Forums » Suggestions
Shrink the Universe?
Okay, what I'm about to suggest probably won't be too popular, but I think it's something to at least consider.
Let's face it, the universe is pretty empty right now. This past week the number of players online has been peaking at less than 100: http://www.vo-gate.com/vapg.php and the universe feels pretty empty. In another thread, a new player made the comment that it wouldn't make much of a difference if the game was single player only. I don't agree with this, but I do think the universe is a little desolate considering its size in proportion to the number of players we have online.
The funny thing is, if you remember the old universe (circa 3.1-3.3) we have far more players online now than we ever did then. However, the old universe was a blast to play in, it felt like it was downright thriving. I'm not suggesting that we bring back the 3.1 universe, but I was wondering if the current universe would benefit from having some of the systems taken out. Players in an online universe are somewhat like gas molecules, randomly bouncing around. Just as in the ideal gas law PV=NRT, the smaller the boundaries of universe, the more often players will run into other players and the higher the "Temperature" will be. I think Vendetta needs the temperature to be turned up by quite a few degrees. Remember that sector 13 war we had with 30+ players zooming around, forming organized wings, blowing each other up? That was awesome! I'm not saying the game should be like that all the time, but I think occasional large scale conflicts like that are part of what makes PvP fun, and in the current universe that's kind of hard to do even though we have enough people.
I'm not even sure if this would be feasable, but what would you all think about cutting the universe down to about half its current size by taking out some of the current systems? I know that there's a million and one gameplay-storyline problems associated with this, but just consider it for a moment. If we had more player interaction in this game, it would be even more fun, which would attract more players in the long run, at which point we could re-expand the universe.
Let's face it, the universe is pretty empty right now. This past week the number of players online has been peaking at less than 100: http://www.vo-gate.com/vapg.php and the universe feels pretty empty. In another thread, a new player made the comment that it wouldn't make much of a difference if the game was single player only. I don't agree with this, but I do think the universe is a little desolate considering its size in proportion to the number of players we have online.
The funny thing is, if you remember the old universe (circa 3.1-3.3) we have far more players online now than we ever did then. However, the old universe was a blast to play in, it felt like it was downright thriving. I'm not suggesting that we bring back the 3.1 universe, but I was wondering if the current universe would benefit from having some of the systems taken out. Players in an online universe are somewhat like gas molecules, randomly bouncing around. Just as in the ideal gas law PV=NRT, the smaller the boundaries of universe, the more often players will run into other players and the higher the "Temperature" will be. I think Vendetta needs the temperature to be turned up by quite a few degrees. Remember that sector 13 war we had with 30+ players zooming around, forming organized wings, blowing each other up? That was awesome! I'm not saying the game should be like that all the time, but I think occasional large scale conflicts like that are part of what makes PvP fun, and in the current universe that's kind of hard to do even though we have enough people.
I'm not even sure if this would be feasable, but what would you all think about cutting the universe down to about half its current size by taking out some of the current systems? I know that there's a million and one gameplay-storyline problems associated with this, but just consider it for a moment. If we had more player interaction in this game, it would be even more fun, which would attract more players in the long run, at which point we could re-expand the universe.
I say rip out two systems of every colour.
this is good, and bad.
first, the good.
it would be -very- nice to see more players than searching grey for hours trying to atleast find 1 person. this includes CTC.
the big wars you talk about sound like a dream (i'm currently a 2-3month old beta) and i wish i could have been present.
Shape, Niki, ?, and myself gathered 2 large groups and waited in Latos trying to start a large group fight with some Sercos. even with the current player headcount it wasn't enough. a smaller universe would encourage things like this rather than sitting in a system for an hour waiting for everyone to gather up then fight.
the story line wouldn't be greatly effected if 1 to 2 systems in each nation's space were removed.
here's the bad.
the current universe map is already printed (poster) and other printings. this could prove to be a'bit choatic if you think about it. at the speed the developers are working in less than a year i think, we'll have -alot- of content that will attract a farily larger player base. now try to imagine 1k plus of players in this new smaller universe =O
overall i don't know. Asp's idea on the listening posts near nation borders could also help dissolve this problem.
first, the good.
it would be -very- nice to see more players than searching grey for hours trying to atleast find 1 person. this includes CTC.
the big wars you talk about sound like a dream (i'm currently a 2-3month old beta) and i wish i could have been present.
Shape, Niki, ?, and myself gathered 2 large groups and waited in Latos trying to start a large group fight with some Sercos. even with the current player headcount it wasn't enough. a smaller universe would encourage things like this rather than sitting in a system for an hour waiting for everyone to gather up then fight.
the story line wouldn't be greatly effected if 1 to 2 systems in each nation's space were removed.
here's the bad.
the current universe map is already printed (poster) and other printings. this could prove to be a'bit choatic if you think about it. at the speed the developers are working in less than a year i think, we'll have -alot- of content that will attract a farily larger player base. now try to imagine 1k plus of players in this new smaller universe =O
overall i don't know. Asp's idea on the listening posts near nation borders could also help dissolve this problem.
I think the size is just fine, I think that the game needs more content to keep the people playing. Now I know that there are only 4 people in the company and that they are working hard to get stuff made for the game as fast as they can but as it is now, you can pretty much see everything there is to the game in about a week if you play enough and then what? Taking more content out of the game (sectors) may make the few people that are on see others more often but it's only a temp fix for a bigger issue in my eyes. I personally have not played in a week, only because of work related issues but I could see why others would stop playing. Ths cart shows that there were a lot of people on when the patch came in a week ago and then it trailed off, I'm sure that will be the case again when the bounty system is put in. Hopefully as more content is added more people will check out the game and stay for longer periods of time.
my 2cr
my 2cr
Maybe what we need isn't a smaller universe, just more choke-points in the one we have... more systems and sectors that lie at the intersections of many different players' courses..
