Lose of Control of the Game
First let me preface with the fact that I have over 25 years of programming experience with very complex system behind me.
It has become evident that the programmers have lost control of the game system. To their credit it is a HUGELY complex system, but it has become clear that due to all the modifications and fixes that the system has lost continuity and is no longer coherent.
There are so many interdependencies that it has become impossible to manage them in a logical manner. What you are attempting to do is KLUDGE the system with an overall modification to the entire system to fix a wide range of problems that you have failed to address individually.
This is a common fix for computer systems, but the point I really want to make is that it is a very difficult thing to do with something as subjective as a gaming system.
Your attempt to balance the system by limiting the OE will have a HUGE impact in very unexpected ways. The math on this is very clear.
I know that you are attempting to fix the sytem, but in the end you may be placing the straw that breaks the camels back, if the system becomes unstable (unplayable) enough, it will cease to be functional for your customers.
I would urge you to consider a LONG run on the Test server. You have the potential create a great many more problems that you are attempting to solve. There are countless unresolved bugs that will impact your prospective change in an ever widening spiral of problems.
REMEMBER FUNCOM, we play because it is fun, If you take the FUN out of it all you have left is the COM.
PLEASE ADDRESS THIS QUESTION
In your message you listed the reason for this OE measure as follows. and I QUOTE...
A lot of people used stepping implants they normally wouldn't use.
There was a Surgery Clinic exploit that could boost your Treatment skill all the way to infinity. It made the Treatment requirement on implants negligible.
They wore special items that buffed their skills.
They received Wrangles and other high-level buffs affecting needed skills. Normally guild mates and "friends for hire" would supply these buffs.
Then, the character could squeeze in the needed weapon or summon the needed pet.
After that, all stepping implants were replaced with the normal implants. All buffs went away and stepping items were removed.
The result was a character fresh from the "over-equipping-doping-laboratory" with three or four times (at least on low levels) as high Quality Level a weapon as they could equip on their own! This was unpredictable and unbalanced, favouring veteran players with tons of money and friends.
END QUOTE
Very well, so WHY would a person who did NOT engage in this behaviour be suddenly placed under the description (programatically) of an OE-er when they get debuffed in combat??? A debuff from another player or an NPC does not MAKE you an OE-er. So follow all the rules as you are RETAILORING them to be and after a few debuffs you are treated as an OEer?? This is ridiculous that a pet class player should suffer total loss of their pet under the description OEer when they have NOT overequipped!!!! THEY HAVE BEEN DEBUFFED! Frankly, you MADE the rules, and players operated within them. If you didn't like those rules fine, please, change them. But this is NOT a change. You can still follow the requirements rules as set but still be officiallyt an OEer. How frustrating! If you feel there should be a cutoff point to how many QLs above your lvl u should be equipping PLACE A LVL REQ ON ITEMS. Dont make us do the math to equip it AND do the math to see if its then even worth it. How complex SHOULD this GAME be. We want fun, not math class. Frankly, things were fine. Traders made the money their profession should by doing wrangles, players were always hungry for better weapons/armor and the implant stores never did better business. I understand fully not wanting to allow exploits and cheats. THEY SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED ---BUT--- these things you have a problem with were LEGAL in your system. And please don't another person tell me wrangles were not intended for weapon equipping, its ridiculous and only makes u look silly. Its obvious to a reet that they were and allw as just fine. Those that complained they were suffering in PvP because their opponent was equipped better I have news for you....we've won most wars in the US for the same reason. No one ran over and said, "please, forfeit the war, you're overequipped!!
Conflicting Message From FUNCOM
One more quick post,
FUNCOM is aserting that the OE is an exploit and was never intended to be used as it is now being used. If that is true then why did they consider a bug one that de-equiped a wep if your skills were not of the correct lvl when you zoned.
They fixed that, wonder why?
