MMO Communities (was RE: [MUD-Dev] MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?)

[cruise]

Douglas Goodall wrote:
> John Arras wrote:

>> And that's EXACTLY why I post onto this list every once in a
>> while. Who cares if nobody's gotten this right? If you find it
>> interesting (as I do) then try things. Try to come up with ideas
>> about how to implement. Write code. Test. Make mistakes. Instead
>> of thinking that you "just didn't do it right", think of it as
>> "you just didn't do it right, yet".

> I think some problems are unsolvable. For instance:

>  1) Players want to find good mobs to kill quickly.

>  2) Players want to change the world.

> I don't see how these can be reconciled. My system allowed mobs of
> various kinds and levels to spawn in different places and move
> around. Mobs reacted to the players, both directly and indirectly
> (i.e. kill rabbits and there are less rabbits... and there are
> also less wolves and more grass). This did, indeed, give the world
> a very dynamic feel. Yesterday's hunting grounds were often
> barren. A zone was never twice the same. But this prevented
> players from finding good mobs to kill in a reasonable
> time. Instead of just having the travel time from a meeting place
> to a well known camp, players had to spend most of their time
> looking for a camp. Once a good spot was found (and its location
> revealed in chat), it was quickly filled with players and just as
> quickly emptied of mobs. Fighting mobs can be fun. Hunting for
> mobs can be fun. But wandering around aimlessly (at typical MMORPG
> travel speeds...) is never fun.

> This could be solved with some kind of "hunting" skill that gave
> clues, but that's Yet Another Skill that a group (or solo player)
> requires. It could be solved with stricter limits on the
> population sim, but that makes the world less dynamic and begs the
> question of using a population sim in the first place.

Well, it depends on how many skills players can have, but I don't
see that being a problem per se - most non-combat skills in MMOG's
are next to useless anyway. Scouts might actually get to /be/ scouts
for a change, rather than "the class that uses bows."

Secondly, simply have NPC scouts/quest givers who provide players
with an appropriate hunting ground for their tastes. This allows you
to control access to the various locations - you can keep track of
how many groups have been assigned to each area, and minimise
overhunting.

Saga of Ryzom seems to trying a similarly dynamic world, at least
from their website (I haven't played the beta sufficiently to see it
in action), but there is definately a much more "natural" feel to
the fauna so far. As the previous poster said, just because we
haven't got it right yet, doesn't mean we can't.  And I think it's
certainly something worth trying for.

--
[ cruise / casual-tempest.net / transference.org ]
   "quantam sufficit"
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