[What if?]The level gap was closed
Continuing in a set of threads (that other people should feel free to start too) of slightly "out there" idea throwing. There's no implicit suggestion here that this is what should be done, just that it's an interesting way Neocron could be changed, while still being Neocron. The idea is thrown out for discussion and input, to see if there is anything worthwhile
So right now in Neocron, the idea is that weapon damage scales linearly off TL. So that TL115 disrupter should be 55 times as powerful as the TL2 Lazar rifle (ignoring HT, rare etc effects). The TL90 heal should be 30 times as strong as the TL3 one. Etc.
In fact, all items below TL10 are supposedly "balanced" as if they were TL10, so it isn't quite as extreme. What this means though, is that if weapon damage were all that mattered, a capped player is 10-12 times stronger than a new one. But the capped player also gets better armour, sheilds, con and so on as well. So they end up even more so than that - 50 times stronger in net, perhaps.
Maybe the game would be better if this was made a bit more even. It could still be "linear", but say, we balance TL1 stuff like it was TL101, and TL115 stuff like it was TL215 (and redo mobs etc accordingly). So a capped player got stuff that was only twice as good as a new player, was only 4 or 5 times more effective over all.
Hopefully, this would mean less of a severe divide between "useful" capped people, and anyone still levelling. This closing of a divide would apply across the board of course - in cash rewards and the like too (in fact, that needs doing anyway as I'll hopefully get around to in an economy post one day).
There is a downside to this of course. Smaller gaps, means progression feels slower, less clear. When you go from a TL20 to a TL40 gun, you're getting something twice as good now. With a closing of the gap, that gets a lot less, a lot less noticeable. There's a risk that levelling becomes "get to mainskill 50, go to highest level areas to farm until cap" which is kinda dull (although you could argue that happens now with Regants).
So yeah, thoughts?