Proposal : Diplomacy Points System

[Kier]

I was poised to excitedly post this proposal to the Conclave Of Light, when I suddenly realised I should post it here for feedback first !
If the Lost Guard is not interested in it then there isn't much point making the proposal !

~ O ~

I have been pondering ways to strengthen the bonds of our Alliance, to bring us all closer together on the field of battle and thus improve the gaming experience of all our members.

How do MMOs motivate participation : points, growth and rewards.
Why not introduce those three things ourselves, here at Alliance level !

If this proposal is widely supported by the Conclave, I would like us to implement the following "Diplomacy" system which guilds & guild chapters can opt in to.

Guild Attributes

To be maintained on two threads, here : an EU thread and a US thread.
Each guild participating would have their own guild in their own post, so that it can be maintained by themselves ( and board admin in a pinch ).

Guild Name :
Diplomacy Level : Initially 1, raised as DP accumulated
Markers : See below
Diplomacy Points : x / y ( see below )
Diplomacy Point Link : Links to the guild's own public forum thread where DP acquisition is ledgered

"x" = Number of DP points accumulated.
"y" = 10 x player membership of guild ( so alts don't count ).
When x reaches y, the guild gains a Diplomacy Level and a Marker.
E.g. A guild with 20 players in it requires 10 x 20 = 200 DP to level up.

N.B. "y" rises to 20 x player membership while the guild Diplomacy Level is equal or greater than player membership - just a little foresight regarding the possibility of tiny guilds joining the Conclave.

Diplomacy System

Diplomacy Points are earned when a guild answers a request for participation from an ally - be it Keep warfare, an Objective, PQ, quest or even just someone looking for a peaceful RP session.
The guild earns 1 DP for each member participating - doubled if the activity is a success.
E.g. If the Lost Guard send out a request for siege defense assistance and 10 Bloodstone Clan members rallied to them, the Bloodstone Clan would earn 10 DP for helping - rising to 20 if the Keep is successfully defended.

It is up to individual members to ledger these points in DP threads on their own forums, which their guild staff can then read through regularly to update the Conclave post tally.
Since abuse of this trust from allies would seem remote, I'd prefer to think Alliance access to these forum threads will primarily be for the delivery of appropriate 'mad props'.

When a guild builds enough DP to level up, they gain a Diplomacy Level and a Marker.
Diplomacy Levels are simply for pride ; to let the Conclave know that you are super duper allies to have.
Markers are the more substantial rewards of this whole enterprise.

Marker System

Markers may be called in to mobilize the full Conclave might of those guilds participating in this initiative - not the regular full Conclave might, but THE FULL CONCLAVE MIGHT - for whatever purpose they desire.

Basically ; when a marker is called in, every participating guild makes a priority number one entry in their calendar and starts spreading the word.
Of course their is no means of ensuring absolutely everyone who can participates, but - aside from the undoubted fun factor strength in numbers will bring - it essentially comes down to "honor the markers of others as you would have others honor your markers".

Markers may be called in for all manner of goals...

Ambition ! E.g. A 12 member guild wanting to plant their banner in a tier 4 Keep.

Fame ! E.g. Wanting to film a recruitment video with 100s of heroes lined up in Altdorf War Quarter, saluting the Guild Leader and Standard bearers.

Vengeance ! E.g. Taking a Keep in the Chaos Wastes when Destruction is 1% away from world domination.

Glorious Madness ! E.g. Taking an army in to the very heart of tier 4 Destruction PvE territory for snapshots around a landmark.

Festivities ! E.g. Dominating a zone with some RP / lore festival the guild dreamt up, be it "the day of red hats" in Altdorf or re-enacting the War Of The Beard through interpretive emoting.

N.B. You do receive DP from participating in marker events, for that little extra incentive and to ensure there are plenty of markers in play.

~ O ~

So... greatness ? In need of tweaks ? Too mercenary ?

Originally Posted by Kier

not the regular full Conclave might, but THE FULL CONCLAVE MIGHT

Lol nice

Bloody hell Kier, a stroke of genius there if ever I saw 1. I'm definetly all for it, and the trust involved will bring all the guilds closer together, it will probably take a few days for the proposal to filter back to all the other guilds, and a few more to get approval and things, but I for 1 am sure the conclave will support this, I certainly do

[Kier]

Originally Posted by tyrionimirik

Lol nice

Bloody hell Kier, a stroke of genius there if ever I saw 1. I'm definetly all for it, and the trust involved will bring all the guilds closer together, it will probably take a few days for the proposal to filter back to all the other guilds, and a few more to get approval and things, but I for 1 am sure the conclave will support this, I certainly do

Tee hee ; ah ahm a jenny-us !

