COMMUNITY - FORUMS - GENERAL DISCUSSION
Actually wanting low influence

As the title says, I really don't want enough influence to become a baron/king or something else at the start. It would feel like cheating and I hate cheating in games as it removes all the fun for me. I wanna start at the bottom and work my way up. A free copy of the game would be nice, but I also wanna support the game and buy a copy :p

Anyone else feel the same way?


3/4/2016 5:45:13 PM #1

It doesn't necessarily force you to become that but just gives you the choice. Nevertheless, I agree with your opinion and would like the same way.


3/4/2016 5:46:11 PM #2

There are ways to be royalty from the shadows in safety as long as no one finds out that your stand in is a fake. Of course, that would be difficult to carry out. Influence probably won't make us all royals from the start, but it might give us other boosts like a position that will give us land like a low noble. Nobles would have more knowledge about the kingdom, and would probably start out with more self defense than a commoner.


Thank you all for finding my posts. The Bran series takes a bow. A new Chronicles shall begin anew. Until then, I bid you good 'morrow.

3/4/2016 5:52:37 PM #3

Hi Cheezer,

You're not alone. We've heard a similar message from other people as well. We're keeping that in mind and attempting to find rewards that allow people to use their influence in ways that don't feel like "cheating" to them.

With that said, It's not cheating.

MMORPGs don't really have win/loss conditions. Winning in Chronicles of Elyria doesn't mean becoming a King/Queen any more than it means becoming the most renowned blacksmith in the world. Those are just personal goals.

Remember that Elyria is a world with a much larger story. So while there are Kings, Dukes, Counts, crafters, guild leaders, mayors, etc... those things just occupy what you do, and how best you can fill a role in the story. But "winning" in Chronicles of Elyria is really just about experiencing and being a part of the story.

If you picked up a book about a King living in a low-fantasy world that was suddenly thrown into turmoil, and it was his job to keep his people safe, would you put the book down on the first page because the main character was a king? After all, you must have cheated for your character to start out the book as a king. Of course not! That's just part of the story.

If that doesn't convince you, consider this. In any other MMO you play the world begins with NPCs. Some are Kings/Queens, some are well known mages or priests. Some are warlords or heroes of great battles. As you play, you get to interact with all of those NPCs. That's great... but why do NPCs get to fill those roles? If there has to be kings and heroes in the game at launch, why not have those roles filled by players?

Does it make the game any less fun for me because the King is a human instead of an NPC? It shouldn't. The world needs its leaders, its heroes, and even its tavern owners. And those who help make the game successful have the opportunity to fill those early roles to help get the world feeling populated and lived in.

But for some, their story and the character they play in the story is truly a story of an underdog rising to power. In which case, we'll see if we can't provide IP rewards that makes that possible.


3/4/2016 6:13:52 PM #4

When I see the possibilities of this game I understand that there are different ways that people are going to play. Everyone has their goals, some (as mentioned) want to become King but others have more modest or closer to enjoy with your group of friends and play to reach their goals. Please, this isn't Crussaders Kings, the final goal isn't become a King/Queen, there are many ways to play CoE.

Can the influence points cheat people? No, I don't think so. Maybe there are people who want to spend a lot of money to get enough IP to buy the King/Queen title, but I think other people haven't this way of playing in mind. Many just want to have land to build their house, or the house of the guild, a farm, perhaps a village ... Actually I can say I know some people who want to play and build thing since the launched without buy thing with IP because they like this play way. It's their choice too.

We often think the worst will happen before it really is happening. We should not be so alarmist. We need to think on cooperation and not create a competition for influence points.

3/4/2016 6:23:55 PM #5

I think the biggest concern for newer people is the huge influence discrepancy and feeling as if it is, at this point, insurmountable to make a noticeable difference.

Beyond our ideas, many of which have been used and reused from our favorite books/games/D&D/etc, there are really very few original ideas. Usually, because any original ideas/content are kept to themselves for their own indie game/book/story/movie.

I would love for a way to give input and have it be appreciated/"valued." I know that there was one discussion about currency, for example. Well, influence should be able to spent like currency, I think. Instead of offering sales, sell influence for actual money (for those that want to), and set the currency-price point of what you might want for the price of the game.

You have a great concept going, and while many might be okay with being a lowly farmhand whilst another is a king/queen, the reality is with such a huge disparity, it might be off-putting for a HUGE playerbase, simply from things being gated and them having no way at all to catch up.

Level-caps are useful because the "end game" content anyone can reach, whether they're a month in or years in. That's one thing most MMOs have done well-enough. You can come late-to-the-game and catch up. This is not true for MOBAs, for example. In a 5v5 game, if one person joins 10~20 minutes into it, realistically the side that has been going full-force from the outset will be the victor.

