Dancer Archive
Thread: The Challenge of Replacing BF: What it Did, What Inspirations Do, and How We Can Replicate It.
Page 1 of 1
PoetDancer
Wed Jul 06, 2005 7:03 pm
#1
I have done all I could to preserve the simple, intuitive system that I had at launch, and I had for a brief moment after the CU.
The changes are on Test Centre. They are going in without change.
So the only thing I can do right now is to use all of my knowledge gained from the unique features of this class to resurrect a small semblance of the game we had, and how it ideally operated.
As of Patch 20, we will have one function: to give the current inspiration buff we all can duplicate. In a sense, this is like BF healing. But there are some important differences:
1) The game we as entertainers played in terms of BF healing was to entertain the patron for a time that neither we, nor they, had direct knowledge of. With inspiration buffs, the time needed to gain them is short, and the patron has full knowledge of when it is fully gained.
2) The buff is by its nature "prep time." Others have made the argument that the buffs need not be seen as prep time, but rather, downtime. However, nobody gains something just to /logoff. They want to use it. And moreover, when one runs an unattended alt, one does not need to even take any mind to "getting a show when the show is available." They will have a show that is always available.
3) Need is not an objective criteria. It is a highly subjective one. If a player wants to gain another skillbox,the playermay very well believe it is the case that they need that extra 10%, and feel a sense of entitlement to it. Nobody needed mind buffs to do even rather high level PvE missions. However, this did not resonate with those who felt they needed the extra mind pool. Such can be said of all enhancements, or positive reiforcements. As Omiday might say: "If a dancer can give a +1 to experimentation, then the weaponsmith feels gimped if he cannot have it."
4) Unattendance is still alive and well, and is even facilitated with /covercharge. And moreover, they don't even give the patron the option of not tipping it for its boring performance. The /covercharge is still applicable, even before the patron is in any position to be bored. I have no reason to believe at this point that it will be any different.
Now, having said this. Let us turn to the possibilities of future draws:
1) I am concerned that buffs for non-combat only will not give us many patrons. It seems to me that a highly specialized and profession-specific package cuts out the potential market considerably in terms of:
a) The numbers of players online at a given time.
and
b) The number of players within the small demographic that could really use what we offer consistently, and at all hours.
Battle fatigue was a mechanic that impacted a great many players, and for a great many reasons. Simply by entering into combat, it accrued. Thus, what resulted was a constant influx of a diverse clientele at any hour an entertainer may be on. But with profession-specific buffs, the players who could use it are limited to a very few professions, and for rather specific and targeted reasons. An armoursmith only needs an assembly bonus if he or she is assembling. A scout only needs a harvesting bonus if the are harvesting, etc. As a result, the problem I see is that there will simply be too many entertainers for too exclusive a clientele. Which means we will have very few opportunities to entertain.
2) The fact that these profession-specific buffs are non-combat, profession specific, and specialized by no means does not make it any less tempting to lay a 24/7 alt, and in fact, encourages it. Because crafters and other non-combat professions do not want to wait to find an entertainer. They want the bonus when they are in a position to start crafting. So rather than try to track one of us down, it seems to me a large guild or player city may see the utility in creating an entertainer, or many entertainers,to cycle through all the routines in order to give the players what they want, when they want, where they want, and for the price they want (free).
3) The developers could put in many safeguards, protocols, and mechanics to ensure an active application, but we have to remember that the more they create these things, the less the procedure resembles a "positive interaction," and the more it looks like a "negative interaction." Mind buffs under the old rules were "gaining a good thing." But it actually became a very tedious operation for both patrons and performers. Moreover, even if the buffbots use third party applications, like a joystick, or autoclicker, which is technically a violation of the EULA, Customer Service has shown very little interest in cracking down on unattended play. It is my belief, unfortunately, that AFK and unattended buffboting will never be seen as an illegal act, and CS has neither the will, the budget, nor the means to enforce a prohibition against it, in any form.
As you can see, BF will be a very, very difficult mechanic to duplicate. Any system that is designed to replace it must do the following:
1) Create a broad, inter-profession desire that must be attended to with some frequency to ensure a steady flow of patrons into the cantinas, at all hours.
2) Require a long enough stay to give us some sort of platform to differentiate us from other performers, so we have some sort of "amusement value incentive" to do more than just set a macro, go, and let /covercharge earn the credits.
3) Make these things readily available so we cannot be accused of "preventing another's play," knowing full well that even a mere 10% increase on XP gained can be interpreted as a hidrence if it is not made available according to the patron's view of things.
4) Let the natural effect of "boredom" with unattended and semi-active characters (and rest assured, they will become a factor again, unfortunately) create an opportunity for us to earn the patron's favour, whether or not we are /watched by them.
So there you have it. I am done fighting, but Iwould rather nothave this profession transformed into a poor copy of "AFK starport buffing doctors." I hope this post of my analysis of the situation will be deemed "constructive" by those who think themselves in charge of such things. If we are to eliminate BF, then we must have some sort of system that duplicates what it did, and in a manner that keeps this a performance profession, and not just a poor reflection of doctor.
Message Edited by PoetDancer on 07-06-2005 09:15 PM
Page 1 of 1