Game Development: This Little Light O' Mine

[Thedrah]

what if it was easier to raise lower stats/skills based off of other stats/skills?

so instead of making an alt for farming, it would take less resources/time to level farming on another character. so there is some incentive of having a main character

to save it from being op or broken. give it a cap instead of some infinite growing thing. such as every skill that is over 40 of the weaker skill reduces the lp cost by a small percent. so more jack of all trades characters but they still have their own 'niche'

what if skills like deep artifice reduced the lp cost of druidic rite and prerequisites and like wise?

[Hasta]

You can't make people trade - at least, not for it to be a big part of game economy - if everyone can with relative ease do everything himself; and if you go with making resources mostly shitty and placing only few peak value nodes on the map, you won't make people trade, you make people go to war for a short time, until a faction monopolizes these resources and that will effectively end any possibility for world development.

The only way when it's preferrable to trade and/or create large communities based on mutual usefulness is when you have ways for people to invest much effort in being more or less unique. Not that it is not posible at all, a lot of people creating crafters/farmers/warriors/miners right now, but it's a matter of convenience/RP, not a matter of necessity. So, why would I trade with someone if I can make everything I need myself (and sponsor some friends along the way)? Sure, I would trade for some high-q resources. Once. But I wouldn't risk driving a caravan of steel bars to the nearby village to exchange it for delicious Bear Bangers - because I can make those myself.

No need to limit your all-around leveling in order to excel one particular proffession --> No unique characters with rare skills or tremendously valuable skill levels --> No incentive to trade.

Speaking of the "level cap". What was the general idea? Why limit a skill value instead of (or without an addition of) just limiting amount of skill points summarized? Seems like an overlook.

[Duane]

No need to limit your all-around leveling in order to excel one particular proffession --> No unique characters with rare skills or tremendously valuable skill levels --> No incentive to trade.

Speaking of the "level cap". What was the general idea? Why limit a skill value instead of (or without an addition of) just limiting amount of skill points summarized? Seems like an overlook.

You can't bash palisades like a retard by hand anymore, and there's a theoretical hardcap on the quality of materials. It's supposed to be a framework for refinement of game mechanics but there's nothing there yet.

[Hasta]

I'd throw in an overall limit of, say, 800 stats increased and a few foods that would decrease certain stats. This mechanic is know to work in quite a few more or less successful games. But we're drifted far enough from topic, let's discuss more about how siege should be top-faction oriented and all hermits should suffer, shall we?

EDIT: jk, ofc, but seriously. The game core system as it is offers no value for trading whatsoever: there is no shortage, no unicality, and overall no sustainable demand for anything. Rid of this and you get yourself grounds for trading development. Can't do it with small and simple adjustments, so... that's that.

[Duane]

I'd throw in an overall limit of, say, 800 stats increased and a few foods that would decrease certain stats. This mechanic is know to work in quite a few more or less successful games. But we're drifted far enough from topic, let's discuss more about how siege should be top-faction oriented and all hermits should suffer, shall we?

The two things are related. To act like the two things aren't directly related is short-sighted.

Sieging happens because there's nothing else to do. It wouldn't just randomly happen to otherwise dissociated, un-interacting villages if there was more in the game. Lategame there's only sieging. Once your stuff is ~Q150, all you can do is attack other people that are beneath you, because you know you're better - because you're at the cap.

[Hasta]

all you can do is attack other people that are beneath you

yup, because, let's face it, there are far more players who consider "making others bend over" (vaguely accurate translation from my native) is the ultimate endgame, and there is no substitute for it in a form of, say, "top 100 best-looking villages" or "top-100 most successful farmers" or the like that could quench their thirst for domination in any measurable and/or rated area. If we had more civic achievements avaliable (let's call it "pve" for simplicity) some people would surely enjoy those instead of painfully sieging for "fun", quote unquote.

[Clemence]

I already have like 25 accounts from when I was playing legacy lol

Ths is what's wrong with this game. This is why the idea of H&H being a hardcore MORPG where you were responsible for your actions, and politics and social structures existed, is, sadly, an unreachable mirage.

IMO its good for the game.
Play hard to feed more alts to do more PVP.
If you have only one toon, you just need to play 30mnt a day, and people say that there is not enough to do in this game.
If you have only one toon, you are to afraid to lose it and you dont want to pvp, take risk, explore.
More toon = more people taking the risk to wandering outside doing yolo things, thats good for the game.

[Duane]

all you can do is attack other people that are beneath you

yup, because, let's face it, there are far more players who consider "making others bend over" (vaguely accurate translation from my native) is the ultimate endgame, and there is no substitute for it in a form of, say, "top 100 best-looking villages" or "top-100 most successful farmers" or the like that could quench their thirst for domination in any measurable and/or rated area. If we had more civic achievements avaliable (let's call it "pve" for simplicity) some people would surely enjoy those instead of painfully sieging for "fun", quote unquote.

Actually, if there were top-100 lists there'd be more reason to siege. Imagine waves of scouts looking for the #1 farming village, sent out by the #2 farming village, to locate and wipe them and take the #1 spot.

Even if you couldn't hold every spot you better believe there'd be people sperging out trying to anyway.

Edit: In fact, I'm going to go ahead and upgrade this to the #1 change they could add to the game to turn it into Call of Duty levels of murder, 100% of the time.

[Hasta]

Exactly, but all this carnage would have a purpose, and people striving to hit #1 as architects would focus on defence that wouldn't, erm, cripple their style, and ofcourse they would defend their beautiful creations to the last man standing (or, at least, to some extent instead of just razing it and moving on). Same goes for large communities -- it would be easier to both fight for the title of "best town" and defend it when achieved if you had diverse profeccions among your people.

Anyways, you get the idea: however faulty a purpose that would be, it would at least give endgame a purpose. I'm sure if someone gave some thought to the idea of endgame content being achievable with large communities and investing effort and, mostly, being officially rated and recognised (not to mention, for that matter, existing in the first place) - those experienced in game developing, smart and creative people would surely and easily outmatch this top-of-the-head suggestion of a lowly cave dweller.

[Duane]

Exactly, but all this carnage would have a purpose, and people striving to hit #1 as architects would focus on defence that wouldn't, erm, cripple their style, and ofcourse they would defend their beautiful creations to the last man standing (or, at least, to some extent instead of just razing it and moving on).

Forcing people to make fifty-tile-thick brick walls to survive the rapefest isn't endgame. Last-man-standing boiling cauldrons aren't what haven is about. You're hitting 0% of the mark and you don't get what people want out of the game, or what it's about. It's scary, really.