Overequipping and the IP reset: A follow-up
The more I go through all of these replies to this topic the more my opinion is enforced I'am 100% against this OE change because I feel it will do more damage than good. also it will make traders even more powerful than ever
Re: Allow me to reiterate...
Quote:
Originally posted by Pneuma
The ppl in the arena are gladiators, not everday chumps.
bravo
I agree with you and there are many more quotes in your post that I wanted to use but I didnt want to spam the forum hehe
Re: Allow me to reiterate...
Quote:
Originally posted by Pneuma
The ppl in the arena are gladiators, not everday chumps.[/B]
Haha, this is what I have tried to get across to people in some of my posts against this idea. For everyone that whines about PvP balance and how this will magically make it better, here is a massege for you. It won't. The people that are hardcore into PvP are HARDCORE. They dream about the best way to gank your silly ass. If this goes through, then they will be 100% optimized and min/maxed for the new rules. They might not be quite as powerful as before, but the chances are they will still gank your silly ass (Unless you are a Trader). These people are really good at one thing...killing other PCs. PvP isn't for the jealous or the squeamish. If you have any illusions that everything is magically going to become balanced and you think you will waltz into a 25% area and be on even footing, think again. The classes still aren't balanced and now it's even worse as a trader will be able to beat ANYONE. If they don't it will be because of bad lag or bad luck. I hope you are all happy. You made the bed, time to sleep in it. Hopefully FC comes to their senses soon, but I doubt it.
follow up is short-sighted with major blindspot
I am focussing mainly on one element, OE as it relates to weps and armor. To say that 20% is quite a buffer is not completely true. A stacked str/stm buff of 12+10+17+8+8 equaling 54 is achieved quite early on, and approaches a 100% buff at some lowbie levels, add in the buff from a str/stm plant set for putting on your armor and it is much more so. Agreed that at higher levels the buffs alone become less significant, but this across the board Killer Nerf patch seems to slam newbies pretty hard.
Also, I did not see anything really relating to why people feel forced to rely on OE in the first place, simply one post about a Mob with 10x HP compared to other Mobs.
I am not sure the percentage of folks who PvP on a regular basis, non-ganking. It's a given that over-equiping is a neccessity in that arena, but those conflicts are generally entered into by choice. Look at ALL mid to High level chars and I imagine the % of folks maxing out their equipment options is well over 75%. Then look at the boards and read how many people of that level feel their profs are nerfed based on their own inabilities and inadiquacies (sp). This should tell you something. If people are complaining about being unable to solo now, while armed to the teeth, what do you think things will be like when you implement this patch. Do you believe that this will address the concerns of those who are still unable to solo a 50% mission.
I can only believe that your focus here is on PvP. To believe anything else is to believe that you are completely ignorant of the game which you, yourselves, have created.
Poor Whinners always win...
All I have to say is the sorry ppl that are in favor of this EO patch are the ones that die in PvP. Damn took me 5 chars to finally get with the program. Heck the only thing that attracted me and many others is the "WAR" Storyline. Now just like everything else in AO this too is being taken away. Better check your #s FC you may have a large playerbase now but pulling this at the time that Starwars Gal. is about to be released for Xbox and PC bad choice.
Me to meet another player that is yellow to me and me being a old vet versus a 2 week old player and it be an EVEN fight!!! Heck no! He deserves to get toasted that makes him angry and then starts those wheels turning of revenge and how to get better to so he too can conqure like that. Im sure if you take the "WAR" away you gonna take alot of revenue. you say a few 1oo leave ne biggie?? ok take this for your math...
100 people leave thats $13 a month so $1300 a month less and over one year well you do the math.. Im sure AO wont get the best MMORPG next year and they probably barely made it this year...What you are doing is flat out wrong..
Try this idea..UO*cought..no good anymore* turn RK2 into a PvP relm as did UO with Fel and Tram..
Those who wish to war and PvP go to RK2 those that wish to PvM well leave them on RK1....
