06-21-2020, 11:56 PM
Hi. Very rarely do I make effort posts, but this is something I’ve been thinking about for several months now. Some of the thoughts I’ll bring up here are opinions I’ve sat on for a really long time, and some I’ve only recently started to articulate in discussing with others.
Before everyone mobs me over what I’m sure will be a controversial opinion, I ask that you read what I have to say here with the mindset of viewing Eternia not as an RP game, but through the lens of an author writing a book.
I think in my time playing Eternia, I’ve noticed that one of the bigger flaws of the game is the idea that the story more often than not doesn’t really resolve itself. What I mean by that is if you look at the regular narrative structure of a written piece, you have a clear beginning, rising action/tension, and then a breaking point or climax, followed by resolution and an end. While I’ve played, I think in terms of the overarching plot, I’ve only witnessed 4 of these sorts of ‘climax’ points where the story built towards a satisfying conclusion.
This idea can be seen in the difference between the pre-timeskip Eternia 3 and what we just had in this last war. Before the time-skip, we had plenty of problems that didn’t really support the story, and in the end as things began to fade, we didn’t get a conclusion that was written by players. The narrative was written in the wiki and filled with the 50 year buffer that then gave us what we have now where we started with Myllenoris, Theria, and Osrona.
This shift stuck its landing well and it went on to what I think was one of the most successful and enjoyable war arcs I’ve been a part of. Almost every soldier involved was notable to an extent, they played their parts, and in the end it created an explosive final battle that had massive IC ramifications. If we were to look at this post-timeskip Esshar, the Fall of Osrona would be where the book closed. The ‘wicked White Witch’ was slain, but at a great cost, and with the refugees fleeing to Nysea, Myllenoris having to adjust into a kingdom without Asta, and Nebula still on the prowl, a ‘sequel’ was left available to follow.
Unfortunately, that ‘sequel’ hasn’t really panned out all that well, and like any follow up that falls a bit flat, I think I see a lot of players meandering around hoping for that ‘next big thing’ to pop up, which it very well could. From my time in Spires, I saw arcs of the game come and go, but as I mentioned earlier, I can only think of three of them that had a satisfying beginning, middle, climax, and end. Almost every other was either faded into some weird cloud of AFK characters, lack of care, or boredom that waited and waited in limbo until the next grand seasonal change.
I point all of this out to finally reach the opinion that I expect many won’t agree with, but it’s one I feel like we could discuss as a community.
Episodic Eternia is a healthier way to play.
What I mean by ‘episodic’ is if you look at Spires as one whole story of Agartha, pre-timeskip Esshar as its own tale of Syndicate/Witches v. Holy Kingdom, and now post-timeskip Esshar as its own epic detailing the Fall of Osrona, you get new settings, new stories, and new stages to play out upon.
Imagine if we were offered the possibility to skip forward 10-20 years right now for a moment. Nysea has grown into its own city, a loyalist revival of exorcism, scattered noble houses, and a people who still kneel to the divine Petrakis line. Osrona, meanwhile, has grown into a populist state, now run by a triumvirate that does not owe its power to a bloodline. Both cities rest in an uneasy ceasefire that could be upended any day, but through the efforts of the Coalition, an academy on Starfall has been established that welcomes all young magi wishing to better their talents. I present this example first given it’s where I think we might be in 10-20 years with the current direction of the game. Should someone wish to continue the character they’re playing now, they could be allowed to jump ahead in those 10 years and operate as Berrios and Dun have, two elder characters who I think held a lot of importance in bridging the two time periods together.
Another scenario to consider is one where Barsburg’s invasion claims the mountains, the forests, the south, or some other region. Consider this ‘episode’ or arc to take place in another time jump forward, only this time the factions aren’t Osrona/Myllenoris/Theria, instead we’re given a map of a snowy Barsburg forward point, an area marking Esshar’s populated and perhaps unified area, and a third party neutral zone. This situation is a step further away from what came before it, but it still presents a new environment and a new arc to play out filled with opportunities all on its own.
