Org Specific Abilities

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Venatrix. wrote:

Sigh. And if you look
at the active player base, it always appears as if the Mervs and
Machinists are more dedicated than the Zionites. Numbers or not, it
depends on who actually plays the game on a regular basis.

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Oh
this is one point I haven't mentioned - we'll be calculating the
numbers based on actual players using the abilities, rather than
checking the numbers in the database.



So, the first time you use one of the org abilities, it adds your level
to the total number for your org. Therefore higher level players, using
org abilities, will have the most impact on the total number of
players. We're still having some discussion here about whether the
number should reflect the number of people logged in at the moment (so
your level would be removed when you log out) or the number of people
who've logged in in the past x days, or since server reset, or
something like that.

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ShadowSK wrote:

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HCFrog wrote:

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Venatrix. wrote:

Sigh. And if you look
at the active player base, it always appears as if the Mervs and
Machinists are more dedicated than the Zionites. Numbers or not, it
depends on who actually plays the game on a regular basis.

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Oh
this is one point I haven't mentioned - we'll be calculating the
numbers based on actual players using the abilities, rather than
checking the numbers in the database.



So, the first time you use one of the org abilities, it adds your level
to the total number for your org. Therefore higher level players, using
org abilities, will have the most impact on the total number of
players. We're still having some discussion here about whether the
number should reflect the number of people logged in at the moment (so
your level would be removed when you log out) or the number of people
who've logged in in the past x days, or since server reset, or
something like that.

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Awesome, I was just wondering about this, actually.

So,
are there going to be minimum org-rep points in order to use the
abilities?  This way, we don't have a bunch of level 2s
off-setting the impact of Zion abilities.

Message Edited by ShadowSK on 04-17-2006 01:41 PM

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Yup.
The level of the lowest ability is up for discussion. I was thinking
17, because that's when you can form a crew and get your first "Meet x"
mission, but it could be higher.

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Siros7 wrote:
I always though the meet x meeting and crew stuff was at a reputation of 16 (or 15, not su sure),

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ARRRGG okay so I just checked, it's 16

Oops, I think I should be more explicit about this whole ability activation thing.



The design is: the server will keep a list of player IDs in the
different orgs, and their levels, and the total levels for the orgs,
and the total levels for the whole population.



When someone loads up one of the abilities (I think "activates" was the
wrong term, sorry), it checks through the list to see if you're in
there yet. If you aren't, it adds you to the list and updates the
appropriate numbers. If you're already there, it makes sure your
level's still the same and then quits.



So the list doesn't change if you use org abilities more than once. In
fact it would probably just update the first time you loaded the bottom
level ability, and then maybe every time you use a hardline or enter
the game again. And if you were already there, it wouldn't add
anything, so the numbers wouldn't get skewed.



Also, it wouldn't just count the number of players, it would count the
number of levels. So a level 10 player adds +10, a level 50 player adds
+50. If we want it to weight high level players more heavily, we could
do something like squaring those numbers, so a level 10 adds 100 while
a level 50 adds 2500.

Oh, and there are reasons that I would like to keep these balancing for
the whole server rather than just one area. The main one being that
these are partially intended to promote overall org balance. If the
bonuses fluctuate too much, that purpose is lost. They don't have to be
too uber.



Also, I had an idea for duels and tournaments. We do have some tools
that are no longer used since CR2. What if they changed into diagnostic
tools that showed whether or not someone had any org abilities loaded?
They could even show if someone had any tactics boosters going,
although there might be reasons why you wouldn't want that information
known.



But imagine for tournaments, you could have a guy with a metal detector
device sweeping the participants to check their ability loadout I
think that would be pretty slick. No more suiciding to prove your buffs
are clear

OMG someone leaked our artwork!!! *CENSORED*

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Warboy090 wrote:
Question HCFrog
Are they going to use memory?
and if so will there be a memory upgrade?

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No to both.

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Sykin wrote:


Anyways, Mr. HCFrog... What if these abilities came attached to
certain clothing items, like, for example... Agent Sunglasses? Possible?

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Hmmm I think we're actually saving stuff like that for another feature.

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[CoZ]LostProphet wrote:

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HCFrog wrote:
Oh, and there are reasons that I would like to keep these balancing for
the whole server rather than just one area. The main one being that
these are partially intended to promote overall org balance. If the
bonuses fluctuate too much, that purpose is lost. They don't have to be
too uber.



Also, I had an idea for duels and tournaments. We do have some tools
that are no longer used since CR2. What if they changed into diagnostic
tools that showed whether or not someone had any org abilities loaded?
They could even show if someone had any tactics boosters going,
although there might be reasons why you wouldn't want that information
known.



But imagine for tournaments, you could have a guy with a metal detector
device sweeping the participants to check their ability loadout I
think that would be pretty slick. No more suiciding to prove your buffs
are clear

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It's the little things like this that would make a big big big difference to the game

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Aaaand after checking into this, it turns out to be one of those ideas that is also not really feasible.

