Stat Rework Suggestion
Sept 23, 2014 16:16:25 GMT -8
Post by Dylan Kyne on Sept 23, 2014 16:16:25 GMT -8
So, this is pretty much a direct copy and past of what I posted in staff, but we want the rest of the members to give their opinions on the subject. Here it is:
________________________________________________
Okay, so I was thinking about some of the things that I believe new members may find to be a turn off when they're thinking about joining our board. One of these things is stats, and always is stats when a board allows the importing of old characters from a similar board. Now don't go thinking this is me just dissing stats again, cause that's far from where I'm coming from. I can see the allure of stats and items, but I think the majority of the boards we've RPed on have executed both of them terribly most of the time.
I like that we have five stats, doing away with the int/wis, so in that regard we're moving forward. The problem I see is the sheer number of stats that we have. Looking at it through the eyes of a new member, when I see numbers that are 5x or more than what they'd start out with, it creates a huge separation right away. This is what makes getting new members on a stat based board difficult. Stats create a barrier, but that's because of how they're being implemented.
So, I think I may have come up with a solution that lets both the old and the new feel like they're on equal footing, hopefully clearing the way for new members to want to join. The idea stems from the D&D systems I've played with my friends, with some tweaks to make it work for us in a writing medium. I feel like 75 is a good starting amount of stats, with 20 being the max a person can put in one stat. That works perfectly. Where things change, and get more complicated for transfers than new characters, is rewards and gaining experience.
A huge problem I've seen on almost every stat-based board I've been on is that people's stats get up there way too fast if someone is an active member. That isn't always a bad thing, but the distance in stats ends up becoming to great for newer members to enjoy themselves in any sort of combat situation. I know all of you guys have decent stats based on your characters' experiences throughout the years, and I feel they should still be rewarded for their effort, but I have an idea that I think could work.
The biggest change in my idea is that members, old or new, will not receive experience for each thread, quest, or event they took place in like they have in the past. I know what you guys are thinking: "Well, that's almost all of our stats..." This is true, but that's the point of this revamp. The high number was awesome, and almost a bragging right type thing on past boards, but this created the rift that I've been talking about. Don't fret though, my faithful friends. I have a solution.
We would keep the tiers in place, though they will need a bit of tweaking to make this new system work. Instead of each tier making the cap on stats go up, they will give a set number of stat points per tier. The plan was something like this:
New Member: Choose a Specialty (Zero Posts)
Accustomed: +1 to two stats (200 Posts)
Pro: +1 to two stats (400 Posts)
Elite: +2 to two stats (600 Posts)
Master: +1 to three stats (800 Posts)
Grand Master: +1 to three stats (1000 Posts)
Unrivaled: +3 to two stats (1250 Posts)
Veteran: +1 to four stats (1500 Posts)
Royal: +1 to four stats (1750 Posts)
Legend: +3 to three stats (2000 Posts)
Demi-God: +1 to five stats (2500 Posts)
God: +1 to five stats (3000 Posts)
This would be a standard leveling up process, pretty much focusing on two main stats:
+1+1/+2+1+1/+3+1+1/+3+1+1=16
+1+1/+2+1+1/+3+1+1/+3+1+1=16
0/+1+1/+1+1/+3+1+1=9
0/0/+1+1/+1+1=4
0/0/0/+1+1=2
Aaaaaand I just realized I didn't write anything about Specialties yet. This was a little something I thought of this while coming up with something cool that members can do at character creation that gives their character both originality and a little boost to the stat, or stats, of their choice. A specialty is what that character, well, specializes in. It's one of the things that define them, especially in a gang or organization.
I think we could come up with a few standard Specialties as examples for the members, or I guess I could come up with an example for you guys right now:
Dylan Kyne
Novice Chemist: +2 to one stat or +1 to two stats - 200 word history
Adept Chemist: +4 to one stat or +2 to two stats - 400 word history
Pro Chemist: +6 to one stat or +3 to two stats - 600 word history
Elite Chemist: +8 to one stat or +4 to two stats - 800 word history
Master Chemist: +10 to one stat or +5 to two stats - 1000 word history
Members can come up with their character's Specialty themselves, based on this formula, or leave it up to the staff to come up with one for them that they feel fits their character. I think the template is self-explanatory, but I know some people like letting others make things for them so we should leave the option.
This gives members incentive to write a little more about their characters if they want more of a bonus early on. Now let's say that someone writes a history with 657 words. They'd start out as Pro -Insert Specialty- at character creation with the stat boosts that come with that level and specialty. Because they wrote 657 words, they only need to post 143 times to reach Elite -Insert Specialty- and 343 times to reach Master -Insert Specialty-. This may seem a little complicated, but I assure you its pretty simply. If history length being a factor is a problem we can always convert the word count to post count. I just figured that everything else is pretty much based on post count. Having the ability to get a little reward for extra effort in the beginning goes a long way. That's all I'm saying.
