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[Column] WildStar: Changes to Core Systems
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
This week's WildStar Wednesday laid out some information about core systems changes that the team has been working on since the close of the last beta phase. In our new WildStar column, we take a look at those changes and offer a few thoughts. See what we have to say before leaving your own thoughts in the comments.
In subsequent months, the studio has been working hard on updating three core systems: making leveling up more interesting, making it easier to choose abilities, and completely revamping the quest system. These changes are all intended to make WildStar more engrossing and entertaining, while removing some of the limitations that came with a more traditional approach.
Read more of Gareth Harmer WildStar: Changes to Core Systems.
Comments
Great read, I am really looking forward to your first devspeak break down once another one is released.
What do you think about announcing areas that are unlocked in the level up screen? I know its only a proto-type but seems like it cuts a little of the discovery down the first time through the game
That's big news? Seriously?
Isn't the lead dev on this the guy claiming that he made a huge mistake by making WoW so simple, and how this was going to be bringing in new ideas again?
Instead, the huge multi-paragraph news is... they made it so that instead of collecting ears, a bar fills up?
Seriously?
I thought the news was going to be "No more quest grinding!"
But what did I expect, a new idea from one of the WoW devs? The game that has, to this day, never done anything new or unique in its entire 9 year run?
Nope, DAoC and other MMOs had shared servers a good 4-5 years before WoW. and LFR are things that have been in online RPGs for eons.
I think it could go one of two ways. As you mention, that feeling of self-discovery is quite powerful. It depends on how zone completion is handled, and if there are NPCs that breadcrumb you to the next zone.
On the other hand, if you're suffering from zone fatigue, having a pop-up to tell you that a different option is available might be just what you need. Of course, zones should be designed well enough to keep things interesting for the majority of players, but options are always a good thing.
Currently playing: WildStar, Guild Wars 2, EVE Online, Vain Glory.
Care giving examples of LFR in online RPGS that existed for eons.
I'm a little confused here. Exec Producer Jeremy Gaffney never worked on WoW - he was the founder of Turbine, then moved over to NCSoft before joining Carbine. Development Director Mike Donatelli started out at Mythic on DAOC and WAR before heading on to Carbine. Although they have several ex-Blizzard devs on the team, I'm not sure which one you're referring to here.
Getting back to your point, questing feels like a grind in many games. You're tapping the same sequence of buttons to get the same result in a bunch of different locations, so it's bound to get repetitive. WildStar tries to improve on it somewhat through a new combat system that'll take a while to get used to, plus trimming quest text down to what you can fit in a Twitter message. But it's also better to take on bigger challenges and get your quest done faster, like tougher mobs or (possibly) multiple mobs. That sounds like an improvement to me.
Currently playing: WildStar, Guild Wars 2, EVE Online, Vain Glory.
I find it critical for MMOs to have multiple areas per level range, otherwise I start to feel like a cow being sent down the chute for slaughter.
Well, with instances, quest based leveling, !! over NPC heads, and all the busy work, how can you not already feel like that? Adding a few zones doesn't really change the fact that the game treats you like a toddler.
Nice analogy
From what we already know, there are a small number of zones designed for one faction or the other, with the majority containing content for both groups. As to multiple areas for each level bracket beyond that, it's currently unknown. I'm with you though - I definitely hope so, as it improves replayability.
Currently playing: WildStar, Guild Wars 2, EVE Online, Vain Glory.
A different combat system and less quest text (which was always skipped anyway) does not do much to improve the quest system. It's not a radical redesign like this writer implies, it's the smallest of tweaks. But I guess in the 8 years since creativity died in this genre, small tweaks seem huge nowadays.
Quest based leveling, by its very design, is boring. Certainly after 8 years of it, having different combat isn't going to stop it from being boring. It certainly didn't stop me from uninstall Age of Conan before I got b level 5 when I realized it was all quest grinding.
So instead of killing 10 bears, I can kill 1 big bear?
That's... not much o f a change at all. I'm still being herded by NPCs to go kill monsters to complete a quest to level up.
Tagging is one of the things from GW2 I hoped more mmos would follow. Not because it's easier, but because I find people aren't such assholes like in other mmos. You could be waiting patiently for some mob to appear to finish a quest. Here comes an entitled stupid kid who steals it after waiting for 3 seconds when it was clear that you are already (and have been) waiting for it. This type of behavior ends with this system.
Cannot Wait to play this game otherwise!
What mmo doesn't have quest grinding? I understand you don't enjoy it, but it seems so trivial. Also, give the game a shot before you have an expert opinion on it already.
That's how I feel to much button mashing for my taste. When they announced you can get out of stun by mashing your button that was when I decided its not for me.
madnessman
To be honest, the actual moment-to-moment combat doesn't feel like a button mash - after playing an Arcane Mage in WoW, I know exactly what that feels like. I'd say that it feels more like Guild Wars 2 in terms of combat style, with an emphasis on movement.
I'd also that yes, it is supposed to be better. For one thing, where's the skill in just lining up a shot with tab targeting and mashing buttons, knowing that your abilities will always hit? After playing it a few times, I definitely prefer it over the more traditional way of doing things.
Currently playing: WildStar, Guild Wars 2, EVE Online, Vain Glory.
What games don't have quest grinding?
Eve, Darkfall, Vanguard (to an extent), Project Gorgon, Dark Age of Camelot, Asheron's Call, Ultima Online, EverQuest (vanilla), Middle Earth Online (alpha), GW2 (somewhat), Planetside 2...
What's trivial about it? Quest grinding is the activity you do during 90% of an MMO in most WoW clones. It's a really awful, limiting system that encourages you to be anti social AND to turn your brain off. It's ANYTHING but trivial. It's done more to damage the MMO genre than almost anything else other than instancing.
When I read anything about MMOs that has been changed to make it "easier", I generally cringe. I think people are pretty bored with "easier" right now.
Hell if someone would make a HARD theme park, it might be interesting. Or at the very least, make a couple "hard mode" servers for people. Not everyone wants their objectives handed to them on a silver platter, with little effort. I know I sure don't.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
People should see this as a big warning sign. Wildstar didn't just start production. They are well into development and suddenly decide the game that they had been making is a huge mistake, so they need to quickly bash someone new together?
In other words the Devs up until now have been telling us what a great game they have. Now they are saying what they had was crap and they redid it all so its better? And they are asking for box+ sub for this mashup of ideas and late game changes?
I agree with your general sentiment on making things easy, but I think it's important to pick battles carefully when deciding what should be easy or hard. Should combat be challenging? Absolutely. Should raids be punishingly brutal? Definitely. overcoming these is half the fun of an MMO, after all.
But should Carbine make it annoying to pick up and complete quests, or should they pick up genre improvements that streamline it a little. From the looks of things, that's what they've done here. Just because a system is easy to use, doesn't mean that it's not challenging to participate in.
Currently playing: WildStar, Guild Wars 2, EVE Online, Vain Glory.