Hello, I am proposing a system to help offset the negative feeling players can get when they are unable to get their HelpOps filled in, primarily so for hunts. I do understand staff have a system in place to give priority over HelpOps that get missed. This is a system to sister with that one, to enable players to not feel like they ‘wasted time’ by going into the wilderness and doing HelpOps for hunts only to not get a response at all or be informed staff are too busy to help in that moment.
Speaking from personal experience, nothing sucks more than waiting four real life days, 1-2 hours each time doing a hunting HelpOp, to finally get a hunt HelpOp answered, and roll a 2, 11, and then a 7, to just find nothing. It sucks, it feels like I wasted time I could have done other things either via roleplay, video games, or any number of things.
The hope is to let staff not feel overburdend by missed HelpOps and players to feel like there is no waste to them spending an hour or two sending off HelpOps that go unanswered or staff is too busy to have answered
Mechanics:
Mechanically, the system will give you a +1 for every day you have a missed HelpOp, up to a maximum of a +3. There are rules and limitations in place for how one gets these, and when they are used up.
This is not a luck bonus or anything of the sort, it is just a flat +1 to all rolls for a hunt per Missed HelpOp. Or, it can be considered a hunt attempt and it works out that way instead as a failed hunt attempt as when you do get a HelpOp responded and answered.
You will take a screenshot of your HelpOp and save it for the next hunt. You will provide these to the staff member upon a successfully answered HelpOp to gain the bonuses.
Limitations:
1) These only apply to the same type of HelpOp in the same location by the same character. Meaning, you can’t get two missed gem hunts and try to apply it to a fishing hunt the third attempt
2) You must have the screenshots with the required items in them. F3 information, HelpOp, and date/time of some sort.
3) You can only get one +1 per day per player.
This means you can not get a missed HelpOp, log on as another character, and get a missed HelpOp for that character either. Doing so voids the previously gained one, and you have nothing now.
4) Once a hunt HelpOp is fullfilled, no matter for what or which character, all saved Missed HelpOps are voided. (HelpOps such as, item moving, extra details for what is being seen, interacting with the world or NPC’s, random encounters, or if an Event were to take place are not counted to this Limitation)
5) You must have the same group/individuals with you. This is an iffy rule, and am open to discussion on this the most. It seems unfair for a player to get two stacks of missed HelpOps, and then bring a friend for the third, when in reality they ‘ICly’ were alone the first two times. However, on the flip side, what if you were in a group and then the player was banned, goes on a two week trip, or their computer blown up or something else. It should be case by case for this type of situation IMO.
Potential other bonuses given instead of a +1 to rolls:
+ Lower DC’s
+ extra value or ammounts to the amount gathered from hunts (Great for herb, tree, gemstone, fishing)
+ The staff member tells you that the resource / beast are not found here, and don’t waste the HelpOp performing it then and there, and can move elsewhere and perform the HelpOp again within that 3 hour time period.
+ Or another option I can not think of
How it works:
I will give three examples of how the System works:
Example A)
Billy Joe has a dwarf character that is a miner, and wishes to go and seek out some precious gemstones to sell in his shop. Billy Joe logs on, and takes his dwarf to a mine and performs the HelpOp. He sits and waits for 30 minutes, before sendinding off a second HelpOp. After fifteen minutes, he gets a message that all staff members are busy. Assuming he won’t be able to get a HelpOp sooner than he needs to leave, Billy Joe presses F3 to take a screenshot of his efforts, carries his dwarf back home, and logs off for the night.
The next two days, he is busy with work and other responsibilities, but then he finally has a couple hours of freetime and logs on the third day after. He takes his dwarf back to the same spot, and performs the HelpOp.
Lucky him, a staff member is on, free, and responds! He informs the staff he has 1 missed HelpOp, and offers to send them the screenshot. The staff member verifies, and gives them the +1!
He goes his rolls, gets a +1 to them all, and the HelpOp continues as normal.
Example B)
Snuffy has a hunter character, and wishes to track down a deer. The character enters the woods, and a HelpOp is performed. An hour goes by and there is no response after two more HelpOps. Snuffy takes a screenshot with the required information, logs off, and logs in as their Tavern character.
He opens up the Tavern, and gets encountered by an NPC, gets mugged, and has that whole interaction go down.
He then has his Tavern character go out that same day 3 hours after this hunter character performed their HelpOp and search for herbs to brew a poison to hopefully kill this mugger if they ever come back to the tavern. Performing the HelpOp, they get told staff are busy and can not help them at that time. They press F3, take a screenshot and log off.
Snuffy has voided his Hunter Character Missed Helpops.
Example C)
Frank has a nomad character. This character lives in the woods. They log on one day and request a HelpOp to check his traps for any gains. He waits half an hour, and with no response he takes a screen shot and logs off for the night.
The next day, Frank logs back in, and performs the same actions. Again no response, he takes a screen shot and does some crafting requests for the day then Logs off.
Day three, Frank has his nomad do the same check, for the third time, there is no response. He logs off without taking any screenshots.
Day four Frank logs on, and performs the HelpOp and gets a response. As he only has two screenshots, he only gets a +2 to the huntrolls instead of a +3.
Cons: Now, there are some potential flaws and abuses with a system like this: 1) A player can log on when staff are known to not be online, and spend an hour afk to fish for a free +1 to their next helpop when they know staff are online more often. This is offset that they have to attempt the same hunt to receive the bonuses, so no matter what, they would have attempted the hunt, and they clearly have the time to perform it. But some can see this as a loophole of absue, and I feel it be unfair to not point it out. 2) It is another thing staff has to track. Boy do I understand the pain of having another thing to track for my job. It is annoying. Even if ensuring the player tracks their own screenshots, it is another thing staff has to document when summerizing the encounter. 3) Fudged time/dates. A player can change their PC time in the screenshot. but staff can look back in the logs if they feel like a player is abusing this system.
I hope this system, or something similar, does get implemented. I am open to discussion on changing the numbers, requirements, and limitations as anything that can achieve the goal will be welcomed with open arms. Here is a G-Doc version of the above posted, for ease of sharing, reading, and referencing: https://docs.google.com/document/d/134D1lh0PdFkI6I3Xglm2Nb6DmOr8FLp_h4z4iOpiDDs/edit?usp=sharing
It'd be one thing if staff were paid workers and this was their job, but they don't. They're volunteers who are trying to have fun like the rest of us. Personally, i'd rather suck up the feeling I get if I try to helpop and 20 minutes goes by and nothing happens because no one's online, which happens a lot since much of staff are European. Giving them yet another document and mechanical system to manage and watch to make sure players don't abuse it to try and maximize their numbers when trying to go do something that requires a roll and staff supervision only further makes Saphriel feel less like a hobby and more like a responsibility, which i'm sure it is for plenty of staff already. Giving player characters a mechanical, in-character advantage on stuff like this for an out-of-character scheduling issue doesn't feel genuine to me. I wouldn't want to go looking for some really dangerous beast and have the feeling that I only found it because staff missed me three times and that +3 had me pass the DC. That's not roleplay to me.
Maybe staff disagrees with me and it's not that big of a deal, but I think they have enough stuff to do already that they voluntarily take on for players' benefit. Having to micromanage this to make sure players aren't abusing it is yet another job for them even if it's little more than a small numerical advantage to players.