A lot is said about the focus on killing mobs to advance your character in an RPG, but thinking of it, what is the best way to become a better fighter? Practice! So it's only natural that going out and killing beasts would be the most effective, and at the same time most dangerous, way to make your character stronger. But that's not what this topic is really about, I just wanted to add that. RP'ing. "Not all things are black and white" they say (dont ask me who "they" are, I dont know), and it seems to me Roleplaying falls into this implied "grey" zone. What one person considers good RP'ing may be the opposite of another. Obviously if you're playing a fantasy RPG it's not considered RP'ing to talk about how your car is giving you problems, but maybe as part of a character's persona they dont speak "Ye Olde English", maybe that character's background is not that of nobility and hence they use improper grammar. It seems to mee that just as many RP'ers are as intollerant to non-RP'ers as non-RP'ers to RP'ers (if you can decipher that last sentence, you may join me for milk and cookies later). I consider myself a moderate RP'er, I enjoy RP'ing at times, and other times I'm not in the mood. However, there are many who would like to RP but lack the knack for it, and yes those who'd just prefer not to. I just think everyone needs to remain tollerant to the play style of others so that we all can enjoy the games we play however we choose to play them. Everyone who pays that monthly fee deserves to play as much as anyone else.
I currently play NWN and play on a strict RP server. There are gamemasters on their alot to improve the atmosphere of the game.
The gamemasters or Dungeon masters allow no OOC chatter when your in the game unless you go to private tells or you say ooc or // something to that effect while playing..but you can't just ramble on in ooc during gameplay (except in private tells cause dm's cant see that) or the Dm's will kick your arse.
I don't play any MMO's cause of this fact. I currently get bored of playing with some goob who just wants to tell me how cool is friggin char is. If your looking for RP...youll find plenty of servers with strict RP and even Mild RP. Sure the graphics aren't up to date...but NWN 2 is coming out in a couple years if you want to wait..hahah..
The excuse of being a fighter and want to go practice "fighting" becuase thats what fighters do is out of the question...People don't make char for the sheer purpose of being "UBER" or a super fighter ..people give their char's some faults and possible skills in certain areas to broaden their skills...or multiclass.. Many options to choose from. Thats what makes RP fun...feeling your in a world...not just looking at a screen and some stats like the football section of a news paper. Heck i don't know why they even call these games MMORPG they should call the games Massive Multiplayer Online Power Leveling Games. Like everybody says...No one really "role plays" they just power play. booo hoo for RP'rs I guess..haha
Maybe D&D online will bring more of that RP aspect in the game...but i doubt it...
I'm sorry but this just simply is not true. The game design has a huge affect on roleplaying. ..... So, why does everyone just level in most mmorpgs to date? because there is NOTHING ELSE TO DO. ..... The best mmorpg for roleplaying will be one that contains full PVP, Permadeath and no classes.
All very true and I am pleased to see that there is at least one other person out there that understands how poor game designers have "advanced" the state of the MMORPGs since they first appeared. Many aspects are missing that collectively result in "poor" gameplay - and virtually NO roleplayability. The worlds are EXTREMELY shallow - there is generally only one (perhaps two) things for characters to do in the world - kill things (and in some cases craft items) - that is it. The game world MUST be fuller and richer in the activities afforded characters. Further, there MUST be consequences for every action a character performs - and NOT such a simplistic one as a faction change - what a silly concept at best. Also, game designers MUST do a significantly better job at envisioning motivation for the player and most importantly for the character - why must every game have characters going out into the world to kill thousands upon thousands of simple creatures? It makes NO sense whatsoever. Why not design the world so that the things one kills make sense to the character? Further, roleplay goes out the window when game designers put inane concepts (and mechanics) into the world - for example why is it that when (as in SWG and others) I harvest meat from two creatures I find that I can get MORE meat from a little bunny rabbit sized creature than from a huge elephant sized one??? This sort of inanity needs to be driven out of game design. Sorry, I will stop here - all I intended to do was agree with the poster <g>.
