Comments on: PK or NPK http://mu.ranter.net I miss my frames. Mon, 02 Jan 2012 07:46:01 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Bunker http://mu.ranter.net/design-theory/pvp/pk-or-npk/comment-page-1#comment-681 Bunker Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:30:36 +0000 http://mu.ranter.net/design-theory/pvp/pk-or-npk#comment-681 Great post. Back in the MUD days I used to play Dragonrealms, a game where PvP was completely open. However the justice system was extremely strict. The game was well policed by automatic guards with small jail time (a few minutes 5-10) and fines (could get quite steep) If a player continuously killed other players for no reason, a god figure would pop down and destroy them. This was potentially permanent. If I remember correctly this was done via an on-duty GM. I only saw this a few times and it was usually for something other than PK, such as some breach of the Terms. Consented PvP resulted in no penalty and there were situations for auto-consent, such as grave robbing or thievery. There were brash and evil players. You would get stolen from and scammed. However I never once was attacked by another player without consent despite the freedom. People in the game simply did not do this without good reason. This brings up an important factor in controlling troll PKs: Culture. It's extremely important for the game to encourage the culture that they are looking for. Dragonrealms did this well. EVE is another game I would argue does this well. Sure EVE can be a killing frenzy but it's built to be a killing frenzy. It's important for the ingame mechanics as well as metagame mechanics to keep open PvP realistic by encouraging a self-policing and polite culture within the game. Auto policing is a great start, especially if the punishment is strict. Auto-consent helps too, while this can be abused as it is in EVE. In my opinion, open PvP games also need a way to encourage and validate community policing. GMs worked well in Dragonrealms but the player base was small (3000 online at a peak). With large games self-policing becomes ever more important. This also generates a valuable asset in enabling player storytelling. Great post.

Back in the MUD days I used to play Dragonrealms, a game where PvP was completely open. However the justice system was extremely strict. The game was well policed by automatic guards with small jail time (a few minutes 5-10) and fines (could get quite steep) If a player continuously killed other players for no reason, a god figure would pop down and destroy them. This was potentially permanent. If I remember correctly this was done via an on-duty GM. I only saw this a few times and it was usually for something other than PK, such as some breach of the Terms. Consented PvP resulted in no penalty and there were situations for auto-consent, such as grave robbing or thievery. There were brash and evil players. You would get stolen from and scammed. However I never once was attacked by another player without consent despite the freedom. People in the game simply did not do this without good reason.

This brings up an important factor in controlling troll PKs: Culture.

It’s extremely important for the game to encourage the culture that they are looking for. Dragonrealms did this well. EVE is another game I would argue does this well. Sure EVE can be a killing frenzy but it’s built to be a killing frenzy. It’s important for the ingame mechanics as well as metagame mechanics to keep open PvP realistic by encouraging a self-policing and polite culture within the game. Auto policing is a great start, especially if the punishment is strict. Auto-consent helps too, while this can be abused as it is in EVE. In my opinion, open PvP games also need a way to encourage and validate community policing. GMs worked well in Dragonrealms but the player base was small (3000 online at a peak). With large games self-policing becomes ever more important. This also generates a valuable asset in enabling player storytelling.

]]> By: Mu http://mu.ranter.net/design-theory/pvp/pk-or-npk/comment-page-1#comment-402 Mu Fri, 07 May 2010 08:56:22 +0000 http://mu.ranter.net/design-theory/pvp/pk-or-npk#comment-402 Apparently you never played on early Darktide, on some versions of Three Towns, or on PvP+ UO emulators that did not advertise themselves as "hardcore." It encourages politeness as far as it is counterbalanced by the "players are assholes" axiom. Apparently you never played on early Darktide, on some versions of Three Towns, or on PvP+ UO emulators that did not advertise themselves as “hardcore.” It encourages politeness as far as it is counterbalanced by the “players are assholes” axiom.

]]> By: Clayton http://mu.ranter.net/design-theory/pvp/pk-or-npk/comment-page-1#comment-382 Clayton Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:46:15 +0000 http://mu.ranter.net/design-theory/pvp/pk-or-npk#comment-382 The idea that PvP encourages politeness is absurb and completely false. In ten+ years of playing MMO's I have never once seen any incident where people where polited regarding PvP. The obvious answers are 1) Have areas of the map that are open to PvP and ones that are not. But make sure there is no exclusive benefit found only in one land 2) Divide the servers. The second is what most games do these days and if you check the numbers you will realize something very fast - only about 10% of players even want open PvP. The numbers simply do not lie. With that in mind it I would say the second is the best solution and its no wonder most MMO developers are using it You do suggest so interesting stuff though, which I find you generally do The idea that PvP encourages politeness is absurb and completely false. In ten+ years of playing MMO’s I have never once seen any incident where people where polited regarding PvP.

The obvious answers are
1) Have areas of the map that are open to PvP and ones that are not. But make sure there is no exclusive benefit found only in one land
2) Divide the servers.

The second is what most games do these days and if you check the numbers you will realize something very fast – only about 10% of players even want open PvP. The numbers simply do not lie. With that in mind it I would say the second is the best solution and its no wonder most MMO developers are using it

You do suggest so interesting stuff though, which I find you generally do

]]> By: Dr Shad http://mu.ranter.net/design-theory/pvp/pk-or-npk/comment-page-1#comment-97 Dr Shad Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:57:09 +0000 http://mu.ranter.net/design-theory/pvp/pk-or-npk#comment-97 Here's my answer - give an experience penalty for killing another player of lower level than yourself. Make PvP an entertaining and challenging part of the game while punishing those who use it as a way to ruin the gaming experience for everyon else. Here’s my answer – give an experience penalty for killing another player of lower level than yourself. Make PvP an entertaining and challenging part of the game while punishing those who use it as a way to ruin the gaming experience for everyon else.

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