Community Challenge Feedback

[contributor]

So a lot of you probably saw the Independent Captain Community Challenge I started recently startradersrpg.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=rules&action=display&thread=4025. Participation wasn't great, but slayernz and me seem to be having fun with it.

I've got ideas for other ones, but I'm interested to know if others are interested in joining something like this, before I go and organize one. So please let me know your honest thoughts in the poll and in the thread.

In my mind, these would ideally be very inclusive challenges, not just for the most advanced players. So I'm curious to find ways to make these fun for players at all levels.

A lot of the challenges would be focused on a certain captain type such as the "The True Zealot Challenge" "The Loot and Scoot (Pirate) Challenge" "The Big Dealer (merchant) Challenge" etc.

Let me know your honest thoughts. I'd rather find out that everyone thinks these are dumb, than spend my time setting up another one if people aren't interested.

[fallen]

I loved the idea and would like to see a challenge that is a little more accessible to those of us who aren't super veterans! Having 10 or 15 people playing would be awesome.

[slayernz]

Agreed - as an aside, I had never actually done the independent captain before, primarily because my gameplay style is normally amicable and I also don't like cutting ties with all factions.

Doing this challenge got me to try something new, and gave me a whole level of new fun. I'd be happy to join in on other challenges that may be a bit more open to newcomers as well as fogies

[Jamozk Ekhiss]

I'd be glad to enter - if I thought myself good enough to survive it, and I've got the time (which, sadly, I don't currently).

[johndramey]

Count me in the "If I thought I could cut it, I would" group. My skills in ST are.... lackluster at best. I want to join though, next one I'll be in for sure. I was just too busy the past couple weeks to do much of anything besides sit in the corner and cry.

*edit* Just thinking about your idea and I'm getting more and more interested in it. The idea of having specific constraints on a captain in order to make the game a bit more... interesting seems like a good one. It would be difficult to keep it doable by the less impressive of us, but if you can think of a way to make it something that everyone can join in on I think it could be a big hit.

[slayernz]

We'll need to create a challenge for TA huh Johndramey

[travail]

I have been absolutely overwhelmed in the past week or so- started the hated game, got a bit hated, but have not been able to put together any sustained effort. Damn you real life!

[johndramey]

Apr 23, 2013 5:01:31 GMT -5 slayernz said:

We'll need to create a challenge for TA huh Johndramey

Bring it on, my friend, bring it on!

[contributor]

Thanks for the feedback and keep it coming.

So a big question is how to keep the challenge open to as many players as possible and at the same time make it challenging to more advanced players. Does having two "classes" playing at different difficulty levels solve this? The "Curator" class would play at Challenging or Demanding and the "Titan" class would play at Crazy or Insane. Does this work, or is it better to try to work on the rules so that everyone can play at one level? That would be harder to do.

As an example what do you think of this hypothetical challenge:
The Loot and Scoot Community Challenge
Captain type: Must be Pirate
Ship type: Must fly a "Pirate" ship OR a ship you have taken in battle.
You can restart anytime before level 15.
Scoring: The number of ships looted PLUS a boost for turns played (turns divided by 50?) PLUS a boost for the amount of money you have (credits divided by 10,000?)

There could be other constraining rules such as doing surveillance and contracts is forbidden (after a certain level?).

[laughingman]

Here's an idea:

War Hero

May restart before 15 (this should probably just be assumed for all challenges)
No Exploration after level 10 (Harvesting is fine, but records gained this way have to be sold to neutral ports).
No Large-scale trading of contraband after level 10 (selling loot is fine, but no bulk trading on surpluses/shortages of Artifacts, Weapons, Electronics, or Records*)
No Contraband Cycling (buy followed by immediate sell for rep).
Pick a side, Syndicate or Clan.
Score based on a combination of your total positive rep with your side and negative rep with the other side. Bumped for kills but *NOT* turns passed.
By the end you must have positive rep and rank with all three members of your side, and negative rep with all three opposition, otherwise you fail outright (score = 0).

*Exception for records if you happen to get lucky enough to sell into a shortage as a normal part of a spy war.

It's not super hard, but given the way inter-faction politics work, it still offers some fun complications.

[slayernz]

Another challenge ...
Independent Contractor.
You have to complete 100 perfect contracts within 100 years. You are not allowed to fail a single contract, nor are you allowed to reject any. You must manage reputation loss in whatever way you choose.

You can do this challenge on Demanding difficulty or higher.
Score is calculated as follows:
(5200 - Turns) x 10 + (Cash at end of 100 missions / 1000)

So if you manage to do it in 80 years and 23 weeks (4183 turns), and make $640,000 in total, you get the following:
(5200 - 4183) x 10 + (640000 / 1000 )
10170 + 640
10810

[johndramey]

I like the idea behind the "loot and scoot," "war hero" and "Independent Contractor" ideas. The Independent contractor could be a little difficult, but I could see myself at least trying. I think I'd have a hard time getting a good score on any of them though, so maybe lurker's idea of separating the challenge into a titan/curator class based on ranges of difficulty is a good one? That would allow novice captains to have a way of challenging themselves without feeling like they have no hope of ever getting near the top.

[slayernz]

laughingman
Here is a screenshot of my Independent captain's reputation. Funnily enough, I think I complied with every single one of your criteria because after about level 10, I wasn't able to buy and sell restricted goods to factions (they all hated me), I never explored, and I definitely picked a side (syndicates).

obviously if we were kicking off your challenge I wouldn't use Target. Maybe General W.R. Monger

Attachments:

[contributor]

"Funnily"!? Where is Grävling?

[Deleted]

Apr 25, 2013 22:26:03 GMT -5 contributor said:

"Funnily"!? Where is Grävling?

Actually, that is technically correct - 'funnily enough' is a common idiom.

...otherwise Grävling would have been onto slayernz within seconds!