Carebear paradise with permadeath?!
Anyway, anyone is stupid enough to think that RL is carebear's paradise? (In general, not in some places, at least... and I guess those places are VERY limited in area)
And we have it all in RL - penalties for crimes, army and police hunting down mass-murderers, guarded zones, simple robbers reluctant to kill people because of above and just because killing is bad, etc, etc.
But permadeath (with reincarnation) is a very good tool - once again, cause it's realistic. And the more real the system is, the easier it is to balance - cause the balancing is meant to emulate RL in it's diversity... and when the system is realistic and detailed, it will happed 'by itself'! Just because doing it otherwise would be ineffective and/or dangerous.
And note this:
http://www.rpgcodex.com/phpBB/viewtopic ... highlight=
Ouch, except for the fact about virtual families (and I got it first anyway! and more detailed, too) it's mostly doom and gloom masked as happy chat.
But anyway, Edward Castronova got it right:
These assumptions can be summarized in a simple economic model. Let S measure the emotional satisfaction a player receives from working on a puzzle, and let R and C indicate the available reward and the challenge level, respectively. Then we can capture the assumptions above with a simple function like this:
1) S = αR - β(C - Ω)2
where Ω represents the challenge level that is ideal for the player.
when games will start to get dumber (and easier) for masses, the 'more hardcore' crowd will start to become disinterested - cause, as it's seen in this formula, THEIR enjoyment will start pushing thru the... floor.
And btw, dumber does not always mean easier. Like I mentioned, when game get realistic, you can use your RL experience (and even the dumbest person can do this - in fact, it's easier then drawing some far-fetched conclusions like: I'll be able to wear this sword at a Warrior level 30, with Str 40... formula, where you have to count how you'll have to multiclass and plan to spend your levelup points is omitted, cause it's really BORING).
However, if the system is realistic, you can grab it and swing right away... but you'll quickly notice that it's:
1. Slow.
2. Your Breath bar drops down with escape velocity.
So, you get an idea that you are not skilled/strong for that sword - come back later.
However, introducing parts that are boring for sake of realism should be done with great care. Cause, no matter how hardcore the player is, and I kinda agree with that guy, people play games to have fun, it's normal.
MMORG with unusual training/combat/etc system, that has steep learning curve can still have an army of fans... but even easiest one, but BORING to play - will most certainly not.
The goal is to evaluate what is boring for everyone, and remove that parts from the game, or minimize, if removing them altogether is impossible for some reason.
So, trudging half an hour across a landscape (even it's a pretty landscape) is fun, right? First time.
Now, doing it 100th time is not that fun at all, it's simply BORING.
So, you gotta deduct when ‘boring’ factor will start to kick in, and give player some alternated, faster means of transportation a bit BEFORE it’ll happen.
Why there is level-based character progression in most games? Cause rising a level gives a certain sense of accomplishment, bragging rights, etc.
And simply firing at a marksman target is simply boring. But w/o it you'll not be able to hit targets from 2 steps away...
However, I guess I've picked a wrong example... Archery IS hard and boring to train in RL. It takes very long to learn, and require you to have VERY strong certain musculature groups... so, usually, people who want to become archers train from the very childhood. That's why it was replaced with crossbow, which is BY NO MEANS inherently more powerful or accurate... but takes 100x less time to get used to. Good arabic (composite) bows can fire an arrow for almost 1 kilometer! With ROF of about 30. And aiming distance of about 300-400 metres. That’s like a good low-caliber rifle!
Allright, anyway - but skill system with tiers that’ll open access to other skills/perks, with requirement to learn the skill in theory for faster improvement, and titles based on the skilllevel (like in UO) will give same level of accomplishment, bragging rights, and not as stupid as levels.
However, about boredom of training with use. Usually, that’s because people don’t really know what’s good for them! They train on easier targets for safe skill improvement, which is boring, but get’s the ‘job’ done. And while they forget that it’s their own choice to do so (at least, as much as I can understand from general complains), the sense of boredom remains.
So, how to counter that? Simple - add more realism! *grin*
Remember my note about adrenaline and morale? Shooting at a target is one thing. Shooting at someone who charges at you, or shoots back -
completely different story.
And remember whom do we call an experienced warrior, for instance. He doesn’t have to be some kind of Blademaster or sniper... but when bullets/arrows/etc will start flying, he’ll not panic but act calmly and accordingly. Now, imagine a recruit with no prior experience in real combat, but a sharpshooter... at a shooting stand, of course.
In same combat situation, upon who you’ll bet - on seasoned warrior with no extraordinary talents, or green sharpshooter?
I’d bet my money on a vet, and be completely safe - cause no matter how good the other guy is, he’ll either freeze in fear, or start to panic, or his hand will shake so much that he’ll not be able to hit a an elephant from 2 steps.
So, what I propose - experience (combat experience, for that matter) should be an other
skill! It will dictate your ability to act in live-threatening situations. This way, simply upping your shooting skill with botting will NOT be enough.
This way, patient botters and ‘daring swashbucklers’ will be counterbalanced by a fact that, while botters will have higher skill levels, ‘swashbucklers’ will have higher experience in actual combat, therefore putting their hard-earned skills at much better use.
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