The Defining Features of ToME4

[bricks]

I think a better solution is to implement alternative unlock conditions for each class/race, one "story" and one "grind." For example, killing Vor (that's the mage orc, right?) unlocks Wildfire/Ice (only one, randomly picked, like the Master and the Undead races). Killing 1000 Ghouls unlocks Ghoul as a playable race; killing 1000 Skeletons unlocks Skeleton as a playable race. Escorts could be worked into alternative unlocks for Anorithil/Sun Paladin. And so on. Things that would occur naturally as one plays, and would take longer than a typical unlock run, but still makes all of the classes/races eventually playable so long as the player is persistent.

As far as Archmages go; I don't think the unlock could be much easier, and I do think it's a good class to keep locked. The starting zone is very tricky and the class itself requires a particular mindset and familiarity with ToME's gameplay.

[Zonk]

(sorry if this comes off wrong but...I really don't like unlocks)

I would prefer a different solution, though: each week have a different unlock be active for everyone. There would an associated news feed letting people know what "flavor" this week is. Having "flavor" weeks would give people a taste of the various unlocks, and potentially encourage more play. Thoughts?

Please...no. A single player game(effectively)where which week it is affects what you can play, at least for newer players? Sorry, but I think that's a pretty bad idea.
Yes, lots of people playing a certain class at the same time is interesting, but that can be done without resorting to such incentives - in the past I remember some threads which thread to do just that, encouraging people to play a specific class and give feedback.

Also... 'extending' unlocks for reaching a certain level? A race against real time to play a certain class? You don't see how that would be problematic for people who don't have a lot of time?

If you want to encourage people to unlock things 'properly', why not have a game mode where everything is unlocked but your character is not registered online?
(How is that different from playing offline and cheating? Well, it would be official and save some player time dealing with files)

I think a better solution is to implement alternative unlock conditions for each class/race, one "story" and one "grind." For example, killing Vor (that's the mage orc, right?) unlocks Wildfire/Ice (only one, randomly picked, like the Master and the Undead races

I have thought for a long time that this would be a better way to handle them, yes.

Not being a fan of unlocks, I'd prefer if we just didn't have them, but that battle was lost a long time ago...having double ways to unlock would be more generous, at least.
I'm baffled by how many people seem to be in favour of it while also saying that ToME tries to move away from 'grinding'. How is doing 1 million fire, cold...damage across characters just to unlock something NOT grindy?

As far as Archmages go; I don't think the unlock could be much easier, and I do think it's a good class to keep locked. The starting zone is very tricky and the class itself requires a particular mindset and familiarity with ToME's gameplay.

Why do people keep assuming that new players will be mostly clueless?
Hell, if I was someone who had never touched ToME and read that some classes are too 'complicated' for me to even attempt playing them, I could be either somwehat offended or assume the class is something RIDICOLOUSLY complex...it's not. Archmages have lots of interesting talents, but I don't see how they are particularly complex. Compare their resource management and mechanics to say, Anorithils or Cursed.

By the way, do keep in mind that the tutorials are getting revamped, meaning that people might start playing knowing much more about mechanics. Also, the Archmage starting zone's optional(though I think the reward is pretty nice).

By playing the game you gradually unlock certain classes.

Pro: Keeps you buzy?

Like, dunno, playing and trying the classes you want without any restriction?

[lukep]

I think a better solution is to implement alternative unlock conditions for each class/race, one "story" and one "grind." For example, killing Vor (that's the mage orc, right?) unlocks Wildfire/Ice (only one, randomly picked, like the Master and the Undead races). Killing 1000 Ghouls unlocks Ghoul as a playable race; killing 1000 Skeletons unlocks Skeleton as a playable race. Escorts could be worked into alternative unlocks for Anorithil/Sun Paladin. And so on. Things that would occur naturally as one plays, and would take longer than a typical unlock run, but still makes all of the classes/races eventually playable so long as the player is persistent.

As far as Archmages go; I don't think the unlock could be much easier, and I do think it's a good class to keep locked. The starting zone is very tricky and the class itself requires a particular mindset and familiarity with ToME's gameplay.

Very good idea, I was going to elaborate more here, but it got too far from the OP, so I started a new thread here. (covers multiple options to unlock, not class-of-the-week)

Also... 'extending' unlocks for reaching a certain level? A race against real time to play a certain class? You don't see how that would be problematic for people who don't have a lot of time?

My thought was to lock new character creation, but not playing characters that are already made, but I now realize that this would be easy to circumvent (create 100 chars) and still not prevent the race against time, just reduce it. I've changed my opinion to multiple unlocks being the best solution.