Goblin Squad Member
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When instances were first introduced they were ment as a way to channel players into challenges while preventing (unwanted) interaction.
This results in the phenomenom that 1000 people just entered that door but when I do so too, I am alone in the area that lies behind...
So far no game has managed to get a real big variety of said random instances. After ten times maximum you usually have seen it all because it is simply not cost efficient.
Finally for a sandbox game the persistant world should always have the focus. Throwing a large amount of dev time into instances is a themepark mmo thing and I would hate that in PFO as it is exactly the thing that I do not like in modern day themepark MMOs.
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Goblin Squad Member
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When instances were first introduced they were ment as a way to channel players into challenges while preventing (unwanted) interaction.
This results in the phenomenom that 1000 people just entered that door but when I do so too, I am alone in the area that lies behind...
So far no game has managed to get a real big variety of said random instances. After ten times maximum you usually have seen it all because it is simply not cost efficient.
Finally for a sandbox game the persistant world should always have the focus. Throwing a large amount of dev time into instances is a themepark mmo thing and I would hate that in PFO as it is exactly the thing that I do not like in modern day themepark MMOs.
on other hand, instances are great learning places. not everyone learns at the same speed. some people are fast, others are slower. see how sport is arranged in leagues? not everyone plays together. throwing new players with highly-competitive veterans rarely works.
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Goblin Squad Member
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on other hand, instances are great learning places. not everyone learns at the same speed. some people are fast, others are slower. see how sport is arranged in leagues? not everyone plays together. throwing new players with highly-competitive veterans rarely works.When instances were first introduced they were ment as a way to channel players into challenges while preventing (unwanted) interaction.
This results in the phenomenom that 1000 people just entered that door but when I do so too, I am alone in the area that lies behind...
So far no game has managed to get a real big variety of said random instances. After ten times maximum you usually have seen it all because it is simply not cost efficient.
Finally for a sandbox game the persistant world should always have the focus. Throwing a large amount of dev time into instances is a themepark mmo thing and I would hate that in PFO as it is exactly the thing that I do not like in modern day themepark MMOs.
Actually mixing high and low players is a bit of a necessity for this type of game. Wars are going to be a part of the game, and that means low, mid and high level players, fighting side by side.
Basically this means that many challanges need to be laid out in a way that the vets can be more effective, but the newbies have to have a contribution that is in fact noteworthy.
Goblinworks Executive Founder
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If Rogue/Moria could do this 25 years ago I can't see why they can't now.
I like the idea greatly.
Because the cost of making a room in Rogue was basically zero, and modern games can't rely on the same level of player imagination to fill in the gaps.
Here is someone who can explain it better than I can.|
Goblin Squad Member
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Finally for a sandbox game the persistant world should always have the focus. Throwing a large amount of dev time into instances is a themepark mmo thing and I would hate that in PFO as it is exactly the thing that I do not like in modern day themepark MMOs.
I tend to agree with you here. I loved Anarchy Online, but the game (pre-Shadowlands) was essentially one randomly generated dungeon after another. SWG and CoX were similar with their randomly generated missions. AO had a pretty cool world to explore...but no one ever did it. It was a real shame.
However, as someone also pointed out, because this game will put a lot of emphasis on the persistent world and player versus player action, there ought to be a safer environment to acquire some skills. Perhaps an instancing system that is capped at a certain reward level (for the substantially lower risk) would be appropriate.
I love instancing in themepark settings. They help to reduce a lot of the frustration that used to be a part of the Everquest dungeon experience. However, I sincerely hope they wouldn't become the best means of growing our characters, if they're included at all.
On the one hand, instancing breaks verisimilitude. In an open sandbox, it makes no sense for pocket realities that are infinitely identical to open just for a select few.
On the other hand, this IS in a gamestyle (to wit; d20/OGL) and setting where pocket planes can and do open at the slightest provocation, disgorging extraplanar entities into the material because of random celestial alignment, magical dickery in general, and sometimes even deliberate effort that may or may not be related to some fashion of prophesy.
There are ways that could be done and justified after a certain level-equivalency threshold, but I don't see randomly generate warren/dungeons being a feasible thing if only for the fact that after being cleared out, they would no longer be random, instead becoming a permanent landmark/structure, albeit one that could eventually refill with new inhabitants. Perhaps something could be worked out where there would be cause to have such a think possibly occur in areas that are not yet explored, or crafted by creatures that specifically WOULD make such things? Goblin encampments needing to be cleared out might fall into a suitable analog of Random Dungeon, as would an orcish scouting party encampment, or the newly-dug lair of a dragon of young or so age...or even something like a hydra's burrow. Moreso if such structures would easily collapse without the continue presence of their creators.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I tend to think instances are only necessary in Theme Park MMOs where you are funneling the entire player base through a relatively small number of zones.
I'm hoping that PFO will have enough room for people to really spread out, and that there won't be a need for a single area to support more population that would fit in it organically.
I tend to think instances are only necessary in Theme Park MMOs where you are funneling the entire player base through a relatively small number of zones.
I'm hoping that PFO will have enough room for people to really spread out, and that there won't be a need for a single area to support more population that would fit in it organically.
While I certainly agree with this, and see no problem with other people being peoples' quest 'mobs', to use the vernacular, there's a whole world that isn't the players out there, to be impacted, conquered, and revamped, and I'd hate to think the players are the only ones doing so given the myriad races and species capable of higher levels of development and/or planning.
The right creature moves into the area, it may not attack people immediately - it may want to make itself a hidey-hole and keep low profile, then start picking off NPCs. Alternately, it may bring friends and establish a camp of operations, possibly going so far as making a log cabin and digging out an underground base beneath it. I'm not expecting Diablo-esque 'RANDOM CAVES EVERYWHERE', but I could see their usage, and as much so the importance of collapsing/removing such things.
Similarly, while I don't see planar travel and dimensional jaunting as an early thing, I could see such things becoming an additional layer of potential fun, rather than merely being tacked on as 'easy to code content'.
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Goblin Squad Member
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How about, instead of randomly generated INSTANCES, how about randomly generated AREAS, like dungeons and caves?
I wouldn't want instances in PFO, but some randomly generated dungeons would be nice, especially if there won't be any player-created ones. It would make exploration more fun and interesting.
How about, instead of randomly generated INSTANCES, how about randomly generated AREAS, like dungeons and caves?
I wouldn't want instances in PFO, but some randomly generated dungeons would be nice, especially if there won't be any player-created ones. It would make exploration more fun and interesting.
That's where I was going with it, albeit 'instance' would be more for personal pocket-planes and the like. Other than that, if anyone can get to it, it's fair game.