Silkroad Reborn (My newest idea to spaz up this bland community) - Garry's Mod

POSSIBLE NAMES: Express Delivery, Escort, Merch-v-Mercs, Silkroad Reborn I̶ ̶g̶o̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶i̶d̶e̶a̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶ ̶g̶r̶e̶a̶t̶ ̶g̶a̶m̶e̶m̶o̶d̶e̶.̶ ̶ ̶I̶t̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶b̶a̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶a̶p̶o̶c̶a̶l̶y̶p̶t̶i̶c̶ ̶e̶r̶a̶ ̶b̶e̶t̶w̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶c̶h̶i̶n̶a̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶e̶u̶r̶o̶p̶e̶ ̶(̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶S̶i̶l̶k̶r̶o̶a̶d̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶a̶n̶c̶i̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶r̶a̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶r̶o̶u̶t̶e̶)̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶a̶i̶n̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶c̶e̶p̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶g̶a̶m̶e̶m̶o̶d̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶3̶ ̶"̶j̶o̶b̶s̶"̶ ̶ ̶M̶e̶r̶c̶h̶a̶n̶t̶:̶ ̶M̶e̶r̶c̶h̶a̶n̶t̶s̶ ̶r̶u̶n̶t̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶a̶r̶a̶v̶a̶n̶,̶ ̶p̶o̶s̶s̶i̶b̶l̶y̶ ̶o̶w̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶x̶e̶n̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶l̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶s̶e̶ ̶l̶i̶n̶e̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶p̶u̶l̶l̶ ̶r̶u̶s̶t̶y̶ ̶b̶r̶o̶k̶e̶n̶ ̶d̶o̶w̶n̶ ̶c̶a̶r̶s̶ ̶f̶i̶l̶l̶e̶d̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶s̶.̶ ̶G̶o̶o̶d̶s̶ ̶e̶x̶c̶l̶u̶s̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶e̶n̶d̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶a̶t̶h̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶b̶o̶u̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶s̶o̶l̶d̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶f̶i̶t̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶e̶n̶d̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶v̶i̶c̶e̶ ̶v̶e̶r̶s̶a̶.̶ ̶ ̶M̶e̶r̶c̶h̶a̶n̶t̶s̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶u̶p̶g̶r̶a̶d̶e̶ ̶h̶o̶w̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶o̶x̶e̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶,̶ ̶f̶a̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶o̶x̶e̶n̶,̶ ̶l̶i̶g̶h̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶c̶a̶r̶s̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶e̶a̶s̶i̶e̶r̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶o̶x̶e̶n̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶p̶u̶l̶l̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶h̶o̶w̶ ̶m̶u̶c̶h̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶a̶r̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶h̶o̶l̶d̶.̶ ̶ ̶R̶a̶i̶d̶e̶r̶:̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶j̶o̶b̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶a̶i̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶u̶n̶t̶ ̶d̶o̶w̶n̶ ̶c̶a̶r̶a̶v̶a̶n̶s̶,̶ ̶k̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶s̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶s̶t̶e̶a̶l̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶m̶u̶c̶h̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶c̶a̶r̶r̶y̶.̶ ̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶s̶e̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶s̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶b̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶b̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶a̶ ̶e̶x̶c̶l̶u̶s̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶r̶a̶i̶d̶e̶r̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶s̶e̶l̶l̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶l̶e̶n̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶a̶ ̶"̶f̶e̶n̶c̶e̶"̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶a̶i̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶u̶p̶g̶r̶a̶d̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶i̶r̶ ̶w̶e̶a̶p̶o̶n̶s̶,̶ ̶b̶a̶c̶k̶p̶a̶c̶k̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶c̶a̶r̶r̶y̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶l̶e̶n̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶s̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶h̶o̶w̶ ̶m̶u̶c̶h̶ ̶a̶m̶m̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶c̶a̶r̶r̶y̶.̶ ̶ ̶M̶e̶r̶c̶e̶n̶a̶r̶y̶:̶ ̶ ̶N̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶s̶a̶y̶s̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶e̶r̶c̶h̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶h̶i̶r̶e̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶v̶i̶l̶y̶ ̶a̶r̶m̶e̶d̶ ̶f̶i̶g̶h̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶m̶a̶c̶h̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶t̶e̶c̶t̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶i̶l̶k̶r̶o̶a̶d̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶r̶a̶i̶d̶e̶r̶s̶.̶ ̶ ̶M̶u̶l̶t̶i̶p̶l̶e̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶h̶i̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶m̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶m̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶i̶r̶ ̶m̶o̶n̶e̶y̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶j&#

hahahahahah silkroad, definitely thought you were talking about something else inb4 dumb ratings from sobercats

