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Why not provide players with a different way to experience your game?
Give Players Options
If there are enough people who want to walk around in someone else's territory, then put them together in that territory. Make a server with no NPCs whatsoever, populated totally by players. You could throw some NPC mini-world-bosses around; bears, wolves, town guards (*), and various other non-faction enemies. Then allow players to flag for Free For All, Faction PvP, or Non-Combat and group with anyone.
NPCless World
The war, the setting, nothing matters ~ we create our own world. Players can walk around in different cities or even in Cyrodiil and explore in/out of combat. (*) Town Guards would be a small group of guards any player, with any faction, can attack. More guards will not come and they will not attack unless attacked. At any time players could switch back to the official game with a persistant character.
Starting Point
The good news is that you really don't have to do too much work. Just take out all the NPCs and put players in! If a lot of people are playing this way, then add more content - like the mini-world-bosses or attackable town guards.
Enough Room For Everyone
I don't want to dilute your game nor do I want to split up the population BUT there is going to be a lot of people playing. Some people just want to pick a race and run around in an Elder Scrolls World ~ and what better way to make it online than to put them together with other players who want the same thing. I respect that some players want to adhere to the war setting but the NPCless world will be more of a playground. No one is FORCED to play one particular way.
To Ends
I respect that there are many who are excited for this game. DAoC players are custom to the idea of having servers with different rulesets (such as co-op, wpvp, etc). Do something similar and have two options; official and explorer mode, and allow players to switch between them with a persistant character.
Comments
If the above idea goes well then they could add some of the following;
Player NPCs
You could populate the NPCless world with player NPCs. Players could log out in a market district and sell items as an alternative to the auction house (outside races would have to peddle their wares outside the city). You may could work housing in down the road depending on how the Mega Server works.
Changing Personal Perception
Allow an appearance toggle. If I am a Khajiit and want to look like a mountain lion, then let me change my model to a mountain lion (although there would have to be some degree of restrictions here, I would start with letting players change races and then go from there). People who DO NOT WANT to see this can just toggle it off and everyone would appear as their original race (even with the appearance change NPCs will refer to the player as their original race).
More Than One Way To PvP
There would be at least two different ways to PvP; one with Official Cyrodiil Campaigns and the other in a NPCless world. I think there should be a manual flagging option in the NPCless world, while automatic world PvP would be neat, this mode is not made only for FFA spawn camping gankaneers.
Scout Cyrodiil
The NPCless world could also tie into a general Cyrodiil server. This way players could scout and learn the landscape for the official battles... or just take a moment and look around at all the work the world designers spent hours on creating.
An Elder Scrolls game without NPC's would not be an Elder Scrolls game.
Sorry, but, no thanks. That idea stinks.
You've just provided a rather good example of why simply kitchensinking a project with a forum full of random ideas is a terrible way to create a game.
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
Because it is too far along in the development process.
Hi, I dont like your game, can you redo a lot of it because I'd like it more that way? ;-)
I swear, I'm worried about this community. People are more concerned with what they personally want out of it, than what would be good for the game overall.
MMO history - EVE GW2 SWTOR RIFT WAR COH/V EQ2 WOW DAOC
Tuktz - http://www.heretic.shivtr.com/
It sounds to me like you will have to make your own game to satisfy those trypes of desires. They are too personal sounding for a deveoper to spend time on. Basically what I got out of it was remove NPC's and let a bunch of real people who have forgotten how to role play a decade ago (so basically a bunch of lol ers) become my source of immersion.
Okay sure.
Welcome to MMO pre release insanity where everyone has an opinion on how to mould a MMO according to their own personal likes and dislikes.
"The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.'
-Jesse Schell
"Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid."
-Luke McKinney
There STILL will be a game with NPCs, just another version without NPCs that players can run around in and explore.
I'm not asking him to redo it.
Are you guys at least reading what I wrote before responding?
There would be nothing in it to like and dislike, it's just a version in which people could explore and run into other players.
But my suggestion is not asking them to change their current process, did you read it or blinding commenting?
Why do you think you wont run into other players the way it is now? Do you know something I dont about this game?
I know what you are asking for but you really think this would be their priority? they would like to release their game first and then worry about making seperate servers on different rule sets depending upon how many players are interested in such sort of features. But then again chances of this happening is nil.
"The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.'
-Jesse Schell
"Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid."
-Luke McKinney
Even Dark Age of Camelot had servers with different rulesets, I'm not suggesting that they change their current game.
Everyone is throwing out general responses (some trying to be insulting but I'm an adult) without actually responding to my original post.
Not at release. So if you expect something like this at release, you are out of luck.
"The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.'
-Jesse Schell
"Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid."
-Luke McKinney
If you knew what I was asking for then why would you even mention that I think this should take priority? I'm not asking them to build something but take out NPCs, put players in and let them flag themselves for FFA PvP, Faction PvP or Non-combat.
Because that is how your OP came across? as if you want devs to prioritise on servers with different rule sets. And i am sure i am not the only one who felt that way after reading it.
"The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.'
-Jesse Schell
"Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid."
-Luke McKinney
I really don't expect anything but it would be nice to see this at or near release.
I asked them to make an instance of ESO without any NPCs, let players explore and manually flag for free for all PvP, faction PvP or non-combat (that is only one ruleset). Other than taking the NPCs out and adding a flagging system there isn't much that I'm asking ~ now I do post some ideas if it goes well.
At release?
Aside from that I think it is an interesting idea. One that, as you said, would not take much to do.
Wa min God! Se æx on min heafod is!
I did throw some random ideas in there and probably should kept it simple, but these ideas work together and not blindly tossing darts at a board.
It starts off with creating a seperate server that has no NPCs, then allowing players to switch between the official server and the NPCless one. While in the NPCless world players can flag for PvP (either free for all or just other factions), or remain non-combat.
This would allow players to explore other territories, including Cyrodiil, and run into other players doing the same thing.
That's kind of what I was thinking. It wouldn't take much to do and it would allow people to fully explore their world!
If it becomes popular, then they should naturally add more content.
This is one of the major reasons why modern MMOs fail. Developers want to please everyone, but trying to do that makes noone happy. If you go through past games and read the before and after threads (like TSW and GW2), it's funny how they're totally opposite of each other.
Before release:
"We want an open world that has no quests, let us players do whatever we want without restrictions"
After release:
"This game has no content, there's no NPCs to tell me what to do, and people keep killing me over and over! I quit!!!"
Before release:
"We want your style of pvp from your previous game, we loved it back then and will love it now"
After release:
"Bleh, this is the same old pvp that we've been doing for like 10 years now, I QUIT!"
Before Release:
"We liked Vanilla WoW, we want a game that has alot of content and quests, and there has to be raiding!"
After Release:
"This is just a WoW Clone, I quit!!!"
Edit: For some reason people think that just because they don't like a game, it has to be bad. It couldn't possibly be them, could it? Maybe that game just isn't your play style and it wasn't made for you.
Except what I'm asking for doesn't require them to sacrifice anything to try and please. They still have the official game, NOTHING has changed.