"Strange" guns and ships (keeps track of kills)

[Jazzza]

I'm sure most of you have played TF2 or GSGO or Dota 2 that have "strange" items that keep track of kills.

Maybe our guns, ships and hammers could keep track of kills, repairs, rebuilds, etc? Maybe a micro-transaction (as much as I hate them) to prevent everyone from tracking?

In the games that have already implemented them I see no change in gameplay or anything like that. The most I get is a "woah, he's been playing for a while" when I see someone with thousands of kills.

[Rainer Zu Fall]

We've got that already. Look at the "Progress" tab and the summary of your classes.

[Thomas]

You can view your own kills (among many other stats) in your progress button, like Rainer pointed out, but you can't view the stats of other players. I think this is mostly for privacy as well as to not encourage players to 'pad their stats'. Some part of me thinks that seeing some of the stats could be interesting, but another part of me thinks it could be an issue waiting to happen with some people.

[Rainer Zu Fall]

Some part of me thinks that seeing some of the stats could be interesting, but another part of me thinks it could be an issue waiting to happen with some people.

Yeah, I fear that showing those stats publicly might lead to captains rushing in alone to get all the kills for themselves, engineers repairing destroyed guns instead of the hull and balloon because they're way quicker repaired and tactics being thrown overboard.

[Jazzza]

We've got that already. Look at the "Progress" tab and the summary of your classes.

My suggestion is public stats.

[Ahsas]

Eh. Kills are a poor indicator of anything worthwhile, and I'm much more impressed by a player's rank in terms of time played than whether they prefer to run support/disablers or killer ships.

Granted, a player's rank is gameable, but in general, I've found it a very good indicator of time played.

[Piemanlives]

Maybe a micro-transaction (as much as I hate them) to prevent everyone from tracking?

On this subject, Muse has stated they will not restrict content besides cosmetics, but that's beside the point.

I don't really know what I'd think of stats, in some respects I feel they are kind of pointless, but the only stat I really pay attention to is games played and time played.

[Jazzza]

Eh. Kills are a poor indicator of anything worthwhile, and I'm much more impressed by a player's rank in terms of time played than whether they prefer to run support/disablers or killer ships.

Granted, a player's rank is gameable, but in general, I've found it a very good indicator of time played.

I admit, I don't trust the kill count on weapons in other games because of this.

By the way it's not necessarily kill counts that can be recorded. TF2 has "strange parts" that record different things such as enemies killed in specific ways ("airshots" or shooting them when they are in the air, "extinguished allies" when you put them out if they're on fire) and some items are special such as the medigun, so instead of recorded kills, it has recorded ubers (activations).

If we applied this to GoI, we could record

• number of enemies spotted with the spyglass
• number of parts repaired
• number of parts rebuilt
• number of parts extinguised
• etc

Similar to the current system, but it would be item-specific and public. Hopefully accessible in-game when you're looking at someone or when you press a specific key when looking at them (Source games have an "inspect" key that shows you what they're using).

Edit: So it's basically like the TF2/Dota item system without the trading system.

[Sylas Firehammer]

The only problem is that when you bring statistics into the mix for anything, this is going to skew the way that players will play the game. There will always be those people that go out of the way to boost a statistic. For instance, if something kept track of hull rebuilds, you could see players letting the hull go down just so they can rebuild it. We all know what can happen if the hull goes down! This would screw up gameplay. People going out of their way to chem spray things ineffectively, buffing stuff unnecessarily, leaving stations to rebuild other parts. It would be like the achievement system in game right now, but amplified.

I have no problem with being able to acquire festive tools, like a spyglass with Christmas lights, or replacing a pipe wrench with a Menorah, but keeping track of stats will always screw things up somehow.

[Rainer Zu Fall]

The only problem is that when you bring statistics into the mix for anything, this is going to skew the way that players will play the game.

Exactly what I said. This might become a huge problem when showing public stats.

[ramjamslam]

I wouldn't mind Strange Ship customisations, like a 'Strange Pyramidion Prow' which counts ram kills or 'Strange Engine' which counts kilometers traveled or escapes (retreated to safety after hull went down).

[Sylas Firehammer]

That's the only stats that I'd be alright with; passive statistics. Like a balloon that could be covered in festive decor and show how many meters you've risen since you got the balloon, or like ram said, an engine that keeps track of distance. Perhaps a hull that keeps track of how much damage it's taken.

[Jazzza]

The only problem is that when you bring statistics into the mix for anything, this is going to skew the way that players will play the game.

Exactly what I said. This might become a huge problem when showing public stats.

It really depends on the game and the community. I play TF2 and Dota 2 regularly and no-one gives a shit about kill counts, except for the odd "he's got heaps of kills - cool". Personally I like recording the kills and other stats, but it's all for fun.

[Sylas Firehammer]

I totally agree and think that's really cool! I play a LOT of Counter Strike: Global Offensive myself and there are guns that keep track of kills as well. However the thing is that this game is 100% team based and individual stats defeat the purpose of a lot of the game. I enjoy the philosophy you're bringing up, but it would be a problem because not everyone will have this same philosophy and it will become a detriment to the team aspect of the game.

[Jazzza]

I totally agree and think that's really cool! I play a LOT of Counter Strike: Global Offensive myself and there are guns that keep track of kills as well. However the thing is that this game is 100% team based and individual stats defeat the purpose of a lot of the game. I enjoy the philosophy you're bringing up, but it would be a problem because not everyone will have this same philosophy and it will become a detriment to the team aspect of the game.

Yeah it's already clear some people dislike the idea. With such a small community behind the game, it's difficult to suggest new ideas that everyone agrees on.