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MMOs / Re: [VSOH] Brad McQuaid & State of the Game
« am: 05. November 2006, 12:22:59 »
Noch ganz warm vom Beta-Board (NDA interessiert mich nicht, ich spiele eh nicht mehr...)
State of the Game
- Ready for testing:
The low and mid levels on Qalia are the best places to test the game right now as they are the closest to being considered complete. You can now level up to 40 in new areas like the River Valley and Jharru regions.
Diplomacy newbie content is ready in about half of all starting areas, and we’ve recently ramped up production to get all starting areas up and running as soon as possible. It is available in: Mekalia, Hathor Zhi, and Khal. Coming soon for Lomshir, Qur’xa, and the rest of Khal.
The sorcerer is the first class to receive a full iterative pass and is now live and ready for testing. The druid will follow, and the Necromancer is in the works now. Yes, we know the necromancer is ridiculously overpowered.
Crafting is functional in all starting areas on the game and we are adding new recipes and items every patch.
- Feedback we are looking for:
We are primarily concerned with newbie and mid level encounters on Qalia.
We need feedback on all game play spheres. Are the mechanics solid? Are the systems intuitive and easy to use? Is there enough variety and depth?
What encounters do you like or dislike and why? Is a certain camp too difficult for the level range? Should specific areas require more or less people to successfully complete? Is there enough solo and group content to keep you busy?
What quests are really good, and which are really bad? Surely the ‘kill X beavers and bring me 10 beaver tails’ aren’t your favorite, but are there enough other quests to keep you busy? Do any quests in particular really stand out and why?
Does the content flow naturally and intuitively? For instance, does the flow in Lomshir to Serpent of Sihari, to Sea Hag Grotto, to Temple of Dailuk, to the Mage Cultists and onward feel well paced? Is it clear how to move from location to location? Are there enough outposts, merchants, trainers, etc available along the way?
Are the proper tools in place for fostering community? Is the LFG functionality adequate or lacking? Is it difficult to find a group? Are encounters; and therefore people, spread too far out?
We realize that performance is not great right now, but are there areas where it is just unacceptably poor or strangely great?
Do any NPCs act strangely? Are creatures disappearing through walls or terrain?
Are the main threats for each starting area or race clearly defined? Do you feel connected to your village or outpost? If not why? This is important!
- Feedback we are NOT looking for:
‘Stuck’ mobs do not need to be reported.
Broad generalizations are not helpful, try and be specific. Telling us the bard is horrible, when the real issue is the bard’s choice of weapons at low levels isn’t implemented properly or there is incredibly more helpful.
Mid and high level areas are basically not ready for serious testing right now. An exception might be Trengal Keep which is somewhat ready. Please adventure in these areas at your own risk with the understanding that they are likely not balanced properly.
Comparing the game to other games is fine, but we need to know how Vanguard stands on its own.
If you include any of the following words in a post you are likely to be ignored: hardcore, carebear, wowified, vanboi, failure, casual, core, retarded, lame, nerfed.
- Issues we are aware of:
Performance is bad, we know this. It needs far more attention and is being worked on constantly.
Diplomacy is not in all starting cities yet.
Reactions, Counters, and Rescues are not working yet which makes combat times and encounters skewed.
The death penalty feels ‘light’ and is being addressed. Players need to avoid dying and fear it. Trust me, you will when you see the new penalties. We will of course continue to tweak and tune this as beta unfolds.
Combat times are being tuned and will change many more times.
The difficulty of encounters is constantly being tuned and will change throughout beta.
Itemization needs to be more cohesive with less ‘magical’ items at the lower levels and better scaling across the board. We’ve had several discussions and we are moving forward with several changes coming soon.
Quest experience rewards are out of whack and this is being addressed.
People fear TLC and BOE. We realize these ‘solutions’ solve many problems, but cause concern for many players. We are brainstorming ways to solve the problems of farming, mudflation, camping, bottom feeding, and general jackassery that an open, non-instanced world provides to the player base.
We are constantly working on ‘The Hook’. While this is something difficult to clearly define, players know when it is missing. So do we. If you are interested, here is my personal take on what ‘the hook’ in the beginning is:
Sense of purpose globally and locally.
