03-16-2006, 12:30 AM
Ghostiger,Mar 15 2006, 07:43 AM Wrote:You didnt read.
I didnt say I had a problem with the idea of a character progressing and their being a differential between player characters in their abilities - thats fine.
I said "lvls just serves to artificially segregate players" and "level concept to limit who you should interect with".
The problem isnt the levels its that it seperates players from working together and milits who you can work with in a game - a concept at odds with the goals of an MMO.
EVE and PlanetSide are both games that avoid this problem for instancee. In both games a more experienced player will be much more competent than a noob, but they could work together on anything to good effect.
Its kind of like in a real life war. You really dont want 12 year olds on your side. Sure they can shoot a gun but they are inherently not capable like an adult.
But you will have less experienced people working with the more experienced, sure they arent as good as a veteren, but they can make big difference and help.
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Well, that was testy. Why is it that you always lead off with an accusation?
I think people like the stratification in MMORPGS. I know I do. It is the essential flavour of the genre. If I wanted to be able to productively play with even the lowest of the low, I'd play an FPS, or an RTS, where the field is equal.
An MMORPG is still an RPG. It is still a quest. You don't open up the end of the game to new players just to "not restrict who they can interact with". You save it for those who have played the game through, to preserve the sense of achievement. WoW is nice in that it encourages players to have alts, to play at a variety of levels. But eliminating those levels would take the flavour out of the game.
I'm not sure how EVE or PlanetSide deal with these issues. I would feel safe in assuming, however, that BioWare will stick to a story-driven model, and that means "artificial" restrictions on what you do, where you go, and who you do it with. It's the nature of the beast.
And "equipment" or "skill" systems are basically the same as levelling systems. They are as restrictive or permissive as the designers choose them to be.
-Jester