Originally posted by Aprilly Originally posted by starman999 The comment about 14 year old griefers shows a lack of knowledge. The term griefer has been misused as of late. In an open PVP environment especially one with permadeath there is no such thing as a griefer. A "griefer" is someone who does something that disrupts your normal game and there is nothing you can do about it. Griefers are much more common in a limited or no PVP environment because in FFA pvp they would simply be killed repeatedly until they leave. Well you are wrong . I have run into more griefers in open PVP games and servers than anywhere else. I guess you dont consider a high level character killing a noob or low level character and gloating griefing. Well I do. That which does not kill you only makes you stronger.
Not to attack you but I would have to say this is an ideal example of not RPing. I played on a non-RPing server in DAoC. I play MMOs to play with others not to run around speaking ye old english. However, I do play as my character would act if it were real. So in DAoC I played a Valkyn Bonedancer. I didn't talk like a Valkyn "might" talk but I did play the role. I hated the other realms, I was agressive, and I didn't talk about non-game things unless it was OOC or with my guild when we were just chatting it up. If I ran across a level 1 noob from another realm I would immediately kill them. In real life there just aren't levels. Sure you can tell whether someone is weaker than you maybe but they are the enemy so I'd kill them. Now rarely did I see a level 1 but I killed level 15-20 characters in Darkness Falls all the time. It was a part of the story.
Some games, however, have a system that doesn't encourage RPing and still has extreme pvping. AKA Lineage 2 which has no RP elements to it imo and has one of the worst pvp systems ever.
"Feel free to hate me, but hate me for the right reasons."
"Your still ignorant if you believe the first thing you see when the blindfold is removed."
Originally posted by Soulbadguy The excuse of being a fighter and want to go practice "fighting" becuase thats what fighters do is out of the question...People don't make char for the sheer purpose of being "UBER" or a super fighter ..people give their char's some faults and possible skills in certain areas to broaden their skills...or multiclass.. Many options to choose from. Thats what makes RP fun...feeling your in a world...not just looking at a screen and some stats like the football section of a news paper. Heck i don't know why they even call these games MMORPG they should call the games Massive Multiplayer Online Power Leveling Games. Like everybody says...No one really "role plays" they just power play. booo hoo for RP'rs I guess..haha
Hmm, please try not to take offense to this but, that really makes no sense. Fighters fight, otherwise they wouldnt be called fighters. There's no avoiding the sheer fact that realisticly, nothing strengthens one's combat abilities better than actual combat. However, I didnt mean to imply that combat was the only viable aspect to MMORPG's, just that, from a realistic perspective, it should be the most effective, and likewise most dangerous, manner of physically improving a character.
As far as why people make characters, and what people think is fun, that all depends on the person. Not everyone shares the same idea of what's fun, and people should be able to enjoy an MMORPG however they like, be it through RP'ing, pure combat, or as in my case, a mix of the two, without being given a hard time from anyone else. If you dont like RP'ing, dont RP and let those who do enjoy it. If you like RP'ing and are against "uber" hunting, go have fun with the other RP'ers and leave the "uber" hunter's alone.
Enjoy the game however you like, and let others do the same, regardless of how you prefer to play. A community is made up of a lot of different people, "different" being the key word. Everyone's gotta just live and let live.
Originally posted by R3DD3RS87 Are there any MMORPG's out there that use actual role playing instead of just power leveling? I mean there isn't 1 mmorpg that i've seen where no-body is in character they just wanna be the highest level and thats about it. Any suggestions of games please?
Have I got the thing you need! Go to http://www.jossh.com and find the support link, there you will be able to download it for FREE!!
It does cost 10 a month after a 10 day trial after your initial sign up. It is well worth it, It's been out since 2001 and I've played since beta! Plus there are others you have been there longer. It's a good game and a community of both pvper and non-pvpers. BOTH RP!
There never ever was a MMORPG with actual role playing. And never ever will be. Game developers cannot force players to Role-Play. It is up to the players to choose to role-play. Even then, not every single player will role-play.
