That's always been an issue though. People are just way too bloody impatient.
Like me pointing out that Seanchan kept missing eachother by a minute or two, because someone logged on, thought "boring" and then logged off. Repeat a minute or two later with another player. Seanchan had plenty of things to do solo, so it's not that. Also, this is already happening often enough these days, on both LS and DS.
Or someone sending a pray or tell and if I don't respond within 30 seconds, they've already logged off.
We can't fix that level of impatience. Never will be able to.
Re: Smob project recent changes & discussion
Re: Smob project recent changes & discussion
These changes will not result in the stated objectives.
This playerbase is very incentive driven, but the current incentives do not cater towards the stated desired outcomes. The issue with having large groups go and do stuff together is that aside from a handful of people, most players only play an hour or two a day, so the current tradeoff is whether imms make an smob/smob chain reward good enough to still be worth grouping up and doing it, but still be able to do it in the timeframe that most people have (or it becomes uninclusive to the majority, which makes it even more difficult to find a group). The herald system is probably the best outcome under this model, although with its own setbacks.
The problem with this model is that once one or two people (especially if its the leader) start leaving, then groups tend to break apart very quickly, and any incentive-driven players realize that there is basically no reward to keep smobbing after the herald, but if they switch really quickly then they can do a herald again and earn more qps, but when they do that theres usually one or two other people that also leave and the group breaks apart.
If you want group activity that lasts for more than 15-30 minute spurts out of a combination of people with short game times, incentive-driven players, and others, then there needs to be an incentive to keep smobbing after the herald or chain or whatever they are doing (without just keep adding on more and more rewards and becomes completely broken smob-mud). The only way thats happening is with something grindy and incremental, which incentivizes the group to keep going, and new people can come in or leave without worrying about being there for the end or committing to a 2 hour ordeal. Obviously getting a qp at every smob would be overkill, and the % based ones have always been extra wonky, but if you got "1 smob point" at each smob and could turn those in at something like the grim storyteller or the haughty merchant for either qps or rares (killing 100 smobs to get a rare compared to a 1% chance of dropping a rare but blocking someone from just zooming around and checking for rare loads before killing). Alternatively, the award command could involve roleplaying how the battle was finished and award everyone in the room a rpkudo (for example the command could be: "ULTIMATELY the group let off Belroi with a warning to forget his thoughts of treason"). That option has the additional benefit of reminding people to stay in character, raising public awareness of the mechanics of rpkudos, and as a continual reminder to keep an eye out for people they find deserving and award them.
Thats my thoughts anyways, specifically if your goal is to get people grouped up together and doing things while maintaining a balance for the game. Personally I always preferred playing solo and challenging myself instead, so i found another mud that excels that way and im only ever on when someone texts me to hang out over here, but i still got a soft spot for this mud and hope you guys have fun and get things going the way you all want to.
This playerbase is very incentive driven, but the current incentives do not cater towards the stated desired outcomes. The issue with having large groups go and do stuff together is that aside from a handful of people, most players only play an hour or two a day, so the current tradeoff is whether imms make an smob/smob chain reward good enough to still be worth grouping up and doing it, but still be able to do it in the timeframe that most people have (or it becomes uninclusive to the majority, which makes it even more difficult to find a group). The herald system is probably the best outcome under this model, although with its own setbacks.
The problem with this model is that once one or two people (especially if its the leader) start leaving, then groups tend to break apart very quickly, and any incentive-driven players realize that there is basically no reward to keep smobbing after the herald, but if they switch really quickly then they can do a herald again and earn more qps, but when they do that theres usually one or two other people that also leave and the group breaks apart.
