Spires for Neutrals a modest proposal
Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2005 4:43 am
Playing a neutral peacemaker on Atys is hard, but building a simulation of peacemaking is hard since there are few real world examples to simulate. Then again on a world with teleporters and wombai, the developers can just forget simulation and build in some game play so neutral peacemakers can be more than semi-safe bystanders to a FvF war.
Spires are intended to help their builders' faction to hold ground and give other as yet unspecified bonuses. Their main annoyance to neutrals is that they block teleportation by both the opposite faction and neutrals. Therefore, I propose to give the neutral side something to build that will counteract the spires teleportation block for neutrals: a mound (yin to the spire's yang).
The mounds would be build like the temples in episode 2 with normal foraged or quartered materials and standard crafting skills. Once build, the mound would allow non-PvP flagged neutrals to teleport into the zone or respawn there. The opposing faction still could not teleport into a zone with a spire and a mound. There would have to be a timer on the PvP flag to keep one side from teleporting in while neutral then turning on PvP.
The mounds would not keep the spire in that zone from counting as a link to adjacent zones. For every pair of mounds in both faction's zones with spires, the number of active spires (used for determine the spire's levels) is reduced by one for both sides.
Mounds would be built in unoccupied/inactive outposts sites. This would make the site relatively agro free and a completed mound would suppress PvP inside the boundaries of the outpost site.
Anyone could damage the mound by foraging (digging up the mound). Such foraging would only yield mission mats, nothing craftable or saleable. The mound could be repaired with foraging/crafting just as it was build.
We do not know what the victory conditions for FvF war will be, but for discussions sake lets assume it will be involve taking and holding territory with spires. Similarly, building enough mounds could force a truce or peace.
Spires are intended to help their builders' faction to hold ground and give other as yet unspecified bonuses. Their main annoyance to neutrals is that they block teleportation by both the opposite faction and neutrals. Therefore, I propose to give the neutral side something to build that will counteract the spires teleportation block for neutrals: a mound (yin to the spire's yang).
The mounds would be build like the temples in episode 2 with normal foraged or quartered materials and standard crafting skills. Once build, the mound would allow non-PvP flagged neutrals to teleport into the zone or respawn there. The opposing faction still could not teleport into a zone with a spire and a mound. There would have to be a timer on the PvP flag to keep one side from teleporting in while neutral then turning on PvP.
The mounds would not keep the spire in that zone from counting as a link to adjacent zones. For every pair of mounds in both faction's zones with spires, the number of active spires (used for determine the spire's levels) is reduced by one for both sides.
Mounds would be built in unoccupied/inactive outposts sites. This would make the site relatively agro free and a completed mound would suppress PvP inside the boundaries of the outpost site.
Anyone could damage the mound by foraging (digging up the mound). Such foraging would only yield mission mats, nothing craftable or saleable. The mound could be repaired with foraging/crafting just as it was build.
We do not know what the victory conditions for FvF war will be, but for discussions sake lets assume it will be involve taking and holding territory with spires. Similarly, building enough mounds could force a truce or peace.