Experiences: Incorporating Achievements

[TeckXKnight]

Building off of the idea of discoveries, what if instead of unlocking recipes via 'discovering' materials for the first time, situations and events unlocked passive bonuses, craft recipes, combat maneuvers, and skills. These experiences would range from mundane to nearly unique trials that each player must actively strive for to unlock.

For example, unlocking the ability to feed four leaf clovers to animals could require an Experience named 'One With Nature' which requires you to come face to face with and touch a Dryad.
Another example, unlocking an unarmed combat maneuver may require an Experience named 'Bear Arms' which is earned by killing a bear completely unarmed and without the assistance of other players.

A list of these achievements with descriptions on how to get most of them should be available in game. This can be used to lead new players to figuring out how the game works, such as by unlocking 'newbie friendly' recipes when they fall short. For example, a player who begins to starve earns the Experience 'Desperate' and unlocks a recipe that translates into eating dirt and worms at the cost of SHP in order to fill in their hunger bar.

Most Experiences should not be tasks that can be completed easily within a secure and replicable scenario. Joining a town or building a wall segment would be awful achievements to have. The idea is to put players into scenarios that are memorable and difficult to achieve in order to take away bonuses that they would otherwise be unable to acquire. Witnessing a fox chase chickens for several minutes without catching them, slaying a troll without a single player dying, using scents to kill a criminal with more lp than you, being knocked unconscious by a bear or a boar but not killed, killing several ant swarms from the same nest, being attacked by a stealth boar (one hiding behind a rock or tree, fully out of view of your camera), and so on.

Every Experience should be achievable by every single player if they dedicate enough time, risk, and effort into acquiring them. However, not every single Experience should be necessary to play the game, least of all playing the game in a meaningful fashion.

[Amanda44]

I like the idea and also think it would be beneficial, not only to new players but to some of us who ignore certain aspects of the game .... it would help in both the learning aspect and confidence.

The only issue I have is with the more risky ones, like; "using scents to kill a criminal with more lp than you" or "killing a bear completely unarmed" ... I'm not sure players would want to go as far as to put their char into what could easily be a death situation.

But, overall, I think this would work well and be fun.

[venatorvenator]

That sounds too hard to code in just a month. But did you just solve the alt problem?

I think this is a great idea. It could change everything!

[epicless]

Building off of the idea of discoveries, what if instead of unlocking recipes via 'discovering' materials for the first time, situations and events unlocked passive bonuses, craft recipes, combat maneuvers, and skills. These experiences would range from mundane to nearly unique trials that each player must actively strive for to unlock.

For example, unlocking the ability to feed four leaf clovers to animals could require an Experience named 'One With Nature' which requires you to come face to face with and touch a Dryad.
Another example, unlocking an unarmed combat maneuver may require an Experience named 'Bear Arms' which is earned by killing a bear completely unarmed and without the assistance of other players.

A list of these achievements with descriptions on how to get most of them should be available in game. This can be used to lead new players to figuring out how the game works, such as by unlocking 'newbie friendly' recipes when they fall short. For example, a player who begins to starve earns the Experience 'Desperate' and unlocks a recipe that translates into eating dirt and worms at the cost of SHP in order to fill in their hunger bar.

Most Experiences should not be tasks that can be completed easily within a secure and replicable scenario. Joining a town or building a wall segment would be awful achievements to have. The idea is to put players into scenarios that are memorable and difficult to achieve in order to take away bonuses that they would otherwise be unable to acquire. Witnessing a fox chase chickens for several minutes without catching them, slaying a troll without a single player dying, using scents to kill a criminal with more lp than you, being knocked unconscious by a bear or a boar but not killed, killing several ant swarms from the same nest, being attacked by a stealth boar (one hiding behind a rock or tree, fully out of view of your camera), and so on.

Every Experience should be achievable by every single player if they dedicate enough time, risk, and effort into acquiring them. However, not every single Experience should be necessary to play the game, least of all playing the game in a meaningful fashion.

Decent idea. Might be difficult to put in practice but it would certainly differentiate players. Right now, endgame folks pretty much have the same equipment and stats with the only difference being higher / lower numbers.

[TeckXKnight]

Indeed, I was thinking about the difficulty of implementation and I was considering compiling a list of potential experiences that could be implemented in this iteration of the game and ones that could be considered for the future. This way there is no conceptual guesswork, it's plain to see whether it's a good idea or an awful idea. I dislike being too vague and I regret only including a handful of examples in the OP but I didn't want to get wordy.

[GenghisKhan44]

Isn't that what the forums, wiki, and the legends and history they foment are for?

[Arcanist]

a great idea. although some achievements shouldn't be needed to play the game some should. Ie you might need to make any given curio before you can study it.

[TeckXKnight]

a great idea. although some achievements shouldn't be needed to play the game some should. Ie you might need to make any given curio before you can study it.

Ultimately this idea isn't meant to replace all other forms of development. You should absolutely still be able to just buy carpentry from the skills menu and then go hit things with a stone axe. Like you said, it's there more as a tool to encourage the development and growth of players who are struggling, to give purpose and goals to players who need direction to enjoy games, to add value that cannot simply be bought or botted to characters over time, and to create a sense of accomplish and esteem on characters who have struggled and fought especially difficult challenges thus creating personal value. Replacing every facet of development with it would water it down and remove other valuable systems that would not only be strengthened by achievements, but would also strengthen achievements.

If you can buy up 75% of the unarmed combat skill tree with just lp, then the next 20% with relatively simple achievements, then the last 5% which require exceptionally difficult or dangerous achievements will take on a lot of value, even if they're only marginally beneficial. So once you've bought Unarmed Combat, Brawling, Militia Training, Valor, Soldier Training, Fire & Ice, Tricks and Ruses, and Leadership, your goal would be to gain for Experiences such as defeating a wild bear naked, alone, and with only 25% or less health left at the end of the fight to unlock another skill which passively reduces the maximum delta an opponent can have over you by 1. This Experience will be difficult to get, useless to most people, but exceptionally valuable to others and something you'd want in your pocket. It gives you a skill to work towards as well as an experience in-game that you try to create. Value is created both for the combat system and the Experience system simultaneously benefiting both.

[jorb]

We are working and thinking in very similar veins.

[TeckXKnight]

We are working and thinking in very similar veins. :)

Hooray. =)