Who am I?

jearr · 2013-05-01 13:16:26

I often live my life, build up my house, try desperately to protect my family, and die by own pitbulls, without ever knowing my own robber's name. I assume there is a way to find this by looking at config files or something, but is there any way in-game to find it? Hovering over your family identifies them, but not you. It doesn't particularly matter, but I thought it was curious.

colorfusion · 2013-05-01 14:14:48

There's no in game way to identify yourself, and I don't think it's saved in your config files either.
The only way I know of to do it is to get someone else to identify you.

Your own name is somewhat hidden from you to make cheating with other people or alt accounts a bit harder.

jearr · 2013-05-02 20:30:21

Cheating? With multiple accounts? If someone wants to buy multiple accounts for this game in Alpha to help them farm cash, I don't care. It's good for Mr. Rohrer, and probably won't hurt me in any way.. unless they decide to be griefers. People in other mmos can have multiple accounts or alts and I've never really heard a good argument for how it hurts any game.

It is interesting that your player name is hidden. I feel like this fact should be conveyed to the player in some way. It's very mysterious when you realize that the names of people who you are robbing never reflects the actual user.

colorfusion · 2013-05-03 09:26:10

If the name was visible anyone could get infinite money just loading up with guns on their alt or friend and continually dying at their place.

In most MMORPS's it's different. You don't get so much cash every time you die that you could easily transfer to another account; you could use an alt to slightly help you but you still have to do the work on them.

However in TCD all you need to do is:
1. Set up a basic house on your main account
2. Buy expensive items with your alts free $2000
3. Suicide at your main account's house
4. Repeat 2 to 4

Within 20 minutes you can probably beat the top houses.

Last edited by colorfusion (2013-05-03 13:16:46)

jasonrohrer · 2013-05-03 10:38:26

It's also part of the aesthetic, the mystery about who these other people are, and the mystery about who you are.

Thematically, it's pretty strange to not know your own name. On the other hand, we don't refer to ourselves by name very much in real life. It's not like I have my name painted on the wall of my house in real life. But anyway, the aesthetic is, "It doesn't matter who I am, because I'm just like everybody else."

Other people obviously need visible names so that you can revisit the same house, and so on.

In terms of explaining it inside the game.... I really like to avoid as much explanation as possible.

jearr · 2013-05-03 14:48:59

This thread is talking about two things. I'm responding to them separately.

1) farming cash with alts and its potential effect on the game

I don't see how having a pile of money helps you "beat the top houses", nor does it necessarily make your house superior or more interesting. Most top houses right now are electric-floors at the entrance or combo locks.. both have dead families, and both are boring. What having tons of money does do is encourage other players to rob you, and it means you can build your house with no money restrictions. Neither of these things seems particularly hurtful to me if you want to pay extra for it (and perform a lame mini-game of repeatedly suiciding with your alt).

Other MMOs don't have permadeath and I think that balances the effect of farming here. If you could use an alt to quickly and permanently put you in the top ranks, then I would agree that it would be hurtful. But I think it's safe to assume that most people who would bother to use this strategy like the game enough to want to keep playing it, and they aren't going to want to just put up a combo lock to guard their ill-gotten riches and log off. They will want to continue to work on their house and/or rob other houses. Both of these activities risk death and starting over, regardless of your cash.

Please keep in mind I'm not arguing that this proposed farming behavior is awesome. I just don't see it as being necessarily something to actively prevent.

2) "It doesn't matter who I am, because I'm just like everybody else."

The irrelevance of your avatar as a story-character and the hidden identity of you and other players is interesting. I guess my instinct is to attempt to care about my avatar (particularly because of permadeath).

In many games, your avatar progresses or changes overtime (become a hero!). Making your avatar static, faceless, or silent (Half Life/many arcade games) can work just fine, but usually something tells you what you should care about. There isn't much of that in this game thus far and I'm not saying that it needs it.. only that unconsciously I was looking for it.

I have fixated on trying to defend my family because they are one of the few plot-like bits in the game. I love that they are optional. Basically, I'm looking for things in-game to care about and drive my actions. I don't at all mind the lack of explanation or your anonymous avatar. I do think there is room to further develop the themes and to have more potential/optional goals.

colorfusion · 2013-05-04 03:41:49

jearr wrote:

This thread is talking about two things. I'm responding to them separately.
1) farming cash with alts and its potential effect on the game
I don't see how having a pile of money helps you "beat the top houses", nor does it necessarily make your house superior or more interesting. Most top houses right now are electric-floors at the entrance or combo locks.. both have dead families, and both are boring. What having tons of money does do is encourage other players to rob you, and it means you can build your house with no money restrictions. Neither of these things seems particularly hurtful to me if you want to pay extra for it (and perform a lame mini-game of repeatedly suiciding with your alt).
Other MMOs don't have permadeath and I think that balances the effect of farming here. If you could use an alt to quickly and permanently put you in the top ranks, then I would agree that it would be hurtful. But I think it's safe to assume that most people who would bother to use this strategy like the game enough to want to keep playing it, and they aren't going to want to just put up a combo lock to guard their ill-gotten riches and log off. They will want to continue to work on their house and/or rob other houses. Both of these activities risk death and starting over, regardless of your cash.
Please keep in mind I'm not arguing that this proposed farming behavior is awesome. I just don't see it as being necessarily something to actively prevent.