Sense of political hierarchy and religious beliefs.
Sense of community – local and regional.
Established threats – both direct and perceived.
Feeling that player can make a change in the situation.
Player is free to alter his position politically and religiously with the ability to reestablish himself in a new community – with documented benefits/consequences.
Feeling of growth and achievement as character advances.
Sense of accomplishment is earned from reaching goals and attaining rights of passage.
- Place Holders:
There are placeholder NPCs all over, especially in the higher level areas of the River Valley/Palace and Jharru region. Many creatures on Qalia are in the pipeline but not quite ready yet.
We’ve fallen behind on much of the voice recording so A LOT of it is still temporary. I know this sucks, I hate it as well.
Many icons, including the ones on the diplomacy cards are temporary and will change as the art assets get added to the game.
- Coming down the pipe soon:
We should be opening Martok early next week. It is currently undergoing internal testing before we open it up. This will hopefully help alleviate some of the newbie congestion on Qalia right now with Thestra still closed. You will be able to level up to 15-20 before having to leave for Qalia or Thestra.
The revamp for Bordinar’s Cleft, Leth Nurae, Tursh, and Rindol Field is almost complete. Basically every newbie area on Thestra received a facelift, in some cases major, and tons of new content. The flow of these areas is now completely different and tuned. We are targeting mid November as the date to reopen these areas.
With the revamp of the low content on Thestra comes many new and revisited adventure areas. The Brownie Storehouse is now much bigger with a wider array of inhabitants.
There is a new menace in Tursh. You’ll see it when you log in so I won’t spoil it here.
We’ve added a new premiere dungeon to the southern highlands; the Vault of Heroes. This is a new dungeon outside Lake Carlsson that should help unite Barbarians, Lesser Giants and Vulmane against a common threat.
The Arcanium is a new premiere area that helps tie the Kaon threat from the Fallen Lyceum all the way to Leth Nurae.
Dungeons from Spiders Bluff have been moved and repopulated outside a newly created Veskal’s Exchange in the Eastern Elven Forest. This creates a great new locale for teen level players to adventure before heading into the Fallen Lyceum and really helps cement the story arc here.
New NPCs that are now available: Anda’khar creatures have replaced the gargoyle in Kurashasa areas. Dune Crawlers, Behemoths, Jharru Casters, Jharru Warriors, along with FOUR delicious types of brownies are now in! Metal Golems, Elite Metal Golems, Winged Eyes, Venomous Frogs, Flesh Golems, Lampreys, Dire Crabs, Coral Walkers, and Wyverns should be appearing soon.
Kojan is coming along slower than expected. We put parts of it on hold when we decided to tackle Thestra revamps first. While Martok and the surrounding areas will open next week, Tanvu and Youngtree Forest are still several weeks out. The good news is that they are next on the schedule as soon as we wrap on Leth Nurae, Veskal’s Exchange, and Vault of Heroes.
Quests for ship building should be in.
NPC driven ships are coming along and should be in very soon. This means inter and intercontinental ferries will be appearing at major ports.
The diplomacy team has been tweaking with decks and formulas making parley actions less predictable and more interesting.
- Coming down the pipe longer term:
Unique racial animations for walking, running, and idling have started. I witnessed a few new running animations last night for larger and smaller races.
The min/max proportions keep getting bumped so keep making your ugly characters for now.
We are expecting roughly 4 – 6 new hairstyles for each race and gender. These are trickling in, and will continue to do so until they are complete.
All mounts should be done and in. The quests and means to acquire them are being worked on; especially the higher level flying ones.
Optimizations are ongoing, but a pass to get indoor world lighting, rendering, and asset loading are high on the list. The coders are working on lessening the hitching when you look through or open a door. I can’t wait for this!
Retooling the particle engine to offer artists a more robust system for generating spell effects and environmental effects is on the schedule and coming. We now have the ability to reverse projectiles, scale emitters, create beams and ‘God’ rays, and a bunch of new flashy stuff. You will see these as we unveil the new class revamps.
Housing variety and guild halls for each continent are being worked on along with a myriad of furnishings and housing features. The furniture is basically done and being implemented. The variety is insane.
