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All of this and the Kitchen Sink?

ArchlyteArchlyte Member RarePosts: 1,405
CoE reads like me dream list of features in a fantasy MMORPG, but because of this I think it's important to look at the probability that the game will launch with/include later the features they are touting now. Something always comes up with the engine or with unexpected consequences and features get cut. Also there is the terrible track record of Kickstarter/Crowdfunding.

I backed the game with an amount of money I don't mind flying into the pisser, but what I am more concerned about is the investment of enthusiasm. We get good ideas when we have games that are funded by players, but the end result seems to be devs who are in a prison of time, limited funding, dwindling personal commitment, and endless problems of trying to shoehorn in great features. 

What features of the ones promised do you think are likely to not make it to the game should it release? 

Because I love it so much, I am thinking that Player Made Dungeons are probably going to get the "couldn't make it work," result. I see the map portion as being problematic as well as getting bodyguards/creatures to work. 

Some other features/potential problems: 

-Identity Based Contract Enforcement
-Meta Guild Monopoly
-Rare Magic (Talent) instead of making it a skill so anyone who wants it has it

It will be an amazing game if it launches with intended features functioning well, but I worry that it's just too good to be true. What is your personal take on how you will monitor the game, and what do you predict will happen? Mainly looking for opinion of those who are pro-game and ok with crowdfunding/kickstarter. I realize that many people won't go near a game funded by the public, so I acknowledge you, but your protests are well noted elsewhere. 
MMORPG players are often like Hobbits: They don't like Adventures
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Comments

  • drakeordanskadrakeordanska Member UncommonPosts: 240
    I think it's tight to make.... 
    But I believe that they CAN do it.

    Will they?
    I am hoping so.

    Player made dungeons are really only dungeons that players make just like a house. The "boss" of the dungeon is the player either in opc mode or online. I believe the "monsters" will just be npc guards hired by said boss.

    Saying that due to the migration system (if it's included at release), then abandoned mines will also become dungeons are these player made?
  • whilanwhilan Member UncommonPosts: 3,472
    Archlyte said:
    CoE reads like me dream list of features in a fantasy MMORPG, but because of this I think it's important to look at the probability that the game will launch with/include later the features they are touting now. Something always comes up with the engine or with unexpected consequences and features get cut. Also there is the terrible track record of Kickstarter/Crowdfunding.

    I backed the game with an amount of money I don't mind flying into the pisser, but what I am more concerned about is the investment of enthusiasm. We get good ideas when we have games that are funded by players, but the end result seems to be devs who are in a prison of time, limited funding, dwindling personal commitment, and endless problems of trying to shoehorn in great features. 

    What features of the ones promised do you think are likely to not make it to the game should it release? 

    Because I love it so much, I am thinking that Player Made Dungeons are probably going to get the "couldn't make it work," result. I see the map portion as being problematic as well as getting bodyguards/creatures to work. 

    Some other features/potential problems: 

    -Identity Based Contract Enforcement
    -Meta Guild Monopoly
    -Rare Magic (Talent) instead of making it a skill so anyone who wants it has it

    It will be an amazing game if it launches with intended features functioning well, but I worry that it's just too good to be true. What is your personal take on how you will monitor the game, and what do you predict will happen? Mainly looking for opinion of those who are pro-game and ok with crowdfunding/kickstarter. I realize that many people won't go near a game funded by the public, so I acknowledge you, but your protests are well noted elsewhere. 
    I don't normally do crowdfunding, but in this one I did. So I guess you could call me a pro-game at this time.

    I think a lot of these features they are promising are going to be hard to implement but seeing as that's pretty much all they have to do (Ie they don't have to do raids/tons of Voice overs and the animation for them) that does free up some resources/time.

    I think we can look at some of the later kickstarter features to see what won't make it at launch. As for the things actually in-game. We know some form of fighting is in. "Parkour" of sorts is in, I hope the alignment system is in (sounds like a major part of it).

    My guess would be whatever is most likely to be least needed/used, like gods/religion are probably out. As for complicated stuff? I suspect the crime/punishment/disguise system to have problems.  Not to mention the multilayer looting is likely to cause issues.

    Help me Bioware, you're my only hope.

    Is ToR going to be good? Dude it's Bioware making a freaking star wars game, all signs point to awesome. -G4tv MMo report.

    image

  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 43,975
    This title is full of unbridled enthusiasm, optimism and promises.

    Will be interesting to see how well they deliver against the lofty expectations some have for it.

