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KaVir · 08-30-2007, 06:41 AM

On the "free" thread, Lasher used the PK restricted/unrestricted as part of an example.

My question is: What is the TMS official definition, if any?

For some reason I always thought it referred to restrictions such as level-based (can only kill players within a certain level range), clan-based (can only kill people in clans), and that sort of thing, but having read over it I've realised it doesn't say that.

Taken in the most literal sense, an unrestricted PK mud would be the sort where you could kill newbies the second they logged into the game, and the only way they could avoid you would be to quit. A single griefer could render such a game unplayable for newbies, so I'm not sure that such a literal definition was intended.

My approach used to work as follows:

When you first begin play, you are unclassed. This phase usually lasts around 10-20 hours for a first-time player, or 2-5 hours for someone who's played before. The newbie world is safe from PK, except in the duelling arenas and one particularly challenging zone. I consider this the "newbie" phase, the equivalent to mud school, where players are learning the game mechanics and trying to decide which type of character best fits their playing style.

After classing, the only way to advance is within the Nexus - the main (and by far the largest) world, where anyone can kill anyone else without restriction. Newly classed players soon learn to run away whenever they see another player, and should expect to be killed frequently with extreme prejudice for no reason. This is the 'main' game, where players spend hundreds if not thousands of hours developing their characters.

At the time I felt that "PK unrestricted" was the best match, as the main game itself had no PK restrictions of any kind. I felt it would be misleading to advertise the mud as "PK restricted" when that restriction only applied to the newbie phase.

However I've since added some limitations on PK within the Nexus:

1. Although you can still kill anyone, if you kill someone much weaker than yourself you actually lose primal (the equivalent of exp), as the energy you absorb from them is described as diluting your own power.

2. If you're not botting (and not a hardcore player), you have a grace period after being PK'd which lasts 10-30 minutes (shorter time for stronger players) or until you've killed between 1 and 10 mobs.

3. Within the Nexus are various instanced zones. You cannot enter such a zone if you've recently been fighting, and everyone can see on the 'who' list which instanced zone you're in (so you may find someone waiting outside when you leave), but because the zone is instanced other players can't follow you inside which effectively makes them non-PK.

Option 1 discourages killing players much weaker than yourself, but doesn't prevent it. Option 3 provides non-PK activities, but these are really outside of the main game. Personally I wouldn't consider either of these to be PK restricted.

However option 2 is certainly a form of PK restriction. It doesn't actually stop anyone from killing you, but it does restrict how often they can do it (i.e., they can't spamkill you, they have to wait at least a few minutes before they can kill you again).

I have no personal preferences about listing my game as either "restricted PK" or "unrestricted PK", but I'm having trouble deciding which would be the least misleading for potential players.

08-30-2007, 06:41 AM	#1
KaVir Legend Join Date: Apr 2002 Name: Richard Home MUD: God Wars II Posts: 2,052	PK restricted or unrestricted? On the "free" thread, Lasher used the PK restricted/unrestricted as part of an example. My question is: What is the TMS official definition, if any? For some reason I always thought it referred to restrictions such as level-based (can only kill players within a certain level range), clan-based (can only kill people in clans), and that sort of thing, but having read over it I've realised it doesn't say that. Taken in the most literal sense, an unrestricted PK mud would be the sort where you could kill newbies the second they logged into the game, and the only way they could avoid you would be to quit. A single griefer could render such a game unplayable for newbies, so I'm not sure that such a literal definition was intended. My approach used to work as follows: When you first begin play, you are unclassed. This phase usually lasts around 10-20 hours for a first-time player, or 2-5 hours for someone who's played before. The newbie world is safe from PK, except in the duelling arenas and one particularly challenging zone. I consider this the "newbie" phase, the equivalent to mud school, where players are learning the game mechanics and trying to decide which type of character best fits their playing style. After classing, the only way to advance is within the Nexus - the main (and by far the largest) world, where anyone can kill anyone else without restriction. Newly classed players soon learn to run away whenever they see another player, and should expect to be killed frequently with extreme prejudice for no reason. This is the 'main' game, where players spend hundreds if not thousands of hours developing their characters. At the time I felt that "PK unrestricted" was the best match, as the main game itself had no PK restrictions of any kind. I felt it would be misleading to advertise the mud as "PK restricted" when that restriction only applied to the newbie phase. However I've since added some limitations on PK within the Nexus: 1. Although you can still kill anyone, if you kill someone much weaker than yourself you actually lose primal (the equivalent of exp), as the energy you absorb from them is described as diluting your own power. 2. If you're not botting (and not a hardcore player), you have a grace period after being PK'd which lasts 10-30 minutes (shorter time for stronger players) or until you've killed between 1 and 10 mobs. 3. Within the Nexus are various instanced zones. You cannot enter such a zone if you've recently been fighting, and everyone can see on the 'who' list which instanced zone you're in (so you may find someone waiting outside when you leave), but because the zone is instanced other players can't follow you inside which effectively makes them non-PK. Option 1 discourages killing players much weaker than yourself, but doesn't prevent it. Option 3 provides non-PK activities, but these are really outside of the main game. Personally I wouldn't consider either of these to be PK restricted. However option 2 is certainly a form of PK restriction. It doesn't actually stop anyone from killing you, but it does restrict how often they can do it (i.e., they can't spamkill you, they have to wait at least a few minutes before they can kill you again). I have no personal preferences about listing my game as either "restricted PK" or "unrestricted PK", but I'm having trouble deciding which would be the least misleading for potential players.