How to handle players with differing desires?

[Kasai Shishi]

Hey everyone. I'm not really sure if this is the right place or maybe I should go somewhere else, but I was hoping to get some advice from others who have been in this situation.

I am a pretty new GM that took on a text-based homebrew to new players that would be able to respond freely throughout the week, which worked pretty well at first. But then we noticed we weren't getting as much done as we'd like because of varying schedules and that was completely understandable. So we added a game day as well as having the ability to respond throughout the week. Which was really the saving grace and we managed to get through quite a bit... least until everything slowed to a crawl and feels like time has frozen forever in terms of the game (outside of the weekly meet up)

I have a 5 person party, we're all friends in and out of game, 3 who have been very involved and wants to get things moving so they can see where the story is going and how the world is building, but we have two others that are making it a bit harder. The other two have had some difficulty keeping up due to real life problems (nothing extreme or anything), They've expressed they're enjoying the game as well just don't really feel up to putting in the effort at the time.

Unfortunately this has kind of caused a rift in terms of how to proceed. I've tried to find a balance with those who don't want to respond daily, telling them I think everyone would be fine if there was some kind of response every 2-3days just to keep things moving, but that didn't work out either.

So, now I'm in this spot of having 3 people who are responding daily trying to somehow get the others involved. And 2 who just have landed into the weekly meet up. I tried suggesting maybe starting a second campaign to run through for those who want something to play on the active, but they're really invested into their current characters and the world that lies before them.

I had thought about possibly seeing if I could make their second characters part of my homebrew but to be honest, being new to what I'm doing to begin with, I'm not sure how that would work out in the long run of people having two characters to play.

And that's where I'm stuck. Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to make sure I was being clear when posting so I could get the best possible advice. Thanks to anyone who can help me in my situation!

TLDR: I have a 5 person party where 3 wants to be active every day, 2 have dwindled to weekly, can't manage to find a compromise. Have come for advice and assistance to others with more experience.

[Balacertar]

Most long running campaigns face this at some point or another. People passes through times they are less involved at roleplaying because other stuff gets in the way.

From what you are telling it seems these two people are responding well to the weekly meeting. If so, I do suggest you keep going with this once a week. A group can only go as fast as the slower runner. If the other ones really want more, they will have to concede and be seduced by your spin-off proposal. You can do nothing for the other ones to play more frequently if it does not come from them, unless their problem is related to how the game is run and you can change something for them to enjoy more. From what you are saying they are just out of the state of mind to play everyday and not a problem itself with the way you play.

Now, if the other two continue to find reasons not to attend even to the weekly events, and even then, they are not very involved... then, that is the hard time when you have to make them realize the game is not fulfilling enough for them and they will go better invest their time in something else, dropping the game and you and your other players finding someone with more similar play expectations.

Do not feel bad, this is something common, but you need to address it before the whole campaign falls apart.