    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

    "This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






  • DullahanDullahan Member EpicPosts: 4,536
    I'm definitely pro-kickstarter, and I am 100% for indie games and seeing them succeed. That said, I think the game will launch in a state more akin to Darkfall or Mortal Online. Even if they get all of the standard stuff working, things like their "story engine" are way too ambitious for the amount of money they have raised. Even if they manage to successfully code the engine, the amount of writing necessary for it to function with "no repeatable quests" will be insurmountable.

    If CoE is going to deliver on their promises, they will need a publisher. In the meantime, they should focus on the obtainable goals like combat systems, player and creature modeling, world building, reputation system, and siege mechanics.

    The rest of the innovative features are so problematic, even attempting to complete them with their limited resources will likely drain them financially.


  • ArchlyteArchlyte Member RarePosts: 1,405
    Dullahan said:
    I'm definitely pro-kickstarter, and I am 100% for indie games and seeing them succeed. That said, I think the game will launch in a state more akin to Darkfall or Mortal Online. Even if they get all of the standard stuff working, things like their "story engine" are way too ambitious for the amount of money they have raised. Even if they manage to successfully code the engine, the amount of writing necessary for it to function with "no repeatable quests" will be insurmountable.

    If CoE is going to deliver on their promises, they will need a publisher. In the meantime, they should focus on the obtainable goals like combat systems, player and creature modeling, world building, reputation system, and siege mechanics.

    The rest of the innovative features are so problematic, even attempting to complete them with their limited resources will likely drain them financially.
    Which publisher do you see as a good fit for them Dullahan?
    MMORPG players are often like Hobbits: They don't like Adventures
  • SpottyGekkoSpottyGekko Member EpicPosts: 6,916
    I'm quite used to seeing indie MMO's promising a laundry list of features, and then launching with 25% of them actually implemented and working. The next 25% usually arrives during the 2 years after launch, but frequently break some of the earlier features.

    The rest of the promised features then dribble in at an ever decreasing rate as the player numbers tank...
  • drakeordanskadrakeordanska Member UncommonPosts: 240
    Dullahan said:
    I'm definitely pro-kickstarter, and I am 100% for indie games and seeing them succeed. That said, I think the game will launch in a state more akin to Darkfall or Mortal Online. Even if they get all of the standard stuff working, things like their "story engine" are way too ambitious for the amount of money they have raised. Even if they manage to successfully code the engine, the amount of writing necessary for it to function with "no repeatable quests" will be insurmountable.

    If CoE is going to deliver on their promises, they will need a publisher. In the meantime, they should focus on the obtainable goals like combat systems, player and creature modeling, world building, reputation system, and siege mechanics.

    The rest of the innovative features are so problematic, even attempting to complete them with their limited resources will likely drain them financially.
    The soulbound engine is already made. Caspian has spent the past 10years planning and coding it.

    As for the quests you know they are all player made using the contract system
  • ArchlyteArchlyte Member RarePosts: 1,405
    I'm quite used to seeing indie MMO's promising a laundry list of features, and then launching with 25% of them actually implemented and working. The next 25% usually arrives during the 2 years after launch, but frequently break some of the earlier features.

    The rest of the promised features then dribble in at an ever decreasing rate as the player numbers tank...
    Yeah I think that while there is a lot positive going on, the reality of these things tends to be disappointing. Maybe my impulse here is managing expectations. I have started talking to my friends about the game and I'm often getting the skeptical eye like I'm selling time shares or something :) I think you nailed part of this, that the longer players wait for the features listed the worse the situation gets. Here's to this game breaking the slump though
    MMORPG players are often like Hobbits: They don't like Adventures
  • DullahanDullahan Member EpicPosts: 4,536
    edited May 2016
    Dullahan said:
    I'm definitely pro-kickstarter, and I am 100% for indie games and seeing them succeed. That said, I think the game will launch in a state more akin to Darkfall or Mortal Online. Even if they get all of the standard stuff working, things like their "story engine" are way too ambitious for the amount of money they have raised. Even if they manage to successfully code the engine, the amount of writing necessary for it to function with "no repeatable quests" will be insurmountable.

    If CoE is going to deliver on their promises, they will need a publisher. In the meantime, they should focus on the obtainable goals like combat systems, player and creature modeling, world building, reputation system, and siege mechanics.

    The rest of the innovative features are so problematic, even attempting to complete them with their limited resources will likely drain them financially.
    The soulbound engine is already made. Caspian has spent the past 10years planning and coding it.

    As for the quests you know they are all player made using the contract system
    They actually call it the Soulborn engine, and I guarantee its not already made. That is the thing that is supposed to give everyone a unique and evolving story with dynamic, personalized content and goals. They also claim it will shape all of these stories into an epic saga, which will be different on every server.

