Philosophy of 'playing your way'

[Sando 9]

So a big part of this game is that there isn't (and won't be hopefully) game controls on how you want to play. Want to be a KOS scumbag, go for it! Want to be a saviour of mankind, awesome! This is, undeniably, what makes the game great, and I would fight as hard as anyone against anything that limited your ability to do/act how you wanted.

The problem is that the game currently only supports those two types of players. Since you have no tools to identify a friend/foe, you have in effect provided the tools that encourage either blind killing or blind friendly. And by the time you're close enough to communicate with someone you could have been killed 10 ways from Sunday, given the range and firepower of high-tier guns.

Want to be that guy that carefully evaluates the situation, and makes a judgement on a person/situation? Sorry, there's no way for you to tell anything about the person you're looking at. He can change his name/appearance at the drop of a hat, not to mention change servers whenever he feels like. You simply do not have the tools to enable you to actually make an even vaguely intelligent decision of the situation.

The attitude of 'don't apply any in game mechanics to player actions' is actually limiting our ability to play our way, rather than opening it up. Rocket has, thankfully, made clear he understands the distinction between 'punishment' and 'consequence', and this needs to be applied in such a way as to give tools to the people currently struggling to play their way, without punishing the people who want to KOS etc.

I'm not going to offer solutions (although I've thought of some), because I'd rather keep this to the principle rather than the practicalities. I'd like to see the game develop to where people are KOSing because they want to, not because the game limits their ability to do anything else. I'd love to see the people who KOS be genuinely feared and respected, because they've chosen to do something that not everyone does, rather than simply be the same as everyone else.

PVP and KOS is imperitive to the health of the game, there just needs to be tools to play a different way if you so choose.

[Tizoc 11]

Friends are those I've played with for awhile, that not given me reason to distrust them. Foe is everyone else. Just because someone isn't a friend doesn't mean I will automatically shoot them, but it's a risk if I let down my guard because they could kill me.

[Sando 9]

Friends are those I've played with for awhile, that not given me reason to distrust them. Foe is everyone else. Just because someone isn't a friend doesn't mean I will automatically shoot them, but it's a risk if I let down my guard because they could kill me.

Yes, it is a risk, and always should be. But you should be given the tools to mitigate that risk, rather than being forced to blindly trust the other person.

[sausagekingofchicago 4711]

Those tools may be in the next patch.

[Sando 9]

Those tools may be in the next patch.

What tools are being put in, or reported/rumoured to be?