Now, I realize this game has no "end game" nor "win condition" beyond personal goals. I also realize if you were to switch from Influence to monetary-Influence, some people would still have a HUGE advantage and monetarily the vast majority of us would not be able to catch up. I do not mean a full shift, but at least allow for people to be able to spend money on influence to hit certain personal goals.

Want your own kingdom? Or how about your own village, or workship, or farm? You can help monetarily and be ensured you can start the game as you want to.

1 Rahunei 39900 - His two Imgur posts have vaulted him into first. I'm happy for the guy, I feel like he's helped CoE get a break via social media.

I personally have been gaming online since I was 12, for 19 years. I've played everything from MUDs, to point-and-clicks, to Don't Starve/ARK, to WoW/Blade and Soul. I come from a family of gamers; I can pick up any title and one of my two sisters would be into it.

This game has the -POTENTIAL- to be massive. It truly does. I just do not want to see that potential hindered by Influence-gating. Another idea, which MUDs have had to do for years from dwindling numbers due to graphical MMOs, is a voting-system for top games. The CoE community seems to be very involved. Let's advertise it. Steam is a good place. Facebook is marginal. Imgur was solid, and it has helped.

Let's get a list of websites where people can vote for upcoming titles they're excited about and get the community on board to ramp up CoE.

Sites that come to mind: 1. Steam 2. GameFAQs 3. Google (and Google Analytics) 4. Facebook 5. Imgur (Rahunei already has, but perhaps CoE can have an official account to answer questions/link to the CoE website/etc)

Discuss!


Need a friend code? - B2FAF3

3/4/2016 6:28:09 PM #6

As long as I get enough to get a copy of the game (note I intend to ks at least $50).

Any other influence I get would want to set up my start. With that I mean to be able to have my own family surname (if available) and to be able to start with a twin


3/4/2016 6:31:58 PM #7

My point also meant that it would supercede the Kickstarter. People would just be paying real money for influence in lieu of a KS. The Kickstarter then wouldn't be needed, except for bandwagoning if people saw a higher amount, they might contribute as well, obviously.


Need a friend code? - B2FAF3

3/4/2016 6:32:19 PM #8

Influence is merely a reward for the Kickstarter and may or may not also be a bonus for purchasing additional souls or sparks. Influence will help founders settle into a role they desire to add the feel of a flowing story and kingdom. After that will be reputation gained for lawful justice or infamy for illegal injustice, solely for the purpose of the standing of the soul in the story in kingdom. There will be no end to the story of Elyria, because there will be no end to what the players do. I personally prefer game launchers made by and posted by the company rather than Steam. It is easier to monitor for crash problems and ask for a fix.


Thank you all for finding my posts. The Bran series takes a bow. A new Chronicles shall begin anew. Until then, I bid you good 'morrow.

3/4/2016 6:44:09 PM #9

" I personally prefer game launchers made by and posted by the company rather than Steam." - I meant to advertise, to get the name out there. This game will do well, people just need to be AWARE of it.


Need a friend code? - B2FAF3

3/4/2016 7:01:41 PM #10

@Strael, keep in mind the IP shown on the IP table currently is "projected IP", based on how many people others have invited to the game. But unless those people buy the game, etc... that IP doesn't count.

It's actually significantly closer than you think.

Finally, IP is just a currency. It's what we give people for helping to influence the success of the game. And Kickstarting the game is just one way to earn influence. The base rate of IP to USD is about 10:1. So one way to think about it is, 400 IP = $40 USD, which is the price of the game for those buying before launch.


3/4/2016 7:53:54 PM #11

Could you buy the game with your actua ip and money? Let's say you have 200 ip. Could you just pay 20 dollars to get access to the game?


3/4/2016 8:17:34 PM #12

People have said you can buy the game with IP or with actual money, yes.


Need a friend code? - B2FAF3

3/4/2016 9:37:58 PM #13

Fiat justitia, et pereat mundus.

It looks like COE dev team has its own version of this latin phrase, by negating the original statements... something like 'For this elyrian world to exist, there must be injustice'.

The story isn't everything. Justice, equal chances, a fair competition are also important, there's no need to sacrifice them for the story.

  1. only a few lucky ones will get talents
  2. only a few wealthy ones will be kings
  3. only a few will have early access, and not 2-3 days, not one week, but a very long early access

We already knew that. What we didn't know is that kings and dukes, and probably a big part of the talented players will be chosen from those with early access. For the sake of a proper story. And, and I quote from memory 'to help the new players'. They don't need help, they need an equal chance with the rest!

What everyone ignores is the fact that those new players, 95% of the community will get nothing ! They'll play the role of furniture in a house belonging to the top 5%.

