So it just dawned on me after speaking to Farahl that there are far too many tiny sgs that often have the same theme. It'd be nice if we could have some of these groups to merge into a larger one. For example: There are a few known meta-school groups around. It'd be nice if all of these could form one big group and call the different schools different campuses in character. It'd all be one school district. It somewhat makes things easier to direct people to supergroups that could fit their new character's theme, or an already existing one as there would be one big main group that is actually known.

Is everyone going to be up for it? Probably not, but it's worth a shot. It would be nice to have some more major groups that people would know about (Ministry of Order, Meta-SWAT, Ghost Hound). I'm not exactly sure how things would go. Maybe leaders of sgs that have similar themes get together to discuss possible mergers? Like I said though, not many would be up for it since they might like having their own sgs. But in the long run, it benefits the community as a whole since we won't have to see small scaled sgs fall through the cracks as much.

Well, other than creating less possible SGs for people to join... I'm for it.

Still haven't found one for most my characters.

Part of why I left originally was that it was so bloody hard to find an active SG with a concept that worked. So many groups, so few people.

Huge problem is...

-Person joins SG with good idea but few people, wants to leave due to inactivity, not willing to stick it out until there is activity
-SG can't retain people to grow in activity because inactivity causes people to leave

IS MADNESS.

Well I know Leet was wanting to put a MCPD Sg together to get all the Various Polive Officers together in one group. And I think that would be a good idea personally.

And SWAT's always looking for new people to join.

Its just the way the game is....I mean aside from concept, there is no reason to even have an SG when most people can find friends and help for the occasional non soloable mission in CORP or Champions RP, and consequently no reason to join an SG unless the concept works which leads to small groups of likeminded people story wise instead of big conglomerates.

I mean Ministry, Meta-SWAT, Destroyers....nice people, but none of my characters fit the concept and there's no real incentive for me to make them. I gain nothing significant by wedging a character into something that's not a perfect fit since nothing stops me from RPing with people in an SG if I'm not in it, and there's no tangible SG benefits.

#2274836 Kai wrote:

I mean Ministry, Meta-SWAT, Destroyers....nice people, but none of my characters fit the concept and there's no real incentive for me to make them. I gain nothing significant by wedging a character into something that's not a perfect fit since nothing stops me from RPing with people in an SG if I'm not in it, and there's no tangible SG benefits.

Costume slot.

#2274937 Hatman wrote:

#2274836 Kai wrote:

I mean Ministry, Meta-SWAT, Destroyers....nice people, but none of my characters fit the concept and there's no real incentive for me to make them. I gain nothing significant by wedging a character into something that's not a perfect fit since nothing stops me from RPing with people in an SG if I'm not in it, and there's no tangible SG benefits.

Costume slot.

Costume slot remains even if you leave the SG.



I like to be in an SG because there's a LOT greater chance of actually being a part of a decent storyline. Being in a small SG with no activity or being solo makes it harder to be involved in things.

I'm a big fan of SGs for RP and all, been in lots in CoH, but it seems like the driving force behind RP SGs in CO is 'I want to push this concept' most of which are fairly specific and fall apart quickly when either the driving force leaves or any sort of meta plot stalls out. The idea that that problem it would fix itself with more people(ie, merging SGs) I don't think works, yes there's a critical mass factor but there's also a cohesion factor which is usually kept up by gameplay, SG nights, etc, which CO supports badly if at all. RP is great and all, but it has to go somewhere, after awhile talking about the same things gets boring and you just run out of stuff to talk about without some events happening.

An interesting concept to merge SGs. Pluses and minus for sure, but worth considering. The question I ask is do you think CORP here is serving a purpose like the "Merged Super Group"? Is it not an umbrella structure that provides a central location to find other players, groups, and events?

The Omnipresent is a new SG true, but we are in essence the renamed remnants of a different SG that started back in mid December. The original SG tried to be a single organization with many divisions which in effect were to be mini-SGs.

