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Skill based game? I hope so.
Black_Elvis
Member Posts: 188
The biggest complaint I (and most people have) is that games are now built around how much time you are willing to sink into the game, how much gold you are willing to buy, how lucky you were at the raid, etc. It seems like skill plays a smaller and smaller part with each new patch.
Take for instance 2 very popular online games now. It is not uncommon in WoW to have a 12 year old wax you simply due to the fact he spends 16 hrs+ a day online and can grind the gear. EvE is even worse in that a new player has relatively no chance to compete with someone who has a 3+ year head start. They can easily beat you through attrition. A game like Jumpgate was always cool because it caused you to rely on both skill and gear.
Long-term PvP balance is a difficult thing to get right.
Comments
I would still like to have time invested into a game mean something. Something like 50/50. It should be that someone with more experience will most likely always beat someone who does not.
Passive experience is STILL a skill. It is not a real life skill, but in an immersive video game world, something like passive experience should be represented. Time should still mean something.
Jump Gate does have a time sink / level system in it. You still need to do missions, kill mobs..etc to get levels up. And these levels grant you access to a new class of ship.. ie, light fighter at 14, heavy fighter at 26..etc.
However the real beauty of this is, that a skilled pilot can take a light fighter and do some serious damage to a larger ship... and it is very possible to get a kill. So just because someone is flying an advanced ship, doesnt mean they will be able to 1shot you.. as you see in vertually every other MMO to date.
That sounds great
The credo that guided Jumpgate Classic, and is still for the most part being used in Jumpgate Evolution is "meaningful participation". Yes, longtime players may have access through various mechanics to some ships and equipment that a newish player hasn't got yet, but the design goal so far has been that the new player can still be a part of activities that even the veterans are doing. They may not be able to solo some of the same stuff, but they can and should be able to engage in things like group battles in a supporting role, and still be very relevant to the outcome. Direct skill in things like putting weapons on target, basic flight, and situational awareness, will always be important to the game and we expect that players will get better at these things through literal practice.
Specifically, in regard to group engagements, we're looking at "combined arms" approaches, where for instance, some pilots are in missile platforms and others are in interceptors (a la old Wing Commander cap ship battles). In this example, the bombers might be available to more veteran pilots who presumably would be leading the team, while the light escorting fighters could be available at much lower ranks.
So really, we're striving for a fun skill-based action gameplay, while still unlocking ships, equipment and similar in-game tools through play. The idea is to make sure the newer players can experience and participate in all types of gameplay (thereby gaining some of that real playing skill), even if their options are more limited. They'll unlock more options as they play and then have access to leadership roles.
At the end of the day, time is still a relevant factor, but we're trying to ensure that it is not the fundamental factor as is so common in most MMORPGs today.
Istvan!!! Great to see ya posting here! And it's great that you are still supporting the 'twitch' based action that Jumpgate was founded on. Hopefully the level grind won't be so bad with more varied mission types. I can't wait to jump into the beta and continue on in the live game! I can't wait to use my joystick again!!
just so ya all know, reading and typing are skills.
So is having the technical savvy necessary to understand how to put a CD in your drive, install the game, and then open it...
I've always had a problem with the idea that twitch-based games require "skill" whereas non-twitch does not. How is learning and understanding the intricacies of a character's abilities, what special attack or skill works best in a given situation in order to bring about victory, any less "skillful" than mashing a button and chasing a crosshair?
Having said that, I look forward to JG:E retaining the "twitch" system. I was a beta tester and longtime player of JG and well know that combat is more than mashing a button and chasing a crosshair.
Comparing the *knowledge* required to excel in a non-twitch game to the personal 'skill' required to do well in a twitch game is silly at best. The two are not comparable. But that's not what these guys are really talking about. Most people who refer to a "skill" based game are talking about a game that uses skill trees/templates (like EVE, UO, Pre-NGE SWG, etc) rather than Class/Level systems like EQ, WoW, Ryzom, DAOC, TR, etc).
There is a 'level' system in the current Jumpgate which is how you unlock bigger ships (not necessarily better though) imo that needs to go and just let players buy whatever they can afford but it's not up to me.
"A ship-of-war is the best ambassador." - Oliver Cromwell
Istvan does sound familiar, but it has been 5 years since I quite JG... OEC rules!!! Skill does play a big part in JG. I ran into some n00b in the SIM on my alt that was a level 10ish Sol (main was 32ish Oct). I crushed him in my level 6 sol ship vs his level 26 Oct ship!
The main thing I didn't like about JG was each level higher ship was better than the one before it solo'ing. And there was one set of equipment that was the best for each ship. Dieing ment almost nothing. Even though each time you died, all your equipment was lost, it was cheap, and high levels had millions, or billions of credits.
So give me some options for ships and I would love the game again!
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OfaLoaf:
...What's Iraq like?
Toimu:
IEDs, SAF, RPGs, & mortars. But only during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The enemy is so poor, they have to keep day jobs
I think Jumpgate Evolution, like the original, will strike a good balance between a person's skill at piloting their ship and the time invested into the game itself.
In the original as I'm sure everyone is aware, gaining levels meant access to different ships and more powerful weapons. However, the best ship loadout is no good if you can't land shots on another ship, particularly in the Newtonian physics environment of Jumpgate.
I can honestly say that I never really paid attention to a person's level in the original game. I have defeated plenty of people in the original game who technically should have been able to beat me with their superior ships and equipment.
If you want a purely "skill" based game, I suggest an online shooter like CS: Source.
Higher level players can sell higher ranked equip to lower level players in JGC. But its not insured.