Posted by Uncle Bob on November 2, 2000 at 19:32:37:
This game is designed for the elite. Everything in it is geared towards those who know exactly what they're Or do they? In today's Army, no. But in the civil war, it wasn't uncommon Becoming hero here is primary, mostly everything else is based on that. Everyone begins as a rank 1 here. But some people know the game I've been caught up in that more times that I can think. "If But I also think a LOT more emphasis should be placed on the 'rising I guess I would just like to see more of a possibility of the excitement Once again, I'm not sure I said what I wanted to say. I don't want to know, and more importantly, I don't want anyone else I guess that I simply have some sophomoric That's what I want. Make it so.
I'd like to theorize here on something that just may be the missing link
in CF...at least according to Uncle Bob. I've been thinking about
this throughout the day, and had to sit pretending to stare at half-finished
code while these thoughts were bouncing about in my dainty, girlish head.
doing. The bonus treats, as I call them (special forms, liches, etc.)
will never be had by those who don't know CF intimately. And that
makes perfect sense in many ways. The Army doesn't make Generals
from civilians, after all.
for a statesman or even a trusted businessman to be commissioned as a colonel
or general. So there are exceptions to everything. However,
in CF, this rarely happens. There are of course, the 30 somethings
who get cabal leadership, but I'll wager that for the most part these are
folk who already know CF very well, and it's just a matter of time and
jumping through hoops they already know all too well before they get hero.
I'm not suggesting yanking someone out of a fight with a leather-clad soft
monster, and make them a hero. In fact, I think the Hero focus is
part of the problem.
You won't get lich without being a near hero nec, bullete without near
hero muter, etc. I'm not saying this is bad, on the contrary.
However, in the great epics, the great adventure is in the journey.
It's the getting there that's the key, not being there. What would
Star Wars be if they just hired some expert pilot to blow up the death
star? The Hobbit if the little fart was already a seasoned explorer,
and knew exactly what to do? Wheel of Time if Rand already knew the
full extent of his capabilities, how to defeat the bad guy, and how to
make a Spam souffle through sheer thought alone? All would be surrounded
by piles of polite 'Rejected' slips.
to such detail that they brag how quickly they can hero. "My
last character, Buttpirate, rocked. He got empowered, inducted, tattood,
special skilled, uninducted, unempowered, reinducted, banned, unbanned,
rebanned, unrebanned, untattood, reempowered, and got a special sword called
'ass sunder'. all in 43 hours."
I can only get to THIS rank, then I can play with the big boys,
get in on the quests, make a name for myself, get that cool-assed ring
of spanking, etc." But let's face it...playing with the big
boys isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's just a step that is all
too easy for those who know CF; it's a minor stepping stone. Some
of those big boys are simply pains in the ass, rp wise. They know
how to get to 51, get the wands, and are content to pk and say nary a word
to anyone unless they know or suspect they know who it is. Then there
are those people that either enjoy ranking and take their time, or don't
have the ability or patience for heroing, will never hit the majors.
Again, I have to be careful here to make it sound like a bad thing...there
is certainly a circle of rites that we must all go through, and some things
such as liches and major-major forms should be reserved for heroes.
stars'. In any good story, it's the travel that is the key...hell,
the Wheel of Time is, essentially, one big 20,000 page epic of people continually
learning their limits, surpassing them through great trials, becoming stronger...why
not here? Is there a way to put less emphasis on 51, and more emphasis
on each rank equally? I wish I could come up with examples or suggestions,
but none are hitting me just now. I suppose an example is armor...it's
been theorized that this is only useful for the first 10 or 20 ranks.
What if other spells or skills had a similar effect? A semi-form
for a transmuter, i.e., twisting his arm to create a powerful tiger's claw
that would be like a felar attack. Hmm I don't like that example,
but I'll leave it for lack of anything else. Simple skills/spell
additions or tweaks isn't the answer.
and adrenalin at all ranks. After all, how many people hit 51 then
delete? That's their peak, and for whatever reason, there's no other
path to take. It would be interesting to see much more dynamism in
role play and possibilities in the game. Switch spheres. Switch
Gods. Switch cabals. Switch classes, perhaps even races through
some bizarre rite. The one thing that takes away some of the fantasy
out of CF is the fact that mostly everything is calculated. The elites
know exactly what race/class combo has what, at what rank, it's weakness
and strengths, underwear size, etc. Exactly how many ***Demolishes***
will kill their opponent. The exact statistical odds of any possible
outcome. What is E L I T E? I'd like to hear some
people's opinions. I would agree with Nepenthe that it's more HOW
you do it, now Where. It's knowing where to find that wand, not just
knowing it's in such a place. I also realize a major rewrite would
be in order to accomplish this kind of dynamic environment. I would
be curious, though, if such things were possible, how people were to react
to it.
to know the keys and paths and little tricks that essentially turn CF into
some text-based Doom. I don't want to know who anyone is, what they're
playing, what class they are, what rank they are, nor would they know this
about me. I would like the chance, through sheer effort, trial and
error, and rp (I hate to call it that, rp to me is the reason for playing
the game, not something you do in the game), to get that lich quest, special
form or anything else. Some would say that's available now, but I
would suggest that the cards are, in many ways, stacked against the 'non-elite'
(Not trying to cry sour grapes here, but I see these as someone who figured
out the tricks already, and in many cases, have been given the tricks on
a golden platter through less than virtuous means.) I don't play
Doom tournaments, because someone already spent countless hours finding
the cool crap, and I won't say there's no skill involved, but it certainly
isn't a challenge to me to be blown away within seconds. Some people
get their kicks this way, and they do in CF as well. The question
is, is this what CF is designed for? I honestly don't know...it could
very well be that the Imps have CF designed to be completely different
than what I envision. In which case all this is moot. I would
be curious to here an Imm response, if one can be formed from this jumble
of mental spew I just deposited. Good lord *looks back at his post*
I could have written a friggin' novel by now.
wish to walk into Thera as a CF virgin, with everything new and exciting.
You, my friend,
I will defend,
and if we change,
well I love you anyway.
-AIC