What direction is the game heading? and some questions

Comments

• osmunda Member Posts: 1,087

  July 2010

  
  Well, since your post is "some questions" instead of a single topic, I guess I'll interlace my response with a quote of your OP.

  
  Originally posted by Rekindle

  So I bought this game full well understanding that it would be very rough in the beginning.  Whether I stay or not all depends on what direction they intend to take this game.  My primary focus is on game content: Is there a sword in the stone at the bottom of the dungeon or is the trip just for the sake of making the trip as to  be entertainment for the red waiting at the entrance.     The intent is to strike a balance between the two. The devs want to allow open PVP but don't want it to overtake the game. Whether or not the right balance is struck is another matter.  So far I find it reasonable. For the most part, I find that if I'm in a popular "farming spot" (killing wisents or harvesting wood just outside town) I will run into PKs about 20% of the time.

  Will the game be mainly about pvp with only a hint of pve mixed in there ? Will there be a lot of pve mixed with the pvp element?  I want to know what the toys are going to look like in this sandbox and right now there are not enough toys.  Criminal flagging and stat loss are in place to try and moderate the amount of PKing.  In the long run PVP is intended to be more about inter-guild warfare and territory control, but that is well down the road.

  The early UO was not a pvp game imho.  The term hadn't even been invented yet.  UO was pvp and pve.  Not entirely accurate. PVP started with MUDS, thus predating UO. Raph Koster(lead designer) was involved in MUDs starting in 1992, so was well aware of PVP in designing (and revising the design of) UO.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_versus_player  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide_(online_game)

  I can get behind a game that will grow but I only want to get behind games that are growing in the direction of my interests.  I, personally, would participate in the pve world while expecting and anticipating pvp encounters (rather than the other way around).See response 2 paragraphs back

  I'm just now doing the bootstraping thing.  I haven't really left the newbie town in a couple days. I've just been cutting down trees to make some silver.  I'm starting to understand the skill system but there are still many many unanswered questions.  It seems skill books are the only way to unlock certain skills and you cant use certain tools without these skills but I need to wait in game, real time to "finish reading" ?  All skills are unlocked by being your starting skills (depending on the character template you pick at creation) or by reading. Once you "unlock" them most skills are raised through use.

  I feel like the community resources are lacking, I'm very glad to hear that there is a new UI in the works (dear lord) and I see promise for this game.  If the next 20 patches are all about pvp fixes I guess I'll have my answer.  If we see some interesting content slip in then I'll have my answer too. At this point, patches will largely focus on tweaking, finetuning core systems (like combat) Entirely new content will probably center on things that they intend to be at the core (i.e. the recent addition of spiritism, the planned revamp of thievery) rather than the addition of new areas.  As such it may seem  more focused on PVP.

  I don't know where it says that sandbox games have to be void of interesting things to do.  My hope is that its simply a time issue and that these types of interesting pve elements will indeed make their way in.  The world seems nice enough.
• Rohn Member UncommonPosts: 3,730

  July 2010

  
  Originally posted by Rekindle

  So I bought this game full well understanding that it would be very rough in the beginning.  Whether I stay or not all depends on what direction they intend to take this game.  My primary focus is on game content: Is there a sword in the stone at the bottom of the dungeon or is the trip just for the sake of making the trip as to  be entertainment for the red waiting at the enterance.

   

  Will the game be mainly about pvp with only a hint of pve mixed in there ? Will there be a lot of pve mixed with the pvp element?  I want to know what the toys are going to look like in this sandbox and right now there are not enough toys.

   

  The early UO was not a pvp game imho.  The term hadn't even been invented yet.  UO was pvp and pve.

  I can get behind a game that will grow but I only want to get behind games that are growing in the direction of my interests.  I, personally, would participate in the pve world while expecting and anticipating pvp encounters (rather than the other way around).

   

  I'm just now doing the bootstraping thing.  I haven't really left the newbie town in a couple days. I've just been cutting down trees to make some silver.  I'm starting to understand the skill system but there are still many many unanswered questions.  It seems skill books are the only way to unlock certain skills and you cant use certain tools without these skills but I need to wait in game, real time to "finish reading" ?

   

  I feel like the community resources are lacking, I'm very glad to hear that there is a new UI in the works (dear lord) and I see promise for this game.  If the next 20 patches are all about pvp fixes I guess I'll have my answer.  If we see some interesting content slip in then I'll have my answer too.

   

  I don't know where it says that sandbox games have to be void of interesting things to do.  My hope is that its simply a time issue and that these types of interesting pve elements will indeed make their way in.  The world seems nice enough.

   

  I understand your concerns and questions about the direction of the game, and I'm pretty much in agreement with you on the direction I'd also like to see the game take.

  To be honest, if I'd wanted a PvP-only game, I would have probably stuck with Darkfall.

  But, I was hoping for more of a virtual world, with a lot more avenues for play.  I do believe that is the direction that SV intends with Mortal Online.

  The game is certainly at a core level right now, which is what they said it would be.  The things they start adding from this point on are obviously going to start defining the actual type of world we can play in.

  Fortunately, the things that the devs are talking about are what I look at in terms of direction.  Of course, things like stability and bugsquashing are paramount right now, but they are also going to have to trickle in some features as they work on those things (it is a development team, after all).  And, as seen on the official forum, everyone has their own personal bailiwick that they firmly believe should be the top priority and addressed NOW.

  They definitely should work on the PvE: more mobs, improved AI, and more "dungeons" that have a purpose.  Regarding that, I believe the Risar boss dropped something like a ruby to the Forsaken guys that killed him.  Additionally, one of the ideas I liked a lot in development was the concept of the "one-time boss" - a big-time, named mob that, once it was killed, it was permanently dead (to the fame and glory of the folks able to kill it).

  From what the devs have said, I believe that PvP isn't the only focus of the game.  A recent example that stands out in my mind: there was a thread on taverns not long ago.  I didn't start it, but I might as well have, because that's something that I would like to do at one point - run a tavern in a game like this.  A dev responded, saying:

  "Inn/Taverns are already on our table. But they will be put into the game once we have features to support the purpose.
  
  
  
  atm I can not reveal how taverns will work but I could at least let you know it is planed."

  (the entire tavern thread can be seen here: http://www.mortalonline.com/forums/49490-taverns.html#post962328)

  To me, this type of system (and there are more examples) illustrates the ultimate direction that the game is going: a virtual world in which we can act with greater freedom and choice, whether that be PvE, PvP, RP, economic, social, etc.  And, that's exactly the type of gameworld I've been looking for.

  I just think it's going to take time for them to get there.

  Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.