Taking it even a step beyond that, something of this nature opens the door to plenty of experimental concepts. If Eternia 1 was Valmasia, Eternia 2 was Agartha, and Eternia 3 is Esshar, there’s still a much larger world that is only touched on in tidbits of lore, but never fully realized. Imagine if there wasn’t a stigma against moving to a new environment once one has played itself out, and instead we embraced it to some extent. We could see a setting in Apropriya, Sheng, Agartha or Valmasia in a new time period, or anywhere else in the world.
I’ve arranged this argument in varying levels of separation in order to explain the options we’d have if we opened up to something of this idea, but many of the benefits remain the same between all three.
Often we see characters overstay their welcome, such as Agartha’s Vampires, or characters who burn out once they reach 40-50 years old because they survived to that point. Shifts like this usher in a new cast, and one that is all on level with one another. Barring some elders or pre-existing PCs that transfer into a new environment for one reason or another, there’s something special about the start where everyone is RPL 100, where everyone is climbing to that 200 point, and then the moment where the characters all hit that peak simultaneously and things go off. This sort of level playing field is nearly impossible to recreate while the current story rolls, because some characters hit 200, then 210, then 220, and as we see now with the suffocation of the mimics and lower demons, the division is just too wide to help them really compete.
In my Nysea-Osrona-Academy arc example, consider if we had started there and then introduced a handful of mimics into the game. These mimics are then allowed to infiltrate either the Academy or one of the two factions along with pursuing their own interests. They don’t have to worry about a veteran character who fought through the last two wars coming out of the woods to stomp them, but instead they get to play and grow with the generation they spawn in with.
Themed hiddens, races, and lore also get to make comebacks that right now aren’t really available or even wanted. Necromancy, for instance, is under a hard lock due to its constant use in the past, but perhaps for an ‘episode’ the community wants to play with it once again. A kingdom is introduced where Necromancy is on the rise somewhere outside of it, and the story unfolds. Considering all of the races that have been shuffled in and out, instead of now competing with one another for prevalence as Teraphim, Rhoynish, Demons, and Mimics all do at the given moment, they get their time in the light and are then allowed to come back when the story calls for it.
I’ve gone on arguing my side at length now, and I know the most prominent counter to all I’ve said here is the idea that Eternia’s strength is its continuous story, which is an idea that I actually agree with. Leaving your mark on history is what I think so many players want to achieve, and with that in mind, I would say should a shift to an episodic setting take place, one of the most important things to consider would be to ensure the history is told, that legacies aren’t lost to the wind. Pre-timeskip to Post-timeskip did this well by passing down family names, by directing the history that was set up, and by allowing stories from the past to be retold. I don’t see why this wouldn’t continue on as a trend, or even something that could be looked forward to. A return to Agartha, for instance, would come with a highly developed Levengard, Huangzhou, and Gehenna that reflect where they were left off with an abundance of spire shards at their disposal. A move to Apropriya might allow us to see that Lucien Voss has established a massive house of his own upon his return there, and that his descendents are now one of the primary three families. We’ve been told in the history on the wiki that Valmasia fell and that Ryan Kyros’ reign ended, so what if we’re able to see this setting where the country is trying to reconcile itself? If this history is never wiped and the story strung together from episode to episode, then doesn’t it achieve a similar goal to what we have now?
In my own experience, when the story is fueled and moving, I log in everyday and find some level of enjoyment playing out. My time with my current character was best during the war where he had to grapple with the moralities of it all and where he had to choose what to fight for, and by the end he was still standing, and now, unfortunately, my days are spent waiting for something else to happen. I am of the Day 1 generation that should be preparing to pass the baton on to the next, but that has become difficult given the current climate of the game. There are no new enemies on my level to contend with, because the rising ‘antagonists’ are just too small. I share this because I feel as though it is a similar situation that many find themselves in, even on alts.
It feels like we’re all waiting for someone to spark something new and enjoyable, and unfortunately having the view of an admin and being able to see the full board and all of its pieces, it doesn’t appear to me as though anyone is picking up that mantle that Asta, Alexander/Serea, or Sythaeryn left behind.
--
TL;DR
Consider if Eternia was told in an episodic way with arcs that lasted from a few months to a year or more. They’d continue on until interest was lost, and then perhaps a shift would occur.
And as this subforum is titled, this is obviously just a suggestion, one to think on and discuss. It’s a collection of some of the ideas I’ve had for a while now and I wanted to put out there. Whether you disagree or agree, I felt now would be a good time to share it all, if only to say we had the conversation.
