Monsters and Undead - more or less? Vote

[Tom]

This has been brought up in another topic, so let's have a quick show of hands. How many people would want to have the rogue forces increased? We're not talking about +10% but something like double.

[Lorgan]

Less. They are a distraction from boredom and a hindrance for conflict.

[Sacha]

No, people are a hindrance for conflict...

[Alpha]

More and more. Rather than simply increase the spawn rate, also make the spawned units more powerful. At their current size, they're more nuisance than scary.

[Anaris]

The spawn rates should be carefully tuned, per continent, so that, at least for the time being, they become either nothing more than a useful way for knights to blood their swords during peacetime, or a real, serious threat that causes realms to shrink.

The former should not interfere with PvP conflict, but will allow a certain amount of extra action, hopefully especially for new players. The latter will, of course, interfere with PvP conflict to some extent, but will also increase the nobles-per-controlled-region ratio.

Anything in between those two levels will be a detriment to the game.

[Fleugs]

I have voted for "something else". I still believe a human-lead invasion will bring more satisfaction than just random PvE battles against spawning monsters. Monsters are irritating but not life threatening. The only way I see it work is to crank their spawn rates up so much on the outer regions of a continent, that you basically force realms to start wars of migration to the continent's heart - just to stay safe from monsters and undead.

[Anaris]

Monsters are irritating but not life threatening.

Um...were you on Dwilight during the first 2-3 years of its life?

[Alpha]

Um...were you on Dwilight during the first 2-3 years of its life?

This. I got a border city, Aegir, in a the first few months of Dwilight. I didn't hold it long. Monster can be a huge threat. While I agree that PvP is much more fun than PvE, I think that a monster fighting role could be important and would be attractive to some players.

[Fleugs]

Um...were you on Dwilight during the first 2-3 years of its life?

I was not, as you well know I'm a Dwilight-sceptic. 

[Wolfang]

This is a good way to:

1) Increase player density by loss of regions to rogues
2) Shake up political structures, for example, the loss of large swathes of land will lead to realms falling and new ones rising. This was another issue which has been mentioned a lot (probably more) lately.

I suggest we test this on one or two islands first, as the effectivity is yet to be seen. I think it'd be interesting to severely rack up monster/undead spawns, and after a certain period of time (when entire areas are in rogue hands), lower it again. This would create a 'reconquista' effect which people seemed to like about Dwilight.

[Anaris]

2) Shake up political structures, for example, the loss of large swathes of land will lead to realms falling and new ones rising. This was another issue which has been mentioned a lot (probably more) lately.

This will only work well if, rather than simply raising spawn rates overall, spawn rates skyrocket in certain regions around the continent. Otherwise, as Tom has mentioned, large, prosperous realms will have little trouble putting down the spawns as they pop up, as long as they're still active realms as well. Small realms, meanwhile, will have more trouble doing that and maintaining an army.

[Forbes Family]

I voted for something else.

I would like to see an increased spawn rate for both monsters and undead in peace times. The idea of the game is to have a PvP experience. Spawns are a hindrance to that while at war.

[Revan]

I voted for something else.

I would like to see an increased spawn rate for both monsters and undead in peace times. The idea of the game is to have a PvP experience. Spawns are a hindrance to that while at war.

That's a nice idea. Stay at peace too long, find yourself dealing with increasing monster and undead spawns.

[vonGenf]

or a real, serious threat that causes realms to shrink.

If that is the case, then it should be a short-term surge of monster spawns that quickly shrink realms and is over within two or three weeks.

If spawn rates are brought to this level on the long term, then realms will do nothing but fight monsters and will be incapable of going to war against player-controlled realms. The beginning of Dwilight allowed for fun RP while people were establishing the realms' cultures and colonized the land, but there were very few wars.

[Anaris]

I voted for something else.

I would like to see an increased spawn rate for both monsters and undead in peace times. The idea of the game is to have a PvP experience. Spawns are a hindrance to that while at war.

That's very difficult.

How do you actually determine "peacetime" for the purposes of spawning monsters? Remember that they spawn in every region across the continent, completely independent of realms. Remember also that when a realm is fighting, most regions within it will not see battles.