10-22-2020, 06:30 PM
Misc Thoughts
In regard to the last section that was written on the mentality of rushing to max level, this is something that I think will change only with some growing pains and a stern stance. You're right in that the concept of level caps that can only be surpassed through roleplaying would be divisive, but I think it's in the right direction in regard to solutions to this problem. A lot of the issues, in my opinion, for SL2, stem from the fact that these issues have been given a long time to fester and come to fruition in the form they are now. However, for some people these aren't issues at all, or some have become complacent toward them so these issues are met with apathy. When large, sweeping changes to them are suggested, resistance is natural because things have been a certain way for so long so many will naturally resist change.
An example of this on a lesser scale is the change to turn order. I view the changes as an overall positive, but many people were adverse to the changes. I would say there was a 50/50 split as far as approval for the changes. However, you dug your heels in and kept with the system anyway and over time I feel like support for it is more positive than negative, and while there are grievances I think many agree that it was a change for the better now.
My point with all of that is to say this is likely how the problem of people's desire to rush to max level will have to be handled. Coming from other RP games, such as the Dragon Ball/Finale derivatives, the amount of control you had over the type and rate of growth your character experienced may as well have been nonexistant compared to what we have now in SL2. I'm not saying to go to that kind of an extreme, but I am saying that less control over mechanical development leads to a more interesting roleplay experience. The thing is, everyone is used to the instant gratification of being able to go OOC until their build is finished and then jump into the world with a full power character. Heights of power become meaningless when any character that might pop up is at the peak already.
I think there may be too much community focus on what's 'fair'. Some may think it isn't fair if another character has a sheer mechanical advantage over another, but in my opinion that also creates a more interesting roleplay experience. If everyone is at the same level of power, then the concept of power becomes diluted and this also contributes to one of the issues of antagonism. This may lead to cries of, or fears of favoritism, but at no point in time have I felt like the admin team has been prone to favoritism. So, while in theory favoritism is possible, I feel like we already have precedent to see that it's highly unlikely that would be the case.
Overall, I think some sort of limit on character growth that can only be lifted by approval is needed. It can't be something obtainable on one's own otherwise it turns in to another grind to reach it. It would probably have to involve some kind of means to attain mechanical power above level 60, since so many characters are already level 60 and the logistics of resetting everyone would be a nightmare. Instead, I feel like level 60 should become the new 'average' power level for player characters and then from there you can introduce higher tiers to make the concept of extraordinary or noteworthy characters to become possible through effort.
Applications
Not much for me to say here except I agree with the idea of another forum section where applications can be submitted publicly so there's no miscommunication as to who has been approved for what, and so that people can't just whip out things with no way for others to dispute if they've been approved for them or not.
Engagement
In the previous thread, I was the one to mention scene locking as a solution to villains inevitably getting ganked. I honestly see this as the simplest and most effective solution to this problem, and as you said, it would be void in circumstances such as someone being aggressive in the middle of a town square or something.
World Rigidity and Roles
I feel like this things are intertwined, and tied them together yourself as well so they probably are. Anyway, the roles system was an interesting idea, but I think the problem is the current available roles simply do not impact players enough for them to matter. The average player has no reason to really care about the results of the water sourcing role, nor the results of the other role for that matter. To that end, I think more impactful roles would be needed, but to that end I'm unsure of what they might be myself. Perhaps you could have individual settlements that players can apply to lead/rule over. From there, maybe the existing roles can shine in these individual settlements. This also opens up new housing potentially, and things such as taxes can be implemented, which also adds a much needed gold sink to the economy.
This is just an idea off the top of my head, but the gist of where I'm going with that is that something much more... important, I guess, would need to be one of the attainable roles. Perhaps such roles could be applied for so the weight of them wouldn't be abused and they can exist without causing problems. This is one aspect that may help with the problem of world rigidity, but also, I feel like there need to be certain things players can do mechanically to influence the world at a smaller scale as well. I actually feel like the crafting system revamp can help with this. Perhaps certain items that require an exceptionally large amount of materials that would need a lot of irl time to acquire can be added. Perhaps there can be new, rare plants added that players might be able to extract seeds from to start growing them on their own to start a market for them.
Perhaps there could be mines that pop up every so often, or static ones to make ore less painful to acquire, but introduce chances for new, rarer ores. If you introduce tools like this, I feel like it will encourage more varied player interactions. Maybe people will run into each other at the mines, people will barter for new materials or search for those with them. You could even go as far as making players able to craft supplemental upgrades for other players. Maybe someone could modify a mechantion in some way. Maybe one would be able to artificially or magically enhance themselves or another with enough time, materials and effort. You could introduce large changes that could be applied for but also have to be worked for mechanically in game. These are more ideas off the top of my head, but they're here to give an idea of what I think could be some solutions for this.
Conclusion
There are other sections listed but they're ones I don't have as strong of an opinion on. The ones I addressed are the ones I feel like are the most pressing. Thanks for taking the time to read. I also want to see the game reach the potential I know that it has.
