Capitalism game mode

tl;dr SirSalami's Capitalism server is fun; you should try it. (Please?) There isn't any explanation of the rules, which sucks, but it's worth a go and doesn't take long to figure out. See the rules explained below.

I did a search for this topic but nothing came up which is very strange. I'm mostly posting this out of self-interest since after the disappearance of the Action Unlimited server I gave this a go, managed to get lucky with nearly a full house and really enjoyed it. I do have thoughts on it which I'm sure SirSalami is very interested in since it's supposed to be an experiment but it doesn't seem to be garnering a lot of attention. It's a full 32 player server but it seldom gets more than 10 players, more often less than 5. Mostly nada though.

I don't really have any impressive criticisms of it, especially the actual game rules. It seems sound enough to me. My only real gripe with it so far has to do with the world configuration that modifies the rules. Ideally, the frequent and sparse bedrock placement should encourage prospecting and spelunking to find gold, but more often it's such a mess of randomly placed stuff that it's kind of a pain in the ass to get anywhere with mining. I understand that knight's bombs can resolve this but my first impression is that it's too laborious. This could change in time.

The end game is also prone to turning into an absolute steam rolling disaster. The loss of class changing stations in the midst of a concerted push is torturous. That isn't something I'd field as a real gripe though since that's something that is contingent of the players' skill and circumstances.

My most important complaint is that it simply doesn't exist anywhere on this forum which is to its own detriment since there is no real explanation of its rules in the server list. The people who do seldom show up are often oblivious to the rules set and may very well abandon it in favor of one of those shit European servers that have a steaming pile of unlimited action nonsense that we all love so dearly.

So, here are the rules:

The game mode is a team death-match where you need money to do just about anything. One gold bullion is needed per trap bridge or door and twenty gold coins to change class. The first two structures you're able to build are the lumber and stone exchange shops where wood and stone can be sold for money or bought. As of now, there is no tent at the base so everyone is a builder by default. Knight armor stands and archery ranges need to be constructed to change classes.

Not complicated at all.
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Even if this topic doesn't interest anyone it's worth considering that this is important for the game's future. The freely available capture the flag mode that KAG has been throughout the alpha is only an abstraction of what the game is supposed to be upon its completion. I mean, the entire point of offering the game freely to the public, apart from generating attention and publicity, is to invite people to observe, test, and have a minor participation in the course of its development. Unlimited action servers are nice and all but that isn't what KAG is going to be when it is finished. Participating in the developers' experiments and offering even the smallest considerate criticism is, at worst, a merely inconvenient price to pay. Debating the merits of bomb jumping or knight vs. archer combat is a microcosm of the wider issue.

Even now there is a forum topic about how KAG might be "dead". I'm sorry, whut? This game is in alpha, if I understand correctly. There's a long road to travel still.

just sayin' … I'm sure everyone with even the slightest wit knows that I'm offering all of this learned exposition simply in order to get people to play on a server that I get solid ping on. ;)

 

Capitalism game mode, sounds wierd but cool. I really want to check it out now!

 

I played it and its really fun. I think the hoster came up with the idea from the coming new war mode.

 

Damn the servers not on!
:(

 

What is this game-mode? I want to try it but the server ping is too high.

 

The game mode is a team death match where you need money to do just about anything. One gold bullion is needed per trap bridge or door and twenty gold coins to change class. The first two structures you're able to build are the lumber and stone exchange shops where wood and stone can be sold for money or bought. As of now, there is no tent at the base so everyone is a builder by default. Knight armor stands and archery ranges need to be constructed to change classes.
:)

 

This sounds like a pile of shit if you need to pay for everything.

 

Yeh, but sounds interesting too. X3

 

Then GTFO.

Anything Salami Makes is amazing.
and this should be moved to Game-modes (?)

 

I didn't say you had to pay to do everything. I said you have to have gold to use team-items like trap bridges and doors and have money on you to change class. It slows things down but it also adds an element of balance, as well providing an enormous outlet for the wealth of builders which otherwise goes wasted most of the time in CTF and standard deathmatch servers. People who suck at combat aren't going to be raking in cash and so will be spending more time as builders, and so will be slightly more inclined to do small tasks. (Resource collection being the most important.) You won't see a wave of your knights zerg rushing and getting slashed to ribbons. That shit costs money, yo, in addition to spawn tickets.

Another unique feature of the game that I failed to mention is that it encourages devotion to front-line building. People's initial bases are always just a collection of the workshops they need and then the rest of the builder's attention is devoted to being more forward in their construction. Sitting on your ass in a big, unwieldy, Rube Goldberg castle makes no sense as there's no flag to protect and no tent to anchor your team's attentions. On the other hand, this also lends itself to the end-game steam roll that I mentioned earlier. An unprepared and uncoordinated team can just be massacred.

Sorry, I hadn't realized there was a section for it!

Fair enough. I don't share your boredom. I am a very patient person.

"Capitalism" isn't such a bad working name! It's quaint—like a sort of Tycoon-game thing… :p
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As I said before, things like this are important. It is a small step towards the final vision of the game where "minecrafting" and other docile play is not only acceptable but a great boon for others as well.

 

I enjoyed this game mode. Nothing fuels unique tower designs and fighting strategies like limited resources.

 

Why is this in GD?

 

Because fuck you buddy. :)

Can you offer any real arguments for why it shouldn't be here?

On topic, I remember playing this waaaay back with a bunch of people and it was absolutely fantastic, I really wish this mode got more attention, I personally think it has way more potential than the standard ctf which kag isn't terribly balanced for.

 

Oh hey, this sounds a lot like the game mode I'd started working on! I see now why Salami was so helpful in IRC regardin these topics, heh.

 

Yes but you have to use gold to pay for changing classes. What is the point in that?

 

Capitalism, ho!

 

A truly capitalist KAG game mode could look like this: spawn with a random amount of gold (a lot more players with no or only little gold and some with quite a lot). The rich players let the others build workshops and give them some of their gold for doing so. Then the poor players would have to spend their gold in the workshops they just built and the gold goes back to the rich players because they own the shop. From time to time there will be wars between the two or more teams about ressources. Of course the players need to lose hearts over time (=starving. Also no respawns.) because the need of refilling health would make them work for the bourgeois players. It must include friendly fire so some players who get slightly more gold than the others could play police and prevent riots.
It would be a horrible game but great as a proof of concept. I wonder if people would try to start a revolution or if they'll just fit in their roles. :D