I'd have to personally disagree with that. Having unlimited money whenever you want and having no building restrictions would not be balanced in my eyes. You mentioned unbreakable combo locks and dance traps, that's the current effect of what happens when players have too much money; they build something annoying like that to stay at the top. If someone who put that much effort into actually (somewhat) legitimately making their home, then I personally doubt someone who gets all their money in 20 minutes of themselves doing nothing is going to really care that much about morals or wanting to make their house fair.

You don't even need an alt, just a friend with the game, and even if you did need one I don't think paying double to instantly be on the top of the leaderboards whenever you want is balanced.
In a way it is permanent, when you die you can just do it again. Unlike everyone else who has to slowly build up their money and defenses.

There are MMOs with permadeath, and in most you at least lose most your items when you die, but I still don't see any that let you get unlimited items from spending 30 minutes farming with a friend. E.G: ROTMG.

Even if you think the risk of this happening is not that big, is it worth it for just knowing your name?

Last edited by colorfusion (2013-05-04 03:58:33)

DrNoid · 2013-05-04 06:11:03

In real life I never know my own phone number, and I often have to think when asked how old I am... so not knowing my name in this game is actually not that strange

jearr · 2013-05-06 12:44:56

I'd have to personally disagree with that. Having unlimited money whenever you want and having no building restrictions would not be balanced in my eyes. You mentioned unbreakable combo locks and dance traps, that's the current effect of what happens when players have too much money; they build something annoying like that to stay at the top. If someone who put that much effort into actually (somewhat) legitimately making their home, then I personally doubt someone who gets all their money in 20 minutes of themselves doing nothing is going to really care that much about morals or wanting to make their house fair.

Having unlimited money is totally not balanced, but they'd have to pay money for it AND play a boring mini-game where they farm money every time they die.

Combo locks and dance traps aren't balanced either, but they're still widespread. I disagree that these house designs are the result of having "too much money". People use them because they are effective.

I want to get away from this talk of alt-farming. I've realized that I've been basically defending alt-farming, which I don't care about, because it kind of relates to a problem I've been having with the game. So allow me to transition a bit.

Having easier access to money early on might encourage players to actually play instead of just turtling behind their impregnable fortresses.

My current house has more money than I know what to spend it on. It's all concrete, with more dogs than needed. It doesn't even feature a combo lock or electric floors in the entryway. Now what is there for me to do? I don't want to rob houses because I don't need the money and don't want to risk losing all my hard work. So basically I just camp now. I log in once in a while so I can see if anyone has died in my house lately. I am not actually playing the game much.

If starting over was more desirable, I might be more willing to take risks and actually play the game more. I primarily rob a bunch immediately after I die, and then stop robbing as my house becomes more complete. The most likely way out for me (based on how I play) is that I'll make a change in my house and die accidentally during self-test (which has happened more times than I care to think about). I feel a little stuck, so I guess all this talk is really just trying to address my situation.

You don't even need an alt, just a friend with the game, and even if you did need one I don't think paying double to instantly be on the top of the leaderboards whenever you want is balanced.
In a way it is permanent, when you die you can just do it again. Unlike everyone else who has to slowly build up their money and defenses.

Kenneth Robert Wells has been gradually increasing his loot while afk for weeks, and his house is unrobbable because it was all dogs and the dog position has not been reset since the last successful robbery/murder. He even has a pitbull on the entry square. Basically, he's getting to the top very slowly by not playing the game. That, combined with all the combo locks and dance traps, makes me not care much about the leaderboard.

Even if you think the risk of this happening is not that big, is it worth it for just knowing your name?

I like the aesthetic/thematic reason for hiding the name better than to discourage alt farming.

jearr · 2013-05-06 12:47:49

DrNoid wrote:

In real life I never know my own phone number, and I often have to think when asked how old I am... so not knowing my name in this game is actually not that strange

Ha! It's funny because it's true.

SAHSpecked · 2013-05-21 20:55:55

Does your name change every time you die or is it permanent? If it is permanent this could cause an issue if someone, like a friend, sees how much you own and can connect the dots to find out your characters name.

da11eck · 2013-05-22 06:37:24

Changes each time.

Anyways, it's very easy to accrue lots of money in this game by nefarious means, but it just simply isn't the goal of the game (if there is a goal at all in fact).

The only thing money is good for (and paintings for that matter), outside of building traps, is making your house a greater target for thieves.

The Castle Doctrine Forums

#1 2013-05-01 13:16:26

Who am I?

#2 2013-05-01 14:14:48

Re: Who am I?

#3 2013-05-02 20:30:21

Re: Who am I?

#4 2013-05-03 09:26:10

Re: Who am I?

#5 2013-05-03 10:38:26

Re: Who am I?

#6 2013-05-03 14:48:59

Re: Who am I?

#7 2013-05-04 03:41:49

Re: Who am I?

#8 2013-05-04 06:11:03

Re: Who am I?

#9 2013-05-06 12:44:56

Re: Who am I?

#10 2013-05-06 12:47:49

Re: Who am I?

#11 2013-05-21 20:55:55

Re: Who am I?

#12 2013-05-22 06:37:24

Re: Who am I?

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