Thoughts on Kill Stealing and the Map Ownership System

So I just saw this report (link: https://royals.ms/forum/threads/manon-ks.79305/) and here are some of my thoughts on the matter.

We all know that for a KS report to be considered valid following the implementation of the new report abuse format (link: https://royals.ms/forum/threads/new-report-abuse-format-for-ksing.57289/), several criteria must be fulfilled. As much as I understand the staff’s rationale behind this implementation, I just feel that actually fulfilling these criteria and then capture them with multiple screenshots is outright impossible in a situation similar to the one cited in the above thread (which is not uncommon btw).

It seems to me that the burden of validating a KS report lies almost entirely on the rightful owner of the map/boss where there is little to no support from the current system at all. Coupled with pressures from sustaining one’s HP during the fight (especially for low level bishops/mages) and limited time to execute what is required of the KS report, I feel that the current system benefits the intruder more so than protecting the map owner in such situations.

Here are two suggestions which I think may help improve the current situation:

1. Current set of criteria remains for regular training maps but have a separate set of criteria for area bosses like manon, big foot etc. The criteria for the latter should be more lax, possibly allowing screenshots/video evidence with mapownership and timestamp flashed, and the accused caught in action without the need to explain mapownership/asking the accused to leave.
2. Locking the map portal from the outside when a boss spawns with someone in the map, allowing only party members of the map owner inside. Portal may be unlocked in the event that mapownership is lost (person in map being afk/dies and does not respawn).

Do let me know what you guys think of this. On a side note, I feel that the report cited above is unlikely to go through considering that all of the criteria haven’t been met. Nevertheless, cheers to a better gaming experience and boo to player toxicity.

 

I think that locking the map isnt a great idea because it will also prevent people from getting past that map at bigfoot for example you wouldnt be able to get through to other maps without using tp rocks or finding another channel that is empty which at certain times would be next to impossible.

Staff members has previosuly stated that they're working on something that changes the way manon works that should solve this specific problem. As for big foot and other area bosses I don't know.

 

Ksing at spawn bosses is part of the game. only boss I think room sould be locked is manon and Griffey.

 

ultimate BF kser

 

Its against the t&c and obviously its not a part of this server unless you think being banned is a part of playing here.

 

your 100% right. I sometimes forget that this is a privately run server with privately set rules.

 

Everyone should get banned at least once, it builds character!

 

I think everyone in this thread agrees that the main problem with the way things are currently is that the reporter has a large responsibility on satisfying all of the report criteria. That is that they (the victim) have to explain to the kser (aggressor), whilst taking multiple screenshots to verify that they were being ksed and that they had explained the rules appropriately to the kser.

Considering the ~mapowner command will be required for a valid report anyway, maybe one solution would be to include more information in its output.
The current global output from the command states: "The map is owned by ____". Maybe a better output would state that other players must seek their permission before attacking or looting on this map, and state that is a bannable offense. An example for this could be "This map is owned by ____, it is against the rules to attack or loot on this map without their permission".
That way, it should be clear to the kser - regardless of how familiar they are with the T&C that they are currently breaking rules. The only benefit this really adds to the map owner is is that the burden of informing the kser of the rules is lifted, as it will be done by the system - and thus hopefully would deter the kser from continuing to break the rules, and on top of that prevent new players from being banned due to their unfamiliarity with the rules.

 

Or we could do what GMS did and not give a crap about every soft serve who complains over a minor issue such as ksing and name calling. GM's should worry about people duplicating items and using third party programs to do silly amounts of damage.

 

I don't currently have time to read all replies, so I will likely be touching on some things that have already been discussed but here goes.
--Also, I am adding the act of Map Looting to this mix.

I agree that having to ask them and explaining rules and whatnot is not only ridiculous but oftentimes impossible, especially if they are looting rather than KSing. A ~mapowner and a "cc please" should be more than sufficient. The ~mapowner literally tells the other player that the map they are killing on does not belong to them. Anything they kill beyond this is blatantly malicious and they know exactly what they're doing. Why should I have to stop my training and type a paragraph? By leaving this rule as-is, you are basically condoning toxic, shitty people's actions.
Using this logic, scamming should be legal unless the victim EXPRESSLY ASKED not to be scammed beforehand.

Also using the current system, you literally cannot be banned for killing a public/world boss. Since the criteria required is screenshots 2 minutes apart, and almost all bosses are dead within less than a minute....

My suggestion for a solution is to accept two ~mapowner screenshots (as they're only allowed 30 seconds apart) and a request that the KSing player leave the channel by any means. Everyone knows what "CC please" means. If they do not, they know what the ~mapowner's "This channel is owned by _______" means.

It would also help to have more GMs policing the game more often. I'm not saying we need 50 GMs to be on babysitting duty 24/7, but currently no one is even remotely worried about a GM showing up to enforce rules if called upon. This, in my opinion, is due to a lack of in-game enforcement presence. If people know there's a decent chance of a GM showing up due to a ~GM, they are MUCH less likely to commit these offenses in the first place.

 

And here I thought I was the only person on this server that felt this way.

The community should be the ones who police themselves. Not the GM's. They already have enough to do. If you KS, you should be outed as such, and we the community will deal with you. On GMS, we used to follow ksers and scammers around and ks them till they understood what they did. Sometimes it took an hour, sometimes it took a week. Answer wasnt perfect, but I can definitely attest to the fact most people didnt KS again after they were ks'd for a week straight. Scammers on the other hand, were ks'd indefinitely.

 

I strongly disagree with letting the community deal with it. This will just lead to people being wrongly ks'd and lead to huge ks-wars. Which was also a thing in GMS and not something i'd like to see in mapleroyals.

I agree that the mapowner systeem as of now has it flaws, but not having it also has major drawbacks. If people feel wronged, they should be able to report others for it and let the gm's decide if it was banworthy.

 

Awww boooooooooo. No fun. KSwars are exciting parts of MMO gaming. There is no fun in fairness.

 

The entire reason the community did that back then was due to the fact that the GMs would not. And this may work for you and your full guild of 4th job friends, but what about the people who prefer not to join a guild or don't have one. Are you going to stop what you're doing every time you see a smega about a stranger getting KSed? This is a Game Master's job. Especially on a private server where other issues make it less plausible to handle things the same as GMS. For one, there are less people here. Way less. Not to mention the fact that gaming communities as a whole have devolved a hell of a lot since 2005. This server is a shining example of how shitty and selfish people can be at times. So I'm doubting you'd spend 5 minutes KSing a KSer on behalf of a complete stranger - much less a week.

I'm not sure about you, but I've been in several guilds looking for my fit and most times I can't find one or two people to train with or boss. I would venture to say I am far from a part of a minority of people having this problem. It just wouldn't work your way.

This is an MMO, but not a Massively Multiplayer game. It's a Mediocre Multiplayer Online game. Yes, a KS war would be fun and nostalgic if the same community dynamic existed. It doesn't.