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Instances zones?
stabemz
Member Posts: 132
so have they decided on if their adding instanced zones or is it just free roam... im not down for the instanced zones i think it ruins the games aspect of creativity.
Comments
Hi there:
From the Official F.A.Q:
11.3 Will Age of Conan use instancing technology?
Yes, but in a sensible and appropriate manner. Funcom was the company who pioneered the use the instancing technology in the MMO genre in the award-winning Anarchy Online, which is still going strong to this day. Instancing will also be used in Age of Conan, but we're going to great lengths to ensure that the game world feels large, persistent and massive. It can be used in, for instance, dungeons to make the experience much more enjoyable for the players or to improve performance in areas with many players. Having to fight over spawn points is no fun, and instancing technology can eliminate this problem. Out in the wild, instancing will be used appropriately.
I'm just amused at the phrasing "have they decided yet", I mean, that's a fundamental core type of mechanic that has been in place for years, hell, the FAQ has it listed, and the last time it was updated is when?
I love how that covers the "I dont know, and I'm not interested in looking for myself, can someone please get me the info I need" mentality.
Either or....lol, way to present it tactfully Avery!
I think instancing is fine in moderation. Which the devs have pretty much said that is the route they are going.
I know it can cut people off from eachother, but it can also improve client performance and reduce overcrowding problems. Not to mention, from a lore point of view, dungeons and such are always supposed to be highly dangerous areas that only brave (or stupid) people go into. It is kind of silly to enter a dungeon and see hundreds of people camping it. Ruins the experience.
It all depends on the case though. In a city for example, you want that feeling of overcrowding. But thats why in the faq they said use it appropriately.
Well, realistically....
They are the ones who invented instancing technology, and implemented it into MMO's, so they ought to have a fairly solid feel for what is the best route.
I'm all for immersion, but when I boil it all down, I tend to feel that extreme lag would break my immersion far more than dealing with instancing. While it's not optimal, performance is going to trump all in my mind.
Like everyone has suggested, and I agree, I hope to see less instancing in areas that should be crowded like cities, and I hope to see both instanced and non-instanced dungeons. The open sandbox world is great, and I think everyone would prefer that method, but I dont think that there are too many people who prefer that if it meant a significant loss of performance.
Personally....you can point to good and bad things about Funcom, but on this subject, I've got absolute faith that they'll walk the line between immersion and performance as well as anyone, and better than most.
Instancing is OK in dungeons, but only dungeons. And i would also like to see some open dungeons, that way both sides are supported.
Since they invented instancing maybe they can make instanced dungeons that will allow 3 (or whatever) seperate groups of 6 (standard, 24 raid) to enter at one time, that way there would not be as much fighting for spawns but you could still see other people.
Guild towns will be instanced, there will be 3 guild towns and one npc town per instance.
Bigger Dungeons might be instanced, rest of the world seems pretty much seamless.
What ?. Are you sure about this ?. I always tought that you could built your Castle or keep any where on the map where you like. What is the point with having a stronghold where ppl can see it?. For eksempel in Star War Galaxies you could have you build for factory, house, farm etc. almost anywhere on the map. I can't just figure it out why the game company is during this. Will it reduce lag or something or it to protect the world of creating masss town. Cos I must admit that in Star War Galaxies it could something be annyoing to see there was a large factory middle on the road from El Hala to aleon. And who can enter these castle instance ?.
Spoils of War - The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it.
forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php
Okay, let's break both of these down...
Jayde describes it better than anyone, as per those links:
"Currently there are 3 player city locations and an NPC hive in each resource and building playfield instance. The playfield is what will be instanced--as determined by need--and not the city itself, per se."
This is a good thing, because it prevents the world from getting cluttered up with random factories, houses, and towns like other games that you mentioned. There will be multiple guild cities per instance.
Battlekeeps are built in the Border Kingdoms. This is an area that uses instancing technology, but are NOT instances. (there are NOT unlimited amounts of areas to build keeps or towers, these are finite) That being said, this is an area where any people will be able to go, and since there are a finite amount of these areas, this is what people will be fighting over.
Something like this ?
Okie, So I can almost guess that aquilonia, cimmeria and stygia get there own city (aka 3 city loc) Each city have it own resource and a building playfield where you can buildt you own little minor keep or castle. All that would be instance of cause (the playfield) which is favour thing because I really dislike huge factory around the world as seen in other more advanced mmorpg aka SWG.
Now I am just wondering, lets say that a guild called "smellyfish" have a castle in playfield and got a enemy close them in the same instance, lets call "ratslayer". Can these two guild attack each other in that instance all day?, as they both are inside it?. Because then you should maybe consider where you buildt you castle.
Spoils of War - The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it.
If on the other hand they are in one of the borderlands, attacking each other is the whole point.
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Hemingway
The instance castle is a safespot and the borderkingdom is open for each and everybody then. Okie that fair enogh. You can buildt a neat pet castle in the instance and have a other one there is buildt for pvp.
But what is the point with having a instance castle ?.
That make no sense
Spoils of War - The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it.
I'm not sure where the confusion lies, but I'm guessing we still arent clear on explaining things to you, so let me try again.
GUILD CITY:
This is going to be in what amounts to an instanced area, 3 Guild Cities per instance and the AI hive city that will build there. This is a GUILD CITY, without having a ton of details, I'm going to guess that part of the reason for having it is social, but you'll be able to build certain buildings there that will give an advantage to your guild. A blacksmith, a stable and so on. The reason I call this in essence an instanced area, is because, in theory, an unlimited amount of copies of these areas can be built. EVERY guild above a certain size will be able to build one of these, so those who dont get into PvP, will still be able to participate in the siege style PvP.
As it's been explained this is probably a PvP free zone (no info yet on how these areas will be handled on the FFA-PvP type server yet)
BATTLEKEEP/TOWER:
These are built only in the Border Kingdoms. There are NOT an unlimited amount of spots to build, there are a finite amount. You wont be able to build anywhere, there are only certain spots that you'll be able to put a keep or a tower. This area is FFA PvP, so in addition to the siege style warfare over the keeps and towers, you'll be able to engage into combat with anyone who is in the Border Kingdoms.
So what's the point of having an instanced GUILD CITY? Stables that might sell better horses than ordinary, places to craft items for the guild, or guild memebers, and I'm sure that there are others. No confirmation, but since there are resource nodes in the Border Kingdoms, I'd imagine that there will be at least some in the Guild City areas as well. Remember that's just speculation.
Just to build upon Baikal's Guild City info another dev quote released today:
Balance Team Lead
Making sure the players and NPCs have a fair chance of killing each other off...
I think the world castle is getting tossed around too much.
There really isnt a castle per se in the Guild City area, it's pretty much a city, walls, industrial and commercial buildings, (guild hall perhaps?). I believe it'll have some buildings that spawn NPC's who can fight to defend the city from the AI hive attack, and so on.
When I think Castle, I think of the Keep/Tower, and a large structure that is built with the idea of defense.