Improving the social aspect of the game with new mechanics

Hello everyone! I'd love to discuss some social ''mechanics'' and aspects that could further enhance the Ashes of Creation community, making the game feel fresh every time you log in and engage. I'll share some experiences with systems from other games that have brought a lot of enjoyment to my gaming sessions. If you have any great experiences from other MMORPGs, please feel free to share them with us!

Trial and Jail System: 🏛️

One of the unforgettable experiences I had in one of my favorite MMORPGs was the trial and jail system. I recall an incident when my guild was out at sea with a trade boat, encountering an "enemy guild" from the same faction also on a sea trade route. Naturally, we engaged in PvP combat in the middle of the sea. The respawns were conveniently close, allowing us to quickly return to our ships. It was an intense fight.

However, the plot thickened when a third guild appeared, witnessing our player-killing spree. This guild promptly reported our PK (Player Killing) crimes, leading to a trial for both guilds. Surprisingly, they presented evidence, and both guilds were found guilty of their actions. The consequence? We were sentenced to prison!

Rather than harboring animosity, something remarkable happened. Instead of holding a grudge, we decided to turn the situation into an opportunity for fun. Inside the virtual prison, we organized a football match, 5v5, and it turned out to be surprisingly entertaining. The experience forged a unique bond between our guilds, leading to an alliance formed through a series of unexpected events. Who knew that a trial and subsequent imprisonment would lead to such an amusing and unifying outcome! ⚽

Deep sea fishing mini-game:

Fishing was one of the most exhilarating activities. The open sea was always a realm of uncertainty—a place where pirates lurked, enemy factions plotted, and the presence of purple players added an extra layer of risk. Despite the potential dangers, people tended to congregate in the same fishing spots. There, bonds were formed as we united to fend off pirates and rival factions.The shared experience of facing common threats during fishing excursions created a unique camaraderie among those who enjoyed casting their virtual lines. Spotting a fishing ship owned by someone you had fished with before became a reassuring sight—a silent acknowledgment that you had an ally if things took a turn for the worse. Surprisingly, these connections even extended to unexpected friendships with pirates or members of the enemy faction; after all, everyone, at some point, just wanted to fish and enjoy the virtual waters.

Social trade routes

Another noteworthy social activity was embarking on trade routes together. While I'm not intimately familiar with Ashes of Creation's plans for trading, fostering a collaborative environment for trading would undoubtedly be beneficial. Coming together for trading expeditions not only offered protection against potential threats from other players but also provided a social avenue for interaction and friendship-building. (I mean trading together not only being there to protect as mercenary)

A well-designed wedding system:

I've heard that Ashes would feature a wedding system, but please, let's not simplify it to the extent that merely giving a ring to someone automatically signifies marriage. Instead, consider creating a system within a church where you can invite friends, enhancing the social aspects of the wedding experience.

In-game events, festivals, and holidays encourage socialization:

In-game events and festivals encourage socialization by creating shared goals, providing exclusive rewards, fostering real-time communication, and offering diverse themed activities. These celebrations act as community gathering points, promoting collaboration, and strengthening player bonds within the gaming world.

Players can hide or bury items in the game world for others to discover.

This specific was something on trove that I thought was fun, player guilds could do those events of hiding specific items for other players to find; it was quite fun, encourages exploration, and fosters a sense of community as players share hidden treasures.

Bard Systems:

A bard system in MMORPGs is a blast socially! Players get to make their own tunes, turning hangout spots into virtual concert stages. It's a cool way for folks to share their musical talents, adding a fun and creative vibe to the game community.

And here's another thing... Can we please make exploring the map in Ashes of Creation super exciting? Throw in cool stuff to discover, like sky islands or treasure hunts underwater. Let's make the game buzz with life – toss in some animals, fishes, and whatnot!

Got any cool social features/mechanics in mind for Ashes of Creation? Share with us! Whether it's unique guild dynamics, player-run events, or something wild, let's hear your ideas and make this game even more awesome!

