Best Of
Re: Good Vibrations!
I just want to foot stomp this. I came across a mob yesterday that uses they/them pronouns and it made my night. That Starmourn doesn't only allow players to create non-binary characters, but actually writes non-binary characters into the storyline of the game, is huge.Crorr said:I'll start! Starmourn has a lot more non-standard sexuality/romance options than I was expecting from an IRE game. Non-binary as a gender option for gendered species, a race completely without gender, non-plural marriages, races that explicitly don't 'do' monogamy, the fact that they're called "Dynasties" and not "Families" to allow for non-familial relationships (even if they're mechanically basically just families).
Also, rave for Scatterhome, where someone made it clear on FT that transphobia was unacceptable, and no one disagreed in the slightest.
It's such a stark contrast from games where IC and OOC conversations would invariably lead to some asshole making some variation on the attack helicopter joke. It's a breath of fresh air.
I'll get off my soapbox now, but I just wanted to make sure Team Starmourn knows how immensely appreciated and impactful these seemingly small things can be. Thank you!
Vielar
14
Re: Quotes
You acknowledge Goyd Eeker in greeting.
Goyd says, "A quality-oriented alliance has a cutting-edge relationship in corporate context."
You acknowledge Goyd Eeker in greeting.
Goyd says, "Experienced administrators all know that the best reality check raises a flag over execution."
You acknowledge Goyd Eeker in greeting.
Goyd says, "Culture changes really sign off on closure. If we can foresee the benefits of a design-driven writeoff, that will assure us a paradigm shift."
You acknowledge Goyd Eeker in greeting.
Goyd says, "Disclosure easily empowers the benefit, so a teamwork-oriented goal gets your input on a task-driven context."
You acknowledge Goyd Eeker in greeting.
Goyd says, "In order to obtain mobile resolutions, we took a close look at the win-win workgroup to understand the deliverables."
You acknowledge Goyd Eeker in greeting.
Goyd says, "Impactful leadership positions step up to the challenge of the solutions."
You acknowledge Goyd Eeker in greeting.
Goyd says, "Core competencies are opportunities to shine."
You acknowledge Goyd Eeker in greeting.
Goyd says, "We must be certain that strategic missions have operating capital, otherwise other channels will pass the baton concerning synergistic schedules."
You acknowledge Goyd Eeker in greeting.
Goyd says, "If we can foresee the benefits of compliant deliverables, then disclosure will assure us that red flags are put in place."
You acknowledge Goyd Eeker in greeting.
Goyd says, "Our peer-led workgroups simply can not operate within such an extensible transition phase."
These corporate jargon generators had me in absolute stitches. I spent so long trying to figure out what they were actually saying before I finally realised they were saying nothing at all.
Kestrel
8
Re: Grinding to max level
I think there's just a vast difference in what you see as "skill" or "accomplishment." Bashing doesn't really require skill, and obtaining a high level isn't really an achievement to me; it's a requirement. I'd much prefer the game if level wasn't a thing at all, but I like the mechanics of IRE games enough that I'm willing to spend the grind time to be able to play the game. To me, the game pretty much starts when I get to a high enough level to really engage in pk. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way.Minion said:How is this any different than WoW or Overwatch or any number of other games? You press buttons over and over to accomplish a goal in all of those. I admire the skill that comes from the hours of practice the best in the world have to go through. I am allowed to do so here.Vielar said:Aaaand there comes the baby boomer bullshit. Are you really claiming a moral high ground based on your ability to press a button on the keyboard over and over again?Minion said:Gaming is about accomplishing goals using skill and ability built up through the grind of practice. It is telling of a society filled with participation trophies that you want to skip the shitty parts straight to the reward.Vielar said:You do know you can download one of these systems too, right?
Gaming isn't, and shouldn't be, about how much of an unpleasant thing you can put up with. It's meant to be enjoyable, so if you have a tool available to you that can make something more enjoyable, it makes sense that people are going to use it.
I know I will catch flak for this opinion, still give no shits about the personal attacks on my intelligence. Not going to return fire.
I will say that touting your place at max level idle tapping seems a bit weak to me. Yes, I feel it is more of an accomplishment to have tapped multiple keys per kill. I also feel it js an unfair advantage to use those systems but I accept that they are allowed.
I'm not going to be impressed with myself when I get level 75, or with anyone else who gets 75, automated or not. Time sink simply isn't impressive.
I'm going to work on pk, learn to pwn all the peoples (hopefully), and that's where the actual skill and accomplishment comes in.
Arista
6
Re: Junk drop threshold
Well, those aren't the same thing at all. Selling things to other players doesn't create Marks - it just moves them around with no effect on the overall economy. Selling junk creates Marks out of thin air, which affects the entire economy and therefore is of concern where the other two aren't.snailbee said:I don't really see why it is okay if the money is from selling lucky drops or credits, but not okay if it is from nonstop bashing.