You'll never be a noble. You'll never have a talent. You won't be among those with early access, you'll just wait for months for your turn to be some irrelevant pawn on the table.

You all know that, yet every time Caspian mentions these things, and every time he brings the storyline argument, you agree with him, and you still hope that, somehow, a miracle will happen and you'll be a famous king, sorcerer, vampire or whatnot.

I strongly believe a fair competition is the most important element in a game.


3/4/2016 10:08:54 PM #14

as long as the world is open and not moderated artificially by devs once game launches I do not care that some players are kings, wizards or what not , as long as there are chances other players can turn that "social order" upside down and climb those ranks as well post launch. It actually adds element of rebellion , if you do not like that 5% on the top at least you can unite with like minded players and if nothing else make the in game lives of those people more difficult. Now if only chosen kick starter people get to have talents and whole universe evolves around them that is different story all together , I think in that case they will find that post launch very few players will have reason to continue playing. The whole appeal of MMO type games is "carrot on the stick" if there is no tangible rewards to give sense to player that he is accomplishing something ...player base will simply wither away. No one wants to be "piece of furniture". I am pretty sure people from Soulbound studios would not make such mistake.


3/4/2016 10:53:21 PM #15

>> Fiat justitia, et pereat mundus.
>>
>> It looks like COE dev team has its own version of this latin phrase,
>> by negating the original statements... something like 'For this
>> elyrian world to exist, there must be injustice'.

It's actually closer to "For story to exist, there must be conflict."

>> The story isn't everything. Justice, equal chances, a fair competition
>> are also important, there's no need to sacrifice them for the story.

Nobody disagrees with you. Nor are we somehow preventing justice, equal opportunity, or fair competition.

>> only a few lucky ones will get talents

Fact.

>> only a few wealthy ones will be kings

Incorrect. Only the influential ones will become King - pre-launch. However there are many ways to gain influence that requires no money. And post-launch, your ability to become king is based on you playing the game.

>> only a few will have early access, and not 2-3 days, not one week, but
>> a very long early access

By a few you mean a couple thousand I assume. But you are correct. Invitations to the Head Start will be in order of influence. Those who are influential could play the game for months before the rest of the world joins.

>> What we didn't know is that kings and dukes, and probably a big part
>> of the talented players will be chosen from those with early access.

We've said from the beginning noble titles were earned through Influence. Hence why Zultra's been trying to reach 100k IP since the first week of the website. As for "Talented", that has nothing to do with IP, and there's still no way to buy a talent. Also, we're not "choosing" who is influential. That's still 100% in your control.

>> And, and I quote from memory 'to help the new players'. They don't
>> need help, they need an equal chance with the rest!

We've never said the head start was to help new players. Head start is to allow us to scale up the servers over time, so everyone has a positive experience, and to help seed the world with story, conflict, power struggles, organizations, etc... so when the rest of the world joins, there's already a world to enter.

>> What everyone ignores is the fact that those new players, 95% of the
>> community will get nothing ! They'll play the role of furniture in a
>> house belonging to the top 5%.

So we let 2-5k people into head start... and 95k people after... and yet somehow those 95k people are powerless to change their fate? You have a defeatist attitude. You will likely play furniture because you choose to. Others will not.

>> You'll never be a noble.

I guess we shouldn't have spent time working on a system allowing people to gain favor and earn noble titles.

>> You'll never have a talent.

Never say never because nobody ever has.

>> You won't be among those with early access

That's entirely up to you - and others. All it takes is influence.

>> you'll just wait for months for your turn to be some irrelevant pawn
>> on the table.

It sounds like you're projecting.

>> You all know that, yet every time Caspian mentions these things, and
>> every time he brings the storyline argument, you agree with him, and
>> you still hope that, somehow, a miracle will happen and you'll be a
>> famous king, sorcerer, vampire or whatnot.

They're not hoping in a miracle. They're creating a plan. They're also speculating, getting excited, and encouraging others to do the same. That's beneficial to us and we appreciate it. At the end of the day, we all want something to be excited about.

>> I strongly believe a fair competition is the most important element in
>> a game.

It sounds more like you want it to be fair for you.

The thing is, fair just means "in accordance with the rules or standards." So as long as we're internally consistent with the rules, then we're being fair. There's a known and predictable outcome.

In truth, Talents are randomly assigned. It's not based on how much money you have, how often you're online, whether you know a developer, whether you play in early access... So really, Talents are the most "fair" system we have - everyone has equal chance of getting one.

As an aside, please read over the Forum Code of Conduct. You're one of the most toxic people on the forums because you spend your entire time being negative and trying to convince people why the game isn't for them. Find a different way to spend time on the forums, or find different forums.

We have enough challenges to overcome with this game. We don't need to add onto that people making it their goal to badmouth the game.