Jascolich's page

In the recent poll that Goblinworks sent out, I listed "more engaging PVE content along the lines of dungeons" (or something like that) as the feature I would most like to see in the next 3 months. If more people put that in or some other derivative with similar intent, then we may see dungeons or something else interesting, coming sooner rather than later.

+1 for more engaging PVE content

- Jasc

There is no problem - really.

MVP + feedback = continuous improvement.

I play a ranged fighter as my main with a longbow - I will not be nerfed. (*Disclaimer* This may change based on my experience with alpha.)

I also play a wizzy as my secondary - I will not be nerfed.

We are in alpha and I will test, try and adapt my style to better suit my intended outcomes. Changes are expected and I am here to have fun (and test while in alpha) so I am happy to actually see and try out these potential changes before I provide feedback. Theorising about possible negative impacts is all well and good for some, but I want to be doing the do so I can help provide actual feedback on what does work and what does not - informed commentary on changes and their impact from my perspective.

Will I be rooted while firing a bow or casting a spell? Who cares, i'm playing the game I love!

Let's stop throwing our hands up at the first sign of change... we all knew what we were getting when we signed up for alpha. Roll with it, provide feedback and try to crowdforge this thing into something better!

- Jasc the Seer

I like that GW are consciously trying to break away from the trinity for good _reasons_. Tactics, learning, teamwork, options and opportunity abound for smart, sneaky and adaptable characters... profit is likely to follow ;-)

If you want to keep aggro on a character, let them build aggro first and have them actively manage their threat then communicate to their team mates (pre-arranged would be better) to support. I saw this today with the T7V team who were purposefully starting to build team experience with pulls, aggro, limits and skills. Lots of communication and experimenting with different methods, lots of death too. Having battles that aren't all about the pew-pew and button mashing, but something more tactical and adaptable where required (but still action packed and fun) could be what the genre has been crying out for. So even though the trinity might still be there in theory, how they do what they do needs to be more active and reactive (and engaging for everyone.) It might be more a duo-approach now with aggro-magnet + support team. As the AI gets better, new methods will need to be developed by us to deal with the increased NPC smarts.

Finally, I have seen a lot of things to like in the streams to date and nothing that is a dealbreaker. While there is a lot of room for improvement, that has always been the expectation with lean development practices. We still are NOT at MVP yet and that is awesome!

Happy hunting to all you alpha peeps!

- Jascolich

ARGH!

So much confuzzlement!

The tower game is only for a "short" period, possibly lasting until EE not almost certainly not past the start of EE.

Small groups still have a lot of freedom to explore, PVE and wander about as they see fit.

If small groups do secure a settlement, there is NO mechanism to remove them until after the start of EE or possibly further into the EE timeline when GW develop and roll out the next installment of _actual_ settlement warfare. DO NOT FEAR!

I would suggest we actually chill out, see what the lucky alpha testers have available and then start to make meaningful commentary on their experiences to help collectively crowdforge a better tomorrow. Yes, we can still influence the direction of the game to align more to how we would like to see it progress. Crowdforging has been in since day 1 of the kickstarter (I think.)

To address another concern, if you have 6 people in your settlement, you use tactics and strategy to keep the towers you _want_. You don't have to secure all 6 adjacent towers on day 1 or even day 50. You can _choose_ which towers you want to keep (if any). All your planning to date should still have value and relevance. Things will change, yes they will.

We are at ALPHA, which is before EE (not sure if EE or OE is MVP) and we can expect a LOT of change between now and then.

Observe, engage, experience... why not actually try it when you do the the opportunity? Fear and uncertainty don't seem to be helping clarify what the big concerns are. As a PVE carebear, I see no reason to be concerned by what GW has proposed to the extent that I do not want to engage. I will try it when I get the opportunity and see if it meets my expectations. If it does I will play and enjoy it. If it does not, I will voice my concerns to GW on the forums and try to find support for my point of view, because we will be able to influence the development (to a small degree) likely for the entire lifecyle of the game. MVP = lean = continuous improvement = adapting + prioritisation = change is gonna happen.

TL;DR: We, the community, can influence change on some aspects of this game if we exercise our voice and find sufficient support.

- Jascolich, thread necromancer and bonecarver

A good update in terms of understanding the size of our EE world, thanks GW.

