AMIA ARCHIVE • View topic

I am sure we have asked this at some point in the past, but it is always relevant to keep tabs on the answer. The DM and Development Team is often encountering this question in the decisions we make, and we make good guesses and assumptions as to the answer in order to proceed. However, it is better to get the answer from the horse's mouth, periodically.

We are all aware that NWN, while not obsolete, is a relic in terms of online gaming opportunities. And although Amia does have steady and high numbers (with the exception of a few hiccoughs months back), there are quite a few other active servers in NWN lately, too, that some of our own players visit or play at regularly.

You will notice my question is not "what is wrong with Amia?" That's not my interest here. I just want to know what it is about Amia that keeps you coming back. Fellow players? Custom content? The setting, the module, your freedom to do certain things, or just the fact that you have a really good PC here and that alone is worth it?

For those of you who like to wax grandiose for several million paragraphs, I encourage you to place your primary answer in bold so that it stands out and can be counted easily.

Uh? You mean I left at some point?

Two things do it for me, even at my most frustrated times:

Many of the people I play with on a regular basis are one thing that keep me here.

The variety of availible RP if you were to think about it and go for it. *An example of this: Given the way the Commonwealth of Cordor was going, I did not expect to end up being able to get a character in as anything other then a passer by or observer*. I admit at times, I don't take the fullest advantage of this (at least I feel I don't) and if anyone wishes to ask me this in private please by all means do so.

Community.

Possibility.

Neverending Story.

Fun-ish game, mechanics wise, yeah. Acceptable graphics. But there's better out there for sure on both of those two accounts.

What the "better games" out there lack, is the 3 things I listed. Or they cost money monthly.

I honestly don't know.

Probably Darthion. The size of the module. How well established it is. How balanced it is. The sheer amount of players. All the years already invested in the module and the character. The constant work by both the DM team, the developers and the players to improve Amia. Add to it, make it better, fix the flaws.

But... in the end, I think it comes down to one particular aspect, which I find almost impossible to define, and that's a magical side effect of the server being flat out addictive.

the people i like to play with

if they all left, i wouldn't come back.

Freedom within d&d setting.

Also the thrill of playing something and being recognized as that thing.

A positive topic?

Love it. (Period)

Hmm... It would be a combination of things. Mostly,

The community and

The freedom of creative expression.

harassing the DM team with stupid questions,a shifter fix and harm potions requests.

Some of the ppl I play with, some of the Staff(despite my sometimes antagonistic attitude), the Job System, Fey, Goblins, Server B's updates(fun to explore new stuff), attachment to my toons, the fact Amia isn't a 'hard-core' server, fear(of leaving 'home'), ummmm, ummm, uhhh. That's all I can think of for the moment.

-edit- the fact that HiPS hasn't been nerfed.... yet.

For me, so far:
- The diversity of players.
- The extras for classes/goodies in the module.
- The setting/history and many stories that go with it.

Smaller size community allows for a persistent world that developes based on interactins and causality. - Not "do quest A and predend it makes a difference".

The only thing that can bring me back anywhere is people.

The people, mostly, and the ability to interpret D&D and FR fairly freely. Also, the hard work of the DMs and devs constantly balancing the place.

My honest answer would be ease of use. No hacks, no bs needed to log on and play.

Feeling of involvement in the story. Be it other players' story or the DMs' story.

The story. The ability to quite simply, with a few clicks, be immersed a world all its own where relationships, past actions, future plans... they all culminate to something akin to the best book I've ever read - except it's still being written as I go along; and, better yet, I get to help write it.

I love it.

I love watching people develop, I love the real friends I've made and relationships I've gained.(I was previously weirded out by internet people.) I love watching from behind the scenes and seeing exactly how talented the DM team is, both in creativity and the techie stuff on and offline. It boggles my mind.

We all have our "fuck this place" moments but it's sort of like a marriage, innit? My mom once said..."You're not really in love unless you wake up at least once a month, look over at your spouse and say YUCK, but can't picture anyone else in the bed."

