While I love being shot down, how do you propose we fix the problems then?arkaza wrote:It's actually the opposite of what spyder said. Yhe reason everyone used to play LS is because of all the unique faction opportunities and murderers. You never knew what was going to happen so the game was always interesting. Anything that took away the mystery of LS took away reasons to play the side.
LS was also about smobbing and getting eq. When gear became so easy to get, there was no reason to pick LS over he others.
Plus a bunch more stuff, but im tired of typing.
What would make people play LS again?
Re: What would make people play LS again?
Re: What would make people play LS again?
Maybe that is why people used to play LS, but right now... even if we had that dynamic, even when we manage to have even numbers, it's still often unbalanced. LS will have a Lion Warden/Winger for whom at least one person they want to group with is wanted because people love farming egowns, you'll have a channie or two, and an *OL or two. And statters. This is not a group that can easily unify. Even if there was a rule that says in times of peril we can lay our differences aside and band together... what happens after people die in PK? Now the fight is over and we can't even smob together to reeq our dead. That's assuming people won't rent as soon as PK is over and leave the dead to fend for themselves.arkaza wrote:Yhe reason everyone used to play LS is because of all the unique faction opportunities and murderers. You never knew what was going to happen so the game was always interesting. Anything that took away the mystery of LS took away reasons to play the side.
Re: What would make people play LS again?
Just to add that I'm not sure how murderers that are clanned are able to rank up, I suspect it's by picking off other LSers, but for the rest of the Justice Clan LSers most agree that if you want to rank up, sameside isn't really an option any more. You go north if you want to master. So that leaves us being attacked by clanned murderers, Seanchan, and darkfriends, and DarkSide? Is that fair to say? And if we do manage a kill here and there, we have to worry about our own stealing trophies and so on. There's a lot of mistrust there.
Re: What would make people play LS again?
The 'unique opportunities' faded away long ago, for the most part. I've been playing almost continuously for eight years now, and in that time, I've seen the Gleemen, Illuminators, Illian Companions, Rising Sun, Wall Guard, Hand of the Light, Sword and Hand, Saldaean Cavalry, Valon Guard, and White, Gray, and Red Ajahs all essentially die. It wasn't for lack of 'opportunities', or the loss of some dynamic with murderers, Darkfriends, and male channelers running riot (a loss that goes totally unmourned by myself, at the least). They simply...ended.
WotMUD has been running since, what, 1993? In that time, we've gone from 8-bit games to MMOs of all descriptions, multiple generations of gaming platforms, virtual reality looming on the horizon. People would rather be glued to their smartphones and 'social' media 24/7 than pick up a book. The series on which WoTMUD is based drew to a close several years ago, and while there could very well be a TV series in the works, that's at least a couple of years off.
What I'm trying to say is, people change. Our playerbase is older, with more real-world responsibilities and activities. Younger generations are leaving this kind of thing behind in favor of pastimes that require less thought and provide more instant gratification. Like it or not (I for one never have, and probably never will), there comes a time when everything ends. Twenty-plus years is a good run, and there may be a few left, but our time is coming.
WotMUD has been running since, what, 1993? In that time, we've gone from 8-bit games to MMOs of all descriptions, multiple generations of gaming platforms, virtual reality looming on the horizon. People would rather be glued to their smartphones and 'social' media 24/7 than pick up a book. The series on which WoTMUD is based drew to a close several years ago, and while there could very well be a TV series in the works, that's at least a couple of years off.
What I'm trying to say is, people change. Our playerbase is older, with more real-world responsibilities and activities. Younger generations are leaving this kind of thing behind in favor of pastimes that require less thought and provide more instant gratification. Like it or not (I for one never have, and probably never will), there comes a time when everything ends. Twenty-plus years is a good run, and there may be a few left, but our time is coming.
Re: What would make people play LS again?
Yeah Etain, it just is what it is. The onle real hope is that people will see this series come out and start googling for games 
Re: What would make people play LS again?
Too many clans. Too fractured. Dunno how to fix it without removing lots of clans pissing off a lot of people similar to the sushi removal. Alternative is to give them something to unite around. Here are some ideas! Please note, my ideas don't include much incentive toward SW pk.
Put maul on Blarg. May need to make it hard-chan. And remove that damn door 1s.
Make Moridin doable again. I don't think he's been killed in over a year. Remove the narrate. Can remove the Falcata too to see what he loads. Who cares. Let them see.
