Topic

Energy Adjustment At Higher Life Totals.

First I will mention I do much of my playing from work, shhhh, don't tell.  As such, I AFK often.  Logging out each time I AFK is not an option because it is a 6 year old computer and it takes me about 3-5 minutes just to log back in.  The lag is just insane most of the times.  And when I am on and off a lot I would spend more time logging in than I would playing.   Not to mention, I don't know if I will be gone 30 seconds or 30 minutes, so logging out each time doesn't make sense for me.

Now to my idea.

There needs to be some sort of cap on energy loss over time.  The higher your life total gets the more energy you lose over time.  It is percentage based but that runs into a problem once you get higher energy totals.

For example being I've been getting a lot of energy upgrade cards lately and my energy has more than doubled in a week.

Last week I could do everything around my house with a 2K energy bar and have anywhere from 800-1000 energy left over when I was done.  Now with a 4K energy bar I usually have around 1000 left when I do everything.  So what used to cost me 1000 energy to do now costs me 3000 energy to do.  All do to the energy loss over time effects.  I am effectively doing less for more energy now.  Much more energy.  The loss over time effects get to the point were it almost makes it cost more to walk to a tree than it does to harvest it.

This means I eat more, which is not a big deal, but if I keep upgrading it will get to the point where I spend all my time gathering materials, making food, and eating, at a net energy loss.  Meaning it will cost me more energy in the time spent to do all of that than the food will replenish all because of the loss of energy over time.

I see there being three ways to fix this.

1) Make new food.
Food that is specifically meant for people that have higher life totals and regenerates more life but does not cost much more in materials to make.  Label it that is can only be used by people with over 2500, over 5000, over 7500, over 10,000, whatever.  So people under that level do not use it as a cheap power up.  The food could restore 1000 per meal, or 2000 even at the highest level.

2) Add an energy loss cap.
As it is now the upgrade energy bar is a downgrade and not an upgrade once you reach higher numbers.  If you get too many of them you are going to become negative energy.  It will cost you more to get out to do things than actually doing them costs.  When you lose more energy standing there mining a rock than you do from actually mining it (where I am now) you know there is something seriously wrong.  Energy loss over time should never exceed 10 per tick.

3) Add new upgrade cards to lower energy lost over time.
While I do not know the number it seems to be 1% each time it ticks.  I could be wrong.  Add .1% cards, even with a high iMG cost.  Make them available with each 1000 life you have.  Like at 1000 life you can get 1 card, 2000, get 2, etc.  Up to 9 for a .9% loss, so that way you will always lose something, but not so much that it costs more to get to your garden than it does to care for it.

I personally believe that increasing energy should be a bonus.  Not a hindrance.  At the moment it is a hindrance.  Everyone will at some point get to where they notice that it costs more to stand there doing something than it does to do it and at that point it will seem like it is not worth doing any more.

Energy increase should be a true bonus.  It should mean you can do more while eating less.  At the moment I am doing less, a lot less, with 4K health than I was when I was at 2K health last week and I am eating more, much more.  Eat more, do less.  That should not be how energy upgrades work.

For me it has not reached the point where it has gotten too bad yet, but if I continue to upgrade I don't see that point as being far away.  There needs to be an adjustment to energy loss over time in my opinion, because it will get out of control real fast, like is has started to for me being I've been sucking up those upgrades cards like mad this last week.

You might not see it now, but if this percentage keeps up, you will see it soon.  The time will come when you go out to mine and end up spending 500 energy standing there while you mine and 50 energy doing the actual mining.  Once it gets there for you, you will see, there needs to be some energy adjustment at higher life totals.

Posted 4 months ago by Telo Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • I have a 10,000 energy tank. I can't remember the last time I ate anything. 

    Having energy rot as % seems fine to me. If higher energy tanks had a smaller % of rot then that doesn't seem fair to newer Glitchen. They can't choose to have a bigger tank because they haven't got the iMG to spare.  Once you have the iMG you can choose whether to get a bigger tank or not.

    For me the only downside is the TP'ing, and I have chosen to bear that energy cost,  But if you have a different play style to me that cost might be one you don't want to bear. That is a strategy choice only you can make to suit how you play
    Posted 4 months ago by IrenicRhonda Subscriber! | Permalink
  • This is called confirmation bias, Telo. You might have more to do around your house (though, consider getting out a little more? There's quoins to be had!) and/or you might be having to go afk more, but you're not tracking those things, you're mentally tracking your energy. You're technically losing more energy, because you have more to work with. That's actually completely balanced. Everyone, assuming no activity, dies after 3ish hours. Because you spend a lot of time sitting there doing nothing, you feel like this is a terrible thing. However, if you were active all the time, you would find you ate less and your energy lasted longer because you wouldn't even notice the tick down and you would occasionally be doing activities that increase your energy. You're asking for a complete unbalancing of the game (rendering high-levels un-die-able) because you play the game in a very unique manner and are possibly too concerned with that little energy bar. Remember, dying is not only not a bad thing in this game, it's outright encouraged.

