New Online MMO and Current Status on Project

You are severely limiting the people that will play by giving so many perks to people that play a lot. The casual gamer is going to throw this away faster than moldy bread.

This is what I was talking about in my previous post; a system of control is needed. What I meant by that is exactly what Brent is saying. Over half of all gamers aren't motivated to play a game every day or follow multiple different games at once etc. Over half are just regular ol' casual gamers.

For instance..... say I really like your game. I have 3 kids and have a job. I can log in about 3 times a day.

3 months pass and I have a fair amount of land but I'm low on money and don't have the necessary resources to expand. Is it fair that I can only log in every 3 days while some little 9 year old twerp named Mailas Gonrai has been logging in every single day and reaping constant benefits for doing absolutely nothing except for logging in?

Which brings me to my main point. You need a system of control. Brent didn't mean "perk" in the sense that you're using "perks" in the game. He meant that the people logging in and getting free stuff aren't doing anything to obtain that stuff and that in itself is a perk. So you need to find a way for this to not happen.

You say that there is no need to worry about obsessive players because you can only play against people in your skill level, but that's a fundamentally flawed idea.

1. The object of a game like this is supremecy. More land, more power, less enemies. By pitting people only against people in their skill level, nobody can even come close to a supremecy or leadership role, which means there is no point in playing.

2. If people can only play against their own skill level, what happens if nobody is logged on at the same skill level as you?

So I suggest you do away with your idea of only letting people play others in their skill level because there's no point in playing a supremecy game if you can't be supreme. Instead, make many different alternate worlds (like Tribal Wars) in which entirely different game worlds/ terrains can be made and actual battles over true supremecy can occur.

My second suggestion is to change your concept of free things for logging in. If you're hellbent on keeping them in the game, then don't freely give them to players merely for logging in. Instead, make them have to do something that is somewhat challenging or beneficial to them. For example, you could offer $200 for that day if the player can take over a section of land or... SOMETHING. But don't give away free things.

Hmm... Kindof cool.. there are loads of these games on the net all ready though so you will have to make it good to compete.

I don't think people should get stuff by logging in that is just kind of strange. You should have mines/refineries etc. to gather resources, and power plants/supply depots/barracks etc. to expand the population. Units cost money as do buildings and upgrades, but you can take over other land (perhaps by attacking with a flagship) to build more structures and resources on. Balancing the economy system is the #1 factor in any real time strategy game.

A lot of math will be involved in the battle system and tbh it won't be easy to perfect.

GL

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You are severely limiting the people that will play by giving so many perks to people that play a lot. The casual gamer is going to throw this away faster than moldy bread.

This is what I was talking about in my previous post; a system of control is needed. What I meant by that is exactly what Brent is saying. Over half of all gamers aren't motivated to play a game every day or follow multiple different games at once etc. Over half are just regular ol' casual gamers.

For instance..... say I really like your game. I have 3 kids and have a job. I can log in about 3 times a day.

3 months pass and I have a fair amount of land but I'm low on money and don't have the necessary resources to expand. Is it fair that I can only log in every 3 days while some little 9 year old twerp named Mailas Gonrai has been logging in every single day and reaping constant benefits for doing absolutely nothing except for logging in?

Which brings me to my main point. You need a system of control. Brent didn't mean "perk" in the sense that you're using "perks" in the game. He meant that the people logging in and getting free stuff aren't doing anything to obtain that stuff and that in itself is a perk. So you need to find a way for this to not happen.

You say that there is no need to worry about obsessive players because you can only play against people in your skill level, but that's a fundamentally flawed idea.

1. The object of a game like this is supremecy. More land, more power, less enemies. By pitting people only against people in their skill level, nobody can even come close to a supremecy or leadership role, which means there is no point in playing.

2. If people can only play against their own skill level, what happens if nobody is logged on at the same skill level as you?

So I suggest you do away with your idea of only letting people play others in their skill level because there's no point in playing a supremecy game if you can't be supreme. Instead, make many different alternate worlds (like Tribal Wars) in which entirely different game worlds/ terrains can be made and actual battles over true supremecy can occur.

My second suggestion is to change your concept of free things for logging in. If you're hellbent on keeping them in the game, then don't freely give them to players merely for logging in. Instead, make them have to do something that is somewhat challenging or beneficial to them. For example, you could offer $200 for that day if the player can take over a section of land or... SOMETHING. But don't give away free things.

As my English teacher would say, "Oh, no no no no no."
When I say you'll get a free soldier or two a day, I mean you'll get one or two soldiers a day that you log in.
Not a lot compared to the tens of thousands that you'll have at a time.
Upon super rare time, you may get a hundred soldiers.
Soldiers are the weakest of the weakest.
If you log in everyday, you'll have a tiny advantage. You won't go Rape Ballistic Mode or anything.
As for how far the range goes of opponents you can attack, we'll have to use trial and error during the beta testings to see what the range exactly will be. It should be large enough to level up easily and remember, you'll always be able to attack any country bigger than you.

There will be rewards for defeating other countries besides taking their things.
And any two players can agree to PvP. Any two. The best versus the worst or just two friends playing against each other.
We're thinking that if you're not logged in, there'll be an automated system that auto-battles for you if you have it turned on. So if someone attacks you, the computer will fight for you until you return or whatever.
War doesn't happen in 10 minutes. Battles can last days.
If you attack someone, it will go back and forth when the people log on. It's like sending PM's on this site. It's not IM.



@SEGA Game Gear:
A refinery is a great idea!
And logging in isn't everything.
If I had 50,000 troops and I logged in and got an extra one or two, that wouldn't be much of a gain.
And as for the amount of math involved, actually no!
We've got the basic equations set up and it's just a matter of putting them on a server!
PHP can do wonders!

will you be able to choose a system of government and economy that will help in the development of your country and give you specific bonuses like Fascism= larger military increases civilian happiness or Dictatorship= more assassination attempts. but, greater freedom and control?

will you be able to choose a system of government and economy that will help in the development of your country and give you specific bonuses like Fascism= larger military increases civilian happiness or Dictatorship= more assassination attempts. but, greater freedom and control?

You're sounding like Sid Meiers Civilization: Revolution, good game.

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will you be able to choose a system of government and economy that will help in the development of your country and give you specific bonuses like Fascism= larger military increases civilian happiness or Dictatorship= more assassination attempts. but, greater freedom and control?

We're planning on putting it into the game, though I'm against the idea.
I think you should set up every aspect of your country such as government, but I don't think it should play a role in your country.

well... if it doesn't affect your country then whats the point?

@Advent - yeah thats where i got that

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We have already set up things that have literally no effect on game play, it just makes you feel like you have more control over your entire country. You have to even include a demonym. The result of inputting this much information will be a summery page such as that on Wikipedia for a country.

well do u have anything that will affect gameplay and add further customization... people enjoy having a class system... even for countries....

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Yeah, we've been brainstorming what all variables games like this have and what we should have to make the game super duper fun.
We have factions instead of 'classes.'
Usually in fantasy games, elves are agile but usually weaker while trolls are stronger but slow and dumb.
In this case, what faction you're on strongly determines the strength of your army.