Your idea is very similar to pre-existing gamemodes, including DarkRP, and due to the way you describe things, I imagine this is some form of either round based path-travel gamemode, or an RP like gamemode, either way, I don't understand how this would work. So from this I feel like you describe a linear path map where players choose a job or get shoved into a job. Merchants travel to the other end and raiders attack them, and that to an extent, ignoring any balance issues, works. But how exactly do mercenaries factor in? They seem like a random third team that are placed into the game and fulfill no distinct purpose. If the gamemode isn't round based, and the "road quest" is always the main goal of the gamemode, I imagine players will get bored very quickly of walking from X to Y for hours upon hours. However, seeing as how you describe the upgrade system, it feels like it's more persistence based, which raises even more issues: [b]What prevents raiders from just killing merchants on spawn and getting loot immediately? What stops everyone from just being a raider? Why would anyone be a merchant if it provides no enjoyment, you're always a target, and you get no weapons or rewards? What is the point of upgrading weapons and armour if merchants are always easy to kill? What if Mercenaries work for Raiders instead of Merchants and then it's a big 'ol deathmatch? Why do you add zombies? It seems awfully generic and strange to do. Why is it post apocalyptic? Any other theme would be immensely more unique, and still work with the basic theme; which I assume is the path trade concept, which you hardly touch on. Who are the merchants trading with? NPCs? Why? What do they get in return when they can be a mercenary or raider and get it for free?[/b] There are hundred more questions about gameplay elements, but the gamemode is just too deathmatch based without any emphasis on the theme, that it doesn't make sense. The gamemode takes inspiration from the Silkroad, yet only slightly is trade even hinted at, and I foresee issues regarding balance and player enjoyment being a huge factor. Not only that, it would quickly degenerate into a free-for-all deathmatch and nobody wants that. I'd recommend fleshing out the idea more, or focusing on a gamemode that's more unique, before putting effort into it. (If you're the alt of the guy who just posted his awful idea and use alts to avoid having your ideas buttmangled, I'd be really disappointed in your cowardice)

Hmm you bring up a lot of good points.. The zombies was just a random idea, post apocalyptic because I dont see any other reason the silk road would be used again. Perhaps an auto balance system (When you log in you can pick a job depending on whats availible. (Similar to jailbreaks system where your usually forced to pick one of the two.. In this case probably 2 of the 3) Point of upgrading weapons is for the fight between Mercs and Raiders.. Merchants make the most money which can help for future sessions on the server. There will be border restrictions for jobs to prevent spawn killing and near the border will be npc to fight off people who could spawn kill. Mercenaries working for Raiders would be a bannable offense. Merchants would be selling to a shop most likely.. As generic system as it is it's the only flawless one I can think of.

