Post by quicklite on Jul 17, 2013 13:30:11 GMT -5
"Wait, why exactly is this a petition?"
Well, let me explain. If I'm playing a game where feedback is actually recieved, or at least noted (such as this one), and there's something I feel particularly strongly about, I usually make a petition-type thing, mostly to see who else shares these sentiments and is on board with the idea, and also to prove (or disprove) that I'm not alone in thinking this. So anyway, about my idea:
Firstly, I understand that the current drop system technically works. I mean, it generally gives loot to everyone, and you only have to land one hit on the damn thing and then be near it when it dies. But still, especially with the (understandably) limited range, problems can (and quite often do) arise. I'll list the most prominent ones:
It rewards pacifistic, unhelpful gameplay.
Let's say two players are chasing a convoy. We'll call one A, and the other B. Player A constantly stays 15 squares away from the convoy, not doing anything, not wanting to risk losing his precious pulchs. Player B has the same number of pulchs, but is constantly charging, cutting off, and dismantling convoys and convoy flankers, putting himself in large amounts of risk, but also doing most of the work, and nearly all of the 'tough' work. Player B gets the convoy down to 1/6 life, but then Player B screws up, takes a nasty blow, and has to run away/escape to regen shields. During this time, Player A sees his chance, and charges the weakened convoy, letting loose all his triggers and finishing it off in seconds. Player A was in range. Player B was not. Thus Player A, having done very very little, gets the loot, and Player B does not, just because of the events during the last 5 seconds of the convoy's lifespan. This is clearly not fair. Now, I'm not saying that Player A shouldn't get any loot (we've seen the failures of the % damage system in realm), but I'm saying that if you did your part, it shouldn't matter if you are at the right place at the very end to get the loot you worked for.
It alienates sniper tanks from boss fights.
Anyone who's used a hornet for a convoy or zeta has probably experienced this. Since sniper tanks (such as our current true sniper, the hornet) fight in such a way that they are constantly ducking in and out of the technical 'loot range', their chances of getting loot are basically decided upon a (metaphorical) coin flip, regardless on how much they actually helped kill the boss. And yes, you can technically charge the boss on its last legs, but have you ever tried charging something with no frontal shield (and although I realize that sniper tanks with frontal shields may exist someday, I still doubt they'll be able to absorb damage much better than the hornet)? 60% of the time, you die before it does. So again, based on luck, not effort.
It makes the end be the only thing that really matters (loot-wise).
One of the major problems of this is that loot atm is governed upon your location on the convoy's death and nothing else. That means that if you were a selfish player (and believe me, these do exist, and a lot of them do. Maybe not now, but later), you could, as stated on the first point, do nothing, and then just finish off the convoy, and get all the stuff for killing it. Although this doesn't happen now (thank God), when the game is released and more players show up, it could lead to some serious dirty, free-for-all stuff when a convoy drops onto 20% health. Rushing, dragging the lot. People trying to minimize potential 'rushers' who could 'steal' their loot by using fancy driving and enemy bombs to clear out as many unsuspecting newbies as they can, and people trying to rush to loot themselves. I know this sounds really dismal and frankly idiotic, but hey, look at realm. It could happen.
And finally, the most problematic thing of all:
It will get worse.
Why is this not a big problem now? Because overall, half due to this game's current state of semi-unknown, and also due to invite codes sifting out the really unruly players, the community as it is is pretty damn mature. If someone kills 30% of a zeta by sniping, and then misses out on the 3 coin loot, they'll be bummed, but they'll shrug it off. If someone has to escape-key just as a flux is picked off, they'll probably say 'damnit', but that'll be the last you hear about it. If someone gets killed right next to a corsair who could have healed them, they'd probably not go any further than a simple 'Why didn't you heal me?'. But this will not last. As the game gets bigger and bigger, the game will inevitably get more and more assholes. That's not anyone's problem, but that's how every single game in existence works. And those people not take these sort of things as well. They'll rage like crazy, create inflammatory threads, start being as un-co-op as possible when a convoy is dying, maybe even start picking off newbies to maximize his/her chance at loot. As much as it seems like a simple thing now, people have made very big deals about relatively simple things. And it isn't even that hard to fix, I don't think so, anyway. Just add a few more factors (as I'll explain below) and kill this problem before it gets the chance to escalate out of control.
