so basicly, i would have to learn tomake my own weapons and armor? or buy from someonw who has?
or id just go around karate chopping things.. hhhhiiiiiiiiiiiyyyyyyyaaaa!
who makes the first mining axe so they can mine metal to make...axes?
just curious, plus i didnt have anyting to bitch about. looks like a very interesting game, need a game where you dot just have to kill things noonstop.
I can't thank you enough for talking about the FEATURES of the game. Your concerns are valid, we all have them. First thing I will talk about is the maturity of a community. ToA is going to be a niche game. It will never have the numbers WoW or EQ2 have. Historically (but certainly not always), niche games have had more mature communities than those of the larger game. This is mostly due to not having the hype big games have, not attracting as much of the unsavory crowd. Being in the ToA community for a year and a half, I can tell you that 90% of the community right now is very intelligent and mature. I believe (and very well could be wrong) that ToA will become sort of a "A Tale in the Desert" type community, hopefully with more subscribers.
Will there be griefers, smacktards, exploiters, and a host of other kinds of people that ruin games? You bet. Every game has em, and will continue to have them for all eternity. I'm not making ToA out to be some kind of utopian game where nothing can go wrong. Do I feel that the features proposed with help curb some of these people? Yes.
Now, to your specific points:
1. As Elyssia said, it wont happen with single character servers. There was also word that there could be a time limit after deleting a character before you start a new one.
2. They arent going to balance the races. No 2 races will be as good as one another at the same thing. Some people will hate this, some people will love this. Minotaurs will be stronger than pixies, pixies will be faster than minotaurs.
3. Most people are looking for a skill system these days. You might be in the minority there.
4. It's not necessarily a variation on a skill. You could get an innovation on how to make a new type of trebuchet, or a faster boat. Hardly worthless if you are the only one in the world that knows how to do it.
5. 56k is going the way of the dodo. Catering to the 56k crowd just isnt cost effective these days. The game may be broadband only. There are enough people with broadband that i dont think it will hurt sales any.
6. The weather system should be cool indeed. Let's hope they can pull it off like they want to.
7. There are plenty of people looking for more than whacking monsters in games. While you may find building a house tedious and repetitive, it could be someone's whole gaming experience. Different strokes for different folks. I'm willing to believe that there are a number of people out there, especially the RP and "carebear" crowds that would love alot of the possibilities for alternative gameplay that ToA can offer.
8. How many times have people complained about the questing system in most games? More than i can count. Now, tell me whats more interesting: whacking moles to get mole eye balls so that merchant will trade you for a +1 sword of adult mole slaying, or getting paid by your settlement leader to go clear out the wolf population outside your settlement because they have been eating too much of the wildlife, endangering the settlement. Player made quests is where its at. The dynamic over arching story from the CM team should be interesting as well.
9. If i remember correctly, Asheron's Call is a pretty popular game, is it not? I'm not saying some people wont like the idea. I can tell already alot of people wont. Permadeath, unrestricted pvp, and a host of other features will turn many away. BUT they will also attract many others to ToA.
Your points are all valid and are some concerns many of us will continue to have with the game until we play it. We just dont know if they will be able to succeed in bringing this design to life. I'm willing to give it a chance, because i believe in the concepts. If it fails it fails. Oh well i guess.
Pat (aka sluggo), is the Technical Director for Shadowpool Studios. He recently posted a Developer Journal that covers the interesting topic of Terrain Engines, most importantly the ones they have tried for ToA.
Yeah, pretty much in answer to your question about dialup vs. broadband, the Devs have taken a "who gives a shit" take on users of crappy technology. If you don't have the best (broadband, high-end system), you aren't going to be catered to. You're expected to have <100ms ping, with <50ms preferable, and if you don't, well then you're a nub.
Also, you're expected to own the best computer, as the game will feature graphical integration in a way never-before-seen in a MMORPG. Shadows will serve as hiding places, so you can't turn them off, etc.
IMO this is the way to do it. No handholding of players in-game and no excuses for shitty systems and connections. Either you play it to win or you don't bitch about losing.
