Small Scale Environmental Objects

[Harad Navar]

I would like to see small scale environmental constructs as an option for hideouts. Things like camouflaged punji stick pits and dead-fall traps. Leading a party into an ambush would be so much more fun if they fell into a trapped pit before the ambush. The traps and pits may not have a long persistence time if not attended, but I could live with that.

[Hardin Steele]

Harad,

I would like to see world design before character, building, or landscape design. I am not a programmer but I often find myself frustrated by many games that have features I would thing are obvious but are seemingly impossible to implement.

For example, digging. Digging a hole, mining for ore, hunting for treasure, hiding stuff in the ground, burying a beloved pet. Changing the level of the ground, once set, seems impossible. Of course, if the tools were put in place as part of world design, all of that would change. One of my characters will be a Dwarf, and I would like the ability to carve a Dwarf Fortress into the side of a mountain. I am not optimistic.

How about weather affecting characters in travel, morale, combat, illness. Say my Dwarf is a hardy soul almost impervious to the cold. My movement should be normal, while others not resistant to cold should have at least small penalties to movement, combat, morale, sickness…all the things that are part of the reason we Dwarves build strongholds in cold climates. It gives us advantages.

Elves (mostly) live in forests. Elves should have bonuses in the forest for movement, stealth and camouflage, but would really struggle in the frozen tundra of a Dwarf area, or any cold climate.

Humans are more versatile, but with fewer penalties, but also fewer bonuses.

Just an observation. Your request for constructs in the wilderness makes perfect sense, but the world design has to allow for the ability of characters to change the world once it is built. If implemented the "pit" would most likely just be a surface level trap, that when triggered, would disappear.

I know of no MMOs that allow that (Minecraft seems to do so to a small degree, but I do not play it; I have only seen videos.) Sad, really. That would make the world so much more dynamic.

[Sintaqx]

Dynamic, deformable terrain is an odd duck. I've seen excavation training simulators that track and calculate the effects of every single particle of dirt using a fractal matrix and matrix transformations. It can be done, and it can be done in such a way that the calculations are extremely quick, but it requires some fairly extensive work in the physics engine. As most MMOs build on existing technology in this regard, it's not generally an option. It would be incredible to see done well, though.

[Harad Navar]

Traps and excavations could be game objects like towers and siege engens (or trees for that matter). Speaking of trees, I hope they have patches of brush/undergrowth to impede/block movement. Druid plant growth spells would be great for dealing with mobs.

[Imbicatus]

There are several druid spells that would pretty much dominate siege warfare. Warp Wood and Repel Wood would be devastating to catapults and siege towers. Spike growth, entangle, and Spike Stones would make charging impossible.

[Dario]

Imbicatus wrote:

Spike growth, entangle, and Spike Stones would make charging impossible.

Now I'm imagining an elite skirmisher unit where everyone has the Dragon Style feat.

[Marlagram]

let the people fell trees and plant trees - and this game will have whole new dimension. Deforestation will diminish wild life "minable" resources, but allow for more farms. But I don't know if current engine allows this mechanic.