ShadowMasterCM
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Reged: 12/07/05
Posts: 916
Loc: New York
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Neveron Development Poll
#151847 - 09/16/08 02:22 AM (74.74.248.205)
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This is a copy of the poll mentioned in the recent Update from 9/15/2008. I posted it here so that everyone could at least read it. You will only be able to actually vote in this poll if your login has donated in the last year as indicated by Wayward in the update.
THIS INCLUDES ANY DONATIONS SENT VIA DP POOLS!
I have opened a new topic for each option listed below, so that any comments about it can be discussed in open forum at your own leasure.
ShadowMasterCM
Periodically I will be soliciting direction for my time and efforts on the game by giving supporters the opportunity to vote on a selection of topics. If the selection doesn't suit you there is the option to fill in a short statement of what you would prefer.
We have long recognized that the economic and war model for the game is broken. Early incarnations of the game set the precedent that to make money in Neveron you were better off not playing. Many people's advice to new players is "make a few empires then log off for a week and make some cash." Established empires often make the most cash by simply setting a bunch of buildings to build and then logging off, letting daychanges acrue in their coffers. This is a tragic state of affairs that encourages neither economic ingenuity nor ambition, nor encourages people to be active. Most games are properly built around a "play more = profit more" model, but Neveron somehow dodged that.
Furthermore, economic balance and stability was in the past hoped to be achieved through chaotic elements such as player vs player war and skill degradations. These have traditionally been the aspects of the game that people like the least and for good reason. I very much want to remove these elements of the game and seek ways for players to actually get ahead by playing, and if you don't actively play your empire won't necessarily go anywhere. Any major changes I make to the game will follow these basic principles, which I hope will make a more enjoyable atmosphere for everyone. I am including some goals that I am seeking to accomplish through various game changes in one form or another.
1. Playing the game should be the way to make money, and not playing the game shouldn't automatically mean that you lose money or valuable assets.
2. Players looking for a fight should have multiple avenues to seek them, and they should be potentially profitable if done competently.
3. Empires that are attacked shouldn't lose their most valuable units while not even logged in, and ideally other empires should be able to come to their defense.
4. Industrialists should have a richer marketplace, and a diverse avenue for revenue depending on playstyle, time to play, skill and market conditions.
5. By creating a game that encourages playtime and has a myriad of avenues for profit and adventure, limiting empires through registration keys should become unnecessary, since empires that don't see playtime won't advance and ideally more avenues of play should be open, instead of being limited to "playing with" empires at or near your level. This would mean that most players wouldn't need more than one empire, and would likely find it less advantageous to have more than one, instead of forcing people into a limited empire situation.
Thanks for your input and continued support! -Wayward Son
Which aspect of the game should receive primary focus for repair and redevelopment in the immediate future?
Your vote may be changed until Sunday, September 22nd at 10 PM Arizona time.
1. War: War has been reduced to raids and old style DOWs. AI is terrible and the game as it is essentially encourages battles while the defending party is offline. Factions exist but players can't really play "with" each other unless they are battleplayering in each other's empires, or organizing a multi-empire assault on a target.
A new battle system would entail removing AI completely by removing non-tower units from play. Mechs and vehicles would be brought into battle only when player specifically took them out under their control. Mechs and vehicles wouldn't be destroyed while defenders were offline, and towers would be the primary means of offline defense, used to slow enemies until players could come to direct aid with vehicles and mechs. A simple AI would retreat units from battle when not under direct player control.
Instead of having war limited to your level or a level above, empire levels would determine how many units and of what size that you could bring into battle against a particular target. Ideally this means that a large empire could attack a small empire using a force size that the defending empire could reasonably and fairly battle. Factions could declare faction war once again, and attack empires together using a force size that the defender could appropriately defend against.
DOWs and Raids will be reworked to allow for the scale of battle that most people see fit. Raids might be the best route for all war to take, or a larger scale "war" can be better conceived. Details will clearly need to be fleshed out to be simple, bug free and easily understandable.
2. Battle Code: Rework the actual battle code to be more server efficient and clean, thus allowing for fewer errors and less lag in battle. While the "look" of battle wouldn't change, ideally it would work more consistantly and allow for options such as units from multiple empires in the same battle. While it doesn't sound complicated it would be a big project.
3. Newbies: Focus on new player issues, game learning curve, tutorial quests and similar things to allow for better new player recruitment and retention.
4. Decentralized Marketplace: Decentralize the marketplace so that markets are more regionalized. Create a system in which goods are actually shipped to and from the marketplaces in convoys, which can be defended by your own troops or by mercenaries, and which can be attacked by bandit empires looking for fight and profit. Create a buy order and sell order system that encourages competition and market trading so that people can actually play the market.
5. Mining for Fun and Profit: Create a resource system that requires skill, research and player effort to mine resources, allowing players to actually use their playtime to create wealth. The system would reward players who discovered resources and extracted them, with layers of research and equipment making mining more efficient and profitable. NASI would oversee a "low-profit" area to limit or prevent hostile attacks for low-risk players and new players, while more adventurous profit-seekers could leave the NGC's area of control and risk attack for larger profit.
6. Tent City Warfare: Leave war essentially as is, but create a system that doesn't allow smaller empires to consist of zillions of tiny cities, requiring great effort and expense to surrender.
7. Arenas and Tournaments: Really pimp out the arena system, creating new forms of fights and regular automated tournaments.
8. Towers, IDF and Terrain: Implement the mostly-coded changes that were meant to go in a while back. These consisted of nerfing tower ranges, IDF range, adding splash damage to IDF-10 and IDF-20 weapons and implementing a new terrain generator that while still varied and creative wasn't as consistantly wooded or mountainous. Non-city battle maps would be reduced to 60x60. This would enable vehicles and non-jump mechs to play a greater role in battle by being more manueverable and having fewer line of sight issues.
9. General Repair: Continue to work on Neveron "as is." Fix errors as they arise and the bugs that are fixable without major overhaul while answering help tickets and leaving the game systems (and associated problems) more or less as they are.
10. My Idea: A blank reply box, limited to 250 characters, an area for any other idea to be added for consideration
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Is it true? Do you really suck that bad??
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