[MUD-Dev] Spawning and quests (was Sony ban)

[Paul Schwanz - Enterprise Services]

Jeff said:
> The way the dungeons are designed is equally frustrating:  All fixed spawn
> locations, but with a level spread from Way Too Easy to Way Too Hard.
> Instead of exploring a dungeon from Top to Bottom, you walk in until you
> hit a spot beyond which you will die.  Everything behind you is too easy.
> Everything ahead is too hard.  So you squat and kill the same thing over
> and over.  When you level up a couple times, then you can move to the next
> spot.

Regarding spawning, has anyone seriously considered or implemented a system 
in which mobs only spawn where heroes are not present?  Perhaps even an 
algorithm which scans a region for "natural predators" to be used in 
determining "reproduction" levels.  This might even be a nice eco-system 
experiment with populations sizes based on available food, shelter, etc. in 
addition to predators.  Maybe even a "monster food chain."  Could be fun. :-)

 
> Static quests for generic items:  Take the monk quest to get three putrid
> rib bones for a magic headband.  Here's the quest:  "Go camp the ruins
> until you have killed the same putrid skeletons over and over again, for
> about six hours."  I kid you not, it literally takes that long.  Not so bad
> though, because while you are parked there in the same spot for six hours
> (maybe with a cleric, who also needs to camp there for hours on end for one
> of their guild quests), you can kill three different KINDS of skeletons.

Yes...it seems that many developers confuse easily programmable activities 
with fun activities.  Is anyone really doing _epic_ quests?  Why not?  It 
seems to me that Frodo's ring would be good fodder for such a quest.  One 
half of the world could try to prevent the other half from moving an object 
from one corner of the map to another...it works for football.  :-)

--Phinehas


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                Paul E. Schwanz, II          
                Email: paul.schwanz at east.sun.com
 
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