[MUD-Dev] Homogeneity and choice (Was DESIGN: Why do people likeweather in MMORPGs?)

[Damion Schubert]

Mike Rozak wrote:

> You mentioned wanting to make combat more interesting... if the
> orcs primarily use clubs, then chainmail armor ends up being
> ineffective. Boiled leather or plate would work better. If the
> orcs use swords, then chain or plate armors are best. If the orcs
> are tall, they're more likely to take swipes at your PC's head, so
> a helmet and shield are more important.

> However, allowing players to carry 50 tons of equipment defeats
> this distinction. If a player can carry around a suit of leather,
> a suit of chain, and a suit of plate, then it's very easy to
> switch suits when the PC approaches an orc camp. Every player will
> end up carrying 3 suits of armor, and equip the most appropriate
> one right before combat begins. If they can only carry one, or two
> with much effort, then the player has to make a choice when they
> leave their base camp. That choice has ramifications.

You're stumbling close to a very common design trap that is usually
despised by the players.  Many similar game designs encourage
specialization but don't reward it.  Players don't mind choosing
'rock-paper-scissors' before a battle, or even making strategic
choices during a battle.  However, it's very frustrating to have to
make choices before leaving town, or even more common, irrevokable
choices during character development.

For example, if you make players choose between axe, sword or mace
proficiency when building their character, and then you make it so
that 1/3 of the monsters are vulnerable to axes, 1/3 to swords, and
1/3 to maces, what you've done, in your players' eyes, is cut the
amount of content that they want to pursue by a third.  Why should I
go kill axe- or sword-vulnerable stuff?  I have a mace.  I'll
advance a lot faster if I go kill mace things, and I'll feel
ineffectual if I go kill that other stuff.

In most games, paladins quickly find that they can advance faster
killing Undead, because they have spells that specifically target
them.  They are often significantly weaker against other monster
types.  You can't kill orcs as fast as vampires, and its a lot
riskier.  Better off just killing vampires endlessly.

In order to address this, the design team needs to think about the
right level of frequency to make these decisions, and how
irrevokable they are.  For example, you might decide that making
decisions about which suit of armor to take out of the bank is
suitable for 'expedition- level' quests (i.e. 3-4 hour instances)
that take a lot of people who work together, that can cover each
other's deficiencies, but that you don't want players to have to
worry about it so much when just casually killing stuff (since
players are more likely to meet different kinds of enemies).

You will also want to think about 'pattern breaking'.  Quests, for
example, can be used to incentivize your Paladin to go kill
something other than undead - i.e. go into riskier places because
they'll be getting greater reward.

>   1) To NOT make players engage in combat so often that it becomes
>   dull. Familiarity breeds contempt. This means that the core
>   activity of the VW is no longer "kill monsters to get loot to
>   kill bigger monsters".

If combat is going to be as intricate as you describe, I would hope
that it is the central activity of the game.  Highly replayable
gameplay should be the goal of any MMO, and combat is the only
system that has proved to provide that for a wide swath of people.
If you're focusing on combat as intently as you describe below, I'd
argue you should be embracing that as much as possible.

>   2) To make a more complex physics underneath the combat so that
>   players actually have to make decisions (which matter) while
>   engaged in combat. This means no auto-attack. (Hit locations and
>   the chainmail vs. club issue is one such example of more complex
>   physics.)

Auto-attack actually helps, not hinders, this decision process.
Decision making in MMOs, especially in larger groups, is far more
complex than most people give it credit for.  Go into WoW and go
into an elite zone with a party of five, and you'll find yourself
constantly asking questions like "What's my target?  What are my
teammates doing?  Should I fire my special now, or hold off a
second? Are the other monsters noticing" Auto-attack allows you to
focus on those tactical decisions because you're not clicking your
mouse like a crack fiend.

Wanting more intricate and complex combat, i.e. trying to make Die
By The Sword Online, ultimately loses the notion that combat IS
complicated in MMOs - it's complicated because of what other players
bring to the equation.

--d
_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
https://kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev