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First game with quest arrows?

FwaatchaFwaatcha Member Posts: 18
in The Pub at MMORPG.COM

Anyone have any idea what MMO introduced quest arrows into the genre?

Quest arrows for those who don't know what I'm talking about are arrows or indicatorsthat show you exactly where you need to go , what to pick up ,and who to talk to. This has been one of my biggest turn-offs in MMO's apart from character customization.

If anyone can tell me please I will make sure not to play any of there games ever again.

Thanks in advance.

«1

Comments

  • ShabaleShabale Member UncommonPosts: 44
    Asheron's Call 2 maybe ?
  • ArclanArclan Member UncommonPosts: 1,550

    If you mean 'questing for dummies," then that most certainly must be WoW. WoW either pioneered or popularized the 'quest hub.' It's their primary contribution to the genre. A contribution many of us hate.

    Luckily, i don't need you to like me to enjoy video games. -nariusseldon.
    In F2P I think it's more a case of the game's trying to play the player's. -laserit

  • MMOExposedMMOExposed Member RarePosts: 7,387
    Originally posted by Arclan

    If you mean 'questing for dummies," then that most certainly must be WoW. WoW either pioneered or popularized the 'quest hub.' It's their primary contribution to the genre. A contribution many of us hate.

    WoW added it after Warhammer. So can't been WoW first.

    Philosophy of MMO Game Design

  • KenFisherKenFisher Member UncommonPosts: 5,035

    Vanilla WoW did not.  Neither did BC at least up to 2.4.3.  The only quest related tool on the mini-map was a ? indicating quest turn-in.  It didn't have an arrow for direction.

     

    Ken Fisher - Semi retired old fart Network Administrator, now working in Network Security.  I don't Forum PVP.  If you feel I've attacked you, it was probably by accident.  When I don't understand, I ask.  Such is not intended as criticism.
  • AlBQuirkyAlBQuirky Member EpicPosts: 7,432

    The first I heard of it was EQ2 and the glowing path for quests. It was a big gripe on the EQ boards at the time.

    I am sure EQ2 was not the first, though.

    - Al

    Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.
    - FARGIN_WAR


  • EmeraqEmeraq Member UncommonPosts: 1,063
    I don't recall which released first WoW or L2, however I DO remember in Beta of L2 that they had the circular ring with an arrow around your character like a hula hoop pointing your way to your quest destination during beta and early release.... That's the first one that I recall... Actually GW had the star on the map too, as early as beta and that released around the same time as WoW....So there's plenty of choices.
  • ScotScot Member LegendaryPosts: 22,955
    And all this proves that design changes are incremental, taking place over years and across game formats. I am wondering, did we not see quest arrows in a solo rpg first?
  • dave6660dave6660 Member UncommonPosts: 2,699
    Originally posted by Emeraq
    I don't recall which released first WoW or L2, however I DO remember in Beta of L2 that they had the circular ring with an arrow around your character like a hula hoop pointing your way to your quest destination during beta and early release.... That's the first one that I recall... Actually GW had the star on the map too, as early as beta and that released around the same time as WoW....So there's plenty of choices.

    L2 is the first time I encountered it.  Though L2 had so few quests in it's early days I wonder if most players even bothered with them.

    “There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke, though the wit thereof he but dimly discerns, and more than suspects that the joke is at nobody's expense but his own.”
    -- Herman Melville

  • dave6660dave6660 Member UncommonPosts: 2,699

    If the game doesn't let you mark locations on the map then I can understand the arrow for finding NPC's.

    The part that baffles me is when you get a quest to find a lost puppy and then they show you exactly where it is.  It really defeats the purpose of the quest.

    “There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke, though the wit thereof he but dimly discerns, and more than suspects that the joke is at nobody's expense but his own.”
    -- Herman Melville

  • birdycephonbirdycephon Member UncommonPosts: 1,314
    First I saw something like it was in a mod for WoW.
  • WinelenWinelen Member UncommonPosts: 11
    First I saw it was the original EQ, they had a glowing path leading to NPCs ect...
  • LoktofeitLoktofeit Member RarePosts: 14,247

    That's hard to tell because eastern games have been doing that for years now.

    • L2 added it when they added the Kamael race in 2007
    • Eudemons I believe has had it since 2006
    • and Perfect World International since 2005

    It probably goes back further than that.

