Main$treaming Salem, Avoiding HnH Endgame Dullness. --PvP--

[pistolshrimp]

The drain when you are offline would be negligible, as long as you ate a decent meal when logging on you could get it back easily, the drain would cap at something small (I suggested 10 as an example above), in case you were gone for a long period of time.

What's even the point of having a drain in the first place, it seem tacked on. Who cares if some hasn't logged on in a month, especially if as you say the drain is so low that a good meal will fix it?

[MagicManICT]

There's a reason why more and more games are using matchmaking services now.

I pretty much quit reading after this. You're thinking that PvP should only be consensual in Salem. You're thinking that it should be under controlled circumstances. In these, you're quite correct, but you're analyzing the problem quite wrongly.

First, just playing the game is giving consent to PvP. Can't accept this? There's other games out there. Maybe one day the devs will change these things, but it's not going to happen any time soon.

Second, the circumstances are controlled as, really, the entire game world is one giant combat arena in which players can prove themselves as worthy of the space their occupying.

Comparing the mechanics (and the math behind them) in Salem to other RPGs is just boneheaded. It's like saying flying through space is like swimming through water. The underlying math is completely different. You have certain basic rules, but the equations dictating how to get from A to B (as well as how fast you can travel, etc) differ wildly.

Seems like there'd be little to no escape from lowbie zergsquads in decent gear then. If you're solo and come across 5+ guys and need to run, and you and your attackers are both limited to 100 phlegm, you're done. No amount of skill can save you from 5 inept but similarly stat'd people all boxing you in. With no humour cap, you can at least make a break for it and have a possibility to get away, or for backup to come.

If there's enough people, no matter you're stats, you're dead. That's the way it should be. Nobody is immune from overwhelming odds. In games like WoW, because of the mechanics, my raid geared tank will never be taken down by any size horde of under 60s.

[Bodolf]

don't mean to bump an old post but internet was down for a week and i was unable to reply/defend the idea.

Legitimate concerns but they were mostly addressed in my OP.

In reply to Magicman: perhaps you should have kept reading

Nowhere did i state pvp should be consensual, that'd be pretty retarded and would ruin the game. I'm talking about character strength reflecting the fact that they are human beings. My point with the matchmaking was; when people are on a -relatively- even playing field, it becomes less of a stomp down, and tactics mean something. Doesn't mean fights couldn't still be completely one sided, considering gear, pvp ability, and the fact not everyone would be "fully aged". (killing an adolescent could even mean a longer lasting scent)

Of course if you were rushed by 5+ guys you would likely be toast. that's why a smart person would not be sticking around to fight them (assuming they are paying attention to the minimap/surroundings. Sort of like how actual fights work.

In reply to pistolshrimp: the drain is to keep food useful, and if some guy was laying in bed for a week he'd probably lose some strength. It is a bit tacked on (it was an afterthought) but would make beds (and sleeping in them) useful, keep food valuable, and add some sense to mealtime (breakfast is supposedly the most important meal of the day right?).

and finally in repy to Futureforjames: I agree that many would have no problem with the game dying, if they aren't invested/enjoying it anymore. I think it's safe to say the devs would like the game to be awesome -and- succeed financially though. Otherwise (i assume) they would still be working on HnH and you wouldn't be able to purchase silver/hats with real money.

Power would have more to do with what you owned/how good a fighter you were/how successful your base/group is, etc. As opposed to who has eaten the most crap. Instead of a small elite base group of 300+ humour dudes, id like to imagine the world powers would need to setup and recruit standing armies of some sort to compete with each other.

Getting to the real point of all this.. id just like to see people being more comfortable interacting with others, hiding behind walls less, forming larger groups, getting into (and even losing) more fights, and for pvp tactics to mean more than who ate the most pie.

[darnokpl]

caping humors is just stupid. isntead of the 500 char i have now i would just have 10+ 100 humor characters and you would still be ***** about it.

No, because I would be sure that if we meet in forest it will be fair fight (assuming we both would be alone in there).

Humor cap is WoW like idea, it would support creation of many alts... but wait perma death does same thing?
You just spend more time on your main-murder-alt than on backup alts.

[Bodolf]

Humor cap is WoW like idea, it would support creation of many alts... but wait perma death does same thing?
You just spend more time on your main-murder-alt than on backup alts.

To be honest I've never played WoW but I keep hearing this would make the game like WoW. I'd have to disagree, most notably because the perma-death/full loot system is such a game changer. I also think the idea of an even playing field predated WoW by quite a bit (diablo anyone?).

The thing with alts is, there are two types of people: the ones who make alts, and the ones who just don't have time for that ****/care to make them. I'd hazard a guess that the latter group is larger.

Even back in HnH, my alts were never built up/made for any purpose other than vaulting/holding the keys/meeting new villages. It would have sucked fun out of the game for me, removing the danger of permadeath. Yes I lost a main or two, but it meant something to me. I would have never founded a village if some dude hadn't murdered my only character, out in the boonies.

People who make full alts/murder alts etc. will always do so, in any game they can. There's nothing wrong with this style of play, but i don't think it should be encouraged by the game mechanics in order to be competitive/succeed.

The way it is now gives a large incentive to making alts, when you've spent half a year+ building your main with no end in sight to the climb. If it only took a month or two of regular play to "grow" a new character into "adulthood", I'd think there would be far less alt building and more people returning after losing their main. The sum of your labors (properties, gear, etc.) would be more an indicator of your strength. Getting robbed of your prized Armour/weapons could be devastating. Having your base flattened -would- be devastating. When your character is worth more than everything you own, why bother defending when you can just rebuild? especially considering those two raiders in pilgrims robes could be 300+ humours in disguise.