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Post by AcidLies on Feb 7, 2015 17:41:03 GMT
So as everyone knows this server lost its lore keepers. Which means events and such are extremely difficult to do. Yes time has worked hard in keeping things moving. But working with lore of someone elses creation is quite difficult. I had some time to ponder on what can make a server fun, fresh, and friendly. And heres some ideas. Mind you. My ideas are a bit drastic, but it has the ability to really bring a buttload of new players as well as interesting player-made RP events without the need of lorekeepers.
*Pulls down screen and flips on projector.* *whip smack*
Hit that Reset Button!: Since we dont have the people that created these massive factions, what we are running with is a husk of a faction. With only lose goals and no real leadership. I suggest we change the lore up and remove these factions.
If it pleases the counsel.: What I suggest we put in its place is a central counsel chamber. Where every faction ((which are all going to be player-made)) are strongly suggested to send representatives to. This chamber/meeting, would be a way to RP faction relationships, a way to introduce new factions and players, a way to introduce new lore and events. It would be the center for all RP and would be ran by the players with TIME or another admin acting as counsel head. The counsel would both be IC and OOC and will be the place were the faction leaders work together to make the server interesting. We could set a day everyweek were everyone should come online and show up at the counsel. If a faction fails to show up after X amount of weeks. Their factions could be set as a dead faction and their assets split amongst the other factions.
Fire up the machines, its time to get industrial.: Keep the server more focused on making your own supplies and less on buying from shops. I think 90% of all shops should be ran by the players and maybe leave one central shop ran by the admins but have very limited supply. The reason for this is because when people need things they would be more likely to ask for it or steal it. And you want to put strain on the players by almost forcing interactions between them.
We must colonize!: Sometimes a little extra rules can actually make RP fun. So I had an idea to shift the focus of the server around managing your faction and expanding your influence. To do this I though that we could make planets have alot more use. First we could give any faction with at least 2-3 members a free planet or station. Their job then would be to nurture this planet. They would be given enough supplies to make a house on the planet. And that house would start the game within a game. We could create a system where you build structures on planets and get resources and money for your faction every week or so depending on what structures are on your planet and what resources are on it as well. On top of that we could have a list of events that could happen to a planet that affect the state of the planet and affect what you get at the end of the week. It could be done by a die roll and be a good thing or a bad thing. But there would also be a high chance of nothing happening. The events could even been things things that affect other factions causing accidental conflict. This whole system would give the feel of NPCs without having any.
The whole point of that game would be to create supply and demand and a since of control. So each faction would have a constant inflow of money and a single type of resource. Which means they could trade their single resource with others to help them build what they need.
Yes I basically am suggesting we turn this server into a Star-Civilization-Made.
All these systems together could really bring new life into both star-made and our server. And hopefully only require a tiny bit of GM/Admin interaction. Allowing the GMs/Admins do their own thing and manager their own civilizations.
I do have a lose lore idea that could encompass all of this but I'd rather the rework of lore be created by all of us as a whole.
Anyway these are my suggestions. What do you think?
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Sarah
Outer Rim Colonies
Posts: 88
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Post by Sarah on Feb 7, 2015 18:06:08 GMT
I could also imagine the last point quite well, if we start with only... one planet with shop at first, settled in a post reset wasteland where you only generate a set number of solar systems with one or two planets and a few sectors with asteroids around: simply put: no randomly generated content.
As for the industrial part: I think we only need to spice up the pirate blueprints with some dis-integrators inside to stop people from getting to many high grade materials through PvE.
Planets/stations should only be allowed for factions with a certain member count and maybe make the number of ships you can field dependent on their number and the size of your shipyard.
What of course would only interest me, would be a lower max speed 60km/h maybe, to make our ships the lumbering beasts of old who are greatly dependent on jump engines.
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HerrSticks
Outer Rim Colonies
The beatings will continue until moral improves.
Posts: 41
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Post by HerrSticks on Feb 7, 2015 18:11:54 GMT
"We could set a day everyweek were everyone should come online and show up at the counsel. If a faction fails to show up after X amount of weeks. Their factions could be set as a dead faction and their assets split amongst the other factions."
We have players on opposite ends of the world and time zones with: jobs, crappy internet, lives, and families. I don't think this would be a good idea. Plus it might get weird IC (alliances, feuds, KOS orders)
"they would be more likely to ask for it or steal it. And you want to put strain on the players by almost forcing interactions between them."
