I wonder if the answer is to have the effects available, but to let players turn them down or even off if they choose? As you can see this is one of the areas still under discussion at our company. Jatar
I like that idea. Not only does it help for people who don't like the display, but also for computers that cannot handle all of the graphics. Fir instance, I remember playing RF Online, and each time I tried to turn the spell graphics up (so I could see what I was doing), I would lag like crazy. So then I would turn the setting off, and surprisingly I wouldn't lag nearly as much..
So not only would that make it so people like jakin don't have to see the spells, but also if people are using less-advanced computers they can just turn the settings of spells down to play.
__________________________________________________ In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08 - Rest In Peace; you will not be forgotten
What is it you want in your guild? What information would you like available to your members? What features would you like? What do you want to do with your guild? What stats do you want to track? What special powers do you want officers of the guild to have? What customizations would you like to have to make your guild members unique? If you have your own physical location for the guild, what would you like included there? What would you expect to find inside? What else?
Let's hear from you guys about Guilds. What is it you want in your guild? What information would you like available to your members? What features would you like? What do you want to do with your guild? What stats do you want to track? What special powers do you want officers of the guild to have? What customizations would you like to have to make your guild members unique? If you have your own physical location for the guild, what would you like included there? What would you expect to find inside? What else?
Jatar
Woah, lots of questions..
What is it you want in your guild- Hmm, well a guild hall would be good. Perhaps for each guild, you must pay a certain amount of in game money to create a guild. Once you purchase the right to have a guild, you then get your own guild setion in the hall. (For example- I recently purchased a guild..Now I go to the guild hall, and a buy a room. Once this room is purchased the guild gets its own personal room in the hall. Whenever my guild has a meeting, we meet iont he guild room, which is only accessable to the members.)
As for what I want in the guild....A customizable guild hall for one... for some reason that's all I can come up with for now..
What features would you like?- Guild battles, guild competitions (scavenger hunt??), the ability to buy out another guild, the ability to join 2 guilds in one, and guild quests...Definately guild quests, and guild adventures (although it is unsure what adventures are). These would mean a guild would have to work together on a challenging objective.
Perhaps in a guild battle, the leaders could choose to wager money, or even wager their guild.
What information would you like available to your members?- Everything. The guild's rivals, the guild's allies. the guild's ranking among other guilds, the guild's future battles, a list of the members, and everything else their is to know.
What stats do you wnat to track?- hmm. The victories of my guilds, as well as other guilds. The guilda monthly fee (must pay fees to keep the room?) the other members' levels, the other members' abilities, the ability to easily interact with other members, etc.
What special powers do you wnat the officers of the guild to have?- The ability to give each member a ranking, the ability to wage war with another guild, the ability to become allies with another guild, the ability to recieve quests from NPC's for the guild to complete, the ability to buy out other guilds, the ability to join with other guilds, the responsibility of paying fees the guild must pay off, and other leader qualities
What customizations would you like to have to make your guild members unique?- A special cape, special emblem, and perhaps a crafter could create a unique marking on armour that is onyl for the guild...
If you have your own physical location for a guild, what would you liek included there?- I'm guessing that this would mean a whole building. Well I would hire NPC guards to protect the guild while I am gone. (people should be able to rob from guild halls, but if they are caught, they are automatically attackable/thrown in jail.) Well the outsire shoudl be custamizable as well...So I would get animals to protect my land, and a secret portal which leads inside of the guild hall. The door is locked always, so if someone wanted to rob the guild hall, they would have to find the hidden portal.
It is important to have friendly relations and unfriendly relations as your guild. If each guild had its own personal amount of land, that would be very cool to see.
__________________________________________________ In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08 - Rest In Peace; you will not be forgotten
Let's hear from you guys about Guilds. What is it you want in your guild? What information would you like available to your members? What features would you like? What do you want to do with your guild? What stats do you want to track? What special powers do you want officers of the guild to have? What customizations would you like to have to make your guild members unique? If you have your own physical location for the guild, what would you like included there? What would you expect to find inside? What else?
Jatar
Lemme see.
Right off the top I think more information needs to be provided in-game for prospective guild members than is typically.
At a minimum I'd like to see publicly available stats on number of members (total), number of members active in the last X days, peak activity times, guild contacts, and perhaps some key information related to the game itself (i.e. if this were a typical MMO: information on loot splitting policy, leadership type (democratic vs. council vs. etc), Roleplay focus and so forth). All this stuff should be readily available in a format such that unguilded players can browse or narrow their search via certain aspects.
A further afield system might even be a questionaire / matching system where players all fill out a set of questions relating to their views on various game activities / guild needs - and then those answers are compared to the answers the guilds themselves give as to their views on the same topics.
Information available within the guild kinda depends on what systems are in the game. Some sort of scheduling interface for guild events would be very nice - with ingame reminder mails (a readily accessable mail system is pretty much a requirement IMO, for all players not just guilded ones).
A guild bank (both money and items) is crucial, with preferably some abliity to sort items to different access levels (and maybe even a configurable sort so that members can just drop items into the bank and they automatically get sorted based on parameters the guild officers define).
There should really be at least three levels of officer permissions (maybe more) with completely configurable permission status. EVE has a pretty reasonable basis for this - several categories, view only or view/access parameters, and completely configurable such that the guild can make up whatever roles they like.
Beyond the normal information provided to guild leaders, I've always found traditional MMOs too light on the stats they provide the guild leadership - and the ability to sort those stats (if given) is usually lacking. Minimum information I'd like to see are stats on member activity (frequency, duration, last time active, peak times). Little things like member location in the game world (offline and online members both) and afk status are important too.
Unique appearances really depend on a variety of things - but any ability to have player designed guild tabbards, patches, or whatever would be really nice. If not totally freeform (given the overhead that would cause) then maybe some sort of design template?
Guild hall stuff - if you're still going with no general player residences then I'd really like to see a decoratable room within the guild hall, some sort of apartment if you will - maybe with a few themes (dungeon, tower, garden, etc). At least a doorway to some kind of sanctum the player has some customization ability for. Frankly - I think this is pretty much as much a requirement for a modern MMO as any other PvE, PvP, etc feature.
Common areas of the guild should be similar in customization ability (with permissions of course), but with group based trophies displaying guild accomplishments. There should really be a few levels of access too - public spaces vs. private areas that are guild members only.
That's about all off the top of my head. Thanks for asking Jatar.
My Guild was created in 1999 and has survived moving from game to game until today.
It should not be difficult or expensive to create a guild the challenge should be in building up the guilds status.
I want a guilds to be able to make themselves unique. a tribe, clan, unit, gang, society. This means they have an Identity and ethos. The rules should allow a wide range of guild formats. From a loose group of friends all of equal status to a highly regimented military style unit. This requires flexibility, for instance you should be able to name the members functions within the guild ie Officer, Veteran, Quarter master, Boss, Chief, Enforcer and so on. As to what information should be available to members the answer is as much as possible but provide the Guild Master with the means to pick and choose what information will be available at what level in hierarchy. It could be that a guild wants to play at being a secrete society of assassins where information about other guild members is very restricted. Other formats may be encourage competition between members and more details are needed.
