As you use armor and weapons, it degrades by consuming durability which is lost forever. Part of the irony is that Darkfall already has a "gear break" sink in the game in the form of durability. These just need a band-aid to stop the bleeding and then AV needs to turn it's attention to things that WILL bring players back. But "faucets and sinks" are not actually the area that needs the most attention. In fact, other than the 'not enough sand in the sandbox' comments because of the lack of things to craft or build, the economy is not mentioned at all. We even have a thread on our private clan forums asking what will bring people back - this isn't mentioned once. You don't have to look any farther than the Forumfall reactions to The Loot Nazi that I posted Tuesday to understand that this idea is toxic and will drive players away from the game.Īnd how many will come back because it's introduced as a new feature? I don't know a single person who would come back for this reason. The idea that 'breaking gear' is going to solve for population decline is laughable. The population decline was easily predictable. The 'lack of things to do' is a statement that every long-term player has recognized as the core problem since beta. Right now, the potential problem is that there simply isn't enough interesting things "to do" when not sieging to keep people logged in. If you read my entry after the beta NDA was lifted, I wrote:īy the third month, better have something new or anyone without a strong vision for the game is going to lose interest. It lacks depth and it's not welcoming to the "pure" crafter. Producers make products, Consumers use the products produced, and Decomposers break everything down.Ĭlearly, the economy is broken in Darkfall. All living things can be placed into one of these three categories. Simply put, while the idea may warrant some consideration, it's not a practical solution to the real problem facing Darkfall.Ī thriving MMO economy is much like an ecosystem, with Producers, Consumers and Decomposers.
The recent Darkfall controversy surrounding the "breaking of gear on gank" is a great example of where idealism fails in the face of pragmatism. Pragmatism is important because it uses prediction and problem-solving to understand the practical implication of a change. Suggestion forums are always littered with the dreams of idealists because some ideas, while creative, are not practical to implement or don't solve for the underlying root problem. Big dreams lead to big ideas and innovations.īut we also need pragmatists. If the other pack includes a bunch of big alpha males, you simply need to get more wolves in your pack to compete.ĭiscussions about game design often come from idealists who have grand opinions about how MMOs should work. And sometimes that means that you fulfill the sheep role in Syncaine's analogy while other times, you'll win and fulfill the wolf role. Sometimes, the other wolf is bigger or meaner or simply luckier than you. The game attracts wolves because it's marketed to wolves, so it's simply not a wolf-eat-sheep world. The reason is simple: Most players think they are a Wolves. The sheep versus wolf analogy, while a good one, is not a perfect fit for Darkfall. One game will have you "burn through the adrenaline" and the other would have you "let your mind roam over EVE's creations". EVE, on the other hand, is clearly a true sandbox and it openly advertises the fact that you have the opportunity to do anything you want within it's game world. While it has sandbox elements, you'll find that it doesn't actually market itself as a sandbox game. The central difference is that one game, Darkfall, is a PVP game first and foremost. Over time, a character can be honed into a specialist or adapted for many situations. There are no mutually-exclusive branches in a skill tree that is both wide and deep. The choice of skills to train is entirely up to the player. Starting as a new pilot in a training frigate, players can choose from hundreds of skills to train and develop. In EVE, a universe of unbounded opportunity awaits new capsuleers, whether they lust after wealth, crave the fight or simply yearn for adventure among the stars. Be a capsuleer and experience something more.