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EQN - Your wildest dreams come true...ok so what are they?
Maelwydd
Member Posts: 1,123
OK bit of fun because there is almost zero information out there but the buzz is huge and getting bigger.
So, we all know this game is gonna be a WOW killa, be better then anything else ever made, deserves all the hype and is going to be the biggest sandbox MMO evaa! With all that in mind I was just wondering what you can think of that would really blow your mind if it was part of the game. So here are some thoughts from me to get the ball roling, feel free to throw in your wildest idea's...
Quests - All quests are player driven or dynamic. There are no PvE type quests where you can crete 10 characters, all visit the same NPC and all get the same quest.
NPC quests are dynamic in nature and will link to events in the wider world as well as more local events. These can be influenced by players. Some examples might be a cave nearby has some Orcs and at some point an NPC will get attacked by Orcs and so a dynamic quest to hunt down Orcs appears. Or a rampaging Buffalo heard (running some some players hunting them)knocks down a bridge thus creating various quests in the local own to repair the bridge, round up the buffalo's and hunt down the players responsible.
Players quests are simply the ability for a player tocreate quests using a macro sort of thing...pick up a piece of paper (enter macro) write your requirements (choose from various lists such as gathering, hunting, killing, finding, desrtoying...etc) and build up a job/quest that you can post for others to read and accept. So you might post a quest that you need 10 pieces of leather and you will pay 10 silver upon delivery. Or you might post a job offer for some enterprising player to capture and tame 10 cows so you can start a farm. Or you might put a reward up for the head of another player as long as you kill them within 5 days and do it with a spoon.
Family - The longevity of the game is not based on playing an immortal character who lives as long as you are willing to play them but a series of characters you can play that are part of a family. You could start off with a character, marry, have children and when your original character gets too old give everything to your son/daughter to carry on playing. you could marry other players or even have a guld comprising players of the same or inter related families.
You could even go so far as to make things a bit brutal so you never know quite how long you are going to live (perhaps some random age you will die is generated upon creation) and each time you suffer a would you get slightly closer to dying of old age or having a final death.
Individual and regional faction advancement - So you are a good guy living in a town on an island in the west. You put all your efforts into farming and looking after the land. Individually you will get as good as you can at farming. But there are also a lot of other people nearby who also like to farm and sort of like a shared consciousness you are able to learn quick erand learn more about farming simply because of the concentration of farming skills in the area. However, there are a lot of people on the bad island to the east who like to fight. They get good at it individually and due to how many people are good at fighting in the area they learn it quicker and can learn more stuff quicker. The island in the west is worried and so looks at defences. Soon, because everyone is now focused on defences they are able to put up defences to protect themselves.
Skills and new skills are linked not only to individual practice and dedication but also on a regional basis so if enough people in one area are all learning the same thing it gets quicker and easier to get better at it.
So...anyone have any other wild idea's they would love to see in a game and perhaps might be in EQN to make us poop?
Comments
Did you see the Project Spark video? (Forget the PS4-XBox war, for a little while)
My wildest dream would include access to all of the painting/scripting/creation tools, yet without departing the basic Norrath set universe.
Pretty hefty juggling act; we've seen PCC and it's effective limits in other titles, lots and lots of emergent behavior landmines to avoid. The problems that CoX experienced, only an order of magnitude bigger. The problems that CCP deals with, ongoing.
A set of balls on an MMO developer again.
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
Who has said that this game is going to be a WOW killer? On top of that i wouldn't get to caught up on the "sandbox" label for EQN. What Smed considers sandbox might not be what you and i consider a sandbox mmo.
We know that Smed has hinted that the game will have classes and it might not be some big skill based system. We know the world is very interactive even to the point that some class skill might have to be learned by praying to a god in some forest glade if you are a druid.
How sandbox EQN is will be up for debate but i don't want to read the nerd rage when the game isn't quite what most of us consider a sandbox.
Smed IMO is already setting himself up for a backlash, personally i think the game will be a hybrid/sandpark mmo.
Sorry dude, seems the humor and feel of my post was totally lost on you. All that was a tongue in cheek poke of fun at how hype affects games and people get all excited. Point being, we know next to nothing about it so lets have some fun thinking of all the wild stuff we can think off and 'might' be in this 'greatest game of all time'.
Can't say I'm big on the idea of player driven quests. Especially if it means some crap like Neverwinter 2's Foundry which IMO, is just an excuse for their developers to be lazy.
I love quests, I just don't want quest hubs where you do the same mindless gather and slay quests in every area of the game. Like someone else said, cool for getting items, pass on experience. I'd rather them just be for and opportunity to adventure, learn lore and get loots.
No quest for gear. All gear is player generated.
I would like to see an extreme attention to detail despite a huge world. Like fireflys flying around wind blown grass. Smoke flowing in the background, bird making strange sounds etc.
and a very detailed character customization.
Gone the way of the Dodo.
