PK Lite: A Request for Comments
Original Link (now dead) - http://acdm.turbinegames.com/featuredarticles/?action=view&article_id=237
PKLite: A Request for Comments
By Srand
Over the past couple of months, the AC Live team has spent some of our marginal free time discussing the notion of 'PK Lite'. Although this feature has not been a high priority for us, we think that this could be a fun addition to Asheron's Call. And at this point, we believe that we have both a plan and the resources to get a simple form of PK Lite into the game relatively soon. There are, however, a number of limitations to our plan, and many decisions still to be made. So we'd like your input on this matter. This article outlines our current plans and the choices that we want your feedback on.
What Is PK Lite?
PK Lite is essentially PK with different rules. You can think of it as an equivalent system to PK, but wholly separate.
PK stands for Player Killer - to be PK means that you are flagged as a Player Killer. Any PK can attack any other PK at (almost) any time. Player Killers have a lot of special rules - like how and when they can use portals and spells, how jumping and movement works, and what happens to them when they die. In addition, PKs cannot harm Non-Player Killers, and NPKs cannot interfere with PK fights. For instance, an NPK cannot buff a PK player, since that could interfere with a PK fight.
PK Lite is very similar to PK in many ways. To be PKL means that you are flagged as a 'Lite' Player Killer. Any PKL player can attack any other PKL player, and all PKL players operate under special rules. However, those special rules are different for PK Lite than they are for PK. (We'll discuss the difference in the rules below.) The most important fact here is that, like PKs, PKLs cannot harm Non-Player Killers, and NPKs cannot interfere with PKLs.
In fact, because PK Lite is a separate but equal system, the idea of non-interference now goes even further. Player Killers cannot interfere with PK Lite players, and PK Lite players cannot interfere with PKs. The following charts outline which actions are permissible in each situation:
Table 1: Who Can Harm Whom (Attacker)
| Target | Player Killer | PK Lite | Non-Player Killer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player Killer | Yes | No | No |
| PK Lite | No | Yes | No |
| Non-Player Killer | No | No | No |
Table 2: Who Can Help Whom (Caster / Healer)
| Target | Player Killer | PK Lite | Non-Player Killer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player Killer | Yes | No | No |
| PK Lite | No | Yes | No |
| Non-Player Killer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
What is PK Lite NOT?
As important as it is to understand what PK Lite is, it is perhaps even more important to understand what PK Lite is not.
- 1. PK Lite is not a formalized system for one-on-one or many-on-many dueling. Like PK, PK Lite is a free-for-all - all PKLs can attack all other PKLs.
- 2. PK Lite does not provide a secure system for wagering on the outcome of fights.
- 3. PK Lite does not include a system for tracking number of kills, nor does it include any sort of ranking system, nor trophies for kills.
All of these are features that we would one day like to add to Asheron's Call - but they are not features that are currently feasible. It's important to understand this, because after you've read this article we would very much like for you to give us your thoughts on PK Lite. We know that many of you have a great many brilliant ideas about ways that this system can be expanded, but we would ask you to please confine your comments to the outlines that we have laid out below. We know that this system as we have outlined it is feasible for us to accomplish in the near future, and we also know that most of the expansions on the system that fans have shared with us over the past fours years are not feasible for us right now. But even within this outline, there are still a large number of decisions to be made. So please keep your immediate feedback focused on what we can actually accomplish.
Why PK Lite?
Before we get into the details, let's discuss one last topic: What is our goal for PK Lite? Why would we want to add this feature to Asheron's Call?
We believe that PK Lite can allow all sorts of players, even those who normally don't enjoy Player Killing, to experience the excitement and competition of player vs. player combat in a 'safe' context. We want PK Lite to have all the exhilaration of PK,
without the more permanent side effects (like losing your stuff) that can frustrate NPK players and keep them out of PK proper. The goal here is to provide something fun for an allegiance to do on a Sunday afternoon, a party game, a way for friends to test each other's mettle. We are not trying to replace PK in any way - but we are trying to expand the appeal of direct player vs. player combat.
So, what are these special rules for PK Lite, and what decisions remain to be made?
Becoming PK Lite
In order to become a Player Killer, players must find and use an Altar of Bael'Zharon. We could do something similar for PK Lite, but we would prefer to make entering the PK Lite state very easy. The goal here, after all, is to make PK Lite something fun for an allegiance to do while hanging out at the mansion, not a 6-hour epic quest. So our current plans call for a new command - perhaps @pklite or something similar - that immediately changes your status from Non-Player Killer to PKL. It is important to note that this command will not work for Player Killers. It won't even work for Player Killers during that short period after they die when they appear to be NPK.
But what do you think? How should players enter PK Lite?
- By doing a real quest?
- By talking to an NPC in each town?
- By using a command?
- In some other way?
Leaving PK Lite
Similarly, we'd like to make leaving PK Lite quick and easy as well. We do, however, need to avoid situations in which a player attacks another and then immediately leaves PK Lite before the other player can retaliate. There are a couple of possibilities here, but our two favorites are: 1) a command that plays a long animation, similar to @lifestone, during which you are vulnerable to attacks; and 2) a command that can only be used when you have not been involved in a PK Lite battle for at least 20 seconds, similar to the way portaling works for PK players.
In addition, logging out will always reset your status back to NPK. This makes sense because PK Lite, unlike PK, is meant to be a temporary condition.
How should players leave PK Lite?
- By doing a real quest?
- By talking to an NPC in each town?
- By using a command?
- In some other way?
Should logging out while you are PKL set your status back to NPK?
Death Penalties
A PK Lite death is defined as when a PK Lite player is killed and another PKL did at least 50% of the damage. No special rules apply when a PKL dies to a monster (that is, when a monster does most of the damage to the player), but when a player dies in a PKL death, then the special rules kick in. These are the death rules that we are leaning towards at this point:
- 1. The killer gets no experience for the kill.
- 2. The victim does not accrue vitae.
- 3. The victim does not leave a corpse.
- 4. The victim does not drop any items.
- 5. The victim becomes NPK and stays that way until they decide to use the @pklite command again.
Point #3 - leaving a corpse - is pretty negotiable. Not leaving a corpse is a slight savings to the server, but leaving a corpse means that all your friends can see who killed you, and point and laugh.
How do you feel about each of the death rules listed here? Are there other death rules you like that we didn't include?
The Recall Timer, Et Al
Player Killers are subject to a number of special limitations that don't affect Non-Player Killers. These include things like the portal and recall timer - PKs can't portal for 20 seconds after being involved in a PK battle - an extended logoff timer, additional stamina penalties when they jump, and others. Should these limitations also apply to PK Lite? In general, we think so - we'd like the PK Lite combat experience to feel very similar to PK - but this is a question upon which we would especially like your feedback.
Should PK limitations such as portal and recall timers also apply to PK Lite?
An Important Note