This is something im thinking about for a long time, probably since there was the discussion about a multiPW and Foundation, which I cannot support as it has too many issues.
We have a dozens of PWs which except few are dying. Zero - 5ppls playerbases and builders are not willing to cooperate and build PW Ãn team instead we have a dozens of experts each maing his own PW with his own ideas and insight. This is not wrong, im just stating facts - afterall I am one of those builders myself hehe.
Also, there is probably no way of bringing more peoples into this game. The engine is not built for this - anyone who played on sinfar knows the megalags you get in the city where dozens of other players are rendered to you. I believe thats also why HG detached to multi server system (although later it became a feature of a diablo-style "runs"). Neither it allows a truly "sandbox" PW like Minecraft despite all those builders claims their worlds are like that.
So what can we do about it? One idea that Sinfar is propagating is connecting multiple servers into one megaserver. Im against this idea because each server has different environment and different rules and if your PW has a custom feats/classes/spells and highly modified standard spells its not possible to merge without giving up of this. And even if it would be possible, due to the different levelup progression, equipment and craft styles running back and forth between two different-but-merged worlds would cause nothing but an exploits. Equipment too expensive on this world? no problem ill go with ship to worldB and buy it there where equipment is cheaper but monsters tougher.
Thus my proposal is different. Lets reward playing on multiple servers! Lets make a database of player records from all server hes visited. It could be also rewarded with some NWN points or whatever you call it.
Joining an server the player havent joined last 24 hours - 1point.
Spending 1 hour on any server - 2 points.
These two could be tracked automatically via the new MS/gamespy replacement Im I correct?
Other things would be server specific and tracked on their server and sent do the high level server (the one with MS replacement?) once per day.
A player portfolios would have to be created on some web - new vault would be ideal for this. What I do imagine is something like this.
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player name: Shadooow
points obtained: 1000
hours played: 666
servers visited: 20
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Specific server achievements:
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Arkhalia:
server-specific points obtained: 1000
hours played: 850
number of characters: 10
highest level reached: 41
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Higher grounds:
server-specific points obtained: 100
hours played: 30
number of characters: 2
highest level reached: 42
gold in bank: 10mil
immortality reached: yes
etc.
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The Three towns
server-specific points obtained: 200
hours played: 250
number of characters: 5
highest level reached: 25
etc.
------------------------
etc.
Or maybe a generic points should be a sum of points from all servers the player played, so that cheaters and grifiers wont have positive points only for the loggin in into multiple servers... Whatever.
Now, how to implement this. A high-level server such as the MS replecement could track some of this (though I am not sure whether it could track number of hours), but there is problem with need of the NWNCX to get tracked, so probably it could be just a sum of all server datas. Obviously, each server would have to join this project and track these stats into high-level database driven by new vault or MS replacement (a little problem with non NWNX worlds as well). But since this would be a benefit for all I dont think its a problem. Even when this is more for the action style players, I think even roleplay servers could benefit from this. Its definitely doable, but we also need some kind of system like this: http://ut2004stats.e...?stats=rankings where would be some kind of montly best of records (or given the number of players in nwn only one ladder table points sorted), player list, player search and possibility to open each player and look on his records in detail.
Also singleplayer tracking would be nice, but that would be possible probably only though LAN game and NWNCX where MS replacement could track it. One idea could be an codeword that player would get at the end of a SP module that he could enter in the player page that would check the codeword and in case of match would added the SP module in the player portfolio - of course this would be highly cheating vulnerable but who cares? I mean who would want do that? opened the module digg up in conversations or scripts to get codeword without playing? Extremely despicable behavior imo.
