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Shroud of the Avatar: Developers Focused on Player Created Quests
Shelassa
MMORPG.COM Staff UncommonPosts: 616
Richard Garriott and the Portalarium team have revealed the first information about the player generated content in Shroud of the Avatar. Garriott writes that Release 19 will include writeable books and notes and chest permissions that will allow players write their own quests and provide their own rewards to the players completing them.
Our goal is to allow players to craft deeper quests directly into the game world itself, to be able to leave clues in the world 24/7, and to have treasure (and ultimately protection of those treasures) that do not demand 24/7 live players to be ever present.
In addition to the above, this week's newsletter details the following among other things:
Zombies have been added to the game;
The first screenshots of the Solace Forest have been released;
Time lapse video of New Britannia's celestial bodies;
You can read the entire newsletter on the Shroud of the Avatar site.
Comments
Zombies! Oh my!!!
Anyway, the idea of adding your own quests seems like it might be fun. There are so many folks out there with great ideas and allowing a feature like this might be a huge hit. I'm looking forward to creating some adventures, but will probably choose to do them more than create. We shall see how this plays out!
I purchased the game last night and did a bit of looking around. I like what I saw a lot! The world and music will take you back to your UO days, and the nostalgia will hit home if you were a fan. The character animation is somewhat clunky, but it is better than a 2D isometric view! I did a bit of crafting and basically just checked it out, but it will be fun imo. I'm going to put it back up on the shelf until it releases because I deplore character wipes!
Also, I believe this game is not meant for the elite themepark fan, but more for those that want more of a crafting and sandbox title. I think that if there is heartburn from people out there about the game, it will be from those who like comparing games to the big title.
FYI, it's currently on sale from Steam. Shroud of the Avatar.
Edit: Even though it's a bit older, this video gives a good idea about what the game offers. At about 6:10 he explains a very unique feature that the game has that looks very different. (to me anyway) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcnNEnsnriw
Death is nothing to us, since when we are, Death has not come, and when death has come, we are not.
I think it's as much as you make of it. I take that it can be setup somewhat like a good role playing guild could achieve in other titles. If I choose to RP with a guild that isn't immersive, I just don't do it, the same with a quest. Hopefully players will become well known for their work and we can choose who has quality work. /shrug
Death is nothing to us, since when we are, Death has not come, and when death has come, we are not.
100% terrible idea unless they offer some amazing tools to make a good quest which will not happen.
Neverwinter Nights should have drilled a spike home to any developer that player made quests are an awful idea that gets boring real fast.Now i did mention IF you had the proper tools to do it right because NWN did NOT have the ability to do it right.It was simply copy paste pre-made ideas and nothing more,so you saw the same stuff repeated in every player's quest.Then 2000 quests later,you have seen the same stuff over and over so many times,you are then sick to death of questing.
IMO it is simply a cop out to doing it yourself,sort of like EQ Next getting players to make assets for them.Devs are trying to cut so many corners on cost now a days,the games end up really boring really fast.There is a reason every single game now days doesn't last more than a few months then completely dies off,the game designs are shallow,people get bored and run out of stuff to do,simply making super long grinds won't cut it.
I could post a long essay on how player made quests COULD be done really well and correctly but it would take a lot of explaining and is not my job to design their game for them.That is why i said NWN should define it perfectly in how NOT to do it.Basically you are going to end up with a ton of copy paste in player made quests,it will not work,only the developer can create NEW assets to make questing fun.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Once again, I guess it's how it is done. Some of the best parts of Skyrim are player made mods, and other games like this had content that was better than the developers.
Death is nothing to us, since when we are, Death has not come, and when death has come, we are not.
Well, now wait a minute... let's actually look at this.
I remember a conversation with Richard Garriott about fifteen or so years ago where we were talking about a plan he had for some title in the works (UO2?). As part of the game's content, he wanted to create what was essentially performance areas, where players could present plays, host tournaments, etc... basically, a collection of coliseums and theatres of sorts, where events could be held and players could pay - real life cash or game money, both ideas were tossed around - to see or participate in the events. The house (devs) would get a cut so it could also function as a gold sink or revenue source depending on the model.
Now, the immediate question that comes up is what if people pay and feel it wasn't worth it. Valid question, but let's put a pin in that while we look at the feature itself. As with any other content, word of mouth helps spread who the best presenter or promoter is. Players quickly learn the degrees of quality from people, and will know who will offer an almost guaranteed great experience and who to avoid.
Neverwinter Online, Everquest 2 and several other titles take a step in that direction and offer ranking, menus and the dreaded 'lobby' of content. If Garriott is looking to travel down the player-created quest road, I can almost guarantee he's a grander plan than what we've seen released so far in MMOs. Maybe it's dedicated venues, or maybe it's a monetization thing, but we can expect it to be something greater than what we have today. I'd hold off judgement until we see what they release.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Yeah, the quality of any creative work is going to vary, and just about every game out there that offers modding has proven this. Some will be shit, others will be great and even exceed the game it's modding.
The tools Garriott has given are bare bones to the extreme, but sometimes the best ideas spawn from limitations simply because you gotta get creative to work around them. Their hardcore fanboy community is what's keeping the game afloat really, since the core game itself is so problematic in many ways, not the least of which is because it's so damn incomplete. Pre-alpha, right?