Before everyone mobs me over what I’m sure will be a controversial opinion, I ask that you read what I have to say here with the mindset of viewing Eternia not as an RP game, but through the lens of an author writing a book.
I think in my time playing Eternia, I’ve noticed that one of the bigger flaws of the game is the idea that the story more often than not doesn’t really resolve itself. What I mean by that is if you look at the regular narrative structure of a written piece, you have a clear beginning, rising action/tension, and then a breaking point or climax, followed by resolution and an end. While I’ve played, I think in terms of the overarching plot, I’ve only witnessed 4 of these sorts of ‘climax’ points where the story built towards a satisfying conclusion.
This idea can be seen in the difference between the pre-timeskip Eternia 3 and what we just had in this last war. Before the time-skip, we had plenty of problems that didn’t really support the story, and in the end as things began to fade, we didn’t get a conclusion that was written by players. The narrative was written in the wiki and filled with the 50 year buffer that then gave us what we have now where we started with Myllenoris, Theria, and Osrona.
This shift stuck its landing well and it went on to what I think was one of the most successful and enjoyable war arcs I’ve been a part of. Almost every soldier involved was notable to an extent, they played their parts, and in the end it created an explosive final battle that had massive IC ramifications. If we were to look at this post-timeskip Esshar, the Fall of Osrona would be where the book closed. The ‘wicked White Witch’ was slain, but at a great cost, and with the refugees fleeing to Nysea, Myllenoris having to adjust into a kingdom without Asta, and Nebula still on the prowl, a ‘sequel’ was left available to follow.
Unfortunately, that ‘sequel’ hasn’t really panned out all that well, and like any follow up that falls a bit flat, I think I see a lot of players meandering around hoping for that ‘next big thing’ to pop up, which it very well could. From my time in Spires, I saw arcs of the game come and go, but as I mentioned earlier, I can only think of three of them that had a satisfying beginning, middle, climax, and end. Almost every other was either faded into some weird cloud of AFK characters, lack of care, or boredom that waited and waited in limbo until the next grand seasonal change.
I point all of this out to finally reach the opinion that I expect many won’t agree with, but it’s one I feel like we could discuss as a community.
Episodic Eternia is a healthier way to play.
What I mean by ‘episodic’ is if you look at Spires as one whole story of Agartha, pre-timeskip Esshar as its own tale of Syndicate/Witches v. Holy Kingdom, and now post-timeskip Esshar as its own epic detailing the Fall of Osrona, you get new settings, new stories, and new stages to play out upon.
Imagine if we were offered the possibility to skip forward 10-20 years right now for a moment. Nysea has grown into its own city, a loyalist revival of exorcism, scattered noble houses, and a people who still kneel to the divine Petrakis line. Osrona, meanwhile, has grown into a populist state, now run by a triumvirate that does not owe its power to a bloodline. Both cities rest in an uneasy ceasefire that could be upended any day, but through the efforts of the Coalition, an academy on Starfall has been established that welcomes all young magi wishing to better their talents. I present this example first given it’s where I think we might be in 10-20 years with the current direction of the game. Should someone wish to continue the character they’re playing now, they could be allowed to jump ahead in those 10 years and operate as Berrios and Dun have, two elder characters who I think held a lot of importance in bridging the two time periods together.
Another scenario to consider is one where Barsburg’s invasion claims the mountains, the forests, the south, or some other region. Consider this ‘episode’ or arc to take place in another time jump forward, only this time the factions aren’t Osrona/Myllenoris/Theria, instead we’re given a map of a snowy Barsburg forward point, an area marking Esshar’s populated and perhaps unified area, and a third party neutral zone. This situation is a step further away from what came before it, but it still presents a new environment and a new arc to play out filled with opportunities all on its own.
Taking it even a step beyond that, something of this nature opens the door to plenty of experimental concepts. If Eternia 1 was Valmasia, Eternia 2 was Agartha, and Eternia 3 is Esshar, there’s still a much larger world that is only touched on in tidbits of lore, but never fully realized. Imagine if there wasn’t a stigma against moving to a new environment once one has played itself out, and instead we embraced it to some extent. We could see a setting in Apropriya, Sheng, Agartha or Valmasia in a new time period, or anywhere else in the world.
