I think the way you can become neutral is not really the best. It simply does not make sense (going to jail repeatedly after doing nothing between each sentence) and is way too easy, it makes it easy for a criminal to just rob many places for crowns and then in a couple of minutes spend those crowns just like a neutral or good player.
I think one idea is having community service, or basically quests that are required to escape jail normally. These quests would only be required for worse sentences and have the player kill bandits, deliver messages across magic council camps, or something else. It can also simply re-use already existing quests magic council members have for good rep players, only instead of rewarding xp or crowns it gives rep and/or release from jail.
During these quests a player may be restricted as well in some way, making sure they don’t escape or break the law again. This can include having a guard follow them, staying in handcuffs, having limited gear, or simply summoning guards as soon as the player breaks the law.
Let me know if you have any more suggestions, opinions, or changes to what I said.
5 Likes
I think players should ultimately have the choice as to if they want to be good or evil - at any stage in their playthrough. If a new player accidentally makes themselves hard-evil, which is actually pretty easy since almost all evil actions cap at -3000 rep, they should be able to do something just as easy (if not fun) to fix their character.
I think the issue is that evil players regularly need to become good. It’s not actually that fast (if you’ve got 700 bounty, you’re waiting at least 6 minutes in jail), and I’m sure evil players would much rather not do that if there was a viable alternative, but the problem is that there is no alternative. If an evil player wants to spend their crowns, they must go good.
To that end, the planned “wandering merchants” in the fishing update ought to fix this.
Players actively choose to be good or evil - it’s the playstyle they prefer. So long as the benefits of either aren’t too extreme (as they are now), people won’t need to flip-flop between the two and it doesn’t matter how easy it is to reverse your rep.
3 Likes
Personally I’m looking at this from more of a story view. It does not make sense being able to switch from a heroic character to a ruthless villain in just minutes with little to no consequences. Players should feel punished for being a criminal as it is an un-honorable lifestyle while also receiving greater benefits than heroes in some ways (such as gaining crowns way easier).
It will feel more immersive if you have to work and repent for your past mistakes, that way new players who want to mess around and immediately attack someone feel punished and realize that this game is much more than others, it actually reflects reality in a way. In the beginning just a quick sentence in jail would be enough for newer players to learn from their mistake and become good, or even to train until they are powerful enough to resist. These new punishments will feel like grinding, it may not be fun or entertaining during the moment but in the end it will rewarding and satisfying (in this case having the freedom of going into towns and using services).
I think it should definitely be easier to become a criminal than it is to go the opposite way, it is more realistic and represents some of the NPCs in the game. Some bandits even act guilty as if they know what they are doing is bad, but they have no choice because of past mistakes or the situation they were put in. In this case the player will have the choice to switch, it will just be more difficult while not just waiting which is probably even more boring than doing a quest.
players will be punished for being a ruthless villain though. i think vetex plans on adding like a criminal record system so you cant just swap between the two on your will
i do think the current way of reducing bad rep is terrible though. going to jail over and over again because every npc is scared of you being the only way to reduce your bad rep is pretty dumb. i would enjoy some quests/stronger npcs to kill that would bring your rep up., albeit very slowly.
vetex is gonna add a criminal record system, so the current bad rep switch meta won’t be good at all. i like your idea though
This wouldn’t be for heavier sentences. This could just be for while the player still is not able to rack up 1,000+ bounty. Its only meant for lighter sentences that aren’t that bad (say, for example, you broke a couple of buildings in a town). When players do worse things (like kill a captain or destroy Silent Tower), then the criminal record might come into play.
alright, we’ll have to see when it gets added
what are the 'wandering merchants’actually,sorry i cant find it on the trelllo
As I just got member rank, I have posted this in suggestions as well. If you would like to discuss more about possible adjustments, please feel free to do so here.
damn,i didnt know he was gonna add a criminal record kinda thing to the game.is it confirmed yet?
