Discovery is too convoluted

[Ash]

I apologise in advance for the wall of text but my point covers alot of things.

This has been playing on my mind for some time so i'm just going to come out and say it.

Discovery has gone too far... with everything.

The mod has expanded, which is a wonderful thing. But with this expansion and implemenatation of various possible functions, there have had to be more restrictions and controls put in place to avoid abuse and bring balance (which is not always a good thing). Now while this persuit of control through rules and beureaucracy has had noble intentions, the extent to which it has been taken has had a massive impact on the playability of the mod.

By creating such a wonderful and diverse mod with infinite impossiblities an ambition and excitement is set into every new player to explore, experiment and succeed. This is IMMEDIATELY stumped when they are told that they cannot do any of this (at least in the way they imagined), but instead they must integrate. They must adhere to the RP of those already here which in an infinite number of ways has been enforced in server rule 1.7.

Here is a short list of what you must learn about the server and it's gameplay rules prior to leaving penn:

1. Discovery 24/7 is a roleplay only server (Seems silly but alot of newbies do not understand this)
   
2. Discovery 24/7 is an english server
   
3. You must have an ID at all times
   
4. You cannot fire on someone without pre-conversed role play
   
5. You cannot own a ship that is outside the parameters of your ID
   
6. You cannot go anywhere that is not listed in your ID
   
7. You can only undertake actions that are outlined in your ID
   

Only THEN can you wander out into the world where you are required to know the specifics of every faction to understand their actions, laws and restrictions so you don't infringe on their RP. A basic understanding of the discovery timeline is also required to understand what the hell is going with politics and faction motives. All of this being made harder constantly because of the massive divergence of the mod from vanilla.

With every new feature it seems a new restriction is being added. For instance, the inclusion of player owned bases was a fantastic idea which spawned a burst of activity in the last release. Now instead of treating each individual related mishap by addressing those involved, we are all being subjected to a lengthy beureucratic process through which we must proceed in order to progress in the game. So to play a part of the mod that may have once seemed like a great idea now demands months of your time to come to fruition. The mod is in our hands and we have a say in how it is run and put together. So why are we running it like a game that was made for profit?

To finish i say the mod has progressed in the hands of those who have seen it develop and change, and with that, an extra feature and an extra rule may not seem like much. But it's just one more of many rungs on a very high ladder.

I'm not going to pretend like I know how to run things, all I know is that we are going in the wrong direction and we need to do something about that.

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[Tarator]

Yeah well, some times I feel that everything is far too restricted, and new players have no idea what are they walking into when they first log in the server.

The problem however is not in the restriction of features that encourage RP indirectly, the problem is that there are not enough features that encourage RP directly. The player infocards are one clear example of the later, and that was a fantastic addon, but sadly I can't see many people using it.

Its understandable though, the game is old, its engine is old and has its limits.

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[nOmnomnOm]

To the op

Ahhhh this is why I love it

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[Wildkins]

I'd more argue the fact that the rules and IDs and all that are complex without achieving anything. The reason for additional complexity is to close loopholes; any system of modern law is hugely complex because it needs to be in order to rule out loopholes. However, our rules and IDs still have plenty of room for error - I've been told that you can engage anything as Nomads without roleplay, and I've been told you need roleplay prior to engaging as a Nomad. Just one of the many weird, unclarified, and confusing parts of the rules. If they were reworked a bit, it wouldn't be a huge issue, although that's an undertaking I wouldn't want anyone to take on alone. *shudders*

Moving on, I'm not sure what "lengthy bureaucratic process" you're referring to, unless you mean Core Upgrade Requests, which really aren't that big of a deal. I'd honestly say the worst part about POBs is that they take way too long to produce for what little they give back to you, but that's just my problem with them.

But, overall, the biggest problem is that we're trying to roleplay in what is, essentially, a casual fighter simulator. We strive to maintain this sanctity of roleplay and that everything should abide by stories, but at the same time, working to maintain balance in the actual game. It's very difficult, probably impossible if I'm honest. I'm surprised Discovery has lasted as long as it has, given the immense challenges that come with trying to unite what are essentially polar opposites.

I'll finish by saying this. It may be a massive swamp of stuff for people to work through at first, but it's meant to get rid of all the problems we've had in the past. This latest, perhaps complex, change to how systems are laid out? Doesn't really affect indies / new players, only the higher echelons of factions, because they're the ones that have to process these issues. A great compromise, if I'm honest. And many of the other changes are at least done to continue in that vein - are they all correct? Perhaps, perhaps not. But it's Discovery, and it is what it is.