The idea was good and in many ways reminds me of what CORP does. A communication hub and an easy way to connect with other people and groups. It is a richer tapestry on which to roleplay and a place to share events so many can be involved. Am I wrong in this view?

- Peace -

PS: Our new SG is a more traditionally structured single group. Also none of the leaders of the original SG have remained active in CO, so it really is a fresh start save that about a dozen of us were part of the old group before its disintegration.

'I want to push this concept' most of which are fairly specific and fall apart quickly when either the driving force leaves or any sort of meta plot stalls out.

I concur with this. In fact, I thought Kai's post was excellent overall.

I find, very large, very cumbersome plots tend to cause problems more often, not always but more often than smaller plots. The best villain-group I ever saw on COH fractured a little, over a very long plot arc. The group survived, but was never the same.

To combat this, I try, as best as I can, to keep plots moving. And to actually resolve things, to put an end to various episodes, so we can start new ones. It works for supers great too, because it feels like you are progressing from a two or three-issue story, to a whole new arc. It can be hard to document/manage.

As for merging, my group is small (8 active members) and for now static (we're not recruiting), so think merging actually hurts us. We want to stay relatively small and nimble. So consolidation is not a plus for us. Still, I'd be happy to do what I can to work with other groups and collaborate as much as possible.

One idea I have is a possible "Leader's Summit" - a meeting of various leaders of groups where we can talk both IC and OOC about working together on various projects.

Genesis League isn't the kind of group that should be merged. Very specific and working fine. This is an idea meant to combat when ideas like the Genesis League go wrong, which certainly is not the case.

When Farahl asked me what groups would fit her character, I honestly told her I didn't know because I don't know what groups are active now, especially now, as more small groups keep popping up and the old active ones die because people alt over and leave their old groups behind.

And like I said, not everyone is going to be on board.

I like the overall idea, I was responding to Kai's comments that groups are fluid and fragile - and that as such, it is often more convenient to simply avoid them entirely.

In many ways, merging solves the issue in that it consolidates people and hopefully reduces the transient nature of groups.

I also want to highlight the idea I proposed that leaders of groups meet from time to time. "A leader's summit" of sorts, -meet once a month perhaps. This gives you an idea of what groups are clearly active and what kind of collaboration is possible - even if the groups don't merge their members.

I think I came across as negative, based on the two immediate responses - my apologies. I like this idea and will do what I can to support it.

[quote_post2275081 user=117203]

#2274937 Hatman wrote:

#2274836 Kai wrote:

I mean Ministry, Meta-SWAT, Destroyers....nice people, but none of my characters fit the concept and there's no real incentive for me to make them. I gain nothing significant by wedging a character into something that's not a perfect fit since nothing stops me from RPing with people in an SG if I'm not in it, and there's no tangible SG benefits.

Costume slot.

Costume slot remains even if you leave the SG.[/quote]
Still have to join a SG for you to get it.

I've been suggesting this for a long, long time.

I don't really see a need for SG mergers, personally. What's the point? It's not like we can't RP with each other if we're not in the same SG. You could argue that SG chat is a great way to get things going but.. isn't that why we have CRP?

I dunno. I think this is detrimental to the flavor and identity of each individual group. You say a lot of them are similar but.. they still have their own distinct purpose, goals, and characters who comprise them. Homogenizing SG's when there really isn't a tangible benefit seems more like a bad move in my opinion. I'm not saying that rudely, I just really don't see it as a positive thing at this stage in the game.

Giga is in a small SG for a reason, one I and my friends created. I couldn't find one that matched ALL of her ideals and she's not the type to compromise. I'm sure many other people could say the same. Once you get into the idea of mergers all kinds of conflicts arise. From officership, to member drama, you're just asking for trouble. And again.. I don't think the benefits outweigh the potential harm it could do to the merged groups or the community as a whole.