Mission Terminal Distance Slider Proposal

Mission Terminal issues:

Mission terminals have now been reported as fixed as they once again dispense missions that are within "reasonable" distance from the terminals dispensing them. There are particularly two major problems with the way this issue has been addressed, and for the sake of (most of) this post I will pretend the entire problem that arose between 12.8-13.0 never happened:

1. Players with the means to traverse dangerous areas are no longer able to take advantage of their speed/concealment nanos or vehicles that allow them to make the trek for greater rewards
2. Higher level characters are not adequately compensated for their accomplishments in completing their missions

(most of my facts are provided by a hazy brain so take my numbers with a grain of salt)
As a level 50 character I was blitzing missions taken from Broken Shores (via Whompa) for Avalon. As a Martial Artist, this meant that I had to run with no speed buffs or Yalmaha (at the time, as this is why I was blitzing). I was probably making somewhere in the neighborhood of 30-40k credits per mission (sliding the reward all the way left for cash rewards over experience). This was great as I was able to take the risks in getting to a dangerous mission area and be appropriately rewarded. Now, fast forward to the present, I am a 93 level MA and I am taking missions in the same manner and place that I was previously and making about 10k credits more. This puts a strain on the economics of higher level characters as the higher you get the less money you make. This will begin to affect the type of hardware and nanos higher level characters will be able to afford soon (as cash reserves are being depleted constantly with no means of replenishing them). Here is an example to break things down simply - one mission for 40k for a lvl 50 character will most likely afford him/her just about all the nano/health kits they want or need for the next set of missions. At level 93, one mission for 50k will only afford them 3 or 4 sets. The point I'm trying to make is that as you progress in levels the cost of living increases yet the minimum wage has not increased proportionately.

Ok, so here's where I introduce the mission bug from 12.8...

This bug was really annoying at first. Most of us were getting missions way out in the middle of enemy/hostile territory and we had no choice but to take them and most likely, ended up dying just getting to them. Sure, the rewards were great, but forget about retaining any experience from them as death awaited you as your ran to them as well as on your return from them. I didn't even know where half my missions were at the time. However, I had earned enough to but a Yalmaha and was able to traverse hostile zone fairly easily and soon it all became worth the while. I can understand the lack of sympathy for owners of Yalmahas, but I earned the $5 million credits the hard and honest way by doing missions just to lose it to a zone bug (yep - 12.8) a few days later only to discover that there was no way that it could be replaced by GMs. So, off I went to save up another $5million to buy another one. Many of you may remember the login warning regarding zoning with Yalmahas and full inventories...I was one of many that brought that to FunCom's attention. I digress...

Those of us able to (or found the risks well worth the while) cross hostile territory to our mission areas found the effort quite rewarding. I soon found myself making $90k per mission in my upper 80's (level). Granted, I had to fly half way around the planet to get to my mission area, but that was my choice. I often died inside or outside of my mission areas but for 90k - so what? I get back in the saddle and get myself back over there to finish the job. At the end, I was rewarded appropriately, but the bottom line was at what cost? The cost was that for every mission I completed and was rewarded for many had to endure unacceptable commutes to their mission areas by foot. This made my success bittersweet. There was no need for this. There should be a way for everyone to be properly compensated for their efforts.

Then, last night, chatting with a friend, I came to a revelation that many of you have probably already made - how about a slider in the mission terminals to determine the distance to the missions? Wouldn't this solve just about every problem we're all having without adversely affecting anyone? Those of you who wish for closer and safer missions are just as welcomed to receive them as someone who wishes to receive far-away dangerous-to-get-to missions. The reward system would obviously reflect this option and everyone wins.

I've posted this in the AO Stratics forums and have incited concerns over the problems that this sort of coding may introduce, but what new features, fixes, and story-line elements, and profession tweaks don't introduce the potential for breaking things? The question is, is this something that would make the game better for all with few to no negative ramafications? I'd like to think so. Can you imagine what AO would be like a year from now if FunCom didn't make any changes for the sake of preventing code problems from affecting us? How many of you would still be here if NOTHING changed in 3 months?

I'm writing this to AO Stratics in an effort to make this a priority issue as it affects the economy of AO, not just one person or a small population of the game. I understand that I may have overlooked some things in my attention to this issue and am more than happy to hear about them, but if you agree with me please let your voices be heard so we can make AO a just place for all level characters and professions, not to mention making missions a rewarding experience.

Dragon9
Clan Journeymen
Clan Martial Artist
Friend to all