Information could include
Listing names, Date Joined, Rank, Class, Nickname, Online/offline, Guild awards, location, last on, Main or Alt, Notes
Guilds should be restricted to 100 main characters plus that 100 main characters Alts. Very large guilds become impersonal and difficult to manage. However formal alliances of 2 or more guilds should be possible allowing the to share access to guild houses
All in favour of guild coat of arms for use on standards shields etc. Not difficult to program if using a wide range of defined symbols. A nice touch would be to have buffs attached to Guild symbols earned through Guild actions.
A guild house should start out out as a small hut which can be enlarged and enhanced through guild members efforts and activities.
Activities possible in Guild house could include crafting, Training, Sparing, eating and drinking although the Guild house would have to enlarged to permit such activities.
Trophies are good perhaps it may be possible to capture enemy Standards as well.
I assume guild houses would be instanced so be a bit generous with the plot of land
Within a guild house you could have your own private instanced room with storage.
Instant free access from any portal to Guild house and return to location.
NPC's that appear when the facilities are provided such as a guild banker, Traders, Trainers and guards
Okay well there should be note boards around the outside of the guild hall for recruiting. You would be able to post recruitment notes which players could read and post a reply to join.
Inside the Guild Halls should have a message board that all guild memebers can read, post and reply to. Also it should be able to link to the guilds main website so that players can sign up for guild events though the guild hall without logging out.
Guild officers should have full access over the message board which would allow them to edit and delete posts.
Should be able to upgrade your guild house with different things. Crafting stations, guild banks, dining halls for RP, Meeting room with lockable door for Officer meetings as well as hold guild meetings.
Guild should be able to design some kind of symbol for all guildies to wear on their armor so others will know what guild you are in.
I'm hoping there is a fairly involved faction system (with actual choices and consequences attached). If that is the case, then guilds should definitely be encouraged / required to pick a side or a loyalty.
Having picked that loyalty the guild hall could see NPCs appearing from time to time with missions that would add to guild standing if completed successfully (or decrease standing if failed).
(On a related note - I'm hoping the various tiers of the Citadel have some seriously vicious political infighting that players can take part in)
Back closer to topic - as a guiding principle for guilds I would essentially try to replicate any and all features found on independent guild websites if possible. If it were possible to code a kind of mini-browser interface that allowed each guild some space to put up an in-game guild site - with all sort of bells and whistles found on Guildportal, etc. I think you'd be in very good shape.
Basically, the hardest thing I've found in casual guilds is actually getting members to go to an external site and keep up with guild discussions and so forth. Most casual players want to play the game and that's it. If all those elements (schedules, bank inventories, forum / discussion groups, officer's messages, etc) were available from within the game itself it would make life a whole lot easier on the poor sods that take on guild leadership roles.
(and some kind of internal website feature would also be a something that could constantly expand without screwing with basic game code and concepts I'd think)
"2) Guild District: This is where playesr can start their own Guild and where they go to enter the guild premises. Guilds in CoS are more than a spreadsheet, they have an actual physical location. Guild members can hang out there and use the various guild facilities."
Cool. Forget my idea about rooms, physical locations are much better
Perhaps there will be empty space in the Guild District where people can buy a certain amount of land from NPC's/former guilds that used to use that land. Then, after the price is paid, that guild's hall is made. This way each guild has a a certain amount of space to do what they want. The bigger the guild is, the more land they will want to purchase.
The guild halls should be completely customizable though. They will be empty at first, but people can purchase things for looks or use. Don't like wooden floors? buy a carpet. Don't like that boring wall there? Knock it down and make a window. Your huge guild to big for a single story hall? Pay some cunstruction workers to make an upstairs. Point is: The halls should be highly custamizable.
Now, the price of these areas may go up or down, depending on the amount of guilds being made.
I like the idea of a Guild District.
__________________________________________________ In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08 - Rest In Peace; you will not be forgotten
Here is a semi-consolidated list of what you have requested or suggested for Guilds in earlier posts. Perhaps some of you can say which ones you disagree with (if any) and why? A little friendly discussion.
Later, I'll explain what we are considering from this list (whether it was already in the design or added since you made the requsts) And perhaps why some of these will not be added, (if any will not).
1) Guild Battles
2) Guild Competitions
3) Buy out another Guild
4) Join 2 (or more) Guilds at once.
5) Guild specific Quests(requiring Guild members to work together).
6) Guild rivals and allies list (info)
7) Guild rankings against other Guilds
8) Member list (info)
9) Guild Victory (info)
10) Wagering on Guild battles.
11) Guild fees (info)
12) Data on Guild members (level, abilities)
13) Guild officers can give our rankings to members.
14) Guild officers can declare war on other guilds.
15) Guild officers can enter alliances with other guilds.
16) Guild officers take on quests from NPCs for the Guild to complete.
17) Guild officers can 'buy out' another Guild.
18) Guild officers can merge their Guild with another.
19) Guild officers responsible for paying Guild dues.
20) Special capes for the Guild
21) Special emblem for the Guild
22) Public Info: Number of members in Guild
23) Public Info: Number of active members in past x number of days.
24) Public Info: Peak Guild activity times.
25) Public Info: Guild contacts (officers?)
26) Public Info: Loot splitting policy.
27) Public Info: Leadership type (Democracy, Council, Dictatorship, etc.)
28) Public Info: Role-play focus, etc.
29) Matchmaking system. Guilds fill out their info, players fill out their desires and a list of ranked list matches is generated.
30) Private Guild data: Scheduling system or bulletin board for Guild events.
31) Guild mail (with auto mailings tied into the schedule).
32) Guild Bank account.
33) Guild Equipment storage with categories and access based on Guild rankings
34) Officers: Set what sorts into what category in the Equipment storage.
35) Officer Ranking and permissions system configurable per Guild.
36) More stats on Guild members (possibly with access to data based on Guild ranking). Data could include: Frequency, duration, last time active, peak play times. Member’s current location, AFK and LFG status.
37) Furniture customization and Guild decoration.
38) Areas of the Guild with access restrictions by Guild ranking.
39) Create your own names for Guild Rankings.
40) Private Guild data: when members joined, rank, class, nickname, last on, Member or Alternate status, notes.
41) Restrictions on number of members (100 members, 100 alternates)
42) Change the exterior of the Guild as Guild gets larger (higher dues).
Here is a semi-consolidated list of what you have requested or suggested for Guilds in earlier posts. Perhaps some of you can say which ones you disagree with (if any) and why? A little friendly discussion. Later, I'll explain what we are considering from this list (whether it was already in the design or added since you made the requsts) And perhaps why some of these will not be added, (if any will not).
I personally can't find anything that should be removed, they all fit perefectly for each different kind of player.
I look forward to see what will be added/removed.
__________________________________________________ In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08 - Rest In Peace; you will not be forgotten
Here is a semi-consolidated list of what you have requested or suggested for Guilds in earlier posts. Perhaps some of you can say which ones you disagree with (if any) and why? A little friendly discussion. Later, I'll explain what we are considering from this list (whether it was already in the design or added since you made the requsts) And perhaps why some of these will not be added, (if any will not).
4) Join 2 (or more) Guilds at once. 10) Wagering on Guild battles.
These are the only two that give me any cause for concern at all.
I don't like the principle of joining two guilds at once as I foresee a fair bit of strife over time sharing among members and so forth. It may simply be a prejudice, but I think if a player is interested in more than one guild then they need to make a choice between them.
Now - if this is referring to joining two or more guilds together in an alliance-type structure (a meta-guild if you will) then that's all good.
The other isn't a problem with guild battles per se, but more a question as to how guild battles would take shape. Basically it's a question of PvP focus.
