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Post by secon on Aug 15, 2008 10:40:34 GMT -6
A mixture of a location based, and points based system.
Here's how it would work.
Assuming 8 categories, each with 7 levels of upgrades.
Each town has a maximum of 56 points which can be used for upgrading the town shop.
Level 1 costs 1 point. Level 2 costs 2 points. Level 3 costs 3 points, and so forth.
The total cost per level.
Level 1: 1 Level 2: 3 Level 3: 6 Level 4: 10 Level 5: 15 Level 6: 21 Level 7: 28
Each city starts with 8 points already allocated. Meaning there are essentially only 48 points for the players to allocate.
While the normal is one point already allocated in each of the 8 categories. Some cities, like the example elsewhere on the forums about towns in the aiel waste, might start with 3 points already allocated into spears, while 0 in swords and axes. This means it's two points cheaper to max out the spear upgrades, but one point more expensive to max out swords or axes.
This system limits players from being able to get all the best gear from just one city, while at the same time allowing for most cities to be upgraded however their respective leaders choose to.
One problem with doing it this way would be that someone might take over the city and upgrade something that the original owners were not intending to upgrade, thus ruining the whole thing. Such a thing could be solved with the ability to degrade a level. At a high cost, of course.
There are some other things one could do to make sure that the damage done is not permanent. Either requiring the new captors to hold the city for a certain amount or time before they can make shop changes, or if the city is taken back within a certain time period it could just reverse any changes made, or lower the cost of reversing those changes.
This could lead to some interesting sabotage attempts...
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Post by Tim on Aug 15, 2008 11:04:04 GMT -6
Perhaps combine this system with the existing one. Still allow all the upgrades like they are done now, but each town can only have so many points worth of items on display at a time. So you can choose to only display certain items. So you get to choose I want the shop to sell swords up to level 7, spears up to level 2, armor up to level 5, etc., but only they must be within the point total like secon suggested.
That way clans still compete to upgrade the shops, but you can change what is sold later on. It would also limit the number of items available in the shop. Still toying around with it in my head.
Good suggestion!
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Post by secon on Aug 15, 2008 11:39:35 GMT -6
That could work. You'd have to set a timer on how often it could be changed.
And I was really warming up to the idea of sabotaging the enemy. *goes off to upgrade spears in Emond's field*
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Post by Tintomara on Aug 16, 2008 8:08:47 GMT -6
Very interesting! I think the degrading should be in place for it to work, though, or we'd most likely end up with no shops having the top items...
Another idea would be to keep today's system, but add downgrading to that. So that if one clan works hard to upgrade the swords (example) to lvl 5, then another clan takes over, and they downgrade the swords however far they want to. Probably at a cost, half of the upgrade cost might be good?
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Post by secon on Aug 16, 2008 8:35:00 GMT -6
Another way to help with just the display issue, would be to have different tabs for the different catagories. Or a dropdown box to show only the items at Level x upgrade. Just as a quick and dirty fix.
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Post by Tintomara on Aug 16, 2008 8:37:07 GMT -6
yes, but that leaves no way to sabotage! Which I'd never, ever do! *innocent smile*
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Post by secon on Aug 16, 2008 8:44:18 GMT -6
Yeah, I agree, it would add some interesting possibilities if one could sabotage the other shops. But I think the difficulty should be be close to that of upgrading. If it's too easy to degrade, it would be too hard to get to some of the really costly upgrades.
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Post by Hugh Longshanks on Aug 16, 2008 9:23:46 GMT -6
Maybe make degrading cost MORE than upgrading? After all, degrading can only really have one purpose - sabotaging the enemy.
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Joy Dames
Recruit
Leader of Band of the Red Hand
Posts: 27
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Post by Joy Dames on Aug 16, 2008 10:14:57 GMT -6
Well if it is possible to make the Shop Settings so that it is only the ones in charge of the city who can access it.. then it will be harder to sabotage
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Post by Tintomara on Aug 16, 2008 10:18:14 GMT -6
The whole point for me with being able to sabotage, is to make it really worthwhile to fight to keep control of a time, and not feel like, ok, we can lose control for these 100 wins, and take it back then. And with this, the content in the shop could vary greatly depending on which clan controls the town. One day you find the best bows, the next you're lucky to find a sling!
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Joy Dames
Recruit
Leader of Band of the Red Hand
Posts: 27
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Post by Joy Dames on Aug 16, 2008 10:21:12 GMT -6
And a thing i liked about the shops in the very first versions.. before this the breaking stuff.. was that like some cities had only those weapons... like a city in the aiel waste would have a bows, knifes and shields for sale.. Thakandar for example would have all those trolloc and myrddraal stuff.. Caemelyn would have high level armour.. and so on.. So that not every weapons exist everywhere.. That would also give each city/place a kind of status..
Did someone get what i meant with that? xD
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Post by Hugh Longshanks on Aug 16, 2008 10:44:17 GMT -6
Good point Joy....
Maybe it could be made so that there are basic things that can be found anywhere - all the level 1 items and probably going up to about level eight - and then after that there are holes such that you can only get Heavy Long Bows in the Two Rivers, you can't get Warder Cloaks outside of Tar Valon, etc. And there can be large gaps so that in Thakan'dar, for example, you can get Trolloc Swords and Axes, and then nothing else till Dark Blades, or something....
Also, could we make it so only members of the ruling Clan and their allies can access the shop in a particular town? Or else make strictures on what non-allies can buy?
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Post by secon on Aug 16, 2008 10:46:55 GMT -6
Joydames. The leaders of the controlling clan will be the only ones that have access to the shop settings. And not all weapons/armor/shields exist everywhere.
The system you seem to be in favor of, while it might force you to move around a bit once you need to upgrade, it doesn't really make logical sense. Even the fact that some items aren't available some places I feel is a bit silly.
There has always, and will always be traders. So logically speaking, most places should have access to all items, just at a higher cost. When you "upgrade" you are basically paying traders to bring you new items.
Right now the system is designed as an attempt to get people to move around the map a bit more. Which doesn't really work, and won't work. Even assuming the item you want is only available in another city, you only need to go there, buy it, and come back.
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Post by Hugh Longshanks on Aug 16, 2008 10:55:44 GMT -6
Also true......
This is where the concept of housing would come in handy....
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Post by secon on Aug 16, 2008 10:56:49 GMT -6
How so?
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