Yep, the "April Fools update" will be reverted tonight. It's been a week of testing this experiment and for now it's enough.
The results were not very surprising to me, I discussed it with few players in the past (thanks Seki and others) and conclusions were pretty close to what happened. More PvP and more action because less risk involved, but with less risk/reward involved the gameplay loses some thrill, especially that with no drop, the game loses some depth and this would need to be covered with more types of activity, as much in PvE as in PvP.
The next thing is that dying needs to have a penalty that hurts more or less. With full loot enabled, dying hurts experienced players not much (because they have more resources and know how to get new ones easily), but it's extremely harsh for newbs and casual, that's why they don't try some parts of the game at all or just ragequit. We have some ideas how to change it and we will try it in next season, where we can introduce large changes in other areas as well.
The problem with FOnline in general is that it's a full loot game for hardcore players. Players come and go, many ragequit very fast and it's extremely visible from perspective of any admin. Since Reloaded started, we've been trying to make the game easier for casuals and newbs and this game is much more newcomer-friendly than FOnline: 2238 ever was. We'll still follow this path.
Thanks for opinions and for participating in this (involuntary) test ;)
So how about have a certain level where they can't be looted like perhaps level 10 12 or 14. Not sure how easy that would be but just an idea.
I discussed it with few players in the past (thanks Seki and others)
so this will be like a tutorial server for noobs?
(http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/adventuretimewithfinnandjake/images/2/2b/Apply_cold_water_to_burned_area.jpeg/revision/latest?cb=20121007165231)so this will be like a tutorial server for noobs?
Sure, you can play it anytime.
(http://i63.tinypic.com/30uy9zk.png)
(http://i63.tinypic.com/30uy9zk.png)
U Stole my idea u cheeky breeky bugger! I made this weeks ago!
(http://i.imgur.com/UxU609o.jpg)
Sure hope the massive drop in onliners will not be permanent...this little experiment has cost the server players I'm afraid. It was a terrible idea to let it go on this long. I say this not to point fingers but because I have been here loyally for years and I am not happy when it declines. Maybe consider being public about planned experiments and set the time frame in public before just rolling it out and strongarming it. As much as we love Reloaded we should be informed of radical experiments like this instead of rumors causing people to seek other avenues of entertainment. You should be way more public with your thoughts and especially in this case. I wonder if you decided on a whim after seeing online numbers dropping to stop the experiment or it was planned?
There should definitely be a no loot area and that should be the area around hub, when you are in the no loot area it should say world map and when you leave a warning message should appear.
I would also move Barter Ground to this area.
I would argue that Vault 15 should follow your mechanics of looting too. Ares and Glow are dungeons just like Vault 15 but for more experienced players - Vault 15 is just the equivalent for younger players starting out "dungeoneering." It is no good to disable looting in Vault 15 because it will trigger that same expectation towards the grander dungeons out there and will put them off completely when they realise what is actually there. But I do like your idea of looting and the radius around these locations. It is certainly... interesting.
dying hurts experienced players not much (because they have more resources and know how to get new ones easily), but it's extremely harsh for newbs and casual,
If you ask me if a player doesn't already have a tent made, upon death they should spawn with one. There's no issue if the game is flooded with tents since they're easy to make, and limited at some point.
Add percent loss of total character experience on death. New players will have a low penalty for dying, but higher level players will lose lots more experience. This will invert the situation of the newest players receiving the harshest consequences.This was my initial plan but after doing some calculations it became obvious that it's hard to balance and too harsh for high level characters (100+, not mention 200+ or 300+, and yes, there are many such characters in game). High level character would lose like 1/2 or more of experience needed for next level even if the penalty was as low as 0.15% of total experience. It would be really annoying for those who like some PvP activities. Instead of it, the penalty will be based on experience needed for next level, so even if you die a lot in PvP then a caravan run or two will fix it. Might be not even needed because success in PvP activity will give some exp as well.
The problem are players who die before they can set their tent back up. Commands aren't well known, and its an added insult to the player who got PK'd to delete their character. This is where many players probably rage. When it could be prevented if they simply can't lose their first tent from the quest. Newbies shouldn't be expected to be experts. That'd be poor game design.If you ask me if a player doesn't already have a tent made, upon death they should spawn with one. There's no issue if the game is flooded with tents since they're easy to make, and limited at some point.
There's a tent quest already. And that's not stopping spam account creation and use of the ~suicide command for more experienced players to stockpile tents and "sell" them to new players.
