Howdie,
hope this has not been brought up yet but: How about a solid introdution system? I played the occasional MUD back in the days and some had a system where you would not see the characters names until they had been properly introduced to each other.
In my opinion that could just make PFO feel yet closer to a real RPG and I would like that.
Exept for the moment you are setting up groups I can not imagine a case where not knowing a persons name would be a problem; and even the right LFG-System will avoid issues there.
Input?
Goblin Squad Member
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It should be as easy as a /greet, then you will see a player name above their head if they /greet you. I would also like to see a system where you can disguise your identity.
But I don't know how this would work with the bounty system, because you should not be able to put on a disguise and bounty hunters cant find you. Though, if bounties are handled by a magical tracking system, it would be fine.
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Goblin Squad Member
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There will still be an absolute reference to each character on the server side, so point, right-click, and "ID Card" allow you access to "their" card as you know it...you are welcome to enter whatever name you want for them since you never /greeted..."jackhole ganker" works well for the type. From there, you can leave the card up until you are in a safe place and from there you can access the "Report", "Abuse", and/or "Add Bounty".
These cards also allow you to keep track of the number of placed and claimed bountys...in fact, why not the whole bounty history using a sort function. You do not need to know a character's name, only be able to refer to them...and click on them.
This is like real life, if you got mugged and did not see anyone, how would you identify them?
This is how I envisioned it any way...and I still think the benefits out way the negatives...but there was lots of objection, mostly related to the difficulty of reporting abuse.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Hey I love realism as much as the next person but oh hey I got mugged by an overweight white elf, isnt as useful in a fantasy realm where they can change shape , color, and texture ; by means of disguises, magic, gods, and mud. Also sometimes it helps to remember peoples names. I met an awsome cleric in DDO , he rarely spoke and was the shyest person id met in an MMO, but I offered him groups and guild runs.
When he finally opened up he become one of our best clerics in the game, and one of the family in our guild, and we all loved him. if I had no reference material to keep contacting him, how would I have those memories.
If we cant communicate, then the game fails
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Goblin Squad Member
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Hey I love realism as much as the next person but oh hey I got mugged by an overweight white elf, isnt as useful in a fantasy realm where they can change shape , color, and texture ; by means of disguises, magic, gods, and mud. Also sometimes it helps to remember peoples names. I met an awsome cleric in DDO , he rarely spoke and was the shyest person id met in an MMO, but I offered him groups and guild runs.
When he finally opened up he become one of our best clerics in the game, and one of the family in our guild, and we all loved him. if I had no reference material to keep contacting him, how would I have those memories.
If we cant communicate, then the game fails
Right. but the server has a unique identifier for each character...if each person also has a "rolodex" (just meaning a collated UI device/screen) that they can either manually enter information into as they learn it, or there could be automatic ways like Valkenr's auto /greet. But, you would be able to refer to any character you have stored any information on because you will have a "card" that links to them...even if you do not know what they call themselves, or even any other information on them other than the "fat, white, elf, mugged me Oct 21, 2013" you put in the notes. From that card you can report them, add a bounty, or even send them a tell/whisper.
You could even check the notes to show on their nameplate...so when you run across the elf again, it will say "fat, white, elf, mugged me Oct 21, 2013" on their nameplate. This simulates a recognition of their face, they way they walk...whatever...But, you do not know this person.
As for the bounty, well "fat, white, elf, mugged me Oct 21, 2013" is all the info you can give...but, you could also ask around to see if anyone knows who it was. It makes sense to record as much detail as possible about your assailants. Either way, the card is linked to them, so the bounty would be added, even if you cannot describe their appearance.
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Goblin Squad Member
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In the last blog, Ryan said something that seems really important to me, but it doesn't seem to have caught anyone else's attention.
You'll be able to track those you've been in a party with and see what happened during those adventures...
That sounds to me like we'll have a way to go back and research what we did in the past, and with whom. If I'm reading that, it would be a very small step from that to creating a permanent record of all of our interactions with other players. If the system has that kind of reference at our fingertips, there's really no need to know someone's name to be able to hold them accountable.
Goblinworks Executive Founder
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In the last blog, Ryan said something that seems really important to me, but it doesn't seem to have caught anyone else's attention.
You'll be able to track those you've been in a party with and see what happened during those adventures...That sounds to me like we'll have a way to go back and research what we did in the past, and with whom. If I'm reading that, it would be a very small step from that to creating a permanent record of all of our interactions with other players. If the system has that kind of reference at our fingertips, there's really no need to know someone's name to be able to hold them accountable.
Of course, in such a scenario there would be no advantage to someone else not knowing your name- they can just mark you as an enemy, and you will always show up that way.
You could always have the option of "immersing" yourself into the game by turning off certain automated functions. You could choose to turn off unknown names, so only the names of people you have "met" appear over their heads. You could also turn off level/class identifiers (especially since multiclassing will be so readily available).
Granted, this might put you at a disadvantage in certain situations, but some people would argue doing this for RPing sake would be worth it.
Either way, it would be voluntary and up to each individual to decide for themselves just what sort of experience they want from the game.