Chenzeme mentioned the idea of a boss spawn type of event. I can see this affecting severe weather in an area and some other things that allow for development of the area related to the event as well as reversion to the original state. When I think about it, that's how Eve's sandbox handled developments using the faction-control "environment" in a system.
whether it's fun or just annoying remains entirely up to the devs, but often it seems that the annoying events were not considered to be integrated content, so they just got thrown in without being completely developed. That's why I don't really like the idea of zoned multi-level events. I hope PRotF avoids doing that, but rare or one-time occurrences would be cool and immersive imho.
Instead, maybe it would help make an event truly massive and meaningful (and applicable all skill levels) if was worldwide and didn't just include one area..
After all, if you could always predict the future, what fun would it be to play?
I would like to see a recurring event implemented by VR that is centered around the acquisition of "rift stones".
A single rift stone is but one fragment of a much larger celestial mass that shattered into hundreds of thousands of pieces eons ago.
Every so often, for a few days, Terminus passes through this celestial debris field made of up of rift stones that have an elliptical orbit around the sun, some of which get caught by Terminus's gravity and inevitably end up plummeting to the ground over a swath of 2-3 zones creating a colorful display of light as they do.
This periodic event is one of the most exciting, but also one of the most contentious, because the power that these rift stones possess cannot be acquired by any other means.
Rift stones are the sole reagent by which players are able to cast their teleportation spells.
Rift stones come in various sizes, the largest of which is quite rare.
The size of a rift stone determines the distance that a player is able to teleport. So if a player tries to cast a teleportation spell to Faerthale, but it is half a continent away, then they would require the quite rare large rift stone to do so, but if they only wanted to teleport to a location the next zone over, then the much more common small sized rift stone would suffice.
As you can imagine, with rift stones being the sole means of allowing fast travel, there will probably be quite a bit of strategy involved in trying to figure out where they are going to land and then to try to acquire as many of them as possible during each limited window of opportunity.
The fact that rift stones are consumed on use and are only able to be obtained during these tiny windows of opportunity, gives wielders of them a lot of power in terms of leveraging the timing and speed of getting goods to distant markets, as well as strategically during combat.
Everything here is just an initial concept. All of this can be tweaked/tested until it feels right.
I was a relatively low level when word came out that an unannounced event was taking place in EQ1 in Qeynos Hills. I happened to be in the East Karanas so it wasn't too far for me to get over there and witness the undead rising. I am not entirely sure of everything that was happening but there was plenty for all levels.The undead just kept on spawning and spawning - it was insane! Lovely kind of insane! Unfortunately, with so many people racing into the zone it crashed. But it sure was fun while it was up and running!
I loved that event! And was the only one I was ever involved in.
I had heard tales of something similar happening with the Crsuhbone Orcs raiding Kelethin but have never talked to anyone to confirm that event.
I would be a fan of those kinds of events! Events that happen that can involve all levels and just play it out. Obviously, I would be a bigger fan if I got to be involved rather than just hearing about it.
muscoby said:I was a relatively low level when word came out that an unannounced event was taking place in EQ1 in Qeynos Hills. I happened to be in the East Karanas so it wasn't too far for me to get over there and witness the undead rising. I am not entirely sure of everything that was happening but there was plenty for all levels.The undead just kept on spawning and spawning - it was insane! Lovely kind of insane! Unfortunately, with so many people racing into the zone it crashed. But it sure was fun while it was up and running!
These are sadly the ones I always miss and feel sad about. I would always miss these short events even when I was playing like it was a job.
1. Events where community have to work together to achieve a goal - and not merely reduced to killing a mob/s brainlessly, but something that requires communication - something that helps acquire NEW friends.
2. Events in which participates at least one dev - depending on the event it can be hide-n-seek with riddles, game's trivia, fights vs dev etc.
chenzeme said:Personally, I have always felt that mmorpg game worlds were too static in their nature. I would love a world that ebbed and flowed as factions and races gained and lost power. I would love to have an event that occurred that changed the landscape in some way and be able to tell a newbie that I remember this land being ice bound before we went to war with an Ice Dragon.
I object to events that break the 4th wall. When I am notified of an event in the patch notes, I feel robbed of the opportunity to discover it for myself or hear about it from other players. I find that I enjoy the journey much more when I do not see the end from the beginning.
