Hi all,
(did a search couldn't find anything regarding this)
Been running around in Lord of the Rings Online(Lotro) and have been using the postal service to mail items to my other characters and my Kin mates and it made me wonder how mail might be handled in Pantheon. In Lotro (and a lot of other mmos) when you send mail it is instant, all you really have is a small fee to pay.
As Pantheon is going to be less like other cruisey mmos how should mail be handled in Pantheon? I think we will all agree that there should be a fee for the use of the postal service. But how long should the mail take to be delivered?
Should there be a timeframe based on distance? Some would ask how could distance be calculated as the item might actually be retrieved from the same mailbox as was used to send it. My answer to that would be that when you send mail you must choose a destination. So if it is the same mailbox then it would be there and could be retreived anytime after it was placed in that mailbox by the recipient. But if the recipient needed it in a place that was 10 kilometers away then there could be a timeframe given based on the distance. Perhaps should be a similar timeframe to what it would take to ride to that other location, maybe 20% longer. Perhaps you could pay for faster deliveries, or am I just getting to intricate for a system that doesn't need to be that complex?
Would like to hear everyones thoughts on this, I'm assuming there will be a postal service.
Cheers
Interesting
what I like about this calculation based on distance for posting
Is that it would open up possibilities for more player involvement with tracking,from both sending and receiving ends
If you then send a package long-distance and some goblins block the road somewhere over that distance,a package might get stuck in a post office prior to that obstacle,ready for retrieval
As long as the obstacle lasts,after you can resume the sending
It also might bring more closer relations between sender and receiver;everyone becomes potential friend
So it blend in well with the focus on community and the idea that content is king
While Pantheon is billed as a game more in-line with the older generation of MMORPG's challenge, you do sort of eventually reach a point where you're makng systems punitive just for the sake of making systems punitive.
I generally have the opinion that Time Spent does not equal Difficulty. Making something take a long time doesn't automatically mean it's more challenging - it just means it takes longer.
Whether mail is received in ten minutes or two hours later, you have to ask yourself what meaningful effect on gameplay does the two-hour letter delivery have versus the ten-minute letter delivery. Does it make the player feel as if they achieved something? Do they feel as if their time investment was well spent by waiting on a letter to arrive?
If not, then he player was punished with an excessive wait time just for the sake of having an excessive wait time.
Things to think about! :)
There might be a difference between letter postage(by pigeon for example) and packages (by packmules)
I think for packages it has meaningful effect as it makes player feel like it is earned when they have to do an effort for it,next to all the benefits for community. The time investment is well spent if you have to retrieve package because of obstace ,it gives direction to where stuff is happening(think about example of goblins blocking the road) So it gives direction in a subtle way without text and connects beautifully with the rest of the game I think
Ofcourse you might as well just wait for someone to solve the obstacle,but solving the problem might grant reputation.Ofcourse it is never sure you'd get there in time if the obstacle is over a long distance.
Maybe the name of who removed the obstacle will be put in spotlight 'your package has arrived safely thanks to *insert names of the people that cleared the path for your package to arrive safely*
I posted in another thread what I would like to see.
I'd like to actually see people carrying around the mail and posting it. So you might see a caravan with lots of items in it on the road between two cities or maybe a runner carry just letters and no items. That would really add to the game and give a reason for why mail took so long to deliver. It would be even better if mobs could attack the caravan on PvE servers so you had a small percentage chance (say 5% - 10%) of losing the stuff you sent via the mail. On PvP servers players should be able to attack the caravan. Of course the caravan should have guards so it wouldn't be defenceless.
I think that would be a sweet system and would be really fun.
As with many things ,I think it is a question of realistic based approach vs convenience
Think about interactions between sender and receiver.In MMOs we've known up till now,it is more convenient not to encourage community forging.
There is more to it than just downtimes to form bonds.
In a way these convenient mechanics create a shallow experience.Looking at the bigger picture how MMOs have been doing lately,no wonder many think no more of MMOs as a bland experience.
While convenience is very enticing,it also has a role in making MMO communities crumble and why MMOs often slip in obscurity for many players.
When everything is convenient,nothing grasps the players.It is just as convenient to forget about it,no reasons for dedication.
Maybe some balance of convenience and interactive/immersive components should be aimed for?
Edit
Now that I've been thinking about it,I like the idea that highwaymen bandits could gain possession of your wears,imagine if you sended some artifacts through postage lol
Then it has to be made sure the confiscated goods are tracked back to the receiver once the bandits are defeated,maybe players could interact by helping to clean up the boxes and get the carriage of goods back on its way (+reputation)
Rogues might attempt to steal from the carriage (other items or a duplicate item(of players) based on their thieving mastery)) - minus reputation with the alignment the carriage of goods belongs to
Cromulent said:I posted in another thread what I would like to see.