If you want group activity that lasts for more than 15-30 minute spurts out of a combination of people with short game times, incentive-driven players, and others, then there needs to be an incentive to keep smobbing after the herald or chain or whatever they are doing (without just keep adding on more and more rewards and becomes completely broken smob-mud). The only way thats happening is with something grindy and incremental, which incentivizes the group to keep going, and new people can come in or leave without worrying about being there for the end or committing to a 2 hour ordeal. Obviously getting a qp at every smob would be overkill, and the % based ones have always been extra wonky, but if you got "1 smob point" at each smob and could turn those in at something like the grim storyteller or the haughty merchant for either qps or rares (killing 100 smobs to get a rare compared to a 1% chance of dropping a rare but blocking someone from just zooming around and checking for rare loads before killing). Alternatively, the award command could involve roleplaying how the battle was finished and award everyone in the room a rpkudo (for example the command could be: "ULTIMATELY the group let off Belroi with a warning to forget his thoughts of treason"). That option has the additional benefit of reminding people to stay in character, raising public awareness of the mechanics of rpkudos, and as a continual reminder to keep an eye out for people they find deserving and award them.
Thats my thoughts anyways, specifically if your goal is to get people grouped up together and doing things while maintaining a balance for the game. Personally I always preferred playing solo and challenging myself instead, so i found another mud that excels that way and im only ever on when someone texts me to hang out over here, but i still got a soft spot for this mud and hope you guys have fun and get things going the way you all want to.
Re: Smob project recent changes & discussion
I have never thought of that tbh and I dont know how feasible it may be to implement but getting smob points and accumulating those to turn in for qps or an item (whichever you may need more at the time) is prolly the best idea i've heard on this matter. It will allow for people to jump in and get their points and leave if they have to but the smob train can keep going.
We could have days of 2x points on Andor smobs (example) and then it will technically centralize the smob groups and increase encounters for possible pk.
Really like this idea and has a lot of potential done properly and balanced.
We could have days of 2x points on Andor smobs (example) and then it will technically centralize the smob groups and increase encounters for possible pk.
Really like this idea and has a lot of potential done properly and balanced.
Re: Smob project recent changes & discussion
Came here to say that I echo Arston’s ideas and also really like that proposal, if there is a way to implement it well.
The other kind of PvE content that could keep people around with some similar benefits and different costs would be more quest-based rewards, but that would require a lot more work up front from Imms to write unless they were automated or repetitive fetch quests.
The other kind of PvE content that could keep people around with some similar benefits and different costs would be more quest-based rewards, but that would require a lot more work up front from Imms to write unless they were automated or repetitive fetch quests.
Re: Smob project recent changes & discussion
Not physically possible. We're out of coded player file fields and mobol, ha, never in a thousand years.
I once made a 100 room find quest. If you'd started the quest, you would find room 1. Then if you found room 3, it wouldn't do anything, because in room 3, it checks for the record left by room 2. Now imagine the same with smobs... it wouldn't ever work...
to prevent people from turning in the same smob's scalp 100 times, it would need insane mobol,
it would have to be on a ton of different mobs because of mobol size (i.e. like the 100 room find mobol was in 101 different rooms),
it wouldn't be tied to a character, so people would be able to alt scalps,
it wouldn't feasibly be able to tell you on which of the 100 smobs you were because there's no way to fit that amount of mobol on a mob
Seriously, even doing the "if you've completed x amount of minichains, you roll for a thing" is already pretty hard to mobol, because some of mobol's basic functions don't work the way you'd think they'd work. You should see the insane workaround I had to do for the mastermob treaty system, which SHOULD be an "if it's in Queen's Guard and in room #, then do the thing". But nooo.
This is pretty much like "wouldn't it be nice if there was a running tally of how big of a % of the mud's rooms you've visited". Just accept that this is too old a game for features that make newer games fun.
These days, I don't even dare to say "this should be easy", because honestly, letters can fight and their weapon is mobol.
