[MUD-Dev2] [DESIGN] Kill Smarter...Not Harder (Player vs. Monster)

[Dana V. Baldwin]

cruise wrote:
> Thus spake John Buehler...
>> Here's another alternative for you: dovetail human control with 
>> software AI.
>> If AI can only handle simple directives, then having human beings 
>> handle the
>> higher order decision-making.  I use the phrase "NPC Wranglers" to 
>> cover the
>> notion; gamemasters whose sole job is to give instructions to NPCs to 
>> get
>> them to do things.  This can happen either in advance or in real time.
>
> Why just GM's? I assume technical reasons currently, but in the 
> future, is there any reason to not have an MMORTS? Instead of gaining 
> levels, you could advance up the chain of command, for example. Mind 
> you, in the future I imagine we may have MMO versions of the 
> Battlefield series (which is heading that way already with the 
> persistance and unlocks).
>
>
We do something very similar in our MMO but instead of GMs we populate 
the wranglers of the RTS portion with actual players and they a 
wrangling not NPCs but other players. It is sort of a multi level PvP 
game that way. I wouldn't say we've nailed it quite yet but it is a very 
interesting dynamic to design for. We run a tiered supply and command 
structure for the strategic elements of the game, manned by players, who 
have responsibilities for moving units around the map as well as 
dictating the supply for them while the mass of players occupies those 
units that rare designated to be in combat.

The biggest issue so far has been manning the system reliably. GMs might 
be a better choice if you could pay for that type of coverage, we can't. 
I think for both our game and the GM scenario above though that tools 
and automation are the best answer. GM events are always great but they 
would be even better if everyone could participate in them. Having a GM 
spend the time to script and run an event and then review and refine it 
several times with the goal of deploying it as a triggered automated 
event would, while not being better than an actual manned event, be 
available to a vastly greater number of people in most instances.

For us that means giving players at different levels of the command 
structure (running the RTS if you will) tasks and tools that limit the 
need for them to be available 100% of the time and concentrating our 
efforts to fill positions 100% of the time at the intersection between 
those running the RTS and those occupying the equipment on the field.