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A Feature I Would Like to See
Amathe
Member LegendaryPosts: 7,630
Just to have a name, I will call it "Affinity."
The idea is that every time you group with another player, and while grouped you accomplish some objective (be in general xp grinding, questing, raiding, whatever) the game remembers that you grouped with that player and assigns each of you an Affinity score. The score is based on how often you group together and how much you accomplish while grouped.
Players who group together often and accomplish things together gain high Affinity, and, depending on how high, it would grant you beneficial buffs, useful abilities available while grouped, or similar rewards.
I'm sure the idea needs refinement and poses some issues, but I think it's a worthwhile feature to consider, depending on the game?
The idea is that every time you group with another player, and while grouped you accomplish some objective (be in general xp grinding, questing, raiding, whatever) the game remembers that you grouped with that player and assigns each of you an Affinity score. The score is based on how often you group together and how much you accomplish while grouped.
Players who group together often and accomplish things together gain high Affinity, and, depending on how high, it would grant you beneficial buffs, useful abilities available while grouped, or similar rewards.
I'm sure the idea needs refinement and poses some issues, but I think it's a worthwhile feature to consider, depending on the game?
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
Comments
Such a proposal would be particularly troublesome in the typical theme park where you're basically prevented from grouping with those you've grouped with in the past because your levels have diverged.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
Or they may only group with select people in order to bolster affinity scores.
There's already enough exclusionary mechanics in MMOs, no need for another.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
However the rewards for leveling social points are purely cosmetic.
I dont PUG much anymore....
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
They may have been interesting and talkative, or completely dull and non-responsive. They may have avoided group text and only communicate via /tell or /whisper. An automated linkage wouldn't make a distinction between the two cases. It might push me towards Ensign Dreary every time i log on because we share the same play time. I want to qualify the linkage, I want to select those people who were enjoyable, not to automatically repeat an association with a jerk because we shared a group 11 days ago.
There is a potential problem with automated linking. Most people wouldn't want to continue an abusive situation. Whatever the actual nature -- sexual behavior, hate speech, off-color comments or other offenses -- would be beyond the ability of a purely automated system to deal with. A system that suggests players because I grouped with them previously could perpetuate the uncomfortable and unwanted situations. That will drive players away from the game.
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
Take a pill and pug all night.
I would like a social mmorpg to encourage me to group with NEW people rather than giving more reasons to always hang with the same. I mean it is great to create deeper bonds with people in the game, but it also make those people hard to reach for outsiders and eventually also more single minded. For me at least the pull towards creating tighter bonds with the same handful of players comes naturally and I need something to pull me in the other direction.
A typical result is that a tight group which is a part of a guild closes itself so much that as natural mmo-fall-away thins the ranks and the need to recruit new guild mates come, that they are unable to make the new players feel like a part of the group. On a larger scale this can be the same problem for the game itself, that veterans (not consciously) creates a community that is unwelcoming to new players.
Anyways, my point is I think this effect is inevitable and slowly happening, so no need to create mechanics that speed it up. One of the mistakes I fear Pantheon is heading towards.
edit. But maybe some kind of affinity for just grouping and accomplishing things in general instead of it being tied to certain players. Sort of like group xp bonus does.
"I am my connectome" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7GwKXfJB0
There are games out there where Affinity is handled through Guild Buffs that reward players in a guild for spending the time to raise the guild as high as possible.
What I learned from playing MMORPGs is that many take the shortest route to victory while factoring in every possible iota of gameplay advantage. Its pretty much an advanced mathematical optimization problem when we think about it...
Problem is that
Given: a game with +10% EXP/Per player in the party
Result: a game where people party with you for the bonus EXP, not for trying to get to know you.
Solution: Eliminate Party-Based EXP
Response: players spec themselves to solo as much as possible and minimize parties. Party-Oriented players feel cheated and move to a game that treats parties better.
Given: A game where rewards exist for two players getting married in-game
Result: A game where as many people try to get married for the sake of receiving those rewards.
Solution: Do not give bonuses for marriage
Response: People either marry out of love (since no bonus exists) or they look for a game that has a bonus to marriage and move to that game.
Given: A game where rewards exist for parties clearing an area fast
Result: Endgame statics power-gaming everything.
Solution: Normalize the rewards and focus on clearing challenges, and not clear times.
Response: Players adapt to still destroy a map with all its challenges as fast as possible and make specific party demands for it.
Given: Statics gain affinity levels
Result: Hardcore Statics widen their distance and power to non-statics/pug parties.
Solution: Eliminate Static Bonuses
Response: While players on the lower-end celebrate the power of statics being diminished. The Statics, who make up the majority of whales in games end up leaving to another game that gives them bonuses. Game loses funding and closes down sooner than later since the public opinion of a collective group of whales has more weight and dollar signs than that of a collective group of tadpoles.
This last one can be met with a Counter-Solution since I did throw it into the F2P realm, and would demand a B2P and P2P solution as well to be fair. I do know people do not like to start with a bonus and then have it stripped from them.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
btw the OP idea is bad, is really nice on paper, hell in RL