Spar Complex

[Kohola_KinG]

The last thread i put up was to get the spar complex moved closer to unstick and we achieved that and i think we can all agree it's much better there.

However, with this thread can we achieve an overhaul of the reward system? It's old and boring.

What could be done to improve the /sparstats reward system? Can we get some new rewards for it? Maybe make it more appealing to look at to.

What could be done to make it better?

[Fiberwyre_P2P]

Maybe the top 3 or 5 sparrers could get a quick spar complex warp command?
like "unstick spar" or something.
It could auto-warp them into ranked spar and queue them.
Just an idea.

Maybe you could get special tags after your name (and special colors to go with them) based on the amount of spar wins you have, like:
1000 wins: (Duelist)
10000 wins: (Spar Champ)
100000 wins: (Spar Legend)
etc

Just trying to think of stuff that wouldn't necessarily give you an advantage in a spar.

[Spikedude]

Private ranked spar rooms for the top 3 weekly sparrers?

We could do something with the :movespar system I made a while back too :o just gotta finish the queue and spectating areas

[Supaman771]

The spar should gather a queue'd player from any non-pk zone, allowing people to not have to sit there for 20 minutes when the queue is 10+ people.

Also, maybe a ":sparring" command that returns "There are X players currently sparring." it could just draw from the # in the queue +2. I know I run there quite often just to find the place empty.

As for rewards, the top 5 sparrers could be given unlimited revives and unlimited in-spar ammunition (these are both existing things). And the #1 prize could be toned down to make way for #2 and #3 prizes.. giving people a bit more room to work when they check stats just to see Wil is ahead by 2000 points or something. Maybe you could work your 'Unlimited Ammo as a Reward' idea into here, given it's a pk-based system. It could just automatically add those players the flag when the scores reset (to avoid the items flooding out).

I like the idea of a '/spar' title or tag. The guild tag could probably be abused/mix in with the gangs and parties and quests so I'd prefer a 'title' type of thing. Maybe some player glows or special effects (like the old trading cards, or those aura's Sage was messing with).

You could combine the Sparrer's Card and profile together a bit, maybe adding their top ribbons and medals somewhere more visible. And adding their title in here.

Aesthetics are always the best approach to rewarding these kind of things.

[bloodykiller]

I was number 4 all time, I quit for like 8 months and I'm number 5 now... This just proves that not enough sparring occurs.

Noobs NEVER spar since they get owned too hard. It's hard but they need to realise that sparring is the best way to reach a decent PKing level when you suck. When I started playing Era I used to get my ass kicked sparring and, although I'm much better at raiding/playing events, I'm better than most of the other players thanks to practicing since I knew it was the best way to improve in ALL PKing disciplines.

Noobs don't spar because:
-You pay for revives/ammo and don't get rewards (not even money for kills).
-Players seem to care about their stats but don't realise that if they don't improve their stats will always suck.
-They don't like to get owned and aren't willing to learn from who owned them (they prefer blaming lag or w.e).

So you need to find some way to give rewards to the noobs who spar and not the top sparrers. And this is coming from a player who would always get top sparrer rewards.

[Fiberwyre_P2P]

Originally Posted by bloodykiller

So you need to find some way to give rewards to the noobs who spar and not the top sparrers. And this is coming from a player who would always get top sparrer rewards.

What about adding something to the spar ranking system where the more points someone has over you, the more points you get for beating them?

Like, say you get an extra point for every 100 points they have on you.
If someone has 5000 points, and you have 1000 points, you would be getting 40 points for each win against them, but the closer you get to catching them, obviously it drops back off.
Like if they're at 5000 and you get up to 4500, you would only get 5 points for each win.

(I'll point out that this idea is based on the Arena rating system from WoW. The higher rated the other team is relative to your team, the more your rating goes up for beating them.)

[Supaman771]

Originally Posted by Fiberwyre_P2P

What about adding something to the spar ranking system where the more points someone has over you, the more points you get for beating them?

Like, say you get an extra point for every 100 points they have on you.
If someone has 5000 points, and you have 1000 points, you would be getting 40 points for each win against them, but the closer you get to catching them, obviously it drops back off.
Like if they're at 5000 and you get up to 4500, you would only get 5 points for each win.