The range of terrain (even if it looks sparse for the MVP) is oozing with opportunity.

The tactics and strategy of the Great PFO Land Rush are going to be interesting (as others have mentioned.) The placement of the "open" settlement hexes will be a matter of thorough debate and I look forward to hearing how chartered companies, guilds and the like will be monopolising perceived hotspots (for resources and conflict.)

Good luck to all you Alpha peeps and keep us as informed as you are allowed... EE seems so tantalisingly close, yet cannot come soon enough ;-P

A similar potential roadmap based on your 10 point system with 10 being high priority, high impact:

[10][MVP] (Primary--) secure authentication system
[10][MVP] (Primary--) terrain generation system
[10][MVP] (Primary--) combat system
[10][MVP] (Secondary) melee combat system
[10][MVP] (Secondary) magic combat system
[10][MVP] (Secondary) ranged combat system
[10][MVP] (Primary--) inventory management system
[10][MVP] (Primary--) skill impact system
[10][MVP] (Primary--) creature spawning system
[10][MVP] (Secondary) looting system
[09][EE-] (Primary--) character creation system
[09][EE-] (Secondary) character alignment system
[09][EE-] (Primary--) character grouping system
[09][EE-] (Primary--) in-game communication systems
[09][EE-] (Tertiary-) player-versus-player combat
[08][EE-] (Primary--) stand-and-deliver system
[08][EE-] (Primary--) economy management system
[08][EE-] (Secondary) creature escalation cycle
[07][EE-] (Primary--) settlement management system
[07][EE-] (Secondary) item crafting system
[07][EE-] (Tertiary-) character stealth system
[06][EE-] (Secondary) character traits system
[06][EE-] (Secondary) consumables system
[06][EE-] (Secondary) banking system
[06][EE-] (Secondary) guild support system
[04][OE-] (Primary--) environmental weather system
[04][OE-] (Primary--) fast travel system
[02][OE-] (Secondary) battle formations
[02][OE-] (Secondary) feuds
[01][OE-] (Secondary) day night cycle

Just some thoughts at this early stage...

Although I like the idea if injury points as a resource manage mechanic, I'm not sure if I'm keen for spike damage to be dropped for PvE. The visceral feeling of bit hits are what make combat interesting - both in MMOs and on the tabletop.

That said crits can be harder to balance against power levelling curves.

In PvP you could i) have some mechanic (purely for pvp) like fortification in DDO that stops crits or ii) force people like in Secret World to hybridise and add more HPs to their builds.

It was stated early on by Ryan (and possibly other devs) that spike damage like crits are not "meaningful" (or some other similar wording) and they were going to work on an alternative system. While we are still early on in the crowdforging part of the game, they will likely try a couple of things to see how they work - the injury system and reduced crit effects are likely experimental (but seem to be workable in theory.) So there is a bit more consideration and reduced-spike-damage-by-design than there may seem =D

While the whole game is a balancing act of juggling goblin balls, we need to actually try some of the systems to provide feedback to the devs on what actually works in practice. That means alpha and EE along with on-going commentary on what we see in the forums and blogs.

At the end of the day, the game needs to be fun (and engaging and enduring and more fun!)

// How soon after MVP can we expect to see guns and gunslingers? (12 months?)

// Will psionics ever make it into PFO?

// How will encumbrance affect speed? (lightly/moderately/heavily/over or just one cut-off point?)

// Can you please give us an approximate indication of how long IRL it would take to build a few structures given ideal conditions? (walls, crafting room, storeroom)

// Will character statistics and skills play a meaningful part in the PVE world?
-- Charisma skills: intimidation, diplomacy, bluff, etc
-- Intelligence skills: appraise, craft, knowledge, etc
-- Wisdom skills: heal, perception, survival, etc

// How can stats and skills be meaningfully incorporated into PVP and wider world happenings?

// How is inventory, storage and banking handled?
-- How much stuff can I carry?
-- Where can I put stuff that I don't need?
-- Is there any type of secure storage that cannot be stolen (or is very hard to steal from)?

