I have a subversive idea for Karma system and new Encounter that combined with this system. The new system is intended to serve to reduce harmful dealings that is Player killing. It is necessary to divide the players for:
-players who prefer to shoot at other players, on wasteland, fight with friends, Town Control or Hinkley, and they are prepared to risk (PVP)
-players who prefer to shoot the monsters, visit dungeon, gather things and enjoy doing quests (PVE)
For players playing PVE and trying to enjoy game, there is nothing worse than a guy shooting at you for no reason and taking away your equipment. You can’t do nothing about it. There will be no justice, no punishment for your killer...
Karma should have only minimum worth e.g.: (-1000 or -10000), and maximum ->neutral (0) [I do not have a good idea of how you can gain karma. All my ideas on how to acquire it seem to lead to complications or possible cheating e.g.: if healing others will give 5 karma points, someone could hit his alt or friend then heal 200 times to restore karma. Also what will grant high karma? Nothing useful].
You can only lose karma! If we logout there is visible sight (off) and its some kind of player status. We should add two more statuses: (PVP) and (PVE), which are visible all the time. Characters starting the game should be set to the default mode (PVE) so that they can develop. If someone want to change player status or simply get bored with these type role of playing, he can do it in tent or his gang base. By using tent campfire or guild terminal player declare his status before he leave tent/base. There should be determined lower limit of time, in which you can change your status (e.g.: 5 min timeout).Player statuses (PVP) and (PVE) will not be only inscriptions. It will be connected with karma system.
With mentioned Players Status and karma should be connected possible situations to lose karma:
*If player 1 (PVP) attacks and kills player 2 (PVP): nothing happens, both players are PVP oriented so they are ready for it
*IF player 1 (PVP) attacks and kills player 2 (PVE): it is crime, murder, sin and bad deed. Player 1 lose karma (e.g.: -100)
*If player 1 (PVE) attacks and kills player 2 (PVP): Player 1 used player status (PVE) to make ambush so he is a bitch and lose more karma (e.g.: -150)
*If player 1 (PVE) attacks and kills player 2 (PVE): Player 1 used player status (PVE) to make ambush on PVE player (so it’s also a murder, bad deed and act contrary to nature xD), he lose most karma (e.g.: -200)
Also stealing other players could lowers the karma (e.g.: -10, -25 or -50). So that came out that robbing will be bad deed, but robbing the unconscious is a lesser evil than killing. (For now in Fonline border between life and dead is so thin, that it have only moral issue)
The main problem here is self-defense. When someone shot at you, you also shot, its impulse. Maybe when attacked PVE player shot at PVP player (attacker) his status will be change for PVP ? Who shots first it’s most important thing to to establish. Maybe player who attack other player will get fourth status: (PK) and he can be killed without louse of karma ? What are you think about it?
There are some PVP events in game that require PVP status like:
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Hinkley- To get inside you should have PVP status. PVE players shouldn’t be allowed to get inside facility
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Town Control- connection with in game message (quote: ,,Bang Bang Smash are taking Gecko…”) : Anyone who enter besieged city, despite warnings, will get PVP status automatically. If you go into a war zone you have to keep in mind that this is a war zone and there will be no excuses, no law.
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GMs PVP events (like with town control, message-place-automatically status change, or some kind of amnesty for participants that forgot to change the status..)
The only way to restore karma is to wait some time like with reputation but I propose longer time to restoration (e.g.: month to full restore). Karma should be also visible to all players (maybe like age and wounds? ,,You see young men. Wounds: Unhurt. Karma: serial Killer") or with mentioned fourth status: (PK), to be a warning to run. Now when you met another player, you don’t know nothing about him, and best chance to survive (and keep your equipment) is to shoot him down, before he shot you or he lie you ,,I am not PK”. It does not help to build good relations with other players.
Ok, but what would be punishment for low karma?New (or rather reworked) encounter: Bounty hunters!!!
Real badass, with high skills, best equipment
which is not lootable, like in the case of supermutants in Ares Rocket Silo) a killers of players killers squad. Killing them or escape must be extremely difficult (maybe impossible). I'm counting on the imagination of GMs and other players to create a real pain ass encounter. I assume that it’s easy to make a faction called Bounty hunters, set all over the map chance to meet them. Their reputation call karma, which you can only lose by killing other players (and bounty hunters if you miraculously succeed), and it restore by time like normal reputation (but MUCH slower).
When you reach X value of karma (e.g.: -300 ), bounty hunters are after you. Lower than X karma might increase chance to meet them or raise their strength or number (alternative is that everyone can meet them all over the place on the map but will shoot only to players with low karma lower than X. You can also do so that would have initiated dialogues (warnings: ,,we waiting for bigger award for your head, this is the only reason you live <bounty hunter smiles>" when -250, shout: ,,We have been looking for you!! kill him!!” when less than e.g.: -300"). When, with time, your karma will be restored back to safe value (more than e.g.: from -300 to 0) the bounty hunters will stop hunting you.
Simple rule: You kill, you die. Fallout like wild west. If you kill player that do not approve PVP or don’t like to play that way in these moment, bounty hunters will be going after you, causing your death and loss of equipment. Its total fair if you did the same to others, isn’t it?
With my solution PVE players will fell much safer and honorable PVP players will see no differences. Depends on how much karma you lose when you kill PVE and on what level of karma, bounty hunters are begin to chase you, and how often you can meet them. Restrictions should be determine by GMs if they approve such a solution.
In sum: Two new player status (PVP) and (PVE). You can only chose one at a time, and change at your tent. You can only lose karma (e.g.: minimum -1000) for killing PVE players or use player status to ambush. If someone karma drops to extremely low level (e.g.: -300) bounty hunters are after you. Hunters are damn hardest to kill from and run and there is no loot as in case supermutants in Ares). Karma regain a like reputation (with time) as but much more slowly (e.g.: 2-3 weeks).
Room for Improvement:
- Fourth status: (PK) reserved for those who are serial killers or players who just kills someone (something like skulls in German game: Tibia)
-PVP players would be happy if there be implemented name kill counter or dogtags maybe
- No minimum of karma. If karma will be half unlimited [-∞], this would result in that: the more other players you kill -> longer you have to wait for karma restoration to safe value, with leads to longer exposed to attacks of bounty hunter. Or lower karma cause tougher bounty hunters: the serial killer will met massive unstoppable party of bounty hunters
-Link karma with reputation. Killers are not allowed to barter stolen things (there is blood on it!) or even get inside civilized cities(RNK, LA, SF, Hub, VC ect)
uff. It was not easy to explain, i hope i do my best
Topic: Karma system + Encounter (Read 1409 times)