61 replies to this topic

[Stotic]

Yes, I'd like a 1-character at a time restriction, but I do not believe that it can be done without altering Nightmist a bit.

[Joppa]

i think it would have to be altered a little. Either certain bosses and monsters would have to lose some hp, or all classes would have to be strengthened. But it would make a lot more sense. As deval was saying, when nightmist first came out, nobody played more than one character at a time, and it was the funnest time in nightmist.


also, JLH, we mean one character online at a time, not one character per account/computer.

Edited by Joppa, 25 February 2004 - 12:47 AM.

[An Eskimo]

I think they just mean play 1 at a time. You could have more than 1 character in your account, then you may play different roles as your mood might change, but only log on 1 at any given time, such as the way it is with paci's.

yes that is what I meant.

[Deval]

Bosses and areas were modified to suit the new trend of alts, so I don't see why they can't be modified for reduced crits.

[TheNobleOne]

1 Character played at a time would be nice. It does at times get anoying when you are training and you get hit by 2 covert theives. One hits you and the other finishes you off b4 you could even blink. Gets kinda old after a while and makes the game boring knowing that is how you will die every time you leave town and that you have no chance to defend yourself lol. Unless... you got many alts with you and even that does not help becuase then the theives move in there army of 7 other alts from the next square over

Edited by TheNobleOne, 25 February 2004 - 01:05 AM.

[Lich]

I agree with one alt limit played at a time. You should be allowed to keep all your alts but i think it should be limited to use of only one. ok this is fantasy i understand that but it would make the game player against player not pc against pc or connection against connection.

[Stigmata]

The reasons for people using alts, the way I see it, is as followed -

The character classes pre-reset were terribly unbalanced (which is why the reset occured) but because of this players could level a class and gain most of the benefits we gain from using alts now. For example a pre-reset druid would be able to cast an offensive spell, boost stats and armor, regain all it's stamina in 1 spell, heal and attack with the power of a fighter (generally). Because of this, using another alt would not gain the player a significant advantage, and if anything using more than 1 crit would slow the player down.

Another point worth mentioning is that the character classes pre - reset had alot more hp, and alot more armor. Yes the characters did hit for more, but the hp was still large enough to make fights last a considerable amount of time, compared to how long they last in this version (1 - 20 seconds?). I'm sure deval will remember dueling myself by cloud city a few times, both of us lasting over 3 mins, putting thought and consideration into our next move. You may also think that the players could have used alts to speed up these battles to make a quick kill........but this didn't happen........and the reason?
Because the duels were fun. They required skill and thought and they lasted long enough to give you time to think about what was going on.

Because the classes in this game are designed (not sure if they were intentionally, but it has worked out that way) to work together people will always need to use alts. It's not that most of us like using alts, it's because its impossible to play the game effectively (I.E gain more power, level up quickly, get items) without them.........I mean imagine trying to defend yourself in battle using just 1 crit........you know before you even leave town that no matter how much stuff you have, and no matter how brilliant you are at the game your always going to get owned by a guy using more crits than you. I've known several occassions when a level 30 with the best equipment in the game can get killed in 2 seconds by like 4 level 25 crits.

Basically the point to my post is that there is no point adding an alt limit to a game that isn't designed for it...........it's too late in the day now for it to be ever introduced, and the only way I can ever see it happening is if the game resets again, or all classes are revamped to be more efficient when used alone.

The best way to approach this matter imo is to alter the classes so people won't want to use alts......it happened pre-reset and theoretically could happen again with the right people designing the classes.


And if your wondering - I think introducing an alt limit would be an excellent step forward for Nightmist, but obviously it can't happen yet.

[Knine]

all classes have weakness's and must rely on others to cover the chinks in their armor so to speak.

So technically what your suggesting is you'd just prefer a game where there is absolutely no diversity amongst the players and their characters, with literally no specific strengths or weaknesses huh?

The way nm is currently set up, and how it should be as far as I am concerned, more then one alt is neaded, as all classes have weakness's and must rely on others to cover the chinks in their armor so to speak.

Think ya needed to read a bit closer there Deval

[Aidon]

I agree with pretty much everything Ste said. Classes could be given abilities and changes to make them self reliant, or enough that you could party with a couple friends to survive. How often in a RPG do you see one person being 4 different people, being totally self-reliant?

[Eternyte]

the only way I can ever see it happening is if the game resets again

What a good idea, it's been mentioned numerous times and from what I've seen the majority of players agreed then, and probably will now.

That would probably be the step needed to edge towards a p2p version of the game.

[An Eskimo]

the only way I can ever see it happening is if the game resets again

What a good idea, it's been mentioned numerous times and from what I've seen the majority of players agreed then, and probably will now.

That would probably be the step needed to edge towards a p2p version of the game.

actually, I talked to JLH on MSN about this. Here is our convo:
An Eskimo says:
Why was Nightmist reset in the past and will nightmist ever be reset again?

JLH-nightmist says:
cause I needed to change some stuff and no

An Eskimo says:
Do you think you will ever get a character limit put in?

JLH-nightmist
nope

An Eskimo says:
how about an alt limit?

JLH-nightmist says:
same thing

(those are copy and paste from various convorsations and times)

oh yeah, I still think we should keep supporting a character limit, maybe we can change his mind

Edited by An Eskimo, 25 February 2004 - 02:44 PM.

[Stigmata]

I don't see the point in pushing for an alt limit.

The game is not built to support an alt limit, as stated in my previous post.

I've seen this topic posted countless times, and although i'm for the idea.....posting another thread after the old one dies out isn't going to help.

I'd also imagine the staff are FOR the idea, i'm pretty sure Pandilex would be if it were possible........but it's not at this current time.

[Deval]

all classes have weakness's and must rely on others to cover the chinks in their armor so to speak.

So technically what your suggesting is you'd just prefer a game where there is absolutely no diversity amongst the players and their characters, with literally no specific strengths or weaknesses huh?

The way nm is currently set up, and how it should be as far as I am concerned, more then one alt is neaded, as all classes have weakness's and must rely on others to cover the chinks in their armor so to speak.

Think ya needed to read a bit closer there Deval

Omg, dude, exactly. Think about it for a second, I read your post just fine. Using alts creates no diversity, and no weakness nor strengths, thus, now you can refer to my prior post.

<- This smiley is far not scathing enough, the old one was so much better.

Edited by Deval, 25 February 2004 - 10:21 PM.

[Stotic]

It's the smile that does it.

[sayadin]

It's impossible to stop people from making multiple accounts/characters, so this would end up being identical to the discussed 1-alt limit.

not unless you allowed only 1 IP address coming from an players computer. You guys created the Paci to where only it can be in-game and no other crits.

[JLH]

that was not the question pandilex was answering
the question pandilex was answering was whether or not you would be allowed more than 1 character existing at the same time. ie, in order to roll another one, you'd have to delete the first one.
we are perfectly capable of setting alt limits, but have no reason to

[Flux]

A Quote from the opening page of Nightmist. Something tells me Nightmist lost it's direction somewhere along the way. The game, as displayed in the introductory dialogue, was not intended to be played with alts

It's time for action, or at the very least, to change the introductory text... Along with getting rid of that stupid bat.

That opening text had recently been re-written (by me). That is to say, what you see there now is new. Why? Because, like many people here, I secretly hope to bring Nightmist back to a one-crit-at-a-time game. And when I mean one-crit, I don’t advocate only being allowed one per account. I just mean one on at a time. I understand that people want to experience the game in many different ways, and I wouldn’t step on that interaction.

I’m not even going to delve into the arguments regarding the benefits of bringing Nightmist (back) to a one-crit game. Here, I will focus on the ways in which it can be done.

To say that Nightmist isn't set up for such a change is true. However, there are several adjustments that can be implemented that will facilitate such a change. I can say with a completely clear conscience that these changes will make Nightmist a better game.

[ Short Term Solutions ]

Increase of the level cap: It honestly doesn’t take that much time to fully train a crit to level 30. Many MUDs have leveling engines that require years of training to fully master a character. If players continue to keep maxing out characters in such short periods of time, the next logical step is to create an alt, and begin work on him/her.

Suggested solution: Raise the level cap to 100, with required xp increasing in a similar exponential fashion, and hp/mp rising accordingly. This will allow for more time to be spent mastering a character, will allow for an even greater variety of weapons/equipment, and will make single-alt PvP more exciting.

Increase base hp/mp: To ease the blow of single-alt training, and to allow single characters to become more self-sufficient.

Stronger Mana Crystals/Healing Pots: Once again, to allow for single characters to train, duel, and boss-battle without the use of “mule alts.”

Implement a Short-Term Compensation Period for “Alt-Loaded Accounts”: I understand that bringing in a system such as this might come as unfair for people who have upwards of 20 alts. People put lots of hard work and time into training these characters. Therefore, a formula could be devised to appraise characters and allow players to trade in all their extra crits for gold. This way, people can focus on strengthening their one or two main characters.

[ Long Term Solutions ]

Note: All of these are purely hypothetical, and not really here as full-out suggestions, but for the sake of discussion as to how to better drive this game towards a single-character world.

Skill system: Very hard to implement, would take hours to discuss, but would increase the game depth, and allow for further customization of a single character. Skills would allow single characters to potentially make up for shortcomings in one’s class/race.

Alignment System: I wrote a long guide on a potential alignment system. Alignment is a logical addition to the game, and would bring both RP value and potential benefits to single characters.

Deity System: Once again, a way to bring added depth to the (currently shallow) system. Another way people can use a set of custom skills to “fill in the chinks” (as someone had put it) for one’s character.

So it is possible. It would be a lot of work, but the final result would be a game with infinitely more depth, character, and RP value. I say we do it.

[dognapot]

here are my solutions. they're old as dirt but this is a new board.

1 alt server. just a second server running, where only 1 alt can play at a time. this way no one loses thier work in nightmist, but now have the option to start a new game, which may prove itself much more difficult.

screwing with the interface. we can just add more pictures and menus to the interface in order to make it more difficult to juggle 5 alts.

area redevelopement. make areas only narrow by using grid commands to only allow a certain amount of players to occupy a certain spot on the map.

only a few days left but search for posts by dognapot on the old board. the vast majority are me pissing about this kind of stuff. like i always do.

[Gotanks0407]

supported by my

[Squee]

I, currently, only use one alt (my mage).

The one alt limit would be amazing. It would mean that Nightmist would become more RP based...not just some Diablo rip-off.

How much fun can you honestly have just sitting there clicking away, not even bothering to think once.

RP'ing gives you that chance to make your characters whatever you want. There are no limits and no rules. You're only hindered by your own imagination.

...However, as I've said before, Nightmist is not about RP'ing. It's about training alts and PK'ing people. And, as I see it, it will never be about RP'ing.

Shame.

[Nexus]

just getting into this discussion and i think that a limit would be good. like with pacis but, i think that there should be a 3 cirt in game limit. and a message would pop up if u tried to do other wise (You cannot have more then three cirts loged in at a time.) or somthing like that. n e way i thiink that just cause ppl like me who dont have cable or a t1 connection should be at a dissadvantage cause we can only have 3-5 guys at a time. seroiusly i get a couple guys on and i lose connection and when i dont i lag and get killed. so there should be a limit to guys you can have loged in but not to the amount of cirts on an account not to mention that it would make the game funner in my mind. and you wouldent get pked as easy.

Edited by Nexus, 27 February 2004 - 01:28 AM.

[Squee]

What is the point of having a 3-5 limit?

I don't understand.

Is it because you dislike getting PK'ed? Is that the sole purpose? Do you feel that you don't want to train a lot of alts in order to reach par?

People that suggest the One Character Policy mostly want it because it adds a Role Playing perspective to the game - not neccesarily because they are getting PK'ed too much.

[Nexus]

its not that i dont like getting pked ( i do but its not what this is about) its just ppl with dial up modems lag and cant log many cirts on and if u have a guy that cant heal u have to repeatly buying pots( expecially with a berserker)

[Squee]

Oh, so it's not about PK'ing. You just think the monsters are too difficult and that they hit you too hard.

[Flux]

No, he's just too lazy/broke to buy a cable modem so he could log on even more alts without lagging out, and wants everyone who can to not be able to as well.

That may be a bit harsh, or may not even be true, but it's leading in to a point: this is pretty much an all-or-nothing alteration. Setting a three alt limit doesn't address anything. Almost anyone who posts saying "2/3/4/5 alt limit would be splendid" tend to do so because that's how many they prefer to run at one time. Basically people posting soley out of self-interest.

[Bean]

My solution to this Oh So Present problem. Is this:

Instead of taking a HUGE leap, and taking it down to a one alt limit almost immediately, We should do something more along the lines of a step-down system. Drop the alt limit cuncurrently to the amount of monster re-programming that has been completed. That way it wont be a huge, do it all at once job. Players will slowly be conditioned to one alt play by being progressively degenerated in the amount of alts they can play.

Doing it this way would give people time to re-addjust, and I dont see power shifting in any very huge way. You wont need to bring up another nightmist server, and you wont need to re-program all the monsters in an 'overnight' fashion. Not to mention players would hardly realize until it was half done that they were having limits put onto them.

I cant see any flaws in my idea.... so I'll leave that part to you folks. It sounds wonderful though doesnt it?

[dognapot]

the way i see it, having your cake and eating it too is the only way nightmist will accept this notion. that's why a second server is the only option that won't scare the hell out of the "i've worked hard for what i got" folks, and won't affect the actual nightmist population (if anything it would increase consistant players). so it wouldn't be a hard thing for nightmist players and for JLH i suppose it would only mean modifying the current nightmist to only allow one crit at a time.

[sayadin]

that was not the question pandilex was answering
the question pandilex was answering was whether or not you would be allowed more than 1 character existing at the same time. ie, in order to roll another one, you'd have to delete the first one.
we are perfectly capable of setting alt limits, but have no reason to

lol. Yeah sorry about that. I get what he is saying now. If there was a limit to the game then roller would be the same and you'd need to delete your previous crit to roll another crit. Yeah thats a problem. lol... again i'm sorry.

[Oiy]

i like to think of alts as my party, rather than just 'alts'. A lot of offline rpgs let you play a party, and i think the strong point of nm is that i cant think of any other ONline game where you can actually play as a party rather than an individual.

One alt limits would only benefit those people who have 2-4 people sharing tons of crits, as all that would happen is one of them log the zerker and the guy sat next to him a cleric, or a thief each with the third on the mage or druid

Anyway if the game was designed not to have alts why then the /invite alts, /clan invite alts, and /clan position alt alt alt alt tag 'tag' commands

[Squee]

Those were added later...MUCH later.

Later as in the later where everyone started to horde alts, ruining any chance Nightmist had of becoming a half-decent RolePlaying society.