Sense of Accomplishment

[Maverick]

May I propose a challenge... One I’m sure the Devs themselves found challenging as there are few examples in this genre to learn from.

There are many people with different kinds of motivations. If you were a Dev, how might you design PS2 to appeal to the masses sense of accomplishment?

Feel free to go to what ever detail you feel necessary.

My motive behind the question: I loved Planetside, but after spending countless hours playing, I slowly lost my ability to gain satisfaction from my victories in a never ending territory battle. I'm not exactly sure what might appeal to me and earn my subscription, but I am optimistic for PS2.

I'll start:

I think in my case a tangible reward that says "Look at me!<muscle Flex>" would be the best drive for me. I think WoW showed how affective this was. Not so easy in a FPS I realize since any feat of accomplishment you set will have a varying difficulty as it relies on the players to enforce so some conditions may have to be set.

THE FEAT OF ACCOMPLISHMENT:
--Each faction could have one or two bases that act as Capital battle fortresses. Capturing the battle fortress awards achievements and tangible rewards.
1. Fortress has not one command console but three.
1.1 All three command consoles must be captured.
1.2 Battle fortress command consoles must be held for two hours by opposing faction to claim its capture.
1.2.1 Home faction only need hold a captured battle fortress command console for thirty mins before it is returned to their control.

2. A captured Capital battle fortress is destroyed and another is not re-spawned for one 72 hour period in a new area adjacent to the sanctuary.

3. Fortress sports automated defense systems that take a moment to lock on but are devastating when target is acquired. This is to prevent small forces sneaking in while the fortress is undermanned. (controversial I agree, I’m open to better ideas)
3.1 Three separate security modules must be hacked to disable the automated systems.
3.1.1 Each Security module is protected by two light anti personnel turrets.
3.1.2 Each Security has an impassable shield that must be deactivated by deactivating small external power generators that are separate from the ones that power the rest of the fortress.

4. Those eligible to receive rewards upon successful capture of a Capital battle fortress:
4.1 Only those who have been online for the two hours prior to the capture of the fortress are awarded. Good standard raid time for many MMO's. Also discourages other factions hopping to the winning side at last minute to get achievement. Also discourages but not guarantee that players wont switch to a single faction and juggernaut empire their way to victory.
4.2 Realm Population difference between defending and capturing faction cannot exceed amount X. (Discourages Juggernaut Empire and low population back capping)
4.3 Population difference of fortress territory and surrounding territories between defending and capturing faction cannot exceed amount X. (Discourages Juggernaut Empire and low population back capping)


--THE REWARD:
1. Unlock a "You Win, The end" amazing video(S).
2. Awards the player achievements
3. Awards the company achievements
4. Awards Achievement points for purchase of
4.1 Achievement point buy's allow for purchase of new armor's, weapons, accessories for cosmetic flare and prestige (provides the "Look at me!<muscle Flex>) feel.
5. Unlock Ancient Tech (could be point buy based as well)

My thoughts on the idea: I tried to make it difficult for sake of making the achievement prestigious and yet the most exploit proof as I could think of. Tweaking needed? No doubt. Good idea? Ill let the masses decide.

And yes i'm a forum noob, please keep the hate to a minimum. looking for constructive thoughts.

Anyway, your turn...

[Bags]

Getting the kill, cap, or cont lock is all the sense of accomplishment I need. Merits and achievements are meaningless fluff that detract from a shooter, which should primarily be about shooting people. Not collecting every shiny.

[Surge72]

I like it. Seems like a well thought out idea on first read through.

I certainly agree that there needs to be a sense of accomplishment through the game. This is what keeps people playing many games, and while many people laugh at the thought of achievements, they have certainly proven themselves to be addictive (just look at Xbox Live and Steam achievements to see how effective they are at keeping people playing).

Planetside 2 could really do with something more than the occasional cont. lock (which only sticks around for a fleeting moment before disappearing again without any record of such accomplishment) and some achievements hidden away in the UI that no one else can see.

Thinking about it, I suppose the idea of quests in a conventional MMORPG act as achievements of sorts, tracking progress and providing a sense of accomplishment for the player. While I really do not think quests belong in Planetside, I do believe that some system needs to be put in place to provide a similar sense of progression of ones character which will help identify and track the achievements that someone may experience throughout their Planetside career.