    I would say that since you don't want to log out, your best bet would be to either go home and go into decorate mode (which stops mood and energy losses), or set yourself to meditate whenever you're going afk, as much as possible. You could also save long activities for these moments - like smelting a stack. This way you're at least accomplishing something while you're gone. If you don't like the amount of energy activities take (which doesn't change, hence why you can do more), there are buff drinks (i.e. Facesmelters and Flaming Humbabas), and of course, NoNo Powder. There are already accommodations in the game for those who find no amount of energy or energy loss is satisfactory.
    Posted 4 months ago by Faranae Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Hearing from people with higher energy does help.  Perhaps it is just a perspective thing being I upped it so much so quickly and in my eyes the change looked extreme.

    I would still like to see some better food even if the energy issues is really a non issue, just to get it back up faster without having to eat so many stacks of food.

    I like that decorate mode idea, thanks Faranae.  I will have to use that when playing at work.  I am sure it will save a lot.  I seem to lose from 200-400 energy each time I step away for a few minutes now and that is why to me it seemed unacceptable.

    Thanks for the input both.  You have changed my mind about my opinions of the energy loss.  But like I said, I would still like to see larger food items.

    Thanks for assuring me that it is not as bad as it seems right now IrenicRhonda.
    Posted 4 months ago by Telo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • In RL I love to eat. In Glitch, I greatly enjoy the "Freedom from Food" than an enormous energy tank provides.
    Posted 4 months ago by Pascale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Can you please share how Pascale.

    Since I started going upgrade crazy on energy I have to eat all the time.  Even if I spend 4 straight hours cooking I will use it all over the course of the day.  Heck, I will use 20% of what I make as I am making it.  Just a week ago I was never eating it seemed or maybe just something small to get 500 to carry me until new day.

    Everyone seems to say it is no big deal and it really isn't.  But I thought the concept was like you said, freedom from food with a high energy tank and for me it is not like that. 

    I wanted higher energy so I would never have to eat and have experienced the exact opposite.
    Posted 4 months ago by Telo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Telo:

    Perhaps it is related to what you call a big energy tank. Pascale and I both have energy tanks of over 10,000 and have given up eating. Yours is just over 4,000. Not that big in comparison. I mine and season eggs and beans, but I don't cook, as I don't need food, but mining and seasoning are are high energy activities. I have been known to make 160 eggs and 120 beans, including  all the changing of resources,(spice, gas, bubbles)  without running out of energy
    Posted 4 months ago by IrenicRhonda Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Add me to the "Who needs food?" column. The only way for me to intentionally get my energy tank down to dangerous levels is repeated butterfly bothering. At this point, if my energy level even gets low, the activities that made it go there usually have generated the 50,000 iMG I need to just buy the next energy tank upgrade card.

    I think I recall having problems around 4000 too, though rather more with mood than with energy. If you're unhappy with your current energy situation I'd really recommend focusing on energy tank upgrades, unless there are other upgrade cards you are working on right now.
    Posted 4 months ago by Not a Princess Subscriber! | Permalink
  • So the suggestion is that I keep pushing through it?

    I'll try, what do I have to lose.   Worst case, if I do have to eat, I eat.  Just seems at the moment 4K is odd, but as you mentioned you remember it being odd at that point as well so I will take your experience as a guide.

    I'll press on and keep buying the upgrades when I get low.  I stopped buying them thinking the feeling would get worse.

    Thanks all.
    Posted 4 months ago by Telo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The energy decay is bad, but not so bad that it needs drastic change... and I rarely eat too, when I do, I just nibble some raw meat.  I don't cook anymore.  Mostly I use upgrade cards and Get out of Hell Free cards to keep in energy.  It's not so bad.  But the main problem with going afk is one that I've mentioned before.  We simply need a map or a mode (like a pause) that lets us go afk.  While in that state, we will lose no energy, and no mood.  We can use the chat panels, but we can't use any verbs.  

    This allows us to stop and chat without losing precious energy (I'm not even quite at 4k yet, so every unit of energy is a precious thing), or go afk without having to log out everytime (I homeschool, so like you, I never know if I'm going to be gone for a minute or an hour).  If I get caught up in a conversation or have to help my son with something for longer than I realize, I can blow through a whole tank without even exerting any of that energy, it just sorta leaks out.
    Posted 4 months ago by Kaelyn Renai Subscriber! | Permalink