Dancingboner
Fledgling Freddie
- Joined
- May 15, 2005
- Messages
- 183
I decided a while back that DAoC was lacking in several areas, after talking to people about this many agreed with me. After taking time to put keyboard to notepad I decided to write up the product of such discussions. Its is all a very oppinionated affair, some of it may not even be possible. I am not a game programmer I don't know the limitations of technology but still. These are just ideas.
Note: This rant/ideas list was constructed from personal experience and conversations with others, as I'm a Mid lad most of the references are to midgard. Apologies to any scummy albs or hibs. Many of you may think that some of the things I mentioned are petty, thats fine. Everybody is entitled to their oppinions. But if Mythic wish to create an online world it should grow and flurish like a real world.
What would players that I have chatted to like to see in the future?
Well personally after discussing this subject with many, many people over a long period of time certain trends appear to exist.
First of all people want the game to look better. Its about time Mythic stopped flogging a dead horse in the new class area of the game and
gave DAoC a full facelift. When you compare DAoCs classic, SI and even TOA zones,in ANY client, in comparison to newer MMORPGs on the market such as WoW they deffinately appear to be lacking somewhat.
Wouldn't you like to feel a greater sense of realism? I know I would. The fact remains that when you swing your sword and hit somebody, there should be blood. At the moment there is no blood system. Adding blood would bring a new depth to the game, how you ask? Simple. A stealther PA's somebody - blood should FLY. The idea is that they have just slit your throat - blood should pool on the ground. When anybody walks through it, INCLUDING a stealther - a couple of bloody foot prints should follow. It'd give you a better idea where stealthers were lurking and add a more real scenario. To my knowledge war isn't clean.
The next subject that has come to my attention is pet release animation. To my knowledge ghosts can't die... so why when a spirit master releases
its pet does the spirit have a death animation? It should vanish with a *puff* of smoke. Enchanter pets. NICE - you summon a friend to help you. It is meant to be one of your kin. When you are finished with it you kill it. NICE! Should the pet not just run off when released?
Weather. Great. So DAoC has weather conditions, sometimes it rains, sometimes it snows.. other times the sun comes out. So why exactly when it snows in some regions, does the snow just fall through the ground texture? - When it snows in a cold country, such as Midgard is - snow sticks. Wouldn't it be nice for snow to stick, and then when the sun comes out for it to melt? I think so.
Btw, Rain + Sun = Rainbow <- a weather phenomenon drawn upon greatly in Irish (Hibernian) mythology.
Environment. Isnt it totally amazing how the environment NEVER changes. Sapplings that were sapplings 3 years ago when I first started playing - ARE STILL SAPPLINGS! Midgard has an infinate supply of wood for crafters, but where exactly is it coming from? I've not seen one tree fell in the last 36 months. For that matter, when the world was created DAoC apparently missed out on the bit where seasons were handed out. There is no autumn when great trees in Myrkwood drop their leaves. There is no summer with long days and shorter nights, there is no winter - infact it appears to be based on a random timer sun instantly turns to misty rain, followed by snow. Im not asking for them to create a system where by the world continiously changes itself. Whats wrong with felling a tree here, making a sappling slightly bigger there, making one tree appear to be dead here and another one there? These are simple changes that could be added with every new patch implemented to create the effect of a changing growing world and sort out seasons and better weather conditions?
Atmosphere? I think not. The ambient sound effects are poor. Great forests have no atmosphere. A forest such as Myrkwood should be eiree, its sound effects should include twigs snapping so you always think there is something behind you, great trees should creak in the wind. Oh yea, and get some new music, nuff said.
In other environments whats wrong with birdsong - Hibernia would suit birdsong - hey what would stop you putting in a few unkillable bird type mobs that fly around the sky and could be the source for this sound effect?
Bugs? Ha! Don't get me started. I've reported several bugs and am always replied to with the following message: "Its been added on a list that we will send to mythic to fix for a future patch" well as of yet. I've seen no patches to fix the bugs. Infact I still see people using the bugs every time I log on.
Server stability and lag? Oh boy... how annoying is it when you PAY for a service that you enjoy, however you are unable to use it properly due to issues beyond your own control. Then a GOA official has the audacity of stating on a message board "Its not our problem its probably a router out of our control and we can't make them fix it". Well if thats the case every time we get the insane lag I feel it only fair that we are compensated for every days lost play. YOur taking my money, i'm not getting a usable service, sort it out and don't fob me off. I mean ffs raids planned weeks in advance are ruined and you claim you can't do anything sucky imo.
If DAoC wants to survive another 3 years (as to my knowledge they have already stated there will be no "DAoC 2" - just reincarnations of the origional), then they need to get their fingers out. Make the game quirky - give it something that its rivals do not have.
People don't want new classes. People don't want new races. Most people don't want new worlds. Many people I have spoken to have never completed ML 1-10, many havent even got all their artifacts due to such poor drop rate as Healers Embrace etc. Adding extra things into the game only makes their mission to be the best seem even more impossible. People who have been playing the game from the start have more than 1 level 50. Well - most do. They don't want to have yet another sequence of events that they must do on each character.
Lets focus on making the game better than adding more content. I have no problem with adding content such as new quests for better rewards etc - from what I can see the game is impossible to complete anyway - it doesnt need extra content but theres no harm in adding new story lines - something that is completely optional and not required to have completed for a decent chance in RVR or PVP.
Once you have your first Lvl 50 RR12 ML10 character you got up to another 9 more that you can do the same for, and then there is the whole crafting affair. Some people even collect things. I knew a member of Excalibur who enjoyed collecting trophies. He was already level 50, had several legendary crafters and a semi-decent Realm Rank and found new fun and depths in the game by collecting things for his house.
Please Mythic don't try and run before you can walk. Focus on making a REALLY aesthetically pleasing, stable, quirky, enjoyable game with less bugs and stop it with all the bloody overpowered FOTM new classes. Lets be honest, you've got a very good base to start from.
New games such as WoW aren't killing DAoC. DAoC is doing a bloody good job of killing itself.
Ok. I'll shut up now.
If you wish to comment on any of these ideas be the comments positive or not. Please feel free to do so.
Before you post, when I refer to "people" these are only people I have spoken to. I do not profess to be the voice of the DAoC Community. Far from it.
Note: This rant/ideas list was constructed from personal experience and conversations with others, as I'm a Mid lad most of the references are to midgard. Apologies to any scummy albs or hibs. Many of you may think that some of the things I mentioned are petty, thats fine. Everybody is entitled to their oppinions. But if Mythic wish to create an online world it should grow and flurish like a real world.
What would players that I have chatted to like to see in the future?
Well personally after discussing this subject with many, many people over a long period of time certain trends appear to exist.
First of all people want the game to look better. Its about time Mythic stopped flogging a dead horse in the new class area of the game and
gave DAoC a full facelift. When you compare DAoCs classic, SI and even TOA zones,in ANY client, in comparison to newer MMORPGs on the market such as WoW they deffinately appear to be lacking somewhat.
Wouldn't you like to feel a greater sense of realism? I know I would. The fact remains that when you swing your sword and hit somebody, there should be blood. At the moment there is no blood system. Adding blood would bring a new depth to the game, how you ask? Simple. A stealther PA's somebody - blood should FLY. The idea is that they have just slit your throat - blood should pool on the ground. When anybody walks through it, INCLUDING a stealther - a couple of bloody foot prints should follow. It'd give you a better idea where stealthers were lurking and add a more real scenario. To my knowledge war isn't clean.
The next subject that has come to my attention is pet release animation. To my knowledge ghosts can't die... so why when a spirit master releases
its pet does the spirit have a death animation? It should vanish with a *puff* of smoke. Enchanter pets. NICE - you summon a friend to help you. It is meant to be one of your kin. When you are finished with it you kill it. NICE! Should the pet not just run off when released?
Weather. Great. So DAoC has weather conditions, sometimes it rains, sometimes it snows.. other times the sun comes out. So why exactly when it snows in some regions, does the snow just fall through the ground texture? - When it snows in a cold country, such as Midgard is - snow sticks. Wouldn't it be nice for snow to stick, and then when the sun comes out for it to melt? I think so.