This will be a huge change, and it affects you guys the most, so I'll give you an example of your stats in the revamped system. This is just based on your guy's current stats and all that.
Kazuya Hikari
1750 Posts - Royal
Strength: 15+1+1+1+1=19
Dexterity: 15+1+1+2+1+3+1+1+5=30
Constitution: 15 +1+1=17
Wisdom: 15+1+1=17
Spirit: 15+1+1+2+1+3+1+1+5=30
113 overall Stat Points: 75 from starting stats, 28 from post count, and 10 more from his history/posts.
Silk Velasquez
1764 Posts - Royal
Strength: 15+1+1+2+1+1+3+1+1+5=31
Dexterity: 15+1=16
Constitution: 15+1+1+2+1+1+1+1+5=28
Wisdom: 15+1=16
Spirit: 15+1+1+3+1+1=22
113 overall Stat Points: 75 from starting stats, 28 from post count, and 10 more from her history/posts.
Marcus Prasad
1231 Posts - Grand Master
Strength: 17+1+1+2+1+5=27
Dexterity: 15+1=16
Constitution: 14+1=15
Wisdom: 17+1+1+2+1+5=27
Spirit:12
97 overall Stat Points: 75 from starting stats, 12 from post count, and 10 more from his history/posts.
So, as you can see, you guys get "nerfed" quite a bit, and we'll have to lower the the npc's stats as well if this was implemented, but I'm willing to put in all the work needed to make this work.
You guys may be wondering how we can replace the lost experience from the threads and quests that you did in the past with your characters. I know I would after I'd become so accustomed to transferring stat for stat, for the most part, through the transfers from Xin board to Xin board. A simple solution would be a "1 exp = X $", where we could discuss the exchange amount that you guys feel is fair.
The main reason for this is so that rewards from posting, quests, and events come in the form of money and items, which will be how you set yourself apart from your fellow members. Items haven't been my specialty, nor have stats, but when I put my mind to something I can make anything work. We can work on getting an item system to support this new stat direction, and I know Lloyd will be a big part of this. He's had a decent amount of experience with items. I don't know about the rest of you, but I know that we can all work together to make something awesome.
I know this was quite the post, and quite the suggestion, but I'd like you guys to give me your honest opinion on everything here. It's a lot, that's for sure, but I wouldn't put something like this up if it wasn't for the betterment of the board. Don't hold back. Come out swinging.
________________________________________________
Okay, so I was thinking about some of the things that I believe new members may find to be a turn off when they're thinking about joining our board. One of these things is stats, and always is stats when a board allows the importing of old characters from a similar board. Now don't go thinking this is me just dissing stats again, cause that's far from where I'm coming from. I can see the allure of stats and items, but I think the majority of the boards we've RPed on have executed both of them terribly most of the time.
I like that we have five stats, doing away with the int/wis, so in that regard we're moving forward. The problem I see is the sheer number of stats that we have. Looking at it through the eyes of a new member, when I see numbers that are 5x or more than what they'd start out with, it creates a huge separation right away. This is what makes getting new members on a stat based board difficult. Stats create a barrier, but that's because of how they're being implemented.
So, I think I may have come up with a solution that lets both the old and the new feel like they're on equal footing, hopefully clearing the way for new members to want to join. The idea stems from the D&D systems I've played with my friends, with some tweaks to make it work for us in a writing medium. I feel like 75 is a good starting amount of stats, with 20 being the max a person can put in one stat. That works perfectly. Where things change, and get more complicated for transfers than new characters, is rewards and gaining experience.
A huge problem I've seen on almost every stat-based board I've been on is that people's stats get up there way too fast if someone is an active member. That isn't always a bad thing, but the distance in stats ends up becoming to great for newer members to enjoy themselves in any sort of combat situation. I know all of you guys have decent stats based on your characters' experiences throughout the years, and I feel they should still be rewarded for their effort, but I have an idea that I think could work.
The biggest change in my idea is that members, old or new, will not receive experience for each thread, quest, or event they took place in like they have in the past. I know what you guys are thinking: "Well, that's almost all of our stats..." This is true, but that's the point of this revamp. The high number was awesome, and almost a bragging right type thing on past boards, but this created the rift that I've been talking about. Don't fret though, my faithful friends. I have a solution.
