Rufus Tsynorca
Member
- Gender
- Male
Long time no see everyone. In fact, very long time no see.
I've been swithering for a bit as to whether to post this thread or not, but given the circumstance, I'm too curious not to.
Quick disclaimer; I've not been around for ages, so if any of my thoughts are out of date, do say so. I've done a bit of skimming, but not much.
The gist is, I had an odd PSO-related dream last night. I remember being in the lobby for the first time in many years, and I noticed that things looked a bit different. The lobby was much grander and more open; looked kinda shiny and new. Even the stars outside were in lovely hi res and had depth to them.
I went to the counter and was greeted with the ship selection screen, which had about 20 different ships. Each ship had "x/5" people on it. After choosing a ship, I went straight in to a game with 2 other people in it. They were in their 80's, I was LV6 or something, so I noped out of there... and woke up.
It's funny to think that after all this time, I've still not forgot about PSO or the people that I have so many fond memories of.
This event did however have me thinking, that though my dream was exagerated, PSO is not a very big community any more, and the community is largely fragmented between different servers. It had me thinking of ways to bring the community together, and to increase general enjoyment of the game. Of course, different servers offer different things, which initially causes individiual people to gravitate towards them, and then for their friends to go over to join them. In other words, we have the pioneers that are interested in new or alternative things, and the social players who want to play with their friends. Every time a new server comes out, it further causes people to split apart causing the communities of each to become even smaller. Last time I was here there was some server that was invitation-only; Hardcore particularly became a bit quieter here.
The thing is, if the community is to come together, then realistically one server would have to cater to the varied interests and needs that the PSO community has. Some people enjoy grinding, some are social, some want the best equipment, some like time-attacking, some like challenge mode, some like experimenting with quirky builds, some people like just chilling out and mindlessly killing things, etc. The list could no doubt go on. We already have grinding, and encouraging more people here would naturally increase the social aspect and the community for challenge mode. The other aspects are all ultimately end-game things; you're not going to have the best equipment at the start, nor are you going to be working towards the best time in solo PW3 with a Saber and a Handgun. Then we have the people that would dearly love to play, such as myself, but that simply don't have the free time that we used to.
This now is the crux of why I was unsure to post this or not, since every single time this question comes up... there is never any real discussion, just a "No", and that's the end of it. The issue is that of progression towards that end-game content.
The way I see it, when this version of PSO first came out (Let's say Ep 1 and 2, where they changed formulas etc), it was in terms of content much smaller than we have now, but much larger in terms of player-base. Lets even be conservative and say that between all the ships, they had about 500 people online at a time. This server, outside of an event, is less than a 10th of that at peak times. This creates a wall to the end-game content by hindering the economy. I understand the notion of staying true to Segas intentions, but the exp growth and drop rates that they had were suited to their number of players. Given the number of players, even rare items would ultimately be in circulation. If you wanted a Psycho Wand, you'd have to do a bit of clever bargaining, but you could realistically get one due to the economy supporting it. Nowadays, no. Some items might have a technical value... but that 5 PD Red Saber you found? Nobody wants it; it's worthless. It means that to get the high end equipment, you have to either find it yourself, or luck-out with another high-end item that you could possibly trade for it. The rates however are so bad, that certainly people that don't have a lot of time, are realistically not going to find these things and are going to be blocked from finding the enjoyment they want.
It's even simple things like PDs. I don't know if, even between all my characters, I have ever actually found 99 PDs. That's a single photon sphere; 6 and some change being required for a single 100% weapon (assuming hit). Then of course we have the other uses for PDs, such as adding specials to S-Ranks, and trading to Montague for items. All of these are frankly, prohibitively expensive given the rate that PDs drop. Even if the rates were increased to reflect the likes of PS-Zero, where you'd find maybe 1 or 2 per stage... you'd still be talking about 15 full Ep1 runs for a single PS. At 4 hours a run, that's probably about 60 hours for a single PS; over 360 hours for a single weapon. Realistically over 1,800 hours to get kitted out with 5 weapons. Rates like that however would mean that as a server, people would cummulatively be finding roughly enough PDs to make and use a PS an hour. This means that through trading, people would be able to Sphere the weapons they like, not just the ones that are strictly the best. This would further encourage experimentation, play styles, etc., and would allow people more ready access to the end-game content. It would mean that a 100% Dark Flow would remain beastly, but a 100% Red Sword would once again be a viable option, particularly on a Cast. It isn't now, since people would never waste their PDs on something so relatively worthless. Challenge mode suffers the same problem; what is the point in struggling to get a team together, finally beating it, then having nowhere near enough grinders to make the weapon worth using, or waiting far too long to scrounge enough PDs to add a special to it? The rates as they are in effect negate the S-Rank rewards.
