WorldForge Community

I remember playing the original everquest when a sand giant would spawn in the desert that was way over the level of all the rest of the content in the area. He would spawn and walk around the oasis in the middle, where all the good hunting was, killing any newbies that didn't run away fast enough. Eventually, someone would call in a high-level guild member to come kill the giant (a lot of high-level crafters hawked their wares at the entrance to the next zone for some reason), but just the knowledge that he could be coming around the corner at any moment added to the adrenaline rush in the zone.

On the other hand, if there was a constant chance of being obliterated by something you have no chance to defeat everywhere you go, that could get a little old. I think one thing the giant had going for it was size - it was obvious he was a big bad guy and would eat you for lunch. A level 100 killer chihuahua would not have the same effect. So roaming high-level mobs should probably be easily recognizable from a distance, though perhaps not so recognizable that you can't miss them - tunnel vision should be discouraged as it quickly leads to boredom. This is also what makes open PVP games interesting to some people - you never know when a player is going to come running up and try to kill you, adding to the adrenaline rush - and less appealing to others - they just want a predictable, mind-numbing pile of ogres to kill to give them an escape from the stress of the day.

So, I think some areas should have random challenge content and some should not. Those that do, I'd really like to see an ALife system in place. Give NPCs actual goals and means to accomplish those goals. Some NPCs are evil and their only goal is to murder anyone who passes and take their stuff (even other NPCs). These theives might hide in wait along the road through the zone waiting for unwary travelers to pass by. Other faction members may protect their hidden base in the woods, killing anyone not affiliated with them that passes too close to home. Animals in general are motivated by the desire to eat and protect their young. So venture too close to the nest and you'll definitely be attacked, but elsewhere in the area you might just look like a tasty meal. Some NPCs are simply travelers carrying their goods from one town to the next, miners searching for deposits of gold, coal, or mythril, or hunters trying to kill their evening meal or make a buck. In any case, there are all kinds of people and critters in the area that may or may not have a reason to attack you (or you may or may not have a reason to attack them). I just think it's high time the game industry moved away from the static spawns and NPCs that wander the same path day in and day out. Populate the world with random spawns of metals, plants, and other things that people in the world want. Then have NPCs that are out trying to grab the resources as well as players. Some NPCs will attack to protect their mine, others you will want to attack to get their resources. Fill the world with animals that move to where the good hunting is and protect their young. Maybe their young even grow up and start their own lair in another random place. Animals fight other animals (usually lesser animals they know they can kill), and try to find a place they can not be eaten but have plenty to eat. I should not be able to read on a website that the super secret base of Spy Organization X is located at 278, -438 in the desert of wandering. If I were a leader of Spy Organization X and everybody knew where my super secret base was, I'd move it!

As for the tedium of Mason - as part of a larger game, this is what you pay the crafters to do! Many crafters long for a game where they can actually create new things, not just hit the "Combine" button and produce another copy of the same thing that every other crafter can make. Mason gives them the opportunity to build a fort to their specification. I think the interface could probably use a little tweaking and more positioning tools, but by and large, I think crafters will enjoy being able to create truly unique structures in the world. You could even travel the world over looking for architecture that you enjoy, then find the crafter that made it, and ask him to make one like it, but with a few personal changes, and most crafters will be overjoyed that their work has made a real impact on the world. I would think it useful to give the crafters the opportunity to create blueprints or packages of structures that they have built that can just be placed anywhere in the world, but to some degree there is some skill required in modifying the landscape to the design, which may not be easily encoded in a package. Perhaps the better approach is allowing crafters to sell "contracts"... with an image of a previous place they have built and an interface for people to request a similar structure in a location of their choice, and an automatic escrow/arbitration if you don't get what you ask for, though this might require a true in-game court system to actually implement (how do you programatically verify that the structure you got is similar to the structure in the contract)?

Re: chat bubbles - I think it is important to be able to turn them on and off. Some people like them, some people don't. But I'm not sure right click is the right shortcut to toggle the interface. In any case, there should be a standard key-binding screen that lets you choose what button or key to press to toggle the interface, as well as an options screen to set whether they are on or off by default.

I like simulations, and games of a more hard-core nature, but that doesn't necessarily mean games that require players to spend more then half their waking time to be able to play them at a high level. I believe that player skill and choices made should be greater factors in gameplay then simply time spent playing, although normally players who spend alot of time acquire great skill and make terrific choices, this should not stop those who have lives outside of the game from being able to play competitively with the rest.

I am in the same boat as dpwhittaker, I believe that a form of ALife is where games should be striving, I am completely tired of monster spawns, where the creatures basically stand around waiting to be slaughtered. And gameplay is basically about killing these to fulfill simple quests to acquire levels to kill greater levels of dumb monsters, over and over until some form of end game or prize is achieved. I believe that one aspect of realism in game will be achieved by creating a system that strives to have NPC's be an equal part of the world and not just there to be killed or to provide a step in a quest line. This is no simple task, but this is the system that is being worked on now, and the foundations are in place, what is needed is for others to start making good use of it, and expanding on whats already been built. Only by using these things to build a functioning gameworld will we really learn its strengths and weaknesses.

I think that such a system would offer the greatest possibilities for unforseen events, I would prefer a world were if you kill a dragon you will never again fight that dragon again for it was unique. You may on the other hand fight its offspring, and they would hate you more so for your past actions. Imagine a world were your actions could have a lasting effect.

It would probably worth mentioning that Mason is but a stepping stone... (http://worldforge.org/doc/newbie_guide/yourplace) But it need not be the only one, anyone can build additional game rules, or throw in to help develop Mason itself. While it might seem tedious to have a game of crafting that requires alot of interaction and has alot of depth built into it I think it is the perfect avenue for development, and allows for development of new technologies in the process. I have been hoping for such a deep and interesting type of crafting a game for a very long time. It's actually one of the reasons I really like WF. I believe their design and roadmap has merits.

As dpwhittaker said, building of bigger things that would require alot of materials and effort to build need not and in my opinion should not be considered solitary actions, after all what is being created is a multiplayer world with AI, so what I like to envision is a world where players would join the unified efforts of others, be they player or AI they will all take part as they like to help, it need not be repetitive, nor does it necessarily need to be automated either, atleast not more so then having AI taking part in the process. If you need 50 logs for something but don't want to chop them, then bargain with another player or AI to purchase them and do something else instead. I would see this as being a more realistic and interesting system to take part in, where each player can let their interests determine what they do in the world and their actions become a part of the whole process. Of course this would require a well thought out and developed economic system, which really does need to be worked on as well.

But that is not to say other aspects can not be furthered as well to give players other things to do aside from building and crafting, this is simply the current primarily focus. There can and should be other elements, in fact fishing is just such a recent addition. Really the possibilities are endless, and I look forward to seeing what things get implemented in the future.

In regards to the chat bubbles, and such things I would really like to eventually see Ember one day allow for customizeable interface where players can choose what key bindings do what. Although some rules need to remain server determined, this is a good example of where players can be allowed to customize their gameplay.

Wow, I can't believe with all the times I have looked at that file I totally missed the bindings all the way down at the bottom! :)

With reference to realism, I have a brief suggestion: Limit NPCs to things that need to be NPCs- Why have a Town mayor NPC, when any half-decent PC would make a great mayor, why have highwaymen NPCS when other players would gladly steal your money. Of course, this system can be overdone or abused, so it shoudl be limited. But I've found it to work in other games like Renaissance Kingdoms.