<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: Balancing Addicts --> <!--X-From-R13: Zvat <Y.Z.Zb-94Nfghqrag.yobeb.np.hx> --> <!--X-Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 14:32:02 +0000 --> <!--X-Message-Id: Pine.SOL.3.96.980317134430.24470C-100000@sun-cc203 --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Reference: 199803162122.VAA177522#out1,ibm.net --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, Balancing Addicts</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:K.L.Lo-94#student,lboro.ac.uk"> </head> <body background="/backgrounds/paperback.gif" bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" vlink="#006000"> <font size="+4" color="#804040"> <strong><em>MUD-Dev<br>mailing list archive</em></strong> </font> <br> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] <br clear=all><hr> <!--X-Body-Begin--> <!--X-User-Header--> <!--X-User-Header-End--> <!--X-TopPNI--> Date: [ <a href="msg00734.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00736.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00848.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00733.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00735">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00735">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00735">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>Balancing Addicts</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#null,net">mud-dev#null,net</A></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: Balancing Addicts</LI> <LI><em>From</em>: Ling <<A HREF="mailto:K.L.Lo-94#student,lboro.ac.uk">K.L.Lo-94#student,lboro.ac.uk</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 14:31:33 +0000 (GMT)</LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> [tried tidying up here] From: Richard Woolcock <KaVir#dial,pipex.com> > Ling wrote: > > > I've always fancied the idea of a system where there was simply no > > physical character advancement, including skills/abilities. The only > Character development is an important aspect of muds (for example, would > you play a mud where your character never saved?). However my current I'll answer below... [snipped] > physical attributes up to almost maximum). The result is that people don't > really get more powerful...just more flexible and varied as they pick up > different skills. > > 'advancement' of sorts was in contacts. Simply by playing, running > > around, talking to npcs might create helper npcs willing assist out of > > tight spots. For example, a player might know that the garage mechanics > > are impartial to some whiskey and dropping some off would put his car at > > the front of the queue. Sorta like life. It's not what you know but who > > you know. Contacts would have been tied to the character, new contacts can result in the creation of a new npc or new entry into the world database. New characters would have contacts made during their character creation, eg: tutors, buddies, parents, gang down the street. The contact system worked by favours or simply loyalty. A friend may fix your electronic sundial but that'll by one favour, parents will give you tidbits of cash (up to a limit) and your gang might be your Family. New contacts could be made by working at different places or simply employing npcs. Should a character obtain the position of captain of a cruise liner, all working npcs aboard will be contacts with no favour or loyalty. Though those working in and around the bridge will probably grow some loyalty during the cruise. The infrastructure of the game was something akin to politics and empire building. Say, running corporations and manoeuvring for mining rights to some moon. Death was unlikely but losing all your contacts was pretty much death (if the player decides the terminate the character, he gets the option to have the character turned into an npc rambling about his past). Contacts can be removed from the game by whatever means possible. For some really bizarre reason, the game design also involved sleep. Each game day was 4 hours real time, around 1 hour of which is required to sleep by the character (skipping sleep is allowed, just pay for it later). Players were forced to go browse the mud world 'internet', review their standing orders/empire, play scrabble, chat OOCly. Basically a semi-enforced period of meditation. > > I do have a leaning for sci-fi and the above would very likely not work > > for fantasy genres. Of course, it being sci-fi means skills aren't as important to survive, just to get far. (easy enuff to learn to drive, shoot, buy microwave meals.) Anyway, I'm going way off topic... (sorry) > As another possible solution, how about a mud designed in a similar way > to the runequest roleplaying game? Basically, when you use a skill, you > tick the box beside it, and at the end of the adventure (end of the day > irl?) you get a chance to increase each ticked skill. The skills are > percentage, and to increase them you have to roll OVER your current skill > level on a d100 - so the higher your skill, the harder it is to increase. This suffers from the 'eventually I will max out' plodding effect as mentioned by JCL. Taken literally, a player can max out by simply doing something for a second and logging out each day. (why I suggested zero reward for doing some actions) Btw, I used something akin to the above for a skill system I once made. I have to dig it out to find the formula but it worked quite well in simulations. Using a skill successfully only awarded 1 skill point (out of 50,000). Failing a skill had varying rewards based on some calculations which generally rewarded buggery if the difficulty was way too much. I can post it if wanted (coz I'm really proud of it :). The test runs produced results requiring 80,000 iterations to max out, 40,000 iterations got to 80% skill level. The curve was probably like an upsidedown flattened U shape with the peak at 35%. Everything is adjustable as ever. > KaVir. Another effect I've seen in many muds and don't like is: Character learns a new skill. Player practices (sp?) for hours on new skill. Character gets new skill up to mediocre. Player goes off beating npcs up with new-ish skill. Character maxes out skill. Repeat. Of course, this prolly doesn't apply to all you peeps with fancy skillnets and whatnots. :P | Ling Lo of Remora (Top Banana) _O_O_ Elec Eng Dept, Loughborough University, UK. kllo#iee,org </PRE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00734.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Broken mail headers</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00736.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Balancing Addicts -> soft vs. hard enforcement</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00848.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] XShipWars</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00733.html">Transport layer (UDP vs TCP)</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00735"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00735"><STRONG>Thread</STRONG></A></LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> <!--X-BotPNI-End--> <!--X-User-Footer--> <!--X-User-Footer-End--> <ul><li>Thread context: <BLOCKQUOTE><UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00754" HREF="msg00754.html">(fwd) INFO: [client] Chaco looking for new parent for Pueblo</A></strong>, J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</a>, Wed 18 Mar 1998, 18:07 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00753" HREF="msg00753.html">XShipWars</A></strong>, J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</a>, Wed 18 Mar 1998, 17:42 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00762" HREF="msg00762.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] XShipWars</A></strong>, Jon A. Lambert <a href="mailto:jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com">jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com</a>, Thu 19 Mar 1998, 07:03 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00848" HREF="msg00848.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] XShipWars</A></strong>, J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</a>, Mon 23 Mar 1998, 18:48 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00735" HREF="msg00735.html">Balancing Addicts</A></strong>, Ling <a href="mailto:K.L.Lo-94#student,lboro.ac.uk">K.L.Lo-94#student,lboro.ac.uk</a>, Tue 17 Mar 1998, 14:32 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00733" HREF="msg00733.html">Transport layer (UDP vs TCP)</A></strong>, Ben Greear <a href="mailto:greear#cyberhighway,net">greear#cyberhighway,net</a>, Tue 17 Mar 1998, 05:58 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00737" HREF="msg00737.html">Transport layer (UDP vs TCP)</A></strong>, Niklas Elmqvist <a href="mailto:d97elm#dtek,chalmers.se">d97elm#dtek,chalmers.se</a>, Tue 17 Mar 1998, 18:41 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00739" HREF="msg00739.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Transport layer (UDP vs TCP)</A></strong>, Jon Leonard <a href="mailto:jleonard#divcom,umop-ap.com">jleonard#divcom,umop-ap.com</a>, Tue 17 Mar 1998, 19:22 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00745" HREF="msg00745.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Transport layer (UDP vs TCP)</A></strong>, Ben Greear <a href="mailto:greear#cyberhighway,net">greear#cyberhighway,net</a>, Wed 18 Mar 1998, 05:05 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL></BLOCKQUOTE> </ul> <hr> <center> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] </center> <hr> </body> </html>