Assay Improvement Suggestions

[kipley]

Currently, when you assay a plot of land, you get a permanent sign on the plot that states how much crystite is there.  Other players who watch you perform the assay get a brief message stating the amount of crystite, but it's up to them to remember/record that information.

Which means that to compete effectively at the game, you must create your own paper grid for tracking the assay results (unless you have a phenomenal memory).  And you must pay attention to the entirety of your opponent's moves, lest you miss an assay result message.  While none of this is particularly difficult, it is... tedious.  MULE is a fun game, but this part of it feels more like work.

Suggestions to remove the "work" part from the "fun" part:

Suggestion One:  Whenever anyone assays a plot of land, ALL players should get the handy little sign on the plots to track and display the results.  This doesn't change the gameplay at all, as everyone is currently given the results from other players assays, but it does make tracking the stuff a lot more convenient.

Suggestion Two:  Or, whenever a player assays a plot of land, ONLY that player gets the assay results.  Other players can only see which tile was assayed, but they get no information about how much crystite was found.  This suggestion changes the gameplay (for the better?) in that it rewards players who do their own assaying, as opposed to players who just sit back and observe the results of other players assays.

With either suggestion, I'd also add that after a crystite factory has been built on a tile and the production phase is entered, to where everyone can see the tile's crystite info by the factory output indicator, that at that point you may as well post the same "assay sign" indicating the tile's crystite holdings.  The sign would be redundant while the crystite factory is in place, but if the factory is changed to produce food or energy, it would be nice not to have to go back to consulting your paper grid to remember the results.

-Kip

[Big Head Zach]

The signpost for the assaying player is the only deviation from spec as far as the situational awareness aspect of assaying is concerned. In the original, all players had to "remember" what was found on any given space, so this tediousness and need to play "Memory" was part of the experience (and you were rewarded when others forgot). Adding the signpost rewards players who actually use their time to perform the assays; they do not have to put up with the pesky task of remembering the densities.

Personally, if you feel the need to write down the assay results when they are reported, I see no problem with that...it's the price you pay for having others do your dirty work.

Also, realize that once you become familiar with the nature of Crystite blooms and how they present themselves on the map, it may only take a few assays to determine the entire map's Crystite layout.

Just my $.02

[Intergalactic Mole]

Agree w/Zach. In the original game there was no marker at all. Everyone got to see the results of the assay, but they equally all had to remember what the results were.  If we do anything, the marker should be removed in order to make the game closer to the original.  Otherwise, this suggestion is better suited for the gameplay ideas forum for the enhanced game.

[hudson]

But you guys are ignoring the fact that the original game was played around a TV screen, while this game is played over the Internet. In the original, you couldn't really record unless others were cool with it (it really didn't happen) and the memory was an important element. With PM, it's easy to record (although tedious).

So I agree with the OP. It'd be best to either remove the tedium, or make the information unavailable. Currently not recording is a handicap unless you have exceptional memory. It also makes it harder on newbies that don't realize this, increasing the learning curive.

Overall it's not a big deal, but it'd be a nice improvement.

[Intergalactic Mole]

But you guys are ignoring the fact that the original game was played around a TV screen, while this game is played over the Internet. In the original, you couldn't really record unless others were cool with it (it really didn't happen) and the memory was an important element. With PM, it's easy to record (although tedious).

That is true.... but again there are going to be 2 versions of Planet MULE:  one as close to the original game as possible and an enhanced version.  In order to stay true to the original, the marker should be removed and everyone should have to remember or keep track on their own.  It's not really that difficult to remember the locations though.  If you really have to write them down, you're just a whippersnapper.   

[kipley]

It's not really that difficult to remember the locations though.  If you really have to write them down, you're just a whippersnapper.  

I'm glad that your memory is so keen.  I must be a whippersnapper, because I need to write them down.  And given the amount of other players I've seen in my games re-assay the same plots that someone else has already done, it would seem that there's a lot of us out there with less than perfect memories.

If the consensus is that memorizing/writing them down is a key part of game play (or, at least, a desirable facet of game play), then so be it, I'll just continue to write down the info.  But I'll also probably play the game with less frequency, because there are times when I just don't feel like doing the work required to manually tabulate the assay results.  Those times are when I just want to, you know, play a fun game!

As to Zach's point that "Adding the signpost rewards players who actually use their time to perform the assays; they do not have to put up with the pesky task of remembering the densities."... this is true up to a point.  But since you don't get the signpoints for other player's assays, people like me will still record all the info by paper (even though I do more assays than most).  Which makes the signposts (as currently implemented) of only slight value.  I'd say, either remove them altogether (and make memorizing/recording the info a key part of game play, and make the game more faithful to the original version), or actually make the signposts useful (by implementing either of my original suggestions).

Respectfully submitted,

-Kip

[Intergalactic Mole]

I respectfully noted your opinion, and I am not saying that it is wrong.  The developers have already made it clear that there will be 2 games; one as close to the original, and an enhanced version.  All I am saying is that the original game required everyone to remember, and in order to stay true to the original the marker should be removed.  Anything past that should be submitted to the gameplay ideas forum for the enhanced game.

[poobslag]

I've started occasionally taking notes on assays for online play; does anybody regard this as cheating? I kind of assumed everyone was doing it.

I used to play Scrabble and similar games online; there was a negative stigma against players who used dictionaries or anagram programs. I could imagine M.U.L.E having a similar stigma for excessive note taking. Or worse - if someone made a program which monitored your M.U.L.E game, and told you what food/energy/smithore prices would be before the auction occurred. I mean, there's obviously a line to be crossed, when it comes to taking notes or using programs that improve your game - i think the best bet is to know who you're playing with, and know where they draw the line.

[Intergalactic Mole]

I've started occasionally taking notes on assays for online play; does anybody regard this as cheating? I kind of assumed everyone was doing it.

I never do it but I don't consider it cheating.  I find it amusing though.  A classic MULEr shouldn't need to do this because they have spent so many years doing it by memory and it should come naturally to them.  But if you want to look away from the screen and write stuff down during the game, that's your business.  It's a disadvantage to you because you might miss something important.

i think the best bet is to know who you're playing with, and know where they draw the line.

There are a lot of dishonest players out there.  I believe this is the biggest problem in even having a high score list.  I think it should just be removed or there are going to be a lot of arguments about it in the future.

IMO if people want to keep scores, they should use Cases Ladder and have their own private tournaments.  No matter what ranking system MULE ever uses, I will never consider the person in Rank #1 to be any better than me.  I've been playing MULE for 27 years and I win quite often.  That's good enough for me and I don't need to prove it to anyone.

[jesus_marley]

I would like to see Assays cost money. say $25 per. Then if you find Crystite, you get a permanent sign stating what you found and how much, but it's only visible to you. The other players get a brief message stating whether or not Crystite was found on the assayed plot but not how much. Only the Assayer gets that info.