I can see this causing problems. You cannot "force interactions", players will either go along with it, or leave. Players should be allowed to interact at a level they are comfortable with while following the server guidelines. "Stealing"...Griefing, it is in the eye of the beholder.
"So each faction would have a constant inflow of money and a single type of resource. Which means they could trade their single resource with others to help them build what they need."
Could be extremely tedious, cause issues, and is not really enforceable.
On a side note, I enjoy the "NPC" factions. It makes the galaxy feel populated and cohesive, in fact they should own more territory than they do. Otherwise it would be a mishmash of random player factions. We don't need a ton, but at least 2 major "Nations" as NPC would suffice. I don't think players should be allowed to join NPC factions, they would be run by Admins.
EDIT: after reading TIMES message. I have a concern.
Are we all sitting around waiting to be told what to do? I understand having a "LoreMaster", but not the need for one. Why cant players pick a character, play that character and see where it goes? Why do we need a "director"? Cant players play their characters and build from there?
If the concern is about factions, then require players provide a faction write up before its officially recognized. If the concern is about dissemination of information, incentivize posting on the forums. If the concern is the players who primarily drive the story are getting burnt out or don't have time, then promote, or allow others to help.
It seems like people are asking the question "who will write the book?", or "who will drive the car?". The answer should be "everyone", not one person, or two, or three. We are not playing parts in a premade play. We are writing the script as we go.
One more edit: I'm happy with the server currently, it could use more players for sure. However I am content with the setup. Instead of "starting over", people should clearly, concisely state what they dislike, and how they would address that.
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Post by AcidLies on Feb 7, 2015 18:38:30 GMT
Herr. IF you didnt know. The reason i posted this is because the 2 NPC factions no longer have a proper leader and direction. The guys who created those factions and made their lore are gone now. And time cant RP them all since they each require a constant need to be on and each are different. NPC faction cause to much strain on the admins and puts the server into the admins control. The "Weird IC" bit about the counsel is what I want. Alliance, Feuds, KOS order. All those are awesome. Specially if those alliances and feuds are forced to interact due to the meetings. As for the timezones bit, The time would be selected carefully so that its a decent time for all. Yes there will be days that people wont show. But setting a date for an event will always have no showers. But more importantly people will make time for a date if they knew about it ahead of time. That way more people will end up showing up around that time generating a guaranteed player base at that time. The whole reason for my suggestion is to change the lore to make it MORE about players. and LESS about the 2-3 NPC factions. Which currently have the server's lore by the balls, and cant be run properly since theres only one person who can run them. As things are now, the server's lore and structure is based around 2 factions that are no longer evolving. What there is though is a bunch of minor factions under these two factions that are running smoothly. SO... why not change the server to focus on the minor factions instead of masking them under two husks that are just dead weight. Change is not always bad Herr. Yes my ideas are a bit drastic, but completely doable. And Honestly I believe it would bring alot to the table. Plus if the server does die. Thats it. Game over. So why not take a chance. Edit: The problem with the server is not about what people dislike. The problem is whats not working and should change. Im pretty sure everyone here likes the server. Not for the lore, but the people and how it works. My suggestions are ment to work on what the people like and expand what they can do. Edit: Im not the greatest at articulating my ideas properly. But I know hows servers works and how to get players. I was an extremely influential GM and player on one of the largest if not THE largest minecraft RP server, called Lord of the Craft. And A lot of my suggestions are what the server was built upon. And I didnt join that server until a couple of months after its creation. But I followed that server way after I left. And learned what did and didnt work in RP servers. Yes Minecraft and Starmade are different. But I just wanted to let you know I have experiance in things like this. And Im always up for criticism. I respect your concerns. Im just here to try to come to a reasonable middle ground and bring up what I think could be fixed/changed.
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HerrSticks
Outer Rim Colonies
The beatings will continue until moral improves.
Posts: 41
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Post by HerrSticks on Feb 7, 2015 19:19:42 GMT
"The problem with the server is not about what people dislike. The problem is whats not working and should change."
Well "whats not working" and "should change" is subjective. I think the factions "work", you don't, so the line between "dislike" and "not working" is blurry at best.
So far the only specific major issue mentioned is the Factions and Lore that surround them. Which appears to stem not from the factions themselves or implementation, but absence of their creator. As long as factions with backstories exist, and players come and go the problem will exist to some degree. That's what I mean when I say "clearly and concisely state your dislikes".
I am unsure how: forcing player interaction, restricting material availability, restricting shops, and making RL commitments fixes the issues with the "dead-husk-factions".