Problemed solved balanced servers no more whinners about losing in PvP...RK1 wont have so much of a player/Data drain..
just make it possible to go between the dimensions Via Whampa or special gen nano..
Second idea to promote war..
Towns Gas 100%
1st zone outsied towns 75%
All other zones with exception of Neut 25%
Neuts with power?? shouldnt happen..Neuts should not be able to be attacked cept in mayhem zones including arenas then more people that want to PvP will choose a side those that dont can keep their neutral guilds and be neutral and stay outta the friggn war...
Im not appolgising for nothing Ive been around since the open release of AO and it was bad then got alot better now its turrning to LISTEN TO THE NEWPLAYERS ONLY.. same reason UO failed and the creation of Tram. FC dont become another UO im sure you will crash and burn as they did..
I have alot of ideas that would be way better than this NERF for PvP..Geesh why not remove traders and false professions while you are at it.. Ant eh largets Exploit was the NCU remove NCU from the game and give a STANDARD ncu skill or amount based on comp lit then watch things totally balance..or can you explain a lvl 5 with 200+ NCU..Makes me kinda bummed i dont exploit i find leagle ways to kill the exploiters and trust me thats hard enough and rarely done but it is possible just takes alotta MATH!!
Well guess im out now and done ready for the cancell since this news i have been on DAoC with my two guilds already we not gonna put up with this nerf and we account for 68 people so do #s there alone FC alot will follow...
Not one reply from Funcom
No-one from Funcom is going to comment and what has been said here?
Re: Very litle info..about Enginers..!
Quote:
Originally posted by Bluetec
I mean..its ok to OE 20% of your wepon requirements and
armor..(thats how it shud be)
But..make 20% both for wepon and pets..is unbalanced!!!
Why..not make a different OE % for Enginers? i wont say
%..thats..up to FC designers.. but 20% OE on Enginers..
is unbalanced..(i cant say this to much)
Keep up the good work.. the 14.0 patch is grate..!!
dont make 14.2 bad for Enginers..please listen to us..
Regards
Bluetec -107 Enginer
Aloues - 113 MP
Tecscope -103 NT
Yes, thats right, Lets make this FAIR and nerf all the other class's Except Engineer!!! Not that! I play one!!! Dont nerf ME!!! Nerf the others!!! Thats fair!!! PFFFFFFFTTTTTT. get real. If a nano caster has been subject to it all his life since lvl one, you get NO sympathy for me. No OE has been something I have head to deal with since 1'st lvl. Welcome to my world now, you "I can solo 80% missions with red smonsters anymore".
If ao drops 14.2 will i see it, i don' know.....
My title says it best, if AO goes live will i like it, I don't know, because i probably won't be playing anymore.....lol. Way to dilute every aspect of excitement that drew me to the game in the first place Fun Com. I've only been playing for a month, and if you think that slowing down the progression of the game is the way to go, you're sadly mistaken. Why not make better weapons? If someone's not smart enough to utilize their intelligence to so-called "over equip", even though OE'ing is just smart game playing, how the heck do these morons find the time to post positive messages about 14.2. This is the worst business decision Funcom has made, i know a handfull of people that are going to cancel when this goes live.
Nerfing classes, engies, and making others Uber pvpers, like traders, is so utterly dumb-founding. If you're worried about the 1-50 level people that pvp you're hearts in the wrong place how about advance the 100 + people, by making higher ql weapons than 200. How hard can that be?????? I mean really, what's the point of the patch, if it's to take all the INTELLIGENT THINKING of how to get better gear on your char away, then mission accomplished. Leaving us with a dilluted game with the bland boredom of every other RPG i've played is the leftover, reheated 14.2 future of AO. Good luck all when it goes live, i won't be on, and i want my money back when it does............I didn't sign up to play a game where i spend hours hitting the attack key with no rewards for smart playing.
very dissappointed,
I've really got into this game lately and it will be a shame to leave, guess i won't be referring this game to my friends anymore.