Return Armageddon to its roots: Double all Movement Costs

[tortall]

I think the randomization of spawn points is the best idea I've heard out there, period, as far as adding excitement to my traveling life goes.  Second I wouldn't mind doubling movement point costs for mounts or lowering their max stamina.  It is kind of ridiculous how far and fast you can travel on a mount, along the roads.

However, most of the rest of the ideas presented here would just make my game experience either more boring, which is bad, or that the 'benefits' would entirely not offset the ARGH! factor.

Finally...

As long as rangers the Byn try tries to charge 400+ coins just to ride somebody through a storm without guarding them... they won't get hired much.

I fixed you Fathi!

I don't see how hiring the Byn should factor into the argument.  I wouldn't hire the Byn even IF the roads were more dangerous, because any quote I have ever gotten from the Byn, period, has been too expensive for my average character.  Heck they were nearly too expensive for an escort job on my noble stipend.

Nobles are poor. Fact of life. They do not have money. Their money is expected to go to paying other PCs to keep the game fun. They have NO MONEY!!!

Ok, now, after that derail I have something to add.

Walking around in the grasslands on a beetle. After half a day of walking around attempting to find SOMETHING to kill, beetle was very tired. Half a day. Lower max stem? Quarter of a day. Not a good idea. Make more random mid/lowish level baddies!

Edited: Typed stun instead of stam. ~halo~

[UnderSeven]

I think another pc raiding group would solve this with npc support.  Like the blackmoon

[Delstro]

I don't see a problem with that. Sounds like you were using a WARbeetle. Not a TRAVELINGbeetle.

*bows out of thread*

[Shiroi Tsuki]

My point was 'oh boo I had to spend all my money on other PCs rather than buy myself pretties' it was 'oh man, I'm not going to be able to pay the regular PCs in my employ much less fund that RPT I planned because the Byn is charging a ridiculous amount of money for a very simple job'.

Back on topic!

I've been frequently known to ditch mounts to go hunting on foot with certain classes or during certain times, because it seems like a person's stam comes back a lot more quickly than a mount's stam.  I don't really see that as a problem, I guess, because in my head mounts are generally for the purpose of traveling between cities rather than going out riding in circles with.  I'd much rather see mount movement cost increased on the road, but if it was going to be an across the board increase, it'd be even more difficult on grasslands or desert hunting than a reduction of stam would be I think.

[Tisiphone]

Rather than doubling movement costs, or doing anything so drastic anywhere, why not make a mount's stamina scale more equally with a normal humans? (At least after being loaded down with said human.)

I still don't like the idea, but it seems both a better and more realistic fix than just making travel drudgery.

[a strange shadow]

re: OP

Please don't. Travel is annoying enough as it is.

If you have time to slow down and savor it, do so. If you don't, it's nice to get that trip over with so you can log out.

[Boggis]

I don't see how hiring the Byn should factor into the argument.  I wouldn't hire the Byn even IF the roads were more dangerous, because any quote I have ever gotten from the Byn, period, has been too expensive for my average character.  Heck they were nearly too expensive for an escort job on my noble stipend.

Too expensive? Only because people know they can most likely get away without using them because of how easy it is to travel between Allanak and Tuluk. The Byn is actually pretty cheap generally. If a travelling independent merchant laden with goods had to a) travel slowly because of lumbering pack mounts and b) was fairly likely to encounter either caravan raiders or dangerous animals along the they would -gladly- suck up losing 15-20% of their profits to get there safely. That'd be the price of doing business. This is the way things should be in my opinion. But at the moment they know they can load up their inix, dash from place to place and keep that 500-1,000 'sid to add to the 10,000 'sid they already have sitting in the bank. I routinely hired the Byn with my last merchant and still grew fat on the profits on trade runs. If you're just an "average character" who's not earning much 'sid on runs between the two places then the Byn's services aren't for you. Some contracts are beneath them. A job that'll net them twenty 'sid each in the end after expenses is a waste of their time.

