by Ashteroth » Wed Apr 03, 2013 1:36 pm
I'm not sure how I feel about a 5th mature. I think that certain things could be scaled down. The first part of N. Rooftops is one of those. I'm not crying 'it's too hard' but the equipment there is hardly worth the effort. Unless modded armor under went a change like I mentioned previously then the equipment there does not scale with the difficulty. Who wants to face the modded ape abomination for grafted equipment that cannot be repaired and breaks upon removal?
The diamond golems could be altered slightly. Like one per room, or only two roaming about. I hold Rose as being fairly powerful, and I can't compare her to the power-houses of previous versions, but even she with a large group cannot handle more than one at a time.
Back on to the 5th mature now. I think it is a plausible idea, something end game. However, 1million xp is an extremely steep cost. I'd prefer to see a difficult to complete quest with maybe half that xp cost. I also think the quest should be 'instanced' so only one player can participate at a time. Like the quest in the opium den. She puts the player in a type of deep meditation and tests their mental prowess. It could even be something akin to the quest in the opium den. I know players who have tried dozens of times per version and to this day cannot figure it out. So it would stand to reason that something similar, yet steeper, would have a long run before being completed by anyone.
However, it shouldn't be both ways. If something was to be done, a scale down or a 5th mature but not both.
About the multiple log in policy, I agree and disagree. I have a couple ideas regarding the world and making it appear more alive. Or not. The first idea is an old idea I had ages ago. Allow characters to log in simultaneously into a 'void' so they can combat each other. Combat would be auto only, and the command for engaging the combat would be simple, 'engage'.
The other idea could be a good deal fun, and make the world feel alive. When a player logs out, his characters are over taken by the computer and left in the world to move around. These characters could even show up on the who list, masking if someone is logged in or not. That could cause some confusion though. Certain aspects of these characters running 'round in 'npc mode' could be controlled by the player through the main menu. Responses to certain actions, words, events, gestures, etc. could make the world feel alive and give something for the players to do with their characters when not logged in.
When in npc mode the player alts cannot gain xp, cannot be demanded from by other players/player alts, cannot demand but they can skill up and they can lose xp. A player could set their characters to be aggressive, pacifist, cowardly. Aggressive would not make them aggro, but instead focus on offense during combat. Pacifist would focus on defense, and might flee if out matched. Cowards would always flee every chance they got. This setup should only be limited to alts who have fully matured and is well skilled to keep from every new character polluting the streets.
Npc alts could even be set to 'helpful mode' and will follow upon being beckoned and when grouped they will assist in combat and could even take some of the loot as well, just to keep it fair. To keep role playing a part of the world, alignments, factions, and even certain careers should impact how helpful a helpful npc-ran alt might be. Such as a follower of the in-game god would not help apocs, witches, machine-god cultists, or anyone who is genuinely evil. Faction alts would not aid other faction alts unless allied, but will still aid non-faction alts. Apocs are an extremely tight-knit group and may or may not help any non-apoc alts, depending on their standing with the in-game god. Alts who are not modded and are part of a career that hates the machine-god cultist would likewise refuse to help.
This could cause some strain on the admin team though. I think that npc-ran alts should start with a basic script, like something similar to Cyclone/Okhaz. Anything added as a response to certain conditions should be 'okayed' by the admin team before being implemented, especially talking responses to keep vulgar language under some control and idiotic responses to a minimum. The interface should be simple for those of us who don't know how to code. Could be simple as a command line like this: '[Alt's name] condition [event] response [command response]. Example: 'Pancakes condition see.waffles response say I thought Waffles wasn't an allowed name?'
The interface could even allow for very specific conditions and responses such as setting up multiple conditions and multiple reponses: '[Alt name] condition [event] condition [event] response [command] response [command]'. Or the interface could be further simplified in a menu style, much like character creation. At menu the player could input command 'edit [character]' and then be greeted by questions like these:
What condition do you want?
Are there any other conditions [y/n]?
What response do you want?
Are there additional responses [y/n]?
Condition commands could be 'timer [number in minutes]', 'look/look [player/object]', see [name/object/words/action], moves [direction], etc.
Response commands could be any command available in game.
Also, 'who' could be changed back to the way it used to be in the old old days. Where it showed the player account and not the characters. This would help encourage role playing and if the above was implemented then it would be difficult to know which character was under the influence of the player which would also encourage rp.
I realize the above is a very tall order, but it would certainly be fun in my opinion. Allowing players to essentially bring the game world to life, limited by only their imagination and of course some regulatory rules.
