[Part of my MMO Design Folder]
RNG = the Random Number Generator. It's an old staple of MMOs and one that is often hated when it comes to the chances of getting the item you want from the rare slain monster or hard to reach reward chest. Usually that chance is fixed at a miniscule percentage, encouraging people to try and try and try until they finally burn out or get what they are looking for. I think it can be improved.
One way is what Guildwars 2 and Neverwinter Online do to a certain extent, which is handing out currency items over the course of the adventure or from the target monster/chest itself which can then be used to purchase whatever reward the player was after. On paper this is the best fix, but even on those games they still insist on having some rewards that require pure RNG luck to acquire, which is exponentially made worse when said items can only be "won" within a short period of time. I suppose the argument there is that they don't want "the sword of killing everything in one hit" available to a guy who just killed a gazillion mice underneath the starter tavern for two years. My counter argument is to reward people who stick to your game, regardless of how they want to play!
Anyway, for rewards that remain pure RNG, I propose that developers just whack another variable for each character (and visible to the player), the "reward percentage modifier" or "perseverance" or whatever name suits. Every time they complete a dungeon run, or slay a boss, or complete x number of quests or do -something- in game the modifier grants a bonus to the loot table RNG. Then it will check what level loot the character got. If they got lucky and the loot was of high levels, the modifier is reset to zero. If they got anything below that threshold the modifier increases, which gives them progressively better chances until finally they get a high level drop.
This way the lucky ones will still get their drops early, but those that persevere will also definitely be rewarded instead of "might be rewarded, but usually not". What are your thoughts? Is this a good idea or will it break loot as we know it?
The RNG.. I remember in earlier WoW I had a character that had the best luck ever. And a character that NEVER got anything.The annoyance when I had changed mains to that with bad RNG.
ReplyDeleteSo you suggest that we should see the chance we have on getting a drop? I all for getting a bonus to the RNG if your luck is bad if it would stay hidden. But not so I would like it to be visible tho, I like not knowing and would break some of the immersion for me.Maybe have the option of whether you want it on or not :)
I hadn't decided actually! Keeping it hidden is probably better so less people can "game" it. By that I mean people who intentionally go to other easier dungeons to -fail- reward and then when they have a big enough modifier go into the hard dungeon with the big reward they want. :P
DeleteI like quite a lot the system World of Warcraft is using these days in LFR and dungeons. You are only eligible for the loot that suits you by default. If you play a warrior, only plate, and if you are a protection warrior, then only tank gear.
ReplyDeleteAfter the initial loot is handed, there comes a bonus roll that you can participate in if you have the required tokens. Tokens are easily obtained, and you can spend one token on the bonus roll each time you defeat a boss.
There is a chance you will get one of the desired items you are after, or you might get only gold.
What this means is that those who did not get any loot, still have a chance to get something with bonus roll which is individual, and separated from the rest of the loot.
Hmm that's a pretty good way to go about it. Still would be nice if that bonus roll improved with each "failed" attempt though.
DeleteThe very best in my eyes is how TSW (The Secret World) did it's nightmare difficulty dungeons. You get some random loot, which is useful for the beginner there, but of no interest for the veteran. At the same time, everybody gets a currency, which can only be gathered from those dungeons. With that cucrrency you buy the highest tier gear and upgrade it.
ReplyDeleteAs everybody gets the same reward each time you kill a boss, everybody in team is guaranteed his reward which effectively disposes of all the drama and DKP nonsense. Best choice ever. (Too bad that when the NY raid was created, all the competent designers just had a day off and thus that one again has random drops, but at there's no class-based gear, so the drama exists but is limited. )
The Secret World keeps coming up with positive reviews, I really need to get around to trying that game... :P
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