Problems Thread
Posted: 06 Feb 2014 22:14
There has been a lot of talk lately about solutions to every problem under the sun. PVP. Size inflation. Quest xp difficulties. Why people leave. How death should work. Etc, etc.
What has been being mentioned lately is distinctly different - what are the problems? What is the direction the game should go in? Should players have a say in this, or should it just be decided at the level of those who are writing the game?
So I wanted to start a new thread. Let's call this the "Problems Thread". This isn't a thread for solutions - those are elsewhere. If you want to post a solution, go post it on one of those. Let's instead try to identify what we see as the exact problems, so that perhaps we can help the wizards (as a community) identify what things need to be addressed.
I'll start off. My list is this:
1) Currently, it is near impossible in Genesis to reach max level without devoting years of your life or a lot of time that many of us don't have. Beyond that, even when you attain max level, you are still one of the smallest players in the game. I can go out and hit myth, but my stats will never catch up to someone who has scripts that they run every night to continuously grind xp. This is a problem - size inflation and the size gap will never meet an end so long as this is the case. All modern day games have a level cap, which makes it such that at some point, everyone is on a level playing field, to some extent. Someone might have better gear, but eventually you can attain gear of similar quality, and be at least close to equal with them. In these games, skill makes up for a lot where gear lacks. Moral of the story: at some point, you stop growing. People don't quit those games, but they threaten to leave Genesis if a similar policy is instituted... Which brings me to...
2) There is no "end-game content". There's no reason when you hit max level to stop grinding and find something else to do with your time. Even if there were a stat cap to fix size inflation / size gap, the only true reason to hit the cap would be so whenever your toon's guild got into a war, you could log in and kick some ass with others that were all at the cap. Caps are indeed bad for Genesis, if there isn't something better to take up a player's time.
3) Genesis, as a community, has a fetish for punishment. We feel that a player should be punished if they make a stupid mistake and die during a quest. We feel that a player should be punished just because they are participating in PVP or instigate PVP, and aren't successful in their go. We think that just because someone says something stupid or isn't the type of player who enjoys RP, they should be punished with death. This is a problem to me. We come here to play a game, not to be punished like small children. Games should be fun, they shouldn't be like schoolwork. This also brings me to:
4) PVP is backwards. I, like many others have stated, feel pvp should reward the winner and the loser. There should be some reason to PARTICIPATE in PVP. If I participate in RP, I am advanced in my guild (in many cases.) If I participate in PVE, my stats grow. These are tangibles. If I participate in PVP, my only tangible is another's death, and I risk the severe punishment of death. Where is the encouragement? There is no true reward. Without incentive, PVP will never be something that people look upon favorably, especially if they belong to a guild which they feel is ill-suited for PVP.
5) Balance. I firmly believe that it is impossible to ever fully balance a game. Do not misunderstand me. However, presently, we are operating under a system where half of the guilds in the game are conforming to a new (arguably more powerful) standard, while the other half are retained at an older out-dated standard. We have limited resources, and I understand this. However, until all guilds are brought up to speed, all of the above issues are only going to be exacerbated. This, in my mind, is the number one issue that needs to be fixed, above all else - including above events, above fixing death, above opening new guilds.
What has been being mentioned lately is distinctly different - what are the problems? What is the direction the game should go in? Should players have a say in this, or should it just be decided at the level of those who are writing the game?
So I wanted to start a new thread. Let's call this the "Problems Thread". This isn't a thread for solutions - those are elsewhere. If you want to post a solution, go post it on one of those. Let's instead try to identify what we see as the exact problems, so that perhaps we can help the wizards (as a community) identify what things need to be addressed.
I'll start off. My list is this:
1) Currently, it is near impossible in Genesis to reach max level without devoting years of your life or a lot of time that many of us don't have. Beyond that, even when you attain max level, you are still one of the smallest players in the game. I can go out and hit myth, but my stats will never catch up to someone who has scripts that they run every night to continuously grind xp. This is a problem - size inflation and the size gap will never meet an end so long as this is the case. All modern day games have a level cap, which makes it such that at some point, everyone is on a level playing field, to some extent. Someone might have better gear, but eventually you can attain gear of similar quality, and be at least close to equal with them. In these games, skill makes up for a lot where gear lacks. Moral of the story: at some point, you stop growing. People don't quit those games, but they threaten to leave Genesis if a similar policy is instituted... Which brings me to...
2) There is no "end-game content". There's no reason when you hit max level to stop grinding and find something else to do with your time. Even if there were a stat cap to fix size inflation / size gap, the only true reason to hit the cap would be so whenever your toon's guild got into a war, you could log in and kick some ass with others that were all at the cap. Caps are indeed bad for Genesis, if there isn't something better to take up a player's time.
3) Genesis, as a community, has a fetish for punishment. We feel that a player should be punished if they make a stupid mistake and die during a quest. We feel that a player should be punished just because they are participating in PVP or instigate PVP, and aren't successful in their go. We think that just because someone says something stupid or isn't the type of player who enjoys RP, they should be punished with death. This is a problem to me. We come here to play a game, not to be punished like small children. Games should be fun, they shouldn't be like schoolwork. This also brings me to:
4) PVP is backwards. I, like many others have stated, feel pvp should reward the winner and the loser. There should be some reason to PARTICIPATE in PVP. If I participate in RP, I am advanced in my guild (in many cases.) If I participate in PVE, my stats grow. These are tangibles. If I participate in PVP, my only tangible is another's death, and I risk the severe punishment of death. Where is the encouragement? There is no true reward. Without incentive, PVP will never be something that people look upon favorably, especially if they belong to a guild which they feel is ill-suited for PVP.
5) Balance. I firmly believe that it is impossible to ever fully balance a game. Do not misunderstand me. However, presently, we are operating under a system where half of the guilds in the game are conforming to a new (arguably more powerful) standard, while the other half are retained at an older out-dated standard. We have limited resources, and I understand this. However, until all guilds are brought up to speed, all of the above issues are only going to be exacerbated. This, in my mind, is the number one issue that needs to be fixed, above all else - including above events, above fixing death, above opening new guilds.