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Over XP yet again  XML
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Sascha Lecours



Joined: 2003.10.24 00:00:00
Messages: 446
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I'd like to reopen the discussion of the over-xp penalty being reduced, as was discussed in another thread on this board, to a finite amount. Once again a diamond helmet has wiped out one of my characters, and it's really not adding to my enjoyment of the game... I just thought it would be a good way to make a dent in my 5000 xp requirement, and ended up at -1026 (of course I remembered afterward that it's saturday ; ) nevertheless, this character now has little hope of seeing level 15, because as I understand it the penalty I've just incurred is only going to multiply itself every level. Seriously, how about setting a maximum by which a character can go over-xp? I thought Mark had a good solution in his last post on the other thread - is anyone else interested in having it implemented when there's time?
Mark Phillips


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Joined: 1969.12.31 00:00:00
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Location: Watsonville, CA
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To tell you the truth I've never understood the concept of an over-xp 'penalty'. The fact that you went over by 1026 simply means your next level will cost an additional 256 exp more than it would have. The one after that will cost 320 more. The one after that will be an extra 400. And so on. It's pretty tough for me to reconcile the triviality of these quanties to the idea of a 'penalty'.

Strategically all this really means, it seems to me, is that you want to keep an eye on your exp and level pretty quickly after reaching 0-exp-to-level. That is, unlike some MUDs, you don't want to go on long 'campaigns' where you go a million beyond 0-exp-to-level and then gain twelve levels at a go. Instead you want to gain them one level at a time. I've always kinda felt like the folks who were insisting on reaching 0-exp-to-level exactly were being pendantic. I certainly wouldn't worry about it, personally.

So anyway. Is this really that big a concern to everyone?

I don't mean to sound snippy! I'm just kinda confused by this.

--Mark

Bartle quotiet: E80, A67, S47, K7. TriadCity characters: Mark, Poobah, Occam, Abelard.
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Sascha Lecours



Joined: 2003.10.24 00:00:00
Messages: 446
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Oh! Well, I'm inclined to agree with your assessment - I have the wrong formula for what that extra xp will cost me, and had been expecting something much worse. Still, how about retooling it so that the player has a large amount of extra xp to gain at their next level, and then no extra (from that over-xp) at the levels afer that point? It does feel nice to get rid of a penalty entirely. But anyway, you're right to think that I might have been overreacting - I was expecting an extra 1026 next level, and the 2052, and then 4104, and so on... thanks for clearing it up!
Mark Phillips


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Joined: 1969.12.31 00:00:00
Messages: 2199
Location: Watsonville, CA
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I'm responsible for the confusion because I haven't explained it in detail before. My mistake. I've been trying to encourage people to keep an eye on their exp-to-level but I think I ended up making y'all paranoid about it!

Anyway exp-to-next-level increases at each new level by (total exp / 4).

So there is a cumulative increase for going over, but it's only 1/4 of the overage compounded by your future levels. If you're over by a million it's a big deal but I think a few hundred or a thousand isn't enough to stop the happy development of your character.

My apologies for keeping this all in the dark! I think I gave everybody a nervous breakdown for no good reason.

--Mark

Bartle quotiet: E80, A67, S47, K7. TriadCity characters: Mark, Poobah, Occam, Abelard.
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Mark Phillips


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Joined: 1969.12.31 00:00:00
Messages: 2199
Location: Watsonville, CA
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P.S., maybe steering clear of those diamond helmets is a good idea for characters under level 20 or so! They seem to be doing more harm than good.

Bartle quotiet: E80, A67, S47, K7. TriadCity characters: Mark, Poobah, Occam, Abelard.
[Email] [WWW]
Sascha Lecours



Joined: 2003.10.24 00:00:00
Messages: 446
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Tell that to my gambling addiction! *begins muttering* If only it wasn't saturday... I woulda won big... double or nothing... find a loan shark... *wanders off*
 
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