PlanetSide Universe - View Single Post - Meaningful Customization & Balance via Tradeoff Decisions
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Old 2011-08-03, 12:22 PM   [Ignore Me] #22
CutterJohn
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Re: Meaningful Customization & Balance via Tradeoff Decisions


Originally Posted by Malorn View Post
That quote of Higby's only makes me more worried that they are borrowing too much from EVE and following in their folly. If it takes a year to master something then it will take a year for a new player to catch up to the 1 year vet and be on an even playing field.
But 3 months to get within 5 percent. Each level of a skill takes 5 times longer to train than the level before. 5% = is pretty much nothing. Its there for powergamers.

I see no compelling argument why this is good for the game. The only argument I see is "well, it's not that big of a deal...", to which I would say "if so, what's the value?" and "why do it then?".
The reason they do it is the reason they do it in all games. Its not to make gameplay better. Its to get little addictive hooks in your brain so you play longer and pay more money. RPG has no place in a skill based fps. Never has.

There is another way they can do it while not having this bad behavior, which I identify in the OP. You can have the rewards, you can have meaningful specialization by looking at the same games they are already getting inspiration from - mmos like Warhammer, mmos like EVE (their ship customization, not their skill system), and fps like Battlefield (gadget slots and unlock mechanisms). The good designs are right there.
You actually didn't identify any bad behavior in the OP. You highlighted an issue specific to PS, that not all consider a really big issue, or at least do not think is an issue in the same way you do. I had no issues with the number of certs in PS. I wanted more. I don't care if people get good at everything and switch roles constantly. Good for them. Its a game. Have fun. Play as you will. So long as the vehicles and weapons are balanced such that everything has positives and negatives, and there aren't weapons that are clearly the best for a majority of the situations, all is good.

I don't want a mechanic that gimps my character after all the time I'll be putting into it to ungimp the rpg sludge out of it. If there needs to be diversity, then make it a natural diversity. Sure, keep the pure upgrades to a minimum, I don't really care about those. But I'll be annoyed if for some arbitrary reason my character cannot remember something he learned, when I certainly can.

Last edited by CutterJohn; 2011-08-03 at 12:24 PM.
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