Game Development: Prelude

[neverman4]

ON SOAPBOX AGAIN

Let me say it a different way (and i wont quote any previous posts - got it)

Thinking of this as a business - If you let EVERYONE level you are more likely to get more players - more players = more likilhood of more paying players. Limiting anything limits potential revenue.

Now that you have a lot of potential customers - you can sell them things. As long as those things keep the playing field fairly level you end up with more interaction. If the "store $ items" are tradable in game you create more interaction. So making a teleport stone, or traveler hat - that can be traded or stolen or lost, and its inexpensive gives you MUCH higher chance of revenue. Teleport stones, teraforming blocks,

Add in lots of other cool items for sale, paintbrush to redesign the colors on a house, or an object like a tailsman that you can wear (in that empty slot) that gives cool but balanced skills like "look like a wolf" or look like a bear, I am betting look like a chicken in a bunch of chickens would be interesting - white dot on the map but which one is the toon? Another idea was a trading elf or trading troll or whatever, a small one can carry 1 LC worth of stuff and a big one can carry 2 LCs and you share the HS of the person you want to trader troll to go to and can run it (warping) but it can ONLY trade - no killing as its a ghost or troll or elf or leprachun or something. You BUY that or the free for play person can TRAVEL to get it. So there is balance but the frequent players and people who have $ spend on the objects tricks tools that speed game play. That results in speeded up LP gain which balances the paid vs free but still allows MORE people to play because they can do pretty much everything just slower.

Another idea is a home that improves LP gain, functioning like a table for FEP. If you are in its range (or inside it) you gain at 3% faster, and if you build a bed it adds % bonus, or tables or chairs it gains % so the home becomes important and you want to spend time there or near it (maybe the house has a range).

In simpler terms:
Let more people play - no limits on stats / skills - effective advertising and more chance for community and overall visibility - (more customers)
More people = more chance for $
More small $ items that are cool and benefit more chance for more $

Alternately
Capping - limits interest of free players - that means they are less likely to talk with friends and invite them to play. BTW that is how i found the game - they wont pay - i did pay. Word of mouth matters
Draining - again I am the hermit and want to play free - my stats drain away - I stop playing cuz I cant compete with the paid players anywhere near even - so then I dont talk with others about the cool game.

Perception
unlimited = good
limited = bad

revenue
Something that can be lost or improves individual toons needs to be bought more times = more $
Something that can be traded means I buy it to get something ELSE i want and it creates community and player interaction which = more $
Cosmetic and bling items create a unique character - if that is inexpensive people are vain and like to be unique - giving options for that personalize the game and give people a tie an individual toon which results in yup you guessed it - more $

Arguably revenue equals FUN -- people play because its fun and will pay if its fun (rewarding).

Personally I play to BUILD to create and others play to fight and kill - others to trade and others to explore and some to do all. So restricting toward a single play type restricts who will play and who will PAY and who will have fun.

OFF SOAPBOX

[Ramki]

Please make combat discovery not retarded. Please.

Also ~50 people online, no need to watch it suffer, lets kill it already.

2 weeks is a long wait. It can be even longer if one wants to destroy the alter.

[SinizterMoFo]

After taking much time to think, digest and read several posts on this topic, I would like to apologize for being a tad bit hotheaded and reacting to something like a man would to being told "I'm pregnant" after he had broken it off with a woman. So for acting like that I am sorry.

I have taken some time and put a lot of thought into all the posts that I have read and think I have a solution that will create a win- win for most players. Unfortunately we can not create a win for everyone but if we can correct a few minor issues and resolve some major issues, I think that is a step in the right direction.

My solution starts of with the creation of 3 types of users. They are the "Free User", The "One Time Contributor", and the "Repeat Donor".

FREE USER -
Maximum of 2 characters on one account. Born with Survival, Exploration and Farming. Can choose 2 - 3 skills from the remaining. Forced to follow the quests in order to begin the game so they have a basic knowledge and understanding and can produce anything. Born with 0 Learning Points. Has a study item timer called Normal Speed. this would be the slowest rate of study for the game.(this would be the same speed that is currently used.)

One Time Contributor -
Maximum of 3 characters on one account. Born With Survival, Exploration and Farming. Can Choose 4 - 5 skills from the remaining. Can skip the quests and get right to the game. Born with 25,000 Learning Points to apply to skills. Has a study item timer which would be 10% faster then a free user.

Repeat Donor -
Maximum of 5 characters on one account. Born with ALL skills. Can skip the quests and get right to gaming. Gets every skill available in the game. Born with 100,000 Learning Points to apply to skills. Has a study item timer which would be 25% faster then a free user.

These three types offer varying pluses and minuses but would encourage game interaction and allow people to feel that a free user can be as good as a "PAID" user. It eliminates the Pay to Win by allowing a free user to if they are smart enough use better study items to get more points and be as good as if not better than a paying user.

It also encourages people to interact as 5 characters is not enough to have an alt doing and specializing in every aspect of the game. So several problems would be addressed by this pay model. I do believe this offers solutions to at least 2 major issues. The issue of How to make the game fair but allow people to pay to play, without creating the pay to win. It also addresses the interaction problem.