[Malorn]

I need that sense of accomplishment that gives me more power, especially the kind that comes over time without me actually doing anything at all other than playing the game.

Oh wait, no, I don't want any of that.

[Valdae]

Ideas about how to give players a better sense of accomplishment have been about for ages. Years ago (and I do mean yeeeaaarrrsss), SoE were touting the idea of making it possible to invade Sanctuaries. Eventually they ended up with capital bases, and considered implementing more 'siege' based tactics like having to use ANT's to drain its shields etc.

It was dropped I guess, because at the end of the day players get satisfaction from fighting - and winning - a big battle. That comes foremost in front of capturing a base, a tower, or even a continent.

[opticalshadow]

captureing a bases and deflecting puny enimies is all the merit i need to keep my hold. its worked for 8 years it will work for more.

the resources land is worth will be the ingame reward for the light hearts that need something more tangible then a continent as a reward...

[MasterChief096]

Originally Posted by Malorn

I need that sense of accomplishment that gives me more power, especially the kind that comes over time without me actually doing anything at all other than playing the game.

Oh wait, no, I don't want any of that.

Malorn go read my latest post in that thread, and tell me what you would think of a system like that in PS2.

@this thread

Hmm, idk, the battle fortresses seem too extreme in terms of difficulty to capture. We barely take bases as it is now lol. I'm all for brainstorming a "hard to achieve victory" type idea though, it just needs to be implemented right.

[CutterJohn]

Once I obliterated a 2 gal backdoor drop in a single vanny. That was awesome. Got a few hate tells from the guys, and a few 'Good Jobs!' and a few 'You lucky sob'.

Thats all you need for a sense of accomplishment, actually accomplishing something.

[kamikava]

I disagree with the "all i needz is to shoot da enemies to get ma acomplishmentz" approach. It might have worked FOR YOU, however many people (like me ) require something tangible to give us that warm fuzzy feeling inside and keep us coming back and paying the sub month after month and year after year. I hate to compare it to the grindfest WoW but that is a game which has endless achievements which keep people coming back!

This is important i think:

"4.1 Achievement point buy's allow for purchase of new armor's, weapons, accessories for cosmetic flare and prestige (provides the "Look at me!<muscle Flex>) feel."

For many people the lack of not getting any achievments past level caps in PS1, even if its just a little badge in a book which you can link in chat, meant the game became stale.

Being able to say - Look at me! I did this! And i have this cool bit of armour to prove it! - is of paramount importance, and having hundreds of these is the key to making a game successful in the long term.

IMO it is very important in any MMO to have a tangible aspect to show accomplishments and continued progression that keep me wanting to play.

[dachlatte]

the problem with those "goals" is that players will do anything to achieve them. they will get fixated on them and they dont waste a second to think about the other players(enemys and allies).
why, you might ask. because the games says so. ultimately that leads to retarded gameplay like we see with the gen killing today. it ruins the fun for both empires involved. why? because the game says its all about waiting 15mins to cap a base.

[Duddy]

Well... all they'd have to do is bring back the merit system we have now (bar the unlocks from it) and you'd already have more "achievements" to earn than you could possibly manage in your time playing the game...

[DreaM]

Originally Posted by Bags

Getting the kill, cap, or cont lock is all the sense of accomplishment I need. Merits and achievements are meaningless fluff that detract from a shooter, which should primarily be about shooting people. Not collecting every shiny.

I see no problem with having both, it's nice to have something to show off if you've headshotted 20,000 people. It doesn't detract from the game as you're still playing the game to get the "shiny things".

Fluff? Yes. Game breaking? definitely not.

[Zulthus]

Originally Posted by Bags

Getting the kill, cap, or cont lock is all the sense of accomplishment I need. Merits and achievements are meaningless fluff that detract from a shooter, which should primarily be about shooting people. Not collecting every shiny.

Merits and achievements in no way detract from any game. They simply let you know you're doing a good job.

[Sovereign]

Or in some cases they distract people from being true asset on the field.

I wouldn't mind something new like achievements going out to the most valuable players a day for example...

[Valdae]

Yeah, so long as achievements are relevant to the overall game. I like the idea of having player of the day medals, or anything else that rewards you for just going out and kicking ass.

I dont really wanna see people detracted from the actual battle because they're trying to get some ridiculous achievement, like "get blown up 6 times whilst jumping up and down and squawking like a duck."