Do you want Equality or Balance?
I find that many people seem to have a problem with whether or not an MMO is truly balanced. Many seem to think that balance means that you should be able to defeat any opponent, one on one. However, if you were able to defeat anyone one on one, then you'd make the balance tilt your way. Some believe that balance means that if you fight someone 10 times, you should have won 5 out of those 10 times. My problem with both of these ideas is the fact that when you figure in skills that everyone can put points into, or the actions that they can do, is there really a true way of making a game balanced? You see, the way I see things there is a HUGE difference between having equality ((which tends to be what everyone wants)) and Balance ((which is what everyone says they want.))
Balance means to have a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc
Equality means you have the state or quality of being equal; correspondence in quantity, degree value, rank, or ability.
Whereas these two definitions seem to be the same, I see them as completely different. The reason is actually simple. When balancing you can put Gold on one side and balance it with Silver, or Lead, or Copper. However, if you put Gold on one side, you will have much more silver or copper than you will gold, thus it is not equal.
Now, what does this have to do with an MMO? Well, when you think about it, the way the devs are making this game is with balance in mind, not equality. Is this a bad thing? I don't think it is. All MMOs have Equality in mind when making them. You have both the same classes; skill sets and everything on both side of the game are always equal, regardless of how many spells or skills are named differently.
MMOs who have tried to create a balance without equality, haven't done it well enough to make anyone happy. See SWG for a game that when they tried to get equality the ruined the game. People have always yelled for balance in every MMO ever produced, because no one likes to make a character and find out that the character they've made isn't as good as their friends or worse their enemies. However, aren't MMOs made to fight as groups, rather than as a single player?
The Benefits of the SWTOR system (as I see them).
SWTOR has set out to be the first MMO that has the individual player in mind. They have a lot of experience with single player games. See KOTOR and Mass Effect. Now, when doing a single player game, you can make the person as powerful as you want to during the game process, making it easy or hard for the player, since you know exactly what skills each and every single thing they will face will have. However when working with a MMO you have players facing other players which the development team has no idea what skills each of the players will be using. The variables go up exponentially when you are speaking about how many different skills or stats each person can have, compared to every other person out there.
The benefits of this system is that each and every single player at some point will have enough skill to take out their NPC opponents, meaning when you face someone one on one, you both have the skills and the knowledge of your skills. Each of you has had the same fight to the level you are at, and each of you will be able to use your skills, because you know them well. You may have to change strategies, and you may have to change some of your skills because of your opponents. However, what actually unbalances a game isn't on the shoulders of developers of the game, but upon the shoulders of each one of us.
The players of MMOs cry for balance when its not what they want, if they wanted balance they would work on their own skills instead of whining about others.
People who whine about the balance of the game arent really looking for balance, they are looking for equality. They think that because all they have is copper, or bronze that the other person who has the same weight of gold, should be just as good as them. However this isn't the case. The person who has less gold, but uses it better is always going to be able to take out those who are only using copper or bronze. Its not because the devs gave that player more, but because that player thought out a way of using what the devs gave him/her. Balance is what every player should really want, however Equality is what is being yelled for. Honestly, I'm hoping the devs give us the balance, and forget about making things Equal. I enjoy a challenge, I enjoy the thrill of a game, I love to be able to learn how to defeat an opponent. If you love playing games you probably feel the same way.
SWToR seems to be the first MMO to ever actually give us exactly what we want. A story about an epic character that meets other epic characters and learns as they go. I want balance in the game, but I don't want Equality in the game, I like the idea that my character wont run into a carbon copy of my character on the opposite side ((and may not even run into a carbon copy on the same side)) I can be unique and still enjoy the game. The differences between equality and balance may seem minor, but it truly makes a huge difference in a game.
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Posted 8/12/2009 3:07:05 AMAge of Empires is Equal: every unit has an equivalent on the opposite side, that has the exact same role and does the exact same things. Each side has the same counters to the same units, because they have the exact same units.
Starcraft is Balanced: each of the 3 sides has wildly different units, with differing abilities and roles, but all fit together in ways that make each valuable. No 2 units are the same, but every has a counter. A bit like Rock Paper Scissors.
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Posted 8/12/2009 1:22:34 AMWhen I think of balance, I think of skill classes versus faceroll classes (I'm talking high end pvp here, not noobs in shit gear). The best example of skill classes (using WoW as an examlple) would be Frost Mage and Rogue - both classes have the skills available to defeat almost any class, but the player's skill has to be high enough to do so - Neither class can just stand there and spam a button and expect to be successful.
A faceroll class is just the opposite. This is a class that just spams the same two buttons until the enemy is dead - these classes need no utility, and no strategy - the amount of knowledge about the class needed to be successful is also next to zero. They run in, you die, the end.
My idea of making balance is making all classes "skilled" classes. So... In a way, I guess I am for equality.
That being said, I apologize if I am way off target here. I had to seriously stop myself from posting "TLDR."
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Posted 8/11/2009 10:47:45 PM- View User Profile
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Posted 8/11/2009 10:24:23 PM