Following this for a while now.  Grats and good-luck on the project.

Originally posted by EndDream

They had me until they said 'no skill cap'. That will just turn the game into a rediculous grind like Darkfall.

This has been a hot topic on our forum, and when we did a poll we found users to be pretty much split even between those who desire no skill caps and those who don't. We'll certainly monitor how things go in testing and make adjustments as necessary. But since it hasn't been covered here and most people who visit here don't frequent our forums a quick recap of what was stated there.

- Being able to master many skills prevents the need for alts. While some players enjoy alts, others only do it because they want to try something different, or because the game has run out of content for them. With our generation system we will always have content, and we don't want to force players to lose their name and reputation just to switch. That's the primary logic behind the lack of skills caps.We've balanced the game around them not existing though, you can't really compare a past experience in another game, since their mechanics are very different than ours.

- There is a diminishing returns system. After you have mastered a line additional skill points only provide very small passive bonuses and no new abilities.

- Combat skills are weapon based. There is a penalty for switching weapons (it takes time). So while you can master many combat lines, that only gives you more options, it does not allow you to effectively play all of them at once. If you keep switching roles the penalty for weapon switching will render you less effective than someone who specializes in one.

- We have anti-grind measures to help detect when players are artificially grinding on themselves or on NPCs and slowing down the rate at which they gain skills if they do so. We'll be attempting to detect AFK grinders, but the system itself will automatically impose a severe penalty on how fast they gain skills when doing things like cycling a few abilities on their friends or having a mob that is just barely high enough to skill up on smack them repeatedly while they eat dinner.

- You can earn imprints from missions which can then be used to train a certain skill. This is intended to offset the time traveling when doing a mission and allow you to improve an area of your choosing, rather than making grinding the fastest way to go.

- Combat was designed to have a far more narrow gap between new and veteran players than most games. It's similar to UO in that aspect.

- Each crafting recipe has its own mastery level that only goes up from using that recipe, and has an affect on what things you can create. This is intended to reward specialty crafters.

- The crafting bottleneck is resources. You still need the resources to gain skill. If you master many trees, you need many more resources.

- Crafters generally just create alts in games that restrict their classes. They then mail themselves materials or use the shared bank. This bypasses that.

- Being that we are skills based its trivial for us to just add a new tier if people start mastering many lines. While that one extra tier wouldn't be too difficult for a specialized person to master, it grows significantly if you are trying to master many.

- Abilities are not automatically earned. When you have the skill level you quality for them and they are listed as an earnable ability. The primary form of obtaining new abiliites is through the generated mission system. It's not easy to AFK grind through that.

- It takes a good while to max a single line. To master all of the skill lines, as well as gaining all their abilities and their mastery levels for crafting, it would be a huge grind, and you'd be gaining very little actual power over another player. Your main advantage would be that you can do more things.

I think a lot of people see uncapped skills and they think of having to grind for years to be competitive. That's simply not the case with Repop. Mastering a single tree would make you just as effective as that guy who has been playing for years and has mastered many. Their advantage over you would be that they can perform different roles, but they can only do one at a time, and they pay a penalty for switching between them.

Ideally, we don't really want players thinking of the grind at all. We just want them playing and having fun. This has been part of our skill design from the early going, and been given a ton of thought over the years.

Currently my only issue with your kickstarter project is the 10day headstart for people who spent upwards of 100s++. I don't like the idea of anything more than a 3-5day headstart. Anything more simply feels like "Pay-To-Win" to have THAT much of a headstart, and not to insult you guys AT all (in fact I can't wait for this game) but it sounds like you don't understand how bad more than 3 to 5 day headstarts can get.

Even a "3day" headstart is considered long, but 10 days?! Are you kidding O_o!? If there isn't another way to get up to 10days headstart without donating hundreds upon hundreds I won't be able to justify donating :(. My clan also feels the same way, but doesn't like posting on this forum so take that however you wish :).

Overall though, the "HeadStarts" should be further down the payment plan, and then shouldn't add more the further you go. In other words, the $50 donate mark should be the MAX for any headstarts available (3, or 5 max). Past that you're on a level playing field. Sort of like buying a box for the game for MANY people btw.