PvP is still being worked on, it hasn’t been forgotten about.
__________________
Nick Parkinson
Community Manager
Sigil Games Online
State of the Game
- Ready for testing:
The low and mid levels on Qalia are the best places to test the game right now as they are the closest to being considered complete. You can now level up to 40 in new areas like the River Valley and Jharru regions.
Diplomacy newbie content is ready in about half of all starting areas, and we’ve recently ramped up production to get all starting areas up and running as soon as possible. It is available in: Mekalia, Hathor Zhi, and Khal. Coming soon for Lomshir, Qur’xa, and the rest of Khal.
The sorcerer is the first class to receive a full iterative pass and is now live and ready for testing. The druid will follow, and the Necromancer is in the works now. Yes, we know the necromancer is ridiculously overpowered.
Crafting is functional in all starting areas on the game and we are adding new recipes and items every patch.
- Feedback we are looking for:
We are primarily concerned with newbie and mid level encounters on Qalia.
We need feedback on all game play spheres. Are the mechanics solid? Are the systems intuitive and easy to use? Is there enough variety and depth?
What encounters do you like or dislike and why? Is a certain camp too difficult for the level range? Should specific areas require more or less people to successfully complete? Is there enough solo and group content to keep you busy?
What quests are really good, and which are really bad? Surely the ‘kill X beavers and bring me 10 beaver tails’ aren’t your favorite, but are there enough other quests to keep you busy? Do any quests in particular really stand out and why?
Does the content flow naturally and intuitively? For instance, does the flow in Lomshir to Serpent of Sihari, to Sea Hag Grotto, to Temple of Dailuk, to the Mage Cultists and onward feel well paced? Is it clear how to move from location to location? Are there enough outposts, merchants, trainers, etc available along the way?
Are the proper tools in place for fostering community? Is the LFG functionality adequate or lacking? Is it difficult to find a group? Are encounters; and therefore people, spread too far out?
We realize that performance is not great right now, but are there areas where it is just unacceptably poor or strangely great?
Do any NPCs act strangely? Are creatures disappearing through walls or terrain?
Are the main threats for each starting area or race clearly defined? Do you feel connected to your village or outpost? If not why? This is important!
- Feedback we are NOT looking for:
‘Stuck’ mobs do not need to be reported.
Broad generalizations are not helpful, try and be specific. Telling us the bard is horrible, when the real issue is the bard’s choice of weapons at low levels isn’t implemented properly or there is incredibly more helpful.
Mid and high level areas are basically not ready for serious testing right now. An exception might be Trengal Keep which is somewhat ready. Please adventure in these areas at your own risk with the understanding that they are likely not balanced properly.
Comparing the game to other games is fine, but we need to know how Vanguard stands on its own.
If you include any of the following words in a post you are likely to be ignored: hardcore, carebear, wowified, vanboi, failure, casual, core, retarded, lame, nerfed.
- Issues we are aware of:
Performance is bad, we know this. It needs far more attention and is being worked on constantly.
Diplomacy is not in all starting cities yet.
Reactions, Counters, and Rescues are not working yet which makes combat times and encounters skewed.
The death penalty feels ‘light’ and is being addressed. Players need to avoid dying and fear it. Trust me, you will when you see the new penalties. We will of course continue to tweak and tune this as beta unfolds.
Combat times are being tuned and will change many more times.
The difficulty of encounters is constantly being tuned and will change throughout beta.
Itemization needs to be more cohesive with less ‘magical’ items at the lower levels and better scaling across the board. We’ve had several discussions and we are moving forward with several changes coming soon.
Quest experience rewards are out of whack and this is being addressed.
People fear TLC and BOE. We realize these ‘solutions’ solve many problems, but cause concern for many players. We are brainstorming ways to solve the problems of farming, mudflation, camping, bottom feeding, and general jackassery that an open, non-instanced world provides to the player base.
We are constantly working on ‘The Hook’. While this is something difficult to clearly define, players know when it is missing. So do we. If you are interested, here is my personal take on what ‘the hook’ in the beginning is:
Sense of purpose globally and locally.
Sense of political hierarchy and religious beliefs.
Sense of community – local and regional.
Established threats – both direct and perceived.