That's too easily abusable, since it's just point gains, and what about the 5000 point guy.. there would be no point for them to even spar in the first place.

Make each spar worth a point split, I'd say somewhere around 30.
Then the split of this will be determined on the players scores, like any basic elo system I've encountered.

Example:
30 point split
player 1 has a score of 500, and would experience a +20/-10 change
player 2 has a score of 1000, and would experience a +10/-20 change

Sparring players way better than you would yield better chances without risking as much, while losing to some noob could cost you a ton of points.

All players would have to start at a 'default' score though, say 1000? (ex. a 1000 vs 1000 spar would be +15/-15)

This is more similar to the Rating systems you see on classic servers, rather than never-ending point gains... which result in a huge disparity given long durations (player A has sparred for 2 years, amassing a insurmountable lead over player B who just started last week, should they both continue sparring at the same rate). This is why as TK said, he is still #5 when he hasn't even played in months going on years.

Using this concept, the top players would have to continually improve to maintain the same point growth, while beating them is more rewarding to nubs. And every spar has the same 'value' so players can't boost or abuse it.

This can also be easily logged, one line per spar; knowing if a player is boosting is mind-numbingly simple.

[Kohola_KinG]

Originally Posted by Supaman771

Also, maybe a ":sparring" command that returns "There are X players currently sparring." it could just draw from the # in the queue +2. I know I run there quite often just to find the place empty.

Yes.

Private ranked spar rooms for the top 3 weekly sparrers?

Wouldn't work.

We need something to motivate us to spar. What could do that? Not sure people care for a private ranked spar room that nobody will go to.

I think what we need is a more rewarding prize. Not because i want it but because it's the only thing that keeps players happy and motivated to earn something. Adding in rewards for x amount of kills that week, being top etc Mvps, ec's etc.

Maybe add a gun feature the more point/kills you get that week the better guns you unluck to "use in spar only". So this gives you a chance to change up the guns you're using and makes things more fun. Making people sparing for longer trying to play around with different guns?

[bloodykiller]

Whatever the point system is, the better players will always have more points. Noobs will never get good scores but they need to realise that sparring is useful but most importantly sparring needs to have advantages (rewards) since now it's only a cost for the player therefore there is very little incentive to get your ass kicked.

[Rave_J]

Originally Posted by Fiberwyre_P2P

Maybe the top 3 or 5 sparrers could get a quick spar complex warp command?
like "unstick spar" or something.
It could auto-warp them into ranked spar and queue them.
Just an idea.

Maybe you could get special tags after your name (and special colors to go with them) based on the amount of spar wins you have, like:
1000 wins: (Duelist)
10000 wins: (Spar Champ)
100000 wins: (Spar Legend)
etc

Just trying to think of stuff that wouldn't necessarily give you an advantage in a spar.

Oh ya I can see how this can be abused in everything you do on era.

[Fiberwyre_P2P]

Originally Posted by Rave_J

Oh ya I can see how this can be abused in everything you do on era.

I assume you're talking about the spar warp command.
Obviously it would have the same limitations as "unstick me", therefore only being as prone to abuse as "unstick me" is.

[Kohola_KinG]

Can we start by adding this command that Rogue suggested? The command would give you a number of people in the spar complex instead of having to go there to find it empty.

I think it's better to update piece by piece instead of trying to mastermind the whole thing in one go.

[Fiberwyre_P2P]

What about winstreak rewards?
Like if you get 5 or 10 wins in a row, you get 10 free revives and +1000 ammo to all your guns
or whatever it may be.

Or maybe even give weekly rewards just for sparring.
Like spar 100 times in a week and get a reward.
That would likely bring people in to the spar.

[bloodykiller]

Noobs need incentives, not people who win 10 spars in a row.

For example, lose 10 spars in a row and get a cookie.

[Fiberwyre_P2P]

Originally Posted by bloodykiller

Noobs need incentives, not people who win 10 spars in a row.

For example, lose 10 spars in a row and get a cookie.

That's why I added that second part.
100 spars a week (win or lose) to get a reward.