Forced duplicate last names and reputation per account.

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Grave Dragon, Oct 12, 2015.

?

Should Portalarium force last names and Reputation across all characters on an account?

  1. No, I want each character responsible for his/her own actions and uniquely identifyable.

  2. Yes, A Player's actions specific NPC interaction and all toon last names should be the same.

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  1. ThurisazSheol

    ThurisazSheol Avatar

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    a buyback program, maybe? i'd trade my slots in for another tax free lot based on benefactor/founder status... (founders get founder lots, benefactors get benefactor lots)... one slot for a village lot deed, both for a town lot deed.

    for some people, yes. the extra character slot is what intriqued me in the first place, to upgrade my pledge...from adventurer level.

    agreed, hence why i'm not wanting to tie names across toons in the first place.

    that poor guy named Ume...*sigh* i feel for him, i really do.
     
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  2. ship2

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    the tax-free row plot is kind of compelling but I suspect in-game opportunities will be more abundant than tis being hyped. The other digital perks are kinda "meh". Yes, the character slots are big.
     
  3. syxs

    syxs Avatar

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    From Chris post about the skill decay system.
    So durning that vacation your skill points don't move only decay is added until that death or skill advancement happens, this means if your highly specialized for a crafter you do not need to worry about decay so long as you don't die or advance so you lock all skills.
     
  4. Satan Himself

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    Good for you! Whereas I would require a full refund of my pledge and all other subsequent purchases. They'd have their pixels back, I'd have my money back, and we'd be all square.

    I didn't come here to play a single character.

    Fortunately the game will honor its commitments, so moot point.
     
  5. Sold and gone

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    the buyback idea sounds kind of interesting. Maybe you should start a thread to explore that Idea. :)
     
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  6. Gix

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    Yet you'd willing to have other people's reputation locked to their account? If that's the case, then we're not really in accord. Or am I misunderstanding what you're saying?
     
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  7. ThurisazSheol

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    done.

    i did not say i liked it, but it is of lesser import to me, than having names tied to each other. if that is what it takes for a compromise, then yes, i'd keep the reputation.
     
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  8. Jordizzle

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    Why do you think I don't understand what direction this game is going? If I didn't understand it, I wouldn't be trying to have it changed now would I? It was a yes or no question lol.
     
  9. Mystic

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    Cleaned up a few posts. Please keep to the forum rules when posting.
     
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2015
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  10. Jordizzle

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    Thanks Mystic.

    Okay. I tried searching the internets to see how the previous Ultima games handled multiple characters and most of the information points back to Ultima Online which isn't helpful. So instead of going through the trouble of downloading the Ultima games just to create multiple characters to find out how it worked there could someone who played the Ultima games answer on if those games allowed multiple characters, and if so, was it a similar to the way this game is heading?
     
  11. Sir Frank

    Sir Frank Master of the Mint

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    You entered the game as yourself, talked to a gypsy and based on your answers, you were assigned character class, stats, starting location.
    If you wanted to play a different character, you deleted and started over.
    There were companion characters that you could control to a degree, but they weren't you.
     
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  12. Ristra

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    Save games. No character slots, just save games.

    Someone mentioned that Offline should be able to have save games for multiple play throughs, it was noted. We will have to see if they limit it to saving the current play through but I can't see why they would.

    Offline isn't all that well detailed. Multiple character slots isn't needed, not in the way it's currently designed. Multiple play through save games covers the different reputation issues talked about in this thread.
     
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  13. ThurisazSheol

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    i don't remember many games having character slots then - was the technology even around at that point? that may have been what the blocker was at that point, not the desire for one character?
     
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  14. Alfric Jodoc

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    WARNING: A bit long (but rather worth it, IMO)

    FWIW, IIRC:

    The Ultima series, 1-9, limited you to a single character, with the exception of Ultima 3, where you had a party of 4 characters (I think that, in part, was in reply to other games on the market where you created the entire adventuring party & controlled them, like Wizardry did). Also, IIRC, you didn't have multiple save game slots—just a "Save game," where you'd merely resume where you left off. Because of that, there basically were "no backsies" & making a bad decision/mistake could lead to an unwinnable game, leading to you starting all over again.

    U4+ switched from a "complete objective X" to something more—actions having consequences & all that. It was different, and it was a nice change from what was out there. The games stuck with that arc ever since, AFAIR.

    One of the things I think that may be a bit of a challenge to understand is the kind of relative complexity SotA is trying to achieve. With a fair number of games out there, morality is often boiled down to a binary system (good/evil), or maybe a trinary system (good/neutral-selfish/evil). And, pretty much, those systems tend to be straight up basic math, with +>- = "Good," ->+ = "Evil," and +=- or more-or-less-0-sum = "Neutral." Throw in the limited list of dialog choices & things like that, then "playing" a role is rather reduced to what it could be.