I can sympathise on the noble stipend piece - when independent characters earn in 2 days what you might get, depending on the Imms, in a few RL weeks it just gets frustrating. This isn't the Byn's fault though. If it were up to me escorts wouldn't be paid by the noble but by the House itself. As soon as 5 Bynners take out their mounts for a job they're down 100 'sid. Then, any final payment has to be divvied up amongst all the earning members and if escort rates were set at the level that some people seem to think they should be then, frankly, your Bynner would be better off stepping 3 rooms outside the gates and collecting 3 bimbal leaves. As a Byn Sarge I gave out plenty of escort contract payments in the 75-100 'sid region. Byn rates are fine in my opinion (unless they've been ramped up recently) and the clearest indication of this is that even when times are pretty busy contract wise they never get rich really.

Anyway, back on topic - I'd like to see most mounts' stamina levels reduced so that they're pretty tired by the time they get to Luirs. This won't hurt hunters - they already make large sums of money partly because they're able to roam far and wide so easily and pinching this a bit won't kill them. They'd be -just- fine and would have to get out of the mindset of clearing out entire areas and focus on particular hunting grounds. I'd also like to see more mid-level threats along the way to encourage merchants to use escorts. A virtual caravan that travels between places would probably be necessary for off-peakers or for times that you just can't find players to do escorts - I'd have this take 8 RL hours so you'd join the caravan before you log off for the night, pay the fee and log in the next day at your location. I'd also add in the ability to quit anywhere with a 5 minute lead time for non-rangers so people who need to log out can do so anytime they need to relatively quickly. I would also love to see a proper raiding clan just to provide an element of the unexpected when travelling. Players respond to risks or the lack thereof. The lack of risk at the moment is reflected in the way people are doing things.

 

[Heade]

How about just doubling the IC distance between the city-states? That serves two purposes. It throws a bone into the plans of the spamwalkers who have the world memorized, and would cause travelers to have a reason to stop at Luir's to rest.

All without hampering one's ability to move around without getting tired. And you're adding CONTENT to the game, which is always awesome.

[Sephiroto]

Doubling the distance between cities would would equate into thousands of rooms of construction and is not a viable way to solve this problem.  Entire zones would need to be reconstructed.  We have to work with the world we have already.

[Heade]

So bring on a couple builders to develope new zones. I've written/built for MUDs before. It's not really that difficult, and two new builders working an hour or two a day, four days a week could have that ammount of content put in in a couple months, easy.

I'd even be willing to volunteer to write room descriptions and area themes myself, if they were interested in taking on such a project.

[elvenchipmunk]

I believe the main reason that more rooms won't be put in is the fact that the playerbase will be spread out even thinner than it is currently. This is not desirable. I say throw in NPCs, gith and such like there used to be. I have no idea whether it was IC or not for them to be removed from the roads, but I do believe some sort of humanoid threat should be thrown back in to make people be able to fend for themselves or hire people who can do that for them when traveling.

[Qzzrbl]

I kinda liked the idea of making Gith a playable race again.

[mansa]

I kinda liked the idea of making Gith a playable race again.

I don't know.  Gith should be removed from the game.  Didn't they attack Allanak?  Wouldn't you think they are nearly extinct?

I think a new kind of creature is a good idea.  Something unique to ArmageddonMUD, that -can- carry over to Armageddon 2.0

[WarriorPoet]

I would love to see the wastes dangerous again. In particular, the area west of Allanak could do with some... terror. But I remember with terror the days of screaming gith hordes and very few indies since solo travel was a pretty certain death sentence to any <5 day char. Balance, folks. Don't pander to the pussies, but please don't turn a tough guy like me into a snivelling little bitch, afraid to go out.

-WP has been there.

[Bogre]

Don't double stamina drain. That's a horrid idea.

Increase the danger in other ways.