I once made a 100 room find quest. If you'd started the quest, you would find room 1. Then if you found room 3, it wouldn't do anything, because in room 3, it checks for the record left by room 2. Now imagine the same with smobs... it wouldn't ever work...
to prevent people from turning in the same smob's scalp 100 times, it would need insane mobol,
it would have to be on a ton of different mobs because of mobol size (i.e. like the 100 room find mobol was in 101 different rooms),
it wouldn't be tied to a character, so people would be able to alt scalps,
it wouldn't feasibly be able to tell you on which of the 100 smobs you were because there's no way to fit that amount of mobol on a mob
Seriously, even doing the "if you've completed x amount of minichains, you roll for a thing" is already pretty hard to mobol, because some of mobol's basic functions don't work the way you'd think they'd work. You should see the insane workaround I had to do for the mastermob treaty system, which SHOULD be an "if it's in Queen's Guard and in room #, then do the thing". But nooo.
This is pretty much like "wouldn't it be nice if there was a running tally of how big of a % of the mud's rooms you've visited". Just accept that this is too old a game for features that make newer games fun.
These days, I don't even dare to say "this should be easy", because honestly, letters can fight and their weapon is mobol.
Re: Smob project recent changes & discussion
To be clear I like the changes so far, and am excited for the new ones to drop, but i also really liked arstons idea.
Just spitballing as i have very little idea of what is possible...
What if every smob loaded a generic smob token at 100% (maybe a # of tokens based on group size but maybe not)... And then you could turn in those tokens somewhere for guaranteed something .. vials, tps, qps, items etc... with it capping at something crazy like 100= a craftable rare and/or150/200 = heron/shocker/egown
The numbers would have to be such that you would have to be on for hours to get close to the rare number of tokens... But an hour or 2 would get you a vial or a couple qps.
And then make the tokens no rent. So in one boot you could accumulate as many as you could... And so people are incentizes to stay on and keep going?
Edit: it would also be good if you could keep people from trading them... Maybe u kill a smob and u get the smob token in ur inventory... And its !notake or something? Idk how any of that works
Just spitballing as i have very little idea of what is possible...
What if every smob loaded a generic smob token at 100% (maybe a # of tokens based on group size but maybe not)... And then you could turn in those tokens somewhere for guaranteed something .. vials, tps, qps, items etc... with it capping at something crazy like 100= a craftable rare and/or150/200 = heron/shocker/egown
The numbers would have to be such that you would have to be on for hours to get close to the rare number of tokens... But an hour or 2 would get you a vial or a couple qps.
And then make the tokens no rent. So in one boot you could accumulate as many as you could... And so people are incentizes to stay on and keep going?
Edit: it would also be good if you could keep people from trading them... Maybe u kill a smob and u get the smob token in ur inventory... And its !notake or something? Idk how any of that works
Re: Smob project recent changes & discussion
Mobol can't count normally and for it to work, it would need 100+ blocks of mobol, which is going to have issues with turn ins and still means a person can farm one smob 100 times and get the goodies, which isn't going to help a lot.
EDIT: remember those old "whoever hits the most smobs" events? All manual tallies for a reason. In similar vein: clan coffers.
EDIT: remember those old "whoever hits the most smobs" events? All manual tallies for a reason. In similar vein: clan coffers.
Re: Smob project recent changes & discussion
Just one thought, make me think of tokens.
Get 10 smob tokens, exchange for a silver smob token.
Get 10 silver smob tokens, get 1 gold smob token.
Turn in for tier 1, 2, or 3 rewards.
Get 10 smob tokens, exchange for a silver smob token.
Get 10 silver smob tokens, get 1 gold smob token.
Turn in for tier 1, 2, or 3 rewards.
Re: Smob project recent changes & discussion
But couldn't the math get done... how many smobs can someone do in a boot? like whats the max... what's the max for soloable... And then adjust the rewards/smob tokens in a way to keep that from happening... and if one person does do that everyday... that means they are playing the majority of every day... and isnt that a good thing?
edit: and to get the good rewards they would have had to be doing smobs that require groups all day.
And btw, i dont suggest this be implemented right now, your changes havent been completed yet, so it doesnt make sense to add anything new... but it does seem like a good idea if it can be made to work... something to reward people who are doing things for more consecutive amounts of time.