0 registered
and 51 anonymous users online.
|
|
|
#97 - 11/28/07 08:04 PM
Day-to-day, we're okay, but where are the events?
|
Cerberus
addict
Registered: 11/28/07
Posts: 608
Loc: Arlee, MT, USA
|
Everyday goings on are fine, which is to say there's not much new going on, but we've got little truck with roleplay, artifacts, and events. Why is this? When last I checked, games like Rolemaster didn't focus on crafting the perfect weapon with which to gain combat xp at 6 times the rate someone less well versed in the system can earn at.
Now one of the problems with life on Darke is that the strong are near enough unstoppable, but one of the few ways to equalize the playing field is through games of chance, skill, and intellect. While it's hard work programming anything innovative it seems there are a number of loose ends that could be tied up in clever roleplay or outlined quests.
Historically, artifacts have dealt directly with combat - the ring stands out in particular in my mind. There's no reason artifacts couldn't open specialized areas, allow use of non-combat spells or skills, or engage the user in a realmbuilding affair quite like castles, but with many (MANY) more options. Things like charisma and comliness matter none at all in the grand scheme of things right now; neither do languages, but these are threads that can be chased by an innovative programmer.
We the players have very little interactions with mobs beyond killing them, even shopkeepers are largely unused. No reason we should change this, but it's yet another puzzle piece that could be involved in some interesting interactions.
Maybe I'm alone in wanting some engaging mud events, new areas that reward something other than stellar equipment, or magic the likes players can't begin to create. I don't think I am though. Anyone else have thoughts on the topic?
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#107 - 11/29/07 12:09 PM
Re: Day-to-day, we're okay, but where are the events?
[Re: carmy]
|
Cerberus
addict
Registered: 11/28/07
Posts: 608
Loc: Arlee, MT, USA
|
I'd be happy to wizard. I'll send in an application tonight. Are there any outlets for ideas for new wizards though? I for one would like to see old, unused areas updated and revamped. There's an old troll area that way back when was entirely unused because it went nowhere and did nothing. It would be interesting to recode the place as the last vestige of the Great War. I have envisioned a place where we mere mortals could articulate area ideas to wizards, old and new (new mostly). For instance:
Goal:
The unused troll area, if I recall, is 10 rooms long and contains between level 4 and 12 trolls, none of which fit current race schemes. A recode is in order!
Premise:
A solid society composed entirely rock-trolls is trapped deep in a cave, a massive lake being fed by an underground waterfall surrounds their "city" completely save for a single shaft that runs a long way before finally reaching the surface. At the top of the shaft is a deep, tangled jungle holding a coterie of forest-trolls with a single embattled, ancient seraph as surgeon-general. So entrenched and remote are these two warring factions that they have never had word reach them of the end of the Great War.
Iconic Encounters:
Light side...
1) Surgeon-General Seraph with elite band of Forest-Troll Nurse-Guards.
b) Three to five forest-troll commanders as heads of individual guard patrols, raiding bands, scouting parties, and/or rescue squads, engineers.
3) Forest-troll child ghost in hidden cave-in area
Dark Side...
1) Chained Demon Lord
b) Rock-troll Warrior-King (pre-Chaotic-Lord variant)
3) Warrens mother
4) Water faerie
Ideas:
The Great War is ancient history, so something has to have kept this tiny battle running for so long. Apart from seclusion, the seraph surgeon-general should have (as all seraphs do) immortal longevity and be able to resurrect the fallen. This could be accomplished by forest-troll hospitaleers pulling dead bodies of allies out of the shaft and back to the deep forest where they could be returned to life (on some delay, obviously). Similarly, their foes should be able to keep in the fight somehow, but in the case of evil it could be that the Rock-troll warrens mother is exceptionally fertile, or that an imprisoned demon lord keeps the souls of the dead recycling through new bodies.
The waters surrounding the underground city should have some magical properties too, perhaps repairing damaged weapons to former glory (an allusion toward another way of bringing the dead back, though it would be completely unused by rank-and-file warriors, a warren mother or the warrior-king himself could do the "dirty" work of going near the water). The whole city is probably completely agressive, in all likelihood.
Something like that idea is just an idea, but it's a launching point for old wizards if they want a large project, or a starting point for new wizards if they'd like to test their mettle. Nothing is determined outright, but it gives a platform for testing if someone wants to pick up the torch. There are also a number of areas available for both one-time quests (inform the surgeon-general *heh* that the war is ended... No, really. Get Celeborn involved; Free the ghost of the child trapped in a cave-in; Destroy the water source or faerie giving it magical qualities, or more) as well as presenting a line for a number of numerous-use quests (Retrieve water from the underground spring for -whatever-; Move the Rock-troll's offensive front crustward -it can always surge the other way-; Kill the warrior-king -without destruction of the spring, he always returns-).
If we as a player body are filling the heads of our programmers with ideas, they might be inspired to follow through on something.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#144 - 11/29/07 08:11 PM
Re: Day-to-day, we're okay, but where are the events?
[Re: Muod]
|
carmy
member
Registered: 10/14/07
Posts: 164
Loc: South Korea
|
Just think back maybe 1 year ago when Din had his PK tournament thing. Seriously, there were like 35 people on or something (can't remember exactly) and everyone was having a great time, coming together to actually do something. If we had an RP wiz, or anything at all that made the game a little different than the 'cast 15 spells - go kill mobs - cast 15 spells - go kill mobs' routine, I could see the pbase slowly increasing, or at least attracting some of the old pbase that left.
I don't think that Harold could do it alone though (no offense Harold). It's a lot of work, it would be nice to have more than 1 active admin/wiz, Madoc was good when he was around too, but he just got burnt out, and stopped logging in. I wouldn't want something like that to happen to a potentially awesome wiz.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#151 - 11/30/07 08:27 AM
Re: Day-to-day, we're okay, but where are the events?
[Re: carmy]
|
Cerberus
addict
Registered: 11/28/07
Posts: 608
Loc: Arlee, MT, USA
|
None taken, Carmy.
I'm of the same mindset. The attractions Darke currently boasts are plentiful, but they aren't the sort of attractions that make people want to be actively involved in the mud's life, as it were. Casting 15 spells, killing mobs, and repeating is fun - especially when you earn that new level, or get a shiny new weapon made, or whatever other goals you make for yourself - but it's not much different from playing online chess.
Events that have 'like 35 people' involved make the mud feel alive. People flock to something out of the ordinary, if even only to break the routine for a minute and wander away. Players have a great many resources available to make these things happen already, but without staff dedicated to the base of players it's hard to motivate anyone to make the effort required.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#187 - 12/01/07 12:56 AM
Re: Day-to-day, we're okay, but where are the events?
[Re: Cerberus]
|
carmy
member
Registered: 10/14/07
Posts: 164
Loc: South Korea
|
Nobody wants to play a game where you do the exact same thing over and over again though. Think about it... I've been HM, I've had everything I could have possibly wanted. I've been in a position where (when I was trying) people couldn't kill me. I feel like I've done just about everything I could want to do with the game, and it's not changing. There aren't even cosmetic changes anymore. The tinker guild had a change, but I never liked tinkers anyway heh. Darke is a glorified chatroom for me at this point.
I remember when I started my cleric, I was SO excited to go to Dregan's area with Shags, and the first time, second time and even the tenth time we went together it was cool and exciting. Well, even that gets old after a while, especially when you can sit there and do it alone all you want. At least before when you went to Dregan's, there was a small chance along the way you'd lose your armour, have to take a corpseless and I have lost armour and had over 100dc numerous times. Now? There's nothing intimidating about it.
It just seems at least to the pbase that nothing's happening in the least, and if that isn't the case, then someone should be posting something in the news so players don't feel so out of the loop. You need players to have a MUD, without players, there's nothing.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#234 - 12/02/07 11:31 PM
Re: Day-to-day, we're okay, but where are the events?
[Re: carmy]
|
Cerberus
addict
Registered: 11/28/07
Posts: 608
Loc: Arlee, MT, USA
|
That's a fully valid point. As I recall, it's one of the reasons why static QP-granting quests were removed. People knew how they operated, and ran newbies through them for a quick jump on the game. Change simply for the sake of change is frequently exciting, if not always in the best interest of the whole. That being said, goals are the heart and soul of playing Darke to me.
I agree with Carmy that as you complete more and more goals, you run out of new things to keep you enmeshed in the day-to-day life of the mud. This mud in particular boasts an infinite leveling system, but doesn't support reasons to level at more than an adequate rate. Areas should have both risk and reward, draws in-and-of-themselves, and potential drawbacks from going to them (but not from not-going, which ties back in with static quests being a poor solution).
Is it just me, or do the "big" changes immediately proceed a relative inactivity of admin? I'm probably wrong, but it seems like the last few changes that have seemed like something that would need to be tweaked and carefully monitored over the course of some months as the ripples and ramifications are discovered have gone implemented, and then ignored. Save on ghost? Tinker guild revamp?
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
|
15
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
19
|
20
|
21
|
|
22
|
23
|
24
|
25
|
26
|
27
|
28
|
|
29
|
30
|
31
|
|
|
|
|
|
83 Members
33 Forums
335 Topics
2543 Posts
Max Online: 3154 @ 05/18/25 09:45 AM
|
|
|
