Invasion - Constructive criticism littered with ranting...
Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2005 1:29 pm
OK, before I start alternately frothing at the mouth and being reasonable in a poor Jekyll and Hyde imitation lets establish a few things...
1 - I don't complain constantly about everything.
2 - I've worked IT Helpdesk - I know the horrors of dealing with the public and their problems so I always try to give Customer Service and Helpdesk people a break.
3 - I've also worked in web design, so I know that what sales promises, and what production can actually deliver - on time - are also wildly different. So I understand that as well.
4 - I love the game and think it's a breath of fresh air into MMORPGs.
5 - I'm active, organise events, participate in competitions etc.
Basically, what I'm saying is that I have a lot of patience for problems, try to stay in good humour and am an active and committed player who doesn't whinge lightly.
That said... this invasion...
Cue ranting...
* Nobody has felt like they are accomplishing anything by performing the required tasks.
* Nothing seemed to change or progress, guards that did appear vanished just as quickly or were eaten by Kipuryk (who seems to be invulnerable to attack without the help of uber guards).
* The event has draaaaaggggged for a week with the exact same tasks required over and over and over again with no visible change or feeling of accomplishment.
* Scouting the kitin base (if that's what we found) didn't seem to trigger or accomplish anything.
* Bounty Beaches - The Tryker invasion, is several AU from the main Tryker grounds and from the start was higher level than the other invasions as well as having a lot of normal, nasty, hostile life around. Their camps didn't have any uber guards to help them out either and the invasion point is a LOOOONG way from spawn points.
* In Dyron we began with too easy mobs, then suddenly they're all bumped up to level 160+ cutting out the lower levels. You can't do anything at all without a big team of high level, especially with the magical teleporting kincher jumping everyone seemingly at random.
* Clicking claws/mats to get any of the rewards is a time consuming and, literally, painful process. No reward (in effect) means less motivation for anyone to get involved which makes it harder to accomplish anything, creating a vicious cycle. I have 84 Tryker Prime tokens and a full inventory of 'bits' that I'll never get to exchange now, though I did manage a Fyros axe while the elite kirosta were bugged.
* Player apathy has set in, demonstrating, I think, that the lack of variety in the event and the difficulty of getting reward (especially now that claws numbers are down and mob levels are up) has skewed the reward/effort angle deep into the 'too much effort' camp.
* Some of the 'rewards' beggar belief. I'm thinking especially of the amps. The only worthwhile awards are the 120 prime token weapons, especially since fame doesn't appear to work. This is the UBER grind, I want to be rewarded for my ability and effort as a character, not the strength of my wrist and a degree of patience that couldn't be found in a buddha.
In summation...
Its too difficult, even for higher levels.
The reward is not commensurate to the difficulty/grind/DP.
You cannot see the result of your labours in any meaningful way - ESPECIALLY when all the guards you have made and then look proudly on, turn out to be so wussy that they die when a reaper kincher even looks at them funny.
The Tryker got ESPECIALLY shafted.
*Pant pant pant*
To sum up in even less words. "Frustrating and exasperating."
Now, to be constructive... how to improve the event.
::Cue Top of the Pops countdown music::
1 - Most important... allow people to convert many items at once. If 50 claws = 50 average tokens I should not have to click through a dialogue ten times. You can imagine how annoying that gets trying to gather and convert the 1200 claws needed for the only worthwhile reward - the uber weapons.
2 - Worthwhile and proportionate awards. If I'm level 30 (for example) I should be capable of gathering enough tokens or materials to contribute and also to get something I can actually use that is good. Rewards being able to be examined or to give better indication of what they are would also help here.
For example, lower level creatures could give less claws/goo while highers give more, while higher rewards cost more. So for the same, approximate, effort a level 30 character gets a QL40 'uber' weapon, while a level 100 character gets a QL110 'uber' weapon. Though both have the choice to get a higher or lower reward.
3 - Engagement opportunity for all levels. This is best accomplished the same way the Frahar invasion was I think, concentric rings of different level mobs so that the further you go from base camp the more difficult they are, or have different levels assigned to different areas.
4 - Engagement opportunity for all specialities - warriors got it relatively easy for token conversion this time, and you needed to be a warrior or nuker specialist to survive at all well. More thought in how lower levels of other specialities could involve in the event. 'safer' foraging spots and a greater initial availability of wondermats would have been good in this event's specific instance.
5 - Ensure none of the event content is bugged. Really. Spoiler test the various aspects on the ATS if you have to, but make sure it works.
6 - DP off if it's going to be as hard as this. By all means limit the no DP to the region in which the event takes place only, but this was offputting a lot of people. Max DP with nothing (they felt) to show for it.
7 - Have a spawn/TP right at the event - That was the case for Dyron, but not for Tryker, I don't know about the others. If people are going to be active in the event they want to get right back into it.
8 - Variation - Vary the tasks a little, emphasise different aspects, have 'mini missions' from corporals or something that help the war effort but add variety and allow you to be a 'hero' and earn some fame/money/tokens seperately. EG: 'Go and observe the leader kincher <name> and report back'. Or 'Go to tower X and help them drive off the reaper kincher there before they are overwhelmed'.
9 - Length - This went on too long and the essence of the mission hasn't changed. Too much, too long without any change.
10 - Accomplishment - We should feel we are acheiving something during the event, things should change, we should get feedback, we should see results of our labours.
And lastly - better disclosure.
If the generals in this war had a plan (Construct and man towers to stave off the kitin, scout out their base and defend against them) we should have known what we were doing, it would have kept motivation up. Also, when scouting for a kitin base, it is helpful to know WHAT we're looking for, gawd demmit.
Great try at an epic, long-spanning event but it's just ended up dead in the water due to the points ranted on earlier causing player apathy, and if most of the players don't give a monkeys, the few who do can't accomplish much.