Is the main issue the "dead-husk factions" or the player economy(shops/trading), player interactions(meetings), or crafting(item availability)?
If lore and dead factions are the main issue, I propose two possible solutions.
1. Force players to join a pre established faction. That way there wont be faction after faction that's inactive, since Factions wont consist of 1-3 players. Factions will have more defined Lore since there will be fewer of them and they will be more active.
2. Completely get rid of the "NPC" factions. That way when someone stops playing or goes inactive, their faction can "fade away". An RP qualified story can be concocted to make sense of it, but this will still leave "dead factions" with "dead lore" which seems to be the primary issue to begin with.
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Post by invadr on Feb 7, 2015 19:40:45 GMT
The main idea of the factions and the lore was to give the universe a background setting against which the players would start out, struggle against and then eventually build up their own factions. It was just a starting point and storyline to add to the depth of the universe. Nobody said you can't do this or that, in fact we've always encouraged playing the way you wanted to. But there was/is a background story that moves forward. As for the existing States, they will remain for the time being as none of the players are that strong yet, considering the BAAL storyline. However, we encourage players to group together and eventually start their own states if they like. At that point, all options are on the table. I'm not sure how a detriment a 'dead faction' is. They just aren't 'there' much. By all means, build up your own factions, and add to the lore in the way you want.
And, there are some good ideas Acid, not far from things we've talked about ourselves.
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HerrSticks
Outer Rim Colonies
The beatings will continue until moral improves.
Posts: 41
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Post by HerrSticks on Feb 7, 2015 20:02:24 GMT
The initial post is about "losing lorekeepers".
"Since we dont have the people that created these massive factions, what we are running with is a husk of a faction. With only lose goals and no real leadership. I suggest we change the lore up and remove these factions."
I was addressing this statement, that i feel the included suggestions will not effect that, and may have negative effects that are worse than the problem its trying to address.
"It was just a starting point and storyline to add to the depth of the universe. Nobody said you can't do this or that, in fact we've always encouraged playing the way you wanted to" - Agreed, and seems to working as far as i can tell.
"I'm not sure how a detriment a 'dead faction' is. They just aren't 'there' much" - Also agreed, dead factions are a non issue.
"By all means, build up your own factions, and add to the lore in the way you want." -Sounds wonderful.
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Post by kelesith on Feb 7, 2015 20:14:03 GMT
I made the Rendii on Vivacitas, and they became an Empire in old TC. I, with the help of Ixalite and Time put a LOT of damn work into them. am not going to sit sit idly by as they go comatose and die. I am trying my best, but my ISP and my datacap of 50gigs and when my unlimited times kick in and out have me by the BALLS, I am on at times I don't see anyone, all I do at those times is build, and tweak, no player contact. that's why you sometimes see me on at 9-5 if I am being ballsy, that 500kb/s data usage is murder on my data limit and that is if I am doing NOTHING, no movement, no building, nothing I am a statue.. seriously an hour of play is several gigabytes of my data limit down the toilet, even more so if I do something.
Herrsticks, the Loremaster isn't really more guiding players at the individual level, The Lore Master is managing how the main story goes. How the big pieces fit together, such as the baalite invasion. while as you stated, the players run around and make their own lore. Like, yeah we have a loremaster, but in a sense you could consider me the Rendii Loremaster. as everything I do is pertaining to Rendii lore, most of it is me, some of it is Carnasis trying to make it fit, and it worked. we were a team making the initial lore and molding the Empire to fit snugly into it. so as you guys can understand, I am going to be very upset if they go poof. I am trying to breath life into them I truly am, but Exede and their unreliable Sattelite makes that extremely hard.
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Post by AcidLies on Feb 7, 2015 20:31:26 GMT
The whole idea of my suggestions was to get players a sense of purpose beyond just. "I made my backround and im super cool, lets fight!" I want to encourage a real reason to start conflict. Yes the players themselves can invent whatever they want. But being an Roleplaying vet of over 15 years. I've learned that most players want to be the "Hero" and fix problems. While very few want to be an antagonist. This leads to a stalemate of RP where nothing really happens. No real conflict or overarching goal arises. And a "Leader" or GM has to force a conflict or goal. If they dont people dont feel invested into the roleplay and leave. I've seen it happen to many times to count. I've even done so first hand.
