u/ManAtTheEndOfTheLane

Do you have crippling stagefright? I do, apparently.

Imagine my surprise.

I have been playing RPGs in small groups, sometimes as GM, for many years. I've even been on a few panels at local sci-fi conventions. No problems there.

And I'm happy to have a written conversation. Here, in WOW, in SWTOR. All good. I ran a small but happy guild in SWTOR, until it started feeling like a job. No problems there.

But something about the combination of needing to interact verbally with people I don't know and can't see makes me freeze up. My stomach clenches, and I don't know what to say. I want to run away.

I made a character whose English is not great, to give me space to think about what to say, and that has helped a little, but wow, it's so hard. Even thinking about it right now is making my stomach hurt. Which is fucking annoying.

I'm *afraid* to log in. It's irrational. And frustrating. The server I'm trying to play on has been nothing but friendly and helpful. The problem is me.

If this sounds at all familiar, what helped you get past this?

I am curious why human players fill what I would normally think of as NPC roles. For example:

• Hostages
• Fast food cashiers

Are there people who enjoy pretending to be a hostage? I mean, in a normal roleplaying way, not in an ERP way. Same for fast food cashiers and other minimum-wage serfs.

What is the appeal of being a NPC in a world with heists, firefights, and car chases?

Caveat: I am coming from the tabletop RPG space, where the GM manages all of the (mostly anonymous) folks that fill the game world around the PCs. Without a human GM to manage them, why aren't they just on auto-pilot like the folks that drive and walk around? It's not like kneeling and not Fail-RPing (?) requires a human behind the keyboard.

Or is it? Am I missing something?

Do you have fun playing an NPC?

In the reddit app, in the Inbox screen, it lists my most notifications. Good so far.

However, the second entry from the top keeps twitching like a crackhead. It twitches over toward the right, and the word "More" shows for a split second on the left. ("More" leads to notification settings.)

I can't get the damned twitching to stop. I've clicked "More". I've hidden that notification.

Twitch

Twitch

Twitch

Please tell me there's a way to make the damned app stay still.

I'd like to roleplay an aspiring criminal character in GTA. I was thinking something like a courier, maybe working up to delivering threats or blackmail messages for third parties. Once trusted, maybe moving into being a negotiator between groups, setting up meets, that sort of thing.

These are just ideas. I am open to anything that seems like fun.

However, I don't want to play a wage-slave "civilian" (please god, no) or Gang Member #7 (mainly because I don't want to be told what to wear).

I would prefer to do heists with other PCs, where the victims are NPCs.

I need to have an environment where other players are friendly and answer questions, rather than being coy or antagonistic about it. Sometimes I need things explained to me: I am not as sharp as I used to be.

I'm on PC, and while I'm on the east coast of the USA, I tend to keep very late hours, so a west coast USA server might be better for me.

Let me know if you have questions. Thank you.

Short version: I'm looking for a game like GTA (criminal hijinks) that isn't about "grinding", and doesn't have the pervasive weirdness and control-freakery that seems to come with GTA RP/FiveM like fries at Five Guys.

Long tedious version:

I've played RPGs (Hero System and D&D, primarily) and roleplayed in computer games (WOW and SWTOR, primarily) for many, many years.

Early MMOs (Everquest) were heavy on on "grinding". Go kill 50 bats. Now go pick 150 daffodils. It's not what I'm looking for.

I've done PVP. I have something like 3k PVP kills in WOW -- not record-breaking, but not nothing, either. It's not what I'm looking for.

I've tried GTA RP. It's not what I'm looking for.

My best experiences in computer games have been from working with other players. Teaming up and tackling a mission together and succeeding. GG.

My best experiences in roleplaying games have been from working with other players. Friends, rivals, or even enemies IC, we are friends OOC.

Players are not their characters.

I'm looking for a game where the other players aren't antagonists. Where information essential to playing the game (where do people hang out, for example) is shared with other players.

Just figuring out where to go and what to do should not be a struggle.

Instant millionaire? No, of course not.

Immediately know all of a city's secrets? No, of course not.

I'm looking for a game where my PC can have criminal adventures with other PCs. Heists, hits, extortion, and other shenanigans. But working a crap civilian job indefinitely? Please, god, no.

I'm looking for a game where my PC can interact, pursue goals, make friends, make enemies, and help to create (hopefully) fun and sometimes serious emergent stories through roleplaying. A game where other players aren't refusing to answer basic questions about where to go and what to do. A game where the players are helpful, even if their characters aren't.

Are there any MMORPGs like this?

Thanks for your time.

Short version:

I'm looking for a GTA RP server that isn't about "grinding"' or keeping secrets about the *game* from other players.