I'd like to actually see people carrying around the mail and posting it. So you might see a caravan with lots of items in it on the road between two cities or maybe a runner carry just letters and no items. That would really add to the game and give a reason for why mail took so long to deliver. It would be even better if mobs could attack the caravan on PvE servers so you had a small percentage chance (say 5% - 10%) of losing the stuff you sent via the mail. On PvP servers players should be able to attack the caravan. Of course the caravan should have guards so it wouldn't be defenceless.
I think that would be a sweet system and would be really fun.
Yeah just for everyone's reference, this was an offshoot conversation in this thread: https://www.pantheonmmo.com/content/forums/topic/5785/shared-bank-system/view/page/1 as the ability to conveniently mail items does affect a localized banking system. But it's also good to have its own thread. As I suggested in that link, at the very least, mail should be costly and take time.
This is actually something I posted a big idea on back when I was a community member before the 2015 archive. :)
I can't remember my whole post but it was basically offering up a system for mail, where players took jobs from notice boards, and players could place mail in drop boxes in each town/city and have other players get a small bit of experience in delivering mail around the world of Terminus.
I had pros and cons, mitigating mechanics to stop spam and abuse, the works! I even tied it into a skill system like a kind of class but more related to say a harvesting skill called Courier.
Anyway, thought I would mention it as it is a system that could be played around with to be a lot more meaningful and immersive while making it more interactive and fun for the players.
Kilsin said:This is actually something I posted a big idea on back when I was a community member before the 2015 archive. :)
I can't remember my whole post but it was basically offering up a system for mail, where players took jobs from notice boards, and players could place mail in drop boxes in each town/city and have other players get a small bit of experience in delivering mail around the world of Terminus.
I had pros and cons, mitigating mechanics to stop spam and abuse, the works! I even tied it into a skill system like a kind of class but more related to say a harvesting skill called Courier.Anyway, thought I would mention it as it is a system that could be played around with to be a lot more meaningful and immersive while making it more interactive and fun for the players.
Sounds like an interesting idea. I'd certainly be up for delivering peoples mail if it made me some money or experience. It would be even more fun on PvP servers assuming their was partial or full loot of corpses there. What would happen if a player took a job got a really expensive item to deliver and just decided to keep it for themselves? Would the game have some sort of mechanic where by the item was not usable or tradable by the person who was delivering it or would theft be a very real risk? If someone doesn't pay you enough for your services and then asks you to deliver a really expensive item I could see some players might think they could just steal the item.
Would be good if someone could find the original post. I'd be interested in reading that.
Cromulent said:Kilsin said:This is actually something I posted a big idea on back when I was a community member before the 2015 archive. :)
I can't remember my whole post but it was basically offering up a system for mail, where players took jobs from notice boards, and players could place mail in drop boxes in each town/city and have other players get a small bit of experience in delivering mail around the world of Terminus.
I had pros and cons, mitigating mechanics to stop spam and abuse, the works! I even tied it into a skill system like a kind of class but more related to say a harvesting skill called Courier.Anyway, thought I would mention it as it is a system that could be played around with to be a lot more meaningful and immersive while making it more interactive and fun for the players.
Sounds like an interesting idea. I'd certainly be up for delivering peoples mail if it made me some money or experience. It would be even more fun on PvP servers assuming their was partial or full loot of corpses there. What would happen if a player took a job got a really expensive item to deliver and just decided to keep it for themselves? Would the game have some sort of mechanic where by the item was not usable or tradable by the person who was delivering it or would theft be a very real risk? If someone doesn't pay you enough for your services and then asks you to deliver a really expensive item I could see some players might think they could just steal the item.
Would be good if someone could find the original post. I'd be interested in reading that.
As one of my mitigating factors to stop abuse, the item would be either auto returned or auto sent to the intended player if someone:
A) Failed to deliver it within a set time
B) Failed to accept the job at all
This way it would prevent item griefing and not hold the player up if the mail wasn't delivered. I even had mentioned an automated NPC system to take over if a PC failed to grab the mail after a certain time had passed. Either way, the mail would get delivered within a certain time (not instantly to break immersion or too long to annoy the recipient) by either a player or an NPC courier.
You could barter the price of delivery within a small margin and once agreed upon the player would take the job and set off on the journey to deliver the contents to the required destination but no matter how expensive or what the item was (even plat or gold currency) the Courier could not physically touch it, use it, equip it or keep it, it would just be a parcel or ticket to be carried in the Couriers inventory.
