Firiona Vie Starting Languages for the Agnarr Server

One idea that might attract role players & causals looking for server immersion without inconveniencing players looking to get off to a quick start on the upcoming TLP server would be to use FV starting languages for the new server. Without a "common" language the characters would have to teach each their languages, thereby creating some fun interaction at the start of the server later this year (late May/early June?).
Those players wishing to move on would only have to learn whatever the likely "unofficial" language of the server is. On FV I believe it is Elvish (I am not sure---its been a while since I played there). Since learning a language on EQ takes only 10 to 15 minutes the process is quick & people can be engaged in it as much or as little as they like.

Lets make it take 2 months to understand, like 3-4 to kind of speak, and 2 years to be fluent.

Honestly that would be kinda cool, people would just use voice though.

LOL---true. Or they would use chat channels. But that wouldn't take away from the RP or social immersion of it. And it wouldn't inconvenience anyone.

Yeh, too many ways around that. Although it is a cool idea.

You don't think it would inconvenience anyone to have to create a channel to talk to members of their pickup group? Really? When the chat system is down half the time?

Im all for allowing you role players to have the Firionia Vie language rule, as long as we get the no drop item/trade rule as well

I've never seen the channels down myself when I've played. Regardless, it takes about 10 minutes to learn a language on EQ (at least back in the day on FV). You just group with the teacher and they spam away. You can easily pick up the 2 most important languages (Elvish & Human) in your initial hour of play on the day you roll up your character. And that is assuming your race doesn't know one of them at the start.

Me prefer not language, but FV loot ruleset Maybe not from beginning, but at server got pop expansion unlock? Like Quarm server got FV loot after move.

Language rules for real roleplaying should mean putting the actual limits back onto leveling the languages. Spamming a chat window with someone that has the languages you need is just a tedium and not real roleplaying. It also makes it annoying if you roll a non-elf later in the servers life as you won't understand anyone until you learn elvish (as elvish would likely again be the substitute all/all language). Nor is elvish being the language of trade really that RP when the larger port cities in the game are mostly human dominated.

Better to be firm yourself and set your language to the "one you know and speak being a trueborn Ogre (or whatever)" and see how many people want to do that with you. Putting language restrictions of Agnarr will turn more people off than on.

Maybe someday a real roleplay server will be tried again (probably progression makes the most sense), but you need the rules with meat from the original FV ruleset: (one character per account, no drop loot code -but not trivial loot code as it breaks quests) and probably some improvements on past things: (can only group/guild within deity teams... coding for this exists from the one old Zek, language leveling is capped so the mass spam trick doesn't work, no zonewide chats or searches work, no server wide chat channels). Probably some other hardcore kind of aspects... not sure this is a $ viable concept really.

No thank you. It can be fun to do some light in character banter on occasion with some friends, but I'd rather not have roleplay forced upon me.

Yes, but I was replying to someone who suggested it should take a year or two instead of 10 minutes.

I am glad that this thread is producing some kind of conversation. Maybe the developers will take note. That was the point of the thread in the first place .

Philosophically I agree with you. Real language learning obviously takes more than 10 minutes of "spamming". However, in a mmorpg the process is going to have be sped up "somewhat". On the FV server this meant learning while you conversed in group chat, which took usually about 10 to 15 minutes depending how much talking people did. This was the system set up by the early developers of EQ (McQuaid et al.) & while the process in itself isn't very interesting it is mercifully quick and allows for some player interaction if they wish to take advantage of it (or not if they don't).

You're right when you say that the port cities of the game are human dominated (I assume you mean Qeynos, Freeport, Shadowhaven, etc). However, for whatever reason, the early players on the FV server chose Elvish as their "common" language. I don't know what the logic of that choice was. I played a little on FV when it first came out and before they cut back on some of their RP rules. As far I remember there were some people who preferred using Human as the standard language--probably in part for the reason you mentioned--but Elvish ultimately won out.

A "real" roleplaying server following some sort of progression would be interesting, especially if it used some of your ideas. However, I tend to agree with you that it may not work out financially.

Nobody, neither myself nor any of the other commentators, were suggesting "forcing role playing" on anybody. If anyone wanted to "force" roleplaying on other people than they would be calling for a converting Agnarr into a RP server. No one on this thread has come near to doing that. Besides it is probably too late for any major chance to be made to the basic design of the server.

I appreciate you trying to get some fun interaction going, but this misses the mark in my opinion. It's tedious (even though it only takes 10 minutes) having to spam languages to someone and it is annoying to contact someone's trader alt and have them ask if you can repeat what you said, because they didn't understand what you were asking them.

I appreciate your input. Initially I thought your first post was just some trolling---obviously it wasn't. A little disagreement is good to keep a thread going. I can see why some people might see the 10 or 20 minute process to learn a language or two as being an extra chore. My argument is simply that this small learning process will contribute to greater server interaction and unity. Certainly, it opens the door for a little non-mandatory RP fun & when compared to most necessary tedious activities in present day mmorpgs it isn't very time consuming.

What made FV work was the full rule-set, cherry picking from it will just break whatever you use it on in some measure.
Language was important because of the one player limit (originally and great mechanic) still worked with two chars but now its just an issue everyone speeds past with scripts to get Elvish and likely little else.

I played on FV during its heyday (the Luclin period mainly) when the full original rule-set was up & running. The one player limit was there mainly to limit "twinking" which was a much complained problem during the early EQ era. The rule-set was very successful and FV was one of the highest population servers at the time. It still is, I think, despite the rules long since being watered down. I doubt you will see anything like it again unfortunately.

I haven't played there in years so I don't know what they do there now with regard to the language situation (I read something about people talking to mercs--lol). Ultimately, if they do use the FV starting languages, once the server gains some age many people will just find ways to quickly get by this. This was the case on FV even when they still had the original rule-set. Nevertheless, using the FV languages won't "break" anything & will contribute to greater server interaction and RP opportunities, at least in the beginning. People who wish to "speed past" this will be able to at their leisure.

Quick note - the main reason we as players liked the one char limit was reputation pure and simple. It invested people in that char like no other sever could claim. If someone wanted to twink it just required another account, with cost of software to boot. So there were twinks just not as many.

I would rather the people that wish to role play do so without the rule than loading it on the backs of others with no interest.
Just throwing a rule in that does nothing to enhance the game and adds another task to the unwilling is in fact "breaking" the game. Wont make it unplayable by any stretch but the game would be worst by whatever measure the rule causes for most folks.

FV was a designated role-play server with a very different rule-set, no one had any expectations of ease and we embraced it. A TLP RP server with those rules would be great though.

As I stated before I played on the FV server during its zenith when the original rule set was functional. At that time it was easily the most interesting of all EQ servers. I also agree that a TLP RP server with those rules would be great, however unoptimistic I may be with regard to it being implemented.

However, I don't agree that implementing such a rule here would in anyway whatsoever "breaking" the game. I think I mentioned above the reason why it would actually enhance the game (which is more or less the same reason as in the original FV) so I won't restate it. While I can understand why some people might be mildly put back by the lack of a starting standard language (as I remember a few were on the FV server as well), the overall balance would here be positive. That is why I started this thread in the first place.

Not a bad idea. Since DBG can now do truebox code, combine that with a 'no voice app' policy & scan for ventrillo, etc, only allowing play without them running.

They're never going to disable voice chat, but my wife sure would love if they did lol. Once people find out that the person behind her toon is female, the typical guy behavior begins....