[crossfire] Rebalancing, difficulty curve -- simple ideas

[Wim Villerius]

I'd like to propose a different fix, a fix that might even allow a
linear exp. curve. Just some quick thoughts, perhaps useful?

The main problem i've observed when playing was that once you can kill a
certain mob, you can continue killing it until you 'die' out of boredom.
That means: hit - say - lvl 40 and start killing demon lords until
you're lvl 110. A method that works perfectly. (and in case you get
bored on demons, go dragons or angels, they work more or less the same)

My suggestion is to adjust the amount of exp gained by killing a certain
mob by at least hte following factors:
1) the number of that mob you have already killed
2) mob lvl / player lvl in that skill

That would make a lvl 100 player that is about to kill his 10,007th
demon lord gain about no experiece, while a lvl 40 player that kills his
first will receive a huge exp boost.

Fictive numbers:
mob X gives 100000 exp and is lvl 60

Player A is lvl 100 in his one handed skill and has killed 1000 X before
For another kill he'll get 100000 * 60/100 * f(1000) exp (where f(1000)
is a pretty small number, maybe 10% or so.

Player B is lvl 40 in his one handed skill and has never killed X
before. His first kill will give him: 100000 * 60/40 * f(0), where f(0)
is a big number, maybe even 10.


This 
1) stops players reaching demigod status fast - it will take them long,
and a lot of different mobs as well. No more efficient TC-training
2) doesn't necessarily recuire a new exp curve
3) most important: makes sense. killing ants at lvl 110 should not give
exp. that's rediculous :)

Unfortunately, it requires the server to log the number of kills a
player makes. And also, what if a player dies? does the number of kills
stay the same? Makes lvling back harder. Mmm, perhaps reduce death
penalty if gaining exp gets harder?

Now aim your flamethrowers... ;-)


On Wed, 2006-08-30 at 12:53 +0800, Lalo Martins wrote:
> Ok, one issue with balance is that, as someone mentioned, most monsters
> either kill you too easily or are killed too easily.  I don't have a
> solution for that, only wanted to bring it up so we don't forget it ;-)
> 
> The other thing is that there is a level beyond which you just progress up
> to demigodhood (110+).  What level it is?  That depends on the server --
> more precisely on the exp_table.  On MF I've been told it's about 20
> something; I don't know personally as I never reached that level in MF. 
> On my own server, which is set up for children, of course a good player
> can go to demigodhood in a day or two from scratch.
> 
> The big problem is that if there is a point where the curve slopes, then
> you won't explore the world, look for new quests, or even interact much
> with other players; and on the other end this causes map makers to only
> want to make high-level quests.
> 
> To encourage player interaction, the game needs to strongly nudge
> characters into having different strengths and weaknesses.  This is
> already done to some extents (at low levels) by resistances, natural and
> god-given; of course at higher levels you start collecting artifacts and
> you have any resistances you want.
> 
> An idea I think might be worth experimenting with is cutting the
> contribution that *ALL* skills make to general score.  If you have more
> characters running around with level ~10 and their primary skill(s) at ~20
> that would encourage them to get good at one skill, and therefore to
> interact with other players.
> 
> Finally, the easy answer to the curve issue is tweaking the exp_table
> carefully.  I want to start a mini-project, with the goal of tuning up a
> "perfect" (heh) exp_table.  Here's what I'd need:
> 
> - the server :-P I'd host it here but my bandwidth sucks.  I need either
> an easy way to modify the exp_table and read player files, or a person
> willing to do that for us.
> 
> - about three experienced players who are willing to play a lot of
> crossfire, to actually test the curves.  I'll play the role of the noob --
> I play better than a beginner, but not much.
> 
> - ideally, a copy of MF's exp_table, which many people seem to regard as
> the best table out there, to start from
> 
> - rough consensus on the ideal curve.  Here's my draft:
> 
> * half a playing hour per level up to 5;
> * 1h/l up to 10;
> * 2h/l up to 50;
> * 3h/l up to 70;
> * 5h/l up to 90;
> * 7.5h/l up to 100;
> * 10h/l beyond 100
> 
> These are for an average player of course.
> 
> best,
>                                                Lalo Martins
> --
>       So many of our dreams at first seem impossible,
>        then they seem improbable, and then, when we
>        summon the will, they soon become inevitable.
> --
> personal:                              http://www.laranja.org/
> technical:                    http://lalo.revisioncontrol.net/
> GNU: never give up freedom                 http://www.gnu.org/
> 
> 
> 
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