So, what's your solution?
Well, my solution is simple. Take the current loot range, and keep it, but add a few other things. So that anyone who participates in such a way that actively helps the convoy die will get loot. I've came up with 5 factors, 1 which is the basic loot range, 2 of which I think should be added, and 2 of which are frankly optional imo.
1) Loot range (duh)
2) Do a certain percentage of damage to the convoy (though make it a pretty small percentage, such as 5 or 7%, to avoid SB related problems. In fact, we could just make it 2000 points of damage to avoid that entirely. What do you guys think is better?)
3) Have your guns actively locked on and attacking a convoy for 10 (is that too long?) seconds. This is for support tanks (such as pally) which could do a good deal to help take down a convoy without the sufficient dps to hit factor 2). If you are there and shooting, you are doing your part, and therefore should get loot.
This would mean that if someone 'did their part' and thus is entitled to a loot drop, they will get a loot drop. This'll avoid all the possible rage and dirty tactics of the current system, simply because instead of simply being in the right place at the right time, you can get loot for, well, joining in, participating, dealing the first blows, even if you aren't around for the last ones. With this, nobody could rage about having loot being 'stolen', because there are so many factors to gain your loot, that it's almost impossible for someone who is actively trying to take out the convoy to miss out on their loot. Imo, this would make the game miles more fair, would be (relatively) simple to implement, and make a lot of people a lot happier.
But would it? This is where the petition part comes in. If you agree to these changes, and think that this would better the game, let me know, and I'll put you down on the list below.
Signed:
-quicklite
-dukedavid
-renenutet
-Kelsoo
Well, let me explain. If I'm playing a game where feedback is actually recieved, or at least noted (such as this one), and there's something I feel particularly strongly about, I usually make a petition-type thing, mostly to see who else shares these sentiments and is on board with the idea, and also to prove (or disprove) that I'm not alone in thinking this. So anyway, about my idea:
Firstly, I understand that the current drop system technically works. I mean, it generally gives loot to everyone, and you only have to land one hit on the damn thing and then be near it when it dies. But still, especially with the (understandably) limited range, problems can (and quite often do) arise. I'll list the most prominent ones:
It rewards pacifistic, unhelpful gameplay.
Let's say two players are chasing a convoy. We'll call one A, and the other B. Player A constantly stays 15 squares away from the convoy, not doing anything, not wanting to risk losing his precious pulchs. Player B has the same number of pulchs, but is constantly charging, cutting off, and dismantling convoys and convoy flankers, putting himself in large amounts of risk, but also doing most of the work, and nearly all of the 'tough' work. Player B gets the convoy down to 1/6 life, but then Player B screws up, takes a nasty blow, and has to run away/escape to regen shields. During this time, Player A sees his chance, and charges the weakened convoy, letting loose all his triggers and finishing it off in seconds. Player A was in range. Player B was not. Thus Player A, having done very very little, gets the loot, and Player B does not, just because of the events during the last 5 seconds of the convoy's lifespan. This is clearly not fair. Now, I'm not saying that Player A shouldn't get any loot (we've seen the failures of the % damage system in realm), but I'm saying that if you did your part, it shouldn't matter if you are at the right place at the very end to get the loot you worked for.
It alienates sniper tanks from boss fights.