Hope you get what you need,

-Fadedbomb

Headstarts are beocoming commonplace these days. The primary function of them though is to distribute player load over a period of time, rather than having everyone in the same location on day one. It helps distribute player load and improves everyones all around experience.

The way this works is that we'll start filtering in X amount of people every day, 10 days prior to the launch date. Having 10 guaranteed days ensures that you'll be in on the first day. But it doesn't mean you'll be the only people in there. If we have additional slots on that day we'll be bumping up people from the next level. It's quite possible that you'll be in earlier than your guaranteed head start. It will all depend on how many slots are available. The more days you have guaranteed, the higher your priority will be for bumping up to the next slot. We can't promise anyone that they'll get any more days than their guarantee, but it is pretty likely that they will.

Being that the game is free, the only way to get into the headstart would be to be a member. There will be ways to do that prior to launch, aside from kickstarter.

...

Originally posted by Fadedbomb

Currently my only issue with your kickstarter project is the 10day headstart for people who spent upwards of 100s++. I don't like the idea of anything more than a 3-5day headstart. Anything more simply feels like "Pay-To-Win" to have THAT much of a headstart, and not to insult you guys AT all (in fact I can't wait for this game) but it sounds like you don't understand how bad more than 3 to 5 day headstarts can get.

 

Even a "3day" headstart is considered long, but 10 days?! Are you kidding O_o!? If there isn't another way to get up to 10days headstart without donating hundreds upon hundreds I won't be able to justify donating :(. My clan also feels the same way, but doesn't like posting on this forum so take that however you wish :).

 

Overall though, the "HeadStarts" should be further down the payment plan, and then shouldn't add more the further you go. In other words, the $50 donate mark should be the MAX for any headstarts available (3, or 5 max). Past that you're on a level playing field. Sort of like buying a box for the game for MANY people btw.

 

Hope you get what you need,

-Fadedbomb

Sorry but I'm a little confused. Not trying to flame so if it sounds that way, it's not my intention.

Your concerned over someone getting more of a head start than you are? Is that because you think they will have an advantage over you or are you someone that just has to try and get to the end 1st?

This game doesn't have levels and a few people starting before you will only mean....not much really.

Everything in this game requires some co-dependency with everyone else. No one will be able to go it alone and get any advantage on anything.

It's like this, there is no gear grind because crafters control everything. If you start the game training in rifles then you can train all you want but you wont get high end gear until the crafters get trained and materials gathered, and there are many crafting specialties, and they will all co-depend on each other for one thing or the other.

If anything you hope and pray that as many crafters as possible get as much a head start as possible. Combat head starts are mute. This game is no preset hand held Disney land. We are going to have to build this game from the ground up when it launches because nothing is going to be done for us and simply waiting for us to ding a level number.

Hope this helps but at midnight here I can’t be held responsible for my own actions

BAD IDE!!!

If they cant make it on there own, the game will never make it.

Originally posted by ArzhAngel

BAD IDE!!!

If they cant make it on there own, the game will never make it.

Have you been reading the thread at all? if you did, you would have known that they can make it on their own, but they decided to get some extra cash, so they are able to get the product out quicker and with more features at launch. The game is already in alpha and will be released next year.

Originally posted by RagnorMalak

Originally posted by ArzhAngel

BAD IDE!!!

If they cant make it on there own, the game will never make it.

Have you been reading the thread at all? if you did, you would have known that they can make it on their own, but they decided to get some extra cash, so they are able to get the product out quicker and with more features at launch. The game is already in alpha and will be released next year.

Didnt you hear, they dont read anymore just cut and paste remarks from their HUGE folder of sorrows XD

Originally posted by ArzhAngel

BAD IDE!!!

If they cant make it on there own, the game will never make it.

MMO fans complain repeatedly about games not willing to take a chance, but the reality is that it generally takes smaller developers to be willing to take those changes. Because publishers generally want a safe bet. Then when innovative indie products come out they complain that they are not polished enough or have too many bugs. The great thing about Kickstarter is it helps to level some of that field. Indie titles will still have a much smaller budget than published titles. But things like Kicktarter help level the field.

