Could have achievements for:
- number of total unique hexes traveled through
- number of total unique settlements visited
- individual achievements for visiting specific game landmarks
Goblin Squad Member
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I can see the Achiever appeal, the Socializer appeal, and the Killer appeal in PFO, but only in terms of map size (not variety) do I see an appeal for Explorers.
What am I missing, or not thinking?
What are you thinking?
If you look at the game from the Gamist-Narrativist-Simulationist perspective then the Achiever and Killer would fall into Gamism and the Socializer might be narrativist. What do you mean by Socializer?
Exploring, from a Simulationist perspective, is the primary motivation for play in a sandbox game like PFO. Each settlement has its own power levels based on the current status in the War of Towers. Different hexes include not only different monster types but also escalation statuses. The most compelling simulation element, for me personally, is exploring the various resources I can gather around the map. Finding the right contacts to refine and manufacture my goods is another element. The location of taverns, small holdings and even unique formations in the landscape can be explored.
Finally you can think fourth dimensionally. Explore how the landscape evolves over time. The world is different now than it was a month ago, and you can explore those differences in the year to come.
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Goblin Squad Member
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In the Grand Design Plan there are temporarily spawned dungeons and places that characters can find based on their skill for that and be explored by their party; with lootz at the end of course. Similar to using probes to find data and archaeology sites as the obligatory EVE analog.
If the PvE isn't exciting enough, going behind enemy lines to find out where they're grouping up, what they're spending time doing, and where they're marching is another kind of exploration.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I find the explorer is tied in with the other pillars in a few ways. Like others (for me) those ways are: where can I get this resource, who is holding these towers and what is the window (bjorked right now), what escalations and what level- what are the drops and rates, etc...
Some of those things are changing constantly (or will be), some are not so fluid....
But you have a point, Being, if you feel that they are not satisfying that itch totally yet.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Unique formations in the landscape (like the rocks in the picture on the Goblinworks Web page) are few and far between right now, but we've been told they're in the plan.
Exploring for resources isn't the most exciting. Many resources are consistent across large areas (stupid berries!), resources don't seem to change on any sort of timer (seasonal plants, or day/night variation), and resource quality hasn't mattered until now (encumbrance will change that).
With escalations generally raging out of control, they don't tend to change much, either. As long as the home hexes aren't crushed, they tend to infect all the surrounding hexes with the same enemies. That makes scouting for unusual enemies pretty lackluster, too.
Once the basic game systems are functional, GW might have a little breathing room to show explorers some love.
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Goblin Squad Member
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...we've been told they're in the plan.
We've seen the exploring-Achievement model, too, but it went away with the most-recent map. In Alpha 7, there were Achievements for reaching the centre of each NPC town, for climbing the highest (well, then it was the only) mountain, and a few other things.
Since we know they had those, it's only a matter of time before we see their return on the full map.
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Goblin Squad Member
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When the Bartle Test hits the GNS Theory... what happens? BOOM!
Yeah I was hoping the Map would be more interesting over time via Hex info being dynamic. I also hope more organic looking and less gameified looking at some stage.
But the real exploration bug I'd hope would be significant distances between settlement hexes and requiring beasts of burden to transport anything bulky and/or heavy.
I've not got into the game yet. Wait for EE and various other RL stuff to sort out, but I like the idea of Wilderness being dangerous and being a long journey to undertake eg crossing the Rockies with either Birchbark Canoe or Pack-animal back in the day sort of REAL exploration. :)
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Goblin Squad Member
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Yeah, I think the explorer-achievement model is a little amusing. Explorers explore for the sake of seeing/learning things, not the achievement points (although most of us are some mix of the types).
I think there's exploration in the character development system, figuring feat combos that give my character a little special focus. There's something to figuring out the hexes close to my settlement - where do those mobs spawn? When running escalations we've found some hexes where the [x] flags seem to always appear in the same general area, which can help the team defeat an escalation that much faster... I think that's all exploring.
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My prediction:
Explorers will understand the various player groups, their territories, their territorial ambitions and behavior towards other player groups, the various markets (the best PvP in Eve-Online), etc.
This will be far more vital info than where to find a giant sunflower and a mirror lake.
Unfortunately all this will be quickly encapsulated into web info, like WoWhead, or some PFO version of Poor Richard's Almanac.
Being an explorer is usually a short-lived high, thanks to the World Wide Web.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Being is right. "He is being right" /Indian Accent. :-)
Exploration I don't anticipate being very good to begin with.
The world map for example is very gamey and not very inspiring atm.
I think in time we'll see eg more dynamic escalations, more node spawns, more dynamic day-night, seasons, weather cycles to mix things up etc. More skill-training eg survival, larger terrains and longer distances that involve "jump fatigue" etc.
So atm, it's probably more geared towards socialization ie settlements becoming really uber so influential players who effect other players to play more have more "pull" on the game = more cash for GW.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Acheiver- A wide array of achievements which pretty much all boil down to kill X type of monster or make X kills with this type of weapon. Nothing in the way of interesting or challenging achievements. Just grindy ones.
Socializer- A bare bones chat system, no emotes, and no activity at major social locations such a tavern. Basically the forums and private voice server chat socialization you could expect from any other title.
Killer- The ability to kill anyone at the expense of chancing ending up in repeatedly spawning in a town where the guards instantly kill you or a form of consensual PvP which failed to generate any noteable action.
Explorer- A massive map with no noteable landmarks or interesting locations, and nothing gained by exploring them.
If there is one thing good I can say, it's that PFO has done a great job catering equally to all four gamer types.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I will never understand why some people need to be so negative. Ive played some in the stress test and listened to my settlement talk about progress in early alpha. It has seemed that while the game is barebones at the moment lots of pieces have been added throughout alpha. I would expect that type of progress at a slower rate throughout EE.
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Goblin Squad Member
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...PFO has done a great job...
You so obviously don't enjoy this game, and your commentary, at times, borders on actual contempt; others will probably argue it crosses the border and keeps accelerating down the highway. I've lost the ability to come up with a story for why you continue to be here, if it's this unpleasant.