Duke_Suraknar

All I can say especially for brand new players who not followed DU that NQ would be extremely irresponsible to turn on PvP on the current planets at this point especially without proper in game info as well as none stop out of game info to tell the players what and how it's going to happen... You can't have what you have now and flip a switch your player base is going to decay faster then your already lack of skill on doing a 40min rollback on major econ dupe a week ago...
 
I like DU please don't continue to go to the path of destroying this game with rash decisions. MMORPG's are suppose to adapt as they age.
 

I think the issue is larger than simple technicalities or even founded in applied sciences.

The issue is related to Humanities and and Sociology in my view. First of all this is a Game, we are all here to have fun, but at the same time this implies that there is no real consequences to one's actions, it is a game. No one really gets hurt. So this means that players will simply divide themselves between hunter and prey and go at it in many different ways as permitted by the mechanics of the game.

This will continue until the carnage reaches a certain threshold and it all explodes, it will be followed by Devs trying to address the problem and further alienate players left and right, until the game gains its reputation a a "niche" game, like EVE online...a Dystopia only good for "hardcore" people of a specific sort... or worse, just die, like so many other Sandox Games have because of the same mistakes repeated over and over...such as Darkfall for instance.

This has all happened before and it will happen again. I have seen it happen in so many MMORPG's since I play them, (and I play them since Ultima Online 1997)... but it does not have to be like that.

All this can be prevented provided that the Devs do not just expect players to Balance the in game life/society on their own like in real life. See in Real life real lives are lost, and people have an interest to engage in Diplomacy and Trade instead of War most of the time, or until some Narcissistic Sociopathic Leader charms their Troops to go on conquering their neighbors instead out of ambitions of grandeur, resulting in suffering pain and death.

But in games, there are no real consequences. Who wants to do diplomacy and Trade, and Building Civilisations when it is more fun to just destroy stuff and laugh at people raging? You can just engage in War until there is no one left, and move on to another game after that.

So in order for this game to be a long lived experience, that many want it to be (I am assuming Devs as well as many players), then of course there needs to be some basic rules in place, and the in-game society dynamics defined in such a way as to promote Civilization Building rather than total Anarchy and Constant Conflict out of which no Civilization in History has ever been built. Yes Civilizations have clashed in our bloody history, but before the Competition comes the Cooperation. Civilizations are built in Cooperation.

If the game remains an Anarchy in Space, and a Constant competition, no Civilizations will be Built. And then it will simply succeed in chasing away the Socializers the Explorers and Achievers, which are equally required for Civilization Building in Favor of only the Killers niche.

I hope it does not follow that path and does not make the same mistakes like so many others before it, it is still in BETA and many things can really change and be improved to ensure a good production release as a game with a positive and healthy foundation upon which Civilisations can be built in this futuristic Theme and with its amazing Technical capabilities, Voxel Technology etc.

It is not an easy thing to do, and a testament to this is all the Sandbox games that preceded it and failed no matter the theme, Fantasy or Futuristic.

Cheers!

There is a reason for being long winded. This is a core issue and lots of different players maybe reading and it is good to give several examples that people can relate to.

That said, you understand the gist of it which is a very good start.

Now, you said PvP will just magically fix the issue? I am not sure it will at the level that you think that it will.

In my opinion, many of the people who say that the game is boring do so because many do not really know what an Open Ended Sandbox Experience is about, and are expecting some type of PvE to keep them busy. Many players of MMORPG's today are not accustomed to interact with other players to the level of a Sandbox experience of Empire building offers. That is one. Lets not forget this is the Themepark post Wow Era...Sandbox MMORPG is making a come back but just showing up will not make a game a success.

The other factor, in my opinion, and from feedback of my peers thus far is that the game is too granular in certain areas. In other words it requires too many steps too much time and too much effort to do certain things. Where in the long run it becomes boring.

