Use ISK as Motivator

 One of the early lowlights in Dust 514 has been one of the same FPS behaviors we see the world over. Players putting individual accolades before what should always be the ultimate goal: VICTORY. We already see it in the form of snipers never leaving the spawn, players putting KDR before winning and players disengaged as a whole. Too many matches end up one-sided the moment one side strikes a hard blow early. It has a lot to do somewhat with the persistent nature of this title. While we wouldn't trade its depth for anything, the simple truth is that there's a point in too many games where players say "I'm dying too much" or "Screw this, i'm losing too much good gear." At that point they make the choice to cut their losses and we see the aforementioned spawn sniper behavior and other foolishness. CCP has already introduced a paradigm shift in the minds of gamers by tying your compensation to your ability to finish a game. It has gone unnoticed to some, but it strikes a blow deep into the hearts of quitters and exploit abusers everywhere. Leave early to preserve your KDR or prevent the loss of assets and you get nothing. Its simple, effective and beautiful.


We're big fans of making a record of deserters somehow, and we can't wait to see what this 'mercenary file'  CCP alludes to contains, but something has to be done to give players incentive to care more about the outcome of matches. The solution is simple, but albeit hardcore. The incentive to win simply has to be greater than the alternative. Think of it, how can the rewards for victory and defeat possibly be the same? Its almost comical if you consider it. Nothing kills competitiveness faster than equal rewards for winner and loser. Imagine for an instant a world where everyone in the World Cup got the same trophy, or any sport for that matter. This is New Eden and 'fair' is a folly. Maybe we should give the same amount of SP and ISK to everyone so no ones feelings are hurt [note sarcasm]. While gameplay should provide low level games where players can farm small amounts [30,000-60,000] of ISK whether they win or lose, medium to high rewards should only be awarded to the victor of a match. In addition, salvage should only go to the victors. Dont the defeated flee the battlefield as quickly as possible? One look at the way New Eden is setup as a place where risk is associated with reward [various levels of secure space] shows us that a system like this can not only work, but is similar to what is already in place.

While SP gain should remain the same, its poor form to reward the victorious on the same par with the defeated. There must be a line in the sand that separates winners from losers.We also took a look at some of the issues this might create.

What about the players who will just quit out of matches going badly?
If you know FPS players like we do, this will take place at a staggering rate if ISK rewards are winner specific and matches start going badly. The solution here is simple as well and tied to  'slapping the wrists' of deserters. Implement a 50pt SP penalty for leaving matches early. This won't devastate anyone's clone progression but will serve the purpose of eliminating quitter style behavior. Quit enough and you're regressing.

What about people who lose power or get server kicked?
This is easy. Fortunately the system should be able to tell the difference between getting booted from the server and stuff that can be tracked like 'quit game', 'turn system off' or pressing the power button on your PS3. Once again, Quitters are foiled.
 
What about SP gain?
SP gain is individual performance that should be unaffected. SP is the equivalent of battle experience and should not be less for the loser of a match.

As always, we'll continue to attempt to help push and publish ideas that help establish and grow the Dust 514 community as much as we can. Have any ideas that need sharing? Be sure to contact us at magww@live.com