Now yes players can create conflict and goals but usually they are hollow. For example, "Faction A decides that they want to fight Faction B. Their reason is because Faction B wandered into their territory." The problem is that Territory doesn't mean that much, and there is nothing to gain from the fight. Yes they will have some fights and some conflict RP, but overall there is no weight to anything.
Making it so resources are harder to get, but easier to trade. Means players rely on others more. It gives players a reason to want alliances. It gives players a reason to want to take territories and set up lines. And those reasons are tangible and not just words. Words are fine for some people. But there are ALOT of RPers who need more tangible things to invest in.
The counsel would give players the chance at some rarely seen political RP and would give players a player-made consequence to their actions. And would allow a way for all factions to communicate with each other. "Faction A attack Faction B, In the counsel Faction B said that Faction A attacked. The Counsel decided the attack was unjustified and ask Faction A to send Faction B resources to make up for damages, or become enemies of the Counsel." That now gives Faction A a whole mess of RP tangibility and decisions that affect RP and create a much more immersive environment.
Personally I need more than just words to RP and have fun. Otherwise to me RP becomes a game of "he said she said" which goes no where.
Do you understand what Im trying to say? Or am I still not getting my point across properly?
Edit: Its not that I didn't like what is there now. But without the leaders of the NPC factions. They end up losing tangibility, which makes it much harder for people to invest without going out of their way.
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Jay Armenov
Outer Rim Colonies
Steam: CypherX
Posts: 31
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Post by Jay Armenov on Feb 7, 2015 21:38:03 GMT
The abolishment of the existing lore and the re-organization of things that don't need to be re-organized is not only be incredibly, unbelievably silly, it would ruin the gameplay experience of people like Triarii, Truben Trading and other larger factions. We are massive galactic nations with GDPs that have 12 digits or more. A single shop with limited goods is not only ridiculously illogical, it's extremely detrimental to the people who don't want to shuck 15 hours down the toilet to monotonously harvest planets and wait to turn them into useful materials.
The only reason the large NPC factions are dying is because people refuse to join them, intent on making true their aspirations of an enormous super-faction with only a single player, when it is easier, quicker, more amusing, more interesting, more fun and more logical to group with other players. The admin leaders of these factions are here to help players outside of roleplay and serve as the RP excuse for AI fleets. They should only be pulling a few strings behind the scenes in terms of their factions. Even without players in their factions, there is absolutely no reason for their factions to be abolished.
There is no rule that hangs above your head saying you can't form a Council that governs factions; all you have to do is go out and ask.
Player interaction is little because many people that play here would rather wander off on their own to distant parts of the cluster. Groups like Triarii and TrubenTrading communicate and interact on a regular basis with each other. We aren't here to go out, find you, shake your hand and ask you if you are doing ok. There is a reason that the SS and Rendii have gates that connect them, with patrols, shops and stations inside them; it's because that's where people are bloody meant to stay. If you wander off on your own, 300 kilometers from civilization and then ask why people aren't interacting, you're missing a very important point.
Player interaction is driven by the need to exchange two things; goods and services. In this server, there is one crucial good and one crucial service that can be and are exchanged; building supplies and combat. Building supplies are invaluable to people that don't have the time and/or means to produce them, and various forms of combat, such as escorts and player flotillas, are absolutely crucial to each and every player here.
The only matter here being limited by the loss of admins is political RP, because admins control the NPC factions. Not destroyed; limited. There are a copious amount of factions and leaders here, and the only thing that is stopping political RP from happening is the unwillingness of these one player faction leaders to actually bloody RP in an RP server.
The short version; it isn't working because people don't attempt to make it work. You can't fix a broken car by painting it a different colour.
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Post by kelesith on Feb 7, 2015 21:52:25 GMT
Acid, on your first point, I have been Rping since I was 6-7, can't remember which, I had a surprisingly odd start into the scene from warcraft 3 custom maps and friends, now I am in the later half of my 18 years, I am quite experienced on what people want to do in RP. I myself find myself a mixed and arbitrary bag. one character I am the run of the mill guy no one cares about doing their own thing climbing a ladder in some form or another, the next I am either the good guy trying to right wrongs, even if that makes me a revolutionary, the next I am a Sociopath or looking purely out for number one.
