I think the idea definitely deserves some merit, however "doubling" the death penalty may be a bit extreme

Because that could force people away from adventuring/fighting. If right now someone who dies frequently would have to buy a new spark every ~ 3.75 months, then doubling the penalty would make that every ~1.85 months

It'd also give trolls more power to troll because it would inflict a greater negative on those they are trolling

Yea I just said double as an example because I am not sure the exact amount it should be, but I think it should be some sort of increase

As for trolls, the ones caught would also have harsher penalties on the other hand

Personal opinion, I don't think it will make a difference to publishers. The way the gaming industry is right now, if you aren't willing to throw in cash shops and ways to get more money from players short term rather than keeping them around long term, publishers are gonna pass on your idea. It's hard to see how SBS can work around this really. I REALLY don't want a cash shop, I consider it what's wrong with gaming today. So I'm still trying to come up with something that would actually work, short of them selling the soul of the game, so to speak.

@biorules yea I get where you are coming from and I wrote tweak instead of change because it’s not something that would make publishers go crazy.

Just something that might help if a publisher was on the fence. I guess I’m also wondering if as a player you would be ok with a harsher punishment for the good of the game.

Just implement a trail where Player can Report "trolls or griefers" who destroy the game by using bugs or other things.

Let the trial consist of all kings (per Server) and some member of SBS. Let them decide to punish very hard. - Like delete the used Soul. - Death to character. - Or anything else....

But for me it's important to clarify.... if a Player is or troll like all of you worry about...then I just ask... is he a troll or is he just using game mechanics to get rich in another way.... I think the border between evil Player and troll have to be clear.

I personally don't know what you are trying to say with this post. To be honest I just don't understand it? Are you saying "The cost of a spark of life is just too damn high?". Are you saying that since CoE has already confirmed the absence of a cash shop that actual investors are not wanting to invest for fear of lack of returns?

I was saying if dying shaves more time off your character’s life, then people will have to buy more sparks and then it will make sbs more money. Thus making them look more profitable to investors

Posted By Vampire_Queen at 1:20 PM - Thu Jan 04 2018

I have to agree with this. Without a cash shop or loot boxes, which pretty much all games have now, publishers are going to lose interest. I think there is an option here though. Perhaps offer special skins for purchase. No extra buffs, no pay-to-win, just simply decorations.

The one version of this working that comes to mind is Elite: Dangerous. Lots of pretty bling, but nothing that actually affects gameplay. Examples are "fuzzy dice" type stuff for inside the cockpit, or different colors for the ships and such.

In Elyria, this might take the form of stuff for inside a players home (such as the artwork given in the packages) or perhaps simple things like unique hairstyles. The cost should not be something that truly places these things out of reach for those think those things important, but could make some greedy publishers at least consider the model a bit closer.

In the end, I despise cash shops, but am pragmatic enough to realize they might be as necessary of an evil as taxes.

This is a tough one, yeah.. on one hand we still need to get this game made, and more funding will be necessary for that - that's just fact. On the other hand nothing could possibly suck more than seeing this great idea, and what I think could be a great game, jeopardized by this cancerous greed that's present in the industry today. Honestly, the fact that most publishers these days will look at an 8 page presentation for a game like this and say 'well what about the cash shop, any loot boxes?' just confirms why I rarely get excited for video games anymore. If you want my opinion on all of that, and touching upon your suggestion of doubling down on the death penalty, I ultimately wouldn't mind making the game twice more expensive to play if that would not compromise the experience. At the end of the day I would even be happy with an in game store, as long as it would remain purely cosmetic. Nothing that actually impacts the gameplay, and hopefully not any of those boosters that you can buy in the LiF MMO to shorten the grind... if you're reading this, Soulbound, don't make the grind in your game something I would pay money for just so I can skip it. That's not the characteristic of a good game. But you know, at the end of the day it's a tough market and this game has already accomplished quite a lot so I hope they'll work it out somehow. My faith in God Emperor Caspian remains.

Posted By Torawin Jonham at 12:01 PM - Thu Jan 04 2018

Posted By Vampire_Queen at 1:20 PM - Thu Jan 04 2018

I have to agree with this. Without a cash shop or loot boxes, which pretty much all games have now, publishers are going to lose interest. I think there is an option here though. Perhaps offer special skins for purchase. No extra buffs, no pay-to-win, just simply decorations.

The one version of this working that comes to mind is Elite: Dangerous. Lots of pretty bling, but nothing that actually affects gameplay. Examples are "fuzzy dice" type stuff for inside the cockpit, or different colors for the ships and such.

In Elyria, this might take the form of stuff for inside a players home (such as the artwork given in the packages) or perhaps simple things like unique hairstyles. The cost should not be something that truly places these things out of reach for those think those things important, but could make some greedy publishers at least consider the model a bit closer.

In the end, I despise cash shops, but am pragmatic enough to realize they might be as necessary of an evil as taxes.

The thing is the intention of SBS is that we the players will create such things, like clothes and furniture and custom designed houses, within the game using our character/player skills. Offering things you can only get via outside cash undermines that gameplay in my opinion.

Perhaps something unconnected like a unique pet you can't find anywhere else, or MAYBE hairstyles/tattoos, but even then I don't think it's going to change what the publisher thinks, and it would cheapen the game.

I think the balance of time per spark is set, and reasonable. If you start messing with an increased depletion of soul energy per death, it messes up the balance big time as they ramp up into the Aristocracy and Royalty.

There are already things in the store that affect gameplay, such as horses, ursaphants, trison, carts, and such. Those should go away at launch. Things like naming stars, or tombstones and such can remain purchasable items, as dev time will be slightly more available to include them post launch. I agree that clothes, furniture and such should be player made, but some artwork that is cash shop only would be ok, as well as hairstyles. Tattoos might be a place where a unique one could be added to the game in a design experience type purchase, as they would need to be reviewed by a dev before implementing anyway.

There are options, and many good ones that will not detract from the gameplay are available. Caspian is determined to make this a shining example of putting the players first, and I want to see this concept succeed as a guidepost for the future of gaming. He is not alone in this thinking, so it is a wave that needs to build into successful launches for multiple games.

The short term thinking of most current big name publishers just means every year more games get shut down and replaced with v.2 of the same crap. I want a game that is there for the long haul, and is worth a player investing time (and money!) into something they will be a part of for years, not just months. CoE will be that game, and I plan to be there at the 10 year live mark.

May Caspian reign for 500 (in game) years!

It's not about changing things to make the game more appealing to big investors it's about grabbing the attention of more gamers out there who will then want to help fund it and the only way to do that is to produce something more tangible. Right now most of the gaming community still doesn't know about the game and those that do are saying "I'll believe it when I see it" and aren't willing to put money in.

Look how effective Ashes of Creation was at getting so much money from kickstarter backers when they had something more advanced to show off. Until CoE creates something more tangible than a vid of a game character running through a green field and kneeling next to an animal they're going to lack the funds because nobody is going to believe this game will be true.

When the devs get that more concrete stuff out the more people will pay attention, the more they will arrive and the more people will purchase remaining packages and merchandise.

Well, Alpha 1 is supposed to start T1 this year, so that should generate some buzz. The recent FK contest pulled in a nice haul, and Caspian said there will be more contests as well.

I think a big piece of the gaming community knows about CoE, but it needs to be a bigger piece, certainly. And yes, most have yet to plunk down cash on a game with a release date two years away. Once there is the option to get involved in game, even via Alpha 1, hopefully we will increase the numbers of folks involved with wallet and time investments.

Those folks that have invested so far are awesome, devoted players that I am looking forward to calling "friends."