In regard to the last section that was written on the mentality of rushing to max level, this is something that I think will change only with some growing pains and a stern stance. You're right in that the concept of level caps that can only be surpassed through roleplaying would be divisive, but I think it's in the right direction in regard to solutions to this problem. A lot of the issues, in my opinion, for SL2, stem from the fact that these issues have been given a long time to fester and come to fruition in the form they are now. However, for some people these aren't issues at all, or some have become complacent toward them so these issues are met with apathy. When large, sweeping changes to them are suggested, resistance is natural because things have been a certain way for so long so many will naturally resist change.
An example of this on a lesser scale is the change to turn order. I view the changes as an overall positive, but many people were adverse to the changes. I would say there was a 50/50 split as far as approval for the changes. However, you dug your heels in and kept with the system anyway and over time I feel like support for it is more positive than negative, and while there are grievances I think many agree that it was a change for the better now.
My point with all of that is to say this is likely how the problem of people's desire to rush to max level will have to be handled. Coming from other RP games, such as the Dragon Ball/Finale derivatives, the amount of control you had over the type and rate of growth your character experienced may as well have been nonexistant compared to what we have now in SL2. I'm not saying to go to that kind of an extreme, but I am saying that less control over mechanical development leads to a more interesting roleplay experience. The thing is, everyone is used to the instant gratification of being able to go OOC until their build is finished and then jump into the world with a full power character. Heights of power become meaningless when any character that might pop up is at the peak already.
I think there may be too much community focus on what's 'fair'. Some may think it isn't fair if another character has a sheer mechanical advantage over another, but in my opinion that also creates a more interesting roleplay experience. If everyone is at the same level of power, then the concept of power becomes diluted and this also contributes to one of the issues of antagonism. This may lead to cries of, or fears of favoritism, but at no point in time have I felt like the admin team has been prone to favoritism. So, while in theory favoritism is possible, I feel like we already have precedent to see that it's highly unlikely that would be the case.
Overall, I think some sort of limit on character growth that can only be lifted by approval is needed. It can't be something obtainable on one's own otherwise it turns in to another grind to reach it. It would probably have to involve some kind of means to attain mechanical power above level 60, since so many characters are already level 60 and the logistics of resetting everyone would be a nightmare. Instead, I feel like level 60 should become the new 'average' power level for player characters and then from there you can introduce higher tiers to make the concept of extraordinary or noteworthy characters to become possible through effort.
Applications
Not much for me to say here except I agree with the idea of another forum section where applications can be submitted publicly so there's no miscommunication as to who has been approved for what, and so that people can't just whip out things with no way for others to dispute if they've been approved for them or not.
Engagement
In the previous thread, I was the one to mention scene locking as a solution to villains inevitably getting ganked. I honestly see this as the simplest and most effective solution to this problem, and as you said, it would be void in circumstances such as someone being aggressive in the middle of a town square or something.
World Rigidity and Roles
I feel like this things are intertwined, and tied them together yourself as well so they probably are. Anyway, the roles system was an interesting idea, but I think the problem is the current available roles simply do not impact players enough for them to matter. The average player has no reason to really care about the results of the water sourcing role, nor the results of the other role for that matter. To that end, I think more impactful roles would be needed, but to that end I'm unsure of what they might be myself. Perhaps you could have individual settlements that players can apply to lead/rule over. From there, maybe the existing roles can shine in these individual settlements. This also opens up new housing potentially, and things such as taxes can be implemented, which also adds a much needed gold sink to the economy.
This is just an idea off the top of my head, but the gist of where I'm going with that is that something much more... important, I guess, would need to be one of the attainable roles. Perhaps such roles could be applied for so the weight of them wouldn't be abused and they can exist without causing problems. This is one aspect that may help with the problem of world rigidity, but also, I feel like there need to be certain things players can do mechanically to influence the world at a smaller scale as well. I actually feel like the crafting system revamp can help with this. Perhaps certain items that require an exceptionally large amount of materials that would need a lot of irl time to acquire can be added. Perhaps there can be new, rare plants added that players might be able to extract seeds from to start growing them on their own to start a market for them.
Perhaps there could be mines that pop up every so often, or static ones to make ore less painful to acquire, but introduce chances for new, rarer ores. If you introduce tools like this, I feel like it will encourage more varied player interactions. Maybe people will run into each other at the mines, people will barter for new materials or search for those with them. You could even go as far as making players able to craft supplemental upgrades for other players. Maybe someone could modify a mechantion in some way. Maybe one would be able to artificially or magically enhance themselves or another with enough time, materials and effort. You could introduce large changes that could be applied for but also have to be worked for mechanically in game. These are more ideas off the top of my head, but they're here to give an idea of what I think could be some solutions for this.
Conclusion
There are other sections listed but they're ones I don't have as strong of an opinion on. The ones I addressed are the ones I feel like are the most pressing. Thanks for taking the time to read. I also want to see the game reach the potential I know that it has.
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