Not holding my breath on LOTRO.... I hope it's good... I really really really do. I'm a DIE hard Tolkien fan (note my login name is Tolkien Elvish, bonus points for whoever translates it. NO it is not stolen from the books, it's unique). But Turbine is making it so I refuse to get my hopes up. Hopefully the guys that made AC1 are making it, not the guys who did AC2.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online. Sig image Pending Still in: A couple Betas
I wasn't all that taken with WoW's cities, though I was fond of Undercity.
I liked Neriak and Cabilis in EQ1, but I was always a Freeport girl, when it came down to naming a hometown. Cabilis looked like the crumbling ruins of an empire, and with the high starting swimming skill of the iksar, taking the water route was often the quickest way. As for Neriak, once you knew how to get around, it was simple enough to navigate, and who doesn't love neon?! Freeport had some personality in the differences between the zones/"neighborhoods"... If you were from East Freeport, you were from the wrong side of the tracks for sure.
... This is where I draw the line: __________________.
i'd say Bestine and Anchorhead on the planet tatooine and Theed on planet Naboo, there's a nice atmosphere going on with all the players, droids and npc's walking around and speeders passing by and stuff. really nice
Loved Theed and Bestine from SWG, both wonderful cities with an amazing amount atmosphere.
I also loved Ironforge from WoW, I'll never forget the first time I trecked accross the dangerous wetlands, up the snowy mountains in Dun only to finally arrive at the towering walls of Ironforge and welcome at the entrance by a gigantic statue of a proud and noble dwarf holding gigantic carved war hammers. WOW ! what an experience that was. It was one of the moments that will resound with me forever and even though I don't play WoW anymore, that trip alone was well worth the time I spent there.
And then on the other side of the spectrum, although very well rendered with obviously very high production values, I found the cities of EQ2 to be extremely bland and the experience of them was very forgetfull. Which goes to show you, you can have the best artist's in the world but if the environment has no soul, whats the point of spending all the time on making ultra high super duper fantastic spectacular textures.
How can NPCs be used do to make an NPC city more lively? In EQ2 NPCs walk about and talk to you but people still say the city districts are lifeless.
You need things that force players to come into the cities from time to time and also encourage them to hang around for a bit.
Auction houses seem to do the trick as do transport hubs where buffers can sometimes hang out. But even with these things, only some parts of the cities are busy. It seems game developers have real life planning problems.
Comments
Not holding my breath on LOTRO.... I hope it's good... I really really really do. I'm a DIE hard Tolkien fan (note my login name is Tolkien Elvish, bonus points for whoever translates it. NO it is not stolen from the books, it's unique). But Turbine is making it so I refuse to get my hopes up. Hopefully the guys that made AC1 are making it, not the guys who did AC2.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas
I wasn't all that taken with WoW's cities, though I was fond of Undercity.
I liked Neriak and Cabilis in EQ1, but I was always a Freeport girl, when it came down to naming a hometown. Cabilis looked like the crumbling ruins of an empire, and with the high starting swimming skill of the iksar, taking the water route was often the quickest way. As for Neriak, once you knew how to get around, it was simple enough to navigate, and who doesn't love neon?! Freeport had some personality in the differences between the zones/"neighborhoods"... If you were from East Freeport, you were from the wrong side of the tracks for sure.
...
This is where I draw the line: __________________.
i'd say Bestine and Anchorhead on the planet tatooine and Theed on planet Naboo, there's a nice atmosphere going on with all the players, droids and npc's walking around and speeders passing by and stuff. really nice
Banzai!
No new mmorpgs look any good
Tbh elnator, eve online is a great mmorpg to get into being the only mmorpg with a good future!
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Don't click here...no2
Loved Theed and Bestine from SWG, both wonderful cities with an amazing amount atmosphere.
I also loved Ironforge from WoW, I'll never forget the first time I trecked accross the dangerous wetlands, up the snowy mountains in Dun only to finally arrive at the towering walls of Ironforge and welcome at the entrance by a gigantic statue of a proud and noble dwarf holding gigantic carved war hammers. WOW ! what an experience that was. It was one of the moments that will resound with me forever and even though I don't play WoW anymore, that trip alone was well worth the time I spent there.
And then on the other side of the spectrum, although very well rendered with obviously very high production values, I found the cities of EQ2 to be extremely bland and the experience of them was very forgetfull. Which goes to show you, you can have the best artist's in the world but if the environment has no soul, whats the point of spending all the time on making ultra high super duper fantastic spectacular textures.
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WoW- Undercity and Stormwind
How can NPCs be used do to make an NPC city more lively? In EQ2 NPCs walk about and talk to you but people still say the city districts are lifeless.
You need things that force players to come into the cities from time to time and also encourage them to hang around for a bit.
Auction houses seem to do the trick as do transport hubs where buffers can sometimes hang out. But even with these things, only some parts of the cities are busy. It seems game developers have real life planning problems.
Raymondo
Ironforge or Ogrimmar in WoW.
Only seen Ogrimmar once but I was stunned by effort that had been put into its design.
Ironforge struck me as being so Dwarven it's uncanny. A functional circle based around the Great Forge. Great stuff.
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Don't jump off the roof Dad
You'll make a hole in the yard
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