Caravan Ecosystem

Hey, I have several suggestions regarding the caravan system. Please keep in mind that I don't know the extent of how much this has already been considered. The goal of these suggestions is to make an ecosystem with gameplay, decision making and trust at it's core.

1. Infiltration - Players who want to rob the caravan can choose to infiltrate the caravan guard. When they see fit, they can backstab the real guard to help the robbers and get the goodies.

2. Hiring caravan guards - When a caravan is formed, the supplier can hire guards (Players) to protect their goods from attacks. This would mean that, for a price, players would be incentivized to defend the caravans and not switch sides. The key word being incentivized, as they can still switch sides.

3. Specialized guilds - Since it would be difficult for suppliers to trust random players to protect their caravan (since they can just join the robbers), this is where specialized guard guilds come into play. They would operate on the promise of protecting caravans. As they earn reputation as trustworthy guards, naturally their price tag would increase. It's a perfect example of a healthy guild development as there would be a high demand for trustworthy guilds.

So how is this an ecosystem? Let me explain:
-Robbers will always be looking out for new caravans to loot.

They can infiltrate the guards and backstab them for loot.
They can also infiltrate guard guilds and backstab them since they would usually be protecting high value cargo.

-Suppliers will always need trustworthy guards.

They can hire some random players usually for a small price, or choose to go with the more expensive option and hire specialized guard guilds. If they transport high value goodies, they would probably opt for the latter.

-Guard guilds will always need to uphold their reputation to get new jobs.

Robbers can always infiltrate these guilds and backstab them, therefore ruining their reputation. These guilds must be managed very carefully as to not allow any potential robbers to join their ranks.

This concludes a full circle of gameplay where all sides are incentivized to engage in social interactions to improve their chances of obtaining coins.

I hope this suggestion can spark a conversation between the community and the game designers, as it would be really interesting to see how this system would play out in a real scenario.

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Comments

dawntracker

1. Not sure i like that idea. Yes it can be realistic that for example a rogue can infiltrate and back stab people to help the attackers. On the other hand I'm afraid that this will become the norm and people will only protect caravans with their guild or something. And that sucks for newer players or players who haven't found the guild they fit in yet.

2. there will be a feature to "hire" people to protect it. Not sure how in depth this is but they already mentioned it a few times.

3. Not sure if you need a system for that. I think the community on the server will know what guilds to trust and what guilds to stay away from due time.

Wizz1

dawntracker wrote: »

1. Not sure i like that idea. Yes it can be realistic that for example a rogue can infiltrate and back stab people to help the attackers. On the other hand I'm afraid that this will become the norm and people will only protect caravans with their guild or something. And that sucks for newer players or players who haven't found the guild they fit in yet.

Hey, that's a good point. However, infiltration becoming the norm is the driving force behind this ecosystem. It adds another layer of risk and uncertainty to the game, but the rewards are worth it for everybody.

Even if players decide to involve only their guild to protect their caravans, it's ultimately a good thing since it offers an opportunity for another guild activity. They can also hire other guilds to do their bidding and protect the cargo.

On the account of new players, I'll have to disagree. After all, this is optional content. With the risk being involved, well structured guilds will take reign in this type of gameplay. This should in return incentivize newer players to join these guilds or to start their own.

dawntracker wrote: »

3. Not sure if you need a system for that. I think the community on the server will know what guilds to trust and what guilds to stay away from due time.

This I fully agree with. The only thing that really needs to be created as a mechanic for this to work is the backstab/infiltration option, the rest will naturally follow. I didn't explain myself well enough in the original post, so I hope that now everything is cleared up.

dawntracker

Wizz wrote: »

On the account of new players, I'll have to disagree. After all, this is optional content. With the risk being involved, well structured guilds will take reign in this type of gameplay. This should in return incentivize newer players to join these guilds or to start their own.

I see what you mean. However I'm not sure if it's that optional. If people want to move from one none to another because of whatever reason (don't like the politics in their node, want to be with friends or just simply want an other scenery or something) they will have to move their stuff from one node to another with the caravan system.

That being said, as a newer/low level player, you can of course hire guilds that have a good reputation on your server. I agree that it has to involve risk. I just dont really like the idea of people saying they will help and then backstabbing you. Realistic yes, fun? not so much.

I do like the idea steven pitched a few times that you can indeed hire guilds to help you. And you can pay them for the amount of defense you want. For example 100g for 1 person. 1k gold for 10 people and so on. And the guild will abide the contract if they want to keep a good reputation.

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