Jail System - Ideas for bringing it back

Leiloni Profile Options #1

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Leiloni Lvl.60
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TL;DR - I posted this in the old forums and Google found it for me (yay). There had been a thread about the Jail System (which for those new here has been taken out of the game). Although we never really had any info on the jail system, I had posted thoughts on ways to make it work. I think done right, it could be really cool.

And I know this is the PvP forums but General Discussion moves too fast and there are enough similar posts here that I think (hope) I'd get some responses from you guys. So here you go! It's not like you can play TERA tonight anyway so please read the whole thing! :)

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I think the jail system is an interesting and new idea so I'd like them to give it a fresh look before giving up on it, but not at the expense of the release date. If it needs to be added in a later patch that's fine.

Although one thing they could do to make it more fair would be to create a "council" of maybe 5 people that get elected via popular vote (regardless of whether the Vanarch was elected or battled into power). They work with the Vanarch to judge whether or not he can put a person in jail, or they can vote amongst themselves to put a person in jail that the Vanarch has rejected (i.e. if the Vanarch's best buddy is being an a**, they can choose to put that guy in jail whereas the Vanarch never would). If the server isn't happy with how the Council is doing, they can elect them out every two weeks.

Another idea I saw from another poster I thought was great:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cynthric View Post
*yawn* A arguement based on a system we have little to no knowledge of. Seeing as EME said they wouldn't implement it unless it could be made fun all logic points to it not being "just sitting in jail" if it's implemented.

The point of being thrown in jail could be more of something to seperate a player who's harassing someone from their victim giving the victim some breathing room. So what do you do to do that? Make being thrown into prison into a break out of jail scenario dungeon that's a little time consuming. Think something along the lines of those breaking out of prison scenarios in the Fable games.

They could make it as detailed as those where you do a little forced labor where you've been stripped of your equipment then sneak around during breaks stealing keys etc. to get your equipment back, fighting your way through the guards and having to defeat a giant monster "guard" in the end.

Could make it a giant complex maze/labyrinth that the player has to figure their way out of, maybe fill it up with puzzle gameplay and traps, maybe a few trap switches that release/spawn a few monsters and have a big powerful monster "guard" that wanders the maze/labyrinth having the option to avoid it or fight it. Maybe you could meet up with other imprisoned players or npcs and team up to escape.

So many things could be done with the system to make it fun. Don't just throw the possibilities away thinking of the worst possible scenario. Instead of trying to throw away possible new original content why not throw some ideas at them? Maybe you could come up with something fun. Maybe they could even take multiple ideas for it if they're all different enough and implement them all as different jail scenarios for each of the different provinces.

To add on to that, the player could have several options to get out of jail. Wait it out and get out once the full time has been paid, do the above PvE stuff to get out, or (if the Vanarch chooses this as an option), battle the Vanarch.

All players would know who was put in jail and why so they can decide if they think it's fair or not and vote out any Vanarch or Council members that are abusing their power. This knowledge also lets the players decide how to treat the jailed player (if they care at all) once their out - i.e. they can choose to not buy their auctions, PvP them open world, simply put them on the ignore list, whatever. If they go over the line well then they'll get put in jail probably too.

Just some thoughts. I think there's just so much possibility and it'd be so unique for a game to have this. It could be a lot of fun but also another way to keep the community in check.

A lot of players have voiced concerns over one person having a lot of power, but the Council would keep the Vanarch in check. Some people are concerned about paying $15 a month to be put in jail and not play, but in my opinion, if you were put in jail then a lot of people think you're doing something wrong and from their end, they're paying $15 a month for you to ruin their gaming experience. Another concern I saw was the below:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Arysana View Post
We already have to deal with trolls in chat and on forums (and in real life), what are we going to do throw all the trolls in prison and hope they all get frustrated and go away? what if the Trolls start throwing people in prison just to troll? if these questions are still an issue then there is no point further discussing this particular portion of content and certainly there is no reason to delay a game's release date over it.

Sure, if they get voted into jail by the Council and Vanarch, then they go to jail. If they repeatedly commit some offense (maybe everyone is just that tired of their trolling, I dunno), they they keep going to jail. If people think that person shouldn't be in jail then mount a campaign to push the Council members and Vanarch out of jail - i.e. the troll gets friends together. This ties into the political system as well. As for the troll (or whoever the guy is that gets put in jail) putting people in jail, he'd have to earn the Vanarch position or a Council member position. So not only would other people have to like him to elect him as Vanarch or Council (or he could just win Vanarch by PvP), they'd have to agree with him in order to put anyone in jail.

So the system, on both ends - the jailors and the jailees - is not controlled by one person. It's always controlled by the majority. And I think each server community will treat things differently and have different cultures. Some servers will not mind trolls or gankers, some will. Some will get really serious about ninja looters and botters, some servers won't care. So find a community you like and stick with it.
Leiloni Profile Options #2

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Leiloni Lvl.60
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I know the ideas have some holes but it's just a start!
coma Profile Options #3

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You guys can do whatever you want to do on your PvE servers, but this will never fly on a PvP server.

