Goblin Squad Member
|
Some MMO's have more emote animations than others, dances specific to races, jokes you can tell, or things your character can say. These are usually embedded into the character. Sometimes you can do a quest and get an item that does something like launch fireworks, but that takes up bag space. And though I may still wish to do this cool new action, I don't want to sacrifice all my bag space for quirky or fun things I can do.
It would be nice if there were ways to learn to learn additional animations, or things your character would say out loud in game. Whether through quests, or finding a place to purchase the lesson in game. When you type /dance , or go to a menu and choose the emote dance, wouldn't it be cool if you had more options. What if your character took dance lessons, to be able to do other dances.
This can just as easily be applied to other actions. Maybe you went to the bards guild to learn this, or some songs to sing / play, or different jokes.
Sure I understand that there will be a number of default things that everyones character can do, however I would like if there were more in the game that you could aquire beyond the ones that you start with. People love stuff like that, I've heard it called Zen gaming (and I should make another thread on it). There are many articles on it for MMO's, different types of games or pursuits you can do in an MMO besides the main game of going out and hitting a monster over the head for xp.
I don't want to have to sacrifice bag space or carry items around to do cool things I find in game. Perhaps if items that exist that shoot off fireworks, or make a rainbow appear around you, or whatever else exist in game, you can right click on them and "learn" it. Then have another game menu or window you can pull up that has all the ones you've collected. You know 'X' dance, or joke, or action. People would go out of their way to collect stuff like this just to be able to do it, even though it's just cosmetic and social.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
I like the idea of different dances - certainly a skill to be trained, I suggest. Maybe it could have an in-game benefit but I wouldn't be sorry if it were just for RP purposes.
The fireworks thing (and the like) I wouldn't be sorry not to have. I've encountered it in GW2 and LOTRO and it does get stale, for me anyway, very quickly.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Yes, please, on songs and dances - and NOT the silly pop-culture dances used by a certain other MMORPG. I'd really like some dances that look "right" when danced by a pair or a group of people. Obviously way down the line for development, though.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
Well the fireworks was just a common example. But there are other loads of other abilities. I play WoW sometimes, and other MMO's. And I literally throw away novelty items like that. I kept one that makes encases my character in amber. I think there are hundreds in the game that do all sorts of cool effects, but they take up room.
If you could just click on them and 'learn' it, which uses up the item, and then you would know it from then on, that would be awesome. And more people would go out of their way to collect such things.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
The 'Miniatures' one in GW2 is another such collection goal. They do absolutely nothing except appear as a tiny (and usually unidentifiable)sprite next to your avatar, yet attract ridiculous prices when sold in the Auction Houses.
I assume that the GW2 team make real money out of 'selling' the things, so good luck to them (I often buy cosmetic stuff so I can't criticise), but I have to say that I don't really 'get' that particular craze.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
It's just like real life, everyone wants to be different, stick out, be noticed. Or have something noone else does.
I play planetside 2, and I have bought a LOT of camo, helmets and armor. So my character always sticks out. This is good and bad. I look cool, people want to be in my squad... it's bad because when the enemy is looking for someone to shoot, they see a whole bunch of guys who look the same, then this one other guy who looks WAY different... who do you think they shoot at first? lol
People also like other pursuits in games besides leveling. See my post about Zen Gaming.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
I am very big on looking different - as I said, I spend quite a lot on cosmetic extras for my avatars. It is the miniatures thing I can't really grasp. If it were a full-size cosmetic companion it would make more sense (like DDO have with their pets), but even on a big screen I struggle to identify what the miniatures are meant to be.
More the better,they have a social impact. I like the idea of learning emotes.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
In order of importance, how highly would you each rank dance emotes relative to other things like combat animations, swimming animations, stealth animations, jumping animations, running animations and similar?
swimming, stealth, jumping, running: i'd be ok with there being just one animation for each of these (regardless of skill and encumberance).
so, in terms of multiple animations for the same activity, dancing is a close second after combat.
Now, for non-interactive dancing for humanoids only, this seems fairly simple: a motion capture suit + dancer (or i'm sure you can find animation files for sale).
I'd definitely spend xp at the dancing instructor to unlock new moves!
(but as said above, this is not part of the MVP).
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
Yes, please, on songs and dances - and NOT the silly pop-culture dances used by a certain other MMORPG. I'd really like some dances that look "right" when danced by a pair or a group of people. Obviously way down the line for development, though.
Although I'm not much of a social RP player, I do agree with this. As I have said often, I like things to make sense. In PFO we really should not have dance emotes for the "electric slide" or the "chicken dance".
I'd much rather see a few, cultural dances unique to PFO or based on PFRPG lore, than a bunch of dances from our own culture.
Same goes for music or singing. Make it from here and for here, or by our players.
Yes I know this means dedicating valuable processing and developing, but I remind GW.... PFO is a game to be played over years, not months like the slew of theme park MMOs out there.
Combat
Crafting
Social
Are the three legs of the Sandbox, MMO stool. Although I understand they are not all equal, they are all needed for continued, long term success.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
I wouldn't mind some uniqe animations. A lot of RPG's have you starting off as some brute, waving your stick about like a idiot. By the end of the game, you are spinning and twirling your sword around like a whirlwind of death.
Likewise emotes would be nice! They always add something to RP.
But I don't want voices. Sure the /joke about the gnomes having to get the braclet of power to the volcano, was fun the first time you heard it. But it got old fast and soon enough the ones using it are trolls to annoy people.