Although, I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed Discovery. Granted, that's the fault of it being twelve years old and me having played far too much of it for far too long for me to find it too much fun anymore. If I had to pin it on anything, it'd be the community, but for some reason communities revolving around roleplay servers are always incredibly toxic. Maybe people just suck, I have no clue.

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RP Feedback

[Ash]

Yeah well, some times I feel that everything is far too restricted and new players have no idea what are they walking into when they first log in the server.

The problem however is not in the restriction of features that encourage RP indirectly, the problem is that there are not enough features that encourage RP directly. The player infocards are one clear example of the later, and that was a fantastic addon, but sadly I can't see many people using it.

Its understandable thought, the game is old, its engine is old and has its limits.

The game is old, which makes it unpopular to pick up again to begin with. But it's a kick in the teeth to see a cake dangled in front of you the shape of an awesome add-on to freelancer to find you've got to jump through hundreds of hoops and run hundreds of miles to get a taste of it.

People come here to RP, so RP shouldn't need to be encouraged so much. What I dislike is this massive filter of Disco lore and RP conduct that siphons off all but a handful of new players willing to do their homework and suck it up.

I'd more argue the fact that the rules and IDs and all that are complex without achieving anything. The reason for additional complexity is to close loopholes; any system of modern law is hugely complex because it needs to be in order to rule out loopholes. However, our rules and IDs still have plenty of room for error - I've been told that you can engage anything as Nomads without roleplay, and I've been told you need roleplay prior to engaging as a Nomad. Just one of the many weird, unclarified, and confusing parts of the rules. If they were reworked a bit, it wouldn't be a huge issue, although that's an undertaking I wouldn't want anyone to take on alone. *shudders*

My answer to this is that if you try to wipe out all the rule breakers by squeezing the parameters of gameplay ever tighter. You're simply going to force them to create more innovative ways to break rules.

There will always be loop holes. Some of the tightest firewalls in the world have loop holes. And to deal with the resulting collateral is the job of the admins unless it affects more than half of the community.

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[Tarator]

Yeah well, some times I feel that everything is far too restricted and new players have no idea what are they walking into when they first log in the server.

The problem however is not in the restriction of features that encourage RP indirectly, the problem is that there are not enough features that encourage RP directly. The player infocards are one clear example of the later, and that was a fantastic addon, but sadly I can't see many people using it.

Its understandable thought, the game is old, its engine is old and has its limits.

People come here to RP, so RP shouldn't need to be encouraged so much. What I dislike is this massive filter of Disco lore and RP conduct that siphons off all but a handful of new players willing to do their homework and suck it up.

Well sadly, its not as simple as it looks. Take jumpdrives for example, they might be awesome to use, but fact is they hinder RP, and some people even use them to avoid interactions.... this is a no go, and so they got nerfed.

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[nOmnomnOm]

What makes it a cool game to me IS the depth of the more and all that. I dont see why someone that wants to rp would be too lazy to read up on things.

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[Wildkins]

What makes it a cool game to me IS the depth of the more and all that. I dont see why someone that wants to rp would be too lazy to read up on things.

Freelancer, and by extension Discovery, actually has one of the most interesting settings I've come across, at least in a video game medium. It's somewhat original, and at the same time very relatable, mainly because it draws heavily off of stereotypes and historical events. The many stories and various happenings are what make Discovery so interesting to me. I'd hate to toss that out the window and roll off of vanilla lore.

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RP Feedback

[nOmnomnOm]

yea... Since it is a long time that we are all playing then by nature there will be more lore to read for a new person. I dont think that is exactly a bad thing.

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[Ash]

What makes it a cool game to me IS the depth of the more and all that. I dont see why someone that wants to rp would be too lazy to read up on things.

yea... Since it is a long time that we are all playing then by nature there will be more lore to read for a new person. I dont think that is exactly a bad thing.

You make it sound so simple, but most newbies who see the mod info say what you and I likely said when we first encountered disco which would have been something like: "That looks pretty awesome, i wanna do that"

Not: "Lets pour over the wiki for three days so i don't get banned and trade for days on end to get a ship which has serious implications and restrictions"

This is exactly the attitude i'd expect from someone who's been here long enough to see the small incremental changes over time, but in hindsight, doesn't realise the enourmity of information that entails.