[MUD-Dev] Re: Marian's Tailor vs. Psychopaths

[S. Patrick Gallaty]

There's a key element lacking in UO's design - that which 
the social element has no teeth.  The lone gunman is all-
powerful in UO, and thus it really doesn't matter aside from
the difficulty of codified losses how bad you are.

Compare this to something like EQ's fundamental design -
where it's pretty much impossible to advance without 
participating in parties and groups past the 20th level 
(of 50). 

Already the power-gamers, "killers" if you will (no apologies
to the recently hysterical here) are howling that this will 'ruin
the game.'  The truth is that the socializers and players 
are seeing that they are coming out on top, since they tend 
to make friends and cooperate - at least in the selective 
audience that the beta represents.

So don't dismiss the power of peer control.  That's how most
society works.  Question the tools you give the peers, not
the fundament.




-----Original Message-----
From: Koster, Raph <rkoster at origin.ea.com>
To: 'mud-dev at kanga.nu' <mud-dev at kanga.nu>
Date: Tuesday, 06 October, 1998 11:28
Subject: [MUD-Dev] Re: Marian's Tailor vs. Psychopaths 


>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Benjamin D. Wiechel [mailto:strycher at toast.net]
>> Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 1998 12:53 PM
>> To: mud-dev at kanga.nu
>> Subject: [MUD-Dev] Re: Marian's Tailor vs. Psychopaths 
>> 
>> I really think that in an environment where the mortals are faced with
>a
>> disparate number of sociopathic people, be it via role playing or
>teenage male
>> hormones, they will solve the problem on their own without any 
>> necessary regulation by code or by immortals.
>> In an environment as described above, there is a reasonable 
>> probability that some of the player base may opt to simply leave,
>and/or create new
>> characters. This does not solve the problem, and instead perpetuates
>it. 
>
>I used to think as you do... but... Based on UO's experience, they won't
>solve it; just reduce it somewhat, burn out on trying to keep the
>sociopaths back, and eventually give up... They also only tend to try if
>there is something in the world that they see as worth fighting
>for--meanng, a building or business. So we get people volunteering to do
>this with the City of Oasis, and with the player-run taverns... but not
>for just general policing of a stretch of road.
>
>-Raph
>
>-- 
>MUD-Dev: Advancing an unrealised future.
>
>