Empire Switching Penality Proposal

teratravp · 2004-03-18, 06:09 PM

I'm still on my trial and can't use the official messageboards yet, but when I register I'll put this there. Right now I'll try for some feedback here.

Empire Switching Penalty

In the game of PS, on each server you use, one character must be defined as your Primary Character. This character's empire is the one you are assumed to be playing for. Theoritcally since this is a war game you should only be playing for 1 empire at a time. However you are able to create different empire characters on different servers with no adjustment penalities, just not multiple empire characters on the same server without a penalty for the non primary empires.

The new adjustment will be that when you play a character that is a different empire then your primary empire you suffer a Switch Penalty - Health and Shields both diminished 50% to start, down to 0% over 7 days at which time that character will become your primary character and that empire your empire for that server.

Your primary character is determined PER server, therefore you can have different empire characters on different servers with no penalty. The purpose of this penalty is to discourage balance overturns and rushes that debilitate the game.

follow?

HawkEye · 2004-03-18, 06:16 PM

emipre changing shit is fine as is. the 12 hour timer is enough.

Krinsath · 2004-03-18, 06:16 PM

Don't think that really resolves anything. Just makes things annoying for people who have multiple characters that they enjoy.

This is a result of the server merge. I had 2 major characters thrown into the same server, but different empires. Why should I be punished because the Devs can't fix bugs fast enough to keep a stable playerbase?

The current system is about as good a solution as any since there is only 2 good servers for most people (or 1 for the Wernerites).

The bandwagoners won't be stopped by this system, it's just a harassment for those who enjoy the different dynamics of the three empires.

It's a war game, yes...but this system would make PS very stale and cost more players.

321 · 2004-03-18, 06:19 PM

I think 12 hours is enough.

ORANGE · 2004-03-18, 06:23 PM

I'm not happy with empire switching but can't think of a way to make it better so I will shut my mouth

EDIT: There are a couple of ways around the 12 hour rule that I have heard of from friends at school

Indecisive · 2004-03-18, 06:43 PM

I wouldnt bother messing with it.

HawkEye · 2004-03-18, 08:19 PM

i think that penalty would suck for the peeps who spend an even amount of time with multiple chars in different empires on same server. and for peeps like me who have been one empire for a long time and want to have fun or try sum thing new on a different empire. ive been nc since beta and ive never changed empires. sumtimes i get bored with my Br20/cr5 char and play tr for fun not because the NC are sucking or an empire buff or nerf happens.

I hope that made sense.

oddfish · 2004-03-18, 08:25 PM

it did, Hawkeye, trust me.

and i agree that the twelve hours is enough, though i think eight would be enough as well..

Lithpope · 2004-03-18, 08:38 PM

We did not have the 4th empire problems before the server merges to the degree we have them now. There are still 3 servers (thus the opprotunity to play each empire) and servers should be single empire again. Solution: The persons chooses an empire per server and all characters of another empire on the account keep their BR and CR are decerted in everything and swapped to the primary empire. The person does not lose the character or time spent, just the empire.

Cyrus- · 2004-03-18, 08:58 PM

The problem with the 12 hour timer is that you're not constantly on. Let's put you in this situation. It's 9:00 at night and you're empire is getting wtf owned... so you decide to switch to the winning empire. You play it for the remaining 3 hours of your time and sleep through the other 9. What kind of penalty is that? You're all set to play either one the next day again. They need to make it so it's 6 to 9 hours of ingame time on one empire before you can switch back.

Krinsath · 2004-03-18, 09:00 PM

And for those who have problems getting a decent ping to the west coast....having them go to EUROPE strkes you as a sensible idea? You think the lag is bad now, wait untli the damned limeys show up on Markov with their 2500ms pings and lag the entire server. BAD idea.

KIAsan · 2004-03-18, 09:18 PM

I'm not happy about empire switching and there is another way to handle it, they could have allowed you to either change your other characters empire OR they could have let you move your conflicting characters to the other US server. That would also have been very fair. However, SOE choose this route, so it's in the game. There is absolutley no reason to penalize players for using their different empire characters, since it has been authorized by SOE and is in the rules.

BTW, you can exploit the 12 hour rule (I also know how to do it), however be aware, that is an exploit and should you be caught, I would hate to see a post on this board about how it's not fair.

teratravp · 2004-03-19, 12:18 AM

somehow it slipped my mind that there's only 3 servers now, all for specific geographic areas... so my proposal isn't any good. I'd only want it to happen if people who like empire hopping still had the option to do over different servers, but now I remember that's not an option.

still, I think, even if you guys don't realize it and think empire hopping is just part of the package, it can at times totally screw up the virtual balance. I mean people say they have restraint but in reality they all want to line up in one place... one person switches over for whatever reason, then here comes another, and another... that deflates the "war" game a bit and makes it more of you and your friends and your friends friends etc running around to the best stacked odds.

If SOE would open some more servers (hard probably because they have to get more people, which in turn is hard in a game that lost so many of it's best possible customers already) then this could resolved... but similar to surgile exploit and the required nerf I wouldn't mind if more was done to bandage population see sawing for the moment. Just give some degree of stat penalty... a timer doesn't mean much at all. And I know some of you would like to be able to pick up your most powerful char of any empire at any time... but here we go with the see saw.

Majik · 2004-03-19, 10:06 AM

Of course I just had a thought about the empire jumpers. Poplocked character choices on a server basis. If you maintain characters in more than one empire on a server, and one of your empire choices already has a 10% population advantage over any other, that choice is not available to play. This could keep people from jumping to the winning side, when the losing side is already undermaned.
This comes to mind thanks to the first day of the capitol fighting, when on emerald the populations were 40% NC, 42% TR, and 18% VS. Guess who was fighting for every inch of land they had all night.

Krinsath · 2004-03-19, 10:11 AM

Originally Posted by Majik

Of course I just had a thought about the empire jumpers. Poplocked character choices on a server basis. If you maintain characters in more than one empire on a server, and one of your empire choices already has a 10% population advantage over any other, that choice is not available to play. This could keep people from jumping to the winning side, when the losing side is already undermaned.
This comes to mind thanks to the first day of the capitol fighting, when on emerald the populations were 40% NC, 42% TR, and 18% VS. Guess who was fighting for every inch of land they had all night.

That seems like a fairer system, but still raises the problem of what if I wanted to play my NC character that night. Which empire to play for some people is a mood choice, if they're not in the mood to play for Empire X, seems unfair to force them to do so.

Also, wasn't the first day of capitol buildings on Emerald involved with some sort of bug that had the VS stuck in their sanctuary for the majority of the evening? If I couldn't get out of sanc with my empire, I'd log off too.

I think they're working on actual *benefits* for badly outnumbered forces, so that will hopefully keep the lop-sided battles to a minimum while still letting people play the game that (some) have put close to $200 into for whatever empire they want to.