Frankly - allowing for open PvP (even if only amongst guilds) is not a good road to head down for launch IMO. In time sure, but a PvP ruleset and balancing is a huge headache that takes away from a great many other pressing issues a new MMO faces. It's my belief that unless a title is being developed by a large commercial team (a la Funcom, Mythic, Turbine, etc) implementing large-scale PvP is a recipe for bad news.
Once the game is on even footing there is always time to implement or expand on some PvP elements - but before that...it's pretty easy to sail into the same waters that PotBS is currently foundering in.
Here is a semi-consolidated list of what you have requested or suggested for Guilds in earlier posts. Perhaps some of you can say which ones you disagree with (if any) and why? A little friendly discussion. Later, I'll explain what we are considering from this list (whether it was already in the design or added since you made the requsts) And perhaps why some of these will not be added, (if any will not).
4) Join 2 (or more) Guilds at once. 10) Wagering on Guild battles.
The other isn't a problem with guild battles per se, but more a question as to how guild battles would take shape. Basically it's a question of PvP focus.
Frankly - allowing for open PvP (even if only amongst guilds) is not a good road to head down for launch IMO. In time sure, but a PvP ruleset and balancing is a huge headache that takes away from a great many other pressing issues a new MMO faces. It's my belief that unless a title is being developed by a large commercial team (a la Funcom, Mythic, Turbine, etc) implementing large-scale PvP is a recipe for bad news.
Once the game is on even footing there is always time to implement or expand on some PvP elements - but before that...it's pretty easy to sail into the same waters that PotBS is currently foundering in.
I may have missed it, but where are you getting open PvP from? I believe these battles would take place in the colleseum (please correct if I am wrong).
I may have misread, but no open PvP will be taking place between guilds.
__________________________________________________ In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08 - Rest In Peace; you will not be forgotten
Here is a semi-consolidated list of what you have requested or suggested for Guilds in earlier posts. Perhaps some of you can say which ones you disagree with (if any) and why? A little friendly discussion. Later, I'll explain what we are considering from this list (whether it was already in the design or added since you made the requsts) And perhaps why some of these will not be added, (if any will not).
4) Join 2 (or more) Guilds at once. 10) Wagering on Guild battles.
These are the only two that give me any cause for concern at all.
I don't like the principle of joining two guilds at once as I foresee a fair bit of strife over time sharing among members and so forth. It may simply be a prejudice, but I think if a player is interested in more than one guild then they need to make a choice between them.
Now - if this is referring to joining two or more guilds together in an alliance-type structure (a meta-guild if you will) then that's all good.
The other isn't a problem with guild battles per se, but more a question as to how guild battles would take shape. Basically it's a question of PvP focus.
Frankly - allowing for open PvP (even if only amongst guilds) is not a good road to head down for launch IMO. In time sure, but a PvP ruleset and balancing is a huge headache that takes away from a great many other pressing issues a new MMO faces. It's my belief that unless a title is being developed by a large commercial team (a la Funcom, Mythic, Turbine, etc) implementing large-scale PvP is a recipe for bad news.
Once the game is on even footing there is always time to implement or expand on some PvP elements - but before that...it's pretty easy to sail into the same waters that PotBS is currently foundering in.
I agree with you on #4 but on #10 i don't see a concern for # 10. I understand why you are worried about large-scaled pvp in this game, but the game isn't revolved around pvp so that dosen't make it a big issue. There's plenty more to do like questing which is what their big system there making is all about. And personally waggering on battle's adds risk which makes everything more fun.
I may have missed it, but where are you getting open PvP from? I believe these battles would take place in the colleseum (please correct if I am wrong). I may have misread, but no open PvP will be taking place between guilds.
I'm not getting it from anywhere in particular - just stating an opinion. MMOs tend to morph and change as they develop so no open PvP one day might not remain true throughout development.
I may have missed it, but where are you getting open PvP from? I believe these battles would take place in the colleseum (please correct if I am wrong). I may have misread, but no open PvP will be taking place between guilds.
I'm not getting it from anywhere in particular - just stating an opinion. MMOs tend to morph and change as they develop so no open PvP one day might not remain true throughout development.
I see what you mean, but usually open PvP is a decision they make in the beginning of the development process. Also, it is rather clear that it is more of a RPGers game than a PvPers game. They also said the pvp would be in colleseums. (from what I remember in the posts)
__________________________________________________ In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08 - Rest In Peace; you will not be forgotten
Could this not cause a monopoly of some sort? What if some players want to just be in a casual guild that doesn't have an intense schedule but does have powerful characters and they get bought out? I think players choose a guild for a reason and that shouldn't have to change without them having a choice in it.
Could this not cause a monopoly of some sort? What if some players want to just be in a casual guild that doesn't have an intense schedule but does have powerful characters and they get bought out? I think players choose a guild for a reason and that shouldn't have to change without them having a choice in it.
Hmm, I see what you mean. What could be possible is this-
1) The leader would have to tell the news that an offer is being put up to buy the guild
2) They would then have to take a vote, say 4/5 of the guild must agree to do this.
3) If agreed- the guild is sold and they split the money
3B) If disagreed- the guild remains standing and is not sold.
Now of course someone cannot just walk right in and buy the guild (I would hope). I would guess that if 4/5 the guild voted "yes" to sell the guild, then it was not a very good guild anyway.
It is completely optional to sell the guild.
---Of course I am going off assumptions, since we have not recieved any new news on the way guilds will be....yet..----
__________________________________________________ In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08 - Rest In Peace; you will not be forgotten
Could this not cause a monopoly of some sort? What if some players want to just be in a casual guild that doesn't have an intense schedule but does have powerful characters and they get bought out? I think players choose a guild for a reason and that shouldn't have to change without them having a choice in it.
Hmm, I see what you mean. What could be possible is this-
1) The leader would have to tell the news that an offer is being put up to buy the guild
2) They would then have to take a vote, say 4/5 of the guild must agree to do this.
3) If agreed- the guild is sold and they split the money
3B) If disagreed- the guild remains standing and is not sold.
Now of course someone cannot just walk right in and buy the guild (I would hope). I would guess that if 4/5 the guild voted "yes" to sell the guild, then it was not a very good guild anyway.
It is completely optional to sell the guild.
---Of course I am going off assumptions, since we have not recieved any new news on the way guilds will be....yet..----
There is also the issue of people selling off their guild, splitting the money, and then just leaving the new guild. In general, i don't like the idea of being able to buy out another guild. I'm also confused as to why a guild would want to purchase other guilds. If a guild wants to get bigger, alliances between guilds should suffice. But if guilds are buying out other guilds to get rid of competition, i think this would make a great opportunity for some creative game elements here. Instead of letting guilds get rid of other guilds with money, how about say increasing the compeition between them. Perhaps they would compete to see which guild could comeplete a quest first. And the winning guild would rise in rank, and the losing guild would lose rank. And if a guild demotes to a low enough of a rank, it must disband or something. This assuming that CoS will allow guilds to get rid of other guilds.
I also hope its not too late for any extra suggestions for guilds. These are just random suggestions.
1.) Guilds can have favor with NPC's. For example, Guild A save's village B. Village B feels indepted to Guild A, and gives discounts to guild A, but increases prices to enemies of Guild A.
2.)Guilds can work together in the casting of extremely complex spells, such as creating a giant portal that summons a demon to attack enemy guilds and enemy guild affiliated towns/villages.