    They have actually talked about dynamically generated (non-repeatable) quests and events. The story engine is said to create your personal destiny. That is what generates events and content for you to do each day. If that isn't going to feel totally generic, it will take writers (not to mention serious scripting/coding).

    I just think it seems lofty. I mean, beyond EQ Next storybricks levels of pie in the sky.
    Post edited by Dullahan on


  • drakeordanskadrakeordanska Member UncommonPosts: 240
    edited May 2016
    That was my auto correct on my phone there. But yes the soulborn.

    And according to the devs it is finished and I'm more inclined to believe them than agree with you when you have no basis for what you are saying.

    Yes there will be quests as you state but they are part of the story and not just random quests found like in normal mmorpgs
  • DullahanDullahan Member EpicPosts: 4,536
    That was my auto correct on my phone there. But yes the soulborn.

    And according to the devs it is finished and I'm more inclined to believe them than agree with youbwhen you have no basis for what you are saying.

    Yes there will be quests as you state but they are part of the story and not just random quests found like in normal mmorpgs
    Considering the entire system is dependent on triggers and interactions with players throughout your character's life, it would be impossible for them to even test it when the environment to do so has not yet been developed.


  • TimberhickTimberhick Member UncommonPosts: 554
    Kinda hard for the soulborn engine to be finished when Jeromy was looking for a Story Director not too long ago.  Kinda hard for the soulborn engine to make a story when there is no story...
  • drakeordanskadrakeordanska Member UncommonPosts: 240
    edited May 2016
    So why cant they test it by adding in different outcomes the player may choose?
    *edit*
    By this I mean the story could be tested out of game with them running the story with a simple interface with a set of outcomes that may result from player choice. Have the outcomes chosen by an algorithm and then run it numerous times and test how it runs
    *edit*

    Yes there is always the unexpected but they have mentioned at that point they would have to step in as developers and move the maib story on. I'm not sure what they plan personal storied though but they may have limited outcomes where one will always be "completed".
  • GrumpyHobbitGrumpyHobbit Member RarePosts: 1,220

    "I need some Iron for my Blacksmithing."

    "OK, I will take up your contract to supply 100 Iron ore for 10 Gold."

    Story started...

  • simsalabim77simsalabim77 Member RarePosts: 1,607
    As is the case with all games in this genre, it's all PR pillow-talk until the game goes live and we get to see what features they got in and what got cut. When you rely on donations to fund development, it's in the best interest of the project to promise the moon. 
  • TimberhickTimberhick Member UncommonPosts: 554

    "I need some Iron for my Blacksmithing."

    "OK, I will take up your contract to supply 100 Iron ore for 10 Gold."

    Story started...

    Um..no?

    Mundane isn't story.

    "I need a petal from an Iron Star Flower for my Blacksmithing"
    "You realize Iron Star Flowers supposedly only grow in the High Swamps of Thundermaug and that has never been confirmed?"
    Yes I do, but I need it for my masterpiece"
    "I can't guarantee my group will be successful in finding or even surviving, but it is going to cost you, a lot."
    "I completely understand."

    Story started...
  • Deffcon_1Deffcon_1 Member UncommonPosts: 164
    Kinda hard for the soulborn engine to be finished when Jeromy was looking for a Story Director not too long ago.  Kinda hard for the soulborn engine to make a story when there is no story...
    No story director does not mean they have no story. This is an ignorant assumption at best. 
  • GrumpyHobbitGrumpyHobbit Member RarePosts: 1,220

    "I need some Iron for my Blacksmithing."

    "OK, I will take up your contract to supply 100 Iron ore for 10 Gold."

    Story started...

    Um..no?

    Mundane isn't story.

    "I need a petal from an Iron Star Flower for my Blacksmithing"
    "You realize Iron Star Flowers supposedly only grow in the High Swamps of Thundermaug and that has never been confirmed?"
    Yes I do, but I need it for my masterpiece"
    "I can't guarantee my group will be successful in finding or even surviving, but it is going to cost you, a lot."
    "I completely understand."

    Story started...
    So all story has to be epic?

    Story is story...unless you want to keep adding qualifiers....

    i.e. your story isn't a story because you didn't add names...or eye colours....or mood settings....

    My favorite fantasy book starts with "The storm had broken."

    Story started....
  • SpottyGekkoSpottyGekko Member EpicPosts: 6,916

    "I need some Iron for my Blacksmithing."

    "OK, I will take up your contract to supply 100 Iron ore for 10 Gold."

    Story started...

    Um..no?

    Mundane isn't story.

    "I need a petal from an Iron Star Flower for my Blacksmithing"
    "You realize Iron Star Flowers supposedly only grow in the High Swamps of Thundermaug and that has never been confirmed?"
    Yes I do, but I need it for my masterpiece"
    "I can't guarantee my group will be successful in finding or even surviving, but it is going to cost you, a lot."
    "I completely understand."

