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[BG Sexpert]

The problem now is lack of content.
This stems from several issues:
1. Weapons/armor have no value. Loot is limitless, resources are unending, and missions never stop. There is not a single piece of equipment that can't be replaced after a few minutes of looting (and crafting with a reasonable crafter), or just directly purchased after doing a mission. AoP is the most casual FOnline to date, in that there is no REAL struggle. I can get pretty much anything I want with minimal effort.

Cirn0 is addressing this issue

2. Outside of PvP there is nothing to do. Missions are the same 3 quests on the same 5 maps repeated.

Cirn0 and mapmakers (Slambliss and Ramse to name a few) are working on this as well.

3. ZC has no real purpose as it has no permanence and only effects what items vendors have. If you don't have enough people to compete in large ZC battles, then you wait until nobody is on then cap the zones you want. If you don't have 6 players to play with, then wait until SOMEONE from your faction caps it, then load up. Sure you get XP from ZC but who cares really?

I'm not sure how this is being addressed.

4. No end game. Without an actual purpose, we are stuck with our hands in our pockets wondering "what am I even doing here?" Most people log on for a quick ZC, or maybe to grief a few gates then log off.

This is going to be implemented later.


TL;DR the majority of what actually will give AoP longevity is on the way.

[paragon]

1. What? No way. Why people are using CAmk1 instead of Support CAmk3 than? No 10 SS, debif for everyone, 10 smoke grenades? You are completely wrong.

4. End game? This is MMORPG! Choose yourself. For me it's like "Create and super-organized well-played faction." and the next step is to start winning at least 1 / 5 of battles against lawyers. You can try to reach level 99 or be in the leadership board.

The server is arena, almost like a counter-strike and exactly this is the best part of it.

[John Porno]

1. What? No way. Why people are using CAmk1 instead of Support CAmk3 than? No 10 SS, debif for everyone, 10 smoke grenades? You are completely wrong.

I must admit I'm also wondering about this. I think for the most part it's either oldsql fonliners who have carpets of green but dont want to use the tiniest bit of it and bring lj to have more cw to even loot and hoard more, or it's new players who genuinely haven't played either long enough or not effeciently enough to field top gear on a regular basis.

[paragon]

John Porno, I'm playing with players who played fonline long enough to understand if you're not using equipment, you're doing something wrong. They just have not enough money to lost 5 CAmk3 in a day (1 hour of losing to lawyers in zone control), and don't want to farm it on assignments.
Equipment is not that cheap and easy to get as you think, it seems. A lot of people have problems with it.

[Deathproof]

John Porno, I'm playing with players who played fonline long enough to understand if you're not using equipment, you're doing something wrong. They just have not enough money to lost 5 CAmk3 in a day (1 hour of losing to lawyers in zone control), and don't want to farm it on assignments.
Equipment is not that cheap and easy to get as you think, it seems. A lot of people have problems with it.

Crafting requirements for mk2-mk3 armor are mostly ridiculously high.

On another hand, there isn't that much difference, and you can kick ass in mk1/mk2 armors without much problems.

[PorkchopExpress]

Don't really see whats the problem with getting items.Everyone can craft any weapon they want through relics and materials salvaged in core.If you have low engineering biggest problems are armors,but then you simply invest your caps(assignments or selling sutff from core) for armors.Problem solved.

[paragon]

Now count how many hours did you do assignments and how many hours do people who have day-work play.

[PorkchopExpress]

Now count how many hours did you do assignments and how many hours do people who have day-work play.

So what everyone should have everything served to them without putting any effort into it?It would make server boring REALLY fast.

[BG Sexpert]

I think John porno has the right of it. The genuine hoarder mentality that has been instilled in us through the FOnline experience. The most inconvenient part of most armors is the chitin, which comes from the weakest enemies in the game...
Again the value isn't in the item, its in the inconvenience to replace. "Oh I lost 3 Support CA Mk II, now I need to do 3 missions to replace them " You know you can replace them at any time, its just a boring process. Now if crafting them required some BP or item that was rare and consumed in the crafting, then the item has value. "FUCK I just lost my Support CA Mk II, not I need to find some schematics to make another." In the first scenario the item is GUARANTEED to be replaced by minimal grinding, in the second scenario the item isn't guaranteed. 
As well, the differences between some of the armors isn't super significant. Nobody is going to argue that Support CA isn't great, but the differences between CA and CA MKIII often aren't enough to validate the effort in upgrading. I know I run around in MA MKII because it shits on lasers and normal damage (just avoid flame and electric).

