Cheddar

[Michael Wendt]

So, if you want multiplayer to be encouraged here's my little idea.  First have an experience/skill tree.  Because its sandbox and open i think the skill tree should be stuff like mining, smithing, animal husbandry...  and examples could be when you skin animal you get %more meat, or fat.. make extensive tree... and very slow level ups.  So now your group starts to depend on the players I  their roles.  And gain skills by unlocking them based on xp.  Which can be gained in different ways, maybe even specific to actually performing the action.  Added when dieing all current xp lost and skills all drop by one level.  Now it matters if you die.

Ok so that is the start, now you can choose factions.  Whichever group actively has the highest skilled player in each category logged into the game gives everyone an "apprentice boost" in that category in your faction.  Maybe half the boost you get for your current skill?.. not sure.    This will encourage parties to both focus on things together, have several people focus on specific things, and have a rotation of players with all skills.  Also a small competition with other factions to have the "most skilled" players so you get the boost.  And I'd say every faction gets a boost from their current logged in highest... but maybe 25% of their current level.
The current leader total on server... so say someone has 20 level ups in animal husbandry in the more meat leveling which gives him say 20% more meat.  If hes the highest on server everyone in his faction gets 10% boost and if he isnt the highest say another faction has someone at level 25... then he always gives his faction a 5% boost.  And they always get the boost or their own rating whichever is higher. 

Ok that was a lot, someone get coding....lol
Anyways this is my idea on making a fun multiplayer environment that encourages getting along and constant advancement.

[Yukihira_S]

Hi, nice post but where's the cheese? 

More seriously, I really hope that in the next updates some RPG elements will be included. In other discussions it come out the idea of learning to do stuffs like crafting recipes, clay forming and so on which would be a very cool addition in my opinion. 

[Michael Wendt]

Oh yeah crafting skills could be based partly on levels and some form of discovery... maybe first time you try to make a say bronze pickaxes, for example the process is "harder" or more steps in some way to simulate learning how to work with it.

 

Same could go for other recipes, some mini game sort of first time you craft an item and theres risk of ruining the items.  So until you pass the mini game you dont know how to craft it.  Once you pass then it can revert to an easier system so it's not always tedious.   And maybe there is some special process of xp or something to unlock the mini game.... like you gotta craft 20 copper pickaxes to unlock the learning step for bronze... then you do the mini game and can now craft it easily.. but 20 crafting times to unlock the brass.. or whatever order.. same could be for other categories like baskets/bags... bricks/cobblestone blocks... leather working... so on.