[MUD-Dev] Alternatives to PvP for sustainable fiction?

[Caliban Tiresias Darklock]

On Tue, 12 Jun 2001 09:26:34 -0700, "Sean Kelly" <sean at ffwd.cx> wrote:

> There has been a lot of talk about the various types of PvP, and
> roleplaying vs. PvP, but I haven't seen much mention of a related
> topic that concerns me, which is how can a MMORPG maintain a
> sufficient level of new content without PvP?

Related question:

Is that level nonzero?

More precisely, do players NEED new content? Or do we just *think*
they do?

> Of the MMORPGs now, all seemed to make the assumption that the MUD
> model would map directly into a massively multiplayer world.

I've been saying this for years. Just because the SERVER scales
doesn't mean the GAME does. ;)

> Ultimately, a MMORPG world cannot survive on developer-created
> content.

Automatic generation is something I've been working with. The basic
concept is that a stable pseudo-RNG is seeded with location-specific
data. This produces a consistent result, without requiring
everything to be saved. Essentially, the area is generated, the
player does whatever he's doing, and if he doesn't alter the area
there's no need to save it.  We can generate it all over again if we
need to. In this fashion, there's no need to limit the size of the
world -- it can extend forever.

The major *problem* with this is what there is to DO in those
areas. The medieval model doesn't work well here, because it just
plain can't keep up without being totally unrealistic. In order to
maintain player interest in the game without resorting to PvP, you
would need a major land war. Wars that last forever generally aren't
too realistic. ;)

That's why I prefer a SF setting... where a war *can* last
forever. In game terms, an inexhaustible enemy that can never be
ultimately defeated -- but presents a distinct and immediate threat
-- demands ongoing resistance.

> In a MM world, not everyone can be heroes or adventurers.  There
> will never be enough dungeons and the exceptional people are
> hardly exceptional if every person in the game is just as
> exceptional.

Why not design around this concept? Everyone in the game is
exceptional, because the players are the only people who exist. To
be there in the first place is to be exceptional. There are two
kinds of people in the game:

  - Heroes, the last hope of humanity. (players)

  - Evil bastards who want to kill us all. (NPCs)

> I personally believe that a MMORPG cannot survive without
> conflict.

I think we could probably go so far as to say that a *game* cannot
survive without conflict.

> So I'm curious, first, to see whether I'm completely off the mark
> and second, to hear some discussion of how to create a sustainable
> fiction in a MM world.

My current project involves an ongoing war between humanity and an
extradimensional alien force. We can't get to their dimension, but
they can get to ours. It's a "hold the fort" scenario: your job is
to help resist the invasion. We can't invade *back*, we can only
keep them at bay. This war is, by nature, eternal.

All tools provided to the players are directed toward resisting the
invasion, both by colonising planets and altering the basic
structure of the game universe. The universe is also fluid after a
sense, and alters itself over time even if the players leave it
alone. A single determined player can map the universe without much
difficulty... but by the time he finishes, the map will be out of
date. This also allows the universe to be expanded and collapsed
dynamically as more players enter the game.  All of this is
accomplished automatically.

The player's "character" is ostensibly a trained pilot of a remote
warship. This warship, in the interest of simplicity and
conservation of bandwidth, is controlled via encrypted interstellar
link using an archaic text-based command system. In short, your
character is a guy typing at a computer to direct a warship he's
never seen. Talk about immersion. ;)

Since all actual activity is carried out by automated systems, there
is no "death". There is only destruction of the warship. This
involves a delay while a new one is prepared, which takes several
months in-game.  (The in-game clock counts off an hour every ten
seconds, for a four-minute day and a two-hour month. Each real world
day maps to a full year in-game.) All ships are identical, but may
be outfitted with an array of specialised systems at the discretion
of the captain.

There is no prohibition of PvP hostilities, and a great many systems
are available which directly support ship-to-ship combat. A team
organisation is inherently supported, and there are clear benefits
to forming teams.

The computer controlled enemy, incidentally, holds grudges. Those
who resist most successfully are individually targeted for
retaliation.  Sometimes the enemy can be pretty damned devious and
nasty, and it is actually possible for the enemy to win --
hopefully, on only a temporary basis.

The key to all of this is that the internal representation of the
game universe is VERY simple, and there are a sufficiently limited
number of options that the enemy can be reliably scripted in a
decent fashion without limiting the options so drastically that the
players are without flexibility. This means, of course, that the
players can script the game just as well... which is expected.

The really evil part is that whatever a player scripts in the game
can be used just as effectively by the enemy, so when people write
really effective scripts... the game's admins can steal them and
give them to the enemy. ;)

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