3.) Playing on the Guilds having facor with NPC's, how about some guild politics too. Like if a guild is popular with the majority of the NPC nation, they can become mayor, or if they have good relations with an NPC mayor, they can influence the NPC mayor's decisions.
4.) Guild hall's should have bulletin boards!!! Members can post new notes on the board, rearrange the notes on the board, and Guild leaders can post news on the boards and stuff.
5.) And finally, how about world events in which Guilds must chose which side to take, thus creating competition and interaction between guilds. For example, there is a rebellion in city C, guilds must choose to either stop the rebellion or add fuel to it to keep it going or do nothing. If the rebellion is sucessful, then the guilds that aided in the rebellion can gain favor and power. The guilds that resisted are shunned, and are hated by the NPC's.
The debate about selling Guilds does raise a question. Many guilds seem to have a lifespan. Start small grow quite quickly stabilize for a month or 3 then slowly decline as some members get attracted to a new game or the most active players leave the rest behind and look for high level guilds doing end game stuff.
What is needed is a way for small declining guild which still has a core of dedicated members to merge with another guild smoothly and with dignity. Perhaps officers retain status in merge, the leadership issue is addressed. possibly it could be possible to change the guild name and select which guild house the newly formed guild will use.
Mike470 is correct, partly we wanted to see if there was much interest in a dynamic world game that is primarily quest based. The sheer quantity of emails we have received supporting this idea is encouraging. It seems there are a LOT of players wanting to break out of the old mold and try something new. Our hard work has not been in vain.
However, there are many areas of our game that could benefit from additional discussion. One of these would be player Abilities. Although we have the player Abilities system designed, it is in no way written in stone at this juncture. Here are just a couple issues we have to face: 1) We are allowing players to seek any new Ability they want. This gives players the freedom to plan ahead and create the character of their choice. The issue: will this be too confusing or difficult for the casual player? If the answer is yes, in what ways could we do this, yet make it easy for casual players to understand and enjoy? 2) Once they have an Ability, we are allowing player to improve these Abilities with both study and practice, without cap. The issue: Eventuall god like characters that unbalance the game. In what ways should we limit the growth of players (if at all)?
We already have solutions for these problems, but it might be interesting to hear from players and see their solutions or alternate options. Another completely different area worth discussing is death. We are currently planning some penalties for death. However, we are also planning on offering players more than one way of paying those penalties. Rather than explain our exact plans, we would love to hear people weigh in on the idea of 'free' death vs. death penalties, and how sever they think penalties (if any) should be to make the game intersting, without making it annoying. Additionally, we have only just opened discussion on the game. Over time we will be adding new information that will then spark new discussion about how the game should and will work. We value everyone's opinion, and do take the time to read them all. Jatar
1) Seeking out Abilities is a good startring point and I cannot see any problem here, people will take an interest if there is a benefit.
Base Abilities should initially be gained in through conversation with NPC or university charachters, these then being improved or learned through use or from NPCs (a well known MUD mechanic) Teaching and Learning abilities should be a must and is a good community builder. All abilities should work on a time sync where you build up knowledge and then have to let it sink in thus limiting abuse. Abilities should be avaiulable as dependency on other abilities from NPCs dependent on level or (core attributes not sure if strength intel dex type attributes exist but I would have these as bonuses when leveling so you have a metric for certain abilities to become available through as well as all other methods above.
2) All abilities should be learneable the benefit curve as you become hiogn level can be exponential so eay to control. Having lots of learnt abilities enables options, having them all may not save you from a sword thrust so lots of abilities isnt an issue if you apply learn and soak in that learning to increase ability then you limit what people can acheive ...
With sucha large world i would expect godlike chars to inhabit god like areas and the dynamic quest system should cater for this , limiting to small groups will limit god like behaviour.
Death should impact on yet learnt ability xp that that has not yet soaked in look to dragonrealms MUD for this system works well. faction/ notoriety hits there must be penalty force a player to reduce points in learned abilities. The penalties should be situational dependent on reward:-
Wandering death =travel penalty
Storyline = faction hit with the region
Reward Quests = Ability Hit
And so on and so on , random death effects.
If the gameplay is immersive enough people wont notice penalties.
Jatar if you want feedback on anything I will always have time to spare for this subject just drop me a mail.
________________________________________________________ Sorcery must persist, the future is the Citadel
I may have missed it, but where are you getting open PvP from? I believe these battles would take place in the colleseum (please correct if I am wrong). I may have misread, but no open PvP will be taking place between guilds.
I'm not getting it from anywhere in particular - just stating an opinion. MMOs tend to morph and change as they develop so no open PvP one day might not remain true throughout development.
I see what you mean, but usually open PvP is a decision they make in the beginning of the development process. Also, it is rather clear that it is more of a RPGers game than a PvPers game. They also said the pvp would be in colleseums. (from what I remember in the posts)
PvP is an arena game the overall game is PvE instancing and dynamic quests generated on player acheivements, excelent read the site they have design fundamentals. Instancing / max group size of 8, PvE
________________________________________________________ Sorcery must persist, the future is the Citadel
What is an ability? It means something you can do if you want to. normally you cannot gain an ability. a deaf person has not the ability to hear and no amount of training will restore that ability. you have the ability to swim or ride a horse but must learn the skill. Not all swimmers can swim the same distance or speed since the level of their ability to swim varies. abilities are set at birth (character generation) and they cannot change. At least I have never thought of a game character becoming deaf or losing limbs permanently. So players could allocate a weighting to a range of abilities during character generation although this would be limited to prevent creation of useless templates. This will prevent "god like" characters since they would limited in skill level they have the ability to reach.
The thing players increase is skills. Skill levels are limited by abilities for example a good sense of smell and keen eyesight is essential for becoming a master hunter or scout. some stats can be increased by training such as strength, dexterity, stamina etc.
Skills should increase by using them and be boosted by training but are limited by ability, for example the ability to concentrate would limit magic users eventual limit or the power of the spells you could learn, but not stop a player learning spells,
I must admit that sorting out what is an ability a stat and a skill could be fun.
see, smell, hear, determination, courage, concentration, stubboness, intelligence, commonsense would be abilities
you could have weakness's fear of hights, enclosed places, water, darkness, light
stats which can change strength, dexterity, stamina
skills such as swimming, rideing, weapons, spells etc
Also not sure where character levels fit in since this usually boosts stats in a totally artificial way
I really don't think that choosing skill limits at character creation (which is what I think you're saying overall) is a very good idea.
Players have no idea when they start what they will eventually find fun and engaging in the game. If they're forced to pick those limits at the start there is a very good chance they will limit themselves from something they find fun - which basically means they get to reroll or roll an alt.
((Sidebar - I'm really hoping that there are absolutely no alts involved in the game. Alts are a terrible mechanic that add nothing to the community and give dev teams the illusion of there being more content than there really is. "Level an alt" is not an acceptable gameplay choice to me - it's simply a way of recycling content. Design the ability / skill system such that a single character can have any and all skills available - whether at the same time (as in EVE) or sequentially (as in UO) and leave alts and all their problems in the past.))
There is certainly a good mechanic in the vein of physical attributes (dexterity, strength, toughness, etc) modifying skills (swordplay, damage, resistance to weather effects, etc) but there should be a set of "skills" which allow modification of the base physical attributes with training.
