To all those Text RPers..

[Wolfe]

I've done forum RP for many years so describing things on a forum post is very easy but when your in game and actually have to voice RP its a whole different ball game (especially since I'm not much of a talker in person so both in game and out of game I tend to just sit back and listen). So I'm curious, to all those who text RP; whether its integrated in with voice (i.e emotes in text) or just all text based. 

How do you do it? What's your style? Is it short emotes (i.e *Leans against wall*) or do you go into detail? I'm mainly just looking for tips and tricks since emoting out actions are my main way of expressing something ICly.

Now, some questions for everyone else. How do you feel about text RP? Is it intrusive, does it not matter? What do you like to see and what do you dislike?

[AndreyQ]

I don't think you should go in much detail. Keep it as simple and as descriptive as possible at the same time. Just don't type something among those lines: *thinks of how life would look without all those memes* I have seen plenty of people typing their thoughts like you could read them which you can not. It is better to emote a change of your facial expression in order to express anger or maybe confusion instead of typing an essay of your feelings regarding the dead guy down the road.

As for my opinion about text RP in general: I have no problem with it. I have done it I have seen others doing it and as the saying goes "Many of the best RPers are Text RPers" Hope I could help.

[Luca]

I text RP when I have background noise or a sore throat or when I do Medical RP (as my character is a medic)

When doing medical RP I like to go into detail to give the people involved a good rp experience. 

Medical RP

Boring: 

*listens to chest*

Not Boring:

*takes stethoscope out of her bag then puts the ends into her ears and slides the diaphragm underneath the shirt and places it on the chest and begins listening to heart sounds*

(at least that's how I like to do it)

Same applies to other equipment and procedures. Try to go into detail. Describe everything properly.

When I do normal RP it depends on the situation. 

Sometimes I do fast replies like *rests her head back* or *glances into his eyes*

But sometimes, especially during internal RP I like to put more detail into things

Also

Calling Kanen into this discussion to post his PoV as he is a great text rp'er

[Fafnir]

Well I wasn't much of a text rper till I met Crimson and Moose. Usually i just emote actions and use voice but depending on my mood I may just go all out text rp and no voice. Also slightly annoys me when people emote things that their character are thinking because its unneeded other then a ooc purpose and I would like to find out what their thinking on my own. In general I enjoy seeing more in depth in emoting actions tho.

Text rp can show things that you wouldn't be able to do due to game mechanics however the only thing i dislike is when running with people that use voice makes it hard to type other then short sentences.

[Ami.Knight]

I find for the most part unless it is a nice calm rp with very few people, then short emotes work best. Simple gestures everyone could make out at a glance. I don't d detail unless it is a small rp. And for the love of God it can be hard to overlook metagaming when using text rp.

[GaryCash]

I love text Rping, I may even enjoy it more then voice Rping, at times at least.

only times when text rp becomes difficult to use is in groups of text rpers (cause i'm very dyslexic and the scrolling text walls can be difficult to keep up with)

and in hostile situations that you don't want to be using your fingers to type but rather to play, same goes for what Fafnir said about running and text RPing… SPRINT… TYPE AS FAST AS YOU CAN… SPRINT… TYPE AS FAST AS YOU CAN...

[Kanen]

Calling Kanen into this discussion to post his PoV as he is a great text rp'er

Awww Thanks yours is great too

Also in my opinion it depends on the situation. Personally I like to put alot of detail into my text RP because I believe the more detail the better. However sometimes there will come a moment where alot of detail is not needed and a simple *shrugs and nods* or *Leans against wall* can do the trick also. 

Or another kind of situation for a bit more detail could be. 

*Leans against the red brick wall striking a match against it, lighting his cigarette* 

Yeah its completley up to you theres no wrong or right way on how to text RP its what you find more comfortable.

[Wolfe]

Hmm.. Some new thing to take into consideration.

Thanks to all those who have replied so far. Appreciate the help!

[Craig]

I don't mind Text RP. Though, its important to only emote what people can see you doing, everything else is useless, we can't read minds. Also, I feel sorry sometimes for Text RP'er when in large groups as its easy to not pay attention to what they say, depending on the situation, it can be overlooked sometimes.

[Foxi]

I do Text RP all the time now, and I love it.