There is only one tru MMORPG out there that actually enforces Roleplaying, and that game is Underlight - Http://www.underlight.com .
It was released to the public in 1998 so the graphics engine is not "uber" but the whole game is revolved around Roleplaying. Basically put, if you don't RP, you will get no where. Even better, this game has no NPC's cept for Nightmares, or "Monsters". They are refered to Nightmares because the game is set in a Dreamworld.
The creators of this game, Lyra, are currently working on a sequal to Underlight called Reclamation - Http://www.reclamationgame.com .
I have been following Lyra around for roughly 7-8 years and have enjoyed playing Underlight ever since, and look very forward to Reclamation.
So if you are looking for a game(s) where RP -is- enforced, I highly recomend checking these titles out.
Originally posted by Dragon_UL Originally posted by xplororor There never ever was a MMORPG with actual role playing. And never ever will be. Game developers cannot force players to Role-Play. It is up to the players to choose to role-play. Even then, not every single player will role-play.
It may be fun to RP non-stop, but the COMMUNITY of JG set everything. They look for RP reasons for something to occur(like Conflux hunting competitions) as well as OOC (out of character) reasons like Weekend of War (WoW) a non-stop player vs. player event.
BOTH events are created and run by the players, however if for some reason players want to give out a medal for say a winner of a race, the GMs have such medals. No matter WHO you are, in JG you got a place, all you gotta do is create it!
Ok i got no idea how old this thread is but anywayz. Problem solved guys!. All of you out there who said there are no mmorpgs that are soley roleplay are only partly right. There is www.illarion.org allthough it isnt massivly multiplayer you can have up too 30 people at a time roleplaying so check it out.
ummm.. Underlight.. albeit you're going to be into more 'roleplaying' than any kind of gameplay.. if you're into that, just join a D&D table because with the amounts of djurkwahds, you're s.o.l.
Didnt read any other posts.... Eve online isnt based around LVLing through XP. You train skills over time, the long you have been playing the more skills you have. The rest of the game is based around money really. That said, the PVP is open to anyone who can put a gun on his ship and fly into 0.0 space. You might not last long but its PVP.
Heres the RPing part. The way the PVP works is its between player corps/guilds/outfits whatever you want to call them. Those corps come together into alliances and controle/defend/attack real space systems that can belong to other alliances. The player alliances in 0.0 space (about 1/2 of the game's systems) declare thier own wars, patrol thier own systems without any NPC/Dev/GM, but the allainces are part of the in-game news. Instead of the WoW pvp where if you raid an enemy outpost NOTHING happens, if you raid a system here, its yours. Thats the RPing, that you as a pilot make a difference when you kill someone else. Players call the shots. Theres no lvls so you dont have say a lvl 60 ganking a lvl 40. Depends on you type of ship/loadout and other things. Not lvls.
[quote]Originally posted by Oakstead [b]Roleplay is all about competition, not necessarily PvP. Traditionally the game assigns you your role when you choose a class or race and thus defines for you those other classes and races with whom you compete. AND THIS IS THE PROBLEM! A game should provide the flexibility and freedom to compete in many ways with the players defining how they want to compete.[/quote]
That statements is completely wrong and shows a profound lack of knowledge of RPGs.
Part of the reason roleplaying games were so innovative when they appeared in the mid 70's, and part of the reason they - in some cases - became associated with gifted children programs and so on, was because of their _non-competetive_ nature.
Roleplay is about portraying a character, true, but PvP is increasingly - seemingly with roleplay being used as an excuse for the worst sorts of PvP behaviour.
EVE online have some best rp going since pre UO:R player towns. Even if people are not playing "in character" they have role in eve universe be it that miner whos exploiting local resources, trader, pirate, bounty hunter, mercenary, etc. Plus you cant powerlevel. However you wount be getting out of ship and doing /dance /bow /salutes.
