04-15-2004, 06:02 PM
Hi,
As always, the devil is in the details.
If the system is such that one can play two to three hours without incurring a penalty, then it will have no effect on me, so I guess I wouldn't care. If it means that I have to cut short the sessions those times that I can play, then it might be a deal killer. At any rate, I know I'll never keep up with power gamers anyway. For one thing, a playing a game doesn't hold my interest for that long at a time after the first blush is over. For another, I tend to check the nooks and crannies instead of focusing on where I can level fastest or get the best drops.
However, I don't see how "It's designed to put a stop to shared-character power-leveling 24/7 that is done by gaming "sweatshops" to build up uber characters for sale quickly."
Lets look at one estimate:
Assume the rested bonus lasts for about 2 hours, and that it is a 25% bonus. Then one needs 5 characters to play a constantly fresh character. If it takes 500 hours to build a character without the rest bonus, then it will take 400 with it. It takes longer to get that first character out (2000 hours as opposed to 500) but you get more characters out over time (5 characters in 2000 hours as opposed to 2500).
OK, so those numbers are a SWAG. But I'm sure that the power gamers will figure out the best gain per hour, and I'm almost sure that it will be more under this "rest" system than it was without it.
The only other "rest" system I've ever seen is the "fatigue" factor in D&D type games. And, frankly, it sucks. Mostly it kicks in when your party completes a multi-day trip between mapped areas (as if the party wasn't going to sleep en route). Since I don't play 24/7, my characters can damned well eat, sleep, and take care of other personal business when I'm AFK ;)
I like the hearthstones, but I would like them even better if one could collect one from each inn one visits and then use that particular hearthstone to get back to that particular inn. That would save a lot of time running back and forth (which, if anything kills this type of game for me, it is the incessant covering and recovering the same ground to complete quests, to recover bodies, etc.). Since they would be useful as a means to get back to a location quickly, the one hour limit might become important. If the only time they are useful is when exiting the game, then they will be useless.
--Pete
2 hours 13 min 31 sec away from a "You cannot connect" message :)
As always, the devil is in the details.
If the system is such that one can play two to three hours without incurring a penalty, then it will have no effect on me, so I guess I wouldn't care. If it means that I have to cut short the sessions those times that I can play, then it might be a deal killer. At any rate, I know I'll never keep up with power gamers anyway. For one thing, a playing a game doesn't hold my interest for that long at a time after the first blush is over. For another, I tend to check the nooks and crannies instead of focusing on where I can level fastest or get the best drops.
However, I don't see how "It's designed to put a stop to shared-character power-leveling 24/7 that is done by gaming "sweatshops" to build up uber characters for sale quickly."
Lets look at one estimate:
Assume the rested bonus lasts for about 2 hours, and that it is a 25% bonus. Then one needs 5 characters to play a constantly fresh character. If it takes 500 hours to build a character without the rest bonus, then it will take 400 with it. It takes longer to get that first character out (2000 hours as opposed to 500) but you get more characters out over time (5 characters in 2000 hours as opposed to 2500).
OK, so those numbers are a SWAG. But I'm sure that the power gamers will figure out the best gain per hour, and I'm almost sure that it will be more under this "rest" system than it was without it.
The only other "rest" system I've ever seen is the "fatigue" factor in D&D type games. And, frankly, it sucks. Mostly it kicks in when your party completes a multi-day trip between mapped areas (as if the party wasn't going to sleep en route). Since I don't play 24/7, my characters can damned well eat, sleep, and take care of other personal business when I'm AFK ;)
I like the hearthstones, but I would like them even better if one could collect one from each inn one visits and then use that particular hearthstone to get back to that particular inn. That would save a lot of time running back and forth (which, if anything kills this type of game for me, it is the incessant covering and recovering the same ground to complete quests, to recover bodies, etc.). Since they would be useful as a means to get back to a location quickly, the one hour limit might become important. If the only time they are useful is when exiting the game, then they will be useless.
--Pete
2 hours 13 min 31 sec away from a "You cannot connect" message :)
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?