zizuph wrote: ↑03 Dec 2022 19:56
We picked a tempo that we expected to be a little faster than before the white hits were changed.
That being said, this was a major change. We are assessing the impact, comparing the results to expectations, and collecting feedback on how it has been felt by players.
Some of the things that we are discussing:
How do players feel about the new speed versus the old? Are they too accustomed to the recent rate?
How important is the progress bar moving at a reasonable speed?
How does this affect death, and PVP?
I do not expect this to be the last change, as our end goal is to make sure it is an enjoyable game. We are actively listening to discussions and trying to make sure we have a good sense of everything as we plan next steps.
In order to make good decisions for an organization, it is vital to understand the core values of the organization and use those as a guidepost. In this case, the organization is the Genesis community.
Players have posted their thoughts on what these values are for Genesis in various places, here are the key ones I have gathered:
- The game is really four things, at the end of the day: Grinding, gear hunting, PVP and RP. Most activities you can funnel into those four. -Rache
- This is a game which is an endless grind at core.
What makes it special are the people playing and the conflicts created -Amberlee
- Other core values are questing which is key to new character development and discovery/exploration. These appeal to explorer and achiever types and can be an end game in themselves for some.
The game as it exists is not an
endlessly rewarding grind, it is a grind to the soft cap, at which point the reward becomes intentionally less. Each of these core areas are inter-related and need to be rewarded in a balanced fashion to make playing worthwhile for everyone at all levels.
Of course some players hate the new slower speed/xp gain. They were getting casterlike damage without paying the price of downtime to offset it, and the game was never built for that, nor should it be. It violated the value of grinding balance.
Of course those who reached the soft cap in less than a year instead of 3-5 years feel like crap when the spigot is turned off. It accelerated the question of what to do when the grind is no longer rewarding. It would have come eventually, but now it is staring them in the face.
Should the game be changed to award more xp, effectively raising the soft cap and speeding up growth for everyone? No, because it will exacerbate the existing infinite size problem in pve and increase the size disparity issues between new and old characters in pvp. This violates the value of grinding balance, and PVP, as they are very much inter-related.
The solution for this has always existed in Genesis, and I already see many more "newbies" lately, so it seems some are already taking advantage. It is positive for all of the game's core values to have a balance of active big and smaller characters, rather than a glut at the top 24/7. It provides opportunity for more guilds to thrive, and for the experienced not-so-new-newbies to help the true newbies in character rather than out of character. It relieves the pressure on gear hunting and provides opportunity for PVP for PVP sake at the level where it is most fun and least painful: below myth.
PVP in Genesis is not built for dueling like it is in other games. Instead, it is usually a consequence for disrespect or rule-breaking, often executed as a gank, but not always. It seems like this value is the one that has caused much of the thrash - the game overhaul seemed to be an attempt to equalize all guild classes so fair 1v1 duels could occur. But that can never be true with the size disparities, and those that have bothered to become enormous are motivated to dominate, and often travel in packs to boot. Meanwhile guilds are now more copy-paste vanilla with less unique spice, which vastly diminishes the reward of the roleplay core value of creating new characters to live a different lifestyle.
The value of PVP in Genesis as enforcement of respect or consequence of conflict rather than wild west chaos is one of the things that differentiates Genesis from other games and makes it special. It allows those who don't want to participate to stay out of it by being respectful to all, by learning the rules of how to do so. And vice-versa.
Nothing undermines morale in a community more than ineffective thrash. It is hard for leaders to appear to do nothing while some of those they serve are screaming loudly. But the worst thing to do is take action that will compound the problem rather than resolve it, even for those who are doing the screaming. It is truly a thankless job made palatable only by knowing that by sticking to your core values you are making the best decisions possible.
It takes time to see how changes will play out. To recharge morale, it would be great to see improvements that are unquestionably aligned to the core values of the community.
Like improving the end game content that already exists and is THIS close to being great...the Krynn war system. It has achievements, but the rewards are lackluster and it is unnecessarily restrictive on who can join which side. Open it up, let people roleplay it however they want since it is the only game in town. Offer rewards, both in the form of titles and gear commensurate to the risk, time and effort required, which is considerable and exhausting.
Maybe add more spice to guilds too, so newbies have somewhere interesting to go.
As always, a huge thank you to all of the immortals who work hard to keep Genesis going and make it better.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all in the Genesis community!
Sincerely,
Kelrhys
“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go but ought to be.”
— Rosalynn Carter
“Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.” -Henry David Thoreau