I've said my piece.
1 - I don't complain constantly about everything.
2 - I've worked IT Helpdesk - I know the horrors of dealing with the public and their problems so I always try to give Customer Service and Helpdesk people a break.
3 - I've also worked in web design, so I know that what sales promises, and what production can actually deliver - on time - are also wildly different. So I understand that as well.
4 - I love the game and think it's a breath of fresh air into MMORPGs.
5 - I'm active, organise events, participate in competitions etc.
Basically, what I'm saying is that I have a lot of patience for problems, try to stay in good humour and am an active and committed player who doesn't whinge lightly.
That said... this invasion...
Cue ranting...
* Nobody has felt like they are accomplishing anything by performing the required tasks.
* Nothing seemed to change or progress, guards that did appear vanished just as quickly or were eaten by Kipuryk (who seems to be invulnerable to attack without the help of uber guards).
* The event has draaaaaggggged for a week with the exact same tasks required over and over and over again with no visible change or feeling of accomplishment.
* Scouting the kitin base (if that's what we found) didn't seem to trigger or accomplish anything.
* Bounty Beaches - The Tryker invasion, is several AU from the main Tryker grounds and from the start was higher level than the other invasions as well as having a lot of normal, nasty, hostile life around. Their camps didn't have any uber guards to help them out either and the invasion point is a LOOOONG way from spawn points.
* In Dyron we began with too easy mobs, then suddenly they're all bumped up to level 160+ cutting out the lower levels. You can't do anything at all without a big team of high level, especially with the magical teleporting kincher jumping everyone seemingly at random.
* Clicking claws/mats to get any of the rewards is a time consuming and, literally, painful process. No reward (in effect) means less motivation for anyone to get involved which makes it harder to accomplish anything, creating a vicious cycle. I have 84 Tryker Prime tokens and a full inventory of 'bits' that I'll never get to exchange now, though I did manage a Fyros axe while the elite kirosta were bugged.
* Player apathy has set in, demonstrating, I think, that the lack of variety in the event and the difficulty of getting reward (especially now that claws numbers are down and mob levels are up) has skewed the reward/effort angle deep into the 'too much effort' camp.
* Some of the 'rewards' beggar belief. I'm thinking especially of the amps. The only worthwhile awards are the 120 prime token weapons, especially since fame doesn't appear to work. This is the UBER grind, I want to be rewarded for my ability and effort as a character, not the strength of my wrist and a degree of patience that couldn't be found in a buddha.
In summation...
Its too difficult, even for higher levels.
The reward is not commensurate to the difficulty/grind/DP.
You cannot see the result of your labours in any meaningful way - ESPECIALLY when all the guards you have made and then look proudly on, turn out to be so wussy that they die when a reaper kincher even looks at them funny.
The Tryker got ESPECIALLY shafted.
*Pant pant pant*
To sum up in even less words. "Frustrating and exasperating."
Now, to be constructive... how to improve the event.
::Cue Top of the Pops countdown music::
1 - Most important... allow people to convert many items at once. If 50 claws = 50 average tokens I should not have to click through a dialogue ten times. You can imagine how annoying that gets trying to gather and convert the 1200 claws needed for the only worthwhile reward - the uber weapons.
2 - Worthwhile and proportionate awards. If I'm level 30 (for example) I should be capable of gathering enough tokens or materials to contribute and also to get something I can actually use that is good. Rewards being able to be examined or to give better indication of what they are would also help here.
For example, lower level creatures could give less claws/goo while highers give more, while higher rewards cost more. So for the same, approximate, effort a level 30 character gets a QL40 'uber' weapon, while a level 100 character gets a QL110 'uber' weapon. Though both have the choice to get a higher or lower reward.
3 - Engagement opportunity for all levels. This is best accomplished the same way the Frahar invasion was I think, concentric rings of different level mobs so that the further you go from base camp the more difficult they are, or have different levels assigned to different areas.
4 - Engagement opportunity for all specialities - warriors got it relatively easy for token conversion this time, and you needed to be a warrior or nuker specialist to survive at all well. More thought in how lower levels of other specialities could involve in the event. 'safer' foraging spots and a greater initial availability of wondermats would have been good in this event's specific instance.
5 - Ensure none of the event content is bugged. Really. Spoiler test the various aspects on the ATS if you have to, but make sure it works.
6 - DP off if it's going to be as hard as this. By all means limit the no DP to the region in which the event takes place only, but this was offputting a lot of people. Max DP with nothing (they felt) to show for it.
7 - Have a spawn/TP right at the event - That was the case for Dyron, but not for Tryker, I don't know about the others. If people are going to be active in the event they want to get right back into it.
8 - Variation - Vary the tasks a little, emphasise different aspects, have 'mini missions' from corporals or something that help the war effort but add variety and allow you to be a 'hero' and earn some fame/money/tokens seperately. EG: 'Go and observe the leader kincher <name> and report back'. Or 'Go to tower X and help them drive off the reaper kincher there before they are overwhelmed'.
9 - Length - This went on too long and the essence of the mission hasn't changed. Too much, too long without any change.
10 - Accomplishment - We should feel we are acheiving something during the event, things should change, we should get feedback, we should see results of our labours.
And lastly - better disclosure.
If the generals in this war had a plan (Construct and man towers to stave off the kitin, scout out their base and defend against them) we should have known what we were doing, it would have kept motivation up. Also, when scouting for a kitin base, it is helpful to know WHAT we're looking for, gawd demmit.
Great try at an epic, long-spanning event but it's just ended up dead in the water due to the points ranted on earlier causing player apathy, and if most of the players don't give a monkeys, the few who do can't accomplish much.
I've said my piece.
and since you did all I can do is agree with what you've said.