Anyone who's used a hornet for a convoy or zeta has probably experienced this. Since sniper tanks (such as our current true sniper, the hornet) fight in such a way that they are constantly ducking in and out of the technical 'loot range', their chances of getting loot are basically decided upon a (metaphorical) coin flip, regardless on how much they actually helped kill the boss. And yes, you can technically charge the boss on its last legs, but have you ever tried charging something with no frontal shield (and although I realize that sniper tanks with frontal shields may exist someday, I still doubt they'll be able to absorb damage much better than the hornet)? 60% of the time, you die before it does. So again, based on luck, not effort.
It makes the end be the only thing that really matters (loot-wise).
One of the major problems of this is that loot atm is governed upon your location on the convoy's death and nothing else. That means that if you were a selfish player (and believe me, these do exist, and a lot of them do. Maybe not now, but later), you could, as stated on the first point, do nothing, and then just finish off the convoy, and get all the stuff for killing it. Although this doesn't happen now (thank God), when the game is released and more players show up, it could lead to some serious dirty, free-for-all stuff when a convoy drops onto 20% health. Rushing, dragging the lot. People trying to minimize potential 'rushers' who could 'steal' their loot by using fancy driving and enemy bombs to clear out as many unsuspecting newbies as they can, and people trying to rush to loot themselves. I know this sounds really dismal and frankly idiotic, but hey, look at realm. It could happen.
And finally, the most problematic thing of all:
It will get worse.
Why is this not a big problem now? Because overall, half due to this game's current state of semi-unknown, and also due to invite codes sifting out the really unruly players, the community as it is is pretty damn mature. If someone kills 30% of a zeta by sniping, and then misses out on the 3 coin loot, they'll be bummed, but they'll shrug it off. If someone has to escape-key just as a flux is picked off, they'll probably say 'damnit', but that'll be the last you hear about it. If someone gets killed right next to a corsair who could have healed them, they'd probably not go any further than a simple 'Why didn't you heal me?'. But this will not last. As the game gets bigger and bigger, the game will inevitably get more and more assholes. That's not anyone's problem, but that's how every single game in existence works. And those people not take these sort of things as well. They'll rage like crazy, create inflammatory threads, start being as un-co-op as possible when a convoy is dying, maybe even start picking off newbies to maximize his/her chance at loot. As much as it seems like a simple thing now, people have made very big deals about relatively simple things. And it isn't even that hard to fix, I don't think so, anyway. Just add a few more factors (as I'll explain below) and kill this problem before it gets the chance to escalate out of control.
So, what's your solution?
Well, my solution is simple. Take the current loot range, and keep it, but add a few other things. So that anyone who participates in such a way that actively helps the convoy die will get loot. I've came up with 5 factors, 1 which is the basic loot range, 2 of which I think should be added, and 2 of which are frankly optional imo.
1) Loot range (duh)
2) Do a certain percentage of damage to the convoy (though make it a pretty small percentage, such as 5 or 7%, to avoid SB related problems. In fact, we could just make it 2000 points of damage to avoid that entirely. What do you guys think is better?)
3) Have your guns actively locked on and attacking a convoy for 10 (is that too long?) seconds. This is for support tanks (such as pally) which could do a good deal to help take down a convoy without the sufficient dps to hit factor 2). If you are there and shooting, you are doing your part, and therefore should get loot.
This would mean that if someone 'did their part' and thus is entitled to a loot drop, they will get a loot drop. This'll avoid all the possible rage and dirty tactics of the current system, simply because instead of simply being in the right place at the right time, you can get loot for, well, joining in, participating, dealing the first blows, even if you aren't around for the last ones. With this, nobody could rage about having loot being 'stolen', because there are so many factors to gain your loot, that it's almost impossible for someone who is actively trying to take out the convoy to miss out on their loot. Imo, this would make the game miles more fair, would be (relatively) simple to implement, and make a lot of people a lot happier.
But would it? This is where the petition part comes in. If you agree to these changes, and think that this would better the game, let me know, and I'll put you down on the list below.
Signed:
-quicklite
-dukedavid
-renenutet
-Kelsoo
