Spiral Knights - The Amphitheater

The Amphitheater

10 replies [Last post]

Mon, 03/25/2013 - 21:11

Possiblespy

Hello! Today I'd like to suggest a new section of Haven. It shall be called: the Amphitheater. I'll pretend there's an example knight here to talk to, to try to answer some questions you might have. Diagrams probably coming soon.

"But where would you put it ?"
I'll the put the path leading there outside of Haven, in that grassy area just outside the gate.

"And what does it look like?"
It'll be a small-ish amphitheater (duh) made of logs, rocks, and other nature bits. On the walls/trees are some of the large screens, like in the core or the mission lobbies. At each log bench is one of those computers you see about the place. These computers will be programmed to pick up signals from any of the tens of dozens of gremlin cameras stationed throughout the clockwor-

"Gremlins don't have cameras, that's not in the story!"
Oh yeah? Who's broadcasting that gremin logo to the ready rooms and mission lobbies then?

"I don't know, Wolvers maybe. Anyway, are these cameras for?"
The cameras will allow knights up in the Amphitheatre to be view knights' parties while they're in the clockworks.

"Great. But why?"
Know all those contests and stuff where you need to take a referee with you? Bam. Problem simplified.

"But that would save CE for the referee! That'll destroy the economy!"
Really, are do we have THAT many referees? Besides, this'll encourage contests, meaning more CE bought for prizes. Probably.

"Well, do you really need a whole new section just for contest-holders? Why would anyone else come?"
For non-contest-goers, you can predict whether given knights will be able to accomplish their mission or not.

"And how will that work?"
Knights can give some crowns to an NPC, betting for or against certain knights. When those knights finish, one way or another, the NPC will give out all the crowns bet on that knight, divided evenly among those who predicted correctly.

"This would break the economy!"
Well, it's just moving crowns around. That, and there would be a maximum bet, so that you can't make super dramatic profits or losses.

"What IS that maximum bet?"
I'm not an expert, but I think 500 to 1000 crowns should be about right.

"Wait, why would anyone volunteer be the knight in the clockworks, when just dashing through the Firestorm Citadel makes so much more money?"
Well, knights are awarded Klepto-Koins (or some similarly alliterative token), one for every knight who bets against them they prove wrong.

"And what can these be exchanged for? Some crazy, hard to implement new weapon?"
Maybe they'd exchangeable for pieces of another recolored set of armor, or some other costumes. Minty would be a nice color. If not, I'm sure that someone has a good idea for a new weapon or service somewhere in these forums.

"You mentioned an NPC. Who would that be?"
A Kleptolisk, of course. So, I guess we could have Kleptolisk colored costumes too.

"Will this be only for the arcade? Or will this apply to missions too? "
Players from before the mission update will probably say it shouldn't include missions, to get some more activity in the arcade. I, being one of those people, think that would be just great.

------E-d-i-t-e-d---i-n---l-a-t-e-r-.-.-.--------------------------------

"I wouldnt like it if i was doing a recipe run and somebody was watching me." (actual response)
Good point, that would be kinda creepy... How about, whenever you're in Haven, Moorcroft, Emberlight, or any of Basil's hideouts, knights are able to choose whether they want to be recorded or not?

"How would the option be presented?"
In Haven or the sub-towns, there could be an NPC (spiral order knight/zombie bellhop/gremlin escapee) standing by a power box, or signal-blocking device, or other switch. They'll be able to control the cameras in the next stretch of the clockworks, and will toggle them on and off when you talk to them.

"And as for the terminals? Another NPC there would make it so much more crowded..."
Yes. Therefore, instead of turning the cameras on or off, you could take a SECOND elevator shaft to a portion of the clockworks where the cameras have been manually disabled/blown up by the spiral order's recons, or whoever else is in charge of stuff like that.

"A SECOND elevator?! Do you have ANY IDEA how much space that would take up?!"
Not too much, considering there's already a second elevator there. We'd just need to fix it up a little.

"But I like the Haven/Moorcroft/Emberlight elevator the way it is... Why do you have to put an NPC there to clutter it up?"
Well, I suppose we could always ignore the cameras completely in the odd strata, and leave this as a reward for making it to the terminal.

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"You might want something more personal, like a guild room or something limited and instanced like the training hall."
Well, I don't see any reason in particular that this can't be bought as a guild room. I don't think it should be ONLY a guild room, though. Plus, I think anything in Haven is already instanced?