[QUOTE=quadroman1;38917965]Hmm you bring up a lot of good points.. The zombies was just a random idea, post apocalyptic because I dont see any other reason the silk road would be used again. Perhaps an auto balance system (When you log in you can pick a job depending on whats availible. (Similar to jailbreaks system where your usually forced to pick one of the two.. In this case probably 2 of the 3) Point of upgrading weapons is for the fight between Mercs and Raiders.. Merchants make the most money which can help for future sessions on the server. There will be border restrictions for jobs to prevent spawn killing and near the border will be npc to fight off people who could spawn kill. Mercenaries working for Raiders would be a bannable offense. Merchants would be selling to a shop most likely.. As generic system as it is it's the only flawless one I can think of.[/QUOTE] So then work from the ground up rather than work on details first. Instead of looking at details and cosmetics, or upgrades, focus on the main gameplay elements of the gamemode. Jot down the theme, and revolve the gamemode around it. For instance, multiple changes can be made to make the gamemode more unique, enjoyable, and generally easier to do: 1. Remove mercenaries and just have merchants able to defend themselves. While the idea of "hirable mercs" is nice homage to Post Apocalyptic games, there is no reason to have another team for what basically amounts to merchants with guns. 2. Session based play is vital, have a round denoted by a time limit. If caravan members die, they respawn in a surrounding area near the path, and if the raiders are in control of the caravan for too long, the raiders win the round. Or just have the time limit prevent win, so raiders basically "stall" merchants from turning the caravan to the exit point. 3. Rather than a points system, just have round based upgrades based on the number of kills a player has, or any other denotation of skill. Have points acquired by kills be saved on the server after death or leaving, so that good gamers can save up points for different round based perks such as armour and weapons. Cosmetics are also a favourite of players, such as hats and so on. 4. Why add trade? There are no items to trade in the first place, and since the gamemode is round based, there would be no reason to. Have merchants stock up before round and have time to load out, and force raiders to upgrade as the gamemode progresses. 5. NPCs seem tacked on, there is no reason to have them. Same with the Post Apoc theme, hell, this concept could be in literally any time period of any setting of any theme and work.

That actually is a great tweak on the idea. I never thought to turn it into a round based game

I'm not sure the community is [B]bland.[/B] We've seen Morbus, Extreme Football Throwdown, LightRP, Redead, and a bunch of other non bland shit. In all honesty I think it's been a pretty decent year with gamemodes.

[QUOTE=nick_9_8;38921327]I'm not sure the community is [B]bland.[/B] We've seen Morbus, Extreme Football Throwdown, LightRP, Redead, and a bunch of other non bland shit. In all honesty I think it's been a pretty decent year with gamemodes.[/QUOTE] Ironically the idea posted in the OP is one of the more typical "idea guy" ideas that's been posted here countless times before. On that note, we need some moderation in this forum. Everyone start reporting these threads so the mods actually see them.

Whats wrong with the idea? Did you read the replies? It's basically redesigned while maintaining concept

No wait wait this could be cool. Imagine a map with 2-3 towns each with its own citizens and leaders and open area between and it'd be like a sorta anarchy political gamemode thing like DarkRP, right? But over 3 towns. Fuck this could be cool. I'm gonna waste the next couple hours on google docs designing this

[QUOTE=nick_9_8;38921327]I'm not sure the community is [B]bland.[/B] We've seen Morbus, Extreme Football Throwdown, LightRP, Redead, and a bunch of other non bland shit. In all honesty I think it's been a pretty decent year with gamemodes.[/QUOTE] The sad part is, while the majority of the good gamemode coders here, like Disseminate and Bing Bang, make beautiful and nice gamemodes and lua toys, the community itself is unappreciative and tends to go back to playing the older, more over saturated gamemodes like TTT and DarkRP. While I'm not blasting on either DarkRP or TTT, it's clear that most of the Gmod community hate new things, and it's incredibly difficult to get a community around a new gamemode. You'll be hard-pressed to find multiple servers with a decent player count running Morbus or UFT. It's not the gamemodes that are bland, it's the community, and I think if there was a gamemode that applied what attracts players to TTT and DarkRP, while still maintaining originality and enjoyability, that gamemode would be one that would spread like wildfire. [editline]21st December 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=DeathByKittens;38923464]No wait wait this could be cool. Imagine a map with 2-3 towns each with its own citizens and leaders and open area between and it'd be like a sorta anarchy political gamemode thing like DarkRP, right? But over 3 towns. Fuck this could be cool. I'm gonna waste the next couple hours on google docs designing this[/QUOTE] Just be wary of the fact that players won't always play the game you want them to. There are always conflicting issues: "What the gamemode creator wants VS. how its players will play it." While we may imagine a scenario that works perfectly in our head, you find that players will hardly do what you want them to do unless you set up situations just perfectly, not restricting them too much, but not giving them too much freedom. That's why so many gamemodes tend to fall into the cracks, they have great ideas, but execution is the biggest deal. You have to appeal to the players and give them what they want while still portraying your ideas. It's all about manipulation and compromise, and it takes a ton of work to get it right. Sadly, its why gamemodes like Morbus, Parasite, Tiramisu, and UFT never get the recognition they deserve.

