So, I was talking with someone about the behavior of the zombie hordes, while explaining a few of the features, and he pointed out that the code would be a little more complex than I thought it would, in order to prevent people from exploiting the hordes. My response was that was part of the game. If a group of players wants to take the risky tactic of herding zombies in an attempt to defeat a group of rivals then they can, but if they screw up, they may be the ones that end up being eaten.
I figured that I'd share the fact that we now have a really fun, viable origin for the zombie plague, and then share that bit of conversation with you. Now, the origin won't be shared directly from us, you'll have to wait until someone in the game explores and figures out the cause. Hell, the first server might actually have someone get their medical and related skills high enough to figure out a cure for the plague. That's part of what we want to do here, the players have the chance to change the direction of the game, and not just by talking on the forums with us.
Now the bad thing about this tactic, is that when you get turned by the plague, you lose that character. You can't even use the slot, until your zombie is killed cured, or...other, although you'll always have a free slot. For that slot, you can log in, wheel the camera around and watch him wreak havoc, but that's about it.
PvP there's no permadeath, but it can lead to some really bad results if you pick a fight in a heavily infected area.
The next part may seem unrelated, but it's something that popped up over and over while tinkering with the system, especially with the prospect of permadeath, which is something I think would work really well with
this title, especially because this one is going to a little experimental, and we'll be trying a few things that may not work, but I want to see how they work.
I'm trying to come up with an option on how to make the permadeath not a game killer. This game is wanting to have benefits for hardcore players that want to put in the time and build something amazing, while not
excluding more casual players.
Something that we're going to try is options for jumping into the game.
You want to start at level one and grow your character organically, that's awesome, you'll
level up your skills at an accelerated rate, at least for the first chunk of your character's life.
The standard method of character creation will be to create a character that's around (in WoW formula terms) level 30. That way you can jump right in, be capable but not great at what your character does.
The third option, which might not be in the game, due to possibility of griefing, is that you can make a character that's a little higher level but more generalized that isn't persistent. Effectively a throwaway
character. This would let people jump into the game more quickly if they knew they didn't have time to spend a ton of hours with it.
It's very possible that the first and third options will only show up one a clan stakes their territory, secures it, and makes it into an actual clan hall.
That's my ramblings for the moment, comment below and I'll try to address any questions that you have.
Hey, good to see some new posts. Hope your holidays were as good as mine :)
ReplyDeleteFew comments...
I like the idea of the playerbase discovering the origin of the plague. It's a nice bone for the RPers and lore driven folks.
Will there be any change in game mechanics or unlocked zones or abilities after the origin is discovered? Or is it just an intangible FYI for the community?
On the subject of hearding & explotation...
For XP or SP exploitation....I'm assuming they would be using some AOE ability to kill the heard. You could set some damage cap, or number of effected mob count to keep some of that in check. WOW implemented a similar mechanic over the years that allowed max damage to x number of monsters...and then diminishing returns for the remainder.
For exploiting the herd on your rival players...Lineage 2 had a similar issue with some of the classes ability to dump aggro. Fake Death would allow a player to round up a bunch of monsters and then drop off the aggro table using the FD skill near a rival. The heard would then look for the nearest target.
I think there is a place for such a mechanic in sandbox games...but levying too harsh of a death penalty AND allowing training, or hearding, of monsters on other players might be a fine line to walk...especially if you plan on courting casual players.
Speaking of death penalties...how exactly does a player's character get turned? Is it upon death to a zombie? You mentioned that you can monitor your zombiefied toon after it gets turned. Does this mean that it effectively turns into a NPC? What happens when your zombie dies? Is this full loot on death after your Zombie kicks it?
Something else to consider...
Full loot in Ultima Online worked because a player's attachment to the game was their character, not their gear (unlike most modern MMOs). Lost your suit of armor & weapon? No problem....the thing you've been pouring all your time into is still intact and since gear is easily attainable, you're back in business with little - moderate effort.
In order for permadeath to work....TOONS have to be dispensable. Like gear in UO was easy and cheap to come by....TOONS in a permadeath system have to be cheap & easy to come by. You proposed a few ideas how to get players back in the game quickly. Just keep in mind that without something persistant (like your toon in UO) the player loses attachment to something tangible in the game.
I can say from my personal experiences in MMORPGs....aside from the people I fordged relationships with in game....it was the amount of time and resources I put into my character that made it hard to leave the game. With more time (and money) invested in my character...the harder it was for me to abandon the game.
Anyhow...good to see you posting again. Looking forward to discussing some of these ideas.
Hey, good to see some new posts. Hope your holidays were as good as mine :)
ReplyDeleteFew comments...
I like the idea of the playerbase discovering the origin of the plague. It's a nice bone for the RPers and lore driven folks.
Will there be any change in game mechanics or unlocked zones or abilities after the origin is discovered? Or is it just an intangible FYI for the community?
On the subject of hearding & explotation...
For XP or SP exploitation....I'm assuming they would be using some AOE ability to kill the heard. You could set some damage cap, or number of effected mob count to keep some of that in check. WOW implemented a similar mechanic over the years that allowed max damage to x number of monsters...and then diminishing returns for the remainder.
For exploiting the herd on your rival players...Lineage 2 had a similar issue with some of the classes ability to dump aggro. Fake Death would allow a player to round up a bunch of monsters and then drop off the aggro table using the FD skill near a rival. The heard would then look for the nearest target.
I think there is a place for such a mechanic in sandbox games...but levying too harsh of a death penalty AND allowing training, or hearding, of monsters on other players might be a fine line to walk...especially if you plan on courting casual players.
Speaking of death penalties...how exactly does a player's character get turned? Is it upon death to a zombie? You mentioned that you can monitor your zombiefied toon after it gets turned. Does this mean that it effectively turns into a NPC? What happens when your zombie dies? Is this full loot on death after your Zombie kicks it?
Something else to consider...
Full loot in Ultima Online worked because a player's attachment to the game was their character, not their gear (unlike most modern MMOs). Lost your suit of armor & weapon? No problem....the thing you've been pouring all your time into is still intact and since gear is easily attainable, you're back in business with little - moderate effort.
In order for permadeath to work....TOONS have to be dispensable. Like gear in UO was easy and cheap to come by....TOONS in a permadeath system have to be cheap & easy to come by. You proposed a few ideas how to get players back in the game quickly. Just keep in mind that without something persistant (like your toon in UO) the player loses attachment to something tangible in the game.
I can say from my personal experiences in MMORPGs....aside from the people I fordged relationships with in game....it was the amount of time and resources I put into my character that made it hard to leave the game. With more time (and money) invested in my character...the harder it was for me to abandon the game.
Anyhow...good to see you posting again. Looking forward to discussing some of these ideas.
http://www.mmorpg.com/showFeature.cfm/loadFeature/5976/Who-Fears-PermaDeath.html#post
ReplyDeleteVery timely article on MMORPG.com about perma-death, with some interesting conversation
I think you double posted....and then I skimmed them just fast enough to not notice that. I'll read the article later tonight or tomorrow, if I haven't already. I'm nearly ready to get ready for bed, but I'll definitely reply to you when I've had some sleep. Good points, and I don't want to be a zombie when I reply.
ReplyDelete