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Day One - thoughts and suggestions on the game

Neon Espresso

Visitor
Stratics Veteran
Just some thoughts and suggestions on the game after my first day of play.

The Tutorial Cave

As far as tutorials go, the starter cave seems to do a very good job of introducing new players to various aspects of gameplay. By the time I left, I had recipes, a ranged and melee weapon with several abilities, and knowledge of the kinds of traps, puzzles, and NPC interactions I can expect to see in the game. While the steady flow of new gameplay elements kept me interested, the cave design itself was a place I had been a hundred times before.

Meh Mobs - I'd like to suggest starting with something other than skeletons and rats. They're a big red flag that says "Nothing new to see here."

Cave appearance - This is the player's first impression of the game, and it's both long and unchanging in appearance. I'd be willing to be that halfway through, most players who would otherwise be interested in this game would be already wondering "When do I get out of here?" Turning on the mini-map or introducing players to it about halfway through might help. For the completionist, it shows the places they haven't been yet. For the explorer, there's the discovery of paths that aren't on the map, encouraging further exploration later in the game. For the player that feels it's dragging, it shows that there is an end in sight.​


Free, at last!

When the player leaves the cave, the contrast in both color and lighting makes for a very welcome scene. Before the player lies the city and to the left both mobs and resources are visible. The player has the feeling of choice (explore or head to town), and since these opportunities are presented to them without arrows, markers or signs, there isn't the feeling of being on rails or being guided. For me, it's a welcome sense of freedom.

Meh Mobs... again. - These mob choices seem really odd coming from an ex-AC developer. Part of the wonder of AC was that each creature the new player met was completely alien to them, with attack type and threat level yet to be discovered. We're over a decade and several scores of MMOs into the genre. The wolf/spider/rat/skeleton thing just seems so uninspired at this point.

Fleeing a mistake - The green guardian and tigers taught me to think carefully before I shoot, but there was also the possibility of escaping them which was a welcome experience. I do plan to be back for them again later. ;)

Town - The NPCs have something interesting to say and they are willing to take items off your hands for various non-cash rewards. The vendor windows were different from the layout of most MMO vendors, but it was intuitive and worked well, which rocks. :) The shops need signs or images on them. Maybe they were there, but I didn't notice them so bigger or more obvious might help. I know there are some who feel I should GTFB2WoW for suggesting that, but I don't believe there has been a single town of shops anywhere ever since the beginning of written history where shops didn't have something to indicate what they were selling inside.​

Anyway, by accident of disorder, my 'shroom skill is 10 points (one gather) shy of being able to pick any shrooms around town, so I'm off to resume my 'shroom hunt for some first-tier 'shroomage.
 
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Gestankfaust

Visitor
Stratics Veteran
"The wolf/spider/rat/skeleton thing just seems so uninspired at this point."

But what would you do to replace them? We have to have starter mobs right? I know we've seen them all, but that's fantasy MMOs for you. They could rename them, and that has been done, but never changed a thing.
 

ErasmusPrime

Visitor
Stratics Veteran
Why not more mobs that seem somewhat associated with the character creation cut scene in the newbie dungeon? It is rather disjointed now that I think about it.
 

Helio

Visitor
Stratics Veteran
I've always thought brain bugs were super cool. The way they waddle along is hilarious. Maybe weaker versions of brain bugs could be in the tutorial cave, though I think having enemies that increase power costs in there is a bad idea, since power is such an issue in the very, very beginning.
 

Neon Espresso

Visitor
Stratics Veteran
"The wolf/spider/rat/skeleton thing just seems so uninspired at this point."

But what would you do to replace them? We have to have starter mobs right? I know we've seen them all, but that's fantasy MMOs for you. They could rename them, and that has been done, but never changed a thing.
See: Asheron's Call

The first mobs I encountered in that game were Shreth, Drudges, Armoredillos, and Reedsharks. They all had unique looks, behavior and attack types. Long-time MMO gamers that played AC probably couldn't tell you anything memorable about their first encounters in most MMOs, but they probably have a story and a half about the first time a pack of reedsharks chased them down or the multiple attempts trying to sneak around an armoredillo between them and the dungeon they were trying to get to.
 
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Neofit

Visitor
Stratics Veteran
I didn't mind seeing these mobs. It's like a bit of tongue in cheek humour. Actually it was a welcome "back to basics", old-school and what have you moment. I am not expecting to fight anything uber, even in appearance, inside a tutorial dungeon. And beside, I barely remember the last times I actually had to kill rats for a living. EQ1 out of Freeport? EQ2 Freeport sewers? I think that's it, everyone is too cool for rats these days :).
 

Neon Espresso

Visitor
Stratics Veteran
Actually it was a welcome "back to basics", old-school and what have you moment.
That's the other problem with it. It's not just overdone, but overdone for so long that it gives the impression that the game is antiquated.

I fully understand that there are a few like you that see it as nostalgia, but even among the 'back to basics' crowd, the resounding sentiment is an interst in older mechanics and gameplay wrapped in a newer veneer. These mobs don't achieve that goal.
 

Neofit

Visitor
Stratics Veteran
That's the other problem with it. It's not just overdone, but overdone for so long that it gives the impression that the game is antiquate.

I fully understand that there are a few like you that see it as nostalgia, but even among the 'back to basics' crowd, the resounding sentiment is an interst in older mechanics and gameplay wrapped in a newer veneer. These mobs don't achieve that goal.
I still disagree with the overdone part. Having dog-faced humanoids with horns and calling them drudges doesn't change anything fundamentally. Most of the MMO crowd these days haven't even played a game with any of these "classic" mobs. Around me I see the usual European-style medieval fantasy world, and the regular classic mobs don't seem out of place. I know the trend nowadays is whatever the pedomanga gits are coming up with, but I am trying to stay as far away from them as I can. When I am at a graveyard by a church I am expecting to see skeletons with maybe a few zombies thrown in, not some fiery ostrich shooting lasers from its eyes. When I am in sewers - rats by all means, not pre-nubile cat faced lizards flashing panties :).
 

bdon

Visitor
Stratics Veteran
Personally when I think of dungeon monsters...skeletons, rats, spiders and orcs are what I think of. It's classic DnD lore. There isn't anything tougher than a skeleton warrior...unless its a grim reaper warrior... and lets be honest, that kind of brilliant idea belongs at end game ;)
 

Dodger

Certifiable
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Personally I would like to see new players transported straight into haven arena and forced to fight other youngs before being let out. It would give me the opportunity to start a book, taking bets on the outcome.
 
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