[MUD-Dev] [bus][des] Anarchy Online and the free MMORPG...

[ceo]

Michael Hartman wrote:
> Douglas Goodall wrote:

>> One risk is that this degree of twinking is only fun if you figure
>> out how to do it. It's not so fun to people who haven't figured it
>> out or who can't get some necessary twinking items that are rare
>> drops.

> I have a corollary to this, and it was one of the main things that
> led me to quit AO many years ago.

> Once you know about twinking and get good at it, you HAVE to do
> it. It feeds on itself.

> Using a variety of planning tools (NanoNanny, my own spreadsheets,
> and good old pen and paper) I was able to do the 50+ level implant
> game. The problem is, once you gain a few levels (as you mention)
> the reward from the twinking diminishes and you need a new
> fix. You need to squeeze in the next stage of implants. This means
> you have to go through the whole crazy biz of finding people to
> give you the right buffs and the right time so you can change your
> clothes/gear/implants just long enough to get the real
> clothes/gear/implants in.

> Figuring it out the first time is an exciting challenge. After
> that, it is the same old hassle. And once you have done it once,
> you simply cannot NOT do it, because then you know what you are
> missing out on.

I'd thought about this a bit (will I get extremely disappointed in
future?) but ... it occurred to me that the twinking game allows you
to get into the game with lots of characters and play through it,
having a good time, *and making up for all the stupid bad decisions
you make through ignorance*...

...up until the point where you are in a position of sufficient
experience and knowledge about the game that you can do min-maxing
very effectively without the twinking.

As presented to froobs (as the free-account newbies are being
called), the game came with very very little docs and advice, and
most net sites were invalid because the beginning areas had all
changed, the items nerfed, the economy re-balanced so that what you
were told was worth masses of credits was now worthless and vice
versa, etc.

So...to froobs, the twinking fits quite well, in that by the time
the player groes beyond it, it's served *a* purpose of rewarding
considerable cunning, effort, and socialising (and leg work) - but
isn't really needed any more.

Obviously, if I get time to carry on playing, I'll do another
writeup on how it panned out in the long term. My expectation is
that it will get gradually weaker and weaker, giving the player a
gently let down - I didn't mention this before, but this was
something else that had occurred to me: unlike the abrupt
obsolescence of UberEquipment in level-locked equipment games, the
obsolescence of AO-twinking is (could be) gradual, as the top end of
what you can achieve gradually comes down as you near the limits of
implant's levels.

Thoughts on a postcard from those who've been there, and done that,
are welcome in the meantime :)...

  PS: I realise I was probably somewhat over-enthusiastic about
  this, but I'd not noticed it before, and think it's been largely
  ignored when it's such a fundamentally interesting mechanic -
  instanced dungeons and so on gets lots of press, but has a lot
  less of interest worth discussing IMHO than this does.

Adam M
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