I’ve arranged this argument in varying levels of separation in order to explain the options we’d have if we opened up to something of this idea, but many of the benefits remain the same between all three.
Often we see characters overstay their welcome, such as Agartha’s Vampires, or characters who burn out once they reach 40-50 years old because they survived to that point. Shifts like this usher in a new cast, and one that is all on level with one another. Barring some elders or pre-existing PCs that transfer into a new environment for one reason or another, there’s something special about the start where everyone is RPL 100, where everyone is climbing to that 200 point, and then the moment where the characters all hit that peak simultaneously and things go off. This sort of level playing field is nearly impossible to recreate while the current story rolls, because some characters hit 200, then 210, then 220, and as we see now with the suffocation of the mimics and lower demons, the division is just too wide to help them really compete.
In my Nysea-Osrona-Academy arc example, consider if we had started there and then introduced a handful of mimics into the game. These mimics are then allowed to infiltrate either the Academy or one of the two factions along with pursuing their own interests. They don’t have to worry about a veteran character who fought through the last two wars coming out of the woods to stomp them, but instead they get to play and grow with the generation they spawn in with.
Themed hiddens, races, and lore also get to make comebacks that right now aren’t really available or even wanted. Necromancy, for instance, is under a hard lock due to its constant use in the past, but perhaps for an ‘episode’ the community wants to play with it once again. A kingdom is introduced where Necromancy is on the rise somewhere outside of it, and the story unfolds. Considering all of the races that have been shuffled in and out, instead of now competing with one another for prevalence as Teraphim, Rhoynish, Demons, and Mimics all do at the given moment, they get their time in the light and are then allowed to come back when the story calls for it.
I’ve gone on arguing my side at length now, and I know the most prominent counter to all I’ve said here is the idea that Eternia’s strength is its continuous story, which is an idea that I actually agree with. Leaving your mark on history is what I think so many players want to achieve, and with that in mind, I would say should a shift to an episodic setting take place, one of the most important things to consider would be to ensure the history is told, that legacies aren’t lost to the wind. Pre-timeskip to Post-timeskip did this well by passing down family names, by directing the history that was set up, and by allowing stories from the past to be retold. I don’t see why this wouldn’t continue on as a trend, or even something that could be looked forward to. A return to Agartha, for instance, would come with a highly developed Levengard, Huangzhou, and Gehenna that reflect where they were left off with an abundance of spire shards at their disposal. A move to Apropriya might allow us to see that Lucien Voss has established a massive house of his own upon his return there, and that his descendents are now one of the primary three families. We’ve been told in the history on the wiki that Valmasia fell and that Ryan Kyros’ reign ended, so what if we’re able to see this setting where the country is trying to reconcile itself? If this history is never wiped and the story strung together from episode to episode, then doesn’t it achieve a similar goal to what we have now?
In my own experience, when the story is fueled and moving, I log in everyday and find some level of enjoyment playing out. My time with my current character was best during the war where he had to grapple with the moralities of it all and where he had to choose what to fight for, and by the end he was still standing, and now, unfortunately, my days are spent waiting for something else to happen. I am of the Day 1 generation that should be preparing to pass the baton on to the next, but that has become difficult given the current climate of the game. There are no new enemies on my level to contend with, because the rising ‘antagonists’ are just too small. I share this because I feel as though it is a similar situation that many find themselves in, even on alts.
It feels like we’re all waiting for someone to spark something new and enjoyable, and unfortunately having the view of an admin and being able to see the full board and all of its pieces, it doesn’t appear to me as though anyone is picking up that mantle that Asta, Alexander/Serea, or Sythaeryn left behind.
--
TL;DR
Consider if Eternia was told in an episodic way with arcs that lasted from a few months to a year or more. They’d continue on until interest was lost, and then perhaps a shift would occur.
And as this subforum is titled, this is obviously just a suggestion, one to think on and discuss. It’s a collection of some of the ideas I’ve had for a while now and I wanted to put out there. Whether you disagree or agree, I felt now would be a good time to share it all, if only to say we had the conversation.
![[Image: unknown.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/647684575501484042/711927296440664084/unknown.png)