Should SoTA have jail(s)/prison(s) for player characters?

Of course. I think we talked about that a little (at least I did) before in the thread I linked to. The idea I put forth is having it connected to a bounty system. Kind of like Elder Scrolls. The jail system would wipe out your bounty so you're no longer "wanted" but damage to your reputation is another matter entirely. You'll still have to deal with NPCs remembering your past and regaining any trust will have to be done through deeds or however that will be set up.

 

Did you get much into escape attempts? There's a bit of a jailbreak side plot in Skyrim, in Markarth. You team up with some other inmates to get past the guards.

 

We didn't talk about specifics but yes escape attempts were included in the idea.

I don't team up.. I kill all forsworn and escape on my own. Anyway, I think there should be more reasons to go to jail than repentance. Career criminals could escape to increase their bounty or perhaps there's some prison scenario they can take advantage of such as some sort of smuggling ring.

The basic scenarios I've put forth include escape, mining, crafting and arena fights to work off your bounty. Another suggestion was community service quests.

 

This is a good question and personally, I love how Bethesda handled this with Skyrim. If you commit a crime, you're approached and have the clear options to fight your way out of it, duck and run (with arrows at your back), pay a fine or go to prison. I thought they nailed that one perfectly. Something similar in SotA would be aok in my eyes!

 

Yea or going to prison could be a good way to get companions for someone who plans to play as an outlaw .. get some criminal recruits

 

In thinking about this I was certainly inspired by the Elder Scrolls approach. Right down to regional bounties. The bigger challenge is the prison experience itself.. going back to the idea of not punishing the player.. the experience needs to be entertaining but it also needs to not be unavoidable.

In the past, many games just have guards kill you and that's that. Since you can't "serve time" in an online game with a fast forward option like you get in Skyrim. It would be easy to do that in an offline scenario but most of us will be playing online so that's not an option. SotA has a unique story element though that these other games don't have. Not only are we Avatars.. but the local population is aware of it. The guards will know that 'death' for us isn't permenant. So it doesn't make any senes that law enforcement would be content to kill us. Since they're aware that it amounts to little more than a slap on the wrist. They would still want us to pay for our crimes and prison therefore is the logical solution for that.

 

Depending on how you interpret 'prison' within a fantasy game setting, it could be seen as either a punishment or an opportunity - depending on your play style. I've stated repeatedly in this thread that it could serve as a way to network with other like-minded folks, and even learn some exotic and nefarious skills (e.g. poisoning) - how is that punishing a play style? On the other hand, if you are a 'straight and narrow' type player, the reputation hit alone could well be seen as a deterrent/punishment. Every choice has a consequence right? I think I've read that somewhere before... Also, I worded it vaguely on purpose, since my intent was to toss idea out there, and maybe get other people thinking about it. Community collaboration and all of that you know.

 

Perhaps I am this one misunderstanding things here... I assumed the goal of our collaboration was to ultimately have a 'sandbox' style game, not a 'cookie-cutter' game which severely limits player interaction. There are a million-and-one 3D combat/crafting games out there already, why not think outside the box for this one?

In order to have a truly innovative, open-ended gaming experience, those aforementioned types of situations MUST not only be allowed to happen, but also be realistically thought out in terms of player/character development. 2¢

 

There's a balance to be struck between freedom and prevention of abuse. In the scenario described a player is trapped and unable to move.. unable to do anything really. One might even call it a form of griefing. The player's only option is to call for help from game staff to teleport them to land.

Now this could be perfectly acceptable character behavior.. but bad player behavior. The first is fine.. the latter is not. You want to avoid abusable scenarios like that.

 

If you have a prison in game to punish those that break the law, ie to deter people from being monsters without fearing consequences you can't make going to jail a good thing or the total point of it is wasted.

At the same time, it is not exactly a fun way to play the game.

 

To clarify, again: there have been suggestions made for escape attempts/side quests, and opportunities to gain criminogenic skills - either while locked up, or after release due to the player's new reputation... Perhaps there could be interaction with other 'prisoners' or NPC's while inside as well. At any rate, the OP listed a 'sentence' in terms of minutes, or at most, hours if one chose to just simply sit around and do nothing. Maybe the sentence could even count down while a player is offline? There are so many possibilities. I don't believe anyone is advocating that a PC be made to sit around and simply stare at a wall for hours or days on end before they are allowed to play again, that would be stupid. This type of idea could possibly add more depth to the game in terms of real consequences for one's actions. Look at it this way:

You murder someone, you get flagged a criminal and can't enter towns, and therefore cannot resupply (without a player support network, at least) for XX number of hours, or without some other type of game mechanic to erase your past deed(s). How is that so different from what is being proposed here? It's kind of like teaching an old dog a new trick bro. Cheers.

 

Who says you can't? Show me where that rule is written down (aside from the post you just made that is) lol

 

Forgive me, I didn'nt read the entire thread, but I always thought an exile type "punishment" would work well. Think island of misfit toys, where the player would have to either, sneak, con, bribe, blackmail, or fight their way to freedom. Not only would the island citizens be pc's but npc's also. This way the punishment isn't going to quite feel like one. Once off the island proper they would need to secure passage back to main lands. This way a pk can consider their "sins" and give everyone else I sense of justice. Although they shouldn't be easily captured, everyone deserves a fighting chance to escape.

Not a fan of just putting a player on "time out" myself. For all the harm the pk can do, some can make the game more exciting/rewarding.

 

Like Devil's Island.

 

Yes Bagne de Cayenne (Devil's Island) is a good example!

 

Or... Australia lol

 

I like the prison island idea.
So as a criminal you can still play as normal but are stuck on the island.
Plus you could kill other criminals with no penalties.

 

Just make it like the Stygian Abyss or Grimrock. Drop em in a dungeon and if they make it out their crimes are forgiven.

 

Classy.

I love the island and Stygian Abyss ideas above.