- Staff
- #1
Hello everybody
Welcome to exroibte's wacky theory (NOT conspiracy!!!) corner to discuss mugging and what it provides for the perpheads ecosystem.
What do I mean by "ecosystem"?
I don't know, but it sounds good. Consider that player to player interaction drives most of perphead's gameplay. Whether it be shootouts, barter at bazaar or idle crafting for hours for 50k profit, most of the oppurtunities players have for engaging gameplay is generated by the existence of other players. Roleplay servers are not completely unique in this sense, but it's definitely one of their best qualities.
The "ecosystem" is the way that players interact to generate oppurtunities for engaging in roleplay. For example, criminals raid, cops respond, big shootout. What I want to examine is the avaliable range of ways these interactions are intiated, and whether or not more relaxed mugging rules could contribute in an overall positive way.
Raiding, the be all and end all?
Raiding is the main way that PvP interactions are intiated. Someone raids a property. The raiders then have to defend. Cops may or may not respond depending on whether or not there's been another raid in the last 5 minutes, and it's resolved and done in (typically,) under 3 minutes. It's quick, its easy, it's a rush. But the majority of the player to player interaction is two sides spraying at each other.
Raids are at the extreme end of the "high stakes" scale. Life or death, always, usually with large groups of people at a time. Raiding as an "initiator" of roleplay interaction will typically lead to the same gameplay loop as above. Raids are also fairly closed, each raid begins and ends and it leaves no "loose ends" to be tied up by more player to player interaction. They have their place in PERP, but one tree alone a forest does not make.
Mugger? I hardly know her!
Ok, so, here's what I think. Mugging generates loose ends. Sure, it's not nice to lose your stuff, but, as long as both players follow 3.4/2.5, no one will die. This then can lead to so many more interesting scenarios, with one player having kos on the other, and a grudge to settle. This lasts way longer than a single raid, and generates plenty of fun searching for players to take revenge. It's an excellent way to encourage small scale crime, with lower stakes than raiding. These interactions are smaller scale and thereby more accessible to new players and pistol cops alike.
Mugged off
So, what's the problem with mugging? In my opinion, it's limited to such a small portion of the map that it's very easily avoidable with the right knowledge. If you use your OOC knowledge (aka, metagaming,) of the mugging map you basically circumvent any risk of being mugged. Sure, good for you, but is that really good for the ecosystem? Mugging areas are very specific, and very easily avoided. What if they weren't? What if you had to travel through a mugging zone to get to where you needed to be? What if they were basically everywhere? Making mugging more difficult to avoid makes it more of a part of the game. It also generates a lot of smaller scale roleplay.
Conclusion - What the fuck am I talking about?
Essentially, I do think that while it may be annoying to be mugged, it's a core part of the game that encoruages smaller scale crime and that, by outlining exactly where it can happen, its essentially been removed as a risk to anyone with the right knowledge. In my opinion, it should be a risk to everyone (except new players, don't mug them,) as it makes a lot of fun smaller scale crime.
Welcome to exroibte's wacky theory (NOT conspiracy!!!) corner to discuss mugging and what it provides for the perpheads ecosystem.
What do I mean by "ecosystem"?
I don't know, but it sounds good. Consider that player to player interaction drives most of perphead's gameplay. Whether it be shootouts, barter at bazaar or idle crafting for hours for 50k profit, most of the oppurtunities players have for engaging gameplay is generated by the existence of other players. Roleplay servers are not completely unique in this sense, but it's definitely one of their best qualities.
The "ecosystem" is the way that players interact to generate oppurtunities for engaging in roleplay. For example, criminals raid, cops respond, big shootout. What I want to examine is the avaliable range of ways these interactions are intiated, and whether or not more relaxed mugging rules could contribute in an overall positive way.
Raiding, the be all and end all?
Raiding is the main way that PvP interactions are intiated. Someone raids a property. The raiders then have to defend. Cops may or may not respond depending on whether or not there's been another raid in the last 5 minutes, and it's resolved and done in (typically,) under 3 minutes. It's quick, its easy, it's a rush. But the majority of the player to player interaction is two sides spraying at each other.
Raids are at the extreme end of the "high stakes" scale. Life or death, always, usually with large groups of people at a time. Raiding as an "initiator" of roleplay interaction will typically lead to the same gameplay loop as above. Raids are also fairly closed, each raid begins and ends and it leaves no "loose ends" to be tied up by more player to player interaction. They have their place in PERP, but one tree alone a forest does not make.
Mugger? I hardly know her!
Ok, so, here's what I think. Mugging generates loose ends. Sure, it's not nice to lose your stuff, but, as long as both players follow 3.4/2.5, no one will die. This then can lead to so many more interesting scenarios, with one player having kos on the other, and a grudge to settle. This lasts way longer than a single raid, and generates plenty of fun searching for players to take revenge. It's an excellent way to encourage small scale crime, with lower stakes than raiding. These interactions are smaller scale and thereby more accessible to new players and pistol cops alike.
Mugged off
So, what's the problem with mugging? In my opinion, it's limited to such a small portion of the map that it's very easily avoidable with the right knowledge. If you use your OOC knowledge (aka, metagaming,) of the mugging map you basically circumvent any risk of being mugged. Sure, good for you, but is that really good for the ecosystem? Mugging areas are very specific, and very easily avoided. What if they weren't? What if you had to travel through a mugging zone to get to where you needed to be? What if they were basically everywhere? Making mugging more difficult to avoid makes it more of a part of the game. It also generates a lot of smaller scale roleplay.
Conclusion - What the fuck am I talking about?
Essentially, I do think that while it may be annoying to be mugged, it's a core part of the game that encoruages smaller scale crime and that, by outlining exactly where it can happen, its essentially been removed as a risk to anyone with the right knowledge. In my opinion, it should be a risk to everyone (except new players, don't mug them,) as it makes a lot of fun smaller scale crime.