Perhaps just edit cargo delivery and other missions to consolidate a nation's players into fewer "waypoint" systems. If either more UIT traders, or the majority of UIT traders were hauling cargo into and out of only three or four stations, then there'd be a much greater chance of encountering other players.
Similarly, I find myself more apt to bot in a sector with only one type of bot, ideally the most difficult type I know I can safely destroy (translating into a much greater xp gain)... I'm sure many other people feel the same, so perhaps the bot-population can be redistributed to facilitate more botters in the same systems.. The way bots respawn almost instantly, I don't see increased traffic becoming a major problem
And finally, maybe there can be a select handful of "uber-mining" sectors, where many players can mine enough different asteroids that no one is left out, waiting for a rock to cool... As things stand now, only a VERY small handful of rocks in any given sector might be "bounty" roids, and the others are all chaff. This means that the first player to mine that asteroid for any time period ensures that the rock is far too hot to be worthwhile for anyone else...
And, best of all, all of these players interacting as they race to and fro will hopefully mean more spontaneous grouping, and more lasting friendships..
Perhaps just edit cargo delivery and other missions to consolidate a nation's players into fewer "waypoint" systems. If either more UIT traders, or the majority of UIT traders were hauling cargo into and out of only three or four stations, then there'd be a much greater chance of encountering other players.
Similarly, I find myself more apt to bot in a sector with only one type of bot, ideally the most difficult type I know I can safely destroy (translating into a much greater xp gain)... I'm sure many other people feel the same, so perhaps the bot-population can be redistributed to facilitate more botters in the same systems.. The way bots respawn almost instantly, I don't see increased traffic becoming a major problem
And finally, maybe there can be a select handful of "uber-mining" sectors, where many players can mine enough different asteroids that no one is left out, waiting for a rock to cool... As things stand now, only a VERY small handful of rocks in any given sector might be "bounty" roids, and the others are all chaff. This means that the first player to mine that asteroid for any time period ensures that the rock is far too hot to be worthwhile for anyone else...
And, best of all, all of these players interacting as they race to and fro will hopefully mean more spontaneous grouping, and more lasting friendships..
getting rid of the nerfing (atleast some of it) would help. XP hits, some of the stations should be guardless because then they could be contested by players. and a smaller universe might be nice too. or perhaps some actual advertising but that would probably be better to wait until some more core features are added in the next month or 2
*bump*
Given the average number of players online atm, I'd say 12 systems or so would be a good size. What about:
4 Itani systems
3 Serco systems
2 UIT systems
3 Greyspace systems
Of course, if this would take a lot of time to implement, don't bother, but I really think we need more player interaction.
(and a flag to steal ;)
Given the average number of players online atm, I'd say 12 systems or so would be a good size. What about:
4 Itani systems
3 Serco systems
2 UIT systems
3 Greyspace systems
Of course, if this would take a lot of time to implement, don't bother, but I really think we need more player interaction.
(and a flag to steal ;)
I'd rather they keep moving forward.
Think about it: They'd have to change the wormholes, the map, the bot pathways, inventories, home locations, etc..
Then, at some point, they'd have to put it all back. Assuming more content is added, this process would be that much more complex.
Think about it: They'd have to change the wormholes, the map, the bot pathways, inventories, home locations, etc..
Then, at some point, they'd have to put it all back. Assuming more content is added, this process would be that much more complex.
Making it smaller and adding things like capture the flag is just reverting the game back to a fps game style and I though they were pushing for a more MMORPG feel, makeing things smaller does not help that cause at all.
Give reasons and rewards why people should gather and interact. Raids were a great way to get a lot of people together, and the devs have said they are going to try and implement something along that line. More benifits to groups like xp %multipliers for group botting and trading would encourage team play and would make people look for others when they might have just gone off to trade solo for a few hours.
There is, again, advertising… to increase population, but I know that the game is not in a finished state and getting new players right now is not the primary goal, but it could solve the problem a lot quicker then modifying the game it's self.
Give reasons and rewards why people should gather and interact. Raids were a great way to get a lot of people together, and the devs have said they are going to try and implement something along that line. More benifits to groups like xp %multipliers for group botting and trading would encourage team play and would make people look for others when they might have just gone off to trade solo for a few hours.
There is, again, advertising… to increase population, but I know that the game is not in a finished state and getting new players right now is not the primary goal, but it could solve the problem a lot quicker then modifying the game it's self.
The problem is that Vendetta is very much an early open beta. Once Vendetta-Online is complete and the Developers start to market it the universe will fill up extremely fast, look at Eve-Online they have 12,000 players on at peak hours and about 5,000 solar systems, now we have 70 to 100 players at peek hours and about 30 solar systems, so whats going to happen once Vendetta starts to get maybe 500- 800 players at peek hours? the universe will slowly crowd. If anything the Universe needs to be expanded to about 60 solar systems to compenstate for a new flow of players which should arrive in the next 6 to 12 months, can you think of the crowds if Vendetta-online had 12,000 players online? to compenstate for that the galaxy would have to be expanded in the hundereds!
no one said all these systems we travers are in the same galaxy, they are potentally from everywhere in the universe. That's what bothers me most about the map, it's very misleading.
If you can draw up a better map, please post it.
Yay Dave!!!! :-D