Post by scottk on Jan 19, 2014 8:44:22 GMT
Hello everyone. I'd like to start this by saying I have been having quite a bit of fun playing Beyond the Aether. It has been one of the more enjoyable LARP games I have played in quite some time. That being said, I have some thoughts I'd like to share regarding the most current update that has been put out regarding the Victory Conditions.
I will warn you, this is not going to be pretty.
When I first saw the listing of the Victory conditions - my thought was that Paul no longer wishes to run this game.
The game was first introduced as a Faction game where we are contending over the area of Elseborn and control of the world in general. We have faction goals, we know that trade, alliances, war, and other unkowns will contribute to overall 'victory.' And we knew the game would eventually end - though it was predicted a roughly 5 year lifespan.
We were thrust into a world not knowing much, and that was part of the game. Coming up with theories regarding the Fae, what has come before, and what other factions are doing was part of the fun. Pushing the boundaries and groping around in the dark towards some goal was the setting as I was to understand it. We did not know immediately that Void was how fae were killed, nor how portals work or the resurrections in the cauldron.
So people progressed as best they knew, doing missions, some trade, or working towards personal stories. Deals were made to help on missions for smaller groups, good will was earned and given back for other interests. High Tea became a common thing. We have been working towards unifying as a colony because this is what the players wanted, with some occasional snipping or faction friction thrown in.
I pictured this game eventually resolving something like Civ - someone eventually meets the secret goals and gets the Economic victory, the Technology victory, or the Story Victory. We figure out how to make a portal back to Earth. We break the cycle of people turning into Fae. We kill off the Principle Fae and become masters of our own Destiny. We stop the Grim from attacking anymore. Something.
3 years from now when it's done, we have a wrap up party - the reveal of the score and who 'won' and why. Little wrap up of how the world is effected. Swap stories about how we screwed each other or did something awesome, and that's that. Big reveal on the history, why things went a certain way, and how close our guesses actually were.
We now have none of that. By revealing the 'scoring' system, this game changes and none for the better. There has been a push by some of the Storyteller staff to fit the 'vision' of the game. That is conflict. But conflict seems to be only measured in War.
So since the player base is not reacting how the 'vision' dictates, we get this shoved on us. And in one swoop, our LARP roleplaying game degenerates into a game of Risk. Playing with points to maximize the odds of winning.
Win 7 games and you win the overall game. Not 5 years, not long term....We could 'end' the game in 3-4 games.
By revealing the scoring system and how to win, it trivializes anyone who's worked on things that are not scored. Time with the Fae? Screw it. Looking into the history? Nope, nothing. Personal back story and goals? That's nice.
At this point, all you need is numbers in your faction and there isn't much people can do about it.
I'm going to pick on the Britanians now - just cause they have a lot of people. They got 8 members.
So next game, they put in a philosophy that says "Britanians are Awsome". All 8 sign in and throw in their tags. Yay they just scored 64 pts.
Each member throws 4 developments into Empire whatever scripts. Another 32 points.
That's 96 points scored for a game without having to go on missions, play with economics. Do nothing except sip tea and chat.
How do you stop this? You do the same damn thing. Each game will be 7 philosophies that basically say "My nation is cool." Just to score points.
Everyone who took skill in a principle outside of their nations is screwed for making new scripts. Cause developing anything other than scripts for your Nation is helping the other factions.
There is no reason to help other factions on missions anymore. Let them fail and score less points.
And if we actually decide to declare war? Let me explain to you how that is going to go down.
The Workers and the Britanians will load up, go to each faction in a group and say "Join us or die." Either your player base will jump faction or we will Murder them repeatedly. We will take all their equipment and specifically their War cards. We then will strip them of all their territories and continue to kill them. There is no 'law' besides what we make. There is no agency that will step in to stop it.
That is what a flat out war will look like. A group of players sending some other group to the cauldron over and over and over again.
I understand it's a factional game and that there is going to be a winner at some time. But how that winner is determined should NEVER have been revealed to the public. By doing so, you trivialize the game down to doing actions that will garner me the most points. Screw RP, screw history or personal interactions. If you want to win, you must do this.
If you don't want to win, please - RP with the Fae, chat nicely in the inn, and watch the rest of the game degenerate into flames.
The game is now about numbers and what can be done to garner points. I can get that at home playing a board game for a few hours. I do not spend 80 dollars and my weekend to do so.
Scott Kerekes
Aka Markus Coal