It is refreshing my memory just talking about it, the post was a monster lol :D
Kilsin said:Cromulent said:Kilsin said:This is actually something I posted a big idea on back when I was a community member before the 2015 archive. :)
I can't remember my whole post but it was basically offering up a system for mail, where players took jobs from notice boards, and players could place mail in drop boxes in each town/city and have other players get a small bit of experience in delivering mail around the world of Terminus.
I had pros and cons, mitigating mechanics to stop spam and abuse, the works! I even tied it into a skill system like a kind of class but more related to say a harvesting skill called Courier.Anyway, thought I would mention it as it is a system that could be played around with to be a lot more meaningful and immersive while making it more interactive and fun for the players.
Sounds like an interesting idea. I'd certainly be up for delivering peoples mail if it made me some money or experience. It would be even more fun on PvP servers assuming their was partial or full loot of corpses there. What would happen if a player took a job got a really expensive item to deliver and just decided to keep it for themselves? Would the game have some sort of mechanic where by the item was not usable or tradable by the person who was delivering it or would theft be a very real risk? If someone doesn't pay you enough for your services and then asks you to deliver a really expensive item I could see some players might think they could just steal the item.
Would be good if someone could find the original post. I'd be interested in reading that.
As one of my mitigating factors to stop abuse, the item would be either auto returned or auto sent to the intended player if someone:
A) Failed to deliver it within a set time
B) Failed to accept the job at all
This way it would prevent item griefing and not hold the player up if the mail wasn't delivered. I even had mentioned an automated NPC system to take over if a PC failed to grab the mail after a certain time had passed. Either way, the mail would get delivered within a certain time (not instantly to break immersion or too long to annoy the recipient) by either a player or an NPC courier.
You could barter the price of delivery within a small margin and once agreed upon the player would take the job and set off on the journey to deliver the contents to the required destination but no matter how expensive or what the item was (even plat or gold currency) the Courier could not physically touch it, use it, equip it or keep it, it would just be a parcel or ticket to be carried in the Couriers inventory.
It is refreshing my memory just talking about it, the post was a monster lol :D
I suck at using this forums search function but I'll try and dig your thread up. If I find it I'll bump it so people can see it.
Cromulent said:Kilsin said:Cromulent said:Kilsin said:This is actually something I posted a big idea on back when I was a community member before the 2015 archive. :)
I can't remember my whole post but it was basically offering up a system for mail, where players took jobs from notice boards, and players could place mail in drop boxes in each town/city and have other players get a small bit of experience in delivering mail around the world of Terminus.
I had pros and cons, mitigating mechanics to stop spam and abuse, the works! I even tied it into a skill system like a kind of class but more related to say a harvesting skill called Courier.Anyway, thought I would mention it as it is a system that could be played around with to be a lot more meaningful and immersive while making it more interactive and fun for the players.
Sounds like an interesting idea. I'd certainly be up for delivering peoples mail if it made me some money or experience. It would be even more fun on PvP servers assuming their was partial or full loot of corpses there. What would happen if a player took a job got a really expensive item to deliver and just decided to keep it for themselves? Would the game have some sort of mechanic where by the item was not usable or tradable by the person who was delivering it or would theft be a very real risk? If someone doesn't pay you enough for your services and then asks you to deliver a really expensive item I could see some players might think they could just steal the item.
Would be good if someone could find the original post. I'd be interested in reading that.
As one of my mitigating factors to stop abuse, the item would be either auto returned or auto sent to the intended player if someone:
A) Failed to deliver it within a set time
B) Failed to accept the job at all
This way it would prevent item griefing and not hold the player up if the mail wasn't delivered. I even had mentioned an automated NPC system to take over if a PC failed to grab the mail after a certain time had passed. Either way, the mail would get delivered within a certain time (not instantly to break immersion or too long to annoy the recipient) by either a player or an NPC courier.
You could barter the price of delivery within a small margin and once agreed upon the player would take the job and set off on the journey to deliver the contents to the required destination but no matter how expensive or what the item was (even plat or gold currency) the Courier could not physically touch it, use it, equip it or keep it, it would just be a parcel or ticket to be carried in the Couriers inventory.
It is refreshing my memory just talking about it, the post was a monster lol :DI suck at using this forums search function but I'll try and dig your thread up. If I find it I'll bump it so people can see it.
It was archived, so there's basically no way you can find it with the search function. I think VR would have to pull it out on their side. It does sound like an interesting idea though.
Bazgrim said:Cromulent said:Kilsin said:Cromulent said:Kilsin said:This is actually something I posted a big idea on back when I was a community member before the 2015 archive. :)
I can't remember my whole post but it was basically offering up a system for mail, where players took jobs from notice boards, and players could place mail in drop boxes in each town/city and have other players get a small bit of experience in delivering mail around the world of Terminus.