In short.... NO.
Leiloni Profile Options #4

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Leiloni Lvl.60
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Well it's like the political system - it's what you make it. The vanarch can jail people for whatever he wants. It could have nothing to do with PvPing at all and I think a lot of the time it won't. But if you want to ensure that your server is an FFA do whatever you want zone, elect a vanarch who won't put you in jail for it. As for the getting out of jail part, my idea was to have 3 choices for different players - a PvP choice, a PvE choice, and a choice for the lazy man.

But come on give me feedback more than just NO lol. I want specifics!
Shentau Profile Options #5

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Shen Lvl.60
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I'll put it as bluntly as I can. If someone can put me in jail in a game I pay for that's not a GM, I'll find a new game. I don't care if I can "vote him out in two weeks" or however long it is. In the time I play the game, I want to be able to play.
Saieno Profile Options #6

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Leiloni I completely agree with you and really like your post. Ignore Coma, apparently he's in one and can't think straight.

The jail system is unique and could really be fleshed out to be a fun experience. I like the maze/dungeon aspect, you could also make it an arena/colosseum experience. There can also be more casual systems, such as warrents for arrests that deem someone be placed in jail once caught instead of just throwing them in. This would allow for PVP and PVE servers to enjoy a similar experience.

The jail system has a ton of potential to be fun and exciting, and my own personal vision of it reminds me of the death system in Materia Magica; a MUD I played for many years. If you were any race aside from Sidhe or Fey (who went to the farey realm) you would find yourself in the Ethereal Void as a shade upon death for 10 minutes. If someone wasn't available to resurrect or you didn't want to wait that long, it was possible to get returned to the mortal world early by seeking out a copper door in the Ethereal Void. Behind this strange door was a maze, and within that maze lived a Hermit. If you could find your way through the maze in time (it changed often) the Hermit would restore you early. However, if you were unfortunate enough to get trapped alive in the maze, the Hermit would return you to the physical plane unharmed (if you made it to him alive anyway).

But that wasn't the option you had within the Ethereal Void as a shade. As a shade you're given three vials of unholy water, which when drunk, would teleport you someplace randomly in the world, oftentimes someplace you may not have been able to get to as a mortal. You couldn't pick up anything, but you could look around and take note of the locations.

Just because you were a shade didn't mean you were immortal, however. While you were unable to enter into combat with most creatures, a select few of them would be able to attack you on sight. An interesting effect though is that your mere presence in an area would be enough to strike fear into the hearts of those around, so you could frightening people, but it was a better idea to haunt lonely, desolate places. If you were killed as a spirit, you would be sent back to the Ethereal Plane, and more time would be added to the amount remaining until you regained your physical body once more.

The system was fun and interesting and never felt like a reason to stop playing, and I believe En Masse and BlueHole can come up with a system that is unique and fun for everyone.
Saieno Profile Options #7

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Please forgive the double post, but I meant to say "But that wasn't the only option you had within the Ethereal Void as a shade."
coma Profile Options #8

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Shentau on 2012-02-10 04:28:09 UTC
I'll put it as bluntly as I can. If someone can put me in jail in a game I pay for that's not a GM, I'll find a new game. I don't care if I can "vote him out in two weeks" or however long it is. In the time I play the game, I want to be able to play.


I'm with you. Put me in jail for cursing, dancing, pvping or whatever the fck YOU think I did wrong, and you can shove this game up your azz. Plain and simple.
Leiloni Profile Options #9

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Leiloni Lvl.60
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Saieno on 2012-02-10 04:46:21 UTC
Leiloni I completely agree with you and really like your post. Ignore Coma, apparently he's in one and can't think straight.

The jail system is unique and could really be fleshed out to be a fun experience. I like the maze/dungeon aspect, you could also make it an arena/colosseum experience. There can also be more casual systems, such as warrents for arrests that deem someone be placed in jail once caught instead of just throwing them in. This would allow for PVP and PVE servers to enjoy a similar experience.


I really like the warrant idea and I think on PvP servers could be a ton of fun. Say there's a Warrant Board in town that gives you a quest to hunt the person(s) for whom there's warrants out for. You go out into the world to find them and kill them. But they might not even be alone - they might be running around with a group of buddies all bent on protecting this one guy. So now you gotta find a group of buddies as well and go find them again. Could get some fun stuff going!
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Leiloni on 2012-02-10 04:57:53 UTC
I really like the warrant idea and I think on PvP servers could be a ton of fun. Say there's a Warrant Board in town that gives you a quest to hunt the person(s) for whom there's warrants out for. You go out into the world to find them and kill them. But they might not even be alone - they might be running around with a group of buddies all bent on protecting this one guy. So now you gotta find a group of buddies as well and go find them again. Could get some fun stuff going!


Exactly! Think of it like the Assassins Creed Brotherhood/Revelations multiplayer mode where you have the hunter and the hunted. You have a target, obviously not an arrow leading you towards them but perhaps an ability with a 5-10min cooldpwn that will give you the last outpost area they were seen in. As the hunted you'll see who all is hunting you and what you're worth. Obviously you could just log out, but really when you're captured (if you choose to be) then you can undergo those fun 'mini games' to get out of jail.

Really could be a fun system.