[Deathproof]

I have no idea how you guys came to equipment problem, if it was a problem core wouldn't be empty but people would run around scavenging which obviously doesn't happen unless its someone completely new to the game.

I hoarded in two weeks by pvp-ing + crafting (rarely mk3, but it never presented an issue to me) what I hoard in 1-2 months of other fo's. This isn't an issue at all in this game.

Once you hoard equipment, people stop coming to the core, when people do it random things die leaving us only with zc or assignments, pve is meant to be that in between rewarding challenge when there aren't any human driven things to do. Only thing we can do now is wait for the new content and give ideas.

[paragon]

I don't go to the core because it makes no sense to me. I'm getting fun in ZC.
But v-tech is not able to win lawyers 75% of time and more. That's why I'm losing all stuff.
"Boring to farm for new equipment" is the reason for me to stop playing if I'll be out of equipment.

[Deathproof]

"Boring to farm for new equipment" is the reason for me to stop playing if I'll be out of equipment.

I can relate with that in two things - its too easy to get 90% of crafting stuff and provides no challenge to get it since you can ran around freely around town these days and its too annoying/boring to get those 10% you need to craft better armors.

But I don't think farming and grinding is fun in any game....so not sure whats your point ? Do you have any other idea how equipment could be obtained that would provide fun ?

[mAdman]

Do you have any other idea how equipment could be obtained that would provide fun ?

Hmm, how about guns, that shoot random loot instead of bullets, when these bits of loot hit a target they do damage, but that loot is added to their inventory, or forcefully equipped. Shoot a guy in the face, an you might slap a suit of power armor on him, or stick a rocket launcher in his hands.

Sure as hell wouldn't make any sense, but it would be fun right?

Melee of course, wouldn't be affected by this, to retain its ridiculous power level in comparison to other weapons.

Yes this whole post was a joke

You are right grinding is not supposed to be fun by design, it is repetition at it's base.

I would say seriously though, that the fact you need such high levels of engineering to craft or upgrade armors deters a lot of people, along with the huge price difference, combined with the fact you can repair lower tier versions of armor much easier makes wearing them much less of a risk with usually only very little traded off negatively.

i.e. the actual physical differences in combat while wearing CA compared to CAmk3 might not outweigh or evenly match the cost offset, and the ability to craft such items may still be 5000 repairs or low level crafts away for other players.

[paragon]

> Do you have any other idea how equipment could be obtained that would provide fun ?

I guess my point of view will be too "Unfalloutish", and will take quite a lot of changes.
Because I play for pvp, I want all people to have basic equipment without any requirements at all, and all higher level equipment to be almost the same with basic (not giving that difference which you can see even between CAmk1 and CAmk3). Those and other special items (like grenades, drugs, AoE guns) could be distributed for the combat success (for points of ZCs). So carebears can't farm for days and nights and become better equipped than ZC fighters. This will force people to come to fights to obtain better gear. Even more, I would let people to start playing with 24 level.
So this server will be a complete arena.
But I believe there are a lof of people, who would not like it as well (you need people to farm to be hold at the at the serv!) as devs, cuz it's a different philosophy from what is server right now.

[Niamak]

I wish there was some kind of loadout system like other pvp game (ex: eve online, CS) with some kind of equipment slot restriction or more weight restriction. So you can bring/use only 2 weapons and 1 armor to ZC for example.

But yeah "unfalloutish", hard to balance and more for an arena game.

[Savager]

When you are losing every ZC to lawyers then its hard to have equipment. They must be the only faction with bases full of armor and weapons.
Also, for people like me that work all day and have only 2-3 hours to play its really hard to have stuff, thats only if you are in school or if you play all day no-lifer.
BTW, making the items harder to get will only increase the time that people keeps making PVE and will reduce their participation in PVP.
Making the items harder to get will not increase the player count. Its the dumbest idea i have heard. It will accomplish the opposite, players that have little time like me couldn't stay competitive and will just leave to play something else.
This idea has so many negative points that i think no one in his right mind would apply it.

[paragon]

I don't see how arena is harder to balance than not arena.

And this server has a lot of arena mentality already, that's why I'm playing it instead of all others.

But it's up to project owners to decide how the game will develop for sure. I'm just feeling, that what's rest of old fonline servers -- could be just matter of time (and a lot of work) to someone to create complete arena style (Counter-strike like) gameplay, which I'll enjoy the most.