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Some thoughts on where we are going...
So, there are people complaining about the low number of regular players, and low levels of activity (this is not the same thing). I too am concerned about the feasibility of the server at present – partly few people to interact with, plus there is the risk of all my work vanishing if the server folds – which appears to be about to happen.
Gira’s post expresses similar concerns. I too have noticed that a number of people log on, see no one else is on or there is little to do, and they leave again. Certainly, things like Spawn need work – but we need to look past that for a minute, and examine the CORE mechanic that we want from the server.
I should add at this stage, as it was suggested on Gira’s thread, to be honest, if the server closed / map reset – I would be annoyed and would NOT return. I had been assured this was not going to happen, else I would have left sooner. Having ones work deleted is not fun – unless of course my constructions were ported to a new map and items moved over. Plus, even if you did port across 3 months later, I will have found something new by then! Others may feel the same.
There are several aspects to a potential server: PvP, PvE, Building, Raiding, Territory, War, Economy, Roleplay, Protection. Those we choose define the server gameplay style, the people who play, and their activity levels.
So, the question is what to do. Firstly, we need to decide on WHAT people want, before the HOW. I think some HOWS are in motion, but the WHAT has never really been addressed. So, I am going to comment on all of the aspects, and invite feedback. I am not asking for comments necessarily on HOW – that comes later.
PVE & Building
Now, while PvE and Building are essential aspects – you can get these from single player on your own local host, why go to a multiplayer experience, so this by itself is not enough. That said, they are still important aspects, which is one of the reasons Kiwike is attractive because it’s not an anarchy server – you don’t need to worry about someone just destroying what you built.
However, Kiwike is Vanilla. Having to grind your way through miles and miles of rock mineshafts to get ore and materials eventually gets very tiring and repetitive. I think that’s what drives people to try and cheat. And there are only a few types of ore and material in vanilla, and only so many ways you can build castles / houses etc. It all gets dull after a while.
There are 100’s of mods. Big ones like Buildcraft, Industrial Craft, Railcraft etc all add many new materials and craft recipes, and let you build all sorts of extra stuff AND automate some of the 'boring' aspects. So, it takes much longer to get bored. There are also redstone and computer mods that let you build more versatile and whacky creations and defences. And so on.
PVP & Rivalry / War
For me, PvP is an important part of multiplayer, but I don’t think it should be the SOLE focus - but woven into the OTHER aspects.
Combat is not that complicated in Vanila minecraft (this is not, after all, Battlefield 2, or Counterstrike etc). Basically, you make potions, enchant items, and then click really fast. There are not that many successful combinations. If that was all there was in the game, then for many, it would get old real fast, so there needs to be other things to do in game (see other sections).
However, all that said, I would NOT be interested in playing on a non-PvP server. Simply building stuff and walking around, knowing that no one could ever threaten me, is little different to the single player game. I could just build stuff in creative mode, and email screenshots. It’s all pointless. I like the idea of building traps and defences.
I think one of the MAIN attractions for me and others of Kiwike, is that unlike many PvP servers, it is not an anarchy server. Whilst there is PvP, there are rules on griefing, vandalism etc.
Problem #1 is, as I said above, is that vanilla combat at the moment is quite limited (few winning setups, and click lots up close), especially when advertised as a controlled PvP server. If you want to attack a town, the best you can do is build a TNT cannon. Which you cannot prepare in advance, and you have to manage to build on the front line during action, and it is extremely limited. It generally only fires along x or z. You could be clever about it, but then it grows into a monster the size of a town on its own!
There are all sorts of mods out there, with guns, artillery, cannons, mortars etc. This all ties in with the territories category, but a range of static defences, mobile weapons (artillery pulled by pig etc) and guns, one could rage proper battles and sieges.
Problem #2 is that there needs to be a POINT to violence. Just killing person X for the sake of it, gets old very soon. Going around dominating combat for an individual may be fun for them until their prey just rage quits. And perhaps a feud can add a point to some 1vs1 fighting.
However, the main form of combat at the moment is group from a town trying to overwhelm another town. At most, they may gain some bounty in the raid. But what happens is group A raids B, later group B raids A. That is a very limited scenario, which quickly gets very old!
For true point to combat, you need CONQUEST. Most games, of most genres, are based on the historical fact that humans fight for GAIN. Be that power, or resources. Kiwike currently lacks this. Partly because all resources are uniformly spread across the world. If more important resources were in smaller areas, and there was a way of locking off chunks to others through some sort of territories. People would have to FIGHT for access (or trade - see economy).
Perhaps you would have to build control towers, which need to be held for several hours to be taken or destroyed? I am thinking how Planetside worked.. This would also stop any group getting too powerful - if it an empire gets too big, they cannot hold it.