Bottom line is that no game gets made on its own. Unless you have a single filthy rich developer fronting the entire bill. That hasn't happened since what? Horizons? The vast majority of MMOs are published. When a development studio signs on with a publisher they give up of their rights. They generally give up some creative control. And often they are forced out the door before they are ready because publishers have invested in marketing and want to take advantage of it. Those are the harsh realities of game development.

With Repop we have the choice. Deal with a publisher, get an advance. Finish the game on that while giving up the lion's share of royalties and a lot of control. Self-publish on a shoestring budget, and release an unpolished product. Or Kickstart and probably go somewhere in between the two financial wise, while retaining full control fo the game. The Kickstarter route is the best for the company, and it's the best for the players.

If someone doesn't feel safe with pledging to an indie development studio, that's perfectly understandable. But the quote above is the type of logic that has allowed publisher's to exploit development studios for years. It's the reason that most games never see a penny of royalties, and it's the reason that many mmos are rushed to market well before they are ready.

Originally posted by JC-Smith

Originally posted by ArzhAngel

BAD IDE!!!

If they cant make it on there own, the game will never make it.

MMO fans complain repeatedly about games not willing to take a chance, but the reality is that it generally takes smaller developers to be willing to take those changes. Because publishers generally want a safe bet. Then when innovative indie products come out they complain that they are not polished enough or have too many bugs. The great thing about Kickstarter is it helps to level some of that field. Indie titles will still have a much smaller budget than published titles. But things like Kicktarter help level the field.

Bottom line is that no game gets made on its own. Unless you have a single filthy rich developer fronting the entire bill. That hasn't happened since what? Horizons? The vast majority of MMOs are published. When a development studio signs on with a publisher they give up of their rights. They generally give up some creative control. And often they are forced out the door before they are ready because publishers have invested in marketing and want to take advantage of it. Those are the harsh realities of game development.

With Repop we have the choice. Deal with a publisher, get an advance. Finish the game on that while giving up the lion's share of royalties and a lot of control. Self-publish on a shoestring budget, and release an unpolished product. Or Kickstart and probably go somewhere in between the two financial wise, while retaining full control fo the game. The Kickstarter route is the best for the company, and it's the best for the players.

If someone doesn't feel safe with pledging to an indie development studio, that's perfectly understandable. But the quote above is the type of logic that has allowed publisher's to exploit development studios for years. It's the reason that most games never see a penny of royalties, and it's the reason that many mmos are rushed to market well before they are ready.

Amen to that...

awesome another game i cant wait for :)

Looks like there are quite a few sandbox games on the way :) about bloody time..

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Originally posted by Caldrin
awesome another game i cant wait for :)

Looks like there are quite a few sandbox games on the way :) about bloody time..

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I know it's bonkers,a total glut for years then Kickstarter quite literally kicks the life back into sandboxes not only that but wasteland2,Shadowrun2 new stuff like FTL,Dead State to Skyjacker,just goes to show game company executives really don't have a clue about what the people really want,or would spoil it just check out the shadowrun pitch brilliantly emphasise's my last point.

I made a donation :D hope you guys reach your goal which you will which there is plenty of time left :D just need to advertise some more on other sites get some more exposure.

They're on the way there!

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Originally posted by firefly2003
I made a donation :D hope you guys reach your goal which you will which there is plenty of time left :D just need to advertise some more on other sites get some more exposure.

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Thanks firefly and all others over 16k now woot !

Thanks everyone, if anyone has any "tips" for sites let us know.  We contact quite a few sites already and working on a few others this month.

Originally posted by Norpan
I put in a 100 bucks in this kickstarter. The game looks THAT good. Can't wait for it!!!

I'll say this. 

The game doesn't look good by any measure. However, from what I've read they're very passionate about making a proper sandbox AAA MMO title. That's good enough for me to be honest. They have a strong groundwork, and I can only hope they build upon it as if each brick were laid in gold.

Although I won't be donating due to the excessive head-start program they have I wish them megalithic success!