Part II will start off with a timeskip of about a day or two. Salvation will have entered the atmosphere of Planet Omega (that’s what the crew has started calling it in that time), and they’ve been exploring the planet while looking for a place to land. A few small scout teams have been deployed to have a look around, and to try and find the mysterious woman Zepar and the Splitter brothers were talking to just before the end of Part I. Things might make more sense when Part II actually starts, I hope, though if you have any questions, please feel free to ask them here and now.
Textwall incoming.
I know I’ve said it before, but Salvation has a lot of shortcomings at the moment. I’ve been taking a close look at the game and my performance, and have devised a few ways for me to improve and hopefully provide y’all with an experience that’s much closer to TOTGA in quality.
1. More pictures and music
Not much explanation needed here, I don’t think. Those added visual and audio elements just help to make the game more immersive, I feel.
2. Playing the villains better
My goal for Salvation’s villains was to make them more characterized than TOTGA’s Heralds of Unicron, and while I feel like I’ve succeeded in that regard, I feel like the Heralds were still played better. I obviously need to rethink how I’ve approached them so far, and @BlackBeltGamer98 brought up some very good points that I hope I can discuss further with him in a PM. For now, though, I will say that you can expect to see more of Bludgeon and his minions in Part II.
On the subject of the spy, I also need to make that plot point more interactive. Even if the spy has some plot armor on them that prevents them from being found out until much later, @BlackBeltGamer98 brought up a few ideas to still make their antics engaging and interactive. I’m gonna give y’all opportunities to interfere with the spy’s exploits, and whatnot.
3. Salvation as a setting, not a vehicle
When I first began developing Salvation, I did a lot of compare-and-contrast with her TOTGA counterpart, the Excalibur. In TOTGA, the Excalibur was more of a vehicle than anything; it’s purpose was to ferry the PCs from one planet to the other and aid in the advance of the story. I feel like it served its purpose well, and that it didn’t need to be much more than that.
Salvation, on the other hand, needed to be more than just a vehicle. The plot of the RP is about her and y’all’s journey; she can’t just be shuttling you guys from one setting to the next, she needs to be one herself. That’s why I made her absurdly massive and gave her a plethora of locations, NPCs, and other interactive elements. A great deal of the story revolves around her, and so she needs to be more to the narrative than a fancy bus.
Unfortunately, I’ve recently realized that I’ve been playing Salvation much like the Excalibur- as a vehicle to get from Point A to point B, and not as a setting. Old habits die hard, I guess. In Part II, Salvation will be more involved in the narrative. I’ve studied some other famous Sci-Fi starships like the Enterprise and Serenity, and I hope I can take some lessons from them and better actualize my intentions for Salvation’s portrayal and role in the RP.
4. Better combat
Combat needs to be more frequent, more unique, and more engaging. Less horde-type enemies, and more foes with unique and challenging weapons, play-styles, and abilities. I want to encourage the PCs to use their weapons, abilities, alt-modes, and the surrounding environment in unique and creative ways.
The main villains, as said before, will also be showing up more frequently, and I’ve retooled them some to hopefully make them more fun to fight. To make up for the plot armor they’ll be wearing for most of the game, also, other “bosses” will periodically show up that will be more… vulnerable.
5. A more cohesive story
I’ve said this already. Salvation’s episodes need to tie more into each other and do a better job of driving the overarching quest for the Omega Lock forward. Heck, the Omega Quest could stand to be more relevant, as well. Part II will have less filler, and a greater focus on keeping the narrative going and relevant.
I’ll also try to be throwing a few more sidequests at y’all. These will be smaller adventures that may not have as great an affect on the narrative as what happens in the main episodes, but they’ll still be worth pursuing and hopefully be entertaining.
6. Encouraging PC interaction
To put it bluntly, you guys aren’t having your characters interact with each other a whole lot, and that’s also been having something of a negative affect. If there’s anything that I can do to encourage interaction between the PCs, please let me know.
7. Emphasizing the importance of the PCs and their impact on the narrative
I think the cornerstone of my GM-ing philosophy is that the players and their characters are the center-point of the game, and the main characters in its story. What your characters have a great deal of freedom, and what they do does have an affect on the story, but I’m not sure if I’ve emphasized that enough. I’ll be doing that more in Part II.
8. Playing the NPCs better
Not sure how to explain this one. I just need to step it up with most of these guys, and I’ll be doing just that in Part II
These are probably the most important goals I’ve outlined for myself for Part II. I’ve got some more that tie into them, but they’re not worth mentioning on their own.