[MUD-Dev] New Bartle article

[Richard A. Bartle]

On 6th March 2001, Dave Rickey wrote:
 
> Well, that was kind of my point.  Why would PD work, where statloss
> didn't?

Because although they may not care about losing their character,
losing it still means everyone else can ignore them (or beat up on
them) for a while.

> There will always be a power gap between the specialized PK, who
> goes out ready to fight other players, and the general run of
> player.

I agree, but it should never be the case that a player can guarantee
that they will kill someone dead from a standing start. There should
always be some opportunity for escape, even if it's a fairly slim one.

>Players *don't* respect "fair".

I've found that the opposite. The only differences are over the
definition of "fair".

> I really wish they did, but they've learned "the squeaky wheel gets
> the grease", if you bitch long enough and loud enough, everything is
> negotiable.

So you're saying that because people have endured the benefits of poor
game management before, now everyone in the games of the future have
to endure them too?

> So the PD areas are a "trial by fire"?  Level up as much as you can
> without entering them, then try to survive your wanderjahr?

If you like, but of course you'll be less better equipped (as a
player) to deal with it when you first go in. Someone who's spent
their life growing up in a palace, learning all the best fighting
techniques and in possession of the finest weapons and armour, could
still expect to get the contents of their lower intestines beaten out
of them if they decided that today was the day to pay a visit to the
thieves' quarter.

Yes, players who have spent time in the badlands using other
characters may decide that it's good policy to work up their best
character as much as they can in safety before risking it. It's
something I fully expect them to do, but it's the price that has to be
paid if universal PD is not an option.  At least they stand a chance
of being offed afterwards, though, which is more than they would do
without any PD at all.

Richard

_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
https://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev