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What Sandbox Elements Would You Like?
asdar
Member UncommonPosts: 662
I hope this thread can be kept positive. I'd like it to be more about what you want than rebutting what someone else posted. There's going to be people that say PvP or PvE, please just let it go and post your own elements.
I want:
1. NPC's thick throughout towns, and for them to be quest triggers like in EQ where you'd have to talk to an NPC and use the correct trigger word or phrase. This is why I'm happy that storybricks is now a part of the dev team.
2. I'd like lots of cosmetic touches that you can create in game. Such as cloaks and even armor. I'd like for unique items to be won in combat, but I'd like to be able to modify them to look the way I want.
3. I'd like player built castles and buildings like in Minecraft, even if it's in restricted or even instanced zones.
4. I'd like player made quests, though I know the obstacles and abuse this has.
5. I'd like player made dungeons
6. I never was an SWG musician, but I liked that there were people that did that. I'd like similar things in this game. I'd like Player made taverns with musicians and the like. I've never seen this work, but I like the idea.
I have a lot of hopes for the game, but this is a list of some of the sandbox things I want.
Asdar
Comments
I want my keyboard to not register my enter key and when I try to trigger a quest die upon saying "What(loading please wait)
I'm a bit torn on player built cities, whether it is instanced or limited space. If it's instanced I will probably use it to toss junk off and maybe decorate every so often, but it is rarely if ever seen. If its like SWG, eh it is alright, but sometimes that can break immersion. If it is very limited then only the "elite" players will get to even make use of building housing and thus it is rather pointless for a good percentage of the community.
Rant on housing aside, quest triggers would be nice.
Yes day and night cycles! And really dark!
limit instant travel to mage class's.
Buffs I know it sounds simple but it is always so much fun to just hang out in a low level area and buff the newbies, I would do this for hours.
Class Halls with all the quests and flavor that comes with them.
Old EQ style travel methods; Ships, mage/druids needed to port around.
Larget numbers needed for raids, no need for eq1 50+ peep, but larger then the norm lately.
Housing, guild halls, and ships like in AA
Good classes, eq1 had some classes that worked great together or solo....Necro for example!
....Being Banned from MMORPG's forums since 2010, for Trolling the Trolls!!!
The news about collaborating with Storybricks (see other forum topics detailing this) makes me excited about EQNext. For once, a company is thinking outside the box! (errr I mean thinking within the sandbox).
My suspicion is that we will no longer have dry, pre-scripted, linear dialogue with NPCs. We will instead have spontaneous, reactive, emotionally-charged, interesting communication. And the choices we make in the world will matter and have an impact on the world. Such intelligent AI is long overdue in the MMO market, and will be both revolutionary and entertaining if it indeed comes.
This reminds of a highly-rated game I played not long ago called the Walking Dead:
http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/the-walking-dead-a-telltale-games-series
Basically the entire game forces you to make morally-difficult decisions which affects how the story unfolds later on. It was so brilliantly done that you end up having such an engaging, touching, emotionally-connected experience. In my mind, if EQNext can deliver such capitvating experiences to players, it will have no trouble soaring to the top.
It's about time someone sets a new paradigm in this industry.
Oh I forgot Boats, I want boats.
Darkfall had perfect boats, perfect except that they cost too much. The cost put them out of reach for every day combat, at least for small guilds. Nobody wants to work for a full play session just to fight for 10 minutes and lose all that work.
If you could have boats like Darkfall in either a PvP or PvE EQ type game it would be awesome.
I'm not against going back to boats to travel the world along with caster TP's. But I would like a whole trade industry of boats and I'd like PvE content for boats as well.
Just please devs keep the costs of boats low, they shouldn't be so expensive you can't enjoy them.
Asdar
I'm also a huge fan of factions. I think Velious was a great expansion, but also the start of the end. What I think they did right was the Dragon/Giant/Dwarf faction. I loved every bit of it. I loved the whole rock paper scissors feel to factions and the quests to repair faction and the whole thing.
I know people that hated it, but to me none of it was required so I loved it.
Asdar
Player cities like swg (houses like EQII) but with a twist, the larger the city grows unlocks an upgrade to a keep, with the local buildings now falling within the keep, think medieval type castles. Guild run cities would have more guild based options while say free cities would have open market places, taverns etc.
Classes that are very open ended with multiple trees to specialize in, also being able to mix and match classes and not be locked into one class. Or very deep single classes with multiple AA lines sorta like EQII but more open ended.
Guild Vs Guild wars/Alliance vs Alliance wars
Crafting professions that actually make better gear then what is dropped or rewarded, tied in with gathering professions so you can actually make money dropping off mats to the crafters.
Boats as others have said with a chance to be a Pirate raiding commerce or trade lines etc.
That is it for now :P
^^
This as well
If they could mash original UO/EQ features, and maybe Vanguard crafting/harvesting and update/improve it all, that would be great. I am fine with having different server rule sets, as I think this will also help broaden the audience.
I would also like a subscription, but it looks to be f2p probably, just most of them sour me, and I feel like they are trying to get in my wallet for everything. I just hope it isn't p2w, as this would be very sad, and I include xp potions as p2w or advance or whatever you want to call it. A shop should be cosmetic only imo, house stuff, whatever...
Things i look for in games.
- No instances (xcept for maybe player housing) load screens are fine.
- No instant travel appart from Ports from players and any boats should work similar to EQ1 where they took longer than a minute to get to where there going
- All NPCs are attackable alignment/reputation changes depending on what u kill
All these things are in the original EQ however there never found in any other games, instances are a realy big turn off for me hate the idea of being able to be in 1 location and with hundred of people but not acualy be there at the same time in a MMORPG it ruins immersion.
I am thinking player made content in the open world ala SWG combined with a next generation version of EQ2's content creation tools and storybricks dialog tools on a procedually generated landscape. All wrapped up around a intelligent grading system that can give rewards based on the difficulty of the content. Think whole towns created and populated by player generated content and quests.
I'm dreaming I know.
I really don't understand the hate for instances. Sure you can take it to far but some instancing can be a valuable tool if used sparinly.
I'm against instancing mostly because Instancing means that the devs have set up a game where the number of players is fixed and the obstacles are tuned. If you go into an instance you are limited to 6 players, as an example. Then the mobs that attack are geared for 6 players to be able to win. The difficulty in an instance is a variable that the devs set.
I'd rather have a dungeon, like in early EQ, where you might have a dozen areas and you could solo areas and hit up one area or bring 20 players and try and roll the dungeon. It speaks directly to sandbox vs theme park in my opinion where instances are too designed (theme park)
The only place I think might be acceptable for instancing is in the social area. Houses that are instanced don't bother me, unless of course houses are in some way vulnerable to attack. Things like training areas whether beginner tutorial or some kind of class training later wouldn't bother me either.
So I'm not dead set against all instancing, just instancing that's used to feed you content at the pace the devs decide is appropriate.
Asdar
Open World - this is a must, no instances at all.. tho i guess this in itself is not a sandbox feature
No classes or levels - Players skill up by donig actions
Player run econamy - Everything is player made
Player construction - Builing from singles houes to castles everything really.. if they have to be limited to certain areas then thats ok.
PVP - PVP especially open world PVP is a must for me its brings somthing extra to the game, add full loot and its even better. (The last bit probally wont happen tho)
I am sure there are others but im out of time haha..
Any PvP better be opt-in, including SWG-style TEFs when doing missions for a faction that you don't actually belong to, or it's no-go for me and a LOT of others. Every time I've tried (forced, not opt-in) PvP servers in various games, the twinks and bullies and general cannibals have soured me on the place in a hurry.
The job of the developers of "the biggest sandbox mmo ever" is to make open-world PVP a seamless part of an amazing game.
You all have some high expectations..
EQN cant just cater to hardcores or the time burners.. SOE has said that their company pretty much hinges on Everquest Next's success. They have to find ways to cater to people who want to log on, burn an hour or two, and go about their day. The easiest way for that is fast travelling and instances.
I assume at some point of the game, there will be "fast travelling" and/or "instances" in some form. Maybe not a focus of the game.
hmm, what sandbox elements for EQ? that's a good question. I'll try to keep this list strictly to the sandbox elements, of course i have lots of expectations for EQN but not all of them would be classified as "sandbox".
1) some form of territory would be nice. I wanna (co) own my own lil piece of Norrath!
2) housing as well, instanced or non. I wanna own another lil piece of norrath!!
3) emphasize crafting and interdependency between crafters. dont make dragon drops just 100% the best things in the game, let crafted gear also shine.
4) emphasize "world" over "game" -- remember your old motto? "you're in our world now!" i want THAT again.
RIP Ribbitribbitt you are missed, kid.
Currently Playing EVE, ESO
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed.
Dwight D Eisenhower
My optimism wears heavy boots and is loud.
Henry Rollins
Aside from casters having telelports like in EQ, players should be able (through a long and agonizing process) build portals to various parts of the world (maybe limit it somehow to a certain number per zone). This would let players dictate where the "fast travel" should go, but I also like the idea of taking large chunks or real time to travel someplace. That to me would give it a truly massive feel. Even with the fastest mounts, it should take 10 or more real life minutes to cross some zones.
Ship building and house building craft wise.
World totally open and able to own lands etc.
Have multiple paths on how to advance your character.
"Negaholics are people who become addicted to negativity and self-doubt, they find fault in most things and never seem to be satisfied."
^MMORPG.com