[MUD-Dev] AI not worth doing in our games?

[Daniel.Harman at barclayscapital.com]

From: Damion Schubert [mailto:damion at ninjaneering.com] 
> From Daniel.Harman at barclayscapital.com
 
>> Each time a developer streamlines an MMO, they keep prunning off
>> whole branches of decision trees. Then they wonder why people
>> find them boring?
 
> This statement is very, very succinct.  I found that AC2 lost me
> because they removed the need to sell items at all.

That's one of their mistakes, yes. I actually quite liked having a
reason to go back to town, delving through npc inventories, bumping
into people who aren't on their way somewhere else etc. I suppose
that the AC developers underestimated quite how big a branch they
took their chainsaw to.

>> Hell, even if its not fun, at least it engages the brain a little
>> more than hitting combine/autoattack and watching Southpark.
 
> Fair enough.  Your trolls are now all staying in their zone, never
> going more than another zone away and intermingling with other
> players, as its no longer the shortest way to the cheese.  Is this
> good?  Up to you.  I personally would rather see well-mixed
> parties, have players feel the freedom to choose an avatar that
> expresses themselves, and not let any system get in the way of
> their social interactions.

I completely disagree on this. Trolls won't stay in their home zone
unless its completely sufficient for all their needs until they
finish playing the game. The only game where I have played races
with faction issues is EQ (in fact why are faction systems so rare,
it's a great idea and one of EQs key innovations). I know for a fact
that people don't stick to their home zones just because of a
faction problem. Just like everyone else, I used to load up bags
full of pies, milk and zillions of arrows before heading out into
the big wide world. Then, once they'd been consumed, I'd make a trip
back to the old homeland. I used to really enjoy the trips back. It
really felt like a homecoming seeing the npcs I'd got newbie quests
from, casually killing the monsters that used to strike fear into my
heart back in the day (a valuable reminder that you have increased
in power).

Should I run out of food and not be in the mood to go home, then I
would just buy some from another player. That wasn't hard either. In
fact past level 10 people would just give you it mostly.

Anyway, if you don't like that, don't play a troll.

In genuinely feel that having a certain amount of busy work is a
good thing.  If you've taken a break from the game and don't have
any immediate high level goals. It means that when you finally log
in, at least you can do the busy work whilst trying to re-integrate
back into the game. At least that's how it has worked for me. Its
also an opportunity to chat with friends when you are less
busy. Smack autorun, point yourself towards town and look up a
friend you haven't had time to talk to for a while.

Its all entertainment.

Dan
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