Catch-Up System

The Catch-Up System gives characters who are behind the server's leading progress a scaling EXP, zen, and item-drop bonus. The bonus grows with how far behind the character is and shrinks to nothing once they reach the front. It is free, always on, and drives an always-on HUD element that shows the current server leader. The math uses the Nth-place player as the anchor so a single mule cannot inflate everyone's rates.

File Location#

Data/Plugins/Characters/CatchUpSystem.xml

How the Bonus Is Computed#

Each character has a progress score:

score = GrandReset * GrandResetWeight + MasterReset * MasterResetWeight + Reset * MaxLevel + Level

MaxLevel here is the hard character level cap (400). It is a fixed constant, not a configurable value - in particular it is deliberately not the MaxLevelUp key, which controls how many level-ups a single experience award may grant.

The system finds the anchor score (the score of the Nth-place player set by Anchor Rank) and computes a gap ratio:

ratio = (anchorScore - myScore) / anchorScore     clamped to 0 .. RatioCap

Each bonus is then ratio raised to that bonus's shape exponent, times that bonus's cap:

expPct      = round( ratio ^ ExpShape   * MaxExpBonusPct )
dropPct(cat)= round( ratio ^ Shape[cat] * MaxPct[cat] )     (0 if the category is disabled)

A character at or above the anchor gets ratio 0 and no bonus. Item quality (luck, excellent options) is never boosted - only drop chance and amount.

Shape (Curve Exponent)#

Shape controls how the bonus scales with the gap. Each bonus has its own Shape.

Shape	Curve	Effect
1.0	Linear	Bonus is proportional to how far behind the character is
Greater than 1.0	Back-loaded	Small until far behind, then ramps up
Less than 1.0	Front-loaded	Large bonus even when only a little behind

Configuration#

<CatchUpSystem Enable="1">
  <Score GrandResetWeight="100000" MasterResetWeight="10000"/>
  <Anchor Rank="10" RatioCap="1.0"/>
  <Curve MaxExpBonusPct="1500" Shape="1.0"/>
  <Drop>
    <NormalItem Enable="1" MaxPct="300" Shape="1.0"/>
    <Zen        Enable="1" MaxPct="300" Shape="1.0"/>
    <RareTable  Enable="1" MaxPct="100" Shape="1.0"/>
    <ExcSet     Enable="1" MaxPct="100" Shape="1.0"/>
  </Drop>
  <Display Title="CATCH-UP EXP"/>
</CatchUpSystem>

Root#

Attribute	Type	Range	Default	Effect
`Enable`	int (0/1)	0-1	1	Master switch. Also drives HUD visibility. 0 disables all bonuses and the HUD

Score#

Weights that convert progress into the comparison score.

Attribute	Type	Range	Default	Effect
`GrandResetWeight`	int	raw	100000	Points per grand reset in the score. Should exceed one full reset's worth (`MaxLevel`) so a grand reset outranks stacked resets
`MasterResetWeight`	int	raw	10000	Points per master reset in the score

Anchor#

Which ranked player the bonus is measured against, and the cap on the gap ratio.

Attribute	Type	Range	Default	Effect
`Rank`	int	1-1000	10	The ranked position whose score is the anchor. Values below 1 or above 1000 are clamped. The HUD still shows the #1 player regardless of this value
`RatioCap`	number	0.0-1.0	1.0	Upper clamp on the gap ratio. 1.0 = no cap (full bonus at maximum gap). A value at or below 0 is treated as 1.0; above 1.0 is clamped to 1.0

Curve (EXP)#

Attribute	Type	Range	Default	Effect
`MaxExpBonusPct`	int	0+	1500	Maximum extra EXP percent at the full gap. 1500 = up to +1500% (16x) EXP. Negative values are clamped to 0
`Shape`	number	above 0	1.0	EXP curve exponent. See Shape table. A value at or below 0 is treated as 1.0

Drop#

Four independent drop categories, each with its own enable, cap, and curve. Category caps are in percent added to the base chance or amount.

Category	Default Enable	Default MaxPct	Boosts
`NormalItem`	1	300	Base-game item drop chance
`Zen`	1	300	Zen amount dropped
`RareTable`	1	100	Custom / rare drops from ItemDrop.xml
`ExcSet`	1	100	Excellent and set-item drop chance

Per-category attributes:

Attribute	Type	Range	Default	Effect
`Enable`	int (0/1)	0-1	1	0 = this category gets no bonus (its percent is always 0)
`MaxPct`	int	0+	see above	Maximum extra percent at the full gap. Negative values are clamped to 0
`Shape`	number	above 0	1.0	This category's curve exponent. A value at or below 0 is treated as 1.0

Display#

Attribute	Type	Range	Default	Effect
`Title`	string	-	-	HUD label text. Present in the shipped template for readability; the HUD title is rendered client-side and this attribute is not consumed by the server loader

Important Behavior#

The anchor drives the math; the HUD always shows the #1 player. Setting Rank higher than 1 lets everyone below the top group still earn a bonus without a single leader zeroing it out.
The score uses live reset / master-reset / grand-reset / level values, so a character's bonus drops as they progress and rises again after each reset.
Item quality is never affected. The drop categories change chance and amount only, not which options an item rolls.
Disabling a drop category (Enable="0") forces its bonus to 0 regardless of MaxPct or Shape.
Changes take effect after a plugin reload or GameServer restart. Anchor recomputation and the HUD update as players enter the world, reset, or teleport.

Examples#

<CatchUpSystem Enable="1">
  <Score GrandResetWeight="100000" MasterResetWeight="10000"/>
  <Anchor Rank="10" RatioCap="1.0"/>
  <Curve MaxExpBonusPct="1500" Shape="1.0"/>
  <Drop>
    <NormalItem Enable="1" MaxPct="300" Shape="1.0"/>
    <Zen        Enable="1" MaxPct="300" Shape="1.0"/>
    <RareTable  Enable="1" MaxPct="100" Shape="1.0"/>
    <ExcSet     Enable="1" MaxPct="100" Shape="1.0"/>
  </Drop>
  <Display Title="CATCH-UP EXP"/>
</CatchUpSystem>

Only badly-behind players get a large boost; drops are untouched.

<CatchUpSystem Enable="1">
  <Score GrandResetWeight="100000" MasterResetWeight="10000"/>
  <Anchor Rank="5" RatioCap="1.0"/>
  <Curve MaxExpBonusPct="800" Shape="2.0"/>
  <Drop>
    <NormalItem Enable="0" MaxPct="0"  Shape="1.0"/>
    <Zen        Enable="0" MaxPct="0"  Shape="1.0"/>
    <RareTable  Enable="0" MaxPct="0"  Shape="1.0"/>
    <ExcSet     Enable="0" MaxPct="0"  Shape="1.0"/>
  </Drop>
  <Display Title="CATCH-UP EXP"/>
</CatchUpSystem>