GeorgeSkywalker
Member
This thread is about feedback on dynamic events for dev's. My aim is to raise some concerns that are important to players but I feel may have been overlooked by dev's or not given enough weighting.
I can see some reasons why dev's may want to focus on or promote teamwork. I'm going to look at the opposite of that the negatives or rather barriers/obstacles to teamwork. Even when players want to engage in teamwork its not that easy and there can be constraints that mean they choose not do a teamwork oriented event. For example recently there was the Shrine Dynamic Event for Elder Gods Suit. In the end I decided not to participate in it because I would have needed to invest in a weapon with around 30 dps. Buying a new weapon just to do one event I felt was going to be cumbersome and not worth the effort involved.
This leads me nicely onto the number one player concern which is monetary or economic concerns which usually over rule anything else including fun/entertainment. Even players whose primary reasons for playing are fun/entertainment can choose to avoid or check their activities due to economic reasons.
I'll throw in a quote by Messi on pcf:
"I will pass 2023 then since your goal is nowhere as potential profit planet.You can keep the fun."
This was in response to the recent Arkadia update where they focused on activities and fun. Dev's often think fun activities will lead to more engagement from the player base and hence economic gains for their planet. This couldn't be further from the truth as Messi points out his concerns are more about profit for himself and the planet. "You can keep the fun"
so eloquently put, I'd have to agree with him. Sure some players can be persuaded or influenced by "fun" but in the long term it's all about profit and I think dev's should take that more in consideration when developing or designing anything.
The Pyramid of Shut'thend is one of my favourite areas in game and I decided form a team to do the dynamic event there. The following is based on my experiences in trying to form a team to do the event i.e. barriers or obstacles that came in my way:
Differing time zones
Players in game rarely are all in the same time zone so it can be problematic trying to set a time for it that is suitable to everyone.
Real life commitments
Real life obviously has to take priority and some players may be working, have family engagements/chores etc. The list goes on and on. Again finding a time that is suitable for everyone can be a major obstacle.
Markup item or loot split rules
Arriving at a consensus on how to go about loot can be another major obstacle. Personally I'm in favour of we keep what we loot. This is not the case for everyone other players can consider this to be the worst option and decide not to be in a team with this kind of rule. Since I'm more flexible and in the interests of the group as a whole I decided to drop this rule. We are still deliberating on this and no consensus has been reached. This goes to show how heated and potential "team breaker" this can be. The whole team can quite easily disintegrate and break apart due to these concerns. In the end there is no ideal solution just what people decide what is the most comfortable to them as a group.
General group dynamics
People can be different with differing sensibilities, egos, priorities etc the list here can be endless. On the whole players in Entropia tend to be more mature and this can be an advantage. Having said this never under estimate human stupidity, even the smallest of details/things can rub someone the wrong way and before you know it there is a crisis or drama to be dealt with. I'll refrain from specific examples as that can upset some people, which is not my intention.
General in game logistics
Not everyone in the group may have the tp for The Pyramid of Shut'thend. Even trying to clarify if everyone has it or not can be problematic in the end perhaps best mentioned to the group on having the tp and leaving it at that and hope everyone has it and everyone has been smart enough to acquire it. Trying to do more can raise problems.
Another is looting the Cthylla Bone that is required to start the event. This can be more problematic than I think devs designed or aimed for. I get that it is never going to be easy and for good reasons. Due to how I think the loot system works its currently more difficult to loot than I suspect devs wanted because its no where near the sweet spot between easy and impossible. I suspect the bottle neck here is some players "hoarding" Cthylla Bones which makes looting more of them more difficult than intended.
This whole post is getting longer than I had planned for so I'm going to cut it short and end it here and jump to possible solutions.
Some possible solutions to The Pyramid of Shut'thend event
In the end most players are nomadic like myself going from planet to planet to where opportunities lie. Sometimes that can merely be doing some codex on a mob but players I think gravitate towards profit. There is a reason why Moloch depths or the gorgon wave event on Next Island are so popular and why Pristine elements are sought after on Cyrene and mobs that loot them often hunted.
Comparing the gorgon wave event on NI to the Pyramid of Shut'thend event I think can be enlightening. With the Gorgon wave event it is started and players come and go, naturally forming teams as they are hunting. Why the stark differences in forming teams to hunt in these events? the gorgon wave event can be done solo most of the time except for the last two waves. For the last two waves people naturally start hunting together and there is no discussion over loot split rules. It's generally accepted players keep what they loot and their is no sharing.
One solution to the Pyramid of Shut'thend event I think could be to have some additional mark up items/loot drop from all waves that are not currently there. For example if my idea for upgrade able armour plates is implemented then parts/items related to those plates could drop from pyramid waves. For that suggestion see:
New upgrade-able armour plates
This would give more reasons for players of all levels to start the event even the ones who cant do the final wave. This means the event would be run more often and more players doing it. Hence, naturally it would I suspect become similar to the gorgon wave and players naturally coalesce to form teams to do the last wave.
In the end most players prefer to do events and mobs solo for good reasons and I think dev's should take that more in consideration. This game is RCE and hence not like other games where team work may be fun. In here team work can be the opposite a complete nightmare. In the end profit over rides fun.
