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Author Topic: My opinion and suggestions (for what they are worth).  (Read 978 times)

Triskaidekaphobe

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My opinion and suggestions (for what they are worth).
« on: July 14, 2011, 03:25:07 am »

Hello everyone (or G'day as we say in Australia).

I've been tied to this game in one form or another for quite some time, not necessarily from the beginning but for long enough to form a fairly informed opinion. After spending a considerable length of time in the forums (remaining anonymous) I thought now would be an alright time to share such opinions on a couple of matters, so get ready for the obligatory essay length post.

The game itself.

Thought I'd start with this one. I really like the feel of Fonline 2238, the brutality of it has always and will hopefully continue to be one of the main reasons I have stuck to it. It's a game of perseverance and sometimes struggle which is in my eyes the perfect embodiment of the Fallout world itself.
However.
There are a couple of aspects that I see as downsides or at least fall-backs to the entire experience. Some may or may not agree with me as this is all just my opinion.

Crafting, Professions, Alts etc.

I really do like the crafting aspects of Fonline, sometimes the quantities feel a bit iffy (a disproportionate amount of time is spent making throwing knives which does not really compare to simply going out and killing Yakuza for them) but otherwise the option to stay out of conflicts and obtain items a 'cleaner' way is appreciated. What I think would benefit the game and prevent the creation of an absurd amount of alts would be to make the skill requirements for the ranks of professions and individual items obtainable for someone who has created a 'combat ape'.
What I mean is that crafting skills could somehow be made separate from combat skills so that characters could invest in both sides without disadvantaging one or the other. Like I said before this is just a suggestion; I have almost no idea if such a thing is possible with the boundaries created by the vanilla game. I just think it would be a useful addition and a possible solution to people feeling that there characters either have to be great crafters or great fighters.

Factions.

I understand such a thing has been discussed and even been noted as something that would be expanded in future updates. Thought I would just share my thoughts on the topic, outlining what I would like to see this area develop into.

I think that factions should play an integral part of the game. Reputation should not simply amount to 'I've become a slaver, I'll just wait a couple of days till my rep is neutral enough with those sworn again slavery till I can walk up to them just like I could before'. In my eyes it would be a positive boon if reputation was almost unmendable to the point where people would think twice before committing crimes like thievery or bombing. Of course the rewards of doing said actions would have to be balanced with the consequences since a great part of Fonline is the ability to be almost any character you want.

It would be swell if the factions were more actively engaging as well - as opposed to becoming a citizen of Vault City and having nothing more to do then sit around and make chems because of it. Remember when being a slaver in the vanilla game meant that you were able to participate in 'slaving runs', rounding up Tribals and being allowed to keep their weapons. It would be great if every faction had their own version of that event. Maybe if you were a Raider you have the option to participate in raids where you ransack and plunder a town on a randomly generated map with your Raider brethren. Or on the another side of the spectrum; The Brotherhood of Steel could send you along with a squadron into the city where you would set about exterminating The Unity and Remnants of the Master's Army. Not only would such events be fun but they could also give rewards in various forms along with pleasing people who enjoy the role playing aspect of Fonline.

That's all I can think of for now. Thanks for reading an ungodly amount of text. I apologise in advance for any confusing wording of improper syntax, I'm 16 and I've got a habit of being frightfully verbose  :-\.
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Johnnybravo

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Re: My opinion and suggestions (for what they are worth).
« Reply #1 on: July 14, 2011, 04:16:36 am »

Quote
I think that factions should play an integral part of the game. Reputation should not simply amount to 'I've become a slaver, I'll just wait a couple of days till my rep is neutral enough with those sworn again slavery till I can walk up to them just like I could before'.
Interesting, never really saw anyone bringing this up, and yeah I'd agree with you. Though permanent decisions are always feeding alts.
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Crazy

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Re: My opinion and suggestions (for what they are worth).
« Reply #2 on: July 14, 2011, 04:25:01 am »

Deeper reputation and faction system as you described is planned. But don't expect it soon.
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jonny rust

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Re: My opinion and suggestions (for what they are worth).
« Reply #3 on: July 14, 2011, 05:16:05 am »

I'm 16 and I've got a habit of being frightfully verbose  :-\.

at least your not a thirteen year old Triskaidekaphobe  :P

I agree with harsher reps in theory, but Jonnybravo is right about this creating more cause for alting.

What we need first is a reason to Alt less and your suggestion about about characters who balance fighting with crafting is good in this sense. Here http://fodev.net/forum/index.php?topic=17215.0 is a suggestion on how I think this could actually be implemented.
 
 
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Triskaidekaphobe

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Re: My opinion and suggestions (for what they are worth).
« Reply #4 on: July 14, 2011, 07:08:19 am »

Interesting, never really saw anyone bringing this up, and yeah I'd agree with you. Though permanent decisions are always feeding alts.

Well I suppose it depends. If you evened out the rewards for the all the permanent decisions; for example if you participated in defending Vault City from Ghouls you'd get the same amount of 'loot' (guns, ammo etc.) then if you chose the Ghouls side. I'm sure that then there would be much less incentive considering many people use alts to have a larger item pool.

On the other side even if the rewards were very similar people would still alt so they can experience everything - Many would have a character that can go to NCR or a character that can go to VC. I think a phenomenon such as using alternative accounts is almost impossible to stop, only hindering and lessening the amount of people that choose to partake in such methods seems viable. There are always solutions to imbalance and I think one of the key reasons people alt is due to imbalance, I don't think it's entirely dictated by permanent choices.

What I'm trying to say is that there are solutions to people using alts and those are in solving issues with balance. The only problem is that balancing such a large degree of variables is incredibly difficult. I do not envy the position the developers are in but I am incredibly thankful for all they have done and what they will hopefully continue to do with the support of the community

at least your not a thirteen year old Triskaidekaphobe  :P

I agree with harsher reps in theory, but Jonnybravo is right about this creating more cause for alting.

What we need first is a reason to Alt less and your suggestion about about characters who balance fighting with crafting is good in this sense. Here http://fodev.net/forum/index.php?topic=17215.0 is a suggestion on how I think this could actually be implemented.
 
 

I don't really ever reveal how old I am on the internet. I usually find it much more favourable to get people to judge me on what I write.

Harsher reps may cause alting but as I mentioned above, with balancing the amount of people who choose to do so could be reduced from the amount that do it today. I don't really have much against people alting to try out different factions or weapon types as such. It's more when people decide to make a huge number accounts to fill roles that could be otherwise replaced with other people or even made more accessible to everyone. Everyone having a taxi account, a combat account, a crafting account eliminates the need for player interaction which I think is a negative in a MMO.

After reading that thread I have to say that I like the sound of merging certain skills together. Such an idea could also lead to people using a larger variety of weapons which would be greatly welcomed.

Deeper reputation and faction system as you described is planned. But don't expect it soon.

I know the developers have got a lot on their palette at the moment. I am more than happy to wait.
« Last Edit: July 14, 2011, 07:09:55 am by Triskaidekaphobe »
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