As much as I'd argue that a global 2x, or frankly even 5x boost would not be excessive, this sort of thing needn't be all or nothing. This server has already demonstrated that it can create different game modes, such as Hardcore. Why could it not create a couple of other modes to accomodate people who perhaps don't have the time that they used to? It could even be possible to add an option at game creation for increased exp and/or rates. That way people could clearly see what they're getting in for; so people could choose to join or not.
... come to think of it... the rates that PS-Zero had are probably quite suitable for PSO given the number of players. You could introduce PS-Zero mode.
I feel at this time that having options and increasing the games availability to people is not a bad thing. Certainly, I would love to come back, I really would, but I really can't. I do rather wonder how many people are in a similar position. It's why, in hindsight, I chose to play on Hardcore. The 2x EXP was a large incentive to play, but the progression with equipment was frankly terrible. I found myself all too often having a decent LV character, using sorely under-leveled equipment. However, I couldn't play in regular mode because, again, progression was too slow. In other words, half way there, but not good enough.
I suppose my key question in this is; genuinely, why has none of this ever been done? Why is there never even discussion about this sort of thing? I understand wanting to remain traditional to Sega, but why do it so firmly when the current situation is so different? Why not bring people together and allow people the options to play in a way to meet their needs?
This is an honest and sincere question... so please, don't just dismiss it with a knee-jerk response.
I've been swithering for a bit as to whether to post this thread or not, but given the circumstance, I'm too curious not to.
Quick disclaimer; I've not been around for ages, so if any of my thoughts are out of date, do say so. I've done a bit of skimming, but not much.
The gist is, I had an odd PSO-related dream last night. I remember being in the lobby for the first time in many years, and I noticed that things looked a bit different. The lobby was much grander and more open; looked kinda shiny and new. Even the stars outside were in lovely hi res and had depth to them.
I went to the counter and was greeted with the ship selection screen, which had about 20 different ships. Each ship had "x/5" people on it. After choosing a ship, I went straight in to a game with 2 other people in it. They were in their 80's, I was LV6 or something, so I noped out of there... and woke up.
It's funny to think that after all this time, I've still not forgot about PSO or the people that I have so many fond memories of.
This event did however have me thinking, that though my dream was exagerated, PSO is not a very big community any more, and the community is largely fragmented between different servers. It had me thinking of ways to bring the community together, and to increase general enjoyment of the game. Of course, different servers offer different things, which initially causes individiual people to gravitate towards them, and then for their friends to go over to join them. In other words, we have the pioneers that are interested in new or alternative things, and the social players who want to play with their friends. Every time a new server comes out, it further causes people to split apart causing the communities of each to become even smaller. Last time I was here there was some server that was invitation-only; Hardcore particularly became a bit quieter here.
The thing is, if the community is to come together, then realistically one server would have to cater to the varied interests and needs that the PSO community has. Some people enjoy grinding, some are social, some want the best equipment, some like time-attacking, some like challenge mode, some like experimenting with quirky builds, some people like just chilling out and mindlessly killing things, etc. The list could no doubt go on. We already have grinding, and encouraging more people here would naturally increase the social aspect and the community for challenge mode. The other aspects are all ultimately end-game things; you're not going to have the best equipment at the start, nor are you going to be working towards the best time in solo PW3 with a Saber and a Handgun. Then we have the people that would dearly love to play, such as myself, but that simply don't have the free time that we used to.
