Light RP is usually casual RP, fairly lax rules, and you're given a lot of leeway.
Heavy is pretty much the opposite...Hard-core RP, speech-patterns, mannerisms, emoting, and other aspects are usually heavily watched and enforced. Much more into a story-telling aspect.
Medium is just a 1/2-way point between those. Not quite as hard-core, but speech-patterns and mannerisms are watched.
Of course, the whle subject is open to interpretation, and these are my ideas on RP, whereas some may disagree or have slightly different ideas.
I'm so going to hell...if not for this post, then for that thing with the squirrel and the maraschino cherries.
Ratchet Fizwink
Proud boss of the Paragon Tram Maintenance.
PGTM - Fixing Paragon, one track at a time.
Ratchet got it pretty much spot on.
Light RP: Alot of leeway, few rules, not very strongly enforced, OOC and IC aren't that different, OOC bubbles (( )) aren't often used, and if they are, aren't consider a necessity.
Medium RP: People are expected to stay incharacter and used OOC bubbles for saying things OOC; more rules and more enforced.
Heavy RP: Stage Acting Equivalent, you stay in character. You never break character. You try and avoid OOC as much as physically possible within local, supergroup, team and other chats that are typically considered "IC" channels for most folks.
Upon the RP subject, -never- get caught in the insight/season/level synonym conflict. Almost all levels of roleplay intensity get bent over the 'most appropriate title for gauging strength in character.' Does anybody describe themselves with numeric values? Nay. . . They bloody boast their accomplishments -_-. And being a villain, you'll probably be inclined to automatically say something that puts you on higher social ground. Avoid numbers period.
Heavy RP can also be considered ignoring the interface. Some information should not be accessible in real perception that is readily availible in the menus and floating text. The most basic is your name, which most people -shouldn't- really know your title unless you're a creature steeped in reasonable infamy, or you told them it. However, a lot of rules are subjective and are derived by a person's perceptions, since there really isn't a codex of roleplay rulings out there.
However, the quickest way to bloody a conversation is to point out some ruling here and there, and unfortunately, medium/heavy's limited/no OOC rule dissapates after an infraction in the RP 'law'. Ignoring bloopers is the way to go, yes yes!
I get it, thanks for the clarifications.
But, aren't terms like "Security Level" and so forth a part of the game world? Can't we say, "I just got my Level 12 pass, so now I can do some justice in Boomtown!"
That's exactly the right thing to say in this game. Fortunately, they give it right to you here, whereas in almost every other game, you're stuck trying to come up with a reasonable description of power...
The thing that always got me, is the fact that in all of these games, the RP'ers never just checked the person's level using the game system...even if you have to invite them, you can RP, "Sorry, you look a littl weak for the enemies we'll be fighting" and still not be an [censored].
Anywho, RP the way you want to RP, don't change your play-style to fit in with any particular group, or you won't have as much fun. Eventually, you'll find your niche and meet players/make friends with a similar RP philosophy.
Play for fun, or don't bother. Boredom means it's time for a break. And if you're taking it too seriously, remember, it's just a game, and you're paying to enjoy it, not raise you blood pressure and chances for a coronary 
I'm so going to hell...if not for this post, then for that thing with the squirrel and the maraschino cherries.
Ratchet Fizwink
Proud boss of the Paragon Tram Maintenance.
PGTM - Fixing Paragon, one track at a time.
[ QUOTE ]
That's exactly the right thing to say in this game. Fortunately, they give it right to you here, whereas in almost every other game, you're stuck trying to come up with a reasonable description of power...
[/ QUOTE ]
I used to play a lot of World of Warcraft, where the popular term was "season". Sometimes I liked to say, "I'm strong enough for such-and-such a dungeon," or, "I can hold my own against such-and-such an enemy."
In CoH/CoV it seems a lot of information is accessible in-character. Heroes/Villains are registered in databases, and toons inspecting other toons receive a computerized readout of downloaded data. Everyone's got IDs, so in this game it seems alright for people to respond to what otherwise appears to be OOC knowledge in other games.
I guess that's one of the cool things about playing in a science fiction universe rather than fantasy.
[ QUOTE ]
That's exactly the right thing to say in this game. Fortunately, they give it right to you here, whereas in almost every other game, you're stuck trying to come up with a reasonable description of power...
[/ QUOTE ]
I used to play a lot of World of Warcraft, where the popular term was "season". Sometimes I liked to say, "I'm strong enough for such-and-such a dungeon," or, "I can hold my own against such-and-such an enemy."
In CoH/CoV it seems a lot of information is accessible in-character. Heroes/Villains are registered in databases, and toons inspecting other toons receive a computerized readout of downloaded data. Everyone's got IDs, so in this game it seems alright for people to respond to what otherwise appears to be OOC knowledge in other games.
I guess that's one of the cool things about playing in a science fiction universe rather than fantasy.
I often see these terms come up, but I seldom see them explained. Can someone describe to me the difference between light, medium and heavy RP? Thanks a million.