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

Ace1234

There is probably some really fun stuff that could be done with a proper prison system. Stuff like guarding player prisoners as they try to plan their escapes, with jumping puzzles, parkour, stealth, etc. or busting people out of prison.

This could make it actually fun to be in there, and they could have their own sub-cultures, social structures, and activities to do inside.

This could also provide more strategic options in dealing with enemies, and add some drama and reputation elements. Or it could be a way of establishing new relationships and recruiting as well, it could be interesting depending on the approach.

As Azherae mentioned before, it could also be a way of concentrating the corrupted pvp only players as well and let them cannibalize each other, which could be huge.

Impel Down ftw

Enigmatic Sage

@Aszkalon back in my day... there were no worgan or vulpera in goldshire... LOL.

But jokes aside about ERP, there will probably be those who do it regardless. Could stumble across the wrong inn or freehold one day...

Trickster

Honestly, I said about the jury/prison system because we're going to have bounty hunters... So what are they supposed to do? Just kill the person once? So the ''corrupted player'' will just get killed and respawn? Lose some items in the bag? I don't know... It sounds laking somehow; it needs something more over there, even more to create a real purpose to have bounty hunters in the game...

I mean, anyone can kill corrupt players anyway; make the bounty hunters do real justice by sending the corrupted players to prison for a short time at least

Also I see myself getting corrupted a lot, since it's kind of my ''evil'' pk player roleplaying.) So it's not like I want to create more penalties for corrupted players, but make it more fun to deal with, like jumping puzzles, parkour or something interesting to escape prision as suggested.

Depraved

Trickster wrote: »

Honestly, I said about the jury/prison system because we're going to have bounty hunters... So what are they supposed to do? Just kill the person once? So the ''corrupted player'' will just get killed and respawn? Lose some items in the bag? I don't know... It sounds laking somehow; it needs something more over there, even more to create a real purpose to have bounty hunters in the game...

I mean, anyone can kill corrupt players anyway; make the bounty hunters do real justice by sending the corrupted players to prison for a short time at least

Also I see myself getting corrupted a lot, since it's kind of my ''evil'' pk player roleplaying.) So it's not like I want to create more penalties for corrupted players, but make it more fun to deal with, like jumping puzzles, parkour or something interesting to escape prision as suggested.

do you think being able to see corrupted player on the map, hunting them down and killing them and then the corrupted player losing months worth of weapons and armor isnt a big thing? how is it lacking? yes, kill them once and you are done.

Aszkalon

Depraved wrote: »

do you think being able to see corrupted player on the map, hunting them down and killing them and then the corrupted player losing months worth of weapons and armor isnt a big thing? how is it lacking? yes, kill them once and you are done.

I am confident when You become "corrupted" in the first Stage/Level or Levels* and Stages* - You won't be able to drop your most valuable Gear.

Only if you keep it up - and kill not One or Two or Three, but more like Ten or Twenty or Thirty of Fifty or a HUNDRED PEOPLE in Succession or so -> regarding on how early Corruption weakens You, so that you can not do jack anymore against Someone you could overpower easily before,

only the truly corrupted People can drop their highest, most valuable Gear.

At least this is how i understood it.

Depraved

Aszkalon wrote: »

Depraved wrote: »

do you think being able to see corrupted player on the map, hunting them down and killing them and then the corrupted player losing months worth of weapons and armor isnt a big thing? how is it lacking? yes, kill them once and you are done.

I am confident when You become "corrupted" in the first Stage/Level or Levels* and Stages* - You won't be able to drop your most valuable Gear.

Only if you keep it up - and kill not One or Two or Three, but more like Ten or Twenty or Thirty of Fifty or a HUNDRED PEOPLE in Succession or so -> regarding on how early Corruption weakens You, so that you can not do jack anymore against Someone you could overpower easily before,

only the truly corrupted People can drop their highest, most valuable Gear.

At least this is how i understood it.

u will be able to drop gear on any amount of corruption and pk count, even at 1. steven already confirmed it. so thats how its gonna work until they decide to change it.

id like to have 2-3 free pk with no gear dropping penalty though.