     

     

    There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
    "Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre

  • DavisFlightDavisFlight Member CommonPosts: 2,556
    Originally posted by XAPKen

    Vanilla WoW did not.  Neither did BC at least up to 2.4.3.  The only quest related tool on the mini-map was a ? indicating quest turn-in.  It didn't have an arrow for direction.

     

    The GPS mini map held your hand quite a lot, and almost all the quest objectives were close to the original quest NPC. Floating icons were hand holding enough too. 

     

    But no, WOW just populiarized it. The first MMO I remember having it was SWG. 

  • General_Dru-ZodGeneral_Dru-Zod Member Posts: 136
    Originally posted by DavisFlight
    Originally posted by XAPKen

    Vanilla WoW did not.  Neither did BC at least up to 2.4.3.  The only quest related tool on the mini-map was a ? indicating quest turn-in.  It didn't have an arrow for direction.

     

    The GPS mini map held your hand quite a lot, and almost all the quest objectives were close to the original quest NPC. Floating icons were hand holding enough too. 

     

    But no, WOW just populiarized it. The first MMO I remember having it was SWG. 

    this.

    image

  • ThorkuneThorkune Member UncommonPosts: 1,969
    SWG had waypoints. They were blue beams of light that fell from the sky. You went toward the beam to go to your objective.
  • SovrathSovrath Member LegendaryPosts: 32,001
    Originally posted by dave6660
    Originally posted by Emeraq
    I don't recall which released first WoW or L2, however I DO remember in Beta of L2 that they had the circular ring with an arrow around your character like a hula hoop pointing your way to your quest destination during beta and early release.... That's the first one that I recall... Actually GW had the star on the map too, as early as beta and that released around the same time as WoW....So there's plenty of choices.

    L2 is the first time I encountered it.  Though L2 had so few quests in it's early days I wonder if most players even bothered with them.

    I don't think it was in the early days of L2. You used to have to go up and click on an npc just to figure out what they did and if they even had a quest.

    Sometimes you would get a weird error message as if something was trying to be called up but it couldn't.

    I don't remember them as of chronicle 5. but yeah, there were so few quests and they were horrible that most people didn't bother with them if they didn't have to do them. I.E. second class change quest.

     

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  • Stainless72Stainless72 Member UncommonPosts: 16

    SWG had waypoints showing you where your mission was located.

  • PsychowPsychow Member Posts: 1,784

    I am so thankfull that WoW added those quest arrows for stupid people like myself. Yes, I'd never be able to complete a quest without the hand holding they provide.

     

    I wish I was super intellegent like the others in this thread who harp on the ez mode quest icons, but alas I cannot. I am dumb and doomed to only being able to complete tasks with my hand held. Darn it all!!

  • dave6660dave6660 Member UncommonPosts: 2,699
    Originally posted by Sovrath
    Originally posted by dave6660
    Originally posted by Emeraq
    I don't recall which released first WoW or L2, however I DO remember in Beta of L2 that they had the circular ring with an arrow around your character like a hula hoop pointing your way to your quest destination during beta and early release.... That's the first one that I recall... Actually GW had the star on the map too, as early as beta and that released around the same time as WoW....So there's plenty of choices.

    L2 is the first time I encountered it.  Though L2 had so few quests in it's early days I wonder if most players even bothered with them.

    I don't think it was in the early days of L2. You used to have to go up and click on an npc just to figure out what they did and if they even had a quest.

    Sometimes you would get a weird error message as if something was trying to be called up but it couldn't.

    I don't remember them as of chronicle 5. but yeah, there were so few quests and they were horrible that most people didn't bother with them if they didn't have to do them. I.E. second class change quest.

    Maybe you're right.  I don't remember what chronicle they were up to when I started playing or when I left.

    “There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke, though the wit thereof he but dimly discerns, and more than suspects that the joke is at nobody's expense but his own.”
    -- Herman Melville

  • dave6660dave6660 Member UncommonPosts: 2,699
    Originally posted by Psychow

    I am so thankfull that WoW added those quest arrows for stupid people like myself. Yes, I'd never be able to complete a quest without the hand holding they provide.

     

    I wish I was super intellegent like the others in this thread who harp on the ez mode quest icons, but alas I cannot. I am dumb and doomed to only being able to complete tasks with my hand held. Darn it all!!

    Next time add spelling errors and grammatical mistakes for better effect.

    “There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke, though the wit thereof he but dimly discerns, and more than suspects that the joke is at nobody's expense but his own.”
    -- Herman Melville

  • L0C0ManL0C0Man Member UncommonPosts: 1,065
    Originally posted by Psychow

    I am so thankfull that WoW added those quest arrows for stupid people like myself. Yes, I'd never be able to complete a quest without the hand holding they provide.