I had pros and cons, mitigating mechanics to stop spam and abuse, the works! I even tied it into a skill system like a kind of class but more related to say a harvesting skill called Courier.Anyway, thought I would mention it as it is a system that could be played around with to be a lot more meaningful and immersive while making it more interactive and fun for the players.
Sounds like an interesting idea. I'd certainly be up for delivering peoples mail if it made me some money or experience. It would be even more fun on PvP servers assuming their was partial or full loot of corpses there. What would happen if a player took a job got a really expensive item to deliver and just decided to keep it for themselves? Would the game have some sort of mechanic where by the item was not usable or tradable by the person who was delivering it or would theft be a very real risk? If someone doesn't pay you enough for your services and then asks you to deliver a really expensive item I could see some players might think they could just steal the item.
Would be good if someone could find the original post. I'd be interested in reading that.
As one of my mitigating factors to stop abuse, the item would be either auto returned or auto sent to the intended player if someone:
A) Failed to deliver it within a set time
B) Failed to accept the job at all
This way it would prevent item griefing and not hold the player up if the mail wasn't delivered. I even had mentioned an automated NPC system to take over if a PC failed to grab the mail after a certain time had passed. Either way, the mail would get delivered within a certain time (not instantly to break immersion or too long to annoy the recipient) by either a player or an NPC courier.
You could barter the price of delivery within a small margin and once agreed upon the player would take the job and set off on the journey to deliver the contents to the required destination but no matter how expensive or what the item was (even plat or gold currency) the Courier could not physically touch it, use it, equip it or keep it, it would just be a parcel or ticket to be carried in the Couriers inventory.
It is refreshing my memory just talking about it, the post was a monster lol :DI suck at using this forums search function but I'll try and dig your thread up. If I find it I'll bump it so people can see it.
It was archived, so there's basically no way you can find it with the search function. I think VR would have to pull it out on their side. It does sound like an interesting idea though.
Ah shame. Oh well.
Few thoughts on the courier system Killsin mentioned
Would a courier be required to deliver the package to the final destination all the time?or would a courier be able to get clearance at points in between?
Ofcourse a courier that braves all the challenges to get the package to the final destination deservers greater reward.
If couriers would be able to deliver the package to postal points in between
where a courier could get package clearance
there also could be 2 kinds of postal spots: safe clearance spots and clearance spots that could get contested by bandits.
For example,on this map the blue circles are the safe clearance spots that would give a bonus reward to the courier's service expertise.
Because the intended recipient can always opt to pick up the package at those safe postal spots.
So if a courier clears their package at a safe postal spot,the recipient gets a notification that their item has now arrived at a safe location
which also grants them the choice to alter postal process if they desire;example if they decide to pick up the package at that safe spot,the item disappears from the courier's *to-deliver* pool
If a courier decides to clear the item at a spot that can be contested and where the items can be confiscated by bandits for example(glowing small orange dots on the map),the courier get a small reward only.Good for players that are headed that direction and would like to offer courier services
but do not plan to go all the way to final delivery destination.However thier reward is greatly reducedif that item has been paid for by the recipient to be delivered within a set time
The shorter that set time for delivery ,the more expensive for the recipient
Also couriers should be unable to destroy the item that is meant for a recipient,it could simply drop or be reallocated to previous or nearest unsafe postal spot that can be contested by bandits when a carrier attempts to destroy the item.(in a way they are kind of crooks if they try to do so lol) This attempt could also have a penalty attached like reputation loss,losing courier privileges temporary or permanently
Cromulent said:Bazgrim said:Cromulent said:Kilsin said:Cromulent said:Kilsin said:This is actually something I posted a big idea on back when I was a community member before the 2015 archive. :)
I can't remember my whole post but it was basically offering up a system for mail, where players took jobs from notice boards, and players could place mail in drop boxes in each town/city and have other players get a small bit of experience in delivering mail around the world of Terminus.
I had pros and cons, mitigating mechanics to stop spam and abuse, the works! I even tied it into a skill system like a kind of class but more related to say a harvesting skill called Courier.Anyway, thought I would mention it as it is a system that could be played around with to be a lot more meaningful and immersive while making it more interactive and fun for the players.
Sounds like an interesting idea. I'd certainly be up for delivering peoples mail if it made me some money or experience. It would be even more fun on PvP servers assuming their was partial or full loot of corpses there. What would happen if a player took a job got a really expensive item to deliver and just decided to keep it for themselves? Would the game have some sort of mechanic where by the item was not usable or tradable by the person who was delivering it or would theft be a very real risk? If someone doesn't pay you enough for your services and then asks you to deliver a really expensive item I could see some players might think they could just steal the item.
Would be good if someone could find the original post. I'd be interested in reading that.
As one of my mitigating factors to stop abuse, the item would be either auto returned or auto sent to the intended player