Economy
Personally, this is of limited interest to me unless it ties into territories (as above). At the moment, in most cases, the effort required in making / getting cash to buy something, is the same as getting the actual item for myself. In minecraft, almost all materials are in abundance and roughly equally spread over the map. No groups have monopoly on a certain items, so there is no reason to trade. (This is one thing that makes Civilisation 5 better than 2 – you had to hold parts of the map to get certain goods, or trade to get them, and it worked both ways).
Plus, at the moment the economy is a mess. We have adopted emeralds as currency, with a certain number of players having exploited prior bugs that are sitting on massive amounts of cash, so the economy is hyper-inflated and out-priced many.
To me, an economy could only be made more attractive, if it somehow became necessary or a real time-saver. Perhaps, if we introduced things like industrial craft / buildcraft mods then that would generate an industry which could then trigger more of an economy. Plus, give people who are into building and crafting more to make – especially weapons (see PvP). And the PvP’ers more toys to buy then play with? And town people more to defend with?
Is it possible to limit certain more advanced ores / materials to move limited areas of the map – so territorial control gave people control over certain goods – forcing trade?
Roleplay
Roleplaying, I’m indifferent to. I have no objections to there being a plot / history to the world. But, it would only ever be window dressing. It doesn’t change the fact that the core workings of the game need to be there to keep people interested in the long run. Otherwise, once you have explored the castles and the story, you go.
I think lite-RP is a great way to draw in new players. Heavy RP will scare them away. All told though, if the server is empty or boring, the RP will not keep them for very long at all.
That said, I am very concerned by the creation of a new Kiwike-RP server. I think spreading an already thin player base will just lead to one of the servers being abandoned, or both failing.
Protecting Stuff – Locked Chests
I can certainly see why it is important to be able to protect your stuff. Sure, you can bury your stuff randomly around the place, scattered across the world and hope the X-ray police keep it safe. However, that’s hardly convenient for some items that you want to keep close at hand. You don’t want on every new spawn to have to go digging for kit in several places. It's not a fun way to "live".
But at the same time, raiding and PvP are a fun part of the game. It’s a balance. Nothing promotes a rage quite like having your entire stock stolen. But in moderation, it’s fun to engage in a battle of wits against thieves! (Providing we can stop cheats).
One part of the problem, is being able to protect your stuff whilst offline. No one is ever able to be online 24/7. However, this introduces a new problem in that it actually encourages inactivity at peak times. Why play when lots of people are around who could rob you? Better play when they are not on, so your stash is safe. If someone comes near your base, just log off. Etc.
Also, it means it doesn't encourage activity. Why log on to check on your stuff – it’s safe. It’ll be there in a week or a months’ time if you ever log back on. You don’t have to guard at all.
As an aside. Not sure I like that you never know who locked the chest. So you find some – you don’t know who owns them. Which, I can see the good side to. But, it means I don’t know if I should come back – if I knew who owned it, I may know that they are no longer playing. Or indeed have been banned – and it is locked forever. Perhaps you should be able to identify the owner – which later alerts the owner that person X has looked at your chest when they come online. There would be scratches on the lock from trying to pick it...Also, I’m not clear on how locking picking works. Does the owner get a warning message when someone picks it while they are online?
Protecting Stuff - Towns
Towns are in many ways a bit OP. One can’t break blocks, or place blocks. You can’t lay down TNT – you have to project it from outside the town. They require ender pearls and some thinking to break into. This does risk a bit of a two-tier system, in that those who are loners are at a huge disadvantage. Once found, they can be raided, and they have no hope of raiding back. This may frighten away some players. However, there does need to be an advantage to towns. So, I am on the fence.
As with the chest locks, it’s a case that once built, the protection of a town requires zero activity or upkeep. If resources AND activity were required and perhaps rare resources, to keep a town safe – then people would need to be active to get these, and with a territory scenario, would need to hold land in order to get these.
One option, may be to port in the forcefield mod. Instead of the current block protection system - one can then shield off a base.
This uses fuel, and so, if the people are inactive, the power runs out and the base is open. Also, the shield has a recharge rate, so if hit with huge amounts of TNT it could be overwhelmed. Or at least burn through the fuel much much faster – so town designers would want to design reserve power systems etc.
Towns & Territory
I am not currently hugely thrilled with the current town system. Sure, I am planning to apply for one soon, because I am one of the very few not to be within one, and am feeling vulnerable – I am relying on no one using x-ray or other methods to find where I am based. However, I’m not convinced that towns are currently an asset to the server, and may be detrimental in their current form. I wonder if they make newcomers feel too threatened?
It just seems very limited and dull. Towns just raid each other and generally ignore the rest of the map (except deep underground mining). If they were capitols for territories, I would see a point. But at the moment, they can be ignored by non-town players and it doesn't affect them. With a territories system, everyone could get caught up in the wars etc.
Last Thoughts
In terms of making good defences etc.:
It would be nice if a special block could be made that sends a redstone trigger when a portal is entered / exited.
Likewise, a block that records all the people who walk over it.
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Some thoughts on where we are going...