One thing that really ruins some mmorpgs rp servers are that a lot of players are roleplaying "powerleveling" and next hero. Players camping popular leveling spots day and night. Also a lot of players are mixing themself with game lore with way it make no sense like serveral characters would be kings lost only child . I am sure there is exceptions in these rp servers, but just general feeling i got from some of them.
lol, a long time ago, I used to power level in Illarion and say non-rp things. Illarion was probably the first RPG I've ever played so I didn't really give a damn about the RP concept. I have to admit that I had lots of fun not following the rules. In middle of fights when I appear to be losing, I'd just log off haha... brings back old memories, I probably should start playing again... and actually play it like it's meant to be.
Originally posted by R3DD3RS87 Are there any MMORPG's out there that use actual role playing instead of just power leveling? I mean there isn't 1 mmorpg that i've seen where no-body is in character they just wanna be the highest level and thats about it. Any suggestions of games please?
Every MMORPG has a role playing community, but there are certain games that offer more potential for RP activities. Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies and EVE Online allow a certain sense of player-driven content, especially EVE Online that has player driven politics. All three offer a good character customization system.
In SWG, thanks to social clothing, player cities, etc, etc, you can do a wide variety of RP events. Fashion contests, swoop races, murder mysteries, smuggling runs, and quite many other things.
Currently playing: * City of Heroes: Deggial, Assault Rifle/Devices Blaster. Server: Defiant. * City of Villains: Snakeroot, Plant/Thorns Dominator. Server: Defiant.
The problem isn't that people aren't roleplaying. The problem is a lack of originality and creativity on the part of the developers, who keep imitating each other and copying the same boring script -- ENDGAME must equal RAID. Roleplaying is people talking in a specific way. Etc.
Open PvP is a part of creating a roleplaying environment (though in the interest of subscribers and reality of dollars, it should be "selectable" for each individual, though I would argue you make that choice once, when you create the character).
More importantly is the design of the game. That doesn't mean just quests. It means creating an environment that facilitates and encourages roleplaying "roles" (not the mechanical "who's the tank; who's the healer" roles, roles, as in roles acted). A structure that lets you advance in the nobility of a city, for instance, based on your actions, with positions of responsibility as a noble for finding and developing your own "people" (other lower-level players), with a dynamic structure that lets the noble generate quest-lines and tasks -- one example. Factions within the city based on the nobility and how you play the noble (perhaps the "noble-generated quests" come with an "attitude" marker, so that the more of that "type of quest" (assassination, theft, etc) the noble chooses, the more "of that attitude" he becomes, and if the actions become public or are known in the world then the noble becomes associated with that "attitude" and so do his followers). Etc.
What is needed is a change in attitude toward game STRUCTURE, to creating an environment where roles can be played and which encourages the creation and playing of these roles. Class, how many "x" you kill, etc. does NOT equal roleplaying (those can be part of the roleplaying experience, but they shouldn't DEFINE it).
So a DM on a MMORPG gets several complaints about a griefer attacking people in a certain area. The DM teleports to the area walks up to the griefer and asks him just what he thinks he's doing. To this the griefer replies "My character is chaotic evil."
That's the state of online role playing. It's a sad ugly truth. In the end you kind of need a perspective on what you're looking for. Role (character acting) playing or Role (job or position) playing? If you're looking for the former then you need to play Underlight or a NWN RP server. If you're looking for the latter, any other MMORPG will do. BTW, PvP games like EVE don't encourage RP. They give context to the action on screen which superficially appears to be role playing. YOU are reacting to the game, not your character. Pesonally I think that PVP with the latter kind of RP would be a better gaming experience all around. I'm not going to bullshit myself into believing that it's RP in the traditional sense though. Of course, if you go with the latter discription, all kinds of games suddenly fit into the RPG catagory. Team Fortress Classic, Counter-Strike, America's Army, Tribes, etc. That's a pretty big can of worms though, so I don't think I'll comment on it.
