Lord British launches “Shroud of the Avatar” on Kickstarter • Hacker News Board

Re: Lord British launches “Shroud of the Avatar” on Kickstarter

#161

Post by __--__ » Sun, Mar 10, 2013, 6:25 AM UTC

wodow wrote: post #38

simonsarris wrote: post #28

I'm glad that "Meaningful PvP" was singled out. PvP is important to me and its one of the things that Ultima Online got right that vast swaths of MMOs since have floundered with (in my opinion). In parts of the world (Felucca[1]), UO was a rare RPG where anyone could kill anyone, for any reason, but with the repercussion that they would be branded a "Bad person" (visible with a gray or red name instead of blue). Stea…

Vote yes to permanent death [1] in MMOs! Richard Bartle: "[without permanent death] Newbies (and not-so-newbies) feel they can never catch up. The people in front will always be in front, and there's no way to overtake them. The horizon advances at the speed you approach it." [2] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_death [2] Designing Virtual Worlds, 2003

I used to play a Star Wars MUD that had permanent death and a similarly aggressive PvP policy. As a result, there wasn't a single character that survived more than a few months. Considering the huge up front cost you had to pay in leveling, skill training and resource collection, eventually people got sick of having to start with nothing. Every time you died, you had to make the decision if it was worth starting over. The longer you played, the greater the chances that answer was "no." Player turnover was bad, especially for MUDs at that time.

That's all my way of saying Permanent death may sound great in theory, but it takes a hell of a lot of balancing against to make it work well in the long term. Maybe making it easier to get up to speed with any single character? Or maybe making it worth your while to be altruistic to other players (I'm not sure what that mechanic would be, but it would be interesting to see something that make people more social as opposed to the antisocial element that PvP tends to foster).

Re: Lord British launches “Shroud of the Avatar” on Kickstarter

#162

Post by moron4hire » Sun, Mar 10, 2013, 4:06 PM UTC

NuZZ wrote: post #160

moron4hire wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

le sigh. I'm not even really sure how to reply to you, because there seems to be a complete lack of common ground here. Let me try again. Garriot programmer. Garriot not artist. Garriot no choose art direction. Garriot just want to make program. Garriot just use whatever model laying around on hard drive. No, it's not strange to create prototypes without choosing an art direction. Games are typically products of real…

Yes but surely Garriot isn't completely naive as to think we won't judge the graphics and the game poorly as a result, as he doesn't choose to mention or confirm that said graphics are placeholder. I think the graphical engine they're using, the shading, the models, are trite, including the UX design - and it sucks, because if it doesn't improve the game won't be worth most peoples time. Runescape, graphically, in 20…

Right, the big words "PROTOTYPE" didn't confirm that they are placeholder graphics.

Jesus Christ, remind me to never post a work in progress on HN. If someone as big as Richard Garriott can't get some basic respect, what chance do the rest of us have?

Re: Lord British launches “Shroud of the Avatar” on Kickstarter

#163

Post by papsosouid » Mon, Mar 11, 2013, 2:31 PM UTC

CamperBob2 wrote: post #142

papsosouid wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>as you're trying to dictate who is or who isn't an entrepreneur by an artificial and entirely subjective $$$ funding basis. No I am not. I am saying it is unfortunate that what was a way for small independent projects who could not get funding through normal channels is being taken over by rich people using it as a platform to avoid having to take any risk. >Try putting a price on his reputation and time. The last t…

Sounds like you probably shouldn't contribute, then.

Shit, why didn't you say something sooner!

Re: Lord British launches “Shroud of the Avatar” on Kickstarter

#164

Post by papsosouid » Mon, Mar 11, 2013, 2:32 PM UTC

lnanek2 wrote: post #98

papsosouid wrote: post #42

It is pretty sad that kickstarter gets abused like this so much. Garriott is filthy rich, and has been in the game industry for decades. There is absolutely no need for him to be seeking financing from us, he could pay for it a dozen times over out of his own pocket. His reputation means he could easily get actual funding if he doesn't want to risk his own money. But instead, he abuses the willingness of ordinary peo…

Even rich people here in SV often take investment for their new startups after the first. It's silly to go it alone, risk everything, and not recruit people with skin in the game. Even if he didn't need the money, it's worth it for the PR alone, which will benefit everyone into the game since it will take longer to die a lonely death.

>Even rich people here in SV often take investment for their new startups after the first.

Yes, in exchange for something. They don't ask for funding from people and offer them nothing in return, forcing them to take all the risk while he stands to make all the profit.