There could be an element of "genetic prowess" that is set at character birth - where a given player finds certain attributes increase more easily than others, or that certain skills come easier than others - but there should be ways for players to reach the same level of prowess as others - even if not genetically gifted to that area (it'd just take them longer / more effort).
I really don't think that choosing skill limits at character creation (which is what I think you're saying overall) is a very good idea.
Players have no idea when they start what they will eventually find fun and engaging in the game. If they're forced to pick those limits at the start there is a very good chance they will limit themselves from something they find fun - which basically means they get to reroll or roll an alt.
((Sidebar - I'm really hoping that there are absolutely no alts involved in the game. Alts are a terrible mechanic that add nothing to the community and give dev teams the illusion of there being more content than there really is. "Level an alt" is not an acceptable gameplay choice to me - it's simply a way of recycling content. Design the ability / skill system such that a single character can have any and all skills available - whether at the same time (as in EVE) or sequentially (as in UO) and leave alts and all their problems in the past.))
There is certainly a good mechanic in the vein of physical attributes (dexterity, strength, toughness, etc) modifying skills (swordplay, damage, resistance to weather effects, etc) but there should be a set of "skills" which allow modification of the base physical attributes with training.
There could be an element of "genetic prowess" that is set at character birth - where a given player finds certain attributes increase more easily than others, or that certain skills come easier than others - but there should be ways for players to reach the same level of prowess as others - even if not genetically gifted to that area (it'd just take them longer / more effort).
Nicely put , this is exactly the approach I would like to see, they do keep refering to abilities (but they are meaning skills ).
I agree with the alt scenario, but have seen no mention yet with regards to degrading skills/abilities which needs to be in place for the no alts to work.
Trying to think but in the context of this game here not sure alts would cause a major issue. And people will always buy two copies of the game and trade in most circumstances so it's a difficult one to administer.
I personally prefer to have one main charachter and spend all my time on that so the ability to learn lots of abilities really appeals.
________________________________________________________ Sorcery must persist, the future is the Citadel
Comments
I like that idea. Not only does it help for people who don't like the display, but also for computers that cannot handle all of the graphics. Fir instance, I remember playing RF Online, and each time I tried to turn the spell graphics up (so I could see what I was doing), I would lag like crazy. So then I would turn the setting off, and surprisingly I wouldn't lag nearly as much..
So not only would that make it so people like jakin don't have to see the spells, but also if people are using less-advanced computers they can just turn the settings of spells down to play.
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In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08 - Rest In Peace; you will not be forgotten
Let's hear from you guys about Guilds.
What is it you want in your guild? What information would you like available to your members? What features would you like? What do you want to do with your guild? What stats do you want to track? What special powers do you want officers of the guild to have? What customizations would you like to have to make your guild members unique? If you have your own physical location for the guild, what would you like included there? What would you expect to find inside? What else?
Jatar
Woah, lots of questions..
What is it you want in your guild- Hmm, well a guild hall would be good. Perhaps for each guild, you must pay a certain amount of in game money to create a guild. Once you purchase the right to have a guild, you then get your own guild setion in the hall. (For example- I recently purchased a guild..Now I go to the guild hall, and a buy a room. Once this room is purchased the guild gets its own personal room in the hall. Whenever my guild has a meeting, we meet iont he guild room, which is only accessable to the members.)
As for what I want in the guild....A customizable guild hall for one... for some reason that's all I can come up with for now..
What features would you like?- Guild battles, guild competitions (scavenger hunt??), the ability to buy out another guild, the ability to join 2 guilds in one, and guild quests...Definately guild quests, and guild adventures (although it is unsure what adventures are). These would mean a guild would have to work together on a challenging objective.
Perhaps in a guild battle, the leaders could choose to wager money, or even wager their guild.
What information would you like available to your members?- Everything. The guild's rivals, the guild's allies. the guild's ranking among other guilds, the guild's future battles, a list of the members, and everything else their is to know.
What stats do you wnat to track?- hmm. The victories of my guilds, as well as other guilds. The guilda monthly fee (must pay fees to keep the room?) the other members' levels, the other members' abilities, the ability to easily interact with other members, etc.
What special powers do you wnat the officers of the guild to have?- The ability to give each member a ranking, the ability to wage war with another guild, the ability to become allies with another guild, the ability to recieve quests from NPC's for the guild to complete, the ability to buy out other guilds, the ability to join with other guilds, the responsibility of paying fees the guild must pay off, and other leader qualities
What customizations would you like to have to make your guild members unique?- A special cape, special emblem, and perhaps a crafter could create a unique marking on armour that is onyl for the guild...
If you have your own physical location for a guild, what would you liek included there?- I'm guessing that this would mean a whole building. Well I would hire NPC guards to protect the guild while I am gone. (people should be able to rob from guild halls, but if they are caught, they are automatically attackable/thrown in jail.) Well the outsire shoudl be custamizable as well...So I would get animals to protect my land, and a secret portal which leads inside of the guild hall. The door is locked always, so if someone wanted to rob the guild hall, they would have to find the hidden portal.
It is important to have friendly relations and unfriendly relations as your guild. If each guild had its own personal amount of land, that would be very cool to see.
__________________________________________________
In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08 - Rest In Peace; you will not be forgotten
Lemme see.
Right off the top I think more information needs to be provided in-game for prospective guild members than is typically.
At a minimum I'd like to see publicly available stats on number of members (total), number of members active in the last X days, peak activity times, guild contacts, and perhaps some key information related to the game itself (i.e. if this were a typical MMO: information on loot splitting policy, leadership type (democratic vs. council vs. etc), Roleplay focus and so forth). All this stuff should be readily available in a format such that unguilded players can browse or narrow their search via certain aspects.
A further afield system might even be a questionaire / matching system where players all fill out a set of questions relating to their views on various game activities / guild needs - and then those answers are compared to the answers the guilds themselves give as to their views on the same topics.
Information available within the guild kinda depends on what systems are in the game. Some sort of scheduling interface for guild events would be very nice - with ingame reminder mails (a readily accessable mail system is pretty much a requirement IMO, for all players not just guilded ones).
A guild bank (both money and items) is crucial, with preferably some abliity to sort items to different access levels (and maybe even a configurable sort so that members can just drop items into the bank and they automatically get sorted based on parameters the guild officers define).
There should really be at least three levels of officer permissions (maybe more) with completely configurable permission status. EVE has a pretty reasonable basis for this - several categories, view only or view/access parameters, and completely configurable such that the guild can make up whatever roles they like.
Beyond the normal information provided to guild leaders, I've always found traditional MMOs too light on the stats they provide the guild leadership - and the ability to sort those stats (if given) is usually lacking. Minimum information I'd like to see are stats on member activity (frequency, duration, last time active, peak times). Little things like member location in the game world (offline and online members both) and afk status are important too.
Unique appearances really depend on a variety of things - but any ability to have player designed guild tabbards, patches, or whatever would be really nice. If not totally freeform (given the overhead that would cause) then maybe some sort of design template?
Guild hall stuff - if you're still going with no general player residences then I'd really like to see a decoratable room within the guild hall, some sort of apartment if you will - maybe with a few themes (dungeon, tower, garden, etc). At least a doorway to some kind of sanctum the player has some customization ability for. Frankly - I think this is pretty much as much a requirement for a modern MMO as any other PvE, PvP, etc feature.
