I am sitting in a three hour class and bored out of my mind, so I figured I would throw some opinions and suggestions out there. I would also like to acknowledge the fact that the pvp player base in this game is low, and from a high level perspective of this game I see why it is on the backburner. I also recognize there is a very extensive PvP wishlist stickied in this forum so I will keep things simple and suggest ideas for methods of change implimentation. What do I mean by that? I mean there are a lot of LITTLE things that can be done to START creating a more fun pvp environment.
First of all, I would hope there is a solid team working on power balancing. One person can't be in charge of it all. I do feel like, however, the pvp community needs a representative. I would like to elect the ocho, mod 8, or whatever his other aliases are. As mentioned in another thread, he actually PLAYS with other players in zone. Wow what a good candidate.
At this point I would like to bring up DotA. (www.getdota.com) For those who don't know DotA (Defense of the ancients) is an old Warcraft 3 mod which has lived through the years. It is a 2 teams of 5 person player versus player game. The objectives and fact that the game is a real time strategy is irrelevant. The point of bringing this up is to mention the developer of that game whose alias is "icefrog".
Dota has stood the test of time, and is being recreated by Valve (makers of half-life, team fortress, etc) as their new main game. Icefrog has been hired by them. Why bring him up? There are over 100 selectable characters in dota each with unique powers and there are over 40 items all with different effects. The amount of time icefrog spends on balancing and improving the game is staggering. Why? Because he loves it.
Now Im not asking for any dev to commit his/her time to that much pvp balancing and improving as I know time is needed on other content. However, icefrog's methods for gathering data is what this game is lacking. Not only does he play his own game, he is an active listener in the community and actually implements improvements requested by players if he deems it a good idea and within scope of his next game update. Here is where our pvp representative comes in. If one staff member spent those extra few hours a day actually PLAYING in pvp zones and collecting data from experience and the community.. we could have a MUCH better pvp environment.
Changes don't even have to be extensive. It's all about being creative with what is already in place. We all know it isn't hard to create small pvp only changes. EVERY power can be modified to have pvp only effects without messing with any pve balances. We all know this. If $target == player versus $target == critter right? I understand that is exactly what i13 did. Every power got a different damage calculation for pvp, mezzes had special pvp cases, etc. The problem is the lack of continued support because of this huge communication barrier. The devs im sure dislike people constantly whining about pvp im sure, especially when there are no sound arguments to accompany a complaint. So there is this huge block in communication between developer and pvp player. This is what a pvp focused mod/dev would be for! If it's easier to communicate, it is easier to collect data and feedback, the easier it is to implement changes without angering everyone with a massive overhaul (i13).
There are people in this community who are willing to help improve pvp, let us help you guys (the developers) by staffing someone you guys trust to listen to us. PvP is a LOT of fun and if small wins can keep being made in pvp, maybe more people will come out of their pve comfort zone.
It's late.. i'm tired.. and slightly delusional! Thanks for reading! If.. you bothered lol
I am sitting in a three hour class and bored out of my mind, so I figured I would throw some opinions and suggestions out there. I would also like to acknowledge the fact that the pvp player base in this game is low, and from a high level perspective of this game I see why it is on the backburner. I also recognize there is a very extensive PvP wishlist stickied in this forum so I will keep things simple and suggest ideas for methods of change implimentation. What do I mean by that? I mean there are a lot of LITTLE things that can be done to START creating a more fun pvp environment.
First of all, I would hope there is a solid team working on power balancing. One person can't be in charge of it all. I do feel like, however, the pvp community needs a representative. I would like to elect the ocho, mod 8, or whatever his other aliases are. As mentioned in another thread, he actually PLAYS with other players in zone. Wow what a good candidate.
At this point I would like to bring up DotA. (www.getdota.com) For those who don't know DotA (Defense of the ancients) is an old Warcraft 3 mod which has lived through the years. It is a 2 teams of 5 person player versus player game. The objectives and fact that the game is a real time strategy is irrelevant. The point of bringing this up is to mention the developer of that game whose alias is "icefrog".
Dota has stood the test of time, and is being recreated by Valve (makers of half-life, team fortress, etc) as their new main game. Icefrog has been hired by them. Why bring him up? There are over 100 selectable characters in dota each with unique powers and there are over 40 items all with different effects. The amount of time icefrog spends on balancing and improving the game is staggering. Why? Because he loves it.
Now Im not asking for any dev to commit his/her time to that much pvp balancing and improving as I know time is needed on other content. However, icefrog's methods for gathering data is what this game is lacking. Not only does he play his own game, he is an active listener in the community and actually implements improvements requested by players if he deems it a good idea and within scope of his next game update. Here is where our pvp representative comes in. If one staff member spent those extra few hours a day actually PLAYING in pvp zones and collecting data from experience and the community.. we could have a MUCH better pvp environment.
Changes don't even have to be extensive. It's all about being creative with what is already in place. We all know it isn't hard to create small pvp only changes. EVERY power can be modified to have pvp only effects without messing with any pve balances. We all know this. If $target == player versus $target == critter right? I understand that is exactly what i13 did. Every power got a different damage calculation for pvp, mezzes had special pvp cases, etc. The problem is the lack of continued support because of this huge communication barrier. The devs im sure dislike people constantly whining about pvp im sure, especially when there are no sound arguments to accompany a complaint. So there is this huge block in communication between developer and pvp player. This is what a pvp focused mod/dev would be for! If it's easier to communicate, it is easier to collect data and feedback, the easier it is to implement changes without angering everyone with a massive overhaul (i13).
There are people in this community who are willing to help improve pvp, let us help you guys (the developers) by staffing someone you guys trust to listen to us. PvP is a LOT of fun and if small wins can keep being made in pvp, maybe more people will come out of their pve comfort zone.
It's late.. i'm tired.. and slightly delusional! Thanks for reading! If.. you bothered lol