Also SWTOR reccently added additonal voices files to emotes, which many players, including me disliked. Suddenly you couldn't do a simple nod without hearing. "affermative." in a crowded room it get annoying real quick.
To demonstrate this, I bring to you this little video.
http://youtu.be/DozQBMROQUI?t=15s
I'd prefer to keep voice limited to stuff like whistling or singing.
But I would like a good arrange of animations with my emotes. I loved AOC for having like four sitting emotes. Where as SWTOR only has one which makes you look like a idiot. It was also the only lean emote I've ever seen, so I could actually lean against a wall... It was pretty awesome!
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
I definitely agree that dances should only be period/setting appropriate.
While it may be seen as "witty" or "creative" to insert pop culture references into everything, in the end it leaves you with a game that can't be taken seriously.
There is plenty of room for more genuine wit and creativity within the Pathfinder setting.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
...dances should only be period/setting appropriate.
what does that mean though? medieval? renaissance? european folk dances?
scottish highlander sword dances? indian or chinese sword dances? african dances? belly dancing?here is a link of professional norwegian folk dancers 'battling' (yes, the headspin is an orthodox move in this type of folk dance). Is that period/setting appropriate? (Age of Conan guys thought so and put these guys in motion-capture suits).
if PFO were on a AAA budget, I'd ask that regional traits came with their regional dance animation. For the actual budget, i'll be happy if there are RP animations at all :-)
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
I would stick to late medieval/renaissance European for the majority. I have a wild idea that you could choose an initial dance appropriate to your conception of the character background but be able to train others.
So you could have a few Euro folk dances and Euro court dances, but also some Indian, Arabic, African and Chinese dances available. Maybe two or three dances per package, trainable with the Performance skill (one additional dance per rank).
Obvious the limits in software programming would give an upper limit to what was available, so some of the more obscure dances would have to be bypassed in favour of more commonly known ones.
It might be asking a bit much for the software team to go researching authentic dances. If motion capture is what is required, however, there are organisations out there who delight in recreating old and traditional dances.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
...dances should only be period/setting appropriate.what does that mean though? medieval? renaissance? european folk dances?
scottish highlander sword dances? indian or chinese sword dances? african dances? belly dancing?here is a link of professional norwegian folk dancers 'battling' (yes, the headspin is an orthodox move in this type of folk dance). Is that period/setting appropriate? (Age of Conan guys thought so and put these guys in motion-capture suits).
if PFO were on a AAA budget, I'd ask that regional traits came with their regional dance animation. For the actual budget, i'll be happy if there are RP animations at all :-)
I'm not sure anyone on these forums could easily answer what styles of dancing all of the races and cultures in Pathfinder could have. What I do know is none of them came from Napoleon Dynamite, Seinfeld, or Thriller.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
I never really cared for this... Time better spent on other things.
Maybe later in the game would be good.
But if people want it then so be it.
I don't think most players do but these kinds of features are huge in RP circles. Chairs you can sit in are as major to many of them as big patches to core features like combat and crafting.
And you never have to nerf those chairs in another patch because they threw off the balance of the game. ;)
Even in a title based on Pathfinder hardcore RPers are sure to be a minority but RPers also tend to be some of the longest term members of the community, and there should be a huge amount of casual RPers in this game.
I think the GW should use a great deal of development time to make sure their backs are scratched.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
There is already major evidence out there that people love small cosmetic things. Many games have micro purchase marketplaces that are almost purely full of cosmetic items. They don't put anything on these marketplaces that would have an actual in game balance effect because then you could pay to win. In saying this, they make a ridiculous amount on these marketplaces, even though only about 10% of their player base are the only ones who make these purchases.
I'm not suggesting that PFO add all of this to a marketplace, I'm just using this to illustrate that people love cosmetic diversity. Just look at the real world. People don't dress the same, and rich people spend retarded amounts of cash just to have something that is different.
Variety is the spice of life. If there were quest lines, or reputations you had to build, or whatever other means you had to use to get your hands on these new emotes, animations, voices, cosmetic effects... people will pursue them, and try to collect as many as they possibly can. That's the whole purpose behind an achievement system, especially if other people can see your achievements, or titles, etc...
Besides being fun, it's a form of social community status. And it makes people happy.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
+1.
I would spend (and do, on other MMOs) stupid amounts of real cash just to be able to dress my avatar in clothes that suit the character. The DDO system seems okay, where you buy skins for armour but it still remains the armour is started as, although I don't like the actual skins they provide. Player input and suggestions would almost certainly help there.
I also like the LOTRO system, but I appreciate that not everyone likes having full plate armour look like a party frock.
But yes, non game-mechanical cosmetics are a huge part of my enjoyment of MMOs.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
I really don't understand how game can make money 100% f2p. Buy to play + shop ala GW2 just makes so much more sense.
One thing I haven't seen anybody try yet is to make a buy to play that increases in price through beta as the game is more fine tuned then hits full price at launch.
I would have paid $15 for Neverwinter beta. I'd pay $30-40 once they have more classes. It's a decent enough game but definitely not good enough for me to buy jingle bells for my toons.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
I really don't like having to pay to get my hands on cosmetic items, I was just making a point that the want in the gaming community is large enough that games are able to operate that way. So when looking at a subscription model game, it's important to find ways to inject many cosmetic and style variances and the ability to aquire them.