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shadowfyr · 11-12-2008, 03:34 PM

Rather depends on the game mechanics. If the game relies heavily on combat, then, imho, this would bound to be bad news. If exp for say.. general skills, where kept separate, then one could have the system let you get better "ancient writings" or some such from it, which would have an "impact" on some game mechanics, like crafting, without having the "same" impact as you could get from actually "doing" the crafting. Example - improving that might allow making better magical scrolls, but not improve the "success" of actually doing so.

Ironically though, I haven't been playing text much, but fiddling with second life, and in there they have a combat system called CCS. This usually gives out about 5 exp per five minutes, sometimes less, sometimes more, depending on whose area you are in. Right now, due to a redo of the experience tables and a remort, we are being given 6 per five minutes, to make up for some of the lost levels this caused. But, the system has to work this way, since the overhead on the server side is.. idiotic, at this point (a lot of the mechanics of texture handling and object rendering is done server side, then pushed through to the client, due to needing to at least "try" to protect people's ownership of the content), which means no NPCs, monsters, etc, and thus.. the only means to make exp is to either a) kill other people, or b) ticking it. Since the former is just stupid, and undermines RP, the later is done instead. Its.. really a pain sometimes, even in this context, since you get a few people, like one Arch-Demon, who is so strong he is almost impossible to defeat, even if 50 people are trying to kill him, (And that much script activity/people/guns firing, etc. makes it almost impossible to fight anyway.), for no other reason than he spent a "lot" of time logged into the region. It.. badly screwed game mechanics imho, even when unavoidable, since, especially where everything is basically PVP, people can do anything they damn well please, within the limits allowed, including bordering on godmodding, and get by with it, since you don't represent "any" sort of real threat at all.

11-12-2008, 03:34 PM	#2
shadowfyr Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 310	Re: Idle exp Rather depends on the game mechanics. If the game relies heavily on combat, then, imho, this would bound to be bad news. If exp for say.. general skills, where kept separate, then one could have the system let you get better "ancient writings" or some such from it, which would have an "impact" on some game mechanics, like crafting, without having the "same" impact as you could get from actually "doing" the crafting. Example - improving that might allow making better magical scrolls, but not improve the "success" of actually doing so. Ironically though, I haven't been playing text much, but fiddling with second life, and in there they have a combat system called CCS. This usually gives out about 5 exp per five minutes, sometimes less, sometimes more, depending on whose area you are in. Right now, due to a redo of the experience tables and a remort, we are being given 6 per five minutes, to make up for some of the lost levels this caused. But, the system has to work this way, since the overhead on the server side is.. idiotic, at this point (a lot of the mechanics of texture handling and object rendering is done server side, then pushed through to the client, due to needing to at least "try" to protect people's ownership of the content), which means no NPCs, monsters, etc, and thus.. the only means to make exp is to either a) kill other people, or b) ticking it. Since the former is just stupid, and undermines RP, the later is done instead. Its.. really a pain sometimes, even in this context, since you get a few people, like one Arch-Demon, who is so strong he is almost impossible to defeat, even if 50 people are trying to kill him, (And that much script activity/people/guns firing, etc. makes it almost impossible to fight anyway.), for no other reason than he spent a "lot" of time logged into the region. It.. badly screwed game mechanics imho, even when unavoidable, since, especially where everything is basically PVP, people can do anything they damn well please, within the limits allowed, including bordering on godmodding, and get by with it, since you don't represent "any" sort of real threat at all.