Topic: PvE gameplay report and some advices
The Game process should be interesting - not boring since the games refers to entertainment content. Interest and fun - the main components of the game.
Also the game should be a game. It should not require too much from the player.
However, in "Perpetuum-online" contains moments that really kills it. This is a disease of Perpetuum.
1) Mining of the raw materials.
This is the most boring process in the game.
You need to find a spot of resources, bring a mining-robot and dig. Mining-process is switching between tiles and moving resources from cargo in to the field container.
The road to the spot takes 20-30 minutes to scan. Same time to bring miner (and move back to station). Same for hauling. That is at least an hour is required only to reach to the spot and take out the raw minerals.
Also you need to spend about an hour (at least) that would extract a small amount of resources.
Even the simplest robot (like arbalest) requires 6 kinds of raw materials. That is the producing of party a simple robots you need to spend about 12 hours to get resources.
So 12 hours the player will not play, but will work.
Rare materials: At the moment it is possible to mine rare materials only in beta, and gamma Islands. What does this mean? This means that the game is closed for new players. All the islands are always distributed among the top corporations and beginners will have only two choices: to join these corporations either do not have a chance to compete. Alpha-alliance never can fight against gamma alliances. I personally remember how easily we shot 10-15 beginners who guarded their miners with two Mesmer.
2) Hunting.
Should be one of the most dynamic aspects, but it is also now in a corrupted state.
Currently this process is much more interesting than the mining because here you have a confrontation with artificial intelligence (by the way good enough intelligence). But there are two problems:
a) To get resources and plasma by hunting, you'll need firepower. However firepower is achieved only after you can use a heavy robot otherwise the process will be very long. (Even with a heavy robot process can take a long time.)
b) You wont be able to get rare materials. Even if you will find T3 equipment, you do not make sense to recycle because it needed in manufacturing.
3) Performance of assignments:
In the game there are assignements that are the only way to improve the rare technologies. Alpha alliances can collect it piece by piece. They will always trail behind in development. In addition it is nessesary the repeating, that just routine.
The conclusion is that absolutely all the PvE content is boring and defective. According to the rules of any game design, solo PvE content is an introduction for the players. That is, until they are weak, they should engage in PvE. However, they can only perform the assignments because of in other aspects they will need help older characters.
Newbie can't straight determine their choice - to join an existing corporation or create a new one.
If they creates a new corporation - they will forced to join an existing alliance else they have small chance to survive.
Alpha-alliance will not be able to compete with gamma alliance. Difference between alpha and beta-islands is two technological levels of production. Pure alpha-maker able to produce only T2 equipment.
Anyone can say anything, but the meaning one: the game design entirely linear.
My suggestion is the same:
1) Introduce the deployable mining facilities for automatic extraction the resources.
Even mining characters should not waste all their time directly for the extraction of raw materials. It's better to busy them on protection or maintenance instead of killing the time for looking at the screen where nothing happens.
On the beta islands should present contested stationary mining facilities that do not depend on the owning the outposts. These facilities should bring various kind of resources that can be collected by haulers.
Make available extraction of rare materials in peaceful areas. Alternatively, you can do the following:
There are regions on the islands in the game. Each outpost should control his area. Corporation-owner should be able to declare the peaceful area around outposts (once every 12 hours, or until the other corporation will retake control). Players should be able to evacuate their assets. Also, switching zones in PvP mode shall only be possible after 12 hours. (12 hours cooldown between switching + 12 hours after switching = 24 hours for players to evacuate assets)
2) Make hunting available for everyone. In PvE, solo players in battle mechs should have almost the same efficiency as the veterans with follow bots. (Global buff alpha-terminals or something else)
3) Each Assignment must give a greater reward for the first execution per day, and lesser for repetitive. That is, should be more useful to perform different tasks every day, instead of repeating the same.
Few words about market:
Market never was a game-way to get some thing. It is really bad idea to try force stimulate market. Everything should be able to get at least by two non-market ways.
If people starts buy something on market - it means they can't get it in game. It means he can't get some aspect. Then he starts use non-game aspects like market.
In another words for example: if player can't run assignments on beta, he starts buy tokens on market. As result - assignment concept useless. and so on.
P.S. I do not wait anything except trolling especially from guys from PHM. Also i expect ignoring from DeV's. But God seen. I've tried.
Why the crybabies wins?
Где Ханя - там победа (с)
DEV Zoom: No need to speculate...