[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.

[Koster]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Marian Griffith [mailto:gryphon at iaehv.nl]
> Sent: Thursday, January 14, 1999 2:30 PM
> To: 'mud-dev at kanga.nu'
> Subject: [MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.
> 
> 
> In <URL:/archives/meow?group+local.muddev> on Thu 14 Jan, Koster, Raph wrote:
> 
> > "Side ladders," sure. Though my experience has been that players
> > promptly ask that said ladders be full ladders of their own. :)
> 
> Would it not be possible to arrange it so that people do not (can not)
> know how all these skills relate?  Part of the problem I think is that
> most players  see a clear advancement of skills,  and only bother with
> those that increase their 'power'.

Given some time, players will figure out all the relationships. Given
time, players figure out *everything*.

[snip "rubber sheet" example of "attractor professions" in a classless
system]

> hmm. How about putting a fire underneath the rubber sheet, at a nice
> safe distance of course. However as soon as more people head for the
> same hole in that sheet their marbles will stretch the rubber sheet,
> getting closer to the fire, until it gets really uncomfortable there
> and they must find other things to do?
> Maybe it is not the same but could this not work as well?

Hmm. In UO we kinda do this, we actually slow down skill advancement for
the most used skills (we use an automatic table to do this, which I can
explain if anyone is interested). However, at most it's resulted in
around a 17x slower advancement from the baseline, which hasn't been
enough to deter people from what they really consider interesting.

> > BTW, one factor that is overlooked here is the "mule" 
> phenomenon--
> 
> *grin* This sounds like an excellent business opportunity to me :)
> You could always charge players for secondary characters...
Some pay muds do.

-Raph