User talk:Iscariot/New Server Ideas

Zombie Apocalypse

Timestamp:	Troymk1 16:52, 12 December 2007 (UTC)
Type:	Limiting to finite Game Cycle
Scope:	GAME ALTERING
Description:	I've been playing Urban Dead for some time. I think it may be time to shake things up. Here is my proposal. 1) No new Survivor characters may be created. 2) Find chances for all items beging to degrade. 3) Necro-tech still works, just supplies would be limited. 4) This imbalance would eventually lead to fewer and fewer survivors. And to recognise this the last surving 100 Survivors would be enshrined in the UrbanDead Hall of Fame. (and perhaps the 100 Best Zombies by kills?!) 5) Game would restart at this point. Would allow Kevan to generate a new map (as the infection spreads to other urban centres) and we would all have to start fresh characters (obviously flushing the data from the DB to allow us to use our fave names!). Since the game system has matured this would be an interesting and fresh thing for many. What do you think?

Discusion

Copied from Talk:Suggestions

Oh my god we're all gunna die! Interesting but no, don't stop new people from joining, besides, the game isn't that screwed up, not yet at least... --Blobdude^{Talk TM MC} 17:00, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

Hi Blob, No not stopping new people from joining. But no joining as a survivor.

So in Game cycle terms. Perhaps 12 months of free for all, then no more survivor joins, and find rates begin to decrease/downgrade. making survival harder and harder. Would make for interesting roleplaying as the survivors would really have to think through their moves.Troymk1 17:18, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

If we were going to do this it'd require a lot of work on Kevan's part. It sounds like a similar idea to Travian and other browser games of a similar nature. If this would work we'd probably need a separate server and city, we'd also need intense amounts of in game events. Instead of a survive to the end, which is ultimately pointless it'd probably be better to have goal to accomplish that could lead to methods of escape from the city. All those managing to escape from the city before the time limit expires earn a place in the Hall of Fame, everyone else dies when the city is sterilised.

The problem would be the amount of effort and equipment needed, a new server for a start. Kevan would need funding for that, other games have functions that are chargeable and sponsors, UD doesn't. Iscariot 17:31, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

Interesting, Actually I've mentioned this to Kevan he didn't mention the need for a new server. What do you base this on?Troymk1 17:54, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

I know the precise amount of SOD and ALL when it comes to computers, so I might not even be using the correct terminology here.

I'm using Travian as a base for my understanding here (I know Travian is more complex graphically and all those other computer-y reasons). Travian has a new *server* for each of its game worlds i.e. UK Servers 1 - 4, .com Servers 1 - 8 etc. These *servers* are completely seperate from each other, you cannot transfer resources or players/accounts between them. Each one is fresh, usernames can be chosen again and everything is clean, if you get my meaning.

If UD was going to do this, instead of numbering the servers like Travian, they could be named, like Malton. We could have more versions representing the spread of the infection (possibly after an escape mega event in Malton), so you could have Hicksville USA for a US server, Singh City for an Indian server, Chekovgrad for Russian players. This would expand UD beyond the English market if we could get it translated. Each of the subsequent cities would have a lifespan, known to the players or not before the national government nukes/sterilises it. Malton would be immune and ongoing due to....I don't know, Necrotech pressure to study the longterm effects.

I am being coherent about this? Iscariot 18:08, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

An escape mega event? That sounds brilliant. It might make sense. Whats the longterm trend in player numbers? Down im guessing. Maybe shunting from one 10x10 grid to two 5x5 grids or something. make it all more personal. Maybe split between similar time zones add different skills to each one, other complete madness. Now i'm not coherent.--Rosslessness 19:00, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

I like my never ending games. - Pardus 18:04, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

Very cool follow on ideas Iscariot. I get the feeling this is just a hobby site for kevan.....a labour of love per se. Be interesting if he could actually make a commercial venture of it ! (cheaply!)Troymk1 18:58, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the praise, if there was an expansion of the UDverse I'd be very interested in helping out, I might not know anything about computers or programming but I like to think I can write background and have the occasional good idea.

I've been reading around and if there was an expansion like I suggested then in game sponsorship could be a way of generating revenue, instead of *You find a Newspaper* it's *You find a copy of The Guardian*, instead of *You find a bottle of beer* it's *You find a bottle of Easy Rider* etc.

This is all going beyond the base suggestion here, but if it's supported enough it might be worth discussing it and then presenting it to Kevan. I'd personally enjoy the challenge of writing the history of and designing an entire fictional city, plus the events/stories would be easier to do if the city was designed with them in mind from the start. Iscariot 19:09, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

Please, no commercial sponsorship beyond the adverts which are already displayed on the login screens and profiles etc. I play UD to have fun and excercise my imagination. I don't want this interfered with by product placements. It hacks me off enough already when films, TV and radio programmes are full of not-so-subtly hidden ads. --Pavluk ^{A! E!} 20:01, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

I'm going with Pardus on this one. --GunFox13 20:56, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

This is lame because it makes 'surviving' into 'winning.' What about zombies? What about people who prefer to play as zombies? - Grant 00:20, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

they would get a place in a hall of fame. least, thats what i had understood. seems to me that the only problem would be funding, and the best (no, the only) idea to deal with it is in-game advertising. go for it. make beer bottles have labels, bulletin boards say "there is a faded picture of a person drinking ___" (or something like that. hell, if it got big enough you could even advertise movies outside of movie theaters. i really like endgame senerios, as long as the game doesn't actually end. by which i mean, you can continue to play in some way shape or form.--Themonkeyman11 01:03, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

I'll comment on this since I've derailed the original suggestion enough. Escape/endgame scenarios do not automatically favour survivors, it is perfectly feasible for a zombie to hijack the train the survivors are trying to use and spread the infection for instance. Scenarios like this create conflict, conflict is good for the game. With a train escape scenario you're going to have three major groups, survivors trying to escape, death cultists/zombies trying to escape and spread the infection and zombie and PKers trying to stop anyone from leaving. Plus in between that you'll have all the smaller rivalries, if the outside military are only going to let one train leave do you really think the Fort Creedy Regulars are going to allow the DEM to work on their train/train line unscathed?

At the end of it all, it's not about winning or losing, it's about an enjoyable game. I think these scenarios and time limited cities will accomplish that, if it doesn't then it doesn't matter, I'm not proposing we do it with Malton. Iscariot 01:12, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

It might be possible to have a timed server in a new city, and have Malton stay permanant. The timed srver could be a test server to try stuff out in. --Blobdude^{Talk TM MC} 01:37, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

Interesting idea... But that's as far as it goes... UCFSD 16:58, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

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