Green Monster Games (Curt Schilling)

[Blackulaa]

All these armchair quarterbacks has inspired me to create an homage for my web comic. Will post when its done.

[Grave]

Originally Posted by Fog

It seems like that from this armchair I'm sitting in, too, but look at the facts: there have been many MMORPGs over the years. The people writing them haven't all been incompetent, and they all know that more interesting content (especially early-game content, where you do indeed see the majority of effort spent in most games) will make them more money. If it weren't quite a hard task to make a sufficient number of fantastic, unique quests on a reasonable schedule, more games would have them.

I'm not saying the people working on these games have been incompetent. I don't necessarily agree, however, that many of them spent more time and effort on the early game than other parts. In most MMOs I've played, the most boring and uninspiring quests are generally always those they start you out with. It's obviously a conscious choice. Maybe because they assume you will blaze through the early levels so fast it doesn't matter, or because they feel like they have to save the good stuff for later, I don't know. The point I'm making is that while these designers were not incompetent, they still chose to do things this way and I don't necessarily see a reason for it. Age of Conan, to its credit, did at least try to make the player feel like an important character in the world during the early quests, and that's all I'm really asking for. I'd just like to see it taken up a notch and different areas created for each race at least, so starting an alt is not necessarily something you dread.

As for it being a hard task, I've agreed it would be, but not to the extent that it isn't possible. "Other games would've done it" isn't really a reason, they just made the choice to do things a certain way.
I mean, think about how many quests you do in WoW going from 1-20. It's quite a few. If those quests were cut down to a fewer number, but made longer (with exp gains along the way instead of only at completion), more involving, and more exciting, would it really be that much more work? I really don't think it would be, and you would end up with a much more engaging "hook" at the start of your game that would entice players to see the rest of it.

[Ukerric]

Originally Posted by Grave

Interesting. What few quests I did in AoC seemed the same as WoW, but I admit I didn't do a lot. If that is how it is though, here's hoping future games will take a look at it.

It is like that, but 99% of the time, it used as WoW.

There are a few quests here and there that auto update, and their objectives change, chiefly "go there", and, as soon as you get there, your objective becomes "now kill X".

Not that it's "hard" to implement. You simply skip the complete/accept NPC, reuse the same quest text, and use the quest helper panel to reflect the next step, and here you are.

WoW almost uses the same thing, by having a local item act as the quest NPC. It's used a bit more in WotLK. For example, you're told to get some anti-venom from a ship. You get down, surprise some cultists, and there's a big "!" over the cultist shrine there, so you get the anti-venom a bit further in, but, along the way, you "discovered" some cultists, and start on a longer quest chain.

[Roz]

definitely no hand holding or big X's on maps until you've at least been to the place once to have "charted" it or whatever.

but with less hand holding, it would be cool to have more interactive NPCs with your quests. So if you've missed a portion like gone from the start NPC to NPC 3, he should tell you "hey, I can't coat your sword with poison until you actually go GET the sword from NPC 2". And not just some random text like "oh lookie here at this bucket of poison I have at my house!" or not responding to dialogue at all.

Definitely dump the big exclaimation marks over NPCs heads and all that stuff though. At least let the player figure out who they're supposed to talk to on their own.

[Blackulaa]

My homage to the silliness that goes on in this thread sometimes.

comicstripclub.com » Archive » Bloody Sock

[spronk]

oh cool I never knew you drew csc, I was reading that daily when playing AoC (all the conan comics were hilarious!) Time to move it from my now unvisited Conan browser favorites folder to the funnies browser folder.

I'm super jealous btw, I can't draw shit, although thats probably for the best, if I could draw chicks with big tits thats all I'd do all day.

[Blackulaa]

Tears. I write them, and my partner draws them. Sort of like the black and yellow version of Penny Arcade.

Poor AOC. A prime example of everyone loving you then dumping on you...

Also, to even further derail, how about an MMO with nothing but hot chicks and big tits?

See how I fail already as a dev?

[Digits]

Originally Posted by Blackulaa

Tears. I write them, and my partner draws them. Sort of like the black and yellow version of Penny Arcade.

Poor AOC. A prime example of everyone loving you then dumping on you...

Also, to even further derail, how about an MMO with nothing but hot chicks and big tits?

See how I fail already as a dev?

You're no worse than that creepy Sony put in charge of EQ2s art direction. That guy made my skin crawl whenever he did a presentation of how amazing EQ2 was, because he would constantly refer to the quality (read: big tits covered in tight leather straps) of females models.

"Let's have a look at our female monk, because that's a treat for everyone."

[Thengel]

Originally Posted by Grave

Speaking of hooking the player from the start, there's all this buzz going around right now about the Death Knight starting quests being so involved and amazing, some even saying it contains the best quests Blizzard has ever implemented.

To that I say, why can't that be the case for every single character?

Sure, it would take a lot of development time and effort, but if whether or not a player continues to play your game hinges on the first hour or so of playing (and it often does) why wouldn't you want to make a monumental effort towards blowing them away during that time?

Once again, games like LOTRO and AOC have tried to start down this path, but they didn't really do much with it. Tortage is alright, I guess, but not very epic. The LOTRO intro scenes are kind of cool, but they're very shallow and only last a few minutes.

I would argue that it WAS involving and interesting for every single character. When we all first picked up WOW, those starting areas got you hooked. Now, it's been done and copied a thousand times, it's all old news. The first time in though, it was epic. Wow, I actually do quests, get rewards, experience, etc? They don't just drop me in a city and say "good luck sir! Maybe you'll find your way out of this city by next week!"

Obviously we've progressed a lot since then. The DK quests need to be MORE epic because the way blizzard hooked us the first time is now the industry standard.

[Lonin]

Originally Posted by Blackulaa

Tears. I write them, and my partner draws them. Sort of like the black and yellow version of Penny Arcade.

Poor AOC. A prime example of everyone loving you then dumping on you...

Also, to even further derail, how about an MMO with nothing but hot chicks and big tits?

See how I fail already as a dev?

Nice work Kyng! I need WAR beta so I can play with you and Adamar.

[Teljair]

Originally Posted by Blackulaa

My homage to the silliness that goes on in this thread sometimes.

comicstripclub.com » Archive » Bloody Sock

Nice man, that made me laugh.

[Blackulaa]

Good to see you bud. Looking forward to playing again when Curt's game finally comes out :P

[Draegan]

Originally Posted by Blackulaa

Tears. I write them, and my partner draws them. Sort of like the black and yellow version of Penny Arcade.

Poor AOC. A prime example of everyone loving you then dumping on you...

Also, to even further derail, how about an MMO with nothing but hot chicks and big tits?

See how I fail already as a dev?

Nice job.

[random]

Originally Posted by James

NOT BLIZZARD'S.

EDIT: By the by, excellent progress on your warrior there. I'd put a +8 or +10 hit rating gem in the gun instead of Crit/Sta, though. With a hit rating gem it basically becomes your best option for a threat-oriented ranged weapon all the way until the end of the game.

lmao, Don't lie to him.

Naive comments about the requirements of raiding experience to design quality raiding content are only exaggerated by your lack of knowledge of your own toon that you actually play.

I remain a fan of both you and what your trying to accomplish but a bunch of fanbois jerking you off seems counterproductive. Pretty sure this will be labeled as a flame and while not inteded to be one so be it.

[James]

What?