I played Earth and Beyond for almost a year before jumping ship to SWG. I do hope the developers learn from E&B to make Space Expansion more interesting .. especially mining. It's good timing though, since E&B will close down permanently in September. By that time space expansion will be out and hopefully all the major bugs is ironed out. I'm sure I can pull all my old friends to this game since there's a few space mmorpg out there.
Would've loved to be a fly on that wall. Too bad we can't get a transcript.
"...You're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view." biwan: Former Pistoleer Correspondent (02/04/04 - 09/05/04)
Bah!..Jeassa..or even *shudder* GarVa..maybe even BatVa....please move this junk to a froum it belongs in all it is doing is bringing SWG morons in here that are going to whine about Jedi not working...
CLab2021 wrote: Bah!..Jeassa..or even *shudder* GarVa..maybe even BatVa....please move this junk to a froum it belongs in all it is doing is bringing SWG morons in here that are going to whine about Jedi not working...
/agree
Welcome to Gat-land. Please leave your pants at the boarder.
I'm curious about the "static vs dynamic content." In past statements, Raph seems to favor the latter. I haven't read much of his website though (I've been working on that lately, it makes for a very interesting read). What did he have to say on the topic at the conference?
"He (Executive Producer Rich “BoShek” Vogel) concluded that dynamic content was very important but MMO developers should spend proportionally more time on static content. "
Yet at an E3 presentation, Raph Koster was quoted to say this:
"Now, course in this example, this is just a demo, we had em placed there so you'd see them. But in the game, things will spawn in different locations. No more static spawns, no more camping. A Dynamic Evolving Environment."
I see benefits from both, but I'm just wondering if this shift is due in part to the promotion of Raph that moved him away from the forefront. Static content is great so long as it isn't camped and there is something for everyone to do, but there is a real inconsistency here. Clearly developers should spend time on both, but that isn't what we are seeing in the future predicted by JustG's State of the Game Letter.
To be fair, SWG already has a great deal of dynamic content (though some players would disagree). Perhaps we are now playing "catch up" to level the ratio?
(yeah that's right.. I mentioned SWG in the GAT! I feel it works for the thread though)
"...You're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view." biwan: Former Pistoleer Correspondent (02/04/04 - 09/05/04)
Damn, one of these years I'm going to make it to the conference. Every year I get the info WAY ahead of time, and say to myself, "Hey, I should go this year," and I've yet to actually attend. Next year I'll have to come and yap yer ear off about Droid Engineers, game AI, and getting me a position as full time Droid Engineer programmer
Sounds like fun Q, maybe I'll see you guys next year
Rodo Doneeta (jefmes) TCO - Smuggler - Chilastra Owner of: Rodo's Automatons, Tsarin, Talus Saving a respec to go home to Droid Engineering...
the conference actually made headlines (of sorts) and it was interesting to see that a major issue was a general "creativity black hole" in that most new titles are either sequels to previous games, or based on established properties (ala SWG)
The creator of Pac-Man, a 20+ year industry veteran, seems to think that it's cyclical and we will see a new generation of new "canons" within the next couple years....so my question, (simmilar to the above poster's) ...is "WHERE DO I SIGN UP?"
this is a serious question, actually, and a serious response would be appreciated. What skills, background, certifications, etc, does one really need to become part of the game design industry. Can you hack it with creative skills alone, or do you really need a full compliment of programming skills? Maybe a broad question, which i know the partial answer to, but i'd like to get some feedback on this.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Sit me in the lap of the Gods, babe..cover me with skin and hair... write a number one on my forehead....screw you if you think i care." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bosch Kreiger (RETIRED) Operations Command Southern Krayt Legion Radiant Rebel Alliance
lol, E&B died because they made it to much of a hassle to cancel subscriptions (kinda like tryin to quit Gold's Gym, they want a letter and keep billing you)
noone wanted to go back and try the new stuff
Spuds McKenzie "Barking around a golf course near you" woot kitties!
Nice outline but I wish players could have participated, in what we actually would like to see. I disagree with Bosheks statemnet that static content should have more time than dynamic. Why? How many times can a static placement with scripted mobs become exciting? You can see so many walkthru's and solutions to previous mmorpgs 'static' content, it is no longer a challenge but a step by step guide.
Dynamic while maybe not as story intensive brings an element of surprise and freshenss if done right. The problem with SWG is that you listen to the forum writers and ignore the actual playerbase that barely visits the forums. Most players are sick of seeing places afk camped, but because of lack of spaced out loot, this is where everyone goes to find some goodies. You have an economy so out of whack its not funny, and
part of it was caused by the combat crowd. But hey I am not a game developer and just a player , what do I know about enjoying a game. I already see the cave in on crafter only items and before that was fixing the dynamic content that was enjoyable in beta. Now we have EQ in space where people are parking their Ubered out chars and soling/farming mobs for the 'good' stuff.
And I hope you guys arent using the E&B approach to space travel as thats the main reason that game bombed was the horrible travel times getting anywhere.
Seems to me Will Wright would have an unfair advantage in the "Love Game" department since it is a major theme already in The Sims. However, The Sims is another fine example that what works as a single player game doesn't necessarily translate over to the MMO genre. As Sartre put it "Hell is other people", and nowhere is that more clearly seen than in MMO games. Fix that existential problem and you've created the next great MMO game.
"He (Executive Producer Rich “BoShek” Vogel) concluded that dynamic content was very important but MMO developers should spend proportionally more time on static content. "
Yet at an E3 presentation, Raph Koster was quoted to say this:
"Now, course in this example, this is just a demo, we had em placed there so you'd see them. But in the game, things will spawn in different locations. No more static spawns, no more camping. A Dynamic Evolving Environment."
I see benefits from both, but I'm just wondering if this shift is due in part to the promotion of Raph that moved him away from the forefront. Static content is great so long as it isn't camped and there is something for everyone to do, but there is a real inconsistency here. Clearly developers should spend time on both, but that isn't what we are seeing in the future predicted by JustG's State of the Game Letter.
To be fair, SWG already has a great deal of dynamic content (though some players would disagree). Perhaps we are now playing "catch up" to level the ratio?
The shift probably came from the fact that a great many people complained about not being able to find any of the "great deal of dynamic content." I guess a lot of people didn't really feel like logging into the game and then having to spend 2 hours running around hoping that some "dynamic content" would spontaneously appear so that they could have a little fun. God knows I almost quit after spending about 2 weeks running around trying to get the Mark of Intellect, only seeing it once, and getting bumped from it by some lucky guy who ran straight into it his first time out.
"He (Executive Producer Rich “BoShek” Vogel) concluded that dynamic content was very important but MMO developers should spend proportionally more time on static content. "
Strikke wrote:
Yet at an E3 presentation, Raph Koster was quoted to say this:
"Now, course in this example, this is just a demo, we had em placed there so you'd see them. But in the game, things will spawn in different locations. No more static spawns, no more camping. A Dynamic Evolving Environment."
I see benefits from both, but I'm just wondering if this shift is due in part to the promotion of Raph that moved him away from the forefront. Static content is great so long as it isn't camped and there is something for everyone to do, but there is a real inconsistency here. Clearly developers should spend time on both, but that isn't what we are seeing in the future predicted by JustG's State of the Game Letter.
To be fair, SWG already has a great deal of dynamic content (though some players would disagree). Perhaps we are now playing "catch up" to level the ratio?
The shift probably came from the fact that a great many people complained about not being able to find any of the "great deal of dynamic content."
It's certainly a reaction to consumer demand, but it's not a change in philosophy. SWG was intended to have the following classes of content:
randomly placed brief encounters. These are equivalent to random encounters in D&D. They spawn a few mobs, maybe a lair, you kill it and move on. They're actually spawned pseudo-randomly, because they appear according to region, thus sorted into difficulty, creature types that fit the terrain, etc etc.
strongholds. These are "persistent lairs." Sort of Gauntlet generators. They are supposed to be elaborate, small dungeon-sized things. They spawn on the map pseudo-randomly as well. You come across one, you tackle it but cannot defeat it in one session. It takes many days of many people whittling away at it to make it go away. They persist on the map until destroyed, which takes a major effort.
dynamic points of interest. These small bits of content encompass quests, puzzles, all in the classic MMO vein, but intentionally designed to be consumed once and then removed from the area. Thus, they are also spawned pseudo-randomly. This is the class of events like "you're walking along when all of a sudden a spaceship crashes in front of you. A single survivor struggles out of the wreckage, and hands you a datadisk, saying that it's crucial that this make it to the Rebel headquarters! Then he expires in your arms, and you have a new mission." Each of these DPOIs is carefully handcrafted, of course.
static spawns. These are traditional static spawns in places that merit them--SWG has a LOT of places that merit them. You always expect to see Jawas at the Jawa Mountain Fortress, and Tusken Raiders at Fort Tusken.
theme parks. These are traditional classic quest structures, statically placed. The goal was to have intricate, emotionally rich narrative going on in these. Handcrafted puzzles, characters, and interrelationships. They are not hack n slash things though of course combat is involved.
dungeons. These are less intricate than theme parks, and centered around combat, but are no less carefully crafted for all that. There's still a degree of unlocking to do, and so on.
Obviously, these made it in to varying degrees, and the result is that we are paying attention to shoring up the weaker types over time with ongoing development.
-Raph Koster Chief Creative Officer, Sony Online Entertainment
biwan:
