SOTA's Target Audience is too broad.

Some people say perception is reality.

It doesn't really matter. I don't pretend to decide what is or is not truth. I do however dislike it when people tell me the sky is green and the grass is blue. There are a handful of people on these forums that either enjoy (or are not aware that they are) doing that. It's frustrating, but I often feel obligated to show they're wrong.

 

Ok.. so RP vs PvP WAY back someone on pages 1-3.. still not seeing it. Unless you want to have a lengthy conversation while you're hacking each other to bits. I still have to ask.. how does the current PvP negatively impact RP? Cause RP usually happens before and/or after a fight. Not in the middle of it.

 

Unless they are colorblind, then it IS their truth, or reality.

 

Yes. That's true figuratively as well.

Like when someone says "you can't RP while you're in combat." Really? Why not? Well other than the fact that game isn't designed to allow you to do that, which is exactly my point.

 

Who said you can't? people just normally don't. They're too busy killing each other. Who wants to talk throughout a fight? Should combat be paused so people can talk safely when a weapon is being swung at their head?

 

To be honest, I haven't seen a game that offered real time combat where RP could ever be conducted DURING said combat. When people fight, they fight to the win, not to the verse, which makes real time RP while conducting real time combat nearly impossible, with the possible exception of having "HAVE AT THEE, SPINELESS DOG!" and other such emotes mapped to key bindings.

 

Turn based elements would allow this without pausing anything.

I can think of MANY reasons why communication between people in an RPG should not be interrupted. Everything people currently use teamspeak for. But even beyond that, you should never stop communicating. The multiplayer game is social, the idea that a core element of the game is going to hinder that is a bad one.

Beyond that there are many other problems where PVP impacts RP. I've talked about them many times.

 

I would love for combat to play out like in Star Wars Episodes V and VI with the combatants teasing and taunting themselves etc. This would be great.

 

Yes, that's a sad truth.

MUDs did the best job of this. They had turn based elements that allowed you to give directions like "Run!" or "Don't worry about me, save yourself!" What if the person you're attacking could tell you something that might change your mind or make you stop attacking them? The way most MMO's are designed, you'll never know about it until one of you is dead.

 

Exactly. Which, apart from speaking being easier than typing.. is more realistic anyway. Now if you're NOT fighting to win.. you can just stand there and only use auto-attack while you chat. Even in a real fight.. talking is a distraction since it splits your attention between the fight and thinking of what you want to say.

 

In SOTA, this scene is highly unlikely to happen because no one will ever have time to talk.



THAT, is roleplaying during PVP.

Yet if combat were slowed down (using turn based elements) and if you allowed blocking and countering, it might be possible.

 

Imagine turns of 1 v 3.. or 3 v 3 and you could only move during your turn. Is that really what you want to see?

Ok change of pace here. Cause I'm not disagreeing that being able to communicate is a good thing. In this case I'm disagreeing and where that particular issue lies. In this case I think it lies within the chat system.

Truth of it is.. communication is always going to be a distraction in combat.. BUT.. that doesn't mean it can't be made less so. So how can we make it less so? That is the question.

Now presumably.. if it's a turn based system you have time to go into chat to limited degree. The game is played real time so any turns would have to expire. So I don't think that'd work well.

meh.. I was going to suggest something that doesn't take control away from the mouse but if it accepts letters it has to cause you use WASD to move.. that I think is a major problem right there. If there were a quick-chat feature that let you just type and not interrupt your control.. that would be more ideal.

As it is.. you have to stop.. type.. and hit enter. Pre-configured macros is still probably the better solution.

 

I know this an extremely specific and atypical example, but within the last 48 hours I was rehearsing a play with some others in Kingsport. The stage directions required that three of the cast members declare themselves PVP in order to generate the required on stage effects.
In mid play, several people appeared from nowhere, jumped up on the stage and slaughtered those three cast members. It is difficult enough coordinating cast members across various time zones - someone is always participating at 2AM - without adding random assassinations of cast members. The play is now being changed to remove the PVP component.

 

I never said "turns" I said "turn based elements". Total difference.

I've also been over this ground in this thread before.

They could simply do what MUD's have been doing WELL for 30+ years. Allow players to make a single move every X seconds and adjust that based on what they're doing.

The cool downs are essentially doing that right now, but players are allowed to move all over the place without hardly any restrictions. The devs COULD (as an example) make it so every time you move it adds to your cool downs and prevents you from attacking a little while longer. I just thought of that, and it actually sounds like a great idea to me.

 

That's a good example.

 

Actually, some very simple things could allow more conversation during combat. Like if you were to be able to go into an effective defensive stance, or find effective cover. I don't think it needs to be turn-based, though.

But aside from role-playing during combat, I think the game also would benefit from role-playing around combat. This was something that might have happened a little bit during UO, but really, honestly, most of UO felt like you were battling Mad Max style psychopaths who just wanted to pwn you. If combat could be steered somehow to interactions like "give us your gold or we'll take it from you" that would be better.

 

The problem with this is both people have to want to RP. In which case, they can. The lack of a feature to force the opportunity isn't an issue. Players can make their own opportunity. If one of them simply doesn't want to listen and just wants to kill you.. that isn't the fault of the system but the player.

I've seen scenarios where people talk.. fight.. talk and fight some more. You wouldn't say the combat system was designed for it.. but RP must be consensual. Yeah.. scenes like that in SotA would be unlikely. they'd be unlikely anywhere. I would imagine it'd be unlikely with a turn system.

 

Yes, great point!

That's why I think the control points are going to be very important. You have to give players a REASON to have this kind of interaction. For example, if players that capture the control point have the ability to tax everyone that comes through there (and they'd need a way to STOP people from just running through the control point) now you have some interaction that can support RP and PVP.

 

I think the solution is going to be mechanics that also balance the combat for everyone. The devs want less movement....so giving people that just like pvp and people that like a slower pace for RP the same incentive (like adding seconds to cooldown the more you move) is exactly what needs to happen, imo.

I REALLY like this idea.

 

Sounds a bit artificial but interesting. Movement slowing down focus regen sounds reasonable (since you're focused on running about). Also cooldown times being effected by your current focus level also sounds reasonable.

Though with new glyphs popping up all the time I've very rarely been slowed down by cool downs.