Getting merked is pretty demoralising.

[linkfire12]

I know that brief moments of intense violence are there to create contrast for the story/roleplay, but damn does it feel devastating to lose all your hard work.

There is simple stuff like the laundry room being a nightmare if more than, like, 2 people are there, especially if there is someone intentionally stealing/griefing (which you can't really do anything about).
But after spending so long trying to carefully manage my resources, getting stabbed to death by another prole for the lols or dying in less then a second from multiple proles swinging a pickaxe at the back of my head in the mine (I don't really know why?) really kills my fun.

I'm not sure the penalty is strong enough for how RDM-happy players seem to be. Like, getting robbed makes sense as an rp element, and the ability to defend against and kill thieves is also necessary, but Cortex can't do anything to stop robberies, or multiple players gaming anamnecyte's to murder people in the mines.

Anecdotally, players seem to have gotten really good at grinding cultist guns, meaning that I often get murdered in a civ role just because.

My dream is to be an underworld trader, but since cultists don't have any money, and a lack of tradable goods other then guns and like, maybe pemmican; the upfront cost to try and create a market and convince other players to buy is insanely difficult, especially since I can't save my money unless a banker is around, and I can get one-shot at any moment.

I'm not sure if what I've described is a "problem" necessarily, or what would actually make it feel better. All I know it that I was having a lot less fun once players started optimising how to murder other people more efficiently.

One suggestion I do have is that I wish there was more criminal roles that don't just murder, or an actual use for skull sterling and the bazaar. Simultaneously, Cortex should be able to enact force in ways that discover nuance, such as acquiring warrants to raid apartments, or tracking down thieves.

Theoretically cultists could trade in skull sterling if a merchant gives them an initial cash influx, but hell if I know how to convince people to do that instead of just murder everyone.

[Flesh]

I try to take it with a grain of salt. This is just humanity at its core, and you'll find some bad apples here and there.

Store loot more often, bank your money. That's really the best solution. Luckily the currency for changing rolls isn't lost on death, that would be a deal breaker for me.

[Dr. Dan D. Lyon]

Yeah it's rough starting out, especially depending on the vibe of the server you're in. My advice is to not view prole as a means of building wealth, but rather as a means of building up anamnecytes. When you have enough, try swapping to something like corpsman or liquidator; people tend to leave you alone because you serve a notable function, and you have more peace to just earn credits and gather resources to store for later. You also generally find more RP because people are looking for you to help solve problems.

More nuanced criminal jobs would be cool though. Dealer kind of skirts the line between civilian and criminal but it's not quite there yet imo. Still, I often see dealers working with the rebels to try to get them things they need or acting as a mediator for a prole wanting to buy a gun.

[linkfire12]

This is probably the most helpful advice. People were far more peaceful towards me during my corpsman roleplay.

I was hoping to roleplay an industrious prole, so it definitely is frustrating how limiting it is when people can just kill you with minimal consequences, and you can't really do anything to defend yourself either since time to kill is so fast.

I haven't tried rebels yet, but from what I've seen they can technically sell contraband through vents to earn some cash, but I haven't seen a single rebel with any money whenever I tried to sell medicine to them.

Another thing is I wish corpsmen could control the medicine supply and sell it directly. I wanted to scalp the market by buying in bulk and upselling, but that isn't possible since there is no limit on roles and anyone can just make medicine quickly. It's the one part of the games economy that isn't player driven.

[Uncle Sam]

yeah, getting murked is kinda ♥♥♥♥, but its part of the natural cycle of the game. you will die, inevitably, it is a guarantee, no two ways over it. considering that butchering players is a the only way to get mysterious meat, it stands to be that this is by design.
my suggestion for OP, and all those who feel this way, is to be a better judge of character and trust less the words and more into the actions of others. keep in mind other player's numerals,remember their actions during the day and consider where this may lead you.
Part of the game is to identify patterns, avoid the pitfalls and traps laying in wait by other players and find and develop bonds with those you find trustworthy or trustable enough for the things you want to do so you can accomplish them.

As for RDM-prone Proles, there is a system in place which punishes them for their misdeeds. look up the Volos District and become at ease to know that those who RDM en-masse are then bound to slavery into a Sisyphean task to earn the right to play on the server again

[linkfire12]

The Volos District is an excellent mechanic, but since it only costs 5 anamnecytes to kill someone, and only the last hit counts...
I notice that some players get a lot of leeway with it and are very murder happy for no discernible reason. And you die fast in this game, a couple quick stabs or a shotgun to the back of the head and you are gone, you can't really avoid it.

I'm not sure that you can read and discern the actions, pattern and character of others to avoid danger consistently. You can only see people's numerals if you are talking to them, which rules out most of the behaviour.

Like, if someone was leading people into a roleplay trap, that would be great, but the people who do this don't go through that effort.

Scum being motivated to kill everyone indiscriminately makes any sort of dynamic rebel, espionage, or illegal trade storytelling incredibly unlikely.

[Necroscourge]

The thing is that the game purposefully does not tell you about your Karma level. So if you join a major server, grief, get Volos'd, you just end up server hopping again. I do not think Karma resets, either, meaning that eventually if somebody griefs enough they will only be able to play in the smaller servers.

I saw a streamer today who was doing that, he just hopped servers and started RDMing everybody he ran into; but he ended up getting limited within moments and slaved pretty much every single time. His stream lasted about an hour until he got bored and swapped games.

Yes, people are griefing like crazy, but the game tends to naturally filter those people out of society one way or another.

[TFuels]

Originally posted by Necroscourge:

The thing is that the game purposefully does not tell you about your Karma level. So if you join a major server, grief, get Volos'd, you just end up server hopping again. I do not think Karma resets, either, meaning that eventually if somebody griefs enough they will only be able to play in the smaller servers.

I saw a streamer today who was doing that, he just hopped servers and started RDMing everybody he ran into; but he ended up getting limited within moments and slaved pretty much every single time. His stream lasted about an hour until he got bored and swapped games.

Yes, people are griefing like crazy, but the game tends to naturally filter those people out of society one way or another.

when I was digging in the code, it looked as if new players always start with 1000 karma points. Not sure what exact point losses for bad deeds but it doesnt seem to help. If i try a new server i can always get a new pipe. i dont kill often so i wont be able to test theory naturally. i can only test this theory if i go out of character.

[Necroscourge]

Fascinating! Thanks for digging for that info

[linkfire12]

Interesting! I didn't know there was a hidden karma mechanic.