[fourTwenty]

I would love to see the wastes dangerous again. In particular, the area west of Allanak could do with some... terror. But I remember with terror the days of screaming gith hordes and very few indies since solo travel was a pretty certain death sentence to any <5 day char. Balance, folks. Don't pander to the pussies, but please don't turn a tough guy like me into a snivelling little bitch, afraid to go out.

QFFTM

I would also like to say.

SOMEBODY ACTUALLY CREATE A NEW RACE!

People want new race of beings, there's gonna be new races out there in 2.Arm. Somebody make a vile sorc who captures Muls an' halflings and then in the dead of night when it's pitch black and storming and your deep down in your deep dark cave tries to use evil magicks to conjure up a super race of warriors while laughing manically and then you set them loose upon the worlds to wreak terror and havoc and distract everybody from your -true- master plan of creating a Gith-Mantis but all the Mantis and Gith set upon you in disgusted revenge and you DESTROY THEM ALL IN A FIERY MAGICK BATTLE OF UNFATHOMABLE COSMIC POWER THAT LEAVES A HUGE SMOKING CRATER SOMEWHERE IN THE KNOW AND YOU DRAIN YOURSELF OFF ALL LIFE LEAVING NAUGHT BUT A SMOLDERING PILE OF ASHES AND A LEGEND!.... *gasp*. *pant for breath*.*suck in huge breath*

pemote eyes roll back as he passes out.

[mansa]

like fire ants and spiders and scorpions oh my
maybe some lions.

[FantasyWriter]

like fire ants and spiders and scorpions oh my
maybe some lions.

This makes me think... brings some of the dangerous NPCs that are already in the game, but next to impossible to find, into the open.

Running into more animals that don't halve help files would be interesting and provide new challenges to PCs that know the tricks about taking on certain animals.
Not to mention all the gossip and RPTs that they could bring about, rich city folk wanting these things captured alive and caged for all to see.

[musashi]

Again ... I will say it.

Please do not turn the north road into: The place where the monsters of the week hang out to get slaughtered by 10+ day warriors.

Raiders? Awesome. Gith? Cool. Mantis? Erm ... I'd say no just because they're more interested in food, not fighting/stealing ... unless of course someone is directing them too. Halflings? Meh ... ok but again, I'd say only with a plot-related reason.

Those kinds of sentient baddies might have a reason to prowling the road looking for travellers. Wild animals just don't, in my opinion. Please leave the "scary wild animals" threat to the hunters and rangers who make a point of venturing out into those wild animals' territory. Don't spam the civilized areas with them, I fear that would make the game into a hack and slash o'rama.

[staggerlee]

There are incredibly powerful interests in game that more than likely wish that road to remain clear.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Raiders? Awesome. Gith? Cool. Mantis? Erm ... I'd say no just because they're more interested in food, not fighting/stealing ... unless of course someone is directing them too. Halflings? Meh ... ok but again, I'd say only with a plot-related reason.

Those kinds of sentient baddies might have a reason to prowling the road looking for travellers. Wild animals just don't, in my opinion. Please leave the "scary wild animals" threat to the hunters and rangers who make a point of venturing out into those wild animals' territory. Don't spam the civilized areas with them, I fear that would make the game into a hack and slash o'rama.

Absolutely.

[NoteworthyFellow]

I'd love to see bands of NPC raiders and highwaymen along the road.

[Tisiphone]

I'd love to see bands of NPC raiders and highwaymen along the road.

Especially if they could be loaded with some scripts to subdue/attack with mercy on and steal stuff, instead of just instaganking.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

I'd love to see bands of NPC raiders and highwaymen along the road.

Especially if they could be loaded with some scripts to subdue/attack with mercy on and steal stuff, instead of just instaganking.

Amen.

[NoteworthyFellow]

I'd love to see bands of NPC raiders and highwaymen along the road.

Especially if they could be loaded with some scripts to subdue/attack with mercy on and steal stuff, instead of just instaganking.

Hell yes.