While CityMMO is not a combat focused game, it is possible to have fights with other players and NPCs. The loser of the fight ends up in hospital for a period of time. The amount of time will be variable but will depend on how balanced the fight was, and therefore how hurt you got!.
I am thinking that Health Insurance might reduce the time you spend in hospital by giving you access to better doctors and treatment.
For the winner in the fight there is the possibility to loot the loser and steal his goods and money. If you steal his house keys then you can go and burgle his house.
The outcome of a fight will be dependent on five personal stats.
- Health – This is your damage hit points. The absolute value of health is variable during your life. Children have significantly less health (50% of a normal adult), rising as they enter the teenage years. Women have less health than men (20% less) Your absolute health value starts to decline in your 50s.
- Defence – This affects the value of any incoming hit. It is related to general fitness, so exercise gives you more defence. Again it varies during your life in a similar way to Health. A self-defence class increases your defence significantly (20% more)
- Dexterity – This is your ability to dodge an attack. It is related to weight, so heavier characters are less dextrous than light characters, therefore women are often more dextrous. The opposite of dexterity is speed, a very fast character can usually land all their blows. Dexterity is gained by playing sports such as football or basketball.
- Speed – This is how fast you can land your blow. It gives a small boost to the Strength of any hit, but it’s main value is to make sure your blows land every time. Younger people are much faster than older people.
- Strength – This is the base damage of your blow. All sport gives a small boost to strength. Training in the gym gives the biggest boost to strength.
As mentioned all stats are variable during life. They also decline through lack of use or activity. There is a small randomness added when making the calculations of the effectiveness of any blow.
Crime
The intention of the game is to ensure that there is no area of the game where PvP or PvE cannot happen, but that there can be consequences. Assault and subsequent theft are considered a crime.
So the game keeps a record whenever an Assault is initiated, the game records who started it (the criminal) and who received the first damage (the victim). This is regardless of the outcome, so you do not become a criminal if you win a fight. The exception to this is if the initiator runs away and you continue to engage thus no longer being able to claim self-defence.
If at the end of a fight the winner takes some of the property of the loser then this becomes a robbery rather than an assault.
The location of the fight offers different types of evidence of the crime. If it is in a public place like the market or shopping area there may be CCTV that recorded the fight. Then the game looks at all the other players who were in the vicinity when the fight started, and the direction in which they were looking. They are compiled into a witness list. There credibility as a witness depends on the distance they were from the fight and whether they were looking. Some players with criminal history may choose not to be witnesses. Police witnesses have the highest credibility, followed by professionals.
If there is evidence of a crime, the suspect will be sent a message in-game and by email, summoning them to appear at the police station within 30 minutes. If they do not appear a warrant is issued for their arrest. Usually they are arrested when they turn up at a public building like for work or school, or if they are spotted by a police officer in the street.
When they appear at the police station there is a simple court hearing. The suspect is shown the evidence and can plead guilty or not guilty. They can appoint a lawyer. A paid lawyer gives them an extra boost to their defence. Then the algorithm decides whether they are guilty or not. If they are guilty the judge decides the penalty, which can be prison time (including time served from arrest to court case) or a financial penalty. Financial penalties are proportional to total assets of the criminal.
Crime has consequences. You may lose your ability to travel to certain countries. You may lose your job and have to change your career.