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
No, not like that. Player driven as in player escorts/robbing. Something like steal crops. Things like that things that are player centric.
True that. Maybe throw in some mercenary work.
Here's what I am expecting from EQN:
1. Player crafted content like NWO foundry. You'll know they're about to say it when, "You can access player created content through this menu which will take you directly to that instance . . . "
2. World impact through your decisions. It'll be a cross between phasing and GW2 dynamic events. You'll know they're about to say it when, "What you do will change the world before your eyes, do you chase those ogres into their cave thereby saving the city or ignore the chaos and let the city fall to ruin. Once the event has happened your world will remain that way until you act on it, you'll be able to invite friends into your phase through this menu . . . "
3. Unlimited character customization! You can build your own class. You'll know they're about to say it whe, ,"Make your own class by using 3 class abilities from your primary pool and bring up to 3 unrestricted abilities from the general pool of skill. If you don't have a healer, no problem, just equip a few heal skills and keep going! You can view your ability specializations through this menu . . . "
4. Crafting will be important for the economy, crafters will rely on each other. You'll know they're about to say it when, "Even though the best gear will come from group content, crafting will be something that supplement your experiences, each crafting profession will be able to make something a different profession needs, you can see your professions through this menu . . ."
5. Our housing and castle system is the most advanced ever! You'll know they're about to say it when, "Build your own house with your guild mates and populate with NPC that will offer daily/guild quests and crafting stations, you'll be able to travel to your instanced housing area anytime through this menu . . . "
Anyway, we'll see in August.
I agree with the sandbox comment, which I do see as a good thing though. From the sounds of it from one of Smed's earlier comments, the focus seems to have gone from the quests and characters to the world. Hopefully this will play more like the first generation of MMOs. IMO, the first gen didn't really have a label of sandbox or themepark at all, they were just MMOs. Each with a bit of different flavor, but just a virtual world that was the focus that you got to forge yourself, your community and whatever you could do within the boundaries of the time.
For the OP, I really don't have any specific requests for the game. My list is short and fairly vague I think.
Most of all, I think the focus needs to return to the world and tell the story through that rather than the individual's story. But here's my list of things I'm hoping for.
1. Every system should have a bigger purpose.
One example of this would be a subject brought up not long ago with fast travel. Limited fast travel can lead to some community building, especially if the world is harsh. Requests for directions, buffs, guides and porting services and just a general reliance on one another helps foster community building.
Just one example, but EQ1 had many of these that, taken individually, just seemed like a pointless grind or timesink but had it's place in the overall, bigger picture of the world.
2. Strong class roles.
Would love for these to return and be more diverse and unique than just a different flavor of tank/heal/dps that MMOs have been stuck in for a while. On top of that, I hope they don't muddy up each class for the sake of balance in PvP.
3. Non-combat activities
This could be included in number 1, but the non-combat things should be an important part of the economy and adventuring. They should also be enough of an investment to level up that not everyone can or will take the time and effort to do. I'm not a fan of crafting really, but I know there are those who do love it and it's basically the whole reason they play. Make it so not everyone can do it and place an importance on it to make it viable and useful. I appreciate the people who kept me full on Halas Meat Pies.
4. Minimal Instancing
Always loved the rush while raiding to get to a spawn before anyone else could. I remember our first Avatar of War kill still. Rushed to get Vindi because our community enforced server rules had deemed that if he was up, the first guild to kill him would get first shot at AoW. We just beat our semi-rival guild there, we set up on the right side of the arena, they set up on the left, watched and waited. We went through everything without a hitch, got congratulations from the other side and went about our ways. Never would have happened if everything was instanced now. Sure, there were a decent amount of cockblocking that went with it, but it was an amazing rush that really hasn't been felt to this day.
5. Rules that are actually enforced
This was probably the biggest reason I got GW2 on launch day rather than waiting a few weeks to see how reviews and player experience went. People who abused chat or exploited were quickly dealt with and it's made it overall a better experience and a friendlier community. Need a way to deal with the greifers, asshats and trolls that's effective. Can enforce rules to keep it an open world without instancing that would reduce the bad parts of my number 4 as well.
Played: EQ1 (10 Years), Guild Wars, Rift, TERA
Tried: EQ2, Vanguard, Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Runes of Magic and countless others...
Currently Playing: GW2
Nytlok Sylas
80 Sylvari Ranger
^this. allow to pretty much shape every detail of the body, graphic designer style. Also sexy female armor TERA style.
Yes i want the same thing but even more depth example doing quests for faction as is already an SOE idea,so more of that is good,just lose the xp.I want NO cash shop not now not tomorrow and not 5 years later,hopeful yes but will i get wish,most likely not.
One thing almost every game misses out on is the sub class or known as Hybrid by many,SOE is slow to move in on this MUCH better design.IMO FFXI does it the best,i don't much like FFXIV's or Rift's hybrid systems.It is not an idea that yo ucan simply say here pick some choices,you need to put a lot more thought and depth into it and sadly aside from FFXI nobody has done it justice.Runes of Magic attempted it not a bad attempt but not nearly enough effort.