Over the past 6 months or so I've picked up on a lot of skills from other text RPers I've seen. I'm at the point now where I feel like I can be just as involved if not more than people who use voip. The one problem I have is that I'm not the fastest at typing. Usually I'm slow at first and it takes me time to speed up.

Over time I've found myself using more and more emotes, both short and long to enhance the overall RP for myself and the ones around me. I might do really simple things, such as check my watch, roll up my sleeves, or things like that. People will take notice when you do this most of the time, and they wont hesitate talking to you about it.

Over time I found the most important thing you can do while text RPing, it body language. I know it sounds stupid considering the limitations of DayZ, but hear me out. Using the built in emotes and doing things as simple as lowering your head when you feel sad gives people great insight into how your character is feeling.

You should also make sure you use emotes / actions when you are doing something important. Too many people just apply morphine to a broken leg and pretend everything is fine. You should try to *Applies pressure to wound* and *Holds bandage over wounds in effort to stop the bleeding* in situations like this. It makes it feel a lot more realistic. A lot of people wont take these things into account until they see you RPing it.

Its all about the little things in text RP, I think. Don't underestimate people's ability to notice them. Keep that in mind going forward.

[sung]

I am short and to the point if I am travelling or in a hostile situation.

If we are sitting around and chatting, I go into more detail.

[SarcasticSurgeon]

To me, it personally depends on the situation and what kind of character I am playing on. If I am by a camp with several people and I am playing on a rather guarded and reserved character, I will usually go in depth with descriptions, but avoid anything that might hint towards one emotion or the other.

However, if I am playing a character that is easy to read then I will usually add words that describe the action, and emotion behind it. Such as calling a smile a "Gleeful smile" or the likes.

As for tips. I would say start simple. Go for facial expressions, then body language, then emote out some game mechanic actions, such as striking a match, and then maybe some habits your character has, such as scratching at the arm, or rubbing the back of the neck.

[Phatal]

I've been text rping since mod days when text rp wasn't looked upon so... negatively.

With my character, and her... different personalities.. I tend to mix between detail and short motions. I tend to find that short texts don't really add much as the person, 9 out of 10 times, doesn't react to me *leaning back on a bed* or *resting my gun on the ground*.. If I'm rping with another text rper, its a bit different as we have time to emote out things. Most people who voice rp tend to rush you when you text rp. In mod, we used to be given time to respond and that's where a lot of great rp came from. Some people now still allow time. Though quite a many situations I've been in haven't allowed me to fully delve into my psyche and dump emotions in chat.

As far as your questions go. I'll do my best to answer them.

How do you feel about text RP?

I love text rp. It allows anyone to be anything. If you want to be a girl, guy, trans, etc. I feel as though its slowly being phased out unfortunately, as most groups tend to not allow text rpers or ignore most of what you type.. I've posted threads about this in the past (if you want you can look at it in my recent threads) I've even as far as had someone say I was a mute or deaf because he refused to acknowledge my text rp.

Is it intrusive, does it not matter?

In certain situations it can actually help. If you have one group screaming at eachother and you want to communicate to someone, or talk in private, text rp is a good means. It's also fairly useful for when the terrible voip in this game lags. Which I find it ironic how people hate text rp, yet when their voices lag they go to text rp.

What do you like to see and what do you dislike?

I love meeting people who let me fully emote things, and I love people who read along, react in a calm matter so I can respond as quickly as possible, and those who let the rp develop well, and don't cut short if I do things. I dislike people who are ignorant or refuse to let people text rp. Text rp was the only way of rp before voice rp. Voip hasn't always been around, but people still tend to have an opposition to it.. Lastly I dislike people who absolutely ignore text rp or say that it distracts them.. its white text in the bottom left corner.. you can ignore it.

Sorry about the ranty attitude but.. tis my opinion. I encourage text rp as, in my opinion, it helps convey emotions and ways you would do things way more than you can with voice chat.. you can sound scared or pissed.. but unless you actually type out *Clenches fists in anger, the nails digging into the skin and drawing trace amounts of blood*, they'll never fully know.. or they could be bad at reading voices and not notice it.

Good luck on your endeavors!

[Wolfe]

-snip-

Yeah, I completely agree with ya and see where your coming from, specifically the likes and dislikes. Thanks for the input, don't really think it came off as 'ranty' in any way.

Good luck in your endeavors as well, perhaps I'll see you around in game someday.