Comments
A lot is said about the focus on killing mobs to advance your character in an RPG, but thinking of it, what is the best way to become a better fighter? Practice! So it's only natural that going out and killing beasts would be the most effective, and at the same time most dangerous, way to make your character stronger. But that's not what this topic is really about, I just wanted to add that. RP'ing. "Not all things are black and white" they say (dont ask me who "they" are, I dont know), and it seems to me Roleplaying falls into this implied "grey" zone. What one person considers good RP'ing may be the opposite of another. Obviously if you're playing a fantasy RPG it's not considered RP'ing to talk about how your car is giving you problems, but maybe as part of a character's persona they dont speak "Ye Olde English", maybe that character's background is not that of nobility and hence they use improper grammar. It seems to mee that just as many RP'ers are as intollerant to non-RP'ers as non-RP'ers to RP'ers (if you can decipher that last sentence, you may join me for milk and cookies later). I consider myself a moderate RP'er, I enjoy RP'ing at times, and other times I'm not in the mood. However, there are many who would like to RP but lack the knack for it, and yes those who'd just prefer not to. I just think everyone needs to remain tollerant to the play style of others so that we all can enjoy the games we play however we choose to play them. Everyone who pays that monthly fee deserves to play as much as anyone else.
I currently play NWN and play on a strict RP server. There are gamemasters on their alot to improve the atmosphere of the game.
The gamemasters or Dungeon masters allow no OOC chatter when your in the game unless you go to private tells or you say ooc or // something to that effect while playing..but you can't just ramble on in ooc during gameplay (except in private tells cause dm's cant see that) or the Dm's will kick your arse.
I don't play any MMO's cause of this fact. I currently get bored of playing with some goob who just wants to tell me how cool is friggin char is. If your looking for RP...youll find plenty of servers with strict RP and even Mild RP. Sure the graphics aren't up to date...but NWN 2 is coming out in a couple years if you want to wait..hahah..
The excuse of being a fighter and want to go practice "fighting" becuase thats what fighters do is out of the question...People don't make char for the sheer purpose of being "UBER" or a super fighter ..people give their char's some faults and possible skills in certain areas to broaden their skills...or multiclass.. Many options to choose from. Thats what makes RP fun...feeling your in a world...not just looking at a screen and some stats like the football section of a news paper. Heck i don't know why they even call these games MMORPG they should call the games Massive Multiplayer Online Power Leveling Games. Like everybody says...No one really "role plays" they just power play. booo hoo for RP'rs I guess..haha
Maybe D&D online will bring more of that RP aspect in the game...but i doubt it...
All very true and I am pleased to see that there is at least one other person out there that understands how poor game designers have "advanced" the state of the MMORPGs since they first appeared. Many aspects are missing that collectively result in "poor" gameplay - and virtually NO roleplayability. The worlds are EXTREMELY shallow - there is generally only one (perhaps two) things for characters to do in the world - kill things (and in some cases craft items) - that is it. The game world MUST be fuller and richer in the activities afforded characters. Further, there MUST be consequences for every action a character performs - and NOT such a simplistic one as a faction change - what a silly concept at best. Also, game designers MUST do a significantly better job at envisioning motivation for the player and most importantly for the character - why must every game have characters going out into the world to kill thousands upon thousands of simple creatures? It makes NO sense whatsoever. Why not design the world so that the things one kills make sense to the character? Further, roleplay goes out the window when game designers put inane concepts (and mechanics) into the world - for example why is it that when (as in SWG and others) I harvest meat from two creatures I find that I can get MORE meat from a little bunny rabbit sized creature than from a huge elephant sized one??? This sort of inanity needs to be driven out of game design. Sorry, I will stop here - all I intended to do was agree with the poster <g>.
If all else in life fails you, buy a vowel.
If all else in life fails you, buy a vowel.
Not to attack you but I would have to say this is an ideal example of not RPing. I played on a non-RPing server in DAoC. I play MMOs to play with others not to run around speaking ye old english. However, I do play as my character would act if it were real. So in DAoC I played a Valkyn Bonedancer. I didn't talk like a Valkyn "might" talk but I did play the role. I hated the other realms, I was agressive, and I didn't talk about non-game things unless it was OOC or with my guild when we were just chatting it up. If I ran across a level 1 noob from another realm I would immediately kill them. In real life there just aren't levels. Sure you can tell whether someone is weaker than you maybe but they are the enemy so I'd kill them. Now rarely did I see a level 1 but I killed level 15-20 characters in Darkness Falls all the time. It was a part of the story.