Move Murgoz to more central location so DS can hit it and encourage more group battles in LS friendly zones. It's just abs. Shouldn't be too much of a concern regarding too much of it.
Make shawling less dependent on finding a Sedai on, with time, and in the right mood. Maybe don't have to remove that entirely, but can look to the Elodin fade system to encourage them to adventure north. All the stuff Sedai send us to do now are generally all in safe zones and just time sinks. Send us to the north!
Add cuff to Agelmar. LS generally does a good job uniting to defend Fal Dara. Remove cuff from Silvak if concerned about too many.
As much as I don't want to say it, going to need to make up for the inactivity of a lot of the elite wbs. They may lower their perceived standards slightly. Not really educated on LS politics much, but I think it's something to consider. Would need leaders, not just fleebees who play to live.
Can consider giving qp for certain mob scalps north or sw. I'm not educated much on SW, and really I think i'd like to see almost everything below Caemlyn wiped from the game, but that ain't going to happen. Encourage people to venture to unsafe places is the point!
I've heard the request for an abs mob similar to SK near Fal Dara. Great idea. Do it.
Make more exp mobs. Also not something I can add specific ideas on where to put them. Others can help with this if we think it's a good ideas.
That's all I got for now. Please, lets hear less doom and gloom, and more of your smart ideas people! Games not dead yet. People just want something to do.
Put maul on Blarg. May need to make it hard-chan. And remove that damn door 1s.
Make Moridin doable again. I don't think he's been killed in over a year. Remove the narrate. Can remove the Falcata too to see what he loads. Who cares. Let them see.
Move Murgoz to more central location so DS can hit it and encourage more group battles in LS friendly zones. It's just abs. Shouldn't be too much of a concern regarding too much of it.
Make shawling less dependent on finding a Sedai on, with time, and in the right mood. Maybe don't have to remove that entirely, but can look to the Elodin fade system to encourage them to adventure north. All the stuff Sedai send us to do now are generally all in safe zones and just time sinks. Send us to the north!
Add cuff to Agelmar. LS generally does a good job uniting to defend Fal Dara. Remove cuff from Silvak if concerned about too many.
As much as I don't want to say it, going to need to make up for the inactivity of a lot of the elite wbs. They may lower their perceived standards slightly. Not really educated on LS politics much, but I think it's something to consider. Would need leaders, not just fleebees who play to live.
Can consider giving qp for certain mob scalps north or sw. I'm not educated much on SW, and really I think i'd like to see almost everything below Caemlyn wiped from the game, but that ain't going to happen. Encourage people to venture to unsafe places is the point!
I've heard the request for an abs mob similar to SK near Fal Dara. Great idea. Do it.
Make more exp mobs. Also not something I can add specific ideas on where to put them. Others can help with this if we think it's a good ideas.
That's all I got for now. Please, lets hear less doom and gloom, and more of your smart ideas people! Games not dead yet. People just want something to do.
Re: What would make people play LS again?
I agree with with Equitant. Maybe to incentivize seanchan to play more and make some scalp turn ins up north for them too of the trial run is succesful? Seeing as I used to play strictly SW pk that would be awesome because it's slower than dung down there and has been since I started.
Maybe make some of their unclannable clans (Morat'Torm for example) have an imm able to be able to clan people? Same with LS. There are stupid clans that are nonexistent now because nobody plays them. Black Talon for example(I'm a rogue and asshole at heart, this clan would be awesome!). Or Sword&Hand. I disagree with Equitant about WB, as I don't believe that's one of those old boy Canadian clubs it's made out to seem! Maybe making some of these clans "possible" to clan would incentivize people. Maybe that would be too much strain on you imms dealing with appies though, seeing as you are spread pretty thin as it is. Just giving suggestions!
Maybe make some of their unclannable clans (Morat'Torm for example) have an imm able to be able to clan people? Same with LS. There are stupid clans that are nonexistent now because nobody plays them. Black Talon for example(I'm a rogue and asshole at heart, this clan would be awesome!). Or Sword&Hand. I disagree with Equitant about WB, as I don't believe that's one of those old boy Canadian clubs it's made out to seem! Maybe making some of these clans "possible" to clan would incentivize people. Maybe that would be too much strain on you imms dealing with appies though, seeing as you are spread pretty thin as it is. Just giving suggestions!
Re: What would make people play LS again?
