Why is the community population declining?

[NebulaCloud]

It's good to see that people are taking interest in the degradation of the RP environment. I can't really say anything that wouldn't be a repeat of what's been said above, just that as I detailed in my post titled "Roleplay server?" I as a new player have been growing increasingly dissatisfied with my RP experience here (or lack thereof). There are literally dozens of other shooter games out there of all genres. If all I wanted was a sci fi blow-em-up, I probably wouldn't be here. I realize I may get lynched for saying this, but to me, Freelancer isn't *that* interesting or engaging of a game, gameplay-wise.

I do, however, love the universe and the expanded story introduced in Discovery. It's a gigantic backdrop with all kinds of storytelling/RP potential, and it's a shame to see it fall victim to griefers and immature silliness. But as has been asked above: what are we doing to make it better?

I've been trying to reach out to other players that value RP as much as I do, and it seems that although I can't definitively prove that we aren't a dying breed, we aren't particularly small in number either. We can help to improve the environment and immersion by roleplaying to the best of our ability, and encourage others to do the same. This game gets stale and boring without the players that make it interesting, and if we just find them and help them get out of the discouraged rut they're finding themselves in due to frustration, we can see the attitude of the player base start to change. More players will follow suit, and eventually the culture will be one that frowns up or even refuses to tolerate nonsense.

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