Which game has better RP?

Insomniaq

So I've been looking for a new game for a while now, and have pretty much gotten it down to two choices. I've tried both, and I think they both have potential, so I'm going to do something that I've never tried in an MMO before and that's actually roleplay.

The two games I'm thinking of playing are LOTRO and Fallen Earth.

I've wandered around the Landroval server in LOTRO with my level 15 hobbit hunter looking to find people to RP with, but as I have never really tried RPing before, I don't really know where to start. I see lots of white names around, but they're either just standing around in the Prancing Pony, or walking (not running) down the street. I find it impossible to see if I would like RPing with these people unless they openly RP! Of course, this could be my fault since I didn't initiate anything either.

in Fallen Earth, I just played a few levels to try out the crafting and the combat (which I understand is changing anyway). I haven't really gotten into it at all, and definitely haven't seen any RP, but I'm sure it's out there. The thing that appeals to me is it seems it would be easy to RP a "good" criminal type like a smuggler with a  concience or something.

Honestly, I think LOTRO would be a slightly better fit for me, but I thought I'd try to get more imput first.

 

Thanks for any advice!

Dark_Pegasus

Unfortunately I haven't played either of those games so i'm not in a position to give you any solid advice on them, however after playing several MMO's over the past several years I can honestly say that many of them offer very little support for RP. They may have a server for it, yet this is never really policed; ridiculous ooc names go unchecked etc. I would focus on the different communities in the games as opposed to the actual games themselves.

Different servers offer an entirely different experience by community and my advice as a fellow RPer would be to try a couple, do some research online and experiment until you find one which suits you. There are even some RP based guilds which may approach to recruit you.

I hope this helps and good luck on your search!

Saorlan

Best RP I have seen was in Star Wares Galaxies. That is shutting down at the end of the year but you will still find it going on there.

djvapid

Having played both those games and understanding the stigma behind not accepting new players, hopefully I can enlighten you a little bit.

 

1)  New player stigma - Unfortuneately, roleplayers have a habit of not interacting with new players because they are afraid they will be l33t speaking or just really bad at RP.  (What is defined as bad or good RP is, of course, based on each individual.  But, unfortuneately, most roleplayers have their own clear cut definition of what it should be and if you don't meet that pre-requisite, you are alienated).  Some ways to break through this initial obstacle is to try and contact RP guilds through forums of the game first, this is particularly true for the more theme based game, LOTRO.  If they have a chance to talk to you out of the game and get to know you, your previous MMO and RP experience, etc, they'll be more accepting in game.

 

2)  Elitists - The above issue, in time, evolves into a sense of elitism that RPers tend to have over your standard gamer.  They generalize all gamers who are not RPers in the same category that is usually reserved for trolls and griefers.  They feel like they're too good for anyone else and if you already aren't in their clique, you aren't welcome.  (So you can see how #1 eventually evolves - or devolves as a better term - into #2).   You'll see a lot of this when you try to hook up with an RP guild and they start picking apart your character concept and then give you a pat on your back and an E for effort. 

 

Unfortuneately, there isn't much you can do about #2 and I'd like to say not all RPers are like this, but they're sure are a hell of a lot of them.  It's like saying all PvPers are trolls and griefers.  We know most of them are, but we can also safely say they're plenty of them who are cool guys with a code of ethics. 

 

The rule of thumb, to conclude my previous information, is that the most vocal of players generally doesn't speak for everyone, so don't take what they say as canon.

 

Now, onto the good part.  The two games themselves:

 

LOTRO - Probably one of the most beautiful, graphically, MMOs I have ever seen.  I even found myself actually reading the quest text because it was actually interesting to read.  So whether you are a solo player or not, it's not like a broken record.  Of course, to really stick with reading everything you run into, you have to be a huge fan of Tolkien's world like I am. You're going to find plenty of RP guilds in this game because there's a very large community of players who appreciate the story and want to actually ROLEplay it out.  Finding them will be pretty easy when you navigate the game's forums in search for RP Guilds and the like.

 

Fallen Earth - However, when it comes right down to it, nothing beats good RP like a solid sandbox game.  SWG proved this for several years, putting out the best RP I have ever seen in any MMO to this date period.  No question.  I see a LOT of potential in Fallen Earth to provide the same, particularly since SWG is shutting down for good in December and it is rumored that SWTOR won't be sandbox at all.  The bottom line is, sandbox is the friendliest enviroment for good RP.  And what better than a good post apocalyptic enviroment like Fallen Earth?  Not to mention the crafting system is completely remarkable.  I love the game.  However, the drawback is, it's going to be a hell of a lot more difficult to locate a good RP group here than in LOTRO.  But once you find one, I bet you'll have a lot of fun. 

 

Good luck, hope I've helped a bit.