I've been trying to find ways to elevate the Conclave recently, on account of my visits to other guilds largely showing that Allainces are decided on little things like "talked to this 1 guy..." and "nice web-site".

I want something grand and ambitious, that makes people yearn to be part of the Conclave when they hear about it !
Then I want guilds to want to switch to our servers just to be part of it !
Then I want the forces of Destruction to look upon our majesty and tremble !
Mwa ha ha !

Is that a tad too much to ask ?

[Evys]

That sounds pretty cool to me. If we could get past remembering who showed up when and how many points to attribute to them (since it doesn't seem there would be the possibility for auto-updating it sounds like each guild would need a dedicated person or two that would be in charge of this sort of thing) I think the end result could be a lot of fun.

actually it's also a good thing from that point of view, those guilds that were only in the Conclave because it had a good name, and aren't ready to commit to it, will leave while those that are committed will stay, leaving us with the hardcore of commited, interlinked guilds, who all are willing to help each other out,

[Rezag]

I like the idea as it would mean this great call wouldnt be happening everyday and it would have some very good meaning and goal .

[Kier]

Originally Posted by Evys

That sounds pretty cool to me. If we could get past remembering who showed up when and how many points to attribute to them (since it doesn't seem there would be the possibility for auto-updating it sounds like each guild would need a dedicated person or two that would be in charge of this sort of thing) I think the end result could be a lot of fun.

Actually it would be up to the guild providing the support to record it in a thread in our forum, and then for whoever we choose to maintain our Conclave post ( *feels many eyes fall upon himself* ) to update the totals later.

E.g.
You & I answer a quest plea from a Bloodstone Clan member, and go slay the goggly-eyed dragon of Kazak Twin Peaks.
When we turn off later, one of us stops by our toranroc.com DP thread and posts "Evys and Kier slew the goggly-eyed dragon for our Bloodstone chums : 4 points. ".
Next time we want to update our Conclave post, one of the designated folk reads through our DP thread and updates our Conclave point total.
If our goggly-eyed dragon slaying comrade wants to leave a commendation - or someone is simply nosey - they can follow the link from our Conclave post back to our DP thread and see where all the points we just registered came from.

Hopefully it will be quick & choreless in practice, at least to everyone but the points tallying folk - who need to keep track of which have been registered and which have not.

Originally Posted by tyrionimirik

actually it's also a good thing from that point of view, those guilds that were only in the Conclave because it had a good name, and aren't ready to commit to it, will leave while those that are committed will stay, leaving us with the hardcore of commited, interlinked guilds, who all are willing to help each other out,

Well I wouldn't want to pressure anyone out the Alliance, but I'd hope that after a while those who don't initially opt-in will see the fun it fosters and want to participate too.

[Kier]

Originally Posted by Rezag

I like the idea as it would mean this great call wouldnt be happening everyday and it would have some very good meaning and goal .

I've got to stop posting so much in my own thread, but while I am hovering...

That was another of my thoughts too.

There's certainly fun to be had from a guild sending out an "everyone let's go capture a tier 4 keep on Saturday!" announcement to the Conclave.
It is when it is the same guild doing so week after week, or if the guild in question is only seen at grand activities they suggest themselves, that the announcements can start to grate.

If the guild in question has gone out their way to help their allies and earn markers, and is only calling them in for even grander activities once a month... then I think people will be much better disposed towards them.

I know if such a guild came riding out en masse to rout the forces besieging our Keep, I'd be delighted to participate when they have saved up all their points for a venture - even one that wouldn't normally cross my mind.

[Ferriun]

This is a stroke of genius Kier, simply fantastic.
Social mini-games like these are what keeps a scattered collection of individual groups together in a single alliance. I cannot imagine any guild turning this concept down, especially if it's intirely voluntary to sign up to in the first place. Though, we have ensure that those guilds who do not want to participate in this mini-game doesn't feel like outcasts.
One thing though. Would a guild that takes a break from DIPLOMACY (TM), have their progress frozen? Or erased?

[marsares]

It'll require some administration, but I'm all up for it. I, for one, will definitely answer calls from our allies in the Conclave!