Best posts made by Alexian

Update: Governor @LilCassiopeia has publicly announced the founding of Dùath, Meridian's second planned settlement. The thread has some juicy details; check it out!

@Jetah said in What challenges should guild alliances face?:

i could have sworn FF was talked about in one of the Q&A videos.

If you remember which one, let me know; I'm deeply interested in reading what the devs think.

@Roccandil - you raise some good points about the considerations a zerg might make before the fight starts, but that doesn't quite refute @Bardikens' point that when the battle actually commences, it usually becomes a numbers and AOE game.

Everyone should surrender their keys immediately to @PeachMcD, who is henceforth THE KEEPER OF THE KEYS by ROYAL DECREE of HIS MAJESTY KING @Bardikens.

We at Meridian extend a sincere welcome to the new players giving Fractured a try for the stress test weekend!

@Logain said in Trade caravans...?:

@Gothix said in Trade caravans...?:

(...)NPCs should never be able to beat human players on their own(...)

So, if NPCs are basically useless, that gets me back to my original question for @Alexian, what he expects from a 'Caravan', other than players driving wagons. Because players driving wagons are trivial to implement, and I'd doubt any game could 'fail to deliver on that'.

By a caravan, I mean what it means. A multitude of people, their mounts, and their wagons full of materials, crisscrossing the landscape to bring their items from one place to the next.

Those really aren’t a thing in Albion despite being a point of advertisement

@Pariah Welcome to Zenith! Check your DMs at your earliest convenience.

@Ostaff said in Zenith (Meridian) - a nexus of community, diplomacy & trade:

@Razvan

They have real nice holding cells as well!! Mine came stocked with a bed and a pillow!!!!! heck, even @Alexian gave me some of his nice silk sheets and quilts to use!!! I still can't believe he left them laying there for anyone that happened by to take... I mean.. it was a very good thing that I safe kept them in my cell with me instead of letting a roaming scoundrel steal them right off his bed, right?

Folks, who let Ostaff out of his cell?!

@PeachMcD said in Meridian:

@Alexian @LilCassiopeia
I'm in w Duath and have applied for the Guilded Meridian site. Just want y'all to know my current PC isn't as strong as the box I hope to have once this game drops - running a second window behind the game significantly slows my fps, and opening Guilded on my phone taxes our rickety wifi, so most of my comm will be ingame chat or out-of-game when I'm not playing.

Hope that's ok!

Perfectly understandable, my friend.

@Farlander said in What challenges should guild alliances face?:

I don't want friendly fire and I don't want collision with friendly players. I don't care if the game is mimicking real life. I play the game because it isn't real life. I've been in too many games where griefers just ruin them. They use the rules to their advantage to make the lives of other players miserably. Rules that were not intended to be used in the manner they use them. Then devs have to find work arounds because no one wants griefers in their games.

Fractured purports itself to be a hardcore sandbox game that avoids many of the conveniences and shortcuts of other “sandbox/sandpark” MMOs.

In this regard, friendly fire and unit collision should NOT be out of the question.

In real life a griefer would face consequences. They would be put in jail or even put to death. Devs can ban but rarely do players get banned for griefing because they were only using a loophole. If there is friendly fire dickheads will just go around killing their "friends" until they get booted from their guild/alliance. Then they will just hop around until someone catches on to their game. Even one incident can jeopardize an entire guild/alliance and ruin the fun for even more than the person they griefed.

Let me be clear: I, too, am interested in mitigating griefers. As you rightly point out, in real life, consequences are such that most people are compelled to behave in good faith. Trolls and griefers on the internet are less inclined to do so and thus a hardcore sandbox game should take that into consideration and try to design the system to deter griefing as much as possible.

That can be done while also enabling friendly fire and unit collision. These things are not inherently mutually exclusive. So let’s discuss ways to achieve both goals instead of unproductively dismissing the possibility out of hand.

Everyone is so worried about these large alliances taking over everything. If this is a problem for you just join one. Most large guilds don't have very strict rules. They can't because it is too hard to control and enforce them. Most just say "have fun". It's a source for grouping and finding others to do things with. If you don't like one group move to another. If you want to be in one with your friends only then make an alliance with a neighboring large guild.

I’m going to strongly push back on this part.

