Chedburn [1]That's the idea. To remove some of the incentive from busting and to limit busting to either...
a) Something interesting to do instead of crimes occasionally
b) Getting a friend out of jail or being a good Samaritan
c) Being a hardcore buster for the hell of it
I totally understand the frustration, when it comes to changes like this, I often see the 'end game' rather than the short term / middle term. I know that boosting crime experience was a method of reaching PA status or a quick way to recover a nerve bar, and that is now gone. I'll be looking at reducing the frequency of jailings on some higher-up crimes with the committee this week to make up for this. I won't announce these minor changes, but I expect you will notice them.
The end game is simple, with the new crimes system (and eventually new organised crimes system), none of this will really matter as it'll be a constant upwards progression with very little stagnancy like the current systems.
I am disappointed, but not surprised by this. First, by knowing how little busting was suppose to mean to the game. Secondly, and more importantly I think, is that this really takes away from meaningful player choice, and creates more of a system of Min/Maxing cookie cutter playing.
As as newer player to the game (1100+ days), I realized that I would never catch up to the heavy hitters in battle stats. I was pleased to find that Torn had more options than just being a fighter. I could focus on crimes, build a company, or be a strong fighter. I decided to sacrifice my battle stats, and focus on crimes as a good way to make a meaningful difference for my faction. I view factions as one of the core game mechanics, and hence respect and value to your faction is a vital part of my game play. With busts costing energy I had a choice to specialize. Give up a little here, and gain a little here. Make my character fit a role that was not the only role available.
Now there is just the best way to play, and the not best way. Taking a meaningful choice that has both good and bad to it away from the game I feel is counterproductive to this games longevity. I fully agree as I have stated several times that busting had to be nerfed. What I do not see any reason for is that if busting gains you a comparable amount of CE as other crimes, why are any of the other changes needed? I think we will see as the information about the true CE value is learned by the masses, which at this point is not the case, busting will drop a lot more. That is fine, and not a bad thing, what is a bad thing is that busting still could be a way for people to play the way they want to play, and have one more choice that they can make. It is fitting and ironic that this is happening as another game I am interested in is about to come out which is Wasteland 2. This game appears to be the epitome of player choice, and meaningful options.
Why is it so important that busting be just a novelty? Why can't it be a viable choice for some to pursue as a supplement to CE building? All that is required to find the balance you are looking for is to alter the reward for busting, and clearly state the change. You do not need to give massive amounts of details, your last post is plenty for most people to realize they should stop. Part of the problem though is that this clarification, which I am grateful for comes in the 20th page of a forum thread. Why a few postings in the announcements could not be done I just don't. Yes you don't want to spend all your time writing announcements, but there is a balance that can be struck here. Engaging your customers is critical to any business, and not the waste of time that it seems to be labeled as.
Lastly, I am truely hoping that you are correct and that the changes to crimes/OCs make this change less important, but it begs the question of why not do them together, so they can be balanced together? I have been very optimistic about RESPO so far, but I must say that this last week or so is not helping that feeling.
Thanks for reading if you did.
/end rant