Invitation to Play

[paxx]

Based on limitations of CPU resources and bandwidth, a few of the devs have been toying with the idea of making this game ?by invitation only?.

I was wondering if any of you had any ideas on what criteria, we might use to grant invitations.

This in reality would provide a couple of good things, make sure the game always runs smoothly, and allow us to enforce bans.

Making sure that the community and the play quality is the best possible.

The question I have is if we go this route?what would qualify people for invitations?

What type of people would be cool to play in this type of game with, and how do we figure out who those people are?

>>>>to clear up a point<<<<

This will probably first be tried in beta, it will also test our encryption and banning system, while we have made up a list of probable candidates from this forum, we will also want to keep it open to new devs.  

This will also give us some good indicators of the amount of support needed for players, and where changes we need to make to various things, like user interface, the experience system, what needs to be in the player instructions?what skills are overpowering, what loads the test server can deal with?and a slew of other factors.

If we do this for final release will also depend on the outcome of this, but for now this seems like the best option for testing.

[Cyonamie]

maybe the first 1000 people that actually have role played or something, maybe just hte first 1000, or 500, i dont know

[TheGeneral]

WOW, WOW, cyo, i do not like the idea of first come first serve, first of all, how would they figure out who came first, and who did not. If you are thinking about doing it from these boards, like the first 1000 ppl to register, that won\'t work, since many do not register, but only read the boards, i know, i have do so myslef on many ocations.
I think they should pick, if this will happen, based on how the ppl get along with the community, and their actions and behaviors towards others, like on these boards for example. Someone who generaly contributes to the discuttions, and gets along with others would definatly make for a great addition, since the game is a MMORPG, and getting along with others is the key.
Than there is always the matter of system req. it should def be considered, since it will be what makes for a lag free, smoth running game.
I am sure there are other specs that could, and should be looked at. But those are what I think are the main.

[kyalin]

Ok, first of all, i think it really depends on how many people it can take, but i do think its a good idea if it could work, because theyre are not many good free mmorpgs, so a lot of people will want to play, including a lot of people who will not be wanted.  I think we should aim for the people who will role play, and will respect all the rules.  This would make the game a lot more fun for the people who do qualify for it, but theyre would be a lot of people not very happy about this.  Thats just my opinion

[Link]

The game isnt gonna make it to 1000 players anyways why are we talking about it

[boonet]

Actually, a first informal list of the coolest persons on the forums has been compiled. What we miss is just a few positions to be filled. Some candidates are running up for it, but they haven\'t been completely scrutinized.

[AendarCallenlasse]

Awwww man I hope they don\'t go for the whole getting along with others..... *doesn\'t think he gets along with many here at the PS forums.....though thats only the spammers and all :S *

[YanRK]

Does anyone know what the demand for the game is like at the moment?

[Kada-El]

I think it is a good idea to go down this route, definately for testing, as yet I\'m undecided on the \'final\' realease though - like you said it will maximise the quality of gaming and also maximise and concentrate the feedback you as developers receive. We have all experienced what goes wrong when a game is \'open play\' and this is indeed a sure fire way of controlling it, but it is also a shame to keep PS from the masses.

In the fairly recent past I applied to test for the beta of Star Wars Galaxies (failed for now lol), they are using a similar system of closed gaming just for their beta tests.
Perhaps you could use a similar application system for testing, by way of a simple questionnaire, things asked could include:

- system specs - you will probably want to see a range of performances
- age - again probably good from a development point of view to have selection of ages
- brief history - i.e. of gaming/roleplay
- reason for applying

Things like that anyway. At least with a form you will only get people who really want to be a part, and you will be able to relate people\'s feedback to their age, sex, comp spec etc. You yourselves know how people behave on the forum so can bring this into the equation too.

Or maybe scrap all that and go for a system of \'core\' players who can then nominate and vote for new members.

Just my first thoughts anyway

BTW Aendar, you get along fine here, don\'t worry - besides even in a closed environment, the whole good vs evil thing will be needed I do miss the good Aendar though.

[Golbez]

The General has a point too. System specs should also be considered when choosing the invited players. Those who, besides having a good reputation, also possess a decent computer might be included in a primary invitation list, followed then by those with good reputation but whose computers barely make the minimum requirements or do not make them at all.

This is not to discriminate those with lower end computers, but to make the testing much more efficient. I for one do not make the minimum requirements, but I am willing to accept people with better computers taking my spot (in case I\'m on the list )

Now, this system will make it harder for newcomers to test the game and give their opinions about the game. Also, there are probably a lot of good gamers out there that simply do not enjoy posting in a forum (or in this forum), and thus remain unknown to the majority of people.

[Princess Aelya]

this could work. heres another idea of how you culd do this. select a number of people to play based on how well they get along and how well they roleplay,and as golbez said system req\'s are also important.after that the players could be apart of inviting people. a player could pick a friend he/she thinks would do well and enjoy the game. that friend would then fill out some kind of application. included in the application would be something that asks who refered you to the game. after the application is sent the devs or whoever happens to be in charge of that stuff could contact the player and verify that they refered so and so to the game.if the player varifies it then it will be the devs decision whether or not to accept the person based on their application.

dont listen to kada...the evil aendar is way more interesting

[Gion]

I think with a free game , and not allot of money for servers etc. this system is needed.

I am sure there are really cool people who like PS but dont post allot on the forum etc. but you cant think of everyone. That isnt possible.

I dont have any new ideas for this system, most have been sayed now i gues.

Wait , maybe some of trial, lets say a person can play for period x , and if he doesnt behave , or isnt that active he could make place for some other dude.

How many people where you thinking of ?


Gion.

[Tomaseth]

I respect this decision. A lot of very good points have been made in this thread. With limited resources it IS a good idea to only allow a certain ammount of people, especially during beta.

Some qualifications could be:

1) How much time people can commit to the game.

2) It shouldn\'t necessarily be based on how often someone posts in the forum but maybe the quality of what they do post.

3) Experience in roleplaying as mentioned.

I don\'t think age should be a factor in deciding. You can have great roleplayers at any age. I think what general says make sense, how the person gets along with others.

Questions I have

1) What have you guys based the player selection list so far?

2) How many people will be able to play with the current resources you have?

[tcd12642]

Well yes I agree with tomaseth, but is this because of limitations of the server? Rune***** servers can hold like 1200 people, and they have like 13...but that\'s not the point, sorry.

[Funhouse]

I think that it would be a shame to have to turn this game into something of a \"private\" game, but with the way the game is being created it may proove to be necessairy.

If you are really looking for an encompassing role playing experience then system specs shouldn\'t really factor into the decision too heavily, you should look at the way that people behave and present themselves.

But if you are looking for a fast and smooth gaming experience, then system specs are really the most important thing.

I think the limiting people should really be a last resort option.  You should at least try it open to anyone for a period and then if the server cant handle the traffic, make the decision.