Aurelius
10
Re: Grinding to max level
If you find it boring, don’t do it. There are more important things in life.
If you reach the point where a game starts to feel like work, you’ve defeated the purpose of playing it. It’s supposed to be fun. There’s no rule that says you have to keep chasing the highest level. Find out what makes the game fun for you, and do that instead.
If you reach the point where a game starts to feel like work, you’ve defeated the purpose of playing it. It’s supposed to be fun. There’s no rule that says you have to keep chasing the highest level. Find out what makes the game fun for you, and do that instead.
Kestrel
6
Re: Junk drop threshold
The junk cap exists to ensure a healthy economy. Without it, you have people sitting there 12+ hours a day generating a ridiculous amount of marks and causing a general imbalance as the value of marks tanks.
It currently starts kicking in after you've earned as much as you would make bashing non-stop (with 0 seconds of downtime) for 4 hours at your level, which, for most people, you will hardly ever see. It resets at the sync every day. After you hit this threshold, your junk drops are reduced slowly for every percent you are over the soft cap, which should give you around 6 hours of bashing until you're getting down to the "practically none" levels of junk drops.
I know this is frustrating for people who are very active in the game, but it's something that has to exist for the in-game economy to work.
It currently starts kicking in after you've earned as much as you would make bashing non-stop (with 0 seconds of downtime) for 4 hours at your level, which, for most people, you will hardly ever see. It resets at the sync every day. After you hit this threshold, your junk drops are reduced slowly for every percent you are over the soft cap, which should give you around 6 hours of bashing until you're getting down to the "practically none" levels of junk drops.
I know this is frustrating for people who are very active in the game, but it's something that has to exist for the in-game economy to work.
Tecton
9
Re: About Space and Ship PK
We definitely want piracy to be a thing, but there's needs to be a balance.
There's many elements of the game that require players to fly around, especially the main quest line. If free PK extended to everywhere, you'd have people just sitting in places that people on the main questline frequent - think Gallen, Wuntoklan, or the areas around Reshi station, picking off the lowbie characters who come to do that. What would that really achieve?
As it currently sits, you can freely pk in over a quarter of space, which people will frequent if they're doing incursions, hunting for gasses and asteroids, and we're going to make those activities more lucrative in terms of rewards if they're in a free pk area.
I'm sure there's going to be some refining and tweaking of these as time goes on, as we would definitely like to expand this into more zones, we'll see how this plays out first.
There's many elements of the game that require players to fly around, especially the main quest line. If free PK extended to everywhere, you'd have people just sitting in places that people on the main questline frequent - think Gallen, Wuntoklan, or the areas around Reshi station, picking off the lowbie characters who come to do that. What would that really achieve?
As it currently sits, you can freely pk in over a quarter of space, which people will frequent if they're doing incursions, hunting for gasses and asteroids, and we're going to make those activities more lucrative in terms of rewards if they're in a free pk area.
I'm sure there's going to be some refining and tweaking of these as time goes on, as we would definitely like to expand this into more zones, we'll see how this plays out first.
Tecton
5
Re: Grinding to max level
Taking a step back here, I just want to point out that if you asked anyone who doesn't play text-based MUDs whether it was more difficult/impressive/reward-worthy/whatever-you-want-to-call-it to A] hit some buttons a bunch of times over and over, or B] script an entire system to accomplish that end goal more efficiently, they would say B without hesitation.
And then they'd also say, "Wait, there's scripting and no graphics? What the f--- kind of game are you playing?" and you'd awkwardly laugh and say, "nevermind it's just a joke," and quickly change the subject.
And then they'd also say, "Wait, there's scripting and no graphics? What the f--- kind of game are you playing?" and you'd awkwardly laugh and say, "nevermind it's just a joke," and quickly change the subject.
Vielar
5
Re: Quotes
(Newbie): Axis says, "Any admins awake?"
(Newbie): Administrator Jumpy says, "No."
(Newbie): Administrator Jumpy says, "No."
Incursion Drops
The junk/cargo drops in incursions are very low compared to similar progression-level bashing areas. The cost of repairkits and destroyed astromechs means that at low levels you can struggle to break even if you take enough damage. Combined with the large amount of time it takes to actually fly to the area and back (and the high probability that someone else arrives with you), incursions aren't really worthwhile for earning marks. Most people can earn 3-5x in the same amount of time by bashing and with much less risk.
I suggest:
1. Increase the amount of marks earned by incursion drops so that players earn amounts similar to normal bashing. Don't decrease the costs of supplies, this adds a skill curve.
2. Increase the number of incursions spawned on the map or increase the number of mobs spawned per incursion so that having multiple people arrive at the same incursion isn't as much of a loss.
Aias
5