(This is an idea directly written down, with little to no review beforehand)
Albion Online does not feel like a living world.
The reason for that is a game mechanic to prevent abundance of resources. But the system in itself presents a burden to the whole game world, if not perfectly balanced.
–> Natural resources -if gathered- dissappear and leave behind a static map without interaction. This means, that the more gatherers there are, the less resources the average player will find in the world.
If you do not wish to pvp or pve mainly, gathering is a thing, that most players will take up. You go out, you find something, you take it with you and profit. Fastest way to please a player. Same thing with mobs and silver.
So nearly every player will gather at least one resource type.
Most of the play time is consumed by walking through zones. The actual gathering work is quite short in this build, hence putting almost all interaction to traveling. Skinners may have more fighting to do. In my opinion, the general problem does lie within the forced barrier, which is the algorythm behind spawning rates. In an attempt to change the main problem, an idea emerged, which i want to discuss with you all here:
What if the world had abundant resources?
Imagine maps full of resources, which would only slowly disappear. You would have a more realistic world to play in and could always gather, what you want and when you want.
With this change, we would need to adjust some things in oder to maintain a healthy economy:
– normal resources would have 10000+ units, less small resource spots, but bigger chunks
– rare resources would be even more rare and can sometimes be found in normal resources through minigames
– gathering skill would determine, how many units you will yield per try
– crafting would demand way more resources
– gathering time needs to be balanced
– minigames can be implemented
– multiple players can gather at the same resource
– gathering skill would have an exhaustion rate connected to it, so that an inexperienced gatherer may only work for 5-10 min (100-200 resources)
– exhaustion rate would be the new gating mechanic (part 1)
– resources, that are depleted, would use the spawning algorythm (gating mechanic part 2), but only to switch the position of the new spawns and not to keep spawns form happening
What would change?
–> you would gather at certain spots for a longer time, maybe do some minigames, to increase your yield, reduce your stamina consumption or find more rare loot
–> maps would overall look more rich in resources and you could always find something to gather
–> crafters would need more resources to craft, to balance out the new amount of incoming resources. They can also get minigames to reduce the amount of resources needed, to increase quality or fame gained.
–> exhaustion rate as a new way to regulate overusage:
Gathering skill, equipment and/or food determine your stamina while gathering. A pure gatherer, specialized in gathering one resource, would have a good amount of stamina, to work hours after hours, if he/she so desires.
Equipment durability will be more important than before, as you would be able to completely destroy your tool through gathering (because you can actually gather until your tool breaks).
Minigames can occur, which challenge the player to do his/her best, to gain a bonus. You could even find rare resources through these games.
The longer a player stays at one resource spot, the lower the chance of the outcome (minigames, loot). That way, it would be desireable to switch locations more often.
Rare resources would mainly come from players, who are good at minigames. Skilled gatherers would make a profit out of their ability to gather + their knowledge of hidden rare spots in the world (maybe gatherer faction trinket, which reveals some spots only to you?)
The stamina would refill over time (needs to be balanced well), so that you should always be able to gather, if it is your main way of playing. Gatherer Factions could also offer some sort of special massage/food etc., to help you regain a portion of your stamina, but you would need to pay in resources. That way, you could keep progressing at the cost of your own silver profit, or decide to make money and maybe go monster hunting, while you recharge your gathering stamina (after hours! of gathering).
Goal:
Endless possibilities; nearly endless resources, specialized gatheres heavily needed to get rare materials, always interaction for your main play style, traveling is still rewarding, casual players can progress more easily, hardcore pvp players may turn into gatherers and crafters. No more empty lands, no more boring travel time forced uppon you, if you just want to gather.
Great usage for minigames.
That’s it for now.
Exception:
Skinners profit from killing mobs (fame) and getting their loot (gathering). Animals could also get increased resource units, but in line to their proportion (100-500, whereas a big ore rock could hold 10.000)
Albion Online Silver, Albion Online Gold 