Common areas of the guild should be similar in customization ability (with permissions of course), but with group based trophies displaying guild accomplishments. There should really be a few levels of access too - public spaces vs. private areas that are guild members only.
That's about all off the top of my head. Thanks for asking Jatar.
My Guild was created in 1999 and has survived moving from game to game until today.
It should not be difficult or expensive to create a guild the challenge should be in building up the guilds status.
I want a guilds to be able to make themselves unique. a tribe, clan, unit, gang, society. This means they have an Identity and ethos. The rules should allow a wide range of guild formats. From a loose group of friends all of equal status to a highly regimented military style unit. This requires flexibility, for instance you should be able to name the members functions within the guild ie Officer, Veteran, Quarter master, Boss, Chief, Enforcer and so on. As to what information should be available to members the answer is as much as possible but provide the Guild Master with the means to pick and choose what information will be available at what level in hierarchy. It could be that a guild wants to play at being a secrete society of assassins where information about other guild members is very restricted. Other formats may be encourage competition between members and more details are needed.
Information could include
Listing names, Date Joined, Rank, Class, Nickname, Online/offline, Guild awards, location, last on, Main or Alt, Notes
Guilds should be restricted to 100 main characters plus that 100 main characters Alts. Very large guilds become impersonal and difficult to manage. However formal alliances of 2 or more guilds should be possible allowing the to share access to guild houses
All in favour of guild coat of arms for use on standards shields etc. Not difficult to program if using a wide range of defined symbols. A nice touch would be to have buffs attached to Guild symbols earned through Guild actions.
A guild house should start out out as a small hut which can be enlarged and enhanced through guild members efforts and activities.
Activities possible in Guild house could include crafting, Training, Sparing, eating and drinking although the Guild house would have to enlarged to permit such activities.
Trophies are good perhaps it may be possible to capture enemy Standards as well.
I assume guild houses would be instanced so be a bit generous with the plot of land
Within a guild house you could have your own private instanced room with storage.
Instant free access from any portal to Guild house and return to location.
NPC's that appear when the facilities are provided such as a guild banker, Traders, Trainers and guards
Guilds - Good Question
Were to start. hmmm
Okay well there should be note boards around the outside of the guild hall for recruiting. You would be able to post recruitment notes which players could read and post a reply to join.
Inside the Guild Halls should have a message board that all guild memebers can read, post and reply to. Also it should be able to link to the guilds main website so that players can sign up for guild events though the guild hall without logging out.
Guild officers should have full access over the message board which would allow them to edit and delete posts.
Should be able to upgrade your guild house with different things. Crafting stations, guild banks, dining halls for RP, Meeting room with lockable door for Officer meetings as well as hold guild meetings.
Guild should be able to design some kind of symbol for all guildies to wear on their armor so others will know what guild you are in.
Just some random thoughs.
Sooner or Later
Ah - a couple of other points:
I'm hoping there is a fairly involved faction system (with actual choices and consequences attached). If that is the case, then guilds should definitely be encouraged / required to pick a side or a loyalty.
Having picked that loyalty the guild hall could see NPCs appearing from time to time with missions that would add to guild standing if completed successfully (or decrease standing if failed).
(On a related note - I'm hoping the various tiers of the Citadel have some seriously vicious political infighting that players can take part in)
Back closer to topic - as a guiding principle for guilds I would essentially try to replicate any and all features found on independent guild websites if possible. If it were possible to code a kind of mini-browser interface that allowed each guild some space to put up an in-game guild site - with all sort of bells and whistles found on Guildportal, etc. I think you'd be in very good shape.
Basically, the hardest thing I've found in casual guilds is actually getting members to go to an external site and keep up with guild discussions and so forth. Most casual players want to play the game and that's it. If all those elements (schedules, bank inventories, forum / discussion groups, officer's messages, etc) were available from within the game itself it would make life a whole lot easier on the poor sods that take on guild leadership roles.
(and some kind of internal website feature would also be a something that could constantly expand without screwing with basic game code and concepts I'd think)
"2) Guild District: This is where playesr can start their own Guild and where they go to enter the guild premises. Guilds in CoS are more than a spreadsheet, they have an actual physical location. Guild members can hang out there and use the various guild facilities."
Cool. Forget my idea about rooms, physical locations are much better
Perhaps there will be empty space in the Guild District where people can buy a certain amount of land from NPC's/former guilds that used to use that land. Then, after the price is paid, that guild's hall is made. This way each guild has a a certain amount of space to do what they want. The bigger the guild is, the more land they will want to purchase.
The guild halls should be completely customizable though. They will be empty at first, but people can purchase things for looks or use. Don't like wooden floors? buy a carpet. Don't like that boring wall there? Knock it down and make a window. Your huge guild to big for a single story hall? Pay some cunstruction workers to make an upstairs. Point is: The halls should be highly custamizable.
Now, the price of these areas may go up or down, depending on the amount of guilds being made.
I like the idea of a Guild District.
__________________________________________________
In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08 - Rest In Peace; you will not be forgotten
Here is a semi-consolidated list of what you have requested or suggested for Guilds in earlier posts. Perhaps some of you can say which ones you disagree with (if any) and why? A little friendly discussion.
Later, I'll explain what we are considering from this list (whether it was already in the design or added since you made the requsts) And perhaps why some of these will not be added, (if any will not).
1) Guild Battles
2) Guild Competitions
3) Buy out another Guild
4) Join 2 (or more) Guilds at once.
5) Guild specific Quests(requiring Guild members to work together).
6) Guild rivals and allies list (info)
7) Guild rankings against other Guilds
8) Member list (info)
9) Guild Victory (info)
10) Wagering on Guild battles.
11) Guild fees (info)
12) Data on Guild members (level, abilities)
13) Guild officers can give our rankings to members.
14) Guild officers can declare war on other guilds.
15) Guild officers can enter alliances with other guilds.
16) Guild officers take on quests from NPCs for the Guild to complete.
17) Guild officers can 'buy out' another Guild.
18) Guild officers can merge their Guild with another.
19) Guild officers responsible for paying Guild dues.
20) Special capes for the Guild
21) Special emblem for the Guild
22) Public Info: Number of members in Guild
23) Public Info: Number of active members in past x number of days.
24) Public Info: Peak Guild activity times.
25) Public Info: Guild contacts (officers?)
26) Public Info: Loot splitting policy.
27) Public Info: Leadership type (Democracy, Council, Dictatorship, etc.)
28) Public Info: Role-play focus, etc.
29) Matchmaking system. Guilds fill out their info, players fill out their desires and a list of ranked list matches is generated.
30) Private Guild data: Scheduling system or bulletin board for Guild events.
31) Guild mail (with auto mailings tied into the schedule).
32) Guild Bank account.
33) Guild Equipment storage with categories and access based on Guild rankings
34) Officers: Set what sorts into what category in the Equipment storage.
35) Officer Ranking and permissions system configurable per Guild.
36) More stats on Guild members (possibly with access to data based on Guild ranking). Data could include: Frequency, duration, last time active, peak play times. Member’s current location, AFK and LFG status.
37) Furniture customization and Guild decoration.
38) Areas of the Guild with access restrictions by Guild ranking.
39) Create your own names for Guild Rankings.
40) Private Guild data: when members joined, rank, class, nickname, last on, Member or Alternate status, notes.
41) Restrictions on number of members (100 members, 100 alternates)
42) Change the exterior of the Guild as Guild gets larger (higher dues).
