Spades Felligan
07-05-2008, 06:07 PM
Looks like a new Face of Mankind. Which I must commend, FoM was a very fun and awesome game in beta, then it sucked. I was apart of a corrupt gang of LED policemen that extorted drug-dealers, brokered deals with criminals, sprung convicted players free from prison, and were generally mean to civilians. There was a lot of internal politics as well in FoM organizations. However, WELL appears to have levels, FoM didn't, it had ranks which an player would be promoted by his superiors.
Some highlights:
On PvP:
In W.E.L.L. Online this control works as follows. Any killing automatically creates an evidence-object visible only to expert detectives. Jointly with the police they can catch the criminals, and if the latter's guilt is proven, they will spend some time in penal labor, shifting rocks. Players who kill by the rules (i.e. within framework of their organizations' quests) are not penalized by the detectives or the police. Thus, anyone willing to pit their martial skills against another player by the rules is free to do that, while thugs not accustomed to fair play will shift rocks in prison camps.
On the other hand, organizations are subjects to certain limitations which make it much more interesting. If a hit man is caught while committing a crime not related to his organization's contract (quest), he can be expelled from the organization, demoted, penalized etc. An unlicensed killer is not subject to these risks. But he is more vulnerable to the law: professionals who are organization members might be defended by the Mob, but no one will defend a rogue. Basically, everything has an upside and downside, an action and reaction, results and consequences. Some are immediate and others take time, but you will eventually see and feel the results of your decisions and choices – just like in real life.
Organizations:
Our players get together based not on their territory but on their interests. W.E.L.L. includes several alternative types of organizations. Do you want to combat crime? You are welcome to become a private detective or a cop. Do you want to guard the borders of your realm against the enemy? Join the border guards. Do you want to become a famous robber? Get the Mob's permission and rob away! Do you want to attack your neighbors? Join the troops, raid the enemy's territory and fight the border guards. And if you want to become a successful businessman – join a commercial company and climb the corporate ladder.
Each player can get promoted within his or her organization type, reaching a high professional level and gaining public recognition. For this purpose there are honorary titles and other ways to become distinguished. The player is free to choose their way to advance and succeed. And if you do not like your chosen organization and its members, you can easily move to another one or even create one of your own.
Character development:
Ask any MMORPG expert what the main weakness is of his or her favorite game type and the answer you get often equates to: anticipation of happiness is almost always better than the happiness itself. In other words, the hardest period is when you reach the highest level and you have basically nothing to aspire to after that.
What can you do when your character's leveling reaches the limit? Kill other characters; visit other cool places; go to other dungeons; slay dragons; win cool stuff which you eventually need in order to visit cool places, go to dungeons, etc.. In other words, it is a vicious circle, and game developers don't provide a way out and you cannot break it even when you become skilled beyond your wildest dreams. Sounds familiar?
W.E.L.L. Online is built on an entirely different principle. Unlike the usual MMORPG's where most of the time is spent on leveling your character, in our case it happens VERY VERY QUICKLY. But after that a whole endless range of possibilities open up to you.
Website (http://wellonline.com)
Criminal Codex (http://wellonline.com/history/criminal/)
Read the Codex, it's quite interesting and very, very similar to FoM. "Submit to a PP check!"
"Fuck u, coppers!'
"Tase him, boys!'
"OMGWTF I report-" BZZT
If I ever play this, I intend to be a cop like I was in FoM, and lord and abuse my power over civilian players. They hated me and my pals, but they feared me.
Some highlights:
On PvP:
In W.E.L.L. Online this control works as follows. Any killing automatically creates an evidence-object visible only to expert detectives. Jointly with the police they can catch the criminals, and if the latter's guilt is proven, they will spend some time in penal labor, shifting rocks. Players who kill by the rules (i.e. within framework of their organizations' quests) are not penalized by the detectives or the police. Thus, anyone willing to pit their martial skills against another player by the rules is free to do that, while thugs not accustomed to fair play will shift rocks in prison camps.
On the other hand, organizations are subjects to certain limitations which make it much more interesting. If a hit man is caught while committing a crime not related to his organization's contract (quest), he can be expelled from the organization, demoted, penalized etc. An unlicensed killer is not subject to these risks. But he is more vulnerable to the law: professionals who are organization members might be defended by the Mob, but no one will defend a rogue. Basically, everything has an upside and downside, an action and reaction, results and consequences. Some are immediate and others take time, but you will eventually see and feel the results of your decisions and choices – just like in real life.
Organizations:
Our players get together based not on their territory but on their interests. W.E.L.L. includes several alternative types of organizations. Do you want to combat crime? You are welcome to become a private detective or a cop. Do you want to guard the borders of your realm against the enemy? Join the border guards. Do you want to become a famous robber? Get the Mob's permission and rob away! Do you want to attack your neighbors? Join the troops, raid the enemy's territory and fight the border guards. And if you want to become a successful businessman – join a commercial company and climb the corporate ladder.
Each player can get promoted within his or her organization type, reaching a high professional level and gaining public recognition. For this purpose there are honorary titles and other ways to become distinguished. The player is free to choose their way to advance and succeed. And if you do not like your chosen organization and its members, you can easily move to another one or even create one of your own.
Character development:
Ask any MMORPG expert what the main weakness is of his or her favorite game type and the answer you get often equates to: anticipation of happiness is almost always better than the happiness itself. In other words, the hardest period is when you reach the highest level and you have basically nothing to aspire to after that.
What can you do when your character's leveling reaches the limit? Kill other characters; visit other cool places; go to other dungeons; slay dragons; win cool stuff which you eventually need in order to visit cool places, go to dungeons, etc.. In other words, it is a vicious circle, and game developers don't provide a way out and you cannot break it even when you become skilled beyond your wildest dreams. Sounds familiar?
W.E.L.L. Online is built on an entirely different principle. Unlike the usual MMORPG's where most of the time is spent on leveling your character, in our case it happens VERY VERY QUICKLY. But after that a whole endless range of possibilities open up to you.
Website (http://wellonline.com)
Criminal Codex (http://wellonline.com/history/criminal/)
Read the Codex, it's quite interesting and very, very similar to FoM. "Submit to a PP check!"
"Fuck u, coppers!'
"Tase him, boys!'
"OMGWTF I report-" BZZT
If I ever play this, I intend to be a cop like I was in FoM, and lord and abuse my power over civilian players. They hated me and my pals, but they feared me.