Long tedious version:

I'm new to GTA, but not to roleplaying games. I've played RPGs (Hero System and D&D, prinarily) and roleplayed *in* computer games (WOW and SWTOR, primarily).for many, many years.

Early MMOs (Everquest) were heavy on "grinding". Go kill 50 bats. Now go pick 150 daffodils. It's not what I'm looking for.

I've done PVP. I have something like 3k PVP kills in WOW -- not record-breaking, but not nothing, either. It's not what I'm looking for.

My best experiences in computer games have been from working *with* other players. Teaming up and tackling a mission together and succeeding. GG.

My best experiences in roleplaying games have been from working *with* other players. Friends, rivals, or even enemies IC, we are friends OOC.

Players are not their characters.

I'm looking for a server where the other *players* aren't antagonists. Where information essential to playing the game (where do people hang out, for example) is shared with the *player*.

Just figuring out where to go and what to do should not be a struggle.

Instant millionaire? No, of course not.

Immediately know all of a city's secrets? No, of course not.

I'm looking for a server where my PC can have criminal adventures with other PCs. Heists, hits, extortion, and other shenanigans. But working a crap civilian job indefinitely? Please, god, no.

I'm looking for a server where my PC can interact, pursue goals, make friends, make enemies, and help to create (hopefully) fun and sometimes serious emergent stories through roleplaying. A server where other *players* aren't refusing to answer basic questions about where to go and what to do. A server where the *players* are helpful, even if their *characters* aren't.

Are there servers like this? Or is GTA just not the best venue for what I'm looking for?

Thanks for your time.

I'm on PC.

Short version: I'm looking for a GTA RP server that isn't about "grinding", or keeping secrets about the game from other players.

Long tedious version:

I'm new to GTA, but not to roleplaying games. I've played RPGs (Hero System and D&D, primarily) and roleplayed in computer games (WOW and SWTOR, primarily) for many, many years.

Early MMOs (Everquest) were heavy on on "grinding". Go kill 50 bats. Now go pick 150 daffodils. It's not what I'm looking for.

I've done PVP. I have something like 3k PVP kills in WOW -- not record-breaking, but not nothing, either. It's not what I'm looking for.

My best experiences in computer games have been from working with other players. Teaming up and tackling a mission together and succeeding. GG.

My best experiences in roleplaying games have been from working with other players. Friends, rivals, or even enemies IC, we are friends OOC.

Players are not their characters.

I'm looking for a server where the other players aren't antagonists. Where information essential to playing the game (where do people hang out, for example) is shared with the player.

Just figuring out where to go and what to do should not be a struggle.

Instant millionaire? No, of course not.

Immediately know all of a city's secrets? No, of course not.

I'm looking for a server where my PC can have criminal adventures with other PCs. Heists, hits, extortion, and other shenanigans. But working a crap civilian job indefinitely? Please, god, no.

I'm looking for a server where my PC can interact, pursue goals, make friends, make enemies, and help to create (hopefully) fun and sometimes serious emergent stories through roleplaying. A server where other players aren't refusing to answer basic questions about where to go and what to do. A server where the players are helpful, even if their characters aren't.

Are there servers like this? Or is GTA just not the best venue for what I'm looking for?

Thanks for your time.

I'm new to GTA, not to RP. The videos I have seen of GTA RP look like fun, and I've enjoyed watching them.

The game, from what I've seen, isn't like that. I spent hours walking around the city, picked up one of the crap jobs for normals (I drove a bus), bought food so I don't starve (why is that in a game?), and bought shoes. Two nights, three or four hours per night, maybe more.

I've been isolated and poor in real life. It's not what I expected from a game called Grand Theft Auto.

I asked in the server's discord for clues on where to go to do something, you know, interesting, but the closest thing to a useful reply was "call someone on Twitter for a ride".

Call who? A ride to where?

Coy non-answers.

WHAT DO YOU DO??

WHERE ARE THE MISSIONS??

I can't believe that people just log into a computer game for hours to be alone in a new city holding down a crap job. I've done that. It was called my youth.

It's just so damned frustrating.

I wanted this post to be the start of a discussion, in the hope that I might try again, but I think I'm done (yes, I know, it's not an airport, bye Felicia, etc.).

But if you have anything to add other than, "You didn't play long enough" or "find out IC", I'd be interested to hear it.

I'd like to make an archery mod for v42. I've written Lua add-ons for WOW (a long time ago), but I am completely new to Project Zomboid.

I can write code, and I'm not bad in Photoshop, but I have never used Blender or anything else 3D.

If you are a Blender person looking for a code/Photoshop person, maybe I can help you with your pet project and you can help me with this.

Let me know what you think.