Some games, however, have a system that doesn't encourage RPing and still has extreme pvping. AKA Lineage 2 which has no RP elements to it imo and has one of the worst pvp systems ever.
"Feel free to hate me, but hate me for the right reasons."
"Your still ignorant if you believe the first thing you see when the blindfold is removed."
"Be smart enough to know I'm smarter than you."
Have I got the thing you need! Go to http://www.jossh.com and find the support link, there you will be able to download it for FREE!!
It does cost 10 a month after a 10 day trial after your initial sign up. It is well worth it, It's been out since 2001 and I've played since beta! Plus there are others you have been there longer. It's a good game and a community of both pvper and non-pvpers. BOTH RP!
Mrxknown
Lifelong TRI Pilot
_________________
Lifelong TRI Pilot
Jumpgate Evolution
_________________
It may be fun to RP non-stop, but the COMMUNITY of JG set everything. They look for RP reasons for something to occur(like Conflux hunting competitions) as well as OOC (out of character) reasons like Weekend of War (WoW) a non-stop player vs. player event.
BOTH events are created and run by the players, however if for some reason players want to give out a medal for say a winner of a race, the GMs have such medals. No matter WHO you are, in JG you got a place, all you gotta do is create it!
Mrxknown
Lifelong TRI Pilot
_________________
Lifelong TRI Pilot
Jumpgate Evolution
_________________
Ok i got no idea how old this thread is but anywayz.
Problem solved guys!.
All of you out there who said there are no mmorpgs that are soley roleplay are only partly right.
There is www.illarion.org allthough it isnt massivly multiplayer you can have up too 30 people at a time roleplaying so check it out.
ummm.. Underlight.. albeit you're going to be into more 'roleplaying' than any kind of gameplay.. if you're into that, just join a D&D table because with the amounts of djurkwahds, you're s.o.l.
Didnt read any other posts....
Eve online isnt based around LVLing through XP. You train skills over time, the long you have been playing the more skills you have. The rest of the game is based around money really. That said, the PVP is open to anyone who can put a gun on his ship and fly into 0.0 space. You might not last long but its PVP.
Heres the RPing part. The way the PVP works is its between player corps/guilds/outfits whatever you want to call them. Those corps come together into alliances and controle/defend/attack real space systems that can belong to other alliances. The player alliances in 0.0 space (about 1/2 of the game's systems) declare thier own wars, patrol thier own systems without any NPC/Dev/GM, but the allainces are part of the in-game news. Instead of the WoW pvp where if you raid an enemy outpost NOTHING happens, if you raid a system here, its yours. Thats the RPing, that you as a pilot make a difference when you kill someone else. Players call the shots. Theres no lvls so you dont have say a lvl 60 ganking a lvl 40. Depends on you type of ship/loadout and other things. Not lvls.
[quote]Originally posted by Oakstead
[b]Roleplay is all about competition, not necessarily PvP. Traditionally the game assigns you your role when you choose a class or race and thus defines for you those other classes and races with whom you compete. AND THIS IS THE PROBLEM! A game should provide the flexibility and freedom to compete in many ways with the players defining how they want to compete.[/quote]
That statements is completely wrong and shows a profound lack of knowledge of RPGs.
Part of the reason roleplaying games were so innovative when they appeared in the mid 70's, and part of the reason they - in some cases - became associated with gifted children programs and so on, was because of their _non-competetive_ nature.
Roleplay is about portraying a character, true, but PvP is increasingly - seemingly with roleplay being used as an excuse for the worst sorts of PvP behaviour.
