[MUD-Dev] Player malleable worlds (was expected value and sta ndard deviation)

[Daniel.Harman at barclayscapital.com]

From: Chanur Silvarian [mailto:chanur at guildsite.com]
>> From Daniel Harman:

>> Oh come off it, the average player is utterly incapable of
>> creating content anyone but their mum would be interested
>> in. Even professionals frequently get it wrong.

> I believe that the key word is "average".  The average player
> cannot write a macro in EQ or SWG, but does that mean the
> capability should be eliminated?  Just because the "average
> player" can't create it does not mean that "players" cannot.

> There is a second key word here, "compelling".  Unless you define
> "compelling" in some non-subjective way then you already know that
> nobody can succeed in your challenge.  What is compelling to one
> person may or may not be to another.  I cited a small example of
> my own content from UO and its limited tools.  The tools that NWN
> gave to players has made for some beautiful content.  Sure, NWN is
> not an MMO but it is multiplayer and it is an example of some very
> compelling player created content.

Developers have a finite amount of resources to develop a game. When
evaluating where these resources are deployed decisions have to be
made about what gets the chop and what doesn't. Whilst it would be
lovely to create many and varied tools for allowing players to
create dungeons, gfx & etc, unless the developer is fairly sure its
going to work, they aren't likely to invest the resources needed.

Whilst NWN is held up as the poster child of player generated
content, the actual amount that's even close to as good as the
included quests is vanishingly small.

> Why deny the ability to sit in a chair?  Why deny the ability to
> put a plate of cookies on a table and allow people sitting around
> the chair to "eat" the cookies?  Why deny the ability to write a
> few pages of text in a book that can then be set on a shelf for
> others to read later?  Why deny the ability to drop an object
> (sword, ring, shirt, whatever) onto the ground and have it
> actually look like its title rather than a bag?

Well that problem is all down to technical limitations in 3d gfx &
the development teams art pipeline! Having a model for every
possible item would generate a lot more work & cost - in EQ they
don't have models for any items! Beyond the creation issue, you also
have the problem of working set size on the gfx card. Gfx cards only
have a finite amount of memory, and managing thousands of potential
object meshes/textures on top of character & environment
meshes/textures is a herculanean task. As soon as you load more onto
the card than it can store in its RAM, welcome to slide show mode.

So apart from books, the things you are asking for whilst trivial in
a 2d engine, are very hard in a 3d engine. Especially if you want a
lot of item diversity and system specs that exclude most players.

Dan
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