By your own logic, you should play one of the many games that allow large alliances to run unchallenged (like Albion!) instead of trying to make Fractured just like them.

Large alliances that are allowed to operate unfettered will chill games. That is a fact. That is why Albion Online’s devs were forced to implement GvG seasons, double the size of the Outlands, and proposed hideouts for smaller guilds... because large alliances were essentially invincible beyond the most extreme circumstances. If you go to AO’s forums, you’ll see that imposing restrictions on alliances is one of the most popular shared demands/requests from the game’s users.

Fractured is styling itself to be different and more hardcore and more thoughtful than games like AO. Fractured is a game that intends to make logistics, travel, distance, politics, and territory management and maintenance much more hands on and demanding than many of its peers. The reason for that is that it allows for more dynamic politics and keeps the game interesting instead of creating a system where a large zerg alliance/community can come into the game and own it forever.

So no, the solution should not be “you can’t beat them, better join them.” Large alliances and large guilds should be allowed to exist... but their problems and challenges should scale so as to keep them on their toes and allow meaningful possibility for them to be defeated.

Anything else is just a bad idea.

@PeachMcD Idk if Zenith will have anything approaching that skyline, but we'll do our best! xD

@Razvan said in Meridian:

@Alexian
Stop finding excuses and just admit you like my pantslessness already!

Touché.

@Roccandil said in What challenges should guild alliances face?:

@Alexian said in What challenges should guild alliances face?:

Fractured purports itself to be a hardcore sandbox game that avoids many of the conveniences and shortcuts of other “sandbox/sandpark” MMOs.

What are you basing this on? My impression was that the developers were designing a range of experiences. So, sure, Tartaros is hardcore, but I wouldn't class Syndesia and especially Arboreus as hardcore:

• Tartaros: hardcore free-for-all
• Syndesia: structured, lawful empire/warfare
• Arboreus: peaceful PvE

Honestly, I could see alliances working differently on all three planets. Since Arboreus players can't attack each other anyhow, I imagine alliances there would primarily be defense or trade related.

Since Tartaros is a free-for-all, maybe only the most simplistic alliances are possible there (suzerain/vassal).

On Syndesia, I'd love to see guilds able to negotiate guild-to-guild treaties and alliances with other guilds, as equals, more like real diplomacy. Interlocking webs of treaties could then be a thing.

I'm happy to clarify that I'm not and haven't been referring to Arboreus at all in any of my posts. I'm sure @Bardikens would be happy to say the same.

Arboreus is predominantly PvE and thus the PvP/guild warfare aspects will be much more limited than on Syndesia and Tartaros. So I'm fine if friendly fire is disabled on Arboreus and alliance rules are much more "carebear" in nature.

That said, I'm basing my assessment of Fractured as "hardcore" based on the various mechanics and limitations the devs are imposing on players. You won't be able to carry many heavy objects without a wagon and have to physically pick up and move lumber and stone. It currently takes 16 hours to cure a handful of leather pieces. City management entails more than merely staving off would-be conquerors and requires you to do more than give X gold to a random NPC, who does all of the upkeep for you. Talents and gear are more horizontal, emphasizing player skill and experience over vertical progression. Fast travel is minimal to non-existent.

In short, the emphasis on consequences and exploration and skill and management and overall effort as opposed to convenience and safety in 2 out of the 3 planets is what motivates me to call Fractured a "hardcore game."

This ain't RuneScape.

Meridian's official participation in the 2021 Spring Alpha test is now concluded; thanks to all those who made it and Zenith a fun and successful enterprise.

Please see our official feedback thread for our take on this test; open debate and discussion are encouraged!

Additionally, I've reworked this thread to better convey @Bardikens' vision for Meridian and Zenith.

Meridian is looking forward to November's test and all the cool features it'll incorporate, from resource harvesting to the surprise city trade post.
Those among you looking for a home need look no further. Zenith, our capital, is accepting likeminded citizens.

@Roccandil said in Guilds & Governor pledge packs:

@Alexian said in Guilds & Governor pledge packs:

@Yitra said in Guilds & Governor pledge packs:

@Alexian Any chance you know which Guild you were referring too?

I do, but I don’t think that’s very relevant.

I’m not anti-big guilds or anti-empires. In fact, I feel very strongly that both should play crucial roles in the social and political fabric of the game.

