15 replies to this topic

[BVRBandit]

It is never obvious to an outsider why certain decisions are made. But there is always a good reason. Anyway, the short version as to why we did instances ahead/instead of PvP.

• Instances were already in the works and just needed to be completed and tested.
  
• The game was never designed for PvP. It is exclusively PvE.
  
• You can't shoe-horn PvP into a PvE game and expect any decent results.
  
• I am not inclinded to task out something (PvP implementation) just for the heck of it.
  
• We are going to have PvP. It is part of the current road map. What form it will take, is not yet decided. But when we have reached the point where we have definitive answers and goals, I will post about it.

Finally, the notion that PvP can "make" a game popular or increase its survivability is not grounded in reality; - evidenced by the numerous MMO games which either have PvP but are not flourishing or had PvP but have since closed.

Make no mistake, Alganon IS in fact growing. Sure I would like for it to grow at a faster rate, but the fact is the game (due to the botched Dec launch) has an uphill climb to gain its footing.

Apart from that, if the game grew quicker than we plan for, there WILL be other problems. Which? For starters, the network layer (which is being replaced in a major patch due out later this year) is not likely to hold up. So it is pointless having a massive player base if they're just going to be frustrated and thus pissed at us.

So, in a sense, it is a good thing that the game is growing slowly as that gives us enough time to get the new networking layer in, get international servers etc up and running etc

Things take time and I tend to not do anything without a plan or a flag to go with it. I have a plan. And I have a flag. All we have to do now is playing the waiting game.

[Riceman]

Good to know there's a plan.

Personally, I'm happy to do without PvP in Alganon, despite my involvement in that game type in most other games.

Judging from the way Alganon is shaping up, though, I know you guys will do it right when you eventually implement it.

[CarlitX]

Sounds good! I've never been one for PvP, aside from the over all world PvP in WoW's PvP servers, unless it gets me a cool mount or gear. However I always like the option of having it there to take a break from questing/ go to enemy territory with lower levels and gank to feel kind of smug and better/ to be an ass to the opposing faction But like I said I've never been hard core into it. So I am sure whatever you guys come up with will suffice w/e appetite I seem to have along with other peoples.

[BVRBandit]

At this point, several things are 100% certain

1. PvP will be monetized. Its not free. If you want PvP, you have to pay to play it.

2. PvP will either be separate instances on pre-existing servers or be hosted on totally separate servers. In other words, we're not going to muck about with the PvE environment. So if PvP is not your think, just disregard it.

3. Someone, somewhere is going to be pissed, regardless of how it turns out.

[CarlitX]

3. Someone, somewhere is going to be pissed, regardless of how it turns out.

I loled so hard when I read that. I bet someone somewhere has already pre-ordered his needless bottle of "Troll-RAGE!" Especially for when the PvP is implemented xP I'll go hunt em down if yah want me to

[Amjoco]

Good information. Thank you.

[Riceman]

3. Someone, somewhere is going to be pissed, regardless of how it turns out.

Isn't this the truth behind adding, removing, or changing any feature of any game, ever?

[CyberSNAC]

3. Someone, somewhere is going to be pissed, regardless of how it turns out.

ROFL! Almost every time Derek posts, something he writes in all sincerity makes me laugh. I absolutely love it when people just tell it like it is!

[Wyspe]

I like the way the progress of this game is slow and steady. It demonstrates that the staff is working on it out of love for the game and their team. The desire is for a truly fun, enjoyable game that will be a joy to play for a long time, rather than cram as much flash and fluff into the game to make a whole bunch of money, then turn your back on it and let it die an agonizing death. Of course, it is a good thing to earn a decent wage and be able to pay your bills while you are doing a good deed for the community playing Alganon.
Keep up the good work!

[BVRBandit]

Lets put it this way. I already agreed to have PvP in the game and it is already in the dev schedule. So, either way, it is coming. Everyone just has to wait for it.

[Zeno]

I'm rootin' for a pvp battle ground area, like DAOC's. I thought DAOC did it right. Do your leveling w/ quests/PvE and then bring out your pvp gear and go huntin'. Some PvE in the battle ground that dropped maybe more gold or more of something that you could use to make it a calculated risk as to whether to attempt to farm them knowing that some human scum might be havin' the same thought. Good fun.

[BVRBandit]

Was anyone paying attention a few months back?

Well, PvP is coming to Alganon. Sooner than most thought. As soon as....sometime this month.

[BVRBandit]

For more PvP info, see today's newsletter.

[chukk]

Just wondering, is this statement from the latest blog still accurate ?

So several months later, here we are with PvP and about to release Phase III (Towers!) sometime this week – all things being equal.

If yes, when can we expect the towers ?

Also, how is this

1. PvP will be monetized. Its not free. If you want PvP, you have to pay to play it.

meant to be understood ?

Will there be a arena where i have to pay tribute to enter, or is the Battle
durability on the gear meant by this, or even additional costs which arn't
visible yet ...

Don't get me wrong, but i'd appreciate it, if this game wouldn't turn out
like Shaiya, where you have to pay 100$ / month to stay competitive ...

[Nightvision]

The Towers patch is in QA at this time, and the release is imminent. We are shooting for the early part of the coming week and it's looking pretty good.

Monetization of PvP is going to take several forms. As you mention Battle Durability is one of those. We also have Renown gear that's made with PvP in mind, and I anticipate most serious PvP players will invest in that gear not only for the PvP benefit, but also because it takes no BD loss. This gear is already in-game and in the Library, so you can see right now what that's going to cost.

We also have over 100 new Studies which have been designed specifically for PvP. Over half of these new Studies will be available in the coming patch, and the remainder will be coming when we introduce Keeps. These are purchased with Tribute which unlocks the ability to put them in your study queue.

Finally, there are items like Potions, Bandages, Food, Trinkets, Mounts and more that a player can choose to purchase with Tribute, and which are specifically intended for PvP. In the Keeps patch we'll be introducing a whole slew of new items such as Battering Rams and Boiling Oil that will also be purchased using Tribute.

There is a very fine line between a system that gives our company a chance to make money while not placing an undue burden on our players finances. I think it's completely unreasonable to expect players to spend $100 per month just to remain competitive, in fact I'm hoping that our players will only need to spend a fraction of that. We've worked hard to provide a system that will allow players to not only have a great time, but to regulate their spending on a budget of their own choosing.

[chukk]

Thanks alot for this reply, helped clear out alot of question i had.

Now there's only one or two things left i'd appreciate if you'd consider.
Having studies / siege material / Talisman and other essential parts of PvP made tribute only, might sound daunting to new players (well, actually me included ... sry).

I'd really appreciate it, if you'd enable the player to purchase a similiar version of the items with ingame money ... currently for example there's barely any use for ingame gold since there's so few players and
no real economy exists, that'll eventually lead to a inflation making gold
even more useless as it already is ...

So, why not for example make Talisman that are only half as strong as the Tribute ones purchase able with ingame gold at "sane" rates ... none of those
8000g purchases ... more like 50 - 150g, Values people could actually reach
within a timeframe that doesnt make it all seem very insane.

Same could be done for the studies ... why not make PvP studies available
for Tribute, or 1000ish values of Gold ? This way, it would give people a
goal to work for (saving all the gold till you have 1000 takes ages ... ),
or simply allow em to buy it with tribute, if they're not patient enough.

Siege weapons on the other hand, instead of simply purchasing them ingame,
they could be expensive crafts ... allowing the players to choose again
if they wanna take the short route and pay some tribute or, once again
create something to work for.