Covering the gap?

I am curious about something:

When Arkadia starts there is all kinds of avatars popping on. Newcomers, youngtimers, oldtimers, midlevels, ubar and more

Usually the somewhat more versatile oldies with their gear would have an advantage over the newcomers. i.e. like jumping right away to the biggest mobs and getting "probably" the best items right away.

I am wondering if this "different starting point" for every avatar is an issue to be discussed or will it not occur because of Arkadia's "Treasure Hunting" focus?

 

I'm pretty sure there isn't much that can be done to level the field, after all, if people have been on the EU for years, they can't be held back just to give new guys a head start, you wouldn't like it if that happened to you, so I'm sure the Arkadia guys won't mess with peoples equipment or skills either. As far as treasure hunting, there hasn't been such a skill until now, if it's even a real skill now..lol. So if it is, we're all newcomers.

 

Agreed. It's only natural with time you have some more skilled than others. Always been like that and always will be (well apart from when game first started ). When I started playing there were ubers then who you could argue had an advantage but that's the whole point of skilling up and what got me skilling up myself ...

 

Skills really dont have much true effect any longer other then to govern what type of Limited gear you are able to use. Not too many people are at the 100 level mark to say they have maxed UL stuff so that kind of puts a value to skills but level 100 for most is unreachable in a life time.

What matters most now days is knowlege and experience. When Arkadia comes we shall all be reasonably new in that regard. Some who have the more time in game advantage will have a shorter learning curve to get a foot hold on Arkadia tho.

 

Well, I got only about 210k skills or so, but actually I would love for once seeing a new planet doing the total revolutionary thing and bring his own set and leaving everything behind on the other planets behind meaning you start literally naked and the storyline drives you through the game giving you the gear and stuff you need to progress.

So basically I wouldn't mind leaving all my stuff behind and use what the system would support me. Which of course I can do anyway when I come to visit, lol, but forcing all to the same would be rather amusing.

 

I suggested in oher threads to have skill specific to Arkadia to level the playing field but I seriously doubt MA would do such a thing. There may be one maybe 2 specific skills added but they are to lazy to rebalance for a whole new set.

 

I really don't like the idea of starting over again. Been there done that has no challenge, would be such a tedious and boring thing to do that I seriously may not even visit such a planet.

Arkadia looks appealing but something like that would just kill it for me. Then Rocktropia may just be that bit better where i can continue skilling my laser pistol ....

 

hmm there will always be a gap... and it's kinda necesary for the universe to function... so maybe a good idea not to mess arround with it... but that doesn't mean I like it.

 

I think the gap is already slowly closing. Getting (hunting) skills is now a lot faster then it was in the beginning (at low levels) and we have missions that give a lot of skills. So people can become a mid level player a lot faster. Getting uber is impossible though, and i guess it will always be like that.

 

You are right considering that RT and NI are just other versions of the Calypso version meaning all in all it is just other mobs to shoot at. Of course starting new in those places would provide the same experience we had on Calypso years ago.

However, if Arkadia approaches it in a somewhat different way, I'd see it quite interesting. Or in other words, if Arkadia will hold just another set of new mob models, why bother?

 

The thing is if you've invested so much time and effort into skilling up like me I'm very close to unlocking kill strike now then why would you want to throw away that investment?

Makes little sense to me. So I'll continue with the laser pistol profession that i've chosen for myself and if it means i have to start over again then no matter how interesting the planet I'd rather stay on calypso or any other crappy planet where i can continue skilling laser pistol.

 

Actually you have underlined my point. You like many others are hoping to have "better" planets than Calypso with -everything- else. I hope there is going to be planets where the calypso concept is not carried over.

If you play ten different MMOs nothing gets carried over either. I won't be stuck on Calypso if I find something that interests me more than PC right now. I see my deposits as loss anyway and if I find something better I will move on, no matter if it is a planet or another MMO and won't be looking back, never did. Maybe its because I have been playing MMOs since the days of Ultima Online and many have come and go. Imo, nothing is more vulnerable than to attach to the time you put into a MMO, they can cease to exist the very point when you think "wow, I made the final level".

So, we are just approaching it different ways .

Wonder if Laser Pistol skills will have any use on Planet Michael ^^.

 

Looks like you don't have to worry about having laser weapons on arkadia, judging from the laser model weapon they just released.

I'm not against having existing weapon types on other planets. But one can argue, that not having them isn't a big deal either.....as long as they can still be physically fired on that planet. You then create an import market for laser weapons. Or at least import on the bps to product them locally. Of course that assumes the materials could be locally sourced, if not you create the import market on the materials.

In any event even if they cant be sourced locally as long as they can be fired, not having them isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Even if planets make new skills that only work on that planet, it shouldn't be a problem as long as general skills still matter/carry over. For instance if each planet had its own version of strength, or its own version of dodge, that would just be stupid. Dodge is dodge, strength is strength. If those didn't carry over the whole shared avatar concept becomes pretty meaningless.

For instance if they made sonic pulse cannons that only worked on arkadia. I'm sure the profession woudl still use rifle, handgun or support skills, so your skills will still matter. Just like the difference between blp handgun and laser handgun.

 

Agreed on the skills. It would be rather dumb to create new skills where there really is no need. My guess is the handgun, rifle etc skills will be generic but on Arkadia instead of laser weapon technology you'll have their special version e.g. sonic weapon technology...

From the info released so far it's obvious Arkadia will not have laser technology but their own special version.

As to importing our existing weapons from calypso to Arkadia such that they are still functional is a mystery. No information has been given to my knowledge...

Let me put it this way. Skills are a reflection of how much an avatar spends so someone who is highly skilled is generally likely to to have spent a lot of peds. So you would think such a customer would be valued.

In any normal real life business that is usually the case. Say you were an owner of a business and you had customers who spend "tonnes" and some who spend a "modest" amount. Would you turn away the customers who spend the most?

Now if a planet partner goes down the path where all other planet weapons are not usable on their planet except their own. They are effectively doing just that turning away the high paying customers.

That said in some cases there is a need to do that as suggested on Planet Michael. Planet Michael is all about peace and dancing so it's likely no weapons will function there.

 

If you are able to add new skills I would personally love to see an 'exploration skill' added This would work by adding skill points to the avatar when they walk over each 'grid' section of the map, walk not drive or fly. Maybe special areas of interest could have greater skill points attached. the points award would not be repeatable but would be there to encourage players to get out there and explore on foot.
Maybe the goal would be to acquire a 'guide' qualification.

 

We had this debat with the fly boys in soc not to long ago. We then set out and proved to them that you still get skills from walking that you dont get from the vehicles. 1 was anatomy there where 2 more but I cant remember them right now.

So even thou I like the idea of planet pecific skills and equipment they would have to be less generic and be something more planet or story line orientated.

 

I would not turn away any customer.. but If I HAD to make a chioce using EU as an example..Id turn away 10 high paying customers vs 1000's of modest customers in a heart beat.

But over all I would make the effort to NOT have to turn anyone away. MA does not seem to get that principle. Arkadia does..so far from what has been released and the little I have communicated with them they are making a great effort to make EVERYONE or at least as many as possible happy.

 

Nice to hear that.... now I need to skill some more.