To Downtime, or not to Downtime - that is my (current) question
So... downtime.
Having to help Emma sort out her downtime last night due to various factors has brought this question to my mind.
As some people may be aware, myself and a few friends (who are welcome to name themselves if they wish, but I'm not going to in case they don't want to be drawn into conversation on the subject at this stage) are currently writing our own LRP system and planning our first event. We have a mostly written ruleset at this point, and have come upon the question of downtime.
Now, I've only played in three LRP systems for long enough to be able to judge them fairly. Treasure Trap (a weekly game with a downtime system), LT (all year game, when sanctioned events are taken account, which has no downtime system) and Maelstrom (Summer fest game with downtime).
Many people who talk about LT seem to complain that there is no downtime option, which leads me to believe that people like the idea of being able to act and affect the world between events. I mean, what's not to like there? Why wouldn't you want the option to affect the world outside of the weekends when you can actually play?
On the other hand, one of the bigger criticisms of Maelstrom always seems to be it's Downtime system. Now there are various reasons for this (complicated and opaque rules that run it, having to rely on other people that leave it until the last minute, etc.) but fundamentally, people complain about it. I think PD have done a great job with the downtime system that they have created for Maelstrom - the underlying technology that runs it is quite impressive. I never had a problem with it, but I spent most of mine learning and crafting. I never joined an army and actively tried to avoid having to work with other people. Was I missing out? Perhaps, but I also never had Downtime Deadline Stress. However, the Downtime system is so tied into the game that you can't avoid it. People often complained that the only reason to go to the event was to talk to people about what they were going to do in downtime - I think there were certainly elements of this, but I'm very aware that I played a very downtime intensive character, stuff did happen at events and they were fun. I'm now out of the game, so my view may be skewed, but from hearing people talk and seeing e-mail conversations, it seems that everything has escalated to army level, so more and more is hanging on downtime. Of course, that may be a symptom of end-game.
Treasure Trap is a curious case - being weekly, the Downtime was much smaller scale. When I started, it was simply a case of sending an e-mail to the refs saying what you'd like to do. They would have a meeting, and then get back to you before the next game to explain your outcomes. I liked this - it was simple and it was very, very optional. If you didn't do it, it didn't negatively impact you. If it did, you got something cool to brag about in the bar, or possibly a bit more information to go on (plotting at TT was often quite strong, because you could make progress every week, rather than only a few times a year, so mysteries and stuff that needed to be investigated was quite common). This was fantastic - the scale of the events allowed the refs to be very reactive and I loved this way of working. In later years (coincidentally, just after Maelstrom started) TT downtime because more regimented - if you happened to have risen to be in charge of a church or guild, for example, you had to send downtime in each week or your guild would start to collapse around you. I was the head of a temple, didn't realise that this was the case and, a few weeks into term got a very friendly email from the refs explaining that my temple had collapsed! No warning... Similarly, more recently, TT gained more of an economic game, where your advancement was tied to facilities that you could build in the game world - whilst I like the idea of this, I wasn't particularly keen on the implementation - however, I'm prepared to admit that this was just me being a grognard. I stopped attending once it became what I viewed as too much work - so I've no idea how it is working now.
What I'm asking, I guess, is how other people view LRP downtime. I'm also keen to hear examples of how it works in other games that I haven't played, or to hear more detail on ones that I have if you feel I've misrepresented it or if you feel you have some insight into how it works that I've missed. Do you like a game to have downtime? Is it a chore that you would prefer to avoid? Should advancement be tied to it?
The game that I'm planning on running is planned to be annual, if that affects people's views.
Anyway - many thanks in advance.
Having to help Emma sort out her downtime last night due to various factors has brought this question to my mind.
As some people may be aware, myself and a few friends (who are welcome to name themselves if they wish, but I'm not going to in case they don't want to be drawn into conversation on the subject at this stage) are currently writing our own LRP system and planning our first event. We have a mostly written ruleset at this point, and have come upon the question of downtime.
Now, I've only played in three LRP systems for long enough to be able to judge them fairly. Treasure Trap (a weekly game with a downtime system), LT (all year game, when sanctioned events are taken account, which has no downtime system) and Maelstrom (Summer fest game with downtime).
Many people who talk about LT seem to complain that there is no downtime option, which leads me to believe that people like the idea of being able to act and affect the world between events. I mean, what's not to like there? Why wouldn't you want the option to affect the world outside of the weekends when you can actually play?
On the other hand, one of the bigger criticisms of Maelstrom always seems to be it's Downtime system. Now there are various reasons for this (complicated and opaque rules that run it, having to rely on other people that leave it until the last minute, etc.) but fundamentally, people complain about it. I think PD have done a great job with the downtime system that they have created for Maelstrom - the underlying technology that runs it is quite impressive. I never had a problem with it, but I spent most of mine learning and crafting. I never joined an army and actively tried to avoid having to work with other people. Was I missing out? Perhaps, but I also never had Downtime Deadline Stress. However, the Downtime system is so tied into the game that you can't avoid it. People often complained that the only reason to go to the event was to talk to people about what they were going to do in downtime - I think there were certainly elements of this, but I'm very aware that I played a very downtime intensive character, stuff did happen at events and they were fun. I'm now out of the game, so my view may be skewed, but from hearing people talk and seeing e-mail conversations, it seems that everything has escalated to army level, so more and more is hanging on downtime. Of course, that may be a symptom of end-game.
Treasure Trap is a curious case - being weekly, the Downtime was much smaller scale. When I started, it was simply a case of sending an e-mail to the refs saying what you'd like to do. They would have a meeting, and then get back to you before the next game to explain your outcomes. I liked this - it was simple and it was very, very optional. If you didn't do it, it didn't negatively impact you. If it did, you got something cool to brag about in the bar, or possibly a bit more information to go on (plotting at TT was often quite strong, because you could make progress every week, rather than only a few times a year, so mysteries and stuff that needed to be investigated was quite common). This was fantastic - the scale of the events allowed the refs to be very reactive and I loved this way of working. In later years (coincidentally, just after Maelstrom started) TT downtime because more regimented - if you happened to have risen to be in charge of a church or guild, for example, you had to send downtime in each week or your guild would start to collapse around you. I was the head of a temple, didn't realise that this was the case and, a few weeks into term got a very friendly email from the refs explaining that my temple had collapsed! No warning... Similarly, more recently, TT gained more of an economic game, where your advancement was tied to facilities that you could build in the game world - whilst I like the idea of this, I wasn't particularly keen on the implementation - however, I'm prepared to admit that this was just me being a grognard. I stopped attending once it became what I viewed as too much work - so I've no idea how it is working now.
What I'm asking, I guess, is how other people view LRP downtime. I'm also keen to hear examples of how it works in other games that I haven't played, or to hear more detail on ones that I have if you feel I've misrepresented it or if you feel you have some insight into how it works that I've missed. Do you like a game to have downtime? Is it a chore that you would prefer to avoid? Should advancement be tied to it?
The game that I'm planning on running is planned to be annual, if that affects people's views.
Anyway - many thanks in advance.