So uh… There are a ton of zones in the game, but only a handful get played. What would it take to repopulate some places?

I.e.

Every zone that is not ECU, VW, NETWORK, KKI, Dracharnos, Fassan, etc.

Maybe readjusting the benefits and payoffs?

well that would make way to much sense.

So, what's wrong with the rest of the zones?

Is an issue of the challenge being too hard for the reward?

Is it the zone is difficult to get to? (Abyss, Amoria, Gith)

Is it an older zone and folks just dont know it well? (Grail)

Is it the fact that so many players are high gen and there aren't that many zones for gen 9 and 10 to level?

The main zones i avoid are one with looping rooms and flows, like EpoI. Zones where i cant see shit, like EPOS.

Now my other question is, what would make you go to a zone you avoid now?

For example, I'd be more prone to explore places like Gith if i could get my stuff back after i die. I've been really lucky to have folks help me out after i die in level 7 hell or gith but help isn't always available and that can keep people from exploring.

Another thing is the largely anti-recall parts of heaven. While i can do a fair job with most of the mobs in level I heaven i have no disire to be caught up where i can't recall and i'm being hounded by a mass of archons.

You could look at it from the standpoint of what makes the zones you did mention great:

KKI, VR, and ECU: Lots of mobs at a decent challenge with good money given for the level.

Drachs: lots of mid and high level mobs worth good xp, decent items to try and gather

Hell V and lower: Tons of small mobs to crush en masse for xp, good gold, and swank items.

Mavernal: great xp, decent cash, and with a few potions you can minimize the damage from the magic users.

I just think that increasing the payoff for unused zones would bring more people to those places, instead of everyone crowding the same handful of areas.

Imagine if some of the lesser frequented zones were beefed in both difficulty and reward. There would be many more options for players.

I'm thinking about:

Reed Swamp Silvendark Draconian Highlord Fortress Arachnos Zhengi's Castle etc…

Having spiders kick my ass as hard as the guards in drachs would be fun. Especially if there was something cool to get or exp to bring in out of it.

I'm not as cool as you higher up people. I haven't been playing for very long at all. I don't know half of the zones you guys talk about. I'm pretty much still a newbie. I haven't t been to Arachnos and I haven't heard of Zhengi's castle. From the start, I was told where to go and how to get there and what to look out for. I wasn't prepared for exploring zones or exploring around to find those zones. All I have is the popular ones, like Immoth or Mavernal or for the little levels, halflings and ogres. And we all know that it gets tiring running the same zones over and over and if it wasn't for my girly love for socializing, I don't think I would be playing still.

I think that maybe if we make it a bit easier to get to some other zones then we could have a lot more players sticking around. And it would definitely if the zones have some rewards. Something to make the ass-kicking be worth it. Because I know that dying is frustrating, and it sucks when you lose some eq that you can't get it back easily. Again, if there was a a better reward for finally killing the tougher things then maybe we would be more apt to risk dying…

Either way, things would be a lot more fun if there were more zones, and at least some rewards. More fun = more players in my opinion.

I've made this argument so many times I feel like a broken record. What's a record? Google it you whippersnappers.

There is a ratio inherent in every zone that decides whether anyone ever plays in it. That ratio is reward:risk. Zones that have a 1 or even a near 1 ratio are popular zones, those dozen or so zones that people actually play in. This ratio is dependent on gen/level of course, in as much as the halflings have a 1 ratio for a level 3 player, but a .01 for a gen 10 level 49.

Now this ratio is valid for experience and money alike. For example Kiddie Kandy's ratio used to be over 2, in my opinion, for money before they reduced the money and got it closer to 1. LaMogra is another example of a zone that had a 1+ ratio that was unfortunately reduced to well below a 1.

So wtf is up with zones with a low ass ratio? Well most of these zones have been forgotten when other parts of the mud have been changed. Ideally, every time you add a new zone or feature to the mud, every other zone already in play should be modified so that their ratios compete, relatively speaking. This happens… well never. Hence the reason Tempus has literally hundreds of zones that are never entered.

Ideally, in my opinion, every zone should have a ratio that is very near to a 1, excepting zones that are meant to be 'object' zones, zones that have a reward only tangible in a particular object that loads there.

With every zone approaching a 1 ratio, then the question will change from 'is best zone "A" available?', to 'is good zone for barbarians "A" available.' This would make zones be more appropriately targeted at play styles and class dependent considerations. This would open the mud up and make Tempus actually have hundreds of playable zones.