I just want to make sure that the system is dynamic enough that we can avoid problems that have plagued other sandbox MMOs that include territory control. I don’t want a couple of guilds to rule the world 4 days after the game launches with no hope of ever challenging them.

Neither do I! I really hope logistics presents a significant challenge in this game.

Same here. Hopefully the developers think similarly.

@Farlander said in What challenges should guild alliances face?:

@Alexian I would like you to explain to me how friendly fire will keep other players from griefing players in allied guilds?

Well first, if I had it my way, in game alliance mechanics and UI would be very minimal. Alliances are relationships and would be treated that way. So if an alliance member attacked you
in proximity of your guild town, the guard would come to your defense because it doesn’t matter if your attacker is an “ally” on paper: he’s a player attacking a guild member in a zone protected by the guild’s guards.

We’re told Governors will be able to adjust guard permissions for defense and patrol; designating who guards attack and who they defend should be among those customizable commands.

You can either do damage to friendly players or not all the time. Unless the game has instanced battle fields where that ruleset is turned on it is on all the time. So you can be walking in town and some dickhead allied player who decided he was bored with the game can come up and kill you unexpectedly. Guards won't do anything because he is your ally. So let's hear your fix for this problem.

You just did. Allies shouldn’t be “protected” from other allies because alliances should be carefully considered, negotiated, and maintained relationships between a number of guilds. If an ally tries to shiv or grief you in proximity of your guild’s NPC guards, your ally’s ass should be on the line and not magically protected.

Boxing in (collisions) is the oldest play in the book for blue killing. Are you ok with a group of griefers going around just boxing in people for the hell of it?

If you’re in a world or zone with unrestricted PvP and you’re surrounded by a number of hostiles without any allies, yes, you’re fair game.

There are many players whose only fun is making others not have fun. These players don't get banned because they are playing with the rules of the game. I'd like the rules to stop this behavior. If you want to call me a snowflake go ahead. I'd then suspect youi are one of those players that enjoys making others upset

First, I haven’t called you a “snowflake,” so settle down.

Fractured has three worlds that ostensibly cater to three gamer archetypes. From the tenor of your suggestions, your play style is more inclined for Arboreus. Again, I repeat: none of my suggestions have anything to do with Arboreus, where PvP is minimal and highly restricted.

I agree with you that the devs should impose protections and restrictions to prevent untrammeled griefing on Syndesia. As I have already said, you rightly point out that while in the “real world,” societal protections heavily deter the equivalent of real world “griefer,”, those protections don’t quite exist in a video game.

However, the only real way to completely remove griefing is to play a single player game. As long as Fractured is massively multiplayer and include PvP, there will always be means by which people can grief other players.

So the conversation should be about how to creatively allow for as free of a sandbox experience as possible while also coming up with ways to deter griefing without blowing away the sand.

Allies should be able to betray and kill allies. Alliances should be difficult to negotiate and maintain. It should be very difficult to conquer and maintain large empires. Diplomacy, battlefield tactics, political strategy, subterfuge, espionage, betrayal, economic leverage should all be viable tools in the player’s toolkit, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. This game should not be allowed to get lazy or boring.

Meridian's been enjoying this Alpha test, bugs and all. Hope everyone's having a great time!

@VyrVandalous said in Guilds & Governor pledge packs:

lol

I wonder what guild he is referring to?

Sheer cosmic coincidence, I assure you.

@Roccandil said in What challenges should guild alliances face?:

I'm planning to play on all three planets, and I definitely hope the developers rule out friendly fire. In a game like Fractured, I can only see it as a huge mess, and I think it would destroy the game.

Granted, I've played games with well-done friendly fire and player collisions, like World of Tanks, but I can't see that success translating into Fractured.

Fair enough. Then we’re definitely gonna be at long term odds.

I’ll continue to push back on suggestions that Fractured mimic Albion Online’s wildly unpopular and game killing alliance system that has incited major criticism and required aggressive corrective attempts by their developers.

@Kotys said in Meridian:

@Alexian Hi I just reached out, are you guys still active? I'm thinking about buying access to the game!

Hi Kotys; please check your DMs.

@PeachMcD Completely agreed! Thanks for the thoughtful and reasonable response.