City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

Unwanted/preferred arc warning (title edited)

BayBlast

By BayBlast,
Posted on: 2009-06-27 22:23 in Suggestions and Ideas

 

Posted

For those of us who do not like farming, and we do number high, I have an idea for a system to implement to hinder farming in AE.

A personal Arc-lockdown.

Basically once a mission is over, when you have the chance to rate, submit critisism, or report for content, you can have a button that will flag that arc as "not to be played".

If that mission is selected by the leader of your team, a message that "The selected mission is unavailable to the current team configuation." This would be set personally.

The upside of which is, if you have a team of farmers who just enjoy the experience of farming together, this doesn't hinder you, as you're not likely to do this. But for those of us who want to run content, we can now opt out.

Admittedly it will take a while for the full effect of this to take place, folks would need to go on a few of the missions to select them as unwanted, but eventually, the calls for random farm teams would dwindle as the PUG's for farming would have difficulty grabbing missions, as any one person could prevent any mission from being acceptable.

I know this could have it's negative effects as well, but I'm not a dev or a programmer, I think it's a good starting point, to be fleshed out b those wih greater knowledge. Not to mention, itll assist our GM's in not needing to spend as much time locking down missions.

As I said, if you LIKE AE farming, awesome, you pay your 15 bucks, and if thats what you wanna do with your friends, sweet, more power to you. But most of the big time farm groups I've ran with, and I admit, I have now and tehn, are a more closed off sect, and this system would not hinder them. they'd keep those missions open across the board.

Just my $.02

Now, I know rebuttals are coming, on the forums as in AE, I appreciate critisisms, so please be honest in why you like or dislike this idea. I do want to reiterate I am trying to think of a system that would still allow folks who DO like to farm to continue that practice, even if I personally disagree with AE farming.

-Equation, who is certain to be called a Fail Whale soon...

COMING SOON: A new Epic that will change the way you see Arachnos...
Brought to you by @Equation

 

Posted

OK. I'm confused.

If you don't like the mission, why wouldn't you just say "Hey, sorry guys, wanted a mission not a farm" and leave, then find likeminded players to play with?

I mean, a quick glance through the description - sometimes even just the name - and I'm managing to avoid most farming missions.

I guess I'm not seeing the point, or how this would hinder anyone. *shrug* Especially with the turnover of farm missions. (Or with a leader saying "Don't press X when we're done or ..." to some new player who's on it.)

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
For those of us who do not like farming, and we do number high, I have an idea for a system to implement to hinder farming in AE.


[/ QUOTE ]

Why is it that so many players seem to have this overwhelming need to control or "hinder" what other players do?

If you don't like what a team is doing, either don't join to begin with, or leave the team. This is not rocket science here.

 

Posted

Awesome, I was hoping you'd respond, you have some of the better discource and critiques to ideas.

The reason why, honestly started as an idea to not play arcs that a player may not wish to engage in due to a personal dislike of the mission based on content etc, that didn't nessasarily breach the rules on innapropriate content. Later on after realizing how many times I've been invited to teams promising missions and content only to be faced with lvl 54 bosses on the carnival map did I really wish I could use it there. Or on the lvl 52 lt on the dreck map. etc etc, I'm sure you get the point.

Many times myself, and if I'm the only one this has happened to, so be it, I'm not goign to claim this has happened to everyone, have been finding great difficulty in finding teams to run content, even when we are heading up the team. Farmers and storytellers all bunched together fighting over what to run.

Frankly, I will be the first to admit, I *AM* biased against AE farms, but I know not everyone is, and it just feels tiring after a while to report the farms time after time trying to clear up the AE for what it's original intention was.

I know it's not ever going to be what it's original intent was, it's too far gone at this point.

With the system I was thinking though, you could gradually weed out the farms, OR conversely the stories if you prefer farms, and start to split the two groups properly.

that way folks who dislike farming will be in a place where they won't be, and those who do enjoy will find the folks who enjoy it as much as themselves.

It's only the basic concept at this moment, if you have an idea for it, please Memphis, I do value you opinion greatly.

I'm just tired of dropping team after team after team after team.

COMING SOON: A new Epic that will change the way you see Arachnos...
Brought to you by @Equation

 

Posted

I feel it would be more of a hinderance to have the missions personally reported to a GM for being a farm mission, and having that players Arc Slot being shut down due to one or a few players dislike of farming.

This way you can simply opt to do a different arc. Yes as the base idea currently is, it's abusable. I want you, the detractors to help me refine it, if you'd be willing. I KNOW farming isn't going anywhere, but it's a real pain to play for 90 minutes, be on 7 teams and have to drop them all due to AE farming. I'm not the only one that it's happened to, and no I'm not saying that everyone hates this.

Basically, I want to find a way of making it so the content a team runs is something the whole team would be eager to do, so everyone *IS* happy. If this option is not appropriate, what would YOU like to see done?

Farmers, tell me what you'd like to see, in reverse, so you aren't pestered by folks who only want to run storyarcs.