43) Guild facilities: Crafting, Training, Sparing, Eating.
44) Instanced interiors (to accommodate a large number of Guilds).
45) Guild members can have private rooms in the Guild.
46) Access straight to your Guild from any portal.
47) NPCs assigned to the Guild: Guards, banker, traders, trainers, etc.
48) Recruiting boards in the World where players can see Guilds seeking members.
49) In the Guild Hall a message board.
50) Guild officers: Power to edit and delete messages on the board.
51) Upgrades to the Guild hall (add banks, and other facilities).
52) Guild faction interaction (where they have to choose some kind of side in the world political situation).
53) NPCs from that faction would give the Guild quests to further their cause.
54) In game Guild web, customizable by the Guild.
55) Various Guild Hall locations within the Guild District. More ostentatious Guild exteriors cost more (and require more members to 'rent').
I personally can't find anything that should be removed, they all fit perefectly for each different kind of player.
I look forward to see what will be added/removed.
__________________________________________________
In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08 - Rest In Peace; you will not be forgotten
These are the only two that give me any cause for concern at all.
I don't like the principle of joining two guilds at once as I foresee a fair bit of strife over time sharing among members and so forth. It may simply be a prejudice, but I think if a player is interested in more than one guild then they need to make a choice between them.
Now - if this is referring to joining two or more guilds together in an alliance-type structure (a meta-guild if you will) then that's all good.
The other isn't a problem with guild battles per se, but more a question as to how guild battles would take shape. Basically it's a question of PvP focus.
Frankly - allowing for open PvP (even if only amongst guilds) is not a good road to head down for launch IMO. In time sure, but a PvP ruleset and balancing is a huge headache that takes away from a great many other pressing issues a new MMO faces. It's my belief that unless a title is being developed by a large commercial team (a la Funcom, Mythic, Turbine, etc) implementing large-scale PvP is a recipe for bad news.
Once the game is on even footing there is always time to implement or expand on some PvP elements - but before that...it's pretty easy to sail into the same waters that PotBS is currently foundering in.
The other isn't a problem with guild battles per se, but more a question as to how guild battles would take shape. Basically it's a question of PvP focus.
Frankly - allowing for open PvP (even if only amongst guilds) is not a good road to head down for launch IMO. In time sure, but a PvP ruleset and balancing is a huge headache that takes away from a great many other pressing issues a new MMO faces. It's my belief that unless a title is being developed by a large commercial team (a la Funcom, Mythic, Turbine, etc) implementing large-scale PvP is a recipe for bad news.
Once the game is on even footing there is always time to implement or expand on some PvP elements - but before that...it's pretty easy to sail into the same waters that PotBS is currently foundering in.
I may have missed it, but where are you getting open PvP from? I believe these battles would take place in the colleseum (please correct if I am wrong).
I may have misread, but no open PvP will be taking place between guilds.
__________________________________________________
In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08 - Rest In Peace; you will not be forgotten
These are the only two that give me any cause for concern at all.
I don't like the principle of joining two guilds at once as I foresee a fair bit of strife over time sharing among members and so forth. It may simply be a prejudice, but I think if a player is interested in more than one guild then they need to make a choice between them.
Now - if this is referring to joining two or more guilds together in an alliance-type structure (a meta-guild if you will) then that's all good.
The other isn't a problem with guild battles per se, but more a question as to how guild battles would take shape. Basically it's a question of PvP focus.
Frankly - allowing for open PvP (even if only amongst guilds) is not a good road to head down for launch IMO. In time sure, but a PvP ruleset and balancing is a huge headache that takes away from a great many other pressing issues a new MMO faces. It's my belief that unless a title is being developed by a large commercial team (a la Funcom, Mythic, Turbine, etc) implementing large-scale PvP is a recipe for bad news.
Once the game is on even footing there is always time to implement or expand on some PvP elements - but before that...it's pretty easy to sail into the same waters that PotBS is currently foundering in.
I agree with you on #4 but on #10 i don't see a concern for # 10. I understand why you are worried about large-scaled pvp in this game, but the game isn't revolved around pvp so that dosen't make it a big issue. There's plenty more to do like questing which is what their big system there making is all about. And personally waggering on battle's adds risk which makes everything more fun.Keep up the good work dev team.
I'm not getting it from anywhere in particular - just stating an opinion. MMOs tend to morph and change as they develop so no open PvP one day might not remain true throughout development.
I'm not getting it from anywhere in particular - just stating an opinion. MMOs tend to morph and change as they develop so no open PvP one day might not remain true throughout development.
I see what you mean, but usually open PvP is a decision they make in the beginning of the development process. Also, it is rather clear that it is more of a RPGers game than a PvPers game. They also said the pvp would be in colleseums. (from what I remember in the posts)
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In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08 - Rest In Peace; you will not be forgotten
3) Buy out another Guild
Could this not cause a monopoly of some sort? What if some players want to just be in a casual guild that doesn't have an intense schedule but does have powerful characters and they get bought out? I think players choose a guild for a reason and that shouldn't have to change without them having a choice in it.
Hmm, I see what you mean. What could be possible is this-
1) The leader would have to tell the news that an offer is being put up to buy the guild
2) They would then have to take a vote, say 4/5 of the guild must agree to do this.
3) If agreed- the guild is sold and they split the money
3B) If disagreed- the guild remains standing and is not sold.
Now of course someone cannot just walk right in and buy the guild (I would hope). I would guess that if 4/5 the guild voted "yes" to sell the guild, then it was not a very good guild anyway.
It is completely optional to sell the guild.
---Of course I am going off assumptions, since we have not recieved any new news on the way guilds will be....yet..----
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In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08 - Rest In Peace; you will not be forgotten
Hmm, I see what you mean. What could be possible is this-
1) The leader would have to tell the news that an offer is being put up to buy the guild
2) They would then have to take a vote, say 4/5 of the guild must agree to do this.
3) If agreed- the guild is sold and they split the money
3B) If disagreed- the guild remains standing and is not sold.
Now of course someone cannot just walk right in and buy the guild (I would hope). I would guess that if 4/5 the guild voted "yes" to sell the guild, then it was not a very good guild anyway.
It is completely optional to sell the guild.
---Of course I am going off assumptions, since we have not recieved any new news on the way guilds will be....yet..----
There is also the issue of people selling off their guild, splitting the money, and then just leaving the new guild. In general, i don't like the idea of being able to buy out another guild. I'm also confused as to why a guild would want to purchase other guilds. If a guild wants to get bigger, alliances between guilds should suffice. But if guilds are buying out other guilds to get rid of competition, i think this would make a great opportunity for some creative game elements here. Instead of letting guilds get rid of other guilds with money, how about say increasing the compeition between them. Perhaps they would compete to see which guild could comeplete a quest first. And the winning guild would rise in rank, and the losing guild would lose rank. And if a guild demotes to a low enough of a rank, it must disband or something. This assuming that CoS will allow guilds to get rid of other guilds.
I also hope its not too late for any extra suggestions for guilds. These are just random suggestions.
1.) Guilds can have favor with NPC's. For example, Guild A save's village B. Village B feels indepted to Guild A, and gives discounts to guild A, but increases prices to enemies of Guild A.
2.)Guilds can work together in the casting of extremely complex spells, such as creating a giant portal that summons a demon to attack enemy guilds and enemy guild affiliated towns/villages.
