The mistake I made was in using the phrase "eliminate the death penalty", because it seemed to force people into an area of discussion where I didn't really want to go (though I didn't realize this until later).
So, let me try from the beginning again, and see if I can start the discussion I really wanted to have.
First, some observations about death and the current death penalty mechanism. These are not intended to be controversial, and are not central to my argument, but are more like background:
a. The *concept* of DP is linked to the role-playing aspects of the game, but the *mechanism* of the DP is not.
You could have a different mechanism (for example, subtracting XP and levels instead, like some games, or halving XP gain while there is a DP, like some other games, etc) without anything looking any different inside the game world.
By contrast, something like fighting is integrated both in concept and mechanism. Throwing rotten vegetables at creatures to kill them could be implemented as a replacement to weaponry, but you sure would notice the difference as you walked around the game world.
b. Ryzom's DP system is much gentler than that of most MMO games.
This may sound like a reason for me to shut up ("it's not so bad, quit whining!"), but I am choosing to take the opposite view (without whining, I hope): If the DP system is so much less intrusive, then it isn't really a vital part of the game, and should be made less intrusive. (Read on, before you get hot and bothered about this statement.)
c. One of the reasons people give for having this DP system is that it makes the game more exciting, because more is at risk if you die.
I accept this argument, in the sense that if you think this is so, then it is for you. Personally, I find myself much more annoyed to have done something stupid and die than to have acquired a death penalty I can forage off fairly easily.
Even more acceptable is the opinion that fear of dying (as opposed to fear of DP) is a good thing.
d. One of the reasons people give for having this DP system is that otherwise, players would have no reason to try to avoid dying.
I finally decided to reject this argument, because it involves making claims about what other players *would* do, without presenting any evidence. It also assumes, without presenting evidence or an argument, that I (or you) would find it detrimental to my (or your) game play experience if other players didn't try to avoid dying.
e. Still, whatever their reasons, most people seem to want death to remain a very unpleasant experience, and many seem to want to death in Ryzom to be even more unpleasant.
f. I don't like having a DP. It decreases my enjoyment of the game. A bit of bad luck, an accidental step too far into dangerous unknown territory, a server crash, a moment's inattention during foraging, a slip of the finger on the keyboard, a group with an undisciplined player, all of these can add up to a large DP, and a large DP decreases my enjoyment even more.
OK, that's some background, now for my (new) proposal:
I am fine with the idea that death might be very painful, but I propose that I should not be saddled with the pain after death. In terms of the current game-play, I am suggesting that *getting* a DP is fine, but *having* a DP is not. Does this sound like a contradiction? It's not really, it just means that I am suggesting that death have a different set of consequences, other than a numerical DP.
The exact consequences would be determined according to what seems likely to work best, but here are some specific ideas. I'm not suggesting that *all* of these need to be implemented. Some subset of them, or some other analogous ideas, would have the effect I am looking for. I also want to make it very clear that these would not be instant and large consequences of a *single* death. For a player with an average number of deaths, the effect might be minimal. For players who don't take the trouble to stay alive, the consequences would gradually become dramatic.
0. No death points.
The numerical DP value would be eliminated in favor of other penalties or death consequences, examples described below.
One advantage of this is that the replacement penalties would be better integrated into the role-playing aspects of the game.
1. Excessive death decreases fame.
If you can't take the trouble to keep yourself alive, then you don't deserve to be famous amongst your own people. Repeated deaths would gradually cause your personal fame in your homeland (e.g. Matis fame if you are a Matis homin) to decrease. There are various variations possible. Probably only positive fame would decrease, and it wouldn't decrease below 0. Possibly Kami and Karavan might be affected too, but fame with clans like Sacred Sap would *not* be affected. Possibly your guild's fame could go down a bit too.
If your fame decreases, you could do additional missions to re-raise it, or just ignore it if you don't care.
There would be a few flow-on consequences, such as NPC prices going up because your fame went down.
2. Increased wear and tear of death.
The wear and tear on your equipment could be increased slightly as a result of your death. This could be done several ways. For example, dying might simply reduce HP on your equipment by a small amount. Or, *not* dying in a fight might reduce the equipment HP reduction that we would currently expect.
(I'm not greatly in favor of this one, because it seems so petty, but it's certainly a viable possibility.)
3. Increased shabbiness for shabby play.
Weapons and armor could gradually degrade in appearance (without changing in function or effectiveness). The armor of a player who dies a lot might start to look worn, patched or broken. There would be no direct effect on game-play, but you might stop and think before inviting such a player to group with you, unless you knew he had a good reason for looking so bad. I don't know if the damage would be reversible, or whether the equipment would need to be replaced to restore the player's good looks. Either seems viable.
4. Deathly pallor.
A player who died a lot might gradually lose all color, and in extreme cases might appear completely in shades of gray. Aside from visual appearance, this is the same as #3, except that the color would regenerate over time.
5. Stat loss.
A player who died a lot might find his max HP, sap, stamina and focus reduced for a period of time. The effect of the would be to make the player more prone to dying, so the player would have to choose between not playing for a while, or tackling easier tasks, or being more careful, or dying more and getting even weaker for longer.
6. Death taxes.
Currently, players who don't mind the DP (especially lower level players whose DP is easily manageable) can use death as a means of transport. I and many other players have often taken the "Gingo Express" from an outlying region back to a city.
If there were merely no numerical DP to work off, death would become an alternate transportation system, and tickets would become unnecessary.
Since this doesn't seem like such a good result, I would suggest that the respawn after death should cost the price of a teleporter ticket. It would work something like this:
-- If you wait till the respawn timer goes to zero (used to be 2 mins, now is about 5), then you would be transported to the capital city of the land you're in, for free. The downside is that you have to wait, and that if you want to go somewhere else you're out of luck.
-- If you want to respawn early, or if you want to go somewhere other than the capital city, you would have to pay for the privilege.
OK, that's it. My opinion is that changes like these would give players a lot of incentive to avoid dying, but would not leave them with lingering punishments as they continue playing the game -- unless they choose to die recklessly time and time again.
This, members of the jury, is my opening and closing statement, now over to you.
Adayl
Morto-balancer of Matis
P.S. I'm *really* sorry this post is so long.