Lets get back to the topic at hand please.. this isnt a rant about what gamemodes are "good" or "bad". All in all its what the people want, and if they want in your opinion "bland gamemodes like TTT and dark rp" then so be it. Before people start hating on me on the idea of me trying to protect it. No. Stop. No... i see you trying to rate this as shit,.... nonononono okay. I dont like rp, however i realize something, people like it, so therefore its doing SOMETHING right. Ive tried the gamemodes talked about, tiramisu, parasite, and morbus. And i didnt last on there more then 10 minutes each before i got bored of them. You know why? I didnt like it, it wasnt my playstyle. Bottom line, even if a game design is "unique, new original" etc. Dosnt mean its good. And the people know why, if they dont like it they dont like it. Nothing is gonna change it. Thats the bottom line of things. /Rant.

[QUOTE=Loriborn;38923524] Just be wary of the fact that players won't always play the game you want them to. There are always conflicting issues: "What the gamemode creator wants VS. how its players will play it." While we may imagine a scenario that works perfectly in our head, you find that players will hardly do what you want them to do unless you set up situations just perfectly, not restricting them too much, but not giving them too much freedom. That's why so many gamemodes tend to fall into the cracks, they have great ideas, but execution is the biggest deal. You have to appeal to the players and give them what they want while still portraying your ideas. It's all about manipulation and compromise, and it takes a ton of work to get it right. Sadly, its why gamemodes like Morbus, Parasite, Tiramisu, and UFT never get the recognition they deserve.[/QUOTE] Very good point but I know it very well :P I design tons of gamemodes (and never finish them) and I definitely learn a lot about that kind of thing. My google docs folder is like designer heaven its so fucking interesting (no really it is)

[QUOTE=Pancakes888;38923625]Lets get back to the topic at hand please.. this isnt a rant about what gamemodes are "good" or "bad". All in all its what the people want, and if they want in your opinion "bland gamemodes like TTT and dark rp" then so be it. Before people start hating on me on the idea of me trying to protect it. No. Stop. No... i see you trying to rate this as shit,.... nonononono okay. I dont like rp, however i realize something, people like it, so therefore its doing SOMETHING right. Ive tried the gamemodes talked about, tiramisu, parasite, and morbus. And i didnt last on there more then 10 minutes each before i got bored of them. You know why? I didnt like it, it wasnt my playstyle. Bottom line, even if a game design is "unique, new original" etc. Dosnt mean its good. And the people know why, if they dont like it they dont like it. Nothing is gonna change it. Thats the bottom line of things. /Rant.[/QUOTE] Part of the problem. I never insulted DarkRP or TTT, but this ideology, this concept you have of "give them what they already have because that'll get me popular" is what's wrong with the community. It's not that they don't enjoy new gamemodes, it's that they won't even give it a try. They start Gmod, find a TTT or DarkRP and join it, and ignore the servers that say any different. Most gamemodes fall through the cracks simply because the "gamemode name" doesn't say DarkRP. I ran a server running Winter Survival, got hardly any players, change the gamemode name to "DarkRP" but still run Winter Survival, and suddenly my server was relatively full and players would come. I change the gamemode name back, but while I had a community, the number of new players per day was much lower than it was before. It's the fact that people don't try new things, they dismiss them and go on to their little niche gamemodes. I doubt you've ever played Morbus, Parasite, or UFT, and probably not Tiramisu either. [editline]21st December 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=DeathByKittens;38923692]Very good point but I know it very well :P I design tons of gamemodes (and never finish them) and I definitely learn a lot about that kind of thing. My google docs folder is like designer heaven its so fucking interesting (no really it is)[/QUOTE] I got a message from a guy about a fantastic little gamemode idea, I think you two would get along. PM me if you're interested, he seems to have a good sense of lua and you two could bounce around ideas.