And...I love being able to splode heads with curse song.

70+ AC on a Wiz /PM [Deathtouch / Undead]
------------------------- + ------------------------------- = LOVE
5 years same PC Evil Pwnage

Well, that and Tormak and Yoss's Mom.

Regards,

1. The people. The small group of people I've made friends with here and the occasional acquaintances who I get to hang with every once in a while and the new blood that I encounter and have fun getting to know. But I won't lie, it's mostly my fixed bunch of friends and occasional acquaintances. The new people I meet is just an added perk to the fun. You can't have fun with the IC if your not having fun OOC after all.

2. Immersion. Involving myself in plots, involving myself in "player bases" (like the Amia Forest bunch, the Bendir Dale bunch, the Khem bunch, etc.), creating plots of my own, The IC conflicts, the IC friendships, the IC love/hate relationships, all of it. All the IC fun.

3. The setting. FR is a very detailed world and it's fun learning more about it and "living in it" through a character while your on Amia.

You, Yoss.

You are the icing on my man cake.

*tear*

The people.

The RP.

Eary.

If I could sum it all up in one word?
IMMERSION: While playing Amia, I am constantly overwhelmed with how integrated I find myself in its events and environment. The fact that my character's decisions can change the face of Amia itself, is more than enough of a reason for me to find myself coming back for more on a regular basis.

On a second note,THE DMS'S. Without such amazing DM's to provide us with amazing events and amazing interactions with NPC's. I would have no doubt lost interest a long time ago.

Oh, and not Eary. :wink:

The mix of RP, PvP and action coupled with the healthy player base.

I've been here since before day one and I will be here until the ship sinks. I couldn't tell you why I stay here but I do. So much for bolding my primary answer.

TormakSaber wrote:

I've been here since before day one and I will be here until the ship sinks. I couldn't tell you why I stay here but I do. So much for bolding my primary answer.

you stay because if you leave, I will say I ran you off and claim that I won.

Sillyness.

Oh, I have a few serious characters, but my main is just to silly and awkward for her own good.
It feels good to just let go and be socially unacceptable, in more than just way, instead of the standard 'all is good and fine and dandy and accepted'

The intrigue, the player plots, the massive, varying conflicts between characters and all the rest.

Which is probably why I play Eary as I do.

It's all that that keeps me playing.

Elves and assassins.

Really though, I've always liked stories and for me Amia is just another avenue for hearing or telling a good story.

Maias227 wrote:

Elves and assassins.

Really though, I've always liked stories and for me Amia is just another avenue for hearing or telling a good story.

All his chars have assassin levels, Pallys SMITE NOW!!! nahh they dont im kiddin..

The atmosphere and imersion, the people the RP. I can lose myself in Amia sometimes for what seems like minutes and find ive spent a whole day in play.

Also.. the upgraded Hemp rope.. WIN!!

I think the question should be broken in two parts:

Q: Why do you still play/use NWN?
A: Simple. There's nothing like it. The closest alternative is NWN2... but, mwahh. Been there, done that, didn't like it.

Q: Why Amia?
A: For me that's simple. I am not going to start at the bottom of the ladder again. It may sound a bit cynical, but Amia is simply the best place to indulge in my LEGO fetish.

When I can't sleep, I come here to read Iron's posts. Best natural sleep inducers ever, zomg!

And seriously, I keep sticking around due to the awesome community. Both on the forums and in-game you guys are great fun most of the time.

[b]1: xp gain is faster than in any other i've played
2: FREEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! *braveheart style*
3: cool characters.[/b]

freedom explained: you get to choose to play the characters that are in most servers banned/unavailable, such as duergar, drow etc. same goes for classes.

Dev Disco wrote:

I think the question should be broken in two parts:

Q: Why do you still play/use NWN?
A: Simple. There's nothing like it. The closest alternative is NWN2... but, mwahh. Been there, done that, didn't like it.

Q: Why Amia?
A: For me that's simple. I am not going to start at the bottom of the ladder again. It may sound a bit cynical, but Amia is simply the best place to indulge in my LEGO fetish.