We would keep the tiers in place, though they will need a bit of tweaking to make this new system work. Instead of each tier making the cap on stats go up, they will give a set number of stat points per tier. The plan was something like this:
New Member: Choose a Specialty (Zero Posts)
Accustomed: +1 to two stats (200 Posts)
Pro: +1 to two stats (400 Posts)
Elite: +2 to two stats (600 Posts)
Master: +1 to three stats (800 Posts)
Grand Master: +1 to three stats (1000 Posts)
Unrivaled: +3 to two stats (1250 Posts)
Veteran: +1 to four stats (1500 Posts)
Royal: +1 to four stats (1750 Posts)
Legend: +3 to three stats (2000 Posts)
Demi-God: +1 to five stats (2500 Posts)
God: +1 to five stats (3000 Posts)
This would be a standard leveling up process, pretty much focusing on two main stats:
+1+1/+2+1+1/+3+1+1/+3+1+1=16
+1+1/+2+1+1/+3+1+1/+3+1+1=16
0/+1+1/+1+1/+3+1+1=9
0/0/+1+1/+1+1=4
0/0/0/+1+1=2
Aaaaaand I just realized I didn't write anything about Specialties yet. This was a little something I thought of this while coming up with something cool that members can do at character creation that gives their character both originality and a little boost to the stat, or stats, of their choice. A specialty is what that character, well, specializes in. It's one of the things that define them, especially in a gang or organization.
I think we could come up with a few standard Specialties as examples for the members, or I guess I could come up with an example for you guys right now:
Dylan Kyne
Novice Chemist: +2 to one stat or +1 to two stats - 200 word history
Adept Chemist: +4 to one stat or +2 to two stats - 400 word history
Pro Chemist: +6 to one stat or +3 to two stats - 600 word history
Elite Chemist: +8 to one stat or +4 to two stats - 800 word history
Master Chemist: +10 to one stat or +5 to two stats - 1000 word history
Members can come up with their character's Specialty themselves, based on this formula, or leave it up to the staff to come up with one for them that they feel fits their character. I think the template is self-explanatory, but I know some people like letting others make things for them so we should leave the option.
This gives members incentive to write a little more about their characters if they want more of a bonus early on. Now let's say that someone writes a history with 657 words. They'd start out as Pro -Insert Specialty- at character creation with the stat boosts that come with that level and specialty. Because they wrote 657 words, they only need to post 143 times to reach Elite -Insert Specialty- and 343 times to reach Master -Insert Specialty-. This may seem a little complicated, but I assure you its pretty simply. If history length being a factor is a problem we can always convert the word count to post count. I just figured that everything else is pretty much based on post count. Having the ability to get a little reward for extra effort in the beginning goes a long way. That's all I'm saying.
This will be a huge change, and it affects you guys the most, so I'll give you an example of your stats in the revamped system. This is just based on your guy's current stats and all that.
Kazuya Hikari
1750 Posts - Royal
Strength: 15+1+1+1+1=19
Dexterity: 15+1+1+2+1+3+1+1+5=30
Constitution: 15 +1+1=17
Wisdom: 15+1+1=17
Spirit: 15+1+1+2+1+3+1+1+5=30
113 overall Stat Points: 75 from starting stats, 28 from post count, and 10 more from his history/posts.
Silk Velasquez
1764 Posts - Royal
Strength: 15+1+1+2+1+1+3+1+1+5=31
Dexterity: 15+1=16
Constitution: 15+1+1+2+1+1+1+1+5=28
Wisdom: 15+1=16
Spirit: 15+1+1+3+1+1=22
113 overall Stat Points: 75 from starting stats, 28 from post count, and 10 more from her history/posts.
Marcus Prasad
1231 Posts - Grand Master
Strength: 17+1+1+2+1+5=27
Dexterity: 15+1=16
Constitution: 14+1=15
Wisdom: 17+1+1+2+1+5=27
Spirit:12
97 overall Stat Points: 75 from starting stats, 12 from post count, and 10 more from his history/posts.
So, as you can see, you guys get "nerfed" quite a bit, and we'll have to lower the the npc's stats as well if this was implemented, but I'm willing to put in all the work needed to make this work.
You guys may be wondering how we can replace the lost experience from the threads and quests that you did in the past with your characters. I know I would after I'd become so accustomed to transferring stat for stat, for the most part, through the transfers from Xin board to Xin board. A simple solution would be a "1 exp = X $", where we could discuss the exchange amount that you guys feel is fair.
The main reason for this is so that rewards from posting, quests, and events come in the form of money and items, which will be how you set yourself apart from your fellow members. Items haven't been my specialty, nor have stats, but when I put my mind to something I can make anything work. We can work on getting an item system to support this new stat direction, and I know Lloyd will be a big part of this. He's had a decent amount of experience with items. I don't know about the rest of you, but I know that we can all work together to make something awesome.
I know this was quite the post, and quite the suggestion, but I'd like you guys to give me your honest opinion on everything here. It's a lot, that's for sure, but I wouldn't put something like this up if it wasn't for the betterment of the board. Don't hold back. Come out swinging.
