Goblin Squad Member
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As a few of you may have noticed, I've been away for a while, and catching up on what has changed has been a major task. I've also managed to get a few friends who know nothing about PFO interested, and they've asked me for some links for things to read. The problem is there's so damn much of it! I can't expect people to wade their wade through every devblog and forum post - they need a "synopsis" to pique their interest. So I am asking for help...
What I'd like is for people to suggest just one blog or forum post that they think encapsulates something that excites them about PFO, that makes it different, that makes it the game that we all want to play. I could just trawl through and find my faves, but that would be very one sided, and part of the thing that I think is going to make PFO great is its multi-faceted nature. So, with the loud discalimer that everything is subject to change, I am going to start off with a post from way back on Nations, Settlements and Companies, and hope that some of you will help me out. Here's my choice:
https://goblinworks.com/blog/put-it-in-writing/
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Goblin Squad Member
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I think skimming the features section of the PfO site is a good place to start for someone totally new to PfO.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Yes, as far as I know that Features section gives the best information about PFO in a nutshell. All the important stuff that sets PFO apart is in there.
I think they wrote that anew when the website was revamped and the store was implemented. It is a really good read.
What we need now is Alpha, our own forums on the Goblinworks website and out first tastes of in-game drama. :)
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Goblin Squad Member
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Here's the one that got me hooked: Your Pathfinder Online Character. I think the "Experience Points over Time" design, complemented by in-game Achievements that must be completed to unlock new Abilities, was the first thing that got me really excited about PFO.
The very next blog, To Live and Die in the River Kingdoms, had the very next thing that really excited me about PFO: moderated non-consensual PvP. I've said it a million times (even though Some People(tm) still accuse me of not wanting PvP) but I think non-consensual PvP is extremely important. The problem is that most other Open World PvP Sandboxes don't make an effort to moderate it, so players who don't want the game to be "all about PvP" leave until most of the folks still playing do want that, which puts the game in a tailspin. I don't think it'll take much to change this. Any mechanic which causes players to ask more than "can I win?" when determining whether to attack and kill another player is going to have an impact.
You can see that we're trying to avoid some of the problems that afflict other sandbox MMOs while still retaining open-world PvP... Pathfinder Online is going to be a place where law-abiding characters who just want to focus on PvE and chaotic berzerkers and highwaymen can all follow their destinies.
It's fun to look back on what originally got me so excited about PFO, and has kept me so keenly interested ever since.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I think skimming the features section of the PfO site is a good place to start for someone totally new to PfO.
agree with Shane. Info there might not be cutting-edge news but should be accurate, official and quality controlled.
(also bumping this thread for potential newcomers. welcome!)
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Goblin Squad Member
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Thanks to those who responded, but I was hoping for something along the lines of what Nihimon has done - not just the facts but why you are excited about whatever it is you choose (I didn't do it myself - they've heard it a million times...)
I think one of the big selling points this game has is the community that has built up over the last couple of years here - we get excited about all sorts of different things, and sharing that passion may just bring my friends - and others - into the game.
(On a side note - hey Hobs, missed you buddy - along with the other usual suspects - hope all is going well with you and yours.)
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Goblin Squad Member
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Well, I would call the Features section a synopsis. But I do agree that such a "summing up" of features will probably not be enough to light the fire in most.
But one blog or forum post.... I think you will get a *lot* of different answers because I think it is different for everybody. I am pretty sure that Bluddwolf is looking forward to completely different things in PFO then me. You may get some common denominator but that will probably not be enough to spark the interest in the average guy.
I think at this point, if I wanted to interest people that do not have the "spark" yet, I would show them the latest map, the one with the legenda and let them contemplate it for a while. Basically all the coolness of PFO is implied right on that map, including Lee Hammocks blog off course to explain a bit about resources, which are crucial to PFO and understanding the map.
People usually love maps. :) Off course if they are sceptical (and uninformed) enough, you could easily find fault in a map too("so the world is all set from the start? No fog of war, no mystery? Etcetera.") In no time you will be "defending" the map and that is no fun.
I understand your predicament: I am active on another forum too and I only post about PFO if someone specifically asks a question about it. The moment they go sceptical about it I just stop responding since I am definately not going to be the PR-"dummy" that they can beat on, for a game that tries such a novel and PvP-heavy concept and still has to prove itself.
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Goblin Squad Member
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For those less inclined to jump straight into PvP combat, you could show this blog post which is all about the economy of crafters. Though not the first blog post to get me into PFO, it did have me excited. I'd offer some of the blogs that first got me pumped for the game and posting on these boards, but they're so old and out of date...
Specifically the one that I recall as intriguing me was I Shot a Man In Reno Just to Watch Him Die, which discussed the mechanics of alignment and reputation, what actions they wanted and didn't want in PvP, and the prototype flag system.
