as uc as i love it, until the day they abandoned the flawed TCP/IP system for a more stable working one that doesn't drop people all the time, permadeath will be a thorn that will not b in games.
games do not want to lose player because they died due to a lightening strike taking out their internet, or traffic through the net dropped half their packets. the internet substructure and design needs a massive overhaul to allow permadeath to be viable in games.
I like the idea of permadeath events, but unless you have a means to not penalize players for those events that Falin described, it wouldn't work. I think it might also become a cause for 1) Feuds between players/fleets because someone's stupid action got their favorite character killed, or 2) Players/fleets putting out 'bounties' of certain others for their own benefit somehow (for whatever reason).
Aye, I believe the trouble with people ganging up on permakillable characters was one of the main reasons that permadeath was turned off for Jedi in SWG.
Personally, I don't envision these permadeath events as being PvP events, but rather GM-led PvE ones. I'd actually like Borg encounters to be reserved to such permadeath events, so as to make the Borg stand out as dangerous again. Maybe you'd only permadie if you were assimilated, making it "a fate worse than [normal] death", and so as to encourage captains to destroy themselves and their ships rather than let their knowledge and technology fall into the hands of the Borg... ...but I guess that may just add an extra level of frustration, particularly when lag kicks in just as you're about to go to ram speed.
Of course, the Borg are probably much too popular to restrict to such events, but perhaps another enemy could be conceived that would only show up in these events. I'd like to see them have a noticeable effect on the game world (cutting off trade routes, for instance), so as to make wiping them out important. The problem with this, though, it that people would complain that people who enjoy permadeath were getting preferential treatment. The only remedy for this that I can think of is to give every considerable sub-community of players a chance to shine, but that may prove too daunting a task.
Lag and other technical problems is certainly an issue here, as it adds a type of non-fun element of risk. I don't know that there's a way to get around it, though; I guess we could only hope that after conquering the hordes of error messages that you'd get before entering a permadeath event, players would be prepared for the worst... ...although that's probably being a bit too optimistic.
Having said that, I do think that the idea of using permadeath scenarios for canon making events and commending those who die OR survive is a great idea. Not only would it encourage players to participate, it gives them a chance to make a difference, and imo that's what's been missing from MMOs. Everyone in SWG wanted not only to be a Jedi, but to fight Darth Vader and kill the Emperor. (Or play a Sith and be either one =)) When you make games based on previously existing content, I've always felt that their ultimate Achilles heel was that you couldn't really make the PLAYER and their character the central focus of the universe. They were always playing in someone else's backyard, so to speak. Here those who want such could become part of the greater galaxy at large, live or die. Because I'm here to tell you, everyone's deepest desire is just that: to make a difference. In games, in life, etc.
So as an option? I would most heartily say yes.
Aye, it's a tantalizing thought; an opportunity to make your mark on
Star Trek! Indeed, it's an interplay that people have wanted for a long time, but I wonder what the response would be like. Though the reward is great, I suspect there would be a public outcry over the risks involved. Then you'd have one side arguing that they're no less brave than other players simply because they don't enjoy playing with permadeath, and another side accusing them of being just that, and many would feel that Cryptic were siding with the latter group of players, and much bitterness would result from this...
...or everything would be just dandy, and our view of fiction would be changed forever to one where fans are seen as active participants.
