Azri Sarum
BurgezzE.T.F
Public Disorder.
122
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Posted - 2013.11.17 03:44:00 -
[1] - Quote
Quite a few people have been suggesting variations of bonuses, or no cap till X to help get new players 'effective'.
Coming from EVE this is a weird notion, and something we hear far less on the EVE forums. I think the reason for that is the bar to be 'effective' is much higher in DUST than in EVE. EVE all that you need to be able to participate is a frigate and some tackle, something you can be reasonably proficient with in a day or two. By the end of a week you should be able to fly your ship well.
In DUST though thats not the case. A weeks worth of sp can get you skilled into a handful of STD items, along with rank 1 in a few core skills. You're a long way from being 'effective'.
I think it would benefit the game greatly to reject any notion of 'catching up' new players, and instead balance the lower tiers so that they can get 'effective' sooner. Don't force them to grind for weeks to get there, they won't be around by then.
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**numbers just for illustration**
As for the overall SP system, I liked where Rasatsu was going but I think we can simplify things slightly.
I think a bonus pool that is increased daily is better than any weekly system. It allows someone to empty their pool one day and come back the next and have some bonus waiting for them. It minimizes the 'downtime' between emptying your pool, and when you get your next allotment of bonus sp.
People who cap out are not really the focus of this though, since SP rollover is really for those who can not cap out in a week (for whatever reason). The problem with just doing a SP rollover is that it only really benefits those who can usually cap out, but for whatever reason got a little behind in a week. It does nothing to help out casuals, and nothing to incentivise people to return. I mean honestly, lets say you took a month off and then decided to come back, does grinding out a months worth of SP on top of what you will keep getting really sound appealing? Or would it be a turn off?
My suggestion is that your sp bonus pool increases daily, and instead of pulling from the pool a fixed amount, or a logarithmically decreasing amount, you use a percent based system. Say you win a match and your base reward would be 2000 sp (total from in match passive and active, let ccp figure out that balance as needed). Lets also assume you were on vacation last week and didn't play at all. You come back to a weeks worth of bonus, plus what you got for that day. Lets use 200k as a nice easy number. Your 2000sp win is matched by say, 3% of your bonus pool, for an extra 6k netting you 8k total. 33 matches later your pool is empty and you're getting just your 2k.
By using a percent to empty the pool you ensure that no matter its size, it empties at a constant rate. For those that don't have the time to cap each week, they will just play with a pool, pulling from it. As it grows, so to does their rewards. They never feel like they are behind because of they are pulling a percentage, and the further behind they are the larger their rewards would be, helping to keep them closer to those who have the time to cap out.
For that player i mentioned earlier who took a month off, he has this nice fat pool of sp waiting for him, calling him to come back. Because he will be getting a percent each match he will get through that large pool in a week or so, ensuring hes not welcomed back with a grind, just a weeks worth of excellent sp rewards from matches.
So tldr:
- Convert weekly passive SP + active SP / SP 'cap' into a simpler system where each day a fixed amount of bonus sp is added to your pool.
- Do not limit the size of this bonus pool, let each day just add to it
- Each match, your sp award is some base value (passive+active up to a cap) and a fixed % of SP from the pool until empty
- Boosters can modify the daily allotment of sp.
- Double / Triple SP events won't increase the grind, alleviating one of the player complaints about those events.
The only thing I didn't cover (i think) was afk abuse for those grinding beyond the cap. To counter that make the base reward based 100% off activity after your pool is depleted. Only those who played tons of games and started afking at the end would find their base reward diminished. Those who want to actively keep playing... more power to them, they just need to do it actively. Those who empty their pool and then start to afk get... nothing.
EVE - Victor Maximus
DUST - Azri Sarum
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Azri Sarum
BurgezzE.T.F
Public Disorder.
134
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Posted - 2013.11.19 03:27:00 -
[2] - Quote
emtbraincase wrote:But as it stands, a newer player can never catch an established player. This would mean they could. Nothing more.
Ok, this keeps coming up but is flat out wrong. It shows a lack in understanding of how the skillpoint system works. I don't blame you (its a very common belief), but i need to point out what many seem to be missing.
A new player will never catch up to an veteran player in terms of total skillpoints, however this is NOT a problem.
Quote:this is NOT a problem
You have to realize that total skillpoints is not a direct metric of player power. Its more a metric of how many different things can i do. To compete at the same level as a veteran player, all a new player needs is ONE fit at proto level. Because this only requires a finite number of skillpoints, its achievable by any player after some fixed amount of time.
Once a player reaches that point, their 'power' stops increasing. Their AR is maxed, they can't get any better modules, there is simply no progression left to be had in that fit. At this moment, they have 'caught up' to the veteran player. From this moment on, they will start doing the same thing the veteran does, and start progressing laterally, getting a wider range of fits or weapons, but becoming no stronger.
That lateral progression is such a strong point to the skillpoint system. It allows for a skill tree that can last for years, while ensuring that new players are not stomped into the ground by 5000 hitpoint walking death machines that a linear system would force.
So bottom line, we do not need to build any system to try and catch up a new player in terms of total SP.
EVE - Victor Maximus
DUST - Azri Sarum
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