Assumptions, assumptions.
What cRPG Means to Me
a shitpost by Thryn
I guess I'll ask myself a simple first question: why is it that I play cRPG? I could say that perhaps I love the competitive nature of the Mount and Blade combat system (best melee game to date in my opinion), but if this were the sole reason, I suppose I should be content with Native. Perhaps I love being able to customize my gear and showboat my own style, but the new Mordhau alpha has way more customization than cRPG.
Perhaps I want to take part in Strategus battles when I could play Of Kings and Men's Epic instead. Maybe it's because of my love for the dwindling community, which I rightly cannot find a suitable substitute for. The point is that I equally enjoy all of these things that cRPG provides (or provided). These unique qualities that cRPG brings together are the basis for an enjoyable experience that players gain by, well, playing. But what is the point of me saying this?
I disagree with the following:
This assumes that a) people only play cRPG to grind out looms and b) a wipe is the only way to "save" the mod.
To assume that people only play for the grind is a puzzling assertion. There's a plethora of other reasons as to why people play the mod (I myself do not play cRPG for some "grind"), but if we were to assume that everyone played cRPG for the grind, why would we choose this mod over another such as NordInvasion? After all, the xp multiplier isn't effective in distributing xp to players on a fair grind:time basis. I'd even go as far as saying that, if cRPG were all about the grind, DTV would be/would have been one of the most popular game modes (needing multiple servers going to support its playerbase). Based on my personal bias and trash-level supporting evidence above, I think it's safe to say that the grind is not what keeps players engaged. I think the best option to try and (hate to use this word) "revive" cRPG is to try and undo some of the damage that was done by previous patches now that we have this magical power known as hindsight.
The damage I am referring to is the raising of the retirement level cap by the Revival Patch and the death of Strategus. If Strat can be fixed and reimplemented in noncancerous fashion, I believe that some of the community may return. However, I think the more important of these two issues is the Retirement change. The Revival Patch brought a new major idea into play: reduction of the grind. This was designed so that new players could join the fight and not be at a peasant vs knight disadvantage straight out of the gate (i.e. increased xp gain, free looms, etc.). This is a completely understandable thought to have especially since cRPG has a bit of a learning curve. However, this patch also implemented a higher retirement level, allowing people to go to level 35 with ease. Playing at this level fundamentally breaks the game, for the engine goes nuts with damage values and speed ratings and so on. What this, in my opinion, ultimately accomplished was the destruction of the veteran playerbase. No one, especially at a high skill level, wants to stick around to play a game that does not function at a desirable level. If we are unable to retain even our most loyal players, there is no reason to believe that some group of new players will stick around to play. The irony of this patch seems to be that the desired influx of new players destroyed the old ones, and because of this destruction, no new players stuck around. Now I think I can tie this into the second part of Kratos' statement: we need to wipe cRPG to save cRPG.
Why? What makes you think that taking anything from the playerbase you are trying to recall will somehow garner their interest? They want to come have a good time bashing heads and earning some looms on the side. Wiping looms will do nothing but eliminate half of the current players and finally kill the mod. If anyone is so bent on grinding for looms, why don't you just delete yours yourself? Problem solved. Hell, give them away, I'll take them. My point is people have made hundreds of hours worth of progress and wiping that out just so they have to do it again is pointless. We should be asking why people stopped playing, and I wholeheartedly disagree with the idea that people quit because "not enough grind."
What reason is there to grind if it's not fun doing it?
Side note: My wish for the future (deep) is that cRPG 2 is developed for Bannerlord. I hope that Donkey Crew can get some sort of deal going with Taleworlds like the Brytenwalda Team or FSE and get paid to release an expansion for the base game.
