WARNING: The following post may contain constructive material; judge at your own risk.
In response to the original post, flaming and suspicion of motives aside, outposts are boring and meaningless. So why not combine them with something else just as boring and meaningless: tribes. This was, in fact, the initial plan for these little points on the map, on which I will expand.
Remember the boxed game manual? Yeah, that little booklet that nearly describes another game entirely? This thing actually alludes to a more exciting and lively future for outposts, not only dynamic but also meaningful to story and gameplay. Think of this as more of a summary of what could be rather than an original suggestion, but nevertheless one I would like to see considered (or else I wouldn't be typing it all out
) for the gaining, though currently less relevant since everything's already been claimed, and continued possession, which has already come up in this thread, of outposts.
I. Obtaining an Outpost
... Guilds must take and complete Guild Missions, which involve the capture and defense of various outposts from NPC factions. ... Once you receive a guild mission, you will need to take control of an outpost.
As I understand it, any current unclaimed outposts are inhabited by mysterious "marauders" (is there even reference to these guys anywhere? any lore-based justification? or are they just placeholders added at the last minute?). You declare on one of these locations, beat the marauders to a bloody pulp, and voilà - the folks disappear and you're in control. How... disappointingly simple and boring?
The manual continues with explaining that tribes control and inhabit the outposts in the wild (hmm, now THAT makes more sense!) and that two methods of obtaining an outpost exist (the whole guild mission, guild experience, and guild fame stuff is already obsolete and a totally different issue entirely, so I won't mull on that). The first way is through diplomacy should your guild have enough fame (again, fame being irrelevent); the seond is by force if your guild lacks the required fame.
So... why not update the idea and link the aquisition of outposts with tribes, as was originally intended? Here's one way to do it: initiate the diplomacy/force options. If a tribe resides in a region in which an outpost lays unclaimed, they will, by default, control it (giving a tribe their first actual purpose, aside from just sitting there waiting to kill your aggro (or you
)). If two tribes of opposing fame reside in that region, one of random choosing will take control and face occasional attacks from the other; sometimes these attacks will be successful and the outpost will change hands between the tribes while other attacks will be thwarted (which isn't really necessary, but would still make for interesting events at the otherwise lifeless and dull outpost locations). To obtain an outpost, guild members can either complete a series of involved missions from that tribe if they have enough fame (remember those outpost NPCs in camp?), or forcibly attack that tribe until they surrender:
... If your fame score towards the tribe that controls the outpost is neutral or higher, you can attempt to negotiate for control of the outpost. ... If your guild accomplishes enough tasks, the tribe will give you control of the outpost.
... After making a declaration of war ... your guild will be able to attack members of the tribe. Once enough tribe members have been slain, the Captain and his guards will appear. Slaying that Captain and his guards will cause the other tribe members to flee and the outpost will be yours.
Let's consider an example. Wooky Workship in Knoll of Dissent is unclaimed, and the Matisian Border Guards have control over it. My guild can either waltz in and massacre their camp, guards, and Captain until they abandon the outpost to our control, or we can run a series of missions for them if our members have enough fame (0 or greater) to do so. The missions can by set on a timer, say for example a few days, during which we must complete them. This also allows other guilds to take up the diplomatic challenge should we fail (suppose too few of our members were not dedicated enough, or did not have positive fame to allow for such). In that case, we cannot try again for a period of time, say a week, during which other guilds can make an attempt to win the outpost.
Therefore, to obtain an outpost, your fame with the tribe in control will determine whether you must complete their missions or slay them into submission.
II. Keeping an Outpost
Currently, any outpost won by a guild just sits there. The drill/bore plucks away at Atys, the guildhall building... um, inventories... well, you get the idea, these things are pretty boring.
So if tribes were factored into the obtaining of an outpost, what next? If your guild achieved the required missions, the outpost will be transferred peacefully and the tribe will not attack you. [This, however, would also be boring, so I would add in blaah's suggestion for random marauder raids, or perhaps that of any opposing tribe; in the Wooky Workshop example the First Deserters would, logically, be the attackers.] Otherwise, if force was used, the outpost will be attacked regularly (not frequently) by that tribe:
... Taking the outpost by force will force you to defend the outpost ... - even after the Captain is slain, the tribe will continue to attempt to retake the outpost.
Again, in accordance to blaah's idea, either of these defenses will be limited to guild participation only. The same would apply to the obtaining of an outpost, since missions are available only to that guild's members, and if a guild can't take the post by force then surely they can't defend it. This would introduce some of the guild-only activity intended for outposts, while GvG (AvA, FvF, what have you) battles would remain the same.
That's basically my adaptation of the original plan for outposts. Interestingly, there's no mention anywhere in the manual of outposts providing direct benefit (be it catalyzers, flowers, or materials); instead, they served only as a part in guild missions that improved guild experience, which in turn could be used to "upgrade your guild hall by adding trainer NPCs and other additional extensions." It's strange to see how the Saga of Ryzom transformed into a PvP game, huh?
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motan wrote:It may be that there is a problem with the game mechanics, which encourages player aggressiveness.
It may be that there is a problem with player aggressiveness, which fashions paper tigers of the game mechanics. The mechanics of outposts are working quite as intended, but leave wide open a door for expansion... and the possibilities could be really cool!
I know I just posted a really long reply, and you're quite welcome to skip over it if you haven't the time or interest, but either way it's an honest consideration and musing on my part.
