Happy Monday! Let’s talk about griefing. Specifically, griefing in BitCraft, as studio Clockwork Labs has released a new dev blog on the topic along with a discussion on the game’s combat goals.
Clockwork reminds players that combat has a role in the game, even if the game isn’t necessarily a combat-grinder, but that it does plan to expand the quality of the combat.
“We’ve heard loud and clear from the community: if combat is going to exist, it needs to be and feel good,” the devs say. That means dungeon systems, progression, stats, and improvements to the “responsiveness and feel of combat” are all on the way as part of this combat polish.
However, the devs also acknowledge that while the game isn’t focused on combat, combat is still a part of the conflict focus in the game, as conducted through empire control, settlement control, and yes, even PvP combat.
“For years, we didn’t have a clear answer to whether BitCraft would have PvP Combat,” Clockwork admits. “Not because we were hiding it, but because we genuinely weren’t sure what the right move was. BitCraft is not a PvP sandbox MMO in the traditional sense, and we know many players come here for the cozy, cooperative experience. But over time, we’ve come to realize that PvP can exist in a way that respects that vision.” PvP will include dueling and empire sieges; it doesn’t sound as if the game is going to give up its opt-in, cozy feel.
That also means the devs are on guard for griefing – and they do want the game to be “resilient to griefing.” The studio lays out its plans thus far, including safeguards against hoarding land and strict rules on terraforming that make it slow to degrade and easy to restore. Will it work? It might. “[W]hile no system is perfect, we believe we’ve created a strong foundation of systems which let us mitigate the amount of griefing or give players better ways to prevent it themselves,” the devs conclude.
