First, I want to say that I am really happy to finally see a game implementing reputation economy rules. They even make sense ! They are not just an alternative name for a currency, kudos ! Here is what I hope is perceived as constructive criticism.
In EP, people gain reputation points by doing actions appreciated for a faction : the more spectacular the action, the more points you get. However, I feel abnormal that doing five little actions (as reaching one's sales quota for five months) is awarded as much as cutting a deal between two major corps. Here is a simple suggestion to do that :
When a players are awarded Y rep points, it can raise their rep score up to 10x Y but not higher. For instance, your corp successful salesman earns 1 point each time he completes a month within his quota, but this single action will not bring him to more than 10 points on c-net.
That means that if you meet someone on g-net with a 60+ reputation, it doesn't mean he has bee a small-scale dealer for ten years, but it means he has already killed people to get to that level.
Note that ignoring this proposition means that little and persistent guys are acknowledged with the same enthusiasm as punctual geniuses. It can be how things work in 10 AF, but I have the feeling it is not how it is working as of today.
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Caping Rep gains
Mon, 2009-12-14 05:12
#1
Iv
Caping Rep gains
Mon, 2009-12-14 05:59
#2
Zophiel
Re: Caping Rep gains
I like the concept but I don't know if i agree with a hard and fast 10x, at least not over a long period. Take a random @rep colony. In this colony there's a guy who's average (for a transhuman). He's not a super-anything but he makes up for it through dedication. While everyone else works 4 hours a week on supporting the hab he works between 10 and 20. He won't gain rep fast (maybe 1 or two per week) but over 10 or 20 years this guy is going to be very valuable because everyone knows he's not afraid to put in the extra hours to keep them all in space. People who gain rep quickly also tend to burn through it quickly because doing big things often requires a few big favors. People who do a little here and there and never ask for anything can save up for when they really need it.
As the saying goes in one of the Vlad Taltos books:
Mob boss: Why should I trust you?
Vlad: I'm building up a reputation for honesty so I can blow it on something big. You are not it.
Mon, 2009-12-14 06:34
#3
Iv
Re: Caping Rep gains
Well, the main problem I'd like to correct is the inevitable rep inflation that is going to happen. If anytime the guy that spends 20 hours a week earns 3-4 reps (about what the rules says he should win), he will be at 200 within one year. That sounds an awful lot for me.
I coudl however see him earning a 30-40 rep this way. Being one of the founder or doing things that were really crucial to the habitats' survival (legal stuff, bribery of pirate gangs, urgent and quick repair of crucial systems) can get him to 60+.
Mon, 2009-12-14 20:33
#4
Zophiel
Re: Caping Rep gains
The trick to it is that rep doesn't "spend" except in fairly severe circumstances. So if you accumulate 90 rep over ten years, you're going to have 90 rep forever. What does that really get you, though? Mostly it depends on your networking skill, and that's the real choke point. You can have all the rep you want but without a high networking skill you can't get much from it.
A character with 90 rep and 20 networking has a 20% chance of getting a level 5 favor. A character with 10 rep and 90 networking has a 50% chance.
In the example of Joe the overworked plumber above, this guy is probably widely known and widely respected. He may even be as respected (according to mesh buzz) as the genius founder of the hab who singlehandedly fought off pirate raids. When it comes time to get that custom morph, though, the founder and his higher networking skill are much more likely to lay hands on it.
If you're worried about rep inflation you could say that gaining rep requires a successful networking roll with a penalty of either the amount of rep the character stands to gain or equal to the character's current rep or obth together. This networking roll need not be from the character gaining rep, since someone else can talk him up and teamwork bonuses would apply.
Thu, 2009-12-31 10:30
#5
standard_gravity
Re: Caping Rep gains
I think I agree with the OP generally, i.e. that you will not increase rep doing something everyone around you expects you to be doing.
One explanation is that rep cuts both ways: when you have a high rep, people expect you to live up to that rep. Speaking perhaps in abstracts, but if you have a certain rep for being the "dependable mechanic guy" you are more likely to lose rep if you are not, than increase rep if you are, get me?
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Mon, 2010-01-04 05:22
#6
Iv
Re: Caping Rep gains
I see a pitfall to my proposition however : in this case, the order in which actions are done do matter. Someone who makes a major breakthrough in science, earning 5 to 10 points then working as a "small guy" scientist will not be able to get more than 10 points in r-rep but if he works first as a small guy first then do the breakthrough, he will get further.
Another way of handling this using typical roleplaying mechanics would be to roll a D100 each time a point is awarded and increase the rep only if the dice did more than the current reputation score.
Sat, 2010-01-09 20:10
#7
Sepherim
Re: Caping Rep gains
I like the general idea, but it may be easier to do than taking into account how many times each one has earned rep for each thing. It could be solved as a scale, for example:
-Up to 50 rep, the usual rules apply.
-From 50 to 75, you gain 1 less point of rep each time you gain rep (so, if you win only 1, you actually don't win, stopping the steady plumber).
-From 75 to 90, you gain 2 less.
-From 90 to 99, you gain 3 less.
This way, it requires increasingly important deals and things to get to be widely renown, respected and powerful.
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Sun, 2010-01-10 16:32
#8
Iv
Re: Caping Rep gains
That is indeed a more interesting approach !
I think your threshold are quite high but I like the idea.