Comments
so basicly, i would have to learn tomake my own weapons and armor? or buy from someonw who has?
or id just go around karate chopping things..
hhhhiiiiiiiiiiiyyyyyyyaaaa!
who makes the first mining axe so they can mine metal to make...axes?
just curious, plus i didnt have anyting to bitch about. looks like a very interesting game, need a game where you dot just have to kill things noonstop.
twhint,
I can't thank you enough for talking about the FEATURES of the game. Your concerns are valid, we all have them. First thing I will talk about is the maturity of a community. ToA is going to be a niche game. It will never have the numbers WoW or EQ2 have. Historically (but certainly not always), niche games have had more mature communities than those of the larger game. This is mostly due to not having the hype big games have, not attracting as much of the unsavory crowd. Being in the ToA community for a year and a half, I can tell you that 90% of the community right now is very intelligent and mature. I believe (and very well could be wrong) that ToA will become sort of a "A Tale in the Desert" type community, hopefully with more subscribers.
Will there be griefers, smacktards, exploiters, and a host of other kinds of people that ruin games? You bet. Every game has em, and will continue to have them for all eternity. I'm not making ToA out to be some kind of utopian game where nothing can go wrong. Do I feel that the features proposed with help curb some of these people? Yes.
Now, to your specific points:
1. As Elyssia said, it wont happen with single character servers. There was also word that there could be a time limit after deleting a character before you start a new one.
2. They arent going to balance the races. No 2 races will be as good as one another at the same thing. Some people will hate this, some people will love this. Minotaurs will be stronger than pixies, pixies will be faster than minotaurs.
3. Most people are looking for a skill system these days. You might be in the minority there.
4. It's not necessarily a variation on a skill. You could get an innovation on how to make a new type of trebuchet, or a faster boat. Hardly worthless if you are the only one in the world that knows how to do it.
5. 56k is going the way of the dodo. Catering to the 56k crowd just isnt cost effective these days. The game may be broadband only. There are enough people with broadband that i dont think it will hurt sales any.
6. The weather system should be cool indeed. Let's hope they can pull it off like they want to.
7. There are plenty of people looking for more than whacking monsters in games. While you may find building a house tedious and repetitive, it could be someone's whole gaming experience. Different strokes for different folks. I'm willing to believe that there are a number of people out there, especially the RP and "carebear" crowds that would love alot of the possibilities for alternative gameplay that ToA can offer.
8. How many times have people complained about the questing system in most games? More than i can count. Now, tell me whats more interesting: whacking moles to get mole eye balls so that merchant will trade you for a +1 sword of adult mole slaying, or getting paid by your settlement leader to go clear out the wolf population outside your settlement because they have been eating too much of the wildlife, endangering the settlement. Player made quests is where its at. The dynamic over arching story from the CM team should be interesting as well.
9. If i remember correctly, Asheron's Call is a pretty popular game, is it not? I'm not saying some people wont like the idea. I can tell already alot of people wont. Permadeath, unrestricted pvp, and a host of other features will turn many away. BUT they will also attract many others to ToA.
Your points are all valid and are some concerns many of us will continue to have with the game until we play it. We just dont know if they will be able to succeed in bringing this design to life. I'm willing to give it a chance, because i believe in the concepts. If it fails it fails. Oh well i guess.
Pat (aka sluggo), is the Technical Director for Shadowpool Studios. He recently posted a Developer Journal that covers the interesting topic of Terrain Engines, most importantly the ones they have tried for ToA.
http://www.shadowpool.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=208505
Check it out. Even if you don't know a lot of programming jargon, it's still a great read.
If it goes gold with most of what they want to do, I'll buy it.
The same goes for DnL, DDO, and Vanguard. But until a game is close to going live, I really don't pay much attention.
Good luck to the dev's, if you can pull it off, you'll have a winner.
Yeah, pretty much in answer to your question about dialup vs. broadband, the Devs have taken a "who gives a shit" take on users of crappy technology. If you don't have the best (broadband, high-end system), you aren't going to be catered to. You're expected to have <100ms ping, with <50ms preferable, and if you don't, well then you're a nub.
Also, you're expected to own the best computer, as the game will feature graphical integration in a way never-before-seen in a MMORPG. Shadows will serve as hiding places, so you can't turn them off, etc.
IMO this is the way to do it. No handholding of players in-game and no excuses for shitty systems and connections. Either you play it to win or you don't bitch about losing.