Squeee! He likes Legos! Now I can't leave... <3

I still want those shiny new tiles and stones, you know?

People I know, certain characters I enjoy playing, certain characters I enjoy watching others play, hope (of varying kinds).

Amia is like a good marriage of 50 years: sometimes you are tired of it, sometimes you argue a lot, sometimes you just want to end it, but in the end you know you the grass isn't any greener on the other side. A new partner would also have hairs in funny places and wrinkles more than you can count, but wouldn't have the shared past and memories and thus, less of a solid base to build better years to come upon.

I like the difficulty. Amia isn't a breeze through server without pvp rules. I like the changes made, mainly to the summons. It seems more balanced than anything else out there, and it requires work to get to L30. The rp aspect is good too, although I'm not quite in that mode yet.

Some people/characters can annoy the hell out of me with rp somethimes, but I can deal with it. Exept that one stalker guy....I hate that guy.

Murex wrote:

Some people/characters can annoy the hell out of me with rp somethimes, but I can deal with it. Exept that one stalker guy....I hate that guy.

I hope you don't mean when I forget to turn dm invis on and people start complaining that something named "the voice within" is stalking them ...

Shaundakul has visited Cordor more than once on accident. :oops:

Though I am rarely on any more, the one thing that niggles at me is the players I miss. The players defeat my will power.

The amazing role play you come across. I love how deep characters are, how real their emotions are, how they surprise you all the time because you can not control them. I love exploring my own characters.. How far one can toe the line with their emotions/beliefs/wants and needs, and have out of the ordinary experiences that you would never have in the real world

Oh and I am super obsessed with clothes so I always want to jump on and make new outfits, since I can't go clothes shopping in the outside world due to an extremely strict budget.

Last edited by FA_Frey_XC on Tue, Dec 08 2009, 12:43 PM, edited 1 time in total.

Mishy is one of the reasons I still come to Amia.

I wuv my Mishi Moo Moo. She joined XenoCorp too!

<3

Regards,

Dev Disco wrote:

I think the question should be broken in two parts:

Q: Why do you still play/use NWN?
A: Still one of the best engines around for roleplay and I like the overall feel of it. Graphics are not everything.

Q: Why Amia?
A: Freedom, but thats a two edged sword.

Answer to Part 1:
Because if i ever need a replacement disc the box set is only 5.95

Answer to Part 2:
The Egos.

Honestly, I'm not a massive fan of Amia the server. I'm more of a fan of Amia the community. Hell, I haven't touched the server in almost three months now, but I keep coming back to the forum. The people are what makes Amia good.

You guys have put a lot of work into the server. But you could strip it down to the server you had back in the hay days of Amia, and it would still be a good place to go.

I'm afraid leaving Amia would mean delivering the killing blow to my inner nerd.

Selvec Darkon wrote:

Honestly, I'm not a massive fan of Amia the server. I'm more of a fan of Amia the community. Hell, I haven't touched the server in almost three months now, but I keep coming back to the forum. The people are what makes Amia good.

I must admit I spend far more time on the forms than server, but that's because I can get into the forums when I can't get into the game.

Yurell wrote:

I must admit I spend far more time on the forms than server, but that's because I can get into the forums when I can't get into the game.

Me too. But that's my irrational rationalising to create an excuse: because I work through the browser in any case (Google Docs and online resource materials for courses), I am allowed to keep one tab for random amusement. It does distract, even a bit more than what is acceptable if I am perfectly honest. But I don't count it as gaming, which would be a major distraction and thus completely unacceptable.

Still, if I had the spine not to read the forums every half an hour, I am sure I'd be far more productive and would actually have more time left for gaming in the evening... I just don't manage to turn this realisation into an action.

Dev Disco wrote:

I still want those shiny new tiles and stones, you know?

It's a shame I already bought your prezzie, btw. I should have got you a Lego pirate castle, instead.

This is a good question, I always wanted to leave...

What Keeps You Coming Back to Play Amia?

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