COMING SOON: A new Epic that will change the way you see Arachnos...
Brought to you by @Equation

 

Posted

Bayblast brings up a good point, as far as ... let's call it too much hinderance. Or, depending on intent, just griefing. Say it has Carnies. Well, player2 doesnt' like those, "Not acceptable." Now nobody can play while in that team (without kicking him.) OK, switch to a COT map. Ugh, player 4 and 7 don't like those. Hey, Council! Cave map, there's player 3's objection.

I think, honestly, it'd backfire and hurt even the story teams. Heck,*I* have actual story arcs with subsets of factions (such as cherry-picking Banes) for a group - I don't think anyone in their right mind would call that a 'farm,' but still. If someone saw that and flagged it, nobody could play.

Also... well, one, is this account-wide, or per character? Because sometimes it's the character, not the player. I wouldn't dream of taking my Earth/FF controller out in, say, a map full of Warrior Earth folks, or Devouring Earth - but my namesake Fire/SS tank? Bring it on. They're fun. Technically "farming," perhaps, as I'll see how I can do against the group and just have fun smashing everything in my path - but I wouldn't' call it 'a farm." (I'm also avoiding the whole "farming vs exploiting vs powerleveling vs just repeating content" discussion that blazes in other areas of the forum.) TL;DR version? It's like PVEers and PVPers, or RPers/Non-RPers, or Heroes and Villains... when it comes to the players, the two groups are *not* exclusive.

You're right as far as where you put the power (I suppose that's the word I'm looking for) for farming/not farming - it's something that, exploitive maps aside, should be in the player's control. I'm just not sure there's a way to make *this* work right offhand - or that, honestly, it'd be an improvement over what I said earlier, just keeping a friends list of like-minded individuals. There's no "Oh, I clicked that button" that'll keep a team from playing that way. And don't forget, we'll have expanded search and tagging options in I15 - which should, if authors use them, make it easier to find just what you want in a story.

I completely sympathize with not wanting to get stuck on a farm team, or being sold a team only to find it's not what you wanted to join. I'm just not sold right now on a filter like this - I think, right offhand, it'd cause more issues than it would solve other than for a very few.

 

Posted

You bring up a very valid point on that one Bill, thank you

I would like to have it be per CHARACTER, instead of per ACCOUNT.

How about this, if you flag it as something you wish not to play, the next time you are on a team and that arc is selected two things happen.

1. The team leader is send a dialogue box informing them that the selected mission contains content deemed undesirable by one or more members of the team. It's anonymous, it's inobtrusive, and it gives a chance for them to possible choose somkething else, or continue on.

2. it informs the PLAYER that a mission they flagges as content they did not want to partake in has been selected, so they can voice their concerns, leave the team, or suggest a different mission.

Yes, it is adding another step into how things technically are now, but I know I'd appreciate a warning if I'm going to be on a team running stuff I frankly can't stand.

this way it doesn't force teams to not do content, but it does allow players and team leaders to know where each other stand ahead of time.

Perhaps, if you have arcs you can set also to PREFERRED, so team leaders who get the dialogue could see a suggestion to a different arc instead, and switch over.

That version stops the griefing of it, while still having some of the core aspects, for those who /unsigned, what are your feelings towards that?

and Memphis, thank you again for your critisism, I hope to hear it again for this.

COMING SOON: A new Epic that will change the way you see Arachnos...
Brought to you by @Equation

 

Posted

As the suggestion has changed in method and honestly, I think the original title was a bit too negative I have changed the title of this suggestion.

I still hope to hear your feedback and critisisms both pro and con.

COMING SOON: A new Epic that will change the way you see Arachnos...
Brought to you by @Equation

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
For those of us who do not like farming, and we do number high, I have an idea for a system to implement to hinder farming in AE.


[/ QUOTE ]

Why is it that so many players seem to have this overwhelming need to control or "hinder" what other players do?

If you don't like what a team is doing, either don't join to begin with, or leave the team. This is not rocket science here.

[/ QUOTE ]

^^this is really all i have to say. but since it has already been said i won't say it again.

 

Posted

Understood, and with that in mind I actuallt re-structured the suggestion to fit that into account. What are your feelings on the new method, or are they the same?

Also, I did change the topic line as well due to my realization I was coming across a bit brash. I'mnot trying to "hinder" farming, but trying to make it more accessable for people to be on AE teams they prefer, the reasons of which as well as my personal accounts have been previously stated.

I do thank you though for your responce and await your next.

COMING SOON: A new Epic that will change the way you see Arachnos...
Brought to you by @Equation

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]

Basically once a mission is over, when you have the chance to rate, submit critisism, or report for content, you can have a button that will flag that arc as "not to be played".


[/ QUOTE ]
Due to complaints constantly against my farm arc, I unpublish my farm map after I'm done running it. It eliminates any complaints against it, and would effectivly null your idea because it's assigned a new Arc ID when published again.

If this idea were implemented, two things would probably need to happen. First is that the complaint system on farms would need to go away. Reporting an arc that it is a farm mission would do nothing against the owner or the arc. Secondly, if the leader of the team tries to start an arc, and is unable to because someone on the team put it on his "Do Not Play" list, the leader needs to know who exactly is the cause of being unable to select that particular arc so he knows who to kick.