So imagine now, on top of this you open up PvP and the possibility to lose that which takes too much effort and time to accomplish. You have a recipe for disaster and the road towards a niche game right there and then.

In my view, the key is to streamline and simplify certain mechanics, so that PvP seems like an exciting endeavor for conquest glory and sheer fun instead of a chore and a punishment mechanism.

In onther words, PvP does not fix things on its own, it always depends within what context it takes place.

In Ultima Online PvP was fun, because, while a player could incur total loss of their gear inventory and worn items, that same player could fall back in to the safety of their House, or  NP or Player Town where non combattant fellow guild mates dwelled doing what is fun to them and quickly re-equip themselves so they can return to the fun of the PvP fast enough to keep the play session fun.

Another element here, is that you cannot force all players to PvP because not all players are PvPers. A Civilization Type Game has to cater to all types of players which form the basis of a Civilization in the first place.

If you get in to a fast fight and you lose something that required several days to make...you can kiss this game goodbye! I will not stay around and neither will many of my peers and many other players. The game will go the same way as many others, due to lack of vision, and because PvP's consequence is Fun itself.

The consequence of PvP cannot be Fun itself. PvP itself must be part of the Fun.

And you have to Balance this in multiple levels now, from the Individual level to the Family type small Organization, to the Specialised Organization (crafters, pirates, traders etc) to the Large and super large Organizations.

I will reply about the "No shoot zone" next, since I do not want to scare anyone away with long posts,  haha

I think the issue is larger than simple technicalities or even founded in applied sciences.

The issue is related to Humanities and and Sociology in my view. First of all this is a Game, we are all here to have fun, but at the same time this implies that there is no real consequences to one's actions, it is a game. No one really gets hurt. So this means that players will simply divide themselves between hunter and prey and go at it in many different ways as permitted by the mechanics of the game.

This will continue until the carnage reaches a certain threshold and it all explodes, it will be followed by Devs trying to address the problem and further alienate players left and right, until the game gains its reputation a a "niche" game, like EVE online...a Dystopia only good for "hardcore" people of a specific sort... or worse, just die, like so many other Sandox Games have because of the same mistakes repeated over and over...such as Darkfall for instance.

This has all happened before and it will happen again. I have seen it happen in so many MMORPG's since I play them, (and I play them since Ultima Online 1997)... but it does not have to be like that.

All this can be prevented provided that the Devs do not just expect players to Balance the in game life/society on their own like in real life. See in Real life real lives are lost, and people have an interest to engage in Diplomacy and Trade instead of War most of the time, or until some Narcissistic Sociopathic Leader charms their Troops to go on conquering their neighbors instead out of ambitions of grandeur, resulting in suffering pain and death.

But in games, there are no real consequences. Who wants to do diplomacy and Trade, and Building Civilisations when it is more fun to just destroy stuff and laugh at people raging? You can just engage in War until there is no one left, and move on to another game after that.

So in order for this game to be a long lived experience, that many want it to be (I am assuming Devs as well as many players), then of course there needs to be some basic rules in place, and the in-game society dynamics defined in such a way as to promote Civilization Building rather than total Anarchy and Constant Conflict out of which no Civilization in History has ever been built. Yes Civilizations have clashed in our bloody history, but before the Competition comes the Cooperation. Civilizations are built in Cooperation.

If the game remains an Anarchy in Space, and a Constant competition, no Civilizations will be Built. And then it will simply succeed in chasing away the Socializers the Explorers and Achievers, which are equally required for Civilization Building in Favor of only the Killers niche.

I hope it does not follow that path and does not make the same mistakes like so many others before it, it is still in BETA and many things can really change and be improved to ensure a good production release as a game with a positive and healthy foundation upon which Civilisations can be built in this futuristic Theme and with its amazing Technical capabilities, Voxel Technology etc.

It is not an easy thing to do, and a testament to this is all the Sandbox games that preceded it and failed no matter the theme, Fantasy or Futuristic.

Cheers!