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Montoia wrote:

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HCFrog wrote:

Aaaand after checking into this, it turns out to be one of those ideas that is also not really feasible.

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Ooops...
Wait, scratch my last comment! I just ran something by Dracomet (thanks
to a suggestion from Jeffers) and it turns out that this idea should
work just fine. Yay!

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Dragonram wrote:

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HCFrog wrote:

 

Ooops... Wait, scratch my last comment!
I just ran something by Dracomet (thanks to a suggestion from Jeffers)
and it turns out that this idea should work just fine. Yay!

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:smileyvery-happy: HOORAY!!! FOR JEFFERSS!!!!!!!

Just for those that don't know where to look, what was the suggestion by jeffers?

- Ð

P.S. anyone else picture these guys leaning over cubicles talking to each other going "hmm" "hmm" "yes that could work"

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He
sent me a suggestion, and mentioned the /snooploadout command which
some players have spotted, and which does indeed dump the other
player's loadout into your chat window if you're an admin.

Correct; Cypherites will use Machine abilities, and EPN will use Zion abilities.

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Fatmop wrote:

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HCFrog wrote:
Correct; Cypherites will use Machine abilities, and EPN will use Zion abilities.

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I was really just trying to be funny with those.... 

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Aww, dammit! I already implemented those. Back to the drawing board...

Noooo I just wrote a huge post and I took so long it logged me out



Anyhow I wanted to give an update on what I've got for these so far.



First off, ETA = not sure. Hopefully within a couple of months.



The part where they balance for org population may or may not get in there. At this point I'd say no, at least not at first.



There are going to be 5 abilities for each org, available at reputation 16, 51, 81, 116, and 127.



Zion:

Zion Interface (small bonus to all accuracies, passive)

Strength of Will (bonus to all resistances, passive)

Righteous Shield (burn IS to negate damage taken, activated)

Generous Spirit (boost IS regen rate, activated)

Champion of Zion (small % chance, when hit, to fire off an AOE heal/IS restore)

Machine:

Machine Interface (small bonus to accuracies, passive)

System Patch (boosted health regen rate, passive)

Dynamic Reallocation (boost all DPS, activated)

Data Conversion (convert damage taken into IS restored - not sure passive or activated)

System Control (small % chance, when hit, to fire off an AOE stun)

Merovingian:

Merovingian Interface (small bonus to accuracies, passive)

Sophistry (bonus to all defences, passive)

Extortion (drain IS from enemy in or out of interlock, activated)

Artifice (launch an IS virus, activated)

Spectral Field (small % chance, when hit, to go into a mode like Master Shadow for a few seconds, except you can still attack)

The fifth abilities are still the most up in the air, particularly the
Spectral Field one which stands some chance of breaking Master Shadow
and possibly all the stealth abilities if it's implemented wrong

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KaitouHayashi wrote:



That's sweet HCFrog, but what about attack abilities?
Passive buffs are sweet, but we can't go wrong with close combat
attacks too .

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It's also the touchiest to
balance, since not all classes want to be in close combat (or at least
they shouldn't, heh). That's why there's only one in there, and it can
be used outside of close combat also.



I like your idea of abilities for different disciplines, but it would
either take much longer to complete, or else you get less abilities
that are usable to any one class.

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jeffers wrote:
Is the way Rep is given out going
to be drastically altered Frog or is it going to stay the same (with
regards to missions and what not) cos 127 is bloody hard to reach now.

Jeffers

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Yeah 127 is kinda brutal nowadays :smileysurprised: 
I'd like to link it to CQ points - every time you get one, you get a
chance to gain a rep point - however that might not be in the initial
implementation of this.

Before y'all talk too much about the whole balancing aspect, I should
say that the whole population balancing shmeal deal isn't going to be
included in the initial release. I can't say if it will be added at a
later date or not, but it will most certainly not be included in this
release, as cool (or not) as it might be.



I really liked Spectral Field but unfortunately I was unable to
implement it without breaking the entire sneak/invisibility system. So,
the ability has become "Retribution"; every time you take damage, 5%
chance of doing some damage to all enemies within 5 meters.



The Mervs' 4th ability (Extortion) is now an interlock-only move, which
damages the enemy and gives you IS, and uses the blood drinker
animation. Their third ability translates damage taken into a DPS boost
- the more damage you take, the more your damage goes up by.



Zion no longer has an IS-shield type ability; instead, they have an AOE
DPS booster that affects team-mates only. Their fourth ability boosts
IS regen for a short time. Their final ability has a 5% chance each
time you're hit to heal and restore IS to all allies within 5m.



Machines have one ability to boost their own DPS, and another that
translates any damage taken into IS. Their final ability has a chance
to stun all nearby enemies for a short time (5 seconds).



*ribbit*