[MUD-Dev] Problem Players [was: Guilds & Politics ]

[Stephen Zepp]

[snip]

>Actually, you just asked the question that started the debate. :)
>
>Both UO and M59 do this, via code mechanisms to attempt to evaluate 
>the behavior of players. Various increasingly severe consequences 
>start to pile up on the player as they cross invisible lines. In UO's 
>case it goes something like, NPCs treat you worse, players do too 
>since they can see your "reputation" stat (relative to theirs, to be 
>picky). Then shopkeepers refuse you service, guards start to harass 
>you, players start to kill you on sight to pump up their reputation, 
>and lastly you are refused entrance to towns, guards kill you on 
>sight, and players run from you screaming.
>
>BUT any code system which attempts to judge human behavior is doomed 
>to screw up. :P
>
>-Raph
>
>
>
Well, I agree, if you're talking about trying to see if a player always
conforms to the "perfect player" model.  However, I'm talking more of an
npc actor sayin "do I like this person? what have they done to me or my
friends, what have they done _for_ me or my friends?"..then interact
accordingly.  The person that pkills endlessly will be hunted by guards,
bounty hunters, etc., prosecuted/threatened/finally assassinated by the
Assassin's Club, but may even be approached secretly by the King who needs
one of his enemies ( player or npc ) taken out.  Here's how it would work
in my system ( partially coded ):

Player X logs in and ooc harasses players.  
The harassed players mention this to ( pc, most likely ) fuedal lords, who
pass it to their fuedal kings.  Both the kings and the lords make Player X
an "Outcast" of their realm.  Interaction with that rep proceeds.
Player X is having trouble gaining power, due to both npc and pc lack of
positive interaction...can't get help, everything is acting against Player X.
Player X however continues to threaten/harass, either ooc or ic.  Fuedal
Lords/Kings hear about it, and set the player to "Wanted" in their realm.  
Continue...
Finally, Player X becomes "Realm Enemy", and the estates spend resources(
killing teams, bounty hunters, what have you) to actively eliminate Player
X.  Player X is not  very powerful, so this is rather easy.


Hmms..should mention one or two other things that make this _much_ more
appropriate:
1) Players do not dissapear from the game when their controllers log out.
They are still vulnerable, and act along to goal and fighting scripts set
by the player ( or defaults if none set )
2) No multi-play, characters by prior email registration only.
3) Mostly perm death...

As far as I can tell, other than "tell spam" ( locale only channels, none
global ), there's just not much an ooc "jerk" can _really_ do for very long
with this sort of system.

Zoran