More ideas:

// Gold neck chain (BLING)
// Shiny glass bauble (BAUBLE)
// A gift from the Don (FAVOUR)
// A Secret Sign (ASS - okay, that one might not be ideal as an acronym)
// Whispered Goblin Winks (WINKs)
// Bits'n'bobs (BOBs)
// Third Mark (3Ms)

@nevy - "End of discussion" usually means the end of the discussion ;-)

// Exchange of Services (XoS)

// Rune of Lesser Knowledge (RoLK)

If we were going with more conceptual thinking (like Skymetal bits):

// Leaf of Learning (LoL)

// Foremark (FMK)

// Bramblethorn Wine (BTW)

// Crafty Coins (CC)

I am not sure if we are coming up with viable concepts or just having fun, but we seem to be doing both so don't stop now ;-P

Thanks @Lee for creating one thread to rule them all!

Some questions I have around the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and Early Enrollment (EE):

// ---

- What base classes will be available for EE?
-- Are there going to be any archetypes in MVP (EE)?
-- When will further classes (including prestige classes) be added?
-- Is there a development roadmap for any of this juicy class-related goodness?
(I think Ryan has partially answered some of these questions, but I cannot find the reference any more)

// ---

- Is combat physics-based? (If I poke you with a spear to the stomach, does that make you crumple over?)
-- If I bull rush you, will I actually knock you down and get to trample over you?
-- Will fireball explode and throw enemies back/up/down?
-- Do weapons have "weight", "speed" and impact?

// ---

- In combat, there is an expectation to be within a certain distance to attack (as seen in the latest video blog.) Will reach and trip weapons be included in MVP?

// ---

- Other combat-related questions
-- Are statuses like prone in MVP?
-- Do some weapons cause you to break your concentration (and combat rhythm) if they hit?
-- How is non-lethal damage handled in MVP?

// ---

- How are the grouping and party mechanics coming along?
-- Is there anything new that you can do in a party that hasn't been done before?

// ---

- The stealth mechanics were shown in the latest video blog from the sneaks perspective, what does this look like or play like from the opposing perspective? (unseen versus a perception check)

// ---

- Is aggro range a dynamic variable, by sight and sound or something else altogether?

// ---

- For MVP, what level of customisation is available at character creation? (I am not expecting a lot, but I do like to be surprised ;-)

// ---

(Also thanks to @Proxima for sparking the conversations yesterday around some focussed attention on EE.)

One question (which may have already been answered elsewhere, apologies in advance) is: are there any visual cues to know that you are in a specified "hex"?

Personally, I don't think that there should be as it would look a bit weird. If there is no visual indication on which hex you are in and where the "border" is, how is one supposed to "remove" themselves from a settlement or contested hex? It would be a little arbitrary I would think.

I don't mind someone claiming a hex and asking me to leave if I am wandering around, but how do they know where their "territory" begins and ends? (They don't have to "know" per se, but it would help with the "Please leave the territory of the Immortal Flies, take 2 steps backwards and never return.") This could actually open up some great in-game claims and counter-claims for contested territory -- unless the mechanics of the game can solve it. That would then become a good problem to have. People will identify their territory in-game and take some ownership over it. "From the edge of the woods to the Castle Gate, we the Innocuous Flies RULE!" Then the Immortal Flies can come in and challenge if they wanted, because there will be no surveyors... or will there?

A complementary point (this has probably been suggested before), why not make the settlement NBSI and outposts in the hexes around the settlement NRDS giving the "core" settlement a higher level of in-game security-with-lethal-consequence with outposts more "open" to visitors and external interactions? The outposts could be patrolled by the contracted companies with support from the core settlement where required and most forces protecting your happy home. Just a thought.

Finally, I have no problem with poking trespassers and undesirables full of holes if there is a reason and I will most likely leave an area if someone else can show prior claim or they look like a werebear, but unless someone tells me where their hex is and how I can get out of it, there is likely to be a spate of killings over misunderstandings (which I don't mind initially) until someone can show or at least approximate where their hexes begin and end. I do remember some blog posts and forum posts that indicate if you take a particular action in a controlled area you will get flagged or notified (something along those lines) but that is likely to be too late if you are unaware of the controlling interest who is sending out a pack of hunters to slaughter the intruder. This is actually somewhat meaningful PVP however...

As always, I may have missed an important post buried in the archives so this information is only as accurate as my short-term memory. Feel free to enlighten me.

Disclaimer: i'm a noob and my musings are all opinion and commentary. No facts have been hurt in the making of this post.