Trickster

Depraved wrote: »

Aszkalon wrote: »

Depraved wrote: »

do you think being able to see corrupted player on the map, hunting them down and killing them and then the corrupted player losing months worth of weapons and armor isnt a big thing? how is it lacking? yes, kill them once and you are done.

I am confident when You become "corrupted" in the first Stage/Level or Levels* and Stages* - You won't be able to drop your most valuable Gear.

Only if you keep it up - and kill not One or Two or Three, but more like Ten or Twenty or Thirty of Fifty or a HUNDRED PEOPLE in Succession or so -> regarding on how early Corruption weakens You, so that you can not do jack anymore against Someone you could overpower easily before,

only the truly corrupted People can drop their highest, most valuable Gear.

At least this is how i understood it.

u will be able to drop gear on any amount of corruption and pk count, even at 1. steven already confirmed it. so thats how its gonna work until they decide to change it.

id like to have 2-3 free pk with no gear dropping penalty though.

Also, it's a CHANCE to drop, doesn't mean you gonna drop your gear, mostly likely your materials

Wiki: https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Corruption#:~:text=Corrupted player in the Alpha-1 preview.&text=If a combatant (purple) character,lower value than killing players.

Tyranthraxus

Woof....

So... The *lightest* and most-forgiveable death-penalties I've ever seen was in my fav MMORPG, SWG.

Those mechanics live on, to THIS DAY, in SWG: Legends.

Essentially? If killed by an NPC, you lose ALL of your buffs, ent-and-medic-given, immediately. If killed by a player? All buffs just lose 25% of their time remaining.

VERY-forgivable death-penalties.

Jail was never a thing in SWG. However? I saw Hot Tub: Time Machine - both 1 and 2. And the best joke I saw regarding MMO's was where the kid had played an MMO for 6+ months, and was in-jail the whole time. Fat IRL? Didn't matter; He spent months working out, as his in-game character, getting in awesome shape. EVERY DAY.

It's hard not to look past the comedically-overcast consequences, in such a fictional MMORPG. However, IRL?

You can't realistically accept over-done death-penalties. Don't push for IRL consequences, in an MMORPG. Seeing ourselves incinerated upon every death is already pretty severe; We don't need *JAIL*, too.

It's neat that some games have this - but it's probably not a needed element.

daveywavey

Aszkalon wrote: »

Depraved wrote: »

do you think being able to see corrupted player on the map, hunting them down and killing them and then the corrupted player losing months worth of weapons and armor isnt a big thing? how is it lacking? yes, kill them once and you are done.

I am confident when You become "corrupted" in the first Stage/Level or Levels* and Stages* - You won't be able to drop your most valuable Gear.

Only if you keep it up - and kill not One or Two or Three, but more like Ten or Twenty or Thirty of Fifty or a HUNDRED PEOPLE in Succession or so -> regarding on how early Corruption weakens You, so that you can not do jack anymore against Someone you could overpower easily before,

only the truly corrupted People can drop their highest, most valuable Gear.

At least this is how i understood it.

Wiki says the following:

Corrupt players (red players) suffer death penalties at four times the rate of non-combatants.[7][10]
Corrupt players also have a chance to drop any equipped items based on their current corruption score, including dropping weapons and armor.[10][18][7][10][111][16]
Any amount of corruption allows a player to drop equipped gear upon death. The higher the corruption the greater the chances.[112] – Steven Sharif
Corrupt players respawn at random locations in the vicinity of their death, not at regular spawn points.[52] Non-corrupt players always respawn at the closest active respawn point (to their death).[113]
Corruption penalties occur as the corruption is gained (not just at death).[20]
Death penalties for corrupt players apply in every location, including naval PvP zones.[22]

Relevant points being:
Corrupt players also have a chance to drop any equipped items based on their current corruption score, including dropping weapons and armor.[10][18][7][10][111][16]
Any amount of corruption allows a player to drop equipped gear upon death. The higher the corruption the greater the chances.[112] – Steven Sharif

So yeah it's possible for it to drop from one kill, but I agree that it's probably going to be unlikely.

