[quote=SyrianHamster]
I like military RPs, but I'm not in the military, and therefore I get easily gobbled up by people who are. OR, I get gobbled up by people who aren't but love to read all about it. I think what makes them unattractive is, they are a very niche market. From what I've seen here, they require players who know their stuff. Not anyone can just pick it up and run with it - no - it has to be a war nerd or someone who's in/was in the military. Seriously, I've seen how these RPs look; I've tried my hand at them too, and you get easily intimidated by the players who spam facts, figures and army lingo at you. I found myself having to google half of some peoples' posts just to so's my reply didn't look incompetent. My two cents? You want a military RP? Then you'll have to make it user-friendly. Which would be amazingly difficult, because it would mean you'd need to strong arm the nerds/vets/current enlisted into making more sense to the average RPer. On the other hand, you'd need to make sure the average joe knows how a gun works and has a vague understanding of what goes down in military ops. A nightmare balancing act.Yeah, no, it's a nightmare. Something I think I (or anyone, really, cus I aint special!) could pull off, but it would take a gigantic amount of effort into producing something that would appeal to both sides of the table.
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Perfection. Balancing is horrifying, and I have tried it, and it fails, because the nerds tell you you're too softcore (even if you know what it is), and the...well, unknown run into it and think it's like Call of Duty. I'd say it's a very fine balance- it's meant to vaguely realistic, you're meant to have sanity with all of the elements of an RP. But there is a life-or-death tension, that fuel to the fire that makes it exiting, that gives it that interest. As I've mentioned before, I enjoy a right balance. Influences also come into play. I've played a lot of Wargame: Airland Battle lately, so I could lecture people on Cold-War era equipment now, that I could never do before. Yet at the same time, I'm still quite into a lot of other theaters of war, Zulu being one of them (PS Dutchbag, if you do it again, I have an awesome idea in mind). I wouldn't say that it requires knowledge intensely- being in the military is not a pre-requisite, but research is needed sometimes. Figuring out what is real, what isn't, and what is in the territory of being real is also important. I'd like to really appeal more broadly to the more general player, but at the same time, I want to appeal to those who genuinely would care that say, a character uses a certain type of rifle with specific equipment. And while I can name people who fill that role brilliantly, at the same time, I can't say it's a majority. 

[quote=FortunesFaded]
Aye - I remember you being at least a hundred times more knowledgable on the subject than me when Zulu was running. And I think that's a component for a successful military RP, too: having an expert around, especially when you're going for realism. As for that RP specifically, I'd love to restart it at some point in the future, but not now. I simply have too much on my plate.
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Likewise, I'm afraid- it was a good RP, I enjoyed it a bit, it wasn't going fast but it was good for the time.

Also, should add- this discussion in itself has made me think of maybe doing another military RP, ANOTHER one no less. Probably same aisle, modern-day stuff. Maybe something a little edgier though, a little more ingrounded in Rangers/Marines, rather than dedicated SF. Though I'll really have to see when, though it could happen.