainly did misunderstand you! i'm glad i asked for clarification, and i hope you weren't offended by anything i said. Also, since i misunderstood you once, i wonder if i misunderstood you previously?

http://www.transformerland.com/forum/vi ... 0&start=89

Hollow, Skyfire, Skywarp and now Roadbuster.

you have a major identity crisis.

I prefer to call it an "upgrade."

Another Autobot for the RP?

In due time yes. Though the RP wasn't my primary motive for changing usernames. I will let the sides even out first and then I will write my character in...possibilities are endless with this character and I am looking forward to it.

i'm not insisting that you RP as Roadbuster or any other Autobot, but i'm wondering if you previously planned to and changed your mind (and if so, what made you change your mind), or if i misunderstood what you said then, too?

As for changing names, i'm sure not criticizing anyone for it (see sig below). As i told you before (and i still think this is funny): http://transformers-mosaic.deviantart.c ... s-99056410

Hollow is a username I've taken at the Shadow Realm for my "main account" as using any Canon (or any Transformers brand copyrighted character name for that matter) account is strictly reserved for RP accounts. Has no bearing here at TFL. Skyfire is also a username I've used on Galvatrons Lair (since changed to Sixshot)....again has no bearing here. Galvatron just happens to know me from both of those places so let's get that part straight. He just happened to bring it up here. Care to guess who I'm registered as at my most frequented, favorite TF'ers forum of all? TFW2005? Don't have a clue do you? Yeah...not that interesting is it?

And no I don't get offended easily. It just seems like for some people they love to worship the "devil in the details", so I'm spelling it all out for you. I'll also be happy to answer or clarify on anything else you want to quote that I've said since being a member here.

And I might have considered RB at one point in time in the RP, yes, but I reiterate that wasn't my primary focus for the username change. Yes it was an "upgrade" from Skywarp as far as toughness, firepower and overall grit is concerned, but a lot of others would have been as well.

[Rattrap]

I vote that we establish a "Robo-rat's Pizza" thread in whatever the active subforum should be called, under the always useful "if you build it, they will come" principle. I would certainly be willing to start such a thread if the appropriate subforum where created.

i built it (CLICK HERE) and no one came. The "tl;dr" in the title was supposed to be a joke! If i change the title of the thread and the name of the bar to "Robo-rat's Pizza", will i get a better response?

Be honest with me:

Does what i wrote suffer from "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all"?

or is it actually too long for anyone to bother reading? (It's about 3 pages in Microsoft Word, but it's really just a pile-up of Transformers-themed puns and one-liners.)

Or does my track record with the RP make people mistrust the possibility of RPing with me?

Or is it that i wrote a fanfic with numerous characters, including quite a few OCs, without focusing on a single individual the way "we" generally advocate in TFL's RPGs?

Does it work as a fanfic, but not as a part (or a start) of an RPG? or vice versa, or neither, or both?

I think that not specifically asking for comments results in no comments. I think it works fine as an amusing fanfic, but not necessarily as a start to a new RP. It is somewhat lengthy, very reference heavy, full of NPCs, and not posted to the RP subforum.

I do think as a rule people should be focusing on one particular character and if NPCs come up as necessary, that they be kept few in number and out of the spotlight. It's also generally good to keep posts shorter so that the story evolve cooperatively rather than unilaterally. And not that the RP is srs business, but just a series of references does not a compelling story make.

Do we want to have our setting on Cybertron, or stranded on another planet? The benefits of Cybertron being openness and familiar turf, the benefits of being stranded would be tight-knitted groups and a strong central story thread. Opinions?

I do kind of like stranded on a dead cybertron as an option, but that might be a little much. If we do go with another planet, I would prefer one without a large indigenous population (ie not modern earth).