P v P

I do believe that player vs player is discouraged in this game at it the very core. Currently NO MATTER WHAT, if you kill someone you are automatically a murderer, can not hearth for at least 30 minutes and for a week can not log out of the game. In addition now, 5 fictional Ghosts can be sent to kill you while you sleep. Nothing Discourages pvp like knowing while you sleep you could be getting killed.

There are many ways to fix this issue at the core. I believe that the best solution is to remove the murder scent unless the action is committed on "Claimed Land" Make it just like the Theft. If you walk up to a crate or cabinet on unclaimed land you are not a thief for taking it, but no matter what if you kill someone you are a murderer. Now I would suggest that Only "Claimed Land" (be it a Personal Claim or a Village Claim) should be the only place a "Murder Scent" is left. If 2 people meet out in the open and one kills the other, that is just life, sucks but its life. No one else is there to witness the act. But if someone comes into your home and murders you, you always, ALWAYS, ALWAYS leave something behind that others can use to track you down and Dispatch Justice.

Now there are many ways to go about doing this, but I think that the best or most fair way would be to allow 2 types of fights in the "Open World". The first being the "Whoop His Ass" Option and the second one being the "Kill Em All" Option.

The "Whoop His Ass" option would be a fight to the "Knocked Out" Stage only. Not killing the person but resulting in the same 1 minute of unconsciousness as if they got knocked out by a wild animal. This would allow the other person who "Whooped That Ass" to take your items and not have to kill you. I think this option would open up a lot more people to the idea of pvp in this game since it would not result in perma death, but rather allow someone to resolve their issues without the ramifications of being a murderer.

The "Kill Em All" option would allow for a person to Knowingly risk their life to kill another person. It would result in Perma Death for one of the 2 People. Cause lets be honest, sometimes just kicking someone's ass is not enough. Now if this is done on "Claimed Land" There should be a "Murder Scent" left at the Scene of the crime that someone can use to track down the evil criminal and Dispatch Justice. But if this is done out in the sticks on Open Land, there should be no "Murder Scent". This would be the direct result of a decision made to kill. As such the person chooses to commit murder and should know their maybe consequences to their actions.

I know this does not resolve every issue out there and many may not agree with it, but to me it seems a more fair way to balance pvp and encourage people to be more active.

Side Note. You could Create a "Justice Enforcer" that could be hired to track down a Criminal and Dispatch Justice. This would encourage player interaction as well. As an example, lets say we make Jorb the "Justice Enforcer". We give him a badge and a Nice Shiny Cape and a few items to assist him in Dispatching Justice. We then Have a System that we can Message Jorb whether he is online or not to ask him for his assistance in Dispatching Justice. Jorb is Able to come to our Charter Stone and be given the Murder Scent. He then Tells us what Payment he wants to ensure that Justice is served. (This encourages trade and player interaction) Jorb then has us Swear out and Affidavit which can be something easily made by using the "Murder Scent" and a "Piece of Paper". Now Jorb Sets off on his mission to Dispatch Justice. He tracks down the "Evil Perpetrator" and does what he does. This could mean Jorb talks to the perp and makes a deal to return the items (in the case of Theft), restore the injured to whole (in the case of an Ass Whooping) or he may just decide to kill the Murderer and bring all his stuff of value back to the injured party (in the case of murder). Jorb then returns to the injured party and provides them with the loot or items or whatever and then is paid for the job being completed. Justice is Now Served.

Now like I said nothing is perfect and going to make everyone happy, but I do believe that this would encourage more trade, player interaction and a better gaming experience for everyone. Some may like this idea and suggestion and some may not, but to me it achieves a good balance.

Now there are tons more ideas and suggestions, take them with a grain of salt, but perhaps some, one or more or all of these ideas will improve the game or not.

After all this is a dog eat dog world and I am just a squirrel trying to get a nut.

[MAMA]

Well are happy with results? Online fell, hands fell, everything waiting for unclear that.

Maybe will be enough already? Include the new world and drove further, on the course we will decide that it is pleasant to people, and that isn't present.

Also clean this portal to devils, it only frightens people.

[stya]

Well are happy with results? Online fell, hands fell, everything waiting for unclear that.

Maybe will be enough already? Include the new world and drove further, on the course we will decide that it is pleasant to people, and that isn't present.

Also clean this portal to devils, it only frightens people.

This grammar not is, nothing understand.

[whiskeypete]

reiterating this.

We'll try that as well!

great, 2 payment models in one? -.-

Why not? Multiple revenue streams is not a bad thing.

[Carebear]

Consequentially, I would like for you to share a general design philosophy with the community.

I have to agree, that for J&L to share a design philosophy, presented to address broad issues about development, would do a lot to mitigate the backlash, and accelerate everyone to a point of framing their suggestions around said design philosophy.

You have a "Developer Thoughts on PVP," which many people admittedly never read or even understand when they do...

But I think a "Developer Thoughts on Development" would be a topic worth posting and having stickied in the announcement subforum.

I personally like Andie Nordgen's approach, who is a developer for EVE Online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSmI4KO9968

Thanks for sharing this Andie Nordgen talk, can only hope the Dev's watch it.

[LadyV]

Sixty pages... what a nice way to tell someone no.

Alright jorb & Loftar, entertain us.

[dageir]

People need to remember this game is in alpha.
I am glad the developers take their time to try to find the best solution for them and the game. The payment model is a part of that.

[Bowshot125]