[QUOTE=Loriborn;38923708]Part of the problem. I never insulted DarkRP or TTT, but this ideology, this concept you have of "give them what they already have because that'll get me popular" is what's wrong with the community. It's not that they don't enjoy new gamemodes, it's that they won't even give it a try. They start Gmod, find a TTT or DarkRP and join it, and ignore the servers that say any different. I doubt you've ever played Morbus, Parasite, or UFT, and probably not Tiramisu either.[/QUOTE] I have played Morbus Parasite and Tiramusu. Again, never liked them. Just becuase i dont like one thing does not mean you should assume i never played it. That is argueing "this is a good gamemode becuase its different and if you dont agree you probbally never played it becuase this is the greatest thing on earth". I also never said give them what they want for popularity, im saying give them what they want and dont try and force down new ideas when if one thing is working, stick with it. I would also like to put out a theory to people. Does the world change suddenly or overtime? Overtime, people themselves, change overtime, the only way you can get people to play something outside their expectations of what they had in mind (in this case gamemodes unique to gmod) then you need to do it in incrimites before a group or majority of people start to sway to a new ideal of what should be played. All in all if you can get the majority of people to move simply from darkrp and TTT to something else and so on and so forth, it will slowlly push people to a new ideal and the ideas of "unique" game ideas isnt so unique anymore and expected. So take that with a grain of salt.

[QUOTE=Loriborn;38923708]Typing out swag.[/QUOTE] PM'd

Silkroad sells drugs

This doesn't remind me of Silkroad online's trade-runs.. Not at all..

Ahhhh someone else who played it :3

How about everyone starts off as a merchant, and they must trade with NPCs certain items they scavenge from the apoc lands, and then they grow up to be a merc, and help out those who are still merchants? Then if they want to, by killing NPCs, become raiders.

[QUOTE=FunFunTiem;38935693]How about everyone starts off as a merchant, and they must trade with NPCs certain items they scavenge from the apoc lands, and then they grow up to be a merc, and help out those who are still merchants? Then if they want to, by killing NPCs, become raiders.[/QUOTE] Already happens in most roleplay servers. I don't think we need more roleplay gamemodes. Now, gamemodes with persistant data can still work, but more pseudo-roleplaying just oversaturates the server list, and trying to compete with preexisting servers that do that already would be suicide.

Its quite a good idea its very "unique" though it might require some tweaking

Scratch what I said earlier (in the previous thread) about all the new posters being steam friends, they're definitely alts.

Just because someone agrees with something you think is dumb doesn't mean they're alts.. It means you have what's called an "opinion" it's one of the things that makes all of us different. [editline]23rd December 2012[/editline] [B][U]COMPLETELY CHANGED IT AROUND PLEASE RE-READ[/U][/B] =]

Except nobody will want to be the merchants, cause you don't get to [U]shoot all da people[/U]

Have you read anything? We decided there won't be mercenaries and the merchants will have guns

[QUOTE=quadroman1;38948784]Have you read anything? We decided there won't be mercenaries and the merchants will have guns[/QUOTE] However, unless you learn lua, it won't be made. However, it's actually an incredibly easy gamemode, since it's just a deathmatch with a few obstacles and goals, which in and of themselves are just entities. Practically, it's probably one of the most simple gamemodes that people suggest here.

This will never be made. And I don't really mind since this idea is not really original; but the idea guys were asking for it to be ignored when they named/based it after a drug trade.

this is essentially Hunted from TFC

[QUOTE=KillerLUA;38949441]This will never be made. And I don't really mind since this idea is not really original; but the idea guys were asking for it to be ignored when they named/based it after a drug trade.[/QUOTE] The 'Silk Road' was a pretty important part of world history, and although the idea isn't really that fantastic, it shouldn't be ignored just because certain people want to buy illegal things online. I don't care if people like to smoke or shoot up, but I just think it's silly to make reference to the fact that that individual does every time the opportunity arises. Regardless, the idea isn't really ignored because of its name, it's ignored because it's incredibly simple and while it could be fun a couple of rounds, I couldn't see it being fun over and over again. There just isn't enough leeway for creativity, so every round would play out the same way, being incredibly boring and repetitive.