    U4+ brought forth a real challenge to the good/evil or yes/no approach to decision making by introducing the "doing wrong in the name of right" style ?s, especially in the starting character creation. For example, you're carrying a bag of uncounted gold coins, and a beggar asks for a coin. Do you:
    • Be Honest and decline, delivering the whole uncounted sum as you said you would; or
    • Be Compassionate and give a coin since you know the gold's uncounted?
    In BOTH cases, you have to make a right & wrong decision at the same time: are you Honest yet Uncompassionate, or Dishonest yet Compassionate? Which is more important to you? It also avoids OTHER options to skirt the issue, such as:
    • Giving the beggar some of your own money instead, instead of anything from the uncounted gold;
    • Knowing what the gold is for:
      • if it's meant to go to another charitable cause that can help several more but which needs every coin it can get, can you really risk giving away a coin to help 1 person instead of delivering it as is and helping more in need; or
      • if it's meant for fattening the coffers of a wealthy noble/politician, and no easily foreseeable good would come from keeping all the coins.
    • Knowing what the beggar will do with the gold:
      • Will the beggar keep himself from starving? Will the beggar use the gold to keep someone else from starving?
      • Will the beggar use it to get drunk (or more drunk)? Will the beggar gamble it away?
      • Will the beggar use it to pay off a debt, either legitimate, or illegitimate, like a monthly extortion?
    • Knowing what happens to you when you make your choice:
      • Are you arrested for "stealing the lord's gold" for your charitable act? Does someone rat you out, or praise you?
    • Doing something totally different (and possibly horrid), like keeping the gold for yourself and blaming the beggar for the theft, etc.
    You don't know the full impact of your choices, just your intent. What follows afterward is what'll make you praise yourself or kick yourself for your choice. It is a "No right or wrong" answer ?, & it avoids contextual information to make either choice easier (you wouldn't give a coin to a drunk for his next drink, but you would to a parent trying to feed a child, for example). And it pretty well mimics the lack of knowledge one has in a situation like this.

    Having separate, non-linked characters wrecks a system like this, IMO. It makes things too clinical, too scientific: Subject A failed to achieve objective X, likely due to decision made at juncture 2; make different choice with subject B at juncture 2 to see in objective X is obtained, etc.

    Also, as noted in a prior post of mine, I do occasionally enjoy playing a villain. But that's a role I enjoy on occasion only—plus, I get that chance to play that role as a GM via the villains/NPCs, so I have no need to fulfill it as a player. But I'd rather be the good guy.

    And, as such, my other character slots are "probably" clansfolk/family/friends, etc., since they can have access to my stuff in game, like my house and my bank account (IIRC). People will tend to notice if, despite you being a nice guy, you are occasionally seen with or have some connection to a raging ax-crazy jerk, esp. if that ax crazy is stomping around with some thing that others know you made or found. Your connection to that person, just by virtue of knowing them, brings your quality of character into question in the minds of others.

    And I can get that's what sort of real-world dynamic RG is trying to capture: your character as a complex yet unique individual. You could do all the "right" things and still be false, cowardly, and hateful, or despite your truth, love, and courage you could still make "bad" choices and be rejected for them. You could be the honest coward, the compassionate liar, the heartless brave one, or any combination thereof. And how you're viewed will be shaped by those you associate with or are connected to.

    So, yeah. I'm for the multiple character slots as they are. I'm looking forward to this game.
     
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  15. Beaumaris

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    Perhaps having two accounts solves this situation. But that seems like having to go a bit far.

    I agree that the PVP system needs to be configured separately from reputation otherwise. I see no good reason to link them. If someone is flagged for PVP or enters a PVP zone it is about PVP, not about reputation, any longer. Nobody with a PVP flag should be upset about someone's reputation because they were jumped in a PVP zone.
     
  16. syxs

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    I think part of this system was because of PVP and people wanting PVP actions to be linked to an account so if your stalking someone with your PVP flagged characters you can't "hide" on your alts. This is based on RG wanting everything you do to have risks to your character and you can't "hide" what you do. So why should you be able to hide your PVP action from other Players with alts but not be able to "hide" your NPC interactions with alts? Saying you want one but not the other is kind of silly and says PVP is more important then the NPC game system.
     
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  17. ThurisazSheol

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    while that makes sense, what about multiple play throughs via replayability? people are going to want to play the storyline multiple times over, and be able to choose different options each time, having them affect that toon seperately. if that can be a thing, in the singleplayer storyline, i see zero problem with it keeping online/multiplayer accountability across account, as long as we can choose our names as we see fit across them all.
     
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