Combos,enough with the solo combos,maybe give them one as a noob but mid levels and higher there shouls be player>player combos perhaps even 3 player combos.
STATS:I can't say enough about this area,again FFXI did a great job but tons more room for improvement.There is soooo much room for depth here,i don't like potency such a vague term,i prefer stuff like elemental properties and giving the mobs all sorts of strengths and weaknesses such as weak to water based attacks but strong to Fire elements.The same should go for players.
Choice:SOE is already pretty good in this department but again FFXI was MUCH better.I want tons and tons of choice for leveling options,i don't want anymore linear questing games with the option to hit a dungeon,that design is so over done,i don't want it anymore.
open world housing:SOE already does housing the best it just needs to go one further.
I could go on and on,SOE needs to improve their game development and creativity skills a lot .Bottom line is if they can deliver an in depth,thoughtful game and not m,ore of the same old,i would pay a 30 buck sub fee to also keep cash shop out of the game.30 bucks would double their profits,so no reason they couldn't at least make a 50% improvement on their development skills or what they have been willing to do for us.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Mine are simple:
Old school Ultima Online game mechanics with modded Skyrim graphics and Borderlands 2 gameplay.
"Only in quiet waters do things mirror themselves undistorted.
Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world."
Hans Margolius
Imagine the brilliance of Sony using EQN to allow the players themselves decide what the game world will become...
Instead of Sony making and building 8,000 separate quests, they give the players the tools to do it. Imagine being able to design your own specific quest in an instance to begin with. If you make a great quest that players end up rating high enough, your quest instance that you have built becomes a part of the REAL WORLD with time.
What if you had very powerful tools to build this quest and you could carve out dungeon paths in mere seconds? What if you had the power to place mobs as you chose and paths and even mob IQs or difficulties? Or perhaps to keep every player from picking the same three mobs over and over and over, once you designed your quest dungeon or area, the game chose mobs for you based on the size of your quest area and allowed you to plop them in your rooms and locations within your design?
Using something like that would allow the players imaginations to run wild, allow the players to feel like a part of the game, and would also make sure that only the best designed quest builds became a part of the real dynamic game world. Once those quests became a part of the real game world, perhaps the reward would be that players name or avatar name would become part of the credits in the game itself.
Now what if those building tools were taken even further? What if the players themselves could design their own armor and weapons and spells? These again would compete with other players designs in some way and the best of the best became a real part of the player driven economy?
By simply giving the players powerful tools, you could let the players build much of your game content for you, and likely it would end up much better and more creative then Sony could have done themselves in 10 years of brainstorming.
Obviously all of the tools would have to be built with limits and game balances. For example... if a player built a super powerful sword that was made out of one of the games best materials, the game itself would price that sword or place that sword within a certain extremely small percentage of random loot drop to ensure not every player had ten of them and that the rarity of players who actually owned it was kept in balance. Or maybe players simply design the sword, and the damage modifiers and materials the sword is made with are decided by the game itself based on what fits its needs for random loot/quest rewards etc.
Just my thoughts...
- Zaxx
I think you stumbled into the wrong forum.
As a sandbox newb, what do you do for leveling? Grind mobs?
Depends on the sandbox. Ideally you would have something you want to do and then a set of tasks that you would follow. In themepark these tasks/results are predefined and you just go with it. Everyone follows along the same or similar path.
Sandbox tasks are determined by what you want to accomplish. Really good sandbox has an enormous amount of options for you to choose. Check out Pathfinder Online blog has a great breakdown of using sandbox in this type of environment. Actually sounds like SOE and Goblinworks might be working on similar ideas, albeit SOE has A LOT more money backing them.
A quick example -
Let's say you want to build a house. You would need supplies to do that. So you go and chop wood and other materials to build the structure. There would probably be some systems in place where you will run into other things that you'll probably need to kill. Get pelts from animals, etc. Then once you and your buddies build your houses and such - you will probably need to defend it or hire NPCs to defend while you're not online.
Sandbox rewards ingenuity and discovery, while themepark rewards the ability to follow orders.
An idea I have wanted to see actually used in an MMO for ages is basically this. The designers spend their time creating the tools to allow players to build the world around them rather then using the tools to create it for players to use. Instead of all the development time being spent with the designers putting in all the buildings, all the quests, all the dungeons and all the items, give the players the tools to create these items in game.
So players would craft a sword using the basic assets that are introduced into the game like a basic hilt, pommel, blade, handle and sheath and from there the players can adjust the look and quality of each component. Same applies to any item used in the world, all player created.
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
Am I right to presume there is some way to know that you can build a house., Or some way to know <insert something you want to accomplish> and how to go about doing it?
See, I really don't know. Which is pretty exciting, yet daunting at the same time.