I am seriously iffy on this entire counsel thing though. if you're in a counsel then that means your not a nobody, your voice matters, there is no build up to your character, you didn't work your way there, you just pop in at first sight.. you're there talking on issues with others like you're some kind of republic. the way you put it, you make it sound like a player has no say of being in the counsel or not. the political scene may be for some people, but not for everyone. some people want to be warlords, some want to be politicians, in which case, they would fit right in with your counsel, then there are people who want to be crime lords and the such. it's a really mixed bag, and there are some things that counsel shouldn't cover. yeah, if faction A shot faction B in the foot and blew up a station, YES that would create immersion, a situation to act out and so on. but if Faction B goes to your counsel, and points out Faction A as the attacker, suddenly, while being Tangible, Faction A is getting kicked down and curbstomped by everyone in said counsel, like they just pissed off the galactic mafia.
Edit: What T0 said, people refuse to join the governments, The Empire for example, is joinable. not directly, but if you join as a faction, you essentially still are the Empire, you have a say in their government and politics, You can INFLUENCE the Emperor and Empress. you can make a difference. and there would be political RP to be had. I don't wave the Empires gun because I can before you step on their toes. I wave it when you DO step on their toes and piss them off. like the multiple times the Rendii and Triarii have encountered each other. that was political RP, they are technically a state. when the Emperor talked to them over comms about the gates networking the states together, that was the Empire trying to secure easier travel. When the Emperor got into contact with Jay, they started discussions and it got somewhat heated, Jay started to talk insolently and harshly to the Emperor(in the Emperor's eyes), that resulted in Triarii losing some political Capital with the Empire. The Emperor downright furious. then about a week later, The 4th Rendii Expeditionary force got hit by Baalites, Triarii and Leviathan came to the rescue. not only did they stop the force from being completely annihilated, they also gained some political footing back. not only did they reaffirm relations slightly, they also got ties to the RSN now, as they saved a major in the RSN. (Majors are serious business.)
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Post by kelesith on Feb 7, 2015 22:21:34 GMT
Oh, and then there was the matter of Castra Glacie, led by Sarah Flandry, who proceeded to follow the colonization effort and expand Imperial Influence.
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Post by AcidLies on Feb 7, 2015 22:38:24 GMT
Alright. I see your points. But then how can we give people incentive to want to interact with each other. Dont be like "well its their fault" because thats the line of thinking we are doing now and as you can see. Its not working.
I dont know much about the RP that goes on between the 2 larger player factions. And only know a small bit of the RP that goes on as I've currently been on the build server trying to finish a ship. But from what you are telling me is that Rendii and the Triarii are having great RP and thats good. But how can help spread your RP to the others. You said. "We aren't here to go out, find you, shake your hand and ask you if you are doing ok." but I think you should in some form or another.
People want to create a solo faction because they want to work with their own lore and make their own things. So why not change the lore around a bit to help those factions make more sense in the lore, while giving the players of these factions more reason to interact.
As for the counsel bit of playing a nobody. If you want to be a nobody, then just be a nobody. Join another faction. I never said the counsel was mandatory, it was just an idea to have players play a bit more political game.
As for the whole "Nothing is stopping me from creating a counsel right now" your wrong. Theres a whole bunch of things stopping me. Im a shady buisness man with know workings with the brotherhood. In most peoples eyes im a nobody. Why would the Rendii, and the SS, and anyone for that matter. Want to come together and talk to each other because I said so. I would have to have one AMAZING reason for it. RPly its just not plausible.
I want to keep this discussion more about putting out ideas not just about poking holes in my ideas. Because something somewhere is not working.. And I rather not see a server I actually like go to the gutter because of something as silly as a lorekeeper leaving and the lack of players.
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HerrSticks
Outer Rim Colonies
The beatings will continue until moral improves.
Posts: 41
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Post by HerrSticks on Feb 9, 2015 19:29:57 GMT
"And I rather not see a server I actually like go to the gutter because of something as silly as a lorekeeper leaving and the lack of players." I think we can all agree with that statement.
"I want to keep this discussion more about putting out ideas not just about poking holes in my ideas" You're right. We should keep the discussion positive. Its easy to critizise others ideas, its harder to come up with and articulate your own. To that end, I had an idea last night, and thought about it more this morning.
I'll present this in as clear of a format as I can. Keep in mind this is all opinion, nothing is being stated or presented as fact. The numbering will keep different topics coherent e.g number 1 will be the same topic in issues, as observations.
"Issues": 1. Players could use more interaction on an RP level. 2. The in-game economy more or less is non-existent. 3. There could be more "depth" to faction relations.
