06-25-2004, 01:49 PM
First of all, note that I am not in the beta, and given the odds thus far, I will likely not be in the beta until it is an open beta. All I know of this game I have learned from posts on this forum and the official battle.net fora (it's been a long time sine I was a true lurker there!).
As far as the rest system goes, I look at it like this: there are three basic types of gamer, those being the truly hardcore (those who play more than 6-8 hours daily), the typical players (3-6 hours daily), and the casual gamers (0-3 hours daily, including weekend warriors). The way the rest system *should* work is to even the playing field between these groups *slightly*, while still allowing those who play more (and more effectively) to come out ahead over time.
To this effect, I suggest that, first and foremost, the rest system should do away with its combat xp penalty in favor of a gameplay time system, thus avoiding penalizing more effective players. Time in towns and inns would naturally not count against this penalty, thus allowing players to devote time to crafting without losing rest states.
That aside, the primary problem with rest states seems to be a psychological one: no matter how much Blizzard insists that Rested signifies 200% xp, players will view this optimal state as 100%, and reduce the other states accordingly. The solution I suggest is thus: Allow casual players to spend all their time in this 200% zone. Let the "rested" state have a base maximum time of somewhere between 2-4 hours. Allow the typical, casual player spend all of their time in either "rested" or "normal" status; give the normal state at least double the duration of the rested state, and balance the game for this degree of character growth. This will make the normal state truly "normal" for most players, and thus reduce the whining among the game's majority category. Let the "hardcore" types spend a good deal of their time tired; the lengthy combined duration of the normal and rested states should prevent 90% of gamers from falling to this level, while still allowing that 10% to gain an overall advantage.
My (admittedly uninformed) numerical suggestions here are 3 hours of "rested" followed by 7 hours of "normal"; this would still provide casual players with a bonus, allowing them to keep pace, while keeping the "GerBarb" types (for you old D2 players) in line, and allowing the vast majority of us to level at the properly designed pace. This would even allow for LAN parties; what are the odds that you'd play a single character for more than 10 hours? One thing I haven't mentioned that could prove important to this plan is this: I think Blizzard should disallow resting for at least 7 hours (or whatever the normal-to-tired time ends up as) after a player has rested to the "rested" base maximum; this would provide a disincentive for most players to rest for longer than they might want to, preventing them from avoiding the game for extended periods in order to hit their optimal state. Of course, after this duration characters would begin to accrue bonus xp, at a reduced rate, allowing those who can only play every few days to game for extended periods.
Phreeow...it's awfully late here on the West Coast, so forgive me any spelling/grammar errors which may be present. I do think that this is at least an interesting idea, and I'm interested in what you good smart people have to say about it.
Cheers,
unless
As far as the rest system goes, I look at it like this: there are three basic types of gamer, those being the truly hardcore (those who play more than 6-8 hours daily), the typical players (3-6 hours daily), and the casual gamers (0-3 hours daily, including weekend warriors). The way the rest system *should* work is to even the playing field between these groups *slightly*, while still allowing those who play more (and more effectively) to come out ahead over time.
To this effect, I suggest that, first and foremost, the rest system should do away with its combat xp penalty in favor of a gameplay time system, thus avoiding penalizing more effective players. Time in towns and inns would naturally not count against this penalty, thus allowing players to devote time to crafting without losing rest states.
That aside, the primary problem with rest states seems to be a psychological one: no matter how much Blizzard insists that Rested signifies 200% xp, players will view this optimal state as 100%, and reduce the other states accordingly. The solution I suggest is thus: Allow casual players to spend all their time in this 200% zone. Let the "rested" state have a base maximum time of somewhere between 2-4 hours. Allow the typical, casual player spend all of their time in either "rested" or "normal" status; give the normal state at least double the duration of the rested state, and balance the game for this degree of character growth. This will make the normal state truly "normal" for most players, and thus reduce the whining among the game's majority category. Let the "hardcore" types spend a good deal of their time tired; the lengthy combined duration of the normal and rested states should prevent 90% of gamers from falling to this level, while still allowing that 10% to gain an overall advantage.
My (admittedly uninformed) numerical suggestions here are 3 hours of "rested" followed by 7 hours of "normal"; this would still provide casual players with a bonus, allowing them to keep pace, while keeping the "GerBarb" types (for you old D2 players) in line, and allowing the vast majority of us to level at the properly designed pace. This would even allow for LAN parties; what are the odds that you'd play a single character for more than 10 hours? One thing I haven't mentioned that could prove important to this plan is this: I think Blizzard should disallow resting for at least 7 hours (or whatever the normal-to-tired time ends up as) after a player has rested to the "rested" base maximum; this would provide a disincentive for most players to rest for longer than they might want to, preventing them from avoiding the game for extended periods in order to hit their optimal state. Of course, after this duration characters would begin to accrue bonus xp, at a reduced rate, allowing those who can only play every few days to game for extended periods.
Phreeow...it's awfully late here on the West Coast, so forgive me any spelling/grammar errors which may be present. I do think that this is at least an interesting idea, and I'm interested in what you good smart people have to say about it.
Cheers,
unless