Feeling that player can make a change in the situation.
Player is free to alter his position politically and religiously with the ability to reestablish himself in a new community – with documented benefits/consequences.
Feeling of growth and achievement as character advances.
Sense of accomplishment is earned from reaching goals and attaining rights of passage.
- Place Holders:
There are placeholder NPCs all over, especially in the higher level areas of the River Valley/Palace and Jharru region. Many creatures on Qalia are in the pipeline but not quite ready yet.
We’ve fallen behind on much of the voice recording so A LOT of it is still temporary. I know this sucks, I hate it as well.
Many icons, including the ones on the diplomacy cards are temporary and will change as the art assets get added to the game.
- Coming down the pipe soon:
We should be opening Martok early next week. It is currently undergoing internal testing before we open it up. This will hopefully help alleviate some of the newbie congestion on Qalia right now with Thestra still closed. You will be able to level up to 15-20 before having to leave for Qalia or Thestra.
The revamp for Bordinar’s Cleft, Leth Nurae, Tursh, and Rindol Field is almost complete. Basically every newbie area on Thestra received a facelift, in some cases major, and tons of new content. The flow of these areas is now completely different and tuned. We are targeting mid November as the date to reopen these areas.
With the revamp of the low content on Thestra comes many new and revisited adventure areas. The Brownie Storehouse is now much bigger with a wider array of inhabitants.
There is a new menace in Tursh. You’ll see it when you log in so I won’t spoil it here.
We’ve added a new premiere dungeon to the southern highlands; the Vault of Heroes. This is a new dungeon outside Lake Carlsson that should help unite Barbarians, Lesser Giants and Vulmane against a common threat.
The Arcanium is a new premiere area that helps tie the Kaon threat from the Fallen Lyceum all the way to Leth Nurae.
Dungeons from Spiders Bluff have been moved and repopulated outside a newly created Veskal’s Exchange in the Eastern Elven Forest. This creates a great new locale for teen level players to adventure before heading into the Fallen Lyceum and really helps cement the story arc here.
New NPCs that are now available: Anda’khar creatures have replaced the gargoyle in Kurashasa areas. Dune Crawlers, Behemoths, Jharru Casters, Jharru Warriors, along with FOUR delicious types of brownies are now in! Metal Golems, Elite Metal Golems, Winged Eyes, Venomous Frogs, Flesh Golems, Lampreys, Dire Crabs, Coral Walkers, and Wyverns should be appearing soon.
Kojan is coming along slower than expected. We put parts of it on hold when we decided to tackle Thestra revamps first. While Martok and the surrounding areas will open next week, Tanvu and Youngtree Forest are still several weeks out. The good news is that they are next on the schedule as soon as we wrap on Leth Nurae, Veskal’s Exchange, and Vault of Heroes.
Quests for ship building should be in.
NPC driven ships are coming along and should be in very soon. This means inter and intercontinental ferries will be appearing at major ports.
The diplomacy team has been tweaking with decks and formulas making parley actions less predictable and more interesting.
- Coming down the pipe longer term:
Unique racial animations for walking, running, and idling have started. I witnessed a few new running animations last night for larger and smaller races.
The min/max proportions keep getting bumped so keep making your ugly characters for now.
We are expecting roughly 4 – 6 new hairstyles for each race and gender. These are trickling in, and will continue to do so until they are complete.
All mounts should be done and in. The quests and means to acquire them are being worked on; especially the higher level flying ones.
Optimizations are ongoing, but a pass to get indoor world lighting, rendering, and asset loading are high on the list. The coders are working on lessening the hitching when you look through or open a door. I can’t wait for this!
Retooling the particle engine to offer artists a more robust system for generating spell effects and environmental effects is on the schedule and coming. We now have the ability to reverse projectiles, scale emitters, create beams and ‘God’ rays, and a bunch of new flashy stuff. You will see these as we unveil the new class revamps.
Housing variety and guild halls for each continent are being worked on along with a myriad of furnishings and housing features. The furniture is basically done and being implemented. The variety is insane.
PvP is still being worked on, it hasn’t been forgotten about.
__________________
Nick Parkinson
Community Manager
Sigil Games Online
