TripleDip
Member
So this is going to be a HOT topic to discuss, and I already know I'm going to get flak for it. So here we go.
The infamy system has always been a pretty controversial topic on this server, as everyone has used it to their advantage a lot. And I just want to start off with the preface of that this is not being made to attack, call out, or instigate anyone in any form or fashion. This will be a suggestion fully based on the level of game design and the User Experience= UX.
Now I know the game isn't perfect, and some of the items I listed above are definitely not fully attributed to Purpling on its own. This game was build to cause competition between others through and through, but that "competition" hardly exists due to both sides spending way to much time purpling. The other issue lies in the fact that even if you do go to jail. It takes a mediocre amount of time to get back out because the user can just burn labor to do so, even if they just got done trashing 5-10 people. The same thing is through live of course, but at least its more punishable by giving the proper infamy for killing another same faction player. Kill 1 player=50 infamy=15 or so minutes on max sentence, but here, Kill 2 people, pop a pot, kill 2 or more, go to jail, spend the same 15 or so minutes burning the same amount of labor for a mild inconvenience of roughly 5 minutes.
TLDR In game design efforts. the random changes to infamy are poor and need to be changed. Maybe not in the way I think it needs to be, but in some way to make it a more punishable system, instead of an easily abusable one.
The infamy system has always been a pretty controversial topic on this server, as everyone has used it to their advantage a lot. And I just want to start off with the preface of that this is not being made to attack, call out, or instigate anyone in any form or fashion. This will be a suggestion fully based on the level of game design and the User Experience= UX.
The meaty portion of this post is of course advocating for the change back to or when it does release, 50 infamy per player kill. As you all know now that after nations removal, and due to how a lot of people in the past have gone for pirating a lot on this server, issue is, The infamy system is supposed to punish people for doing so. Just in the grand scale of things, The UX of ArcheAge was to have pirates, as its in the title for it, but since the system here has been changed and swayed for various reasons or beef between groups.
It makes infamy an almost useless system that allows and promotes people constantly having guild purple wars instead of any form of proper nation vs nation. Now you could argue this point with reasons of "We should be allowed to do what we want" or "We wanna pirate, purple, and steal". Now you can still do that with the 50 infamy per kill original system, but its about the choice in the UX of the player. It completely nullifies a torrential amount of the games faction system, In terms of other games that utilize a "negative term" to player killing, I've listed some points below.
- In BDO: Players "flagging" and killing enough of others will eventually lead to them being wanted in the same fashion as ArcheAge does, though it makes you red to everyone until you clear it. I.E. town guards, players, Just about everything including your own guild if I'm not mistaken.
- Live service ArcheAge: Added the system. although some people were angry, people still played and still pirated, they just did it in small amounts, or joined pirate.
- ArcheAge has always had the "negative" parts of Purpling, They were just updated to reflect the removal of nations, which was not done here.
In terms of game design, the purple system doesn't really punish the user for doing it, and that's the major issue with it as a whole. There are a host of things meant to punish the player, but here all you have to do is abuse it, go pop a pot, then do it again. and even if you do so and get wanted, its pretty tame on the time since people have access to the pots to reduce crime points. And I completely get why people didn't want it changed, even I'm guilty of pirating people. Of the matter if it was someone I didn't like, or was just an easy target to take. And that there is the issue with it as its stood. I never stop and go "Oh man should I do it, I'll go to jail", because dropping 1 dude for a full merch doesn't punish you at all, in fact it rewards you with a merch full and a slap of a lousy amount of infamy. Instead it should be "Oh that person has a lot of (insert cargo) is it worth becoming wanted to steal them?" I.E. 50 infamy per kill.
Now that isn't the only problem game design wise with it, I mean there is the system of dominions which can easily be exploited too, but that is also on the fault of someone not running a peace treaty so it solves itself. The main issue with the tickle infamy system currently in place also affects how both nations do their content, and I get it, at the end of the day not everyone is going to like each other, but the big problems sit on top of allowing people to slam each other constantly with slaps on the wrist. I personally have purpled many a time, but did it bother me? No, because I knew I could kill a handful of people before having to go to jail, and even then if it would have been a certain group. I'd just get inno'd. It is a player driven system, but it needs to have its weight behind it for it to actually be meaningful. As a thought to it, how often do people get angry when their killed(ratio'd), packs/fish, stolen, or the system being abused to instigate purpling. If you think about it, It's a pretty shit system through and through. If the game was purely a guildvguild scenario and the 2 factions didn't exist, this system would be fantastic for it, but as it is currently standing. It's constantly abused to the point of many amounts of people quitting, raging, and even causing other systems to get changed in game just to attack one another more.
As for the systems and environment that have been affected due to the majority population wanting to continue to exploit avenues of other content are good examples such as:
- Some WB timer changes, though I do sympathize with the argument of other countries playing on the server.
- Slapping more negatives on being pirate, when being pirate alone is already a "hefty" choice.
- Having the infamy reduced so they could continue purpling their own factions for packs.
- Constant racial driven motives from plenty of characters on the server.
- Doxing of others.
TLDR In game design efforts. the random changes to infamy are poor and need to be changed. Maybe not in the way I think it needs to be, but in some way to make it a more punishable system, instead of an easily abusable one.
I'm open to everyone's thoughts and other points that can be brought up on the matter. Try to keep the thread a little clean and use some thought before posting.