3.) Playing on the Guilds having facor with NPC's, how about some guild politics too. Like if a guild is popular with the majority of the NPC nation, they can become mayor, or if they have good relations with an NPC mayor, they can influence the NPC mayor's decisions.
4.) Guild hall's should have bulletin boards!!! Members can post new notes on the board, rearrange the notes on the board, and Guild leaders can post news on the boards and stuff.
5.) And finally, how about world events in which Guilds must chose which side to take, thus creating competition and interaction between guilds. For example, there is a rebellion in city C, guilds must choose to either stop the rebellion or add fuel to it to keep it going or do nothing. If the rebellion is sucessful, then the guilds that aided in the rebellion can gain favor and power. The guilds that resisted are shunned, and are hated by the NPC's.
The debate about selling Guilds does raise a question. Many guilds seem to have a lifespan. Start small grow quite quickly stabilize for a month or 3 then slowly decline as some members get attracted to a new game or the most active players leave the rest behind and look for high level guilds doing end game stuff.
What is needed is a way for small declining guild which still has a core of dedicated members to merge with another guild smoothly and with dignity. Perhaps officers retain status in merge, the leadership issue is addressed. possibly it could be possible to change the guild name and select which guild house the newly formed guild will use.
1) Seeking out Abilities is a good startring point and I cannot see any problem here, people will take an interest if there is a benefit.
Base Abilities should initially be gained in through conversation with NPC or university charachters, these then being improved or learned through use or from NPCs (a well known MUD mechanic) Teaching and Learning abilities should be a must and is a good community builder. All abilities should work on a time sync where you build up knowledge and then have to let it sink in thus limiting abuse. Abilities should be avaiulable as dependency on other abilities from NPCs dependent on level or (core attributes not sure if strength intel dex type attributes exist but I would have these as bonuses when leveling so you have a metric for certain abilities to become available through as well as all other methods above.
2) All abilities should be learneable the benefit curve as you become hiogn level can be exponential so eay to control. Having lots of learnt abilities enables options, having them all may not save you from a sword thrust so lots of abilities isnt an issue if you apply learn and soak in that learning to increase ability then you limit what people can acheive ...
With sucha large world i would expect godlike chars to inhabit god like areas and the dynamic quest system should cater for this , limiting to small groups will limit god like behaviour.
Death should impact on yet learnt ability xp that that has not yet soaked in look to dragonrealms MUD for this system works well. faction/ notoriety hits there must be penalty force a player to reduce points in learned abilities. The penalties should be situational dependent on reward:-
Wandering death =travel penalty
Storyline = faction hit with the region
Reward Quests = Ability Hit
And so on and so on , random death effects.
If the gameplay is immersive enough people wont notice penalties.
Jatar if you want feedback on anything I will always have time to spare for this subject just drop me a mail.
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Sorcery must persist, the future is the Citadel
I'm not getting it from anywhere in particular - just stating an opinion. MMOs tend to morph and change as they develop so no open PvP one day might not remain true throughout development.
I see what you mean, but usually open PvP is a decision they make in the beginning of the development process. Also, it is rather clear that it is more of a RPGers game than a PvPers game. They also said the pvp would be in colleseums. (from what I remember in the posts)
PvP is an arena game the overall game is PvE instancing and dynamic quests generated on player acheivements, excelent read the site they have design fundamentals. Instancing / max group size of 8, PvE
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Sorcery must persist, the future is the Citadel
you want thoughts on abilities
What is an ability? It means something you can do if you want to. normally you cannot gain an ability. a deaf person has not the ability to hear and no amount of training will restore that ability. you have the ability to swim or ride a horse but must learn the skill. Not all swimmers can swim the same distance or speed since the level of their ability to swim varies. abilities are set at birth (character generation) and they cannot change. At least I have never thought of a game character becoming deaf or losing limbs permanently. So players could allocate a weighting to a range of abilities during character generation although this would be limited to prevent creation of useless templates. This will prevent "god like" characters since they would limited in skill level they have the ability to reach.
The thing players increase is skills. Skill levels are limited by abilities for example a good sense of smell and keen eyesight is essential for becoming a master hunter or scout. some stats can be increased by training such as strength, dexterity, stamina etc.
Skills should increase by using them and be boosted by training but are limited by ability, for example the ability to concentrate would limit magic users eventual limit or the power of the spells you could learn, but not stop a player learning spells,
I must admit that sorting out what is an ability a stat and a skill could be fun.
see, smell, hear, determination, courage, concentration, stubboness, intelligence, commonsense would be abilities
you could have weakness's fear of hights, enclosed places, water, darkness, light
stats which can change strength, dexterity, stamina
skills such as swimming, rideing, weapons, spells etc
Also not sure where character levels fit in since this usually boosts stats in a totally artificial way
this should be really cool
Players have no idea when they start what they will eventually find fun and engaging in the game. If they're forced to pick those limits at the start there is a very good chance they will limit themselves from something they find fun - which basically means they get to reroll or roll an alt.
((Sidebar - I'm really hoping that there are absolutely no alts involved in the game. Alts are a terrible mechanic that add nothing to the community and give dev teams the illusion of there being more content than there really is. "Level an alt" is not an acceptable gameplay choice to me - it's simply a way of recycling content. Design the ability / skill system such that a single character can have any and all skills available - whether at the same time (as in EVE) or sequentially (as in UO) and leave alts and all their problems in the past.))
There is certainly a good mechanic in the vein of physical attributes (dexterity, strength, toughness, etc) modifying skills (swordplay, damage, resistance to weather effects, etc) but there should be a set of "skills" which allow modification of the base physical attributes with training.
There could be an element of "genetic prowess" that is set at character birth - where a given player finds certain attributes increase more easily than others, or that certain skills come easier than others - but there should be ways for players to reach the same level of prowess as others - even if not genetically gifted to that area (it'd just take them longer / more effort).
Players have no idea when they start what they will eventually find fun and engaging in the game. If they're forced to pick those limits at the start there is a very good chance they will limit themselves from something they find fun - which basically means they get to reroll or roll an alt.
((Sidebar - I'm really hoping that there are absolutely no alts involved in the game. Alts are a terrible mechanic that add nothing to the community and give dev teams the illusion of there being more content than there really is. "Level an alt" is not an acceptable gameplay choice to me - it's simply a way of recycling content. Design the ability / skill system such that a single character can have any and all skills available - whether at the same time (as in EVE) or sequentially (as in UO) and leave alts and all their problems in the past.))
There is certainly a good mechanic in the vein of physical attributes (dexterity, strength, toughness, etc) modifying skills (swordplay, damage, resistance to weather effects, etc) but there should be a set of "skills" which allow modification of the base physical attributes with training.
There could be an element of "genetic prowess" that is set at character birth - where a given player finds certain attributes increase more easily than others, or that certain skills come easier than others - but there should be ways for players to reach the same level of prowess as others - even if not genetically gifted to that area (it'd just take them longer / more effort).
Nicely put , this is exactly the approach I would like to see, they do keep refering to abilities (but they are meaning skills ).
I agree with the alt scenario, but have seen no mention yet with regards to degrading skills/abilities which needs to be in place for the no alts to work.
Trying to think but in the context of this game here not sure alts would cause a major issue. And people will always buy two copies of the game and trade in most circumstances so it's a difficult one to administer.
I personally prefer to have one main charachter and spend all my time on that so the ability to learn lots of abilities really appeals.
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Sorcery must persist, the future is the Citadel