Distribution of Exp [was Re: Administrative notes]

[Matt Chatterley]

On Sun, 11 May 1997, Jeff Kesselman wrote:

> >One other idea I've been toying with would be to keep track of who
> >attacked a mobile.  An attack would be anything that was intended to
> >result ultimately in the mobile's demise.  Upon the mobile's death, each
> >player who successfully attacked the creature would receive an EQUAL
> >amount experience.  
> 
> Somethign we're doign in my current project is awarding exp to party
> members in qual amounts and BETWEEEN aprties accroding to the damage doen
> by that aprty.
> 
> SO if you want exp as a cleric, youy just party with thsoe folks yo uare
> keepign healthy.
> 
> JK

Many, many LP based games (notably those influenced by the Nightmare
Mudlib) use a system where by all those teaming up together join a party,
and the exp they earn as a party is automatically divided up amongst them.
Many of these games weight the %age by level (or some such), so the amount
of the exp you get is relative to your overall proportion of the parties
total 'power' in theory.

It doesn't work perfectly though.. one problem worth mentioning is
'coasting' whereby one member of the party will take a deliberatly small
amount of the risk and make only a little contribution, but the system
still gives him his 20% (or whatever it is).

I'm pondering awarding nothing for the death of monsters (just the fact
that it died and isn't trying to rip your face off any more is an
advantage), but rather have an Exp-per-hp damage done system for those
that strike it, and exp rewards for healers (and such) for doing what they
do.

If a warrior and a cleric were in a party, and were equal in level, they
might each get 50% of the 3xp-per-hp that the warrior made from hitting
the monster, but they would also get 50% each of the 1xp-per-hp that the
cleric made from healing the warrior.

If they were not in a party, the warrior would keep all of his 3xp-per-hp
for the hitting, and the cleric all of his 1xp-per-hp for hitting.

It's quite a controversial debate, and one littered with problems because
it's quite central to a game where an exp system of any kind is in place.

Regards,
	-Matt Chatterley
	http://user.itl.net/~neddy/index.html
"Fishing is complete and utter madness."  -Spike Milligan