Destination SkillQueue
Are We There Yet
4
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Posted - 2011.10.28 07:10:00 -
[1] - Quote
From reading the blog it seems Jester is more mad about that he made a bad remap than anything else and for some reason feels compelled to train skills he doesn't want, because doing otherwise would be less efficient in gaining SP. This initial point makes him see them only as a hinderance to his fun when they really aren't an issue for the game and add to it. The thing being the hinderance is his own obsession of trying to maximize his characters training speed. Not suprisingly Jester's suggestion is that the new flat rate should be the same as the top speed you can achieve with specialization, since the problem really is that he can't accept training at a slower pace and feels forced to train things he doesn't want for months.
The problem with the above really is, that it's mainly a personal feeling he has and not an actual problem with the game. With learning skills the issue had to be addressed because not training for them at an early stage was a huge hindarance to your long term skill progression and consequently it significantly reduced the fun people could have at an early stage of the game. This is no longer an issue and the "mistakes" you can make with attributes aren't that significant. New players are catered to by allowing extra free remaps, so they can recover from any initial mistakes without a problem. The attribute system also allows for meaningful choices to be made with skill training and I don't see why I should lose this option just because some people can't plan accordingly and make choices they later regret.
As for the argument that attributes aren't really necessary or fun and therefore they should be removed from the game. Well they really aren't, but they add to the variety and immersion and allow faster training at the expense of reduced training for other skills. The thing is many things in the game aren't strictly necessary, but they add real value to the game for the player. Choosing a race for your character is basically a meaningless choice as far as gameplay is concerned today. That doesn't mean it's inevitable that the choice should get removed. The fun part of attributes is subjective though, since attributes seem to only be a problem when people get slower training speeds because of them, but the complaint is forgotten when they allow for specialization and faster training. To me removing them would move meaningful choices from the game and diminish the immersion I personally have, in favor of catering to people who want to train at maximum speed at all times and avoid making any sacrifices for it. Seems like a pretty clear case of wanting to have one's cake and eat it too, but trying to justify it by belittling the choices they allow with won't someone please think of the children- argument thrown in for no real particular reason.
The attribute implant issue has some merit, since it acts as a deterrant to people getting in PvP more, but I don't see that as an issue with implants. They offer a good selection and balance between the different choices and I'm not convinced any good would come from tampering with them in a significant way. This is especially so, since most of the complaints could be solved with a more flexible and easy to access jump clone system. Basicly allow fast local clone jumps, so the issue of losing high grade attribute implants in combat realisticly becomes a non-issue when the player is prepared to enter combat. You could still lose them to unexpected combat, so it's not like people wouldn't keep losing them. Anyway i don't see a huge difference to the current situation, since people afraid to lose those +5 attribute implants are unlikely to risk them now either. The change to local jump clone usage would basicly just mean, that the bar for casual PvP and using certain niche implants would be lowered. |