[MUD-Dev] SOC DGN - Spawn locations

[Brian Miller]

Michael Hartman wrote:

> There is virtually zero socialization. It is the quietest,
> loneliest MMORPG I have ever played, and I've played tons.

> It feels like a single player game the majority of the time.

>>  Lesson: You never know what will or will not work until someone
>>  tries it.

> Very true.

> Conclusion from the Lesson: CoH tried it and it doesn't work.

I would have to disagree.  I don't believe that spawn locations have
anything to do with the 'quiet' feel of the game with regards to
player-player interaction.  I personally do not find the game lonely
at all and am never at a loss for socialization.

The primary reason for concealing spawn locations is to put the
mechanics a little bit more behind the curtain and raise the level
of immersion and believablility not to make a game more 'social'.

The CoH spawn system partially succeed.  Never materializing mobs
out of nowhere in front of the player was a good start.  The system
works well as far as that goes.  However once the mobs do spawn they
do either nothing much at all or appear in fiction breaking
situations such as 3 thugs trying to rob a little old lady and no
matter how long you stand and watch they will remain in that same
tug of war unable to win or loose until a player intervenes.  Also
giving the mobs that spawn a purpose and making the truly mobile
instead of just hanging around their spawn location would make NPC
and setting portion of the game feel much more alive.

Even though they did not completely succeed in this specific area
they have clearly gone much further than any of the other games so
far and have proven it can be done, it can work, and it does provide
value.
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