[Yoshi]

Going into detail when emoting, for myself, depends on whether or not the situation will allow me to take the time needed to type out the emote or text RP, as I am rather slow when it comes to words-per-second typing. I've never had a swift hand on the keyboard, but I always carry a witty set of emotes, ready to blow away the minds of those in the vicinity who are capable of reacting to me.

Every situation, from E-RP to general shenanigans, is a good situation in which to enrich the experience by better describing what is going on, which may be unseen via in-game mechanics.

My preferred method of operation is to time what I'm doing. If we're on the move, and I get a second to type an emote, I'll make it short and sweet. I may even forego the emote altogether and just make a noise or try to act out the action as best as possible using available mechanics.

Other times I like to go into all sorts of detail, "using my words," as one of my bosses used to tell me when I found myself at a loss for words during conversation.

Example of a detailed emote: *Opens the breaker panel and inspects the breakers inside, wiping the dust from the label plates to further identify the attached equipment and locations.*

Example of a simplified emote: *Pops a quick smirk.*

Then there's an impromptu emote, where you find yourself in a moment where you have more time to elaborate on the original emote, and the possibility of gaining a better response from it.

Example of an impromptu emote: *Pops a quick smirk, glancing over at the girl to make eye contact.*

Should I make a guide on this, as a connoisseur of emotes, in my furious blue text?

[CornFlakes]

I usually use text to rp mostly in games like reign of kings or Ark but im now changing my perspective that i should start using voice rp because it shows more realism and it allows you to show emotion in threw your character.

[Hessian]

I try to remain succinct without looking like a clueless bastard.

Granted, I haven't played on DayZRP for some time. I used to switch between text and voice because I sometimes feel too lazy to move my jaw.

[DrShaw]

I'm extremely new and I was just browsing through the forums when I saw this thread. I'm coming from an exclusively text-based roleplaying setting to this and I admit the idea of trying to roleplay via voice is so daunting to me. It seems like acting and I'm afraid I might giggle nervously or, more likely, what will happen if the first person I meet can't understand me due to mic settings or something? Another obstacle for me was how I'd describe what I was doing and whether I was meant to do that verbally or in text so I'm really, really glad to see this. I wonder though if it's a huge problem of people trying to type what they're doing (such as the medical example) and having to pause in their speech to do that or if there's a handy etiquette (type first, speak after) or if people just master the art of typing while speaking.

I'm so very nervous and I'm still not certain if people exclusively do voice or exclusively text or if most do a mix.

[Wolfe]

-snip-

If people are having a hard time understanding you they'll either ask your to repeat yourself or let you know OOC that they can't understand you. Generally if you hop into the TeamSpeak and talk to someone and they can understand you on the TS then you'll be fine for voice in game.

As for the emotes, it depends on the situation, everyone does something different as you can see with the previous replies. What's easiest for me is to write out the emote and then, if it's needed, say something in voice regarding it. So if I'm writing something out, I emote and then voice.

Don't be afraid to be descriptive in your emotes but at the same time be mindful of the situation; if it's tense and things are moving quickly, you might want to stick to short emotes rather then writing something out that takes time.

It's just something that comes with time and the more you RP and interact with others the better you'll get at it.

[APureGamer]

My text RP

[Chinchilla]

Now, some questions for everyone else. How do you feel about text RP? Is it intrusive, does it not matter? What do you like to see and what do you dislike?

I hate to be "that person" but 9/10 times I fabricate a reason to leave when I come across a text RP'er.

Emotes and stuff are great, I love them and it completely helps immerse others into RP situations. I'm not saying I don't sympathize with those that have to text-RP because of illness, or in house volume etc. You do you boo. If you enjoy it and the people you play with enjoy it then great! I'm glad you're having fun! Really!

But especially those that play people that are usually on the run, I don't have the patience to STOP and wait for you to type. It's a total fun killer for me. I like to walk and talk, not step, wait as bait for someone to type something, then continue on again.

I really want to make it clear that I don't disapprove of text rp, but I 100% think that if you can use a mic and talk, then you should. We talk a lot in this community about doing things that are realistic, or writing reports about people because what they did made no sense to the lore. Frankly, if you have the ability to use a mic please just use one, because everytime someone takes forever to respond, or spells a bunch of shit wrong I just want to KOS them and eat the report.

...... C'mon someone had to say it.