Mon, 03/25/2013 - 21:30

Hyiaku

Amusing indeed...

I'll give u a +1 for it. Doesn't seem too bad to me.

Mon, 03/25/2013 - 21:33

Mortem-Nex

interesting...

an interesting concept. although it would be fairly simple for the knight in the contest to whisper privately to another knight who is betting and then decide whether to win or lose the contest and therefore make money. also, lag may be a problem. but apart from that, i think it is an interesting idea. iron out those few details and +1

Mon, 03/25/2013 - 21:53

Hexzyle

Doesn't need a new section of Haven though. Broadcasting their image and actions into a virtual room onto a giant moniter would take more programming than it's worth.

Just create a computer box thing and allow it to be interactable. Once you activate it and select your player you want to spectate, you would load into their level and watch them like lockdown's spectator mode.
Simpler still, allow one to spectate other players simply by using the friends list. Spectaters can freely join Open parties, be invited to locked ones, and be kicked just like players.

Mon, 03/25/2013 - 21:59

Possiblespy

Ironing...

Well, knights being bet against have to deliberately lose, wasting 10ce and the Klepto-Koins, for his henchman in the Amphitheater betting against him to get any profit. If their cohort in the Amphitheater bets for them, they still have the possibility of the knight in the clockworks getting killed.

It seems to me, at least, that this would be a confusing and unreliable enough way to make crowns that I'd just let anyone able to pull it off have the money.

As for the lag, what would cause it? It's not like the spectators would be setting off bomb-loads of lag, is it? I mean, it works in Lockdown...

Editing, @Hexzyle: Oh, lol, agreed. I don't even want to imagine what it would take to get the parties actually displaying on the screens. I just figured that the new section would be a nice place for knights to gather around the box-computer and discuss the system without bothering knights in the Auction House.

Mon, 03/25/2013 - 21:59

Luguiru

Spectating active runs is alright, though not particularly new or interesting to the common player, but why are we promoting gambling with bets? I know how far from a good example for children I am but there are impressionable people playing this game. If we keep teaching them with the game that gambling means profit they will be messed up for the rest of their lives or however short their attention spans are.

When I saw this thread I was hoping for knights performing in plays with awkward dialogue and cheaply constructed costumes. Or maybe a sort of boot camp where players can play out scenes with objectives like shield bumping an enemy away from an ally as a scripted scene to teach players things they can do to help each other in the Clockworks.

Mon, 03/25/2013 - 22:27

Possiblespy

Well, betting on stuff is here already...

a. Punch.
b. Those super rare .00001% things in prize boxes.
c. The book of dark rituals.

Those throw around sizable chunks of crowns, real money, and time respectively. This would be more like Lockdown, where you don't lose or gain a ton, and you're right and wrong about the same amount of the time.

Also, I was kinda hoping a strategy for the Klepto-Koin runners might develop: the increased use of hipster-ey weapons, to lower the expectations of the crowd, getting the runners more tokens when they can make it work. Or just to show off how they work to a friend.

...and, besides, if it were an used as an actual amphitheater, who would go after they visited to complete a mission? :(

Tue, 03/26/2013 - 09:18

Canine-Vladmir

+1 for you being awesome

I always like it when theres a example knight asking question that i would ask.
but if its gonna work as a Spectate Option (like Coliseum Spectate), I wouldnt like it if i was doing a recipe run and somebody was watching me. Much more when i talk to my friends about things. Personal, Private, Guild Related, etc.

Tue, 03/26/2013 - 09:26

Infernoburner

Derpuraptor strikes back

Yes, sure. Now I'll go die on purpose and give my guildies and myself (trough an alt?) a derpbillion of crowns. This suggestion means no elevator pass, which means no Kataclymsic Confrontation which gave OOO money trough the passes.

Tue, 03/26/2013 - 09:48

Little-Juances

You might want something more personal, like a guild room or something limited and instanced like the training hall.

Tue, 03/26/2013 - 14:24

#10

Possiblespy

@Infernoburner

Just out of curiosity, what other knights would be betting the "derpbillion of crowns" you plan on winning? No new crowns are being created; they're merely being moved from one knight to another.

Like, if a derpbillion people bet for a knight to lose, then he loses, the derpbillion people each earn their money back, plus their share of the bets that were for the knight winning. Unless my math is wrong, anything divided by a derpbillion is NOT enough profit to break the economy.

P.S. Derpbillion is an awesome number, thank you for making me use it.

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The Amphitheater