Low Maintenance Systems to Re Incentive Activity Perpetually

[Esty]

Hi, I am Esty and I have been quite involved with Nin Online community as a leader figure within one of the main factions of the game, with time I was able to tell what keeps an active player base of games of the nature of Pirate Souls. 


Players that play games related to the genre of MMORPG pvp oriented like this, seek the unique interactions players can provide that impact the world around them, they aim for a sense of belonging to share their time with others and take their factions to untold heights within the PVP margins of the game. Those players may also take in extraneous hours to farm their desired item or grind out something that makes them stand out, but this also applies to content related to factions, if a faction has a way to stand out above another, they will consume said content religiously. Thus the main goal should be to implement systems that incentivize competition and a sense of belonging to every faction within the game. The more polished and unique each faction is the yield results will be exponentially better, for example, a good design for their HQ, a good concept around it, distinctive ways to play the game like a unique PVP mastery adhered to that faction, or unique missions. 


With this said I will explain multiple ideas specific to many concepts that not only are easier to implement than regular content but also re-cycle activity at the same time, all of them are somewhat related to each other and connected, the more of these concepts are properly applied the better the results will be. (note all these ideas are better applied by the creator when he adapts them to realistic standards or modifies them to something more convenient, they are meant to give a base idea and guide the future of pirate souls)


Faction Polishment:
Current factions in Pirate Souls are in a state of "beta" which means we are only a bunch of newbie marines and pirates that have our small HQ in the current island we start to play, but just like one piece things get real once we pass a certain threshold, and after that we may be able to see the real Marine Base, and the Real Pirate base. (May recommend implementing a graphic overhaul and base replacement after the ship system is implemented.)


Now an easier change would be, a proper ranking system within Marine factions, Admirals need to be rotated and any marine promos could be hosted by the community with GM intervention. Ex Admirals could be promoted to Commanders, there is an actual one piece ranking marine system to get reference on https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Marine_Ranks. 

Admirals are chosen within a term of 6 months, new admirals will have the opportunity to promote the new marine player base after a certain period of time where GMs allow them to host marine promotions which may include rear admiral, vice admiral. Ex Admirals may become Commanders after they serve their term just like in one piece. 

Current Admirals: Final Ladder of Leadership Exiles, Jails, Promotions, Buster call?, (Adding any meaningful unique bureaucratic power to impact the marine faction will enhance the experience of players and encourage their activity to become an admiral)
Vice admirals & rear admirals: Support structure for current admirals and after a certain amount perhaps they have the power to veto their decisions if a system is applied in the game, they have the same perks as an admiral but fewer, and with more restrictions.)


When the revolutionary faction eventually comes a proper election system with the marines will go hand in hand. Why? because if Marines get a corrupt government, or a government people don't like Marines will be able to join the revolutionary faction against the current marine government, the balance of powers, the drama, and bureaucratic instances will promote activity, I guarantee you, players love this. (Or at least a love-hate relationship that will incentivize activity, you will see very hilarious Game of Thrones disputes within factions when systems like this are properly implemented.)

Example: Esty and his boomer friends left the Marines after a new group of dictatorial newbies that do not respect the old ways took over the Marines! Esty and them will now join the revolutionaries and lead a new movement to take the new government down, they will be sure to handle their disputes once the Marines VS Revolutionaries overthrow event comes forth, the new marine government must be ready!

Now for pirates, here are my recommendations:
Pirate gameplay should be more PVP-focused, as it is friend group focused, thus competition will be its main factor for activity. An intelligent approach would be to have 4 slots for Younkos, the best pirate factions in the game, attaining this title will give them perks that no other pirate group will have, which may also serve them to fight against the marines or any pirate enemy faction. If you also include the shichibukai system, pirate factions that join the Marines, with their own unique perks, you get a very interesting system to keep the fun going.

A proper ladder and sort of way for them to level their Pirate Organization, and any disputes for in-game titles must be handled by GMS, in a cyclical fashion. |
A properly designed leaderboard for pirate factions depending of their faction level must be displayed, raising this level may include missions, killing mobs, or cash items that could be bought, and ultimately Younko titles could be distributed in a cyclical fashion just like marine admiral ranks, but instead the most powerful pirates in PVP and with the most influence are the ones that may win or keep their Younko status.

Example: Yuma's pirates got pissed at Falcon's pirates group they will be sure to handle their beef once for in the upcoming Younko event, they will bring the best of the best and be sure the winner takes everything from the loser. Not to mention Pepe's pirates that joined the marines as Shichibukais, that plans to betray them all and screw their chances as younkos as they already secured a spot as marine allies.


These are many of the examples I am able to provide, and there is a lot more:

A Raid system must be implemented, Marines and Pirates should be able to raid each other and destroy each other's buildings (Perhaps add an in-game limit system for this for newbies to not get abused, like adding daily raid hours to the game.) For a more dramatic effect raids must negatively affect the faction that was successfully raided, and those that won should get perks and benefits from this. There may also be a leaderboard that displays which faction is the dominant one, this may get reset after a certain period, in order to re-fuel the desire of each faction to win when a new faction's war period starts! (Hell if you guys find enough motivation destroyed version of marine and pirate buildings could be added to the game, this would look great!)

This is another idea I have been thinking still needs polishing but it would be nice if factions can conquer territories, territories that provide resources, and faction points that make a faction more powerful and give them the ability to claim unique and powerful weapons for them to use. Conquering territories may spice things up considerably faction won't only be at each other's throats to destroy each other's bases but also conquer as many territories and guard them as they can, thus becoming more powerful and influential. This may get expanded with the ship system addition with islands that provide resources to create the best ships but we can start small for sure, if you combine economy and unique farming with faction wars, things will get heated, and bring activity as well.

To conclude my main point is that games can cater to sociological, and psychological factors to enhance the innate desire of humans to compete with each other, their desire to create a prosperous and thriving community, the desire to be the best, the desire to have fun, if we can use these concepts to apply systems that give people the desire to play, I guarantee it will be very hard for a game to completely die, hence why I go back to my previous example Nin Online that no matter what hits the game it still sustains a player base that although has a love and hate relationship with the game, they still play it anyways and support their creator economically. I guarantee with proper implementation of these systems, any new content that is added to Pirate Souls will yield exponential results in the activity of the game, instead of temporary results. I will come up with some more ideas of this nature in the future, and hopefully be more specific, for now Shen & Dona props to you two for creating an awesome game, all we need is to make sure the decisions that are taken for the game are well thought to achieve the desired effect, this game for sure has a tone of potential!
 

[Shenmue]

Thanks for your very detailed suggestions! It's great to hear from dedicated players. You've provided an incredible amount of thought and insight into how we can enhance the faction experience. Raids and territorial control is something we had planned on the beginning of Pirate Souls, but we put on hold.

I can't promise immediate changes right now, but we are definitely going to put elements of your suggestion in our roadmap