     

    I wish I was super intellegent like the others in this thread who harp on the ez mode quest icons, but alas I cannot. I am dumb and doomed to only being able to complete tasks with my hand held. Darn it all!!

    Thing is, it's practically impossible to solve quests without them these days.

    Back then in MMOs that had no quest indicators the quest text would actually give you directions of where to go... "follow the road west until you see a fork" "go to the cemetary west of here" "go south until you see a destroyed outpost"... I played a few MMOs and tried to turn them off to play without them, but most of the quests just said things like "go an get me those X" or "go to Y", with no indication of where could I find X or Y.

    What can men do against such reckless hate?

  • dave6660dave6660 Member UncommonPosts: 2,699
    Originally posted by L0C0Man
    Originally posted by Psychow

    I am so thankfull that WoW added those quest arrows for stupid people like myself. Yes, I'd never be able to complete a quest without the hand holding they provide.

     

    I wish I was super intellegent like the others in this thread who harp on the ez mode quest icons, but alas I cannot. I am dumb and doomed to only being able to complete tasks with my hand held. Darn it all!!

    Thing is, it's practically impossible to solve quests without them these days.

    Back then in MMOs that had no quest indicators the quest text would actually give you directions of where to go... "follow the road west until you see a fork" "go to the cemetary west of here" "go south until you see a destroyed outpost"... I played a few MMOs and tried to turn them off to play without them, but most of the quests just said things like "go an get me those X" or "go to Y", with no indication of where could I find X or Y.

    And after they stopped doing that and added the arrows it became pointless to read the quest text.

    “There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke, though the wit thereof he but dimly discerns, and more than suspects that the joke is at nobody's expense but his own.”
    -- Herman Melville

  • TheocritusTheocritus Member LegendaryPosts: 9,751
    Its funny though when quest arrows started to appear I started to lsoe interest in alot of the games that have it.....To me I am just going through the motions at that point, and no longer is thinking needed.......IMO it was just another huge dumbing down of the genre to appeal to the lazy.
  • PsychowPsychow Member Posts: 1,784
    Originally posted by L0C0Man
    Originally posted by Psychow

    I am so thankfull that WoW added those quest arrows for stupid people like myself. Yes, I'd never be able to complete a quest without the hand holding they provide.

     

    I wish I was super intellegent like the others in this thread who harp on the ez mode quest icons, but alas I cannot. I am dumb and doomed to only being able to complete tasks with my hand held. Darn it all!!

    Thing is, it's practically impossible to solve quests without them these days.

    Back then in MMOs that had no quest indicators the quest text would actually give you directions of where to go... "follow the road west until you see a fork" "go to the cemetary west of here" "go south until you see a destroyed outpost"... I played a few MMOs and tried to turn them off to play without them, but most of the quests just said things like "go an get me those X" or "go to Y", with no indication of where could I find X or Y.

     

    I would love for quests to be this way. I remember there being a short treasure hunting quest chain in WoW where you did exactly as you described. It was fun and did NOT require quest arrows or Google to figure out where to go.

     

    But that type was few and far between. On most quests, I think everyone, hopefully after giving a little effort to figure where to go...just tabbed out and looked the quest up on-line. The quest arrows we have today just eliminate the step of hunting on-line. I'm pretty sure the purists can turn them off if they wish...tho like you said the quest text isn't as helpfull as it once was.

  • NadiaNadia Member UncommonPosts: 11,798
    Originally posted by Winelen
    First I saw it was the original EQ, they had a glowing path leading to NPCs ect...

    I remember the same - was added in the October 9, 2003 patch

    http://everquest.allakhazam.com/history/patches.html

    http://everquest.allakhazam.com/history/patches-2003-2.html

    ** For the New Player **

    - Find Feature added. This will create a mystical indication of the 
    path to take to find certain people. This feature works in the Bazaar 
    and in newbie zones and cities. In the Bazaar you just click on the 
    merchant you seek in the Bazaar window and click the Find Trader 
    button. For all other uses, just hit CTRL+F to open the window, select 
    someone on the list and click the Find button. This will locate any 
    Bazaar trader or any NPC with an alternate name, such as (Spell 
    Vendor). The exception is that it will not locate NPCs in the 
    Wayfarer's Camps.

     

    EQ2 fan sites

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