Ehrgeiz

Depraved wrote: »

hate the jail system. everything else is ok...and we already got some of those stuff

Murder, trial and jail system was one of the best features in Archeage

Depraved

Trickster wrote: »

Depraved wrote: »

Aszkalon wrote: »

Depraved wrote: »

do you think being able to see corrupted player on the map, hunting them down and killing them and then the corrupted player losing months worth of weapons and armor isnt a big thing? how is it lacking? yes, kill them once and you are done.

I am confident when You become "corrupted" in the first Stage/Level or Levels* and Stages* - You won't be able to drop your most valuable Gear.

Only if you keep it up - and kill not One or Two or Three, but more like Ten or Twenty or Thirty of Fifty or a HUNDRED PEOPLE in Succession or so -> regarding on how early Corruption weakens You, so that you can not do jack anymore against Someone you could overpower easily before,

only the truly corrupted People can drop their highest, most valuable Gear.

At least this is how i understood it.

u will be able to drop gear on any amount of corruption and pk count, even at 1. steven already confirmed it. so thats how its gonna work until they decide to change it.

id like to have 2-3 free pk with no gear dropping penalty though.

Also, it's a CHANCE to drop, doesn't mean you gonna drop your gear, mostly likely your materials

Wiki: https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Corruption#:~:text=Corrupted player in the Alpha-1 preview.&text=If a combatant (purple) character,lower value than killing players.

bruh I'm talking about chances. I've said before you wont drop 100% on every death.

Depraved

Ehrgeiz wrote: »

Depraved wrote: »

hate the jail system. everything else is ok...and we already got some of those stuff

Murder, trial and jail system was one of the best features in Archeage

a lot of people disagree

Trickster

Ehrgeiz wrote: »

Depraved wrote: »

hate the jail system. everything else is ok...and we already got some of those stuff

Murder, trial and jail system was one of the best features in Archeage

Not the best for me but definitely a very creative one that can be improved, and not made the same as in Archeage but better

HaruCharm

I’m looking forward to how some of the smaller social events in game turn out. Steven gave the example of crashing a local wedding, but there are so many ways to introduce small events. Walk into a town and find out a food festival is going on, maybe the local church is giving out free stuff, or perhaps a great beast died in the middle of the town gate and they need a bunch of help clearing it out. I’m really curious to see what they throw in with their event system

Aszkalon

Depraved wrote: »

u will be able to drop gear on any amount of corruption and pk count, even at 1. steven already confirmed it. so thats how its gonna work until they decide to change it.

id like to have 2-3 free pk with no gear dropping penalty though.

Sounds like all the Risk then.

I can see People make Characters they make only for the Purpose of PK'ing, so that the Characters with valuable Gear they might also have, don't have to fight. (lol)

But i think the Highlights will be Caravan-Battles and Sieges.

daveywavey

Aszkalon wrote: »

I can see People make Characters they make only for the Purpose of PK'ing, so that the Characters with valuable Gear they might also have, don't have to fight. (lol)

Bear in mind that if your less-geared character attacks someone who has this top-gear stuff, and that player does fight back, you're then at the disadvantage and are more likely to lose.

Wololo

Trickster wrote: »

There was something ''similar'' in perfect world but mostly AFK player store inside the cities

Great ideas, Finally someone who knows PerfectWorld ! One of the better RP games IMO. The catshops there worked great especially setting them up at specific places like quest npc's that required a item you could get from the catshop. Ofcource these were only safe in PvP-free zones XD

Are you familiar with the marriage system in PW ? I think it was one of the best. Could decorate it which was expensive but the guests could interact with items too unlocking a reward for everyone attending. The couple could start quests too like a 'Jelours Ex' that when defeated, Finally unlocking the hand of the spous.
Here a video of when i was attending PK rival's wedding idk why he did send an invite maybe hoping for some action XD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT54fCTQDRA

Child Item