I can see some reasons why dev's may want to focus on or promote teamwork. I'm going to look at the opposite of that the negatives or rather barriers/obstacles to teamwork. Even when players want to engage in teamwork its not that easy and there can be constraints that mean they choose not do a teamwork oriented event. For example recently there was the Shrine Dynamic Event for Elder Gods Suit. In the end I decided not to participate in it because I would have needed to invest in a weapon with around 30 dps. Buying a new weapon just to do one event I felt was going to be cumbersome and not worth the effort involved.
This leads me nicely onto the number one player concern which is monetary or economic concerns which usually over rule anything else including fun/entertainment. Even players whose primary reasons for playing are fun/entertainment can choose to avoid or check their activities due to economic reasons.
I'll throw in a quote by Messi on pcf:
"I will pass 2023 then since your goal is nowhere as potential profit planet.You can keep the fun."
This was in response to the recent Arkadia update where they focused on activities and fun. Dev's often think fun activities will lead to more engagement from the player base and hence economic gains for their planet. This couldn't be further from the truth as Messi points out his concerns are more about profit for himself and the planet. "You can keep the fun"
so eloquently put, I'd have to agree with him. Sure some players can be persuaded or influenced by "fun" but in the long term it's all about profit and I think dev's should take that more in consideration when developing or designing anything. The Pyramid of Shut'thend is one of my favourite areas in game and I decided form a team to do the dynamic event there. The following is based on my experiences in trying to form a team to do the event i.e. barriers or obstacles that came in my way:
Differing time zones
Players in game rarely are all in the same time zone so it can be problematic trying to set a time for it that is suitable to everyone.
Real life commitments
Real life obviously has to take priority and some players may be working, have family engagements/chores etc. The list goes on and on. Again finding a time that is suitable for everyone can be a major obstacle.
Markup item or loot split rules
Arriving at a consensus on how to go about loot can be another major obstacle. Personally I'm in favour of we keep what we loot. This is not the case for everyone other players can consider this to be the worst option and decide not to be in a team with this kind of rule. Since I'm more flexible and in the interests of the group as a whole I decided to drop this rule. We are still deliberating on this and no consensus has been reached. This goes to show how heated and potential "team breaker" this can be. The whole team can quite easily disintegrate and break apart due to these concerns. In the end there is no ideal solution just what people decide what is the most comfortable to them as a group.
General group dynamics
People can be different with differing sensibilities, egos, priorities etc the list here can be endless. On the whole players in Entropia tend to be more mature and this can be an advantage. Having said this never under estimate human stupidity, even the smallest of details/things can rub someone the wrong way and before you know it there is a crisis or drama to be dealt with. I'll refrain from specific examples as that can upset some people, which is not my intention.
General in game logistics
Not everyone in the group may have the tp for The Pyramid of Shut'thend. Even trying to clarify if everyone has it or not can be problematic in the end perhaps best mentioned to the group on having the tp and leaving it at that and hope everyone has it and everyone has been smart enough to acquire it. Trying to do more can raise problems.
Another is looting the Cthylla Bone that is required to start the event. This can be more problematic than I think devs designed or aimed for. I get that it is never going to be easy and for good reasons. Due to how I think the loot system works its currently more difficult to loot than I suspect devs wanted because its no where near the sweet spot between easy and impossible. I suspect the bottle neck here is some players "hoarding" Cthylla Bones which makes looting more of them more difficult than intended.
This whole post is getting longer than I had planned for
so I'm going to cut it short and end it here and jump to possible solutions.Some possible solutions to The Pyramid of Shut'thend event
In the end most players are nomadic like myself going from planet to planet to where opportunities lie. Sometimes that can merely be doing some codex on a mob but players I think gravitate towards profit. There is a reason why Moloch depths or the gorgon wave event on Next Island are so popular and why Pristine elements are sought after on Cyrene and mobs that loot them often hunted.
Comparing the gorgon wave event on NI to the Pyramid of Shut'thend event I think can be enlightening. With the Gorgon wave event it is started and players come and go, naturally forming teams as they are hunting. Why the stark differences in forming teams to hunt in these events? the gorgon wave event can be done solo most of the time except for the last two waves. For the last two waves people naturally start hunting together and there is no discussion over loot split rules. It's generally accepted players keep what they loot and their is no sharing.
One solution to the Pyramid of Shut'thend event I think could be to have some additional mark up items/loot drop from all waves that are not currently there. For example if my idea for upgrade able armour plates is implemented then parts/items related to those plates could drop from pyramid waves. For that suggestion see:
New upgrade-able armour plates
This would give more reasons for players of all levels to start the event even the ones who cant do the final wave. This means the event would be run more often and more players doing it. Hence, naturally it would I suspect become similar to the gorgon wave and players naturally coalesce to form teams to do the last wave.
In the end most players prefer to do events and mobs solo for good reasons and I think dev's should take that more in consideration. This game is RCE and hence not like other games where team work may be fun. In here team work can be the opposite a complete nightmare. In the end profit over rides fun.