Btw, Rain + Sun = Rainbow <- a weather phenomenon drawn upon greatly in Irish (Hibernian) mythology.
Environment. Isnt it totally amazing how the environment NEVER changes. Sapplings that were sapplings 3 years ago when I first started playing - ARE STILL SAPPLINGS! Midgard has an infinate supply of wood for crafters, but where exactly is it coming from? I've not seen one tree fell in the last 36 months. For that matter, when the world was created DAoC apparently missed out on the bit where seasons were handed out. There is no autumn when great trees in Myrkwood drop their leaves. There is no summer with long days and shorter nights, there is no winter - infact it appears to be based on a random timer sun instantly turns to misty rain, followed by snow. Im not asking for them to create a system where by the world continiously changes itself. Whats wrong with felling a tree here, making a sappling slightly bigger there, making one tree appear to be dead here and another one there? These are simple changes that could be added with every new patch implemented to create the effect of a changing growing world and sort out seasons and better weather conditions?
Atmosphere? I think not. The ambient sound effects are poor. Great forests have no atmosphere. A forest such as Myrkwood should be eiree, its sound effects should include twigs snapping so you always think there is something behind you, great trees should creak in the wind. Oh yea, and get some new music, nuff said.
In other environments whats wrong with birdsong - Hibernia would suit birdsong - hey what would stop you putting in a few unkillable bird type mobs that fly around the sky and could be the source for this sound effect?
Bugs? Ha! Don't get me started. I've reported several bugs and am always replied to with the following message: "Its been added on a list that we will send to mythic to fix for a future patch" well as of yet. I've seen no patches to fix the bugs. Infact I still see people using the bugs every time I log on.
Server stability and lag? Oh boy... how annoying is it when you PAY for a service that you enjoy, however you are unable to use it properly due to issues beyond your own control. Then a GOA official has the audacity of stating on a message board "Its not our problem its probably a router out of our control and we can't make them fix it". Well if thats the case every time we get the insane lag I feel it only fair that we are compensated for every days lost play. YOur taking my money, i'm not getting a usable service, sort it out and don't fob me off. I mean ffs raids planned weeks in advance are ruined and you claim you can't do anything sucky imo.
If DAoC wants to survive another 3 years (as to my knowledge they have already stated there will be no "DAoC 2" - just reincarnations of the origional), then they need to get their fingers out. Make the game quirky - give it something that its rivals do not have.
People don't want new classes. People don't want new races. Most people don't want new worlds. Many people I have spoken to have never completed ML 1-10, many havent even got all their artifacts due to such poor drop rate as Healers Embrace etc. Adding extra things into the game only makes their mission to be the best seem even more impossible. People who have been playing the game from the start have more than 1 level 50. Well - most do. They don't want to have yet another sequence of events that they must do on each character.
Lets focus on making the game better than adding more content. I have no problem with adding content such as new quests for better rewards etc - from what I can see the game is impossible to complete anyway - it doesnt need extra content but theres no harm in adding new story lines - something that is completely optional and not required to have completed for a decent chance in RVR or PVP.
Once you have your first Lvl 50 RR12 ML10 character you got up to another 9 more that you can do the same for, and then there is the whole crafting affair. Some people even collect things. I knew a member of Excalibur who enjoyed collecting trophies. He was already level 50, had several legendary crafters and a semi-decent Realm Rank and found new fun and depths in the game by collecting things for his house.
Please Mythic don't try and run before you can walk. Focus on making a REALLY aesthetically pleasing, stable, quirky, enjoyable game with less bugs and stop it with all the bloody overpowered FOTM new classes. Lets be honest, you've got a very good base to start from.
New games such as WoW aren't killing DAoC. DAoC is doing a bloody good job of killing itself.
Ok. I'll shut up now.
If you wish to comment on any of these ideas be the comments positive or not. Please feel free to do so.
Before you post, when I refer to "people" these are only people I have spoken to. I do not profess to be the voice of the DAoC Community. Far from it.