The reward:risk ratio isn't anything new. The issue is the manpower it would take to go through and change all the unused zones to be more comparable to those zones that are now popular, ie make their ratio closer to 1. Ideally, again, each zone would offer its own advantages over other zones, but basically still have a ratio that makes it fun and worth playing in. Wish is in charge of these things, and let me assure you, he absolutely busts his ass to make Tempus a better place. Unfortunately though, there is one of him and 10 years of Tempus that needs work.

So what do we do? We do what we can. Wish and the building staff will continue to try to make Tempus better by adding more playable zones and modifying those that need it, and the players will continue to let them know which zones need a fixin'.

Changing the reward to risk ratio would increase traffic in unused zones. But when that zone happens to be an older zone, changing that ratio just doesn't make sense. Why would you want to increase traffic to a zone that isn't the best that Tempus has to offer? Please think of the newbies.

As to the zones that are newer and have low traffic ratings… well, if you if you think the reward risk ratio is horrible then you probably don't have a need for the equipment it provides or you simply haven't explored it yet. For example, if you already have a ruby ring then running through all of Gith is nonsense. Other than that, it's a wonderful zone.

So… do we need more builders to scale up the older zones? I don't think it all needs to be refurbished… that's a pipe dream.

They just need to be fun. Define fun?

very nice post wrath.

i dont know much about the whole ratio thing but i can say that sometimes they change zones such as la'mogra and it goes from a top zone to a zone that only certain people go to. zones such as kki with always be high traffic cause its a decent low leveling zone and the money is still pretty good for the difficulty.

i would agree that most of the higher level/gen zones are always busy. most everyone uses dracharnos and fassan for 40+. i have always used drachs as a higher level leveling since i started. its no to extreme and the exp is good. fassan is a zone that is good all around. decent money,exp and a decent level of difficulty. only mobs that are really overwhelming are cybertrolls and while mobs hit hard the use of tanks or a grounding move can nullify that.

i do agree that trying to do a mass fixin will take a very long time. maybe wish should assign someone to this project and let them work at it for a while and see if it brings about a good reaction from the player base. if it does maybe put someone new on it to help.

Zone parity…

Parity, or the lack thereof, is a common arena of discussion on these forums. And yes, I agree, theoretically the more balanced the risk/reward ratio is amongst the zones, the more zones will be visited.

Ideally for me, one could travel across the realm and focus on the stories, characters and the landscape, with notion of mob experience points as a distance, esoteric footnote.

But that's not solely what Tempus is or what it necessarily should be. In many ways, and for many people, Tempus has a great deal to do with numbers, and is statistic-driven enterprise.

And yes, I agree, there is only one of me, and I'm proud of our fantastic builders that do the major lifting on zone creation. But really, even if I had an army of builders tweaking zones and burning the midnight oil, there would still only be a few zones that receive the most attention.

The reason for this is that while our zones must meet certain criteria and testing, there is no rigid formula to their creation. The uniqueness of each area is one of the world's strengths and weaknesses, as unique areas are fun to explore, yet due to their complexity, they lack a quick, consistent mechanism to alter their difficulty.

No matter how much we continue to tweak zones (and we will, in perpetuity) there will also be a player consensus on the 'best zones', meaning the zones with the greatest reward for their risk. This is unavoidable, and I've made my peace with it.

Game balance will continue to be evaluated and modified, and we will continue to read and take note of your comments and opinions on the worldbase. Just keep in mind that like the real world, Tempus will continue to grow and evolve imperfectly, and we are aware and comfortable with this, all the while working for greater balance to ultimately make the world more fun.

In a nutshell: Yeah, you're right, and yeah, we're working on it, and yeah, that endeavor will never be complete. Just enjoy it.

W

Yeah i'm up way to early. Anyways saw this thread and figured I would comment on it :p Personally role playing games to me have always been about exploring. Finding those hidden easter eggs. That hidden damage trap that just wrecked your day. The mob dialogue that makes you chuckle. Where that piece of equipment comes from. That long forgetten piece of gear that is useful again because of the 50 attributes. The only thing that bugs me is sometimes you don't understand what the mobs are saying because they are speaking kalerrian (yes its a real Tempus language) so you miss out on what I think are some of the best Tempus experiences. One thing i've noticed tho is that a lot of people are afraid of exploring. They only do zones that someone has walked them through. That's wrong on so many levels :p I say grow a pair and go see all Tempus has to offer. Trust me it's a wild ride.

Drystan