    Story started...
    In the context of CoE, each quest is not going to be epic. You are not the hero who will save the world. You're just another vanilla character in a big world full of characters. There is no epic destiny that will unfold for you personally.

    So I'd expect many (most ?) of the quests to be related to "normal life" in the game world. A request to provide a blacksmith with iron would be right in line with that. Perhaps it would sometimes be a quest for very high quality iron that can only be obtained from a certain Master Smelter in a village high in the mountains, but I doubt that you will be asked to fetch legendary items on a daily basis...
  • DistopiaDistopia Member EpicPosts: 21,183
    Dullahan said:
    They actually call it the Soulborn engine, and I guarantee its not already made. That is the thing that is supposed to give everyone a unique and evolving story with dynamic, personalized content and goals. They also claim it will shape all of these stories into an epic saga, which will be different on every server.

    They have actually talked about dynamically generated (non-repeatable) quests and events. The story engine is said to create your personal destiny. That is what generates events and content for you to do each day. If that isn't going to feel totally generic, it will take writers (not to mention serious scripting/coding).

    I just think it seems lofty. I mean, beyond EQ Next storybricks levels of pie in the sky.
    It really depends on what type of system it truly is. The hard part is setting up the scripts that dictate the variables, if that is in place and all that is needed are branching options, and the writing (think Skyrim's branching story system in the creation kit, for those who've used it), it's not that hard to set-up a long branching story with many different paths that could be followed. (this would explain different outcomes on different servers). It could also be randomized, or procedural in nature with a system that fluctuates objectives/names/scenarios, etc...  

    It would also depend on how it's delivered. By that I mean, is it something you're spending 100's of hours doing, or is it simply something you open up at different stages of progression ( think TOR's class quests, or ESO's main story line, where you're only getting a new quest every 10 levels or so. In a classless game such could be handled through reaching some other milestone).. The latter doesn't truly require that much actual storytelling... Nor that many variables. 

    The hard part in actually doing the story in that type of system is a matter of making sure there are no cracks in the branches, causing it all to come to a screeching halt and sending the user back to desktop, or bugs similar to what we saw in ESO's release with broken story progression, causing everything associated to not work. 








    For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson


  • FranciscourantFranciscourant Member UncommonPosts: 356
    edited May 2016
    The soulbound engine is already made. Caspian has spent the past 10years planning and coding it.
    I'm not aware of any evidence showing that the Soulbound "engine" is already made.

    As far as I know, the founder of Soulbound studio spent most of the past 10 years working on different things: project manager (genealogical company), instructor, software developer (Microsoft), etc. 

    Saying that he spent the past 10 years planning and coding this "engine" seems inaccurate imo. During his free time maybe.
  • DistopiaDistopia Member EpicPosts: 21,183
    The soulbound engine is already made. Caspian has spent the past 10years planning and coding it.
    I'm not aware of any evidence showing that the Soulbound "engine" is already made.

    As far as I know, the founder of Soulbound studio spent most of the past 10 years working on different things: project manager (genealogical company), instructor, software developer (Microsoft), etc. 


    Saying that he spent the past 10 years planning and coding this "engine" seems inaccurate imo. During his free time maybe.
    That's what I assumed he meant... I'd assume a lot of programmers work on such pet projects in their free time.

    For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson


  • GeezerGamerGeezerGamer Member EpicPosts: 8,857
    Kyleran said:
    This title is full of unbridled enthusiasm, optimism and promises.

    Will be interesting to see how well they deliver against the lofty expectations some have for it.
    Now where have I seen that done before?
    .....................
    Oh yeah!........

  • ArchlyteArchlyte Member RarePosts: 1,405
    Dullahan said:
    That was my auto correct on my phone there. But yes the soulborn.

    And according to the devs it is finished and I'm more inclined to believe them than agree with youbwhen you have no basis for what you are saying.

    Yes there will be quests as you state but they are part of the story and not just random quests found like in normal mmorpgs
    Considering the entire system is dependent on triggers and interactions with players throughout your character's life, it would be impossible for them to even test it when the environment to do so has not yet been developed.
    So wait a minute. Is there a separate engine dealing with the netcode and animation and physics? Seems like that is part is pretty much up and working to a large degree. The story generator thing is all well and good but being able to run jump and swing a sword is more what I was wondering about as far as the engine is concerned. 
    MMORPG players are often like Hobbits: They don't like Adventures
  • DullahanDullahan Member EpicPosts: 4,536
    Its probably pseudocode at best, scribblings on napkins at worst.


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