I am not sure ranking and the sheer thrill of pk is enough to hold people and eventually friends move on which gradually creates an attrition as the number of new players falls each month. The mechanics need some compelling "epic" component besides tps that makes people want to log in and help out. I have several alts that I rarely play, but Kat has always been my favorite. When it comes to "epic events" the main Aes Sedai from the Blue Ajah of the books always seems to find a way to have a front row seat, and that really appealed to me. I gradually lost interest because friends moved on, the Tower was trending at that time more towards "autopilot" such that the players could focus more on pk and supporting pk in various ways, which was not really that compelling to me as a player.
In some games, sides would need to work toward factional goals which might result in something persistent added to the game. Since we are talking LS, perhaps a lightside "epic goal" would be to do a certain number of X or collect a certain amount of Y (or combinations thereof) within a certain time or set of constraints such that if they accomplished this feat, it would result in the introduction of the "Black Tower" which would provide some relief to the madness of male channelers that joined the Tower and made a visit for "training" every so often. I don't know, just making up an example here (yes the fact that every mc in the game is a murderous lunatic does bother me since most of them in the books are actually nice men in a crappy situation). Perhaps the goals would be based on the book timeline. The result of the goals, which are persistent, would just be things that imms can do today...a new fairly small zone, maybe a cache of rare items, perhaps its a month of some bonus status. But the point is not really the persistent result--the point is that the result somehow links to an epic progression related to the Dragon Reborn and people feel like the world is moving.
That's just me anyways. For me, LS is supposed to lack cohesion. Its supposed to be divided, fractured, riddled with infighting, petty disputes, and greed. That's what makes WoT a compelling story--the fact that in the midst of this mess, the Dragon Reborn is able to rally what is left of humanity (since its population has been in decline for millennia) and heroically fight the Last Battle with the nature of existence in the balance. For DS, the story is a little more straightforward. Their purpose is to destroy the world of humans, so they are entirely PK and run ruthlessly top-down like a hoard. In this regard, the cohesion on the DS side is largely intact due to the personality and efforts of the players that play DS.
I just think that if LS had something to do besides grinding qps for rank and aqps for shawling (which is the same as rank), that maybe it might be a little more interesting to play.
In some games, sides would need to work toward factional goals which might result in something persistent added to the game. Since we are talking LS, perhaps a lightside "epic goal" would be to do a certain number of X or collect a certain amount of Y (or combinations thereof) within a certain time or set of constraints such that if they accomplished this feat, it would result in the introduction of the "Black Tower" which would provide some relief to the madness of male channelers that joined the Tower and made a visit for "training" every so often. I don't know, just making up an example here (yes the fact that every mc in the game is a murderous lunatic does bother me since most of them in the books are actually nice men in a crappy situation). Perhaps the goals would be based on the book timeline. The result of the goals, which are persistent, would just be things that imms can do today...a new fairly small zone, maybe a cache of rare items, perhaps its a month of some bonus status. But the point is not really the persistent result--the point is that the result somehow links to an epic progression related to the Dragon Reborn and people feel like the world is moving.
That's just me anyways. For me, LS is supposed to lack cohesion. Its supposed to be divided, fractured, riddled with infighting, petty disputes, and greed. That's what makes WoT a compelling story--the fact that in the midst of this mess, the Dragon Reborn is able to rally what is left of humanity (since its population has been in decline for millennia) and heroically fight the Last Battle with the nature of existence in the balance. For DS, the story is a little more straightforward. Their purpose is to destroy the world of humans, so they are entirely PK and run ruthlessly top-down like a hoard. In this regard, the cohesion on the DS side is largely intact due to the personality and efforts of the players that play DS.
I just think that if LS had something to do besides grinding qps for rank and aqps for shawling (which is the same as rank), that maybe it might be a little more interesting to play.
Re: What would make people play LS again?
Oh, just a thought that occurred to me after hitting submit--maybe make it so that players are able to become Heroes of the Horn rather than the "legends' that we have today. Maybe becoming a hero is an irreversible achievement that makes the alt unplayable, but can be visited as an NPC in the dream world or can be used occasionally in quests. Maybe finding the Horn of Valere is a one-off item that can be used to summon a few of these heroes to fight up north during certain events involving the DR.
Again, just brain storming ideas. Dont judge!
Again, just brain storming ideas. Dont judge!
Re: What would make people play LS again?
I see where i'm not needed then.Rig wrote:As much as I hate to admit, Pial is the only person who dung talks me back and then makes everyone stay logged to listen to our very intellectual debates as to why I am terrible.