Balancing Addicts

[Ling]

[tried tidying up here]

From:  Richard Woolcock <KaVir at dial.pipex.com>
> Ling wrote:
>
> > I've always fancied the idea of a system where there was simply no
> > physical character advancement, including skills/abilities.  The only

> Character development is an important aspect of muds (for example, would
> you play a mud where your character never saved?).  However my current

I'll answer below...

[snipped]

> physical attributes up to almost maximum).  The result is that people don't
> really get more powerful...just more flexible and varied as they pick up
> different skills.

> > 'advancement' of sorts was in contacts.  Simply by playing, running
> > around, talking to npcs might create helper npcs willing assist out of
> > tight spots.  For example, a player might know that the garage mechanics
> > are impartial to some whiskey and dropping some off would put his car at
> > the front of the queue.  Sorta like life.  It's not what you know but who
> > you know.

Contacts would have been tied to the character, new contacts can result in
the creation of a new npc or new entry into the world database. New
characters would have contacts made during their character creation, eg: 
tutors, buddies, parents, gang down the street.  The contact system worked
by favours or simply loyalty.  A friend may fix your electronic sundial
but that'll by one favour, parents will give you tidbits of cash (up to a
limit) and your gang might be your Family. 

New contacts could be made by working at different places or simply
employing npcs.  Should a character obtain the position of captain of a
cruise liner, all working npcs aboard will be contacts with no favour or
loyalty.  Though those working in and around the bridge will probably grow
some loyalty during the cruise. 

The infrastructure of the game was something akin to politics and empire
building.  Say, running corporations and manoeuvring for mining rights to
some moon.  Death was unlikely but losing all your contacts was pretty
much death (if the player decides the terminate the character, he gets
the option to have the character turned into an npc rambling about his
past).  Contacts can be removed from the game by whatever means possible. 

For some really bizarre reason, the game design also involved sleep.  Each
game day was 4 hours real time, around 1 hour of which is required to
sleep by the character (skipping sleep is allowed, just pay for it later).
Players were forced to go browse the mud world 'internet', review their
standing orders/empire, play scrabble, chat OOCly.  Basically a
semi-enforced period of meditation.

> > I do have a leaning for sci-fi and the above would very likely not work
> > for fantasy genres.

Of course, it being sci-fi means skills aren't as important to survive,
just to get far.  (easy enuff to learn to drive, shoot, buy microwave
meals.)

Anyway, I'm going way off topic... (sorry)

> As another possible solution, how about a mud designed in a similar way 
> to the runequest roleplaying game?  Basically, when you use a skill, you
> tick the box beside it, and at the end of the adventure (end of the day
> irl?) you get a chance to increase each ticked skill.  The skills are
> percentage, and to increase them you have to roll OVER your current skill
> level on a d100 - so the higher your skill, the harder it is to increase.

This suffers from the 'eventually I will max out' plodding effect as
mentioned by JCL.  Taken literally, a player can max out by simply doing
something for a second and logging out each day.  (why I suggested zero
reward for doing some actions)

Btw, I used something akin to the above for a skill system I once made.
I have to dig it out to find the formula but it worked quite well in
simulations.  Using a skill successfully only awarded 1 skill point (out
of 50,000).  Failing a skill had varying rewards based on some
calculations which generally rewarded buggery if the difficulty was way
too much.  I can post it if wanted (coz I'm really proud of it :).  The
test runs produced results requiring 80,000 iterations to max out, 40,000
iterations got to 80% skill level.  The curve was probably like
an upsidedown flattened U shape with the peak at 35%.  Everything is
adjustable as ever.

> KaVir.

Another effect I've seen in many muds and don't like is:

  Character learns a new skill.

  Player practices (sp?) for hours on new skill.

  Character gets new skill up to mediocre.

  Player goes off beating npcs up with new-ish skill.

  Character maxes out skill.

  Repeat.

Of course, this prolly doesn't apply to all you peeps with fancy skillnets
and whatnots. :P

  |    Ling Lo of Remora (Top Banana)
_O_O_  Elec Eng Dept, Loughborough University, UK.     kllo at iee.org