Observations: 1. Player interaction on an RP level is minimal, due to a low player base. Players are required to take initiative with RP, as it will not fall into their lap. 2. There is no real "economy". Trade between players is minimal, many shops have either 0 items, 0 cash or both. On the other hand stations like Indoc are nearly full if not full on most items. Reliable trading is tedious at best, and impossible at worst. The wonderful unique crafting system we have is under utilized. Right now items are plentiful and credits are sparse. Repairing/creating stations or ships converts Credits into assets. Those credits are not being replaced, we have a deflation problem. 3. (See observation 1) Players are minimal, factions are small. Faction relations are currently what players make of them.
Possible Solutions/Suggestions: 1. Recruit more players, get information about the server out there. (Personal Observation) I see a fair number of people try to connect whom are not whitelisted, I remember having to do a google search to find you guys, I was persistent, other wont be. (Question) How easy is it for them to find the website and apply for a whitelist? 2. Stock all stations (admin controlled) with 200 million in credits(or whatever number you want, but large) and ZERO items. This will allow players to sell items and actually make money, while encouraging and near forcing players to use the crafting system. The only thing Admins should be artificially injecting into the "Economy" is capital, items should never "appear"(unless RP calls for it). This will create an economy, by limiting the supply of items, forcing gathering and crafting. This would make credits available, while making players work for items. 3. Create a faction contest. These can have any level of PVP we like. 3a. Pick an unowned system, that's farish away. Designate this system as "contested", award factions points based on who owns at at certain predetermined "checkpoints" in time. Basically "King of the hill". Details can be hashed out later. 3b. "Conquest" pick a timeframe, and encourage factions to take unclaimed territory. At the end of the contest, which ever faction owns the most wins. This could be adjusted for players, rate of acquisition, or time held. At the end factions can choose to retain the territory, or reclaim their faction blocks. 3c. Somehow incentivize and reward PVE play. Allow players to turn in SOB chips for rewards and a "ranking". We could have leaderboards for "SOB kills" based on number of chips turned in. Sometimes you get chips, sometimes they get blown up, tough. Larger SOB ships would need more chips to weight them relatively to the small ones, and make the kill worthwhile.
Possible Complications: 1. We may get jerks. The more players we have, and the more we advertise, the higher the likelihood we get less than desirable players. 2. Nothing prevents someone from showing up, selling 4000 warpgate modules and cleaning out the shop. I'm not sure if there is a way to monitor or check who would have done that. In the absence of pro/retroactive measures, could we all agree to play nice? Can we trust each other to not bankrupt shops and horde credits? With or without credit hoarding, and players bankrupting shops, Admins will have to periodically restock stations credit reserves to stimulate the economy and make up for credit-asset conversions. 3. a,b,c; all plans can suffer from "farming" and players being overly aggressive. Those situations should be addressed case by case. In regards to "farming" this should not necessarily be encouraged, but it should NEVER be punished or discouraged. This is a survival crafting game, farming is inherent to the game, be it farming MOBS or resources. If a player chooses to mindless farm asteroids, that should be their choice.If a player chooses to poke pirate stations and farm the reinforcements, that should also be their choice. A maximum number of captures, or turn-ins per day would help curb excessive farming. Measures can be taken to prevent the score being "run-up", as well as implement measures to keep it as fair as possible.
Those are my thoughts. I'm more than happy to respond/discuss/iron out suggestions and ideas. Sorry if this got long.
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Post by invadr on Feb 9, 2015 21:26:30 GMT
Nice ideas. Would love to see additional thoughts from the other players on what would challenge and inspire them to want to play more.
A couple of notes/thoughts.
1) The game does not have a mechanical system in place for contests. While I see the advantage of creating challenges between the players, judging subjective contests like that have challenges to the integrity of judge and contestants. The faction points idea is something we've discussed, and does have merit. I have some other ideas as well. Let's hear from more people.
2) The reward system can't just be arbitrary ranks, although that be in there as well. Plus it's a fact that people with more time have an unfair advantage. I do like a reward system that gives everyone a reward for their efforts against the BAAL. If you have more time and can kill more BAAL then you get more reward. If you have lesser time, you still get a return on your time/effort investment. Again, I have ideas, but want to hear from you players.
3) The only way to avoid exploiting the game economy is to tightly control both the amount of shop inventory and the cash on each shop. However, you have made excellent points. This is something I was concerned about and wanted to restrict a lot more than it was. If the existing shops are limited, it will force a player economy to exist. IF...we have more players.
4) Which brings me to advertising to get more players. Let me talk to TIME about next steps. In the meantime, let's get as much input from all players as we can this week. We'll try to have a plan after this upcoming weekend.
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