Survival Discussing the /duel command

[Tharine]

Tharine here with another wall of text - this time we're looking to discuss what kind of features we would like to see implemented in the design of the highly sought after /duel plugin. 

 

This was an idea proposed way back in January in the large forum thread discussing ways in which we could improve the Survival server. It's implementation has been stalled for some time now, passed up in favour of handling more immediate issues or other features we intended to add over the course of the current revision, but there was some early brainstorming between the admins a short while ago on just how we would begin to consider setting it up. The results of said brainstorm are summed up in the description here in one of the two large subreddit posts that introduced the 21st revision of Survival. For the link-phobic, the description:

 

Invite other players to a 1-on-1 duel, via the /duel command! The idea behind this command is not to change PVP gameplay itself, but to add some extra, fun incentives. When challenging a player to a /duel, you can choose to “bet” some amount of iron/diamond/etc on the outcome, which the challenged player must match to accept the duel. If either player can kill the other in a set time limit, the winner will be rewarded with the loser’s bet, plus extra perks if the right conditions are met! During the duel, both players can still be attacked by anyone - but if this happens (or either player disconnects), the duel is ended without a winner and the bets are returned immediately. (This setup is still tentative, so let us know if you have feedback! Particularly regarding perks - we’re thinking fun stuff that won’t affect gameplay, like maybe another way to acquire player skulls.)

 

Now, this isn't by any means a confirmed setup of how we will be moving forward with implementing a duel plugin. The idea behind making bets per duel was a consideration for how we might appropriately make it fair to earn player head drops from fighting in a duel. We wouldn't be eliminating the plugin that handles getting player head drops from armoured kills - and that's why we need to think about how to keep things on even ground in terms of how you acquire them. There would be little incentive to fight in armour to acquire head drops if you could simply enter a /duel with a friend and acquire it without any requirements.

 

So, we'd like to kick off some discussion on what kind of features people would like to see with this plugin. Some general questions to get us started:

 

What sort of outcome would you like to see as a result of winning a duel?

​This can be anything from physical rewards (semi-rare loot, player head drops, winnings from a bet, etc.) to effects (fireworks/thunder, potion effects) to perhaps setting up some kind of duel leader board (if resources permit such a thing).

 

What requirements should there be (if any) for allowing a duel to take place?

Should there be requirements for setting up a duel? If so, should there be a setup where meeting different requirements would net you different rewards? For example, an unarmoured duel might result in some form of non-rare drop, and maybe some effects, whilst an armoured duel could win you more difficult to obtain rewards. Requirements could potentially vary from type of armour worn to including a betting system, where a higher bet might net you a greater reward.

 

Should duels have limitations to them?

For example, only having the ability to hold one duel at a time; duels may last for only a predetermined amount of time before being cancelled. Limitations could also be along the same lines as requirements, in the sense that duels could perhaps not take place if either player was equipped with a certain item.

 

Should there be the ability to cancel the duel at any time?

Would there be interest in the ability to cancel a duel early? This could have both negative and positive side effects, the positive being moreso towards being able to put a stop to the duel if it was setup with unintended requirements.

 

There are obviously a lot more features to discuss than simply those four questions, but it's the end of a tiring day for me so i'm not quite the ideas person right now. Also my wall of text is getting a bit long too (as per usual) 

 

It's important to keep in mind how complicated it might be to implement any particular suggested features of this plugin. We're running with ideas just at this stage, as I understand there has been interest in perhaps having something custom written for this. If we don't have the resources, we can definitely look into existing plugins that best reach the expectations of what we're all looking for. Even if we don't end up with something custom written, I would much rather people have the ability to enjoy duelling each other with a pre-existing plugin than not have that option at all  With that said, please leave a comment if you have any ideas or suggestions for how we should get /duel setup!

[Draykhar]

What sort of outcome would you like to see as a result of winning a duel?

I like the wager system described in this post.

 

I would like for it to show up in chat, similar to the red kill messages, but in another color -blue?-. "So and so dueled X for Y diamonds, and won/lost!"

I think it'd be useful if winning a duel gave you something like a 30 second speed (or invisibilty) potion effect, alongside the lightning strike that used to be typical upon armored kills.The lightning strike/death message would potentially bring out pvpers looking to vulture in after a fight, and the potion potion effect would make it easier for the winner to attempt to run and chest their won goods.

 

What requirements should there be (if any) for allowing a duel to take place?

Out of spawn, for the obvious reasons.

Put a minimum wager on it so people don't spam the hell out it / constantly do it for whatever buff might be put on it.

 

Should duels have limitations to them?

Put an expiration on them - like an hour.

Should there be the ability to cancel the duel at any time?

Yes.

 

 

I think it'd also be neat to be able to have multiple people in a single 'duel' . Say I want to /duel Slugfrompluto and JackTheLumberr for 30 diamonds. It'd be nice for that to work, and the last man standing to get all 90 diamonds.

[Jauris]

What sort of outcome would you like to see as a result of winning a duel?

​Make a duel leaderboard that persists throughout the revision. The leaders of both the duel board and the arena board should be immortalized in stone at the start of the next revision. (Maybe watching over the new arena?) The betting is a great idea as well, and it would certainly make things more interesting. As for rare drops, I don't really know what we could use? Perhaps things like anvils would be nice for armor repair, or new enchanting books for full Dia / Iron fights.

 

What requirements should there be (if any) for allowing a duel to take place?

I don't think there should be an armor limit, but people who duel without armor shouldn't be able to show up on the leaderboard, nor should they be able to bet anything other than iron ingots.

 

Should duels have limitations to them?

I think duels should last a maximum of 10 minutes, with only one able to take place at a time. You can't really call it a duel if you're fighting multiple people. 

 

Should there be the ability to cancel the duel at any time?

 

Sure, if you cancel it within the first minute or so of the duel. Obviously there could be some issues with players seeing themselves losing quickly and cancelling, but overall I think it's more important to give players the option to back out if they add something unintentionally.

[Diznatch52]

I'm just gonna go ahead and bump this as I think it's a great idea and really warrants more discussion than it's getting :D

 

 

EDIT: Well that clearly did nothing. I have a few thoughts on the matter that I'll go ahead and post when I have a moment, though as a fairly new player to S specifically I'm not sure how much weight my opinions have on a matter such as this.

Edited June 7, 2013 by Diznatch52

[c45y]

Bump again. I hate to say I enjoy something about P but the pvp is very...consensual

 

Both players know what they are getting into, I would like this system much more than the current hopper dancefloor setup

 

While this doesn't stop any of the behavior I dislike from S, it certainly provides a more formal fighting system should people choose.