That is the whole expectation of new players these days unfortunately :( How will they know about the tent quest if they are completely new to the game? :facepalmThe problem are players who die before they can set their tent back up. Commands aren't well known, and its an added insult to the player who got PK'd to delete their character. This is where many players probably rage. When it could be prevented if they simply can't lose their first tent from the quest. Newbies shouldn't be expected to be experts. That'd be poor game design.If you ask me if a player doesn't already have a tent made, upon death they should spawn with one. There's no issue if the game is flooded with tents since they're easy to make, and limited at some point.
There's a tent quest already. And that's not stopping spam account creation and use of the ~suicide command for more experienced players to stockpile tents and "sell" them to new players.
Unlike commands, The tent mission gives a notice, and a new market on the map. While newbies are just as likely to enter TB/flares most find themselves doing the quest, though they might just shoot the farmers and leave. Still I believe newbies should never lose their first tent until they set it up.That is the whole expectation of new players these days unfortunately :( How will they know about the tent quest if they are completely new to the game? :facepalmThe problem are players who die before they can set their tent back up. Commands aren't well known, and its an added insult to the player who got PK'd to delete their character. This is where many players probably rage. When it could be prevented if they simply can't lose their first tent from the quest. Newbies shouldn't be expected to be experts. That'd be poor game design.If you ask me if a player doesn't already have a tent made, upon death they should spawn with one. There's no issue if the game is flooded with tents since they're easy to make, and limited at some point.
There's a tent quest already. And that's not stopping spam account creation and use of the ~suicide command for more experienced players to stockpile tents and "sell" them to new players.
Also what experienced player would be soresourcefulsoulless to stockpile tents just to sell? I have not seen such a case.
Wipe is never soon before it gets announced or at least beta test starts.
so why not make tents unlootable? experienced gamers dont need to loot them from newbs.
add it maybe in the item description that it is unlootble, when you make it so players understand, thats not normal
Couldn't resist... hehehe...
New session has an optional tutorial location for newbies, and after they leave it, they will have a tent.There is no way to put a cap on the amount of experience lost? And perhaps you could make it not drop you below a level so there would be no stat loss just a setback in leveling your character. Another thing you could do is add a reputation meter just for fun. The higher your player kd/a the higher your "score" so to speak is. (Shit idea but why not throw it out)Add percent loss of total character experience on death. New players will have a low penalty for dying, but higher level players will lose lots more experience. This will invert the situation of the newest players receiving the harshest consequences.This was my initial plan but after doing some calculations it became obvious that it's hard to balance and too harsh for high level characters (100+, not mention 200+ or 300+, and yes, there are many such characters in game). High level character would lose like 1/2 or more of experience needed for next level even if the penalty was as low as 0.15% of total experience. It would be really annoying for those who like some PvP activities. Instead of it, the penalty will be based on experience needed for next level, so even if you die a lot in PvP then a caravan run or two will fix it. Might be not even needed because success in PvP activity will give some exp as well.
thank you kilgore, this is the right choice imo.
i know my opinion doesnt mean much but i promise i speak from an unbiased non-ego driven perspective. i only want this server to get better, and succeed. no other server has come close to matching the "fonline experience" that reloaded has.
the no loot thing can work to create more action, but i think it simply detracts too much from the thrill of the gameplay to have loot removed entirely, but its a good idea that has some merit.
that being said, there are other alternatives to reducing death penalty while still keeping the game hardcore loot.
asheron's call had a very interesting system called death items. death items were high money value items (diamond necklaces, gold rings, other types of items in this category) that dropped in place of your armor, weapons or other gear if you carried these things in your inventory at the time you died. this proved to be a very popular mechanic because it allowed players to essentially purchase insurance for powerful and rare PVP items, helping to nullify some of the penalty of dying in PvP.
now these death items didn't work every time, but often enough that it helped create a functional economy where goods had non-inflating ingame money value that helped to maintain the overall background economy for a long, long time by providing both a time and money sink (in our case, caps sink) to players.
im not saying this could or should work in fonline, but just merely stating an example of a very successful anti-penalty system from another popular hardcore pvp title, that helped to ultimately keep casuals and veterans alike interested in the game long-term by providing them a simple yet important mechanic for which they could grind, kill, or craft to get items that functioned as "pvp insurance".
some of the most valuable death items in asheron's call were more valuable than the most epic pvp loot, because having them meant you could wear the most powerful items in pvp without much fear of giving them to your opponent upon death.