Came across this pretty cool fact...

mike470

Came across this out of my boredom, I found it pretty cool.  

Windows and door portal system added.

24 January 2007

In CoS when you walk into any building we do not load a separate place like most other games. All of our interiors are actually inside the building you see, like a real building. This means you never have to wait for separate loads when entering or exiting a building. In addition, it means that all the windows and doors actually are windows and doors. You can walk to a window, look out through the glass and see the outside world. Light from the outside world comes in through the real windows to light the room (depending on the time of day and (eventually) weather.

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Pretty cool, if you ask me.. I have not seen this in any MMO before.

z80paranoia

that is cool and is a feature i've wanted to see in mmos for years. wow does it to an extent but not to the degree seen in that screenshot where all the windows are real.

Hexxeity

Interesting, but not the sort of thing that would ever make me choose one game over another.

Jatar

Originally posted by Hexxeity


Interesting, but not the sort of thing that would ever make me choose one game over another.

I'd have to agree, but each small thing is a part of the whole when deciding if you like  a game.  Ask yourself this, would you rather wait every time you enter a building and exit a building... or not?

Certainly it's not the deciding factor... but I, for one, hate to wait...  I hate to wait while sections of the world load, I hate to wait when I enter a dungeon, I hate to wait to enter a building, I just HATE WAITING.  So... we don't make you wait for any of those things.  Consider it a bonus.

Hexxeity

I guess I just don't understand what games you are talking about.  You don't have to wait when entering buildings in WoW, LoTRO, EQ2, or even Vanguard for crying out loud.

In WoW there is a very brief load time when entering an instance, but I am pretty sure the same must be true in CoS.

What I'm saying is, isn't this pretty much standard and expected?  I really can't consider it a bonus -- more a lack of a penalty.

Sorry to sound so harsh.  I don't cut anyone any slack, even if I like a game!

mike470

 

Originally posted by Hexxeity


I guess I just don't understand what games you are talking about.  You don't have to wait when entering buildings in WoW, LoTRO, EQ2, or even Vanguard for crying out loud.
In WoW there is a very brief load time when entering an instance, but I am pretty sure the same must be true in CoS.
What I'm saying is, isn't this pretty much standard and expected?  I really can't consider it a bonus -- more a lack of a penalty.
Sorry to sound so harsh.  I don't cut anyone any slack, even if I like a game!

 

I see what you mean, but he also said for dungeons, and from what it sounded, you don't have to wait....AT ALL!  Which is very good in my book.  They don't even make you wait when you craft (from the FAQ)

Also, did you by any chance play Oblivion on the 360?  IT TAKES FOREVER TO LOAD!  It's horrible...

 

Edit-  Oh, and what about AoC?

Jatar

Originally posted by Hexxeity


I guess I just don't understand what games you are talking about.  You don't have to wait when entering buildings in WoW, LoTRO, EQ2, or even Vanguard for crying out loud.
In WoW there is a very brief load time when entering an instance, but I am pretty sure the same must be true in CoS.
What I'm saying is, isn't this pretty much standard and expected?  I really can't consider it a bonus -- more a lack of a penalty.
Sorry to sound so harsh.  I don't cut anyone any slack, even if I like a game!

All though I was not referring  to any other games, only talking about our own system of reducing load wait times, you are incorrect in some of your examples. In both LOTRO and EQ2  you click on the door to a building and wait for the interior to load, then you 'pop' inside the building.

In Vanguard (I don't recall if their buildings have loads) but as you walk across the landscape you reach invisible boundaries where your game suddenly pauses as the next 'section' of the world loads.  Most games have these load times, for buildings, for sections, for small  instances.  

Once you are in the world (one load) in Citadel of Sorcery there are NO other loads to wait through, none.  I don't care how far you travel, or where you go.   I don't know of any other MMOs with this system, but I haven't played them all.  Certainly all of the games you mentioned have some load times that we do not.

Jatar

I should note that not ALL buildings in these other games require loads... but some do. 

mike470

Originally posted by Jatar


I should note that not ALL buildings in these other games require loads... but some do. 

I just want to make sure, if the buildings do not cause load in CoS, then I guess the door just opens and you walk in?

Also, does going into an instance cause a loading time?

thanks.

Jatar

I guess I understand why you guys may be having a problem understanding what I mean, after all the other MMO games you have likely played do not work the same way that our engine does.  However, my statement stands, our goal is that  once you are in the Reflected World there are NO further waits for something to load. 

Vanguard makes you wait at random places while the next section loads: we do not.

Lotro makes you wait when you click on a door to enter a building: we do not.

