Game Development: As Above, so Below

[Procne]

If a game is hard work rather than fun, the devs are doing something wrong.

Well, some have fun while playing the game, and some have fun while obtaining power and unleashing laser of doom upon other players. But for the latter you have to spend a lot of time and effort, which in itself might not be too fun.

If you think that this is devs' mistake, then their biggest mistake was making PvP oriented MMO. Because that's what those games are mostly about - working harder than other players so that you can at some point smite them into oblivion.

He should have an advantage, but not an overwhelming one. Competitive PvP shouldn't be restricted to the most lifeless 1% of the game's population.

He doesn't have any overwhelming advantage. It's just noone really tried to get rid of him. At least noone has put more effort into killing him than he puts into game.
He's playing alone (maybe with wife?) after all.

[dageir]

If things stays the same as now or get even more "grindy", big communities are going to outproduce/"outpurify" smaller ones. Im not sure how big the tribe is, but it might not be big enough to totally dominate with more intricate mechanisms.

[Potjeh]

It's is virtually impossible to kill a character with 500 humours using any number of 100 humour characters, and summoning anyone with half a brain is impossible.

And if that's really what MMOs are supposed to be like, I guess I now know why I haven't played any other than H&H and Planetside2. Call me crazy, but I like my games to be about skill. If I really wanted to pour hundreds of hours of work into something, it'd be something with tangible RL benefits.

[dageir]

To become "super man" from now on you need to be on top of a hierarchy and have "peasants" work for you. This is not very easy to achieve. You have to have RL leader and organizational skills. Unfortunately I have neither.

[Procne]

It's is virtually impossible to kill a character with 500 humours using any number of 100 humour characters, and summoning anyone with half a brain is impossible.

Well, I imagine that if this 500-humour char fought with 3 equally-skilled 100-humour chars then the latter would win, or at least it would be easier for them to win. But that's just my expetations, I have never engaged in PvP in Salem.

And if that's really what MMOs are supposed to be like, I guess I now know why I haven't played any other than H&H and Planetside2. Call me crazy, but I like my games to be about skill. If I really wanted to pour hundreds of hours of work into something, it'd be something with tangible RL benefits.

I agree with the last part.
But aren't MMO based on skill basically MOBAs?

And H&H was based on grinding as much as Salem. Building walls, vaults, mines, farming ton of food to increase stats and grinding quality.

[Droj]

He should have an advantage, but not an overwhelming one. Competitive PvP shouldn't be restricted to the most lifeless 1% of the game's population.

Couldn't agree more. Unfortunately a lot of things in this game require lifeless attention to gain that slight advantage.
Pras!

Numbers don't mean squat when you've got superman dominating each world. Being smarter than someone who has been playing longer will not make you win in this case. Tactics are irrelevant, furthermore backed up by a iffy combat system.

[Potjeh]

Yeah, but it also had actual skill-based combat system. Since Salem doesn't, you have to put more skill requirements in prep-work. As for advantage in numbers, more than 2-3 people on one target just get in the way rather than help. And one 500 vs 2-3 100s is no contest at all.

[dageir]

Yep, but what if their comp disconnected during an assault? I believe this is the way the Uber guys will disappear or from boredom.

[Claeyt]

if the developers intended for everyone to have a 150 stat character living off of bear meat and 10% crops then i think we could have done without the retarded brazier, wall, and building buffs and without the whole waste claim crap.

I would think all of those, the buffs, the waste claims and this update were in reaction to characters reaching high levels to easily.

[dageir]

One day when the last superman is dead, walls and braziers will be nerfed.