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EVE online have some best rp going since pre UO:R player towns. Even if people are not playing "in character" they have role in eve universe be it that miner whos exploiting local resources, trader, pirate, bounty hunter, mercenary, etc. Plus you cant powerlevel. However you wount be getting out of ship and doing /dance /bow /salutes.
One thing that really ruins some mmorpgs rp servers are that a lot of players are roleplaying "powerleveling" and next hero. Players camping popular leveling spots day and night. Also a lot of players are mixing themself with game lore with way it make no sense like serveral characters would be kings lost only child
. I am sure there is exceptions in these rp servers, but just general feeling i got from some of them.
lol, a long time ago, I used to power level in Illarion and say non-rp things. Illarion was probably the first RPG I've ever played so I didn't really give a damn about the RP concept. I have to admit that I had lots of fun not following the rules. In middle of fights when I appear to be losing, I'd just log off haha... brings back old memories, I probably should start playing again... and actually play it like it's meant to be.
Roma Victor has great RP, it's in beta at the moment but they have a very active RP forum.
Check it out - http://www.roma-victor.com/community
-A
Every MMORPG has a role playing community, but there are certain games that offer more potential for RP activities. Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies and EVE Online allow a certain sense of player-driven content, especially EVE Online that has player driven politics. All three offer a good character customization system.
In SWG, thanks to social clothing, player cities, etc, etc, you can do a wide variety of RP events. Fashion contests, swoop races, murder mysteries, smuggling runs, and quite many other things.
Currently playing:
* City of Heroes: Deggial, Assault Rifle/Devices Blaster. Server: Defiant.
* City of Villains: Snakeroot, Plant/Thorns Dominator. Server: Defiant.
The problem isn't that people aren't roleplaying. The problem is a lack of originality and creativity on the part of the developers, who keep imitating each other and copying the same boring script -- ENDGAME must equal RAID. Roleplaying is people talking in a specific way. Etc.
Open PvP is a part of creating a roleplaying environment (though in the interest of subscribers and reality of dollars, it should be "selectable" for each individual, though I would argue you make that choice once, when you create the character).
More importantly is the design of the game. That doesn't mean just quests. It means creating an environment that facilitates and encourages roleplaying "roles" (not the mechanical "who's the tank; who's the healer" roles, roles, as in roles acted). A structure that lets you advance in the nobility of a city, for instance, based on your actions, with positions of responsibility as a noble for finding and developing your own "people" (other lower-level players), with a dynamic structure that lets the noble generate quest-lines and tasks -- one example. Factions within the city based on the nobility and how you play the noble (perhaps the "noble-generated quests" come with an "attitude" marker, so that the more of that "type of quest" (assassination, theft, etc) the noble chooses, the more "of that attitude" he becomes, and if the actions become public or are known in the world then the noble becomes associated with that "attitude" and so do his followers). Etc.
What is needed is a change in attitude toward game STRUCTURE, to creating an environment where roles can be played and which encourages the creation and playing of these roles. Class, how many "x" you kill, etc. does NOT equal roleplaying (those can be part of the roleplaying experience, but they shouldn't DEFINE it).
So a DM on a MMORPG gets several complaints about a griefer attacking people in a certain area. The DM teleports to the area walks up to the griefer and asks him just what he thinks he's doing. To this the griefer replies "My character is chaotic evil."
That's the state of online role playing. It's a sad ugly truth. In the end you kind of need a perspective on what you're looking for. Role (character acting) playing or Role (job or position) playing? If you're looking for the former then you need to play Underlight or a NWN RP server. If you're looking for the latter, any other MMORPG will do. BTW, PvP games like EVE don't encourage RP. They give context to the action on screen which superficially appears to be role playing. YOU are reacting to the game, not your character. Pesonally I think that PVP with the latter kind of RP would be a better gaming experience all around. I'm not going to bullshit myself into believing that it's RP in the traditional sense though. Of course, if you go with the latter discription, all kinds of games suddenly fit into the RPG catagory. Team Fortress Classic, Counter-Strike, America's Army, Tribes, etc. That's a pretty big can of worms though, so I don't think I'll comment on it.