EQ2 makes you wait every time you move between sections, (Antonica, to Blackburrow); we do not.

Many games have little instanced areas and make you wait to enter: we do not.

I can go on for each MMO I have played... but I don't want to, so I say again, this is our goal...

Once you are in the world there are NO further waits for something to load, ever.  No matter where you go in the Reflected World (and this includes EVERYWHERE), no matter how many terrain types you reach, dungeons you enter, castles you investigate, or leagues that you travel... there are no waits for something to load.

 

Let's put this to rest, it is a simple point, a mere technological aspect of our engine, and isn't worth this much discussion.   It is what it is.  Each game engine is different, this is just how ours works.

 

 

 

 

 

Hexxeity

Ah, you were referring only to the Reflected World.  Then it's not surprising or exciting at all.  I would leave this out of the marketing literature.

mike470

Originally posted by Hexxeity


Ah, you were referring only to the Reflected World.  Then it's not surprising or exciting at all.  I would leave this out of the marketing literature.

You enjoy waiting?

KaltesHerz

Originally posted by Jatar


 
Originally posted by Hexxeity


I guess I just don't understand what games you are talking about.  You don't have to wait when entering buildings in WoW, LoTRO, EQ2, or even Vanguard for crying out loud.
In WoW there is a very brief load time when entering an instance, but I am pretty sure the same must be true in CoS.
What I'm saying is, isn't this pretty much standard and expected?  I really can't consider it a bonus -- more a lack of a penalty.
Sorry to sound so harsh.  I don't cut anyone any slack, even if I like a game!

All though I was not referring  to any other games, only talking about our own system of reducing load wait times, you are incorrect in some of your examples. In both LOTRO and EQ2  you click on the door to a building and wait for the interior to load, then you 'pop' inside the building.

 

In Vanguard (I don't recall if their buildings have loads) but as you walk across the landscape you reach invisible boundaries where your game suddenly pauses as the next 'section' of the world loads.  Most games have these load times, for buildings, for sections, for small  instances.  

Once you are in the world (one load) in Citadel of Sorcery there are NO other loads to wait through, none.  I don't care how far you travel, or where you go.   I don't know of any other MMOs with this system, but I haven't played them all.  Certainly all of the games you mentioned have some load times that we do not.

SWG, except when traveling to another planet/shuttle port or going into space. It had no load times.

Jatar

Originally posted by Hexxeity


Ah, you were referring only to the Reflected World.  Then it's not surprising or exciting at all.  I would leave this out of the marketing literature.

Well, first of all, I didn't start this thread. We aren't out there trying to make a big deal out of this feature of the engine.  That being said, I'm not sure what your comment actually means.  The entire play area, every continent, nation, territory, city, town, village, castle, dungeon... everything, is in the Reflected World.  These aren't some little instance of some small spot on the map... they are the entire world.

Let me remove the terms and see if that helps you.  When you enter the game play area, there are no further loads no matter how many thousands of miles you travel, or how many places you enter.

Is this something we will be advertising to 'excite' people, no.  As I keep saying, it's just a small feature of our engine.  There may be some other games out there doing the same, just not most of the major MMORPG games (see the ones I mentioned).

 

 

 

Hexxeity

But the other side of that coin, as I understand it, is that you also won't see any other players in the Reflected World ... unless you have decided to bring a few with you.

Isn't the Reflected World essentially a big instance?  I have never heard of any MMO where there are load times within an instance.  To describe it in any other terms smacks of "spin," and I don't think most gamers will react well to spin.

I'm just trying to keep you guys out of trouble!

mike470

Originally posted by Hexxeity


But the other side of that coin, as I understand it, is that you also won't see any other players in the Reflected World ... unless you have decided to bring a few with you.
Isn't the Reflected World essentially a big instance?  I have never heard of any MMO where there are load times within an instance.  To describe it in any other terms smacks of "spin," and I don't think most gamers will react well to spin.
I'm just trying to keep you guys out of trouble!

Well, aren't other instances essentially smaller instances?  You may not have heard of loads in instances since the instances in other games are smaller, but when you enter an instance (in CoS) you are entering the WHOLE world.  Wether or not this has anything to do with loads I am not sure.

As for the "spin", I have seen none of it, personally.  You can clearly see that the devs are not trying to hide the instances, or say there are less instances.  With games like AoC, people did not expect the instances like this, so now they are ranting like crazy.  The CoS devs, on the other hand, are very open about instances, and state clearly that instances are a HUGE part of this game.

You see, there is no "spin" saying there is no load in the instances, because there isn't any.  Wether or not there is loads outside of the Reflected Worlds is a different story.