This now is the crux of why I was unsure to post this or not, since every single time this question comes up... there is never any real discussion, just a "No", and that's the end of it. The issue is that of progression towards that end-game content.
The way I see it, when this version of PSO first came out (Let's say Ep 1 and 2, where they changed formulas etc), it was in terms of content much smaller than we have now, but much larger in terms of player-base. Lets even be conservative and say that between all the ships, they had about 500 people online at a time. This server, outside of an event, is less than a 10th of that at peak times. This creates a wall to the end-game content by hindering the economy. I understand the notion of staying true to Segas intentions, but the exp growth and drop rates that they had were suited to their number of players. Given the number of players, even rare items would ultimately be in circulation. If you wanted a Psycho Wand, you'd have to do a bit of clever bargaining, but you could realistically get one due to the economy supporting it. Nowadays, no. Some items might have a technical value... but that 5 PD Red Saber you found? Nobody wants it; it's worthless. It means that to get the high end equipment, you have to either find it yourself, or luck-out with another high-end item that you could possibly trade for it. The rates however are so bad, that certainly people that don't have a lot of time, are realistically not going to find these things and are going to be blocked from finding the enjoyment they want.
It's even simple things like PDs. I don't know if, even between all my characters, I have ever actually found 99 PDs. That's a single photon sphere; 6 and some change being required for a single 100% weapon (assuming hit). Then of course we have the other uses for PDs, such as adding specials to S-Ranks, and trading to Montague for items. All of these are frankly, prohibitively expensive given the rate that PDs drop. Even if the rates were increased to reflect the likes of PS-Zero, where you'd find maybe 1 or 2 per stage... you'd still be talking about 15 full Ep1 runs for a single PS. At 4 hours a run, that's probably about 60 hours for a single PS; over 360 hours for a single weapon. Realistically over 1,800 hours to get kitted out with 5 weapons. Rates like that however would mean that as a server, people would cummulatively be finding roughly enough PDs to make and use a PS an hour. This means that through trading, people would be able to Sphere the weapons they like, not just the ones that are strictly the best. This would further encourage experimentation, play styles, etc., and would allow people more ready access to the end-game content. It would mean that a 100% Dark Flow would remain beastly, but a 100% Red Sword would once again be a viable option, particularly on a Cast. It isn't now, since people would never waste their PDs on something so relatively worthless. Challenge mode suffers the same problem; what is the point in struggling to get a team together, finally beating it, then having nowhere near enough grinders to make the weapon worth using, or waiting far too long to scrounge enough PDs to add a special to it? The rates as they are in effect negate the S-Rank rewards.
As much as I'd argue that a global 2x, or frankly even 5x boost would not be excessive, this sort of thing needn't be all or nothing. This server has already demonstrated that it can create different game modes, such as Hardcore. Why could it not create a couple of other modes to accomodate people who perhaps don't have the time that they used to? It could even be possible to add an option at game creation for increased exp and/or rates. That way people could clearly see what they're getting in for; so people could choose to join or not.
... come to think of it... the rates that PS-Zero had are probably quite suitable for PSO given the number of players. You could introduce PS-Zero mode.
I feel at this time that having options and increasing the games availability to people is not a bad thing. Certainly, I would love to come back, I really would, but I really can't. I do rather wonder how many people are in a similar position. It's why, in hindsight, I chose to play on Hardcore. The 2x EXP was a large incentive to play, but the progression with equipment was frankly terrible. I found myself all too often having a decent LV character, using sorely under-leveled equipment. However, I couldn't play in regular mode because, again, progression was too slow. In other words, half way there, but not good enough.
I suppose my key question in this is; genuinely, why has none of this ever been done? Why is there never even discussion about this sort of thing? I understand wanting to remain traditional to Sega, but why do it so firmly when the current situation is so different? Why not bring people together and allow people the options to play in a way to meet their needs?
This is an honest and sincere question... so please, don't just dismiss it with a knee-jerk response.
). In Ultimate you need to have done each quest just twice since completing them will have you get 6 points for the quest