I will point to Star Trek online as an example of what to avoid with events. Its encounters are never difficult enough to require more coordination between players than just showing up. Completing each encounter five times per reward on each character quickly becomes a chore. I dislike how the rewards are made available to future players through their system of micro transactions and loot boxes. The Ferengi would be pleased.
It would be cool if the moon(s) of Terminus could appear blue or red in geographically appropriate regions according to a defined schedule based on the astronomy of the star system in which Terminus resides. Enterprising players would work to predict when a blue or blood moon will occur. Perhaps some crafting recipes only produce optimal results under the right moon or sign. Perhaps an item like Soul Leech could only be crafted from a sword that has been used to murder an innocent NPC priest traveling under the blood moon. Perhaps a competing incentive from an opposing faction has other players working to keep the same NPC alive. Such an arrangement would provide the opportunity for players to compete head to head, and rewards player exploration, knowledge, planning, and collaboration.
An instance of a blue/blood moon in a given zone should have lots of concurrent changes for the duration of the event window. I imagine such an event with a narrow enough window that players will want to return during future instances to attempt things that they missed previously. Player expectations of events could be subverted if, for instance, a blood moon and a (second) blue moon were to occur at the same time.
As I compose this, it occurs to me that such a detailed system might have an opportunity cost that is too high. Never the less, it is fun to brainstorm.
Surprisingly, nobody in this thread has mentioned the earthquakes in EQ. I have never had so much fun playing any game as I have had playing EQ right after an earthquake. The mad rush to marshal the troops and get as many targets as possible is like no other.
I dont want to see anything exclusive, if i see someone in game with something cool and i ask how they got it and the reply is "last years holiday event, you cant get it now"
i will be pissed, let me earn everything the game has to offer, fear of missing out tactics are outdated and punish the player.
Grimseethe said:I dont want to see anything exclusive, if i see someone in game with something cool and i ask how they got it and the reply is "last years holiday event, you cant get it now"
i will be pissed, let me earn everything the game has to offer, fear of missing out tactics are outdated and punish the player.
The reason to have exclusive content is only to create 'urgency to buy'. So for example a cash shop or 'season pass' type thing may include exclusive content in order to encourage players to buy now before they miss out.
In a subscription MMO where no cash shop is used it's more about encouraging players to keep their subscriptions active and not taking 'breaks' where you stop paying (or playing) for a month (or more).
While it might suck for the players who miss out, it totally make sense why a company might use this kind of exclusive content to encourage their players to keep active subscriptions so they don't miss out.
I know there will be some players who say 'If I pay for the game... I should have access to ALL content that is ever available' but with Subscription models this really just means 'If I pay for the game in the month that the content is present then I should have the chance to participate and earn the content'. If you aren't paying for the subscription at that time, then all is fair that you miss out. (Or if you do pay but choose not to play).
I know that you don't like it... but that's how commerce works.
GoofyWarriorGuy said:...but that's how commerce works.
I agree with your argument GoofyWarriorGuy, but I would be surprised to see the deliberate implementation of such a strategy in pantheon unless the project fails to meets investors expectations.
CelevinMoongleam said:GoofyWarriorGuy said:...but that's how commerce works.I agree with your argument GoofyWarriorGuy, but I would be surprised to see the deliberate implementation of such a strategy in pantheon unless the project fails to meets investors expectations
This is not about meeting some sort of investors expectations. This is about keeping people playing. If you think a subscription based MMO isn't going to use strategies to keep people active and playing you are fooling yourself, no matter how 'It's not about the money' a company they are. Keeping your player base strong will only encourage more people to play which is extra important in a game like Pantheon where it's designed for Group'ing. You can't get groups if nobody is playing.
And it's not as if we are talking about anything underhanded or shadey. We are talking about Unique Events with Unique items that will get the players excited and motivated to play. It keeps the game vibrant and prevents the stale 'same ole same ole' feeling that some MMOs have.
Just because a player like Grimseethe says 'I will be pissed' does not mean this is a sly or cheap trick. It's a normal practice... in fact the only reason a game wouldn't use this kind of Unique Events is if the game is doing so poorly that they just can't afford to develop this kind of fresh content regularly. So if Pantheon doesn't have Unique Events I would really start to worry.
So while it would suck if you miss an Event and cannot get those Unique items any more, and I agree I would be dissapointed if I missed out too, I would never expect the Dev's to refuse to do this simply so that I can't ever miss out.
PS. I don't condone 'Participation' trophies either.