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(TL;DR at the bottom)
(I suggest you read the MCMMO Party documentation here to understand all the features I talk about)
The party system that comes built into MCMMO (typically accessible through /party) has been disabled for as long as I can remember. Given that the party plugin was coded into the very MCMMO plugin indicates that MassiveCraft users are missing out on some features that were intended to accompany the MCMMO experience.
I can understand why the MCMMO Party System is disabled right now, namely, because we already have plugins that overlap with some of the functions granted by the party system. This includes the party alliance system (which was replaced by Factions), the party chat system (which was replaced by MassiveChat), and the party teleport system (which is not intended for player use as of now, but is easily replaced with /tpa). With minimal effort, it should be possible for these functions of the party system to be disabled to allow for the benefits of using the party system.
The most notable of the party system benefits would be MCMMO XP Sharing. The system works by splitting XP gain to party members within a 75 block radius, with the feature that XP gain is boosted for every member involved in the split (capping out at a 50% boost for having 10 party members in the 75 block radius). This can potentially increase the rate of XP acquisition among players (for example, players can share a medium-sized darkroom to maximize skill gain efficiency while not missing out on individual XP).
I understand that the XP Sharing system could be controversial. I admit that it would give factions with more active members an advantage in the fact that they could group members and grind for XP simultaneously to gain levels more quickly. However, such disadvantages could be looked at as advantages. One potential application of XP Sharing would be integrating roleplayers into the factions society. Take this sample scenario:
A roleplayer needs money to maintain his/her regalian properties, however voting is not covering the quantity of regals they require. Said roleplayer does not have a high axes level either, and would have difficulty starting to darkroom as a result. A PVPer needs to raise his/her axes skill as swiftly as possible, but his/her faction members are fairly inactive, and/or he/she is in a small faction. The two players can alleviate both their needs by working together. The roleplayer would earn money by darkrooming AND gain a massive amount of XP in axes (being slightly "carried" by the PVPer). The PVPer would gain the XP rewards from grinding in a party, and after a small initial period of "carrying" the roleplayer while they get to a point where they can efficiently eliminate mobs, XP gain would be further increased. Furthermore, XP gain efficiency would increase further because two players would be eliminating more mobs (rather than leaving some mobs spawned while killing others).
It is clear that XP sharing can be beneficial for both players, the PVPer got a person they needed for the XP boost, and the roleplayer got the money they needed and additional XP to boot. But in the example above, there is one critical thing that they both gained unevenly - items.
In addition to XP sharing, the party system offers item sharing. While this feature is entirely optional (and can be set by the party leader), it can be set to equal item sharing, or random item sharing (in random item sharing, if one member mines a diamond, a random member in the radius gets the diamond; in equal item sharing, if one member mines a diamond, a member in the radius gets the diamond, however they are unlikely to receive the next diamond until other members have also recieved diamonds or enough items of equivalent value.
In the example above, both the roleplayer and the PVPer would have gotten the items, however equal item sharing could have been turned on to make it more fair for the two. In large mining parties, resource acquisition would be much more affected by item sharing, giving each member more incentive to participate, because the diamond veins would not be monopolized and each member would receive a roughly equal amount of each resource gathered.
Despite the imbalance one might expect from the party system, there is a significant bottleneck to how quickly an individual can benefit from a MCMMO party - the party level. In MCMMO parties, the party must gain "party XP" to gain levels that allow it to access features such as item sharing and XP sharing. This means that parties must exist for some time before the benefits can be accessed. The party level is increased through performing tasks such as gaining individual MCMMO XP, mining ores, and even waiting long enough. This ensures that parties are not created and destroyed for the sole purpose of quick, easy, and temporary XP sharing, as an initial time invested is needed for the party to provide useful functions.
When implemented correctly, XP sharing can be a balanced feature that encourages more participation among users, and could even partially alleviate the separation between PVPers and RPers (PVPers need more people for more XP, RPers need more money and would benefit by being "carried" during their learning curve).
Speaking of learning curves, this could benefit early XP growth in users who get mentored by a more experienced user of the skill. For example, users of low repair level would benefit by a higher leveled user repairing top-level (enchanted diamond) gear with high efficiency. This would allow greater faction comradery (mentor-ships in factions, where mentor members could help lower level members climb early levels quickly, until they get to a point where they can be efficient by themselves) or even new market applications (where higher leveled players boost players to a moderate level for compensation in regals).
Sorry for the long post, but this is a feature I feel passionately about. Let me know your opinions on the subject!
TL;DR:
(I suggest you read the MCMMO Party documentation here to understand all the features I talk about)
The party system that comes built into MCMMO (typically accessible through /party) has been disabled for as long as I can remember. Given that the party plugin was coded into the very MCMMO plugin indicates that MassiveCraft users are missing out on some features that were intended to accompany the MCMMO experience.
I can understand why the MCMMO Party System is disabled right now, namely, because we already have plugins that overlap with some of the functions granted by the party system. This includes the party alliance system (which was replaced by Factions), the party chat system (which was replaced by MassiveChat), and the party teleport system (which is not intended for player use as of now, but is easily replaced with /tpa). With minimal effort, it should be possible for these functions of the party system to be disabled to allow for the benefits of using the party system.
The most notable of the party system benefits would be MCMMO XP Sharing. The system works by splitting XP gain to party members within a 75 block radius, with the feature that XP gain is boosted for every member involved in the split (capping out at a 50% boost for having 10 party members in the 75 block radius). This can potentially increase the rate of XP acquisition among players (for example, players can share a medium-sized darkroom to maximize skill gain efficiency while not missing out on individual XP).
I understand that the XP Sharing system could be controversial. I admit that it would give factions with more active members an advantage in the fact that they could group members and grind for XP simultaneously to gain levels more quickly. However, such disadvantages could be looked at as advantages. One potential application of XP Sharing would be integrating roleplayers into the factions society. Take this sample scenario:
A roleplayer needs money to maintain his/her regalian properties, however voting is not covering the quantity of regals they require. Said roleplayer does not have a high axes level either, and would have difficulty starting to darkroom as a result. A PVPer needs to raise his/her axes skill as swiftly as possible, but his/her faction members are fairly inactive, and/or he/she is in a small faction. The two players can alleviate both their needs by working together. The roleplayer would earn money by darkrooming AND gain a massive amount of XP in axes (being slightly "carried" by the PVPer). The PVPer would gain the XP rewards from grinding in a party, and after a small initial period of "carrying" the roleplayer while they get to a point where they can efficiently eliminate mobs, XP gain would be further increased. Furthermore, XP gain efficiency would increase further because two players would be eliminating more mobs (rather than leaving some mobs spawned while killing others).
It is clear that XP sharing can be beneficial for both players, the PVPer got a person they needed for the XP boost, and the roleplayer got the money they needed and additional XP to boot. But in the example above, there is one critical thing that they both gained unevenly - items.
In addition to XP sharing, the party system offers item sharing. While this feature is entirely optional (and can be set by the party leader), it can be set to equal item sharing, or random item sharing (in random item sharing, if one member mines a diamond, a random member in the radius gets the diamond; in equal item sharing, if one member mines a diamond, a member in the radius gets the diamond, however they are unlikely to receive the next diamond until other members have also recieved diamonds or enough items of equivalent value.
In the example above, both the roleplayer and the PVPer would have gotten the items, however equal item sharing could have been turned on to make it more fair for the two. In large mining parties, resource acquisition would be much more affected by item sharing, giving each member more incentive to participate, because the diamond veins would not be monopolized and each member would receive a roughly equal amount of each resource gathered.
Despite the imbalance one might expect from the party system, there is a significant bottleneck to how quickly an individual can benefit from a MCMMO party - the party level. In MCMMO parties, the party must gain "party XP" to gain levels that allow it to access features such as item sharing and XP sharing. This means that parties must exist for some time before the benefits can be accessed. The party level is increased through performing tasks such as gaining individual MCMMO XP, mining ores, and even waiting long enough. This ensures that parties are not created and destroyed for the sole purpose of quick, easy, and temporary XP sharing, as an initial time invested is needed for the party to provide useful functions.
When implemented correctly, XP sharing can be a balanced feature that encourages more participation among users, and could even partially alleviate the separation between PVPers and RPers (PVPers need more people for more XP, RPers need more money and would benefit by being "carried" during their learning curve).
Speaking of learning curves, this could benefit early XP growth in users who get mentored by a more experienced user of the skill. For example, users of low repair level would benefit by a higher leveled user repairing top-level (enchanted diamond) gear with high efficiency. This would allow greater faction comradery (mentor-ships in factions, where mentor members could help lower level members climb early levels quickly, until they get to a point where they can be efficient by themselves) or even new market applications (where higher leveled players boost players to a moderate level for compensation in regals).
Sorry for the long post, but this is a feature I feel passionately about. Let me know your opinions on the subject!
TL;DR:
- MCMMO Parties are built into the plugin, yet they are disabled on Massive (try /party if you do not believe me)
- Many benefits such as XP Sharing, Item Sharing, and more are available through the MCMMO party system
- Redundant and/or unwanted features do not have to be enabled
- There are measures in place to prevent abuse of the benefits granted by parties, meaning the plugin is and/or can be balanced
- The benefits of using the party system outweigh the problems generated by using it
