Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Alpha Two testing is currently taking place five days each week. More information about Phase II and Phase III testing schedule can be found here
If you have Alpha Two, you can download the game launcher here, and we encourage you to join us on our Official Discord Server for the most up to date testing news.
Alpha Two testing is currently taking place five days each week. More information about Phase II and Phase III testing schedule can be found here
If you have Alpha Two, you can download the game launcher here, and we encourage you to join us on our Official Discord Server for the most up to date testing news.
The role of unpredictability in preserving fun & activity-based progress
Mic
Member, Alpha Two
The current meta of the game is to log alts on timers who are standing over the best resources (harvestables and boss mobs). The most valuable things in the game are being received by characters and players who are not activity playing the game. This is a problem that has doomed the MMO genre for at least a decade. A large portion of this problem is generated by predictability. Websites like Ashes Codex scrape and collectively generate fully prescribed maps that feature literally everything.
This should be alleviated in two ways:
(1) Randomness. Nodes should spawn in more randomized places. Nodes should spawn at random times. Nodes should have random rarity rolls. Unless these things are generated, you have a system that rewards players only for playing smart, not for playing a lot. As a collective, players will always play smart but they will not always play a lot. You (MMOs) need players to play a lot.
(2) Activity based spawns. Bosses need to be earned by activity. Everyone knows where a boss will spawn, but they have to work to make it spawn. Reward your small guild or group for camping a room and killing mobs as they fill a meter that increases the likelihood of a boss spawn. Reward dedication and commitment, not login timers. This will eliminate the ability of a zerg raid world-boss running. It will eliminate the 30 person PUG raid running room to room in the entire dungeon on a timer, barring smaller groups who have camped a room from getting a boss spawn.
We have been in an era of game scrapes for a while now. Please don't do the same exact thing (predictability and timers) that every other failed MMO has done for 15 years. It is no longer feasible.
This should be alleviated in two ways:
(1) Randomness. Nodes should spawn in more randomized places. Nodes should spawn at random times. Nodes should have random rarity rolls. Unless these things are generated, you have a system that rewards players only for playing smart, not for playing a lot. As a collective, players will always play smart but they will not always play a lot. You (MMOs) need players to play a lot.
(2) Activity based spawns. Bosses need to be earned by activity. Everyone knows where a boss will spawn, but they have to work to make it spawn. Reward your small guild or group for camping a room and killing mobs as they fill a meter that increases the likelihood of a boss spawn. Reward dedication and commitment, not login timers. This will eliminate the ability of a zerg raid world-boss running. It will eliminate the 30 person PUG raid running room to room in the entire dungeon on a timer, barring smaller groups who have camped a room from getting a boss spawn.
We have been in an era of game scrapes for a while now. Please don't do the same exact thing (predictability and timers) that every other failed MMO has done for 15 years. It is no longer feasible.
5
Comments
As it is now, in dungeons you have an entire groups who map all the timers and just run from one boss to another just farming predictable bosses (boring). Players can still contest these groups but only if you know the exact timers, and that predictability just makes it boring. A little RNG here is a relatively simple solution to test, and can go a long way to change the dynamic in a positive way that keeps people playing the game longer.
RE: Resource Nodes - yes. This has been discussed at length but obviously a small group of players camping/logging in to grab predictably HQ resource nodes has really messed things up and will continue to do so if not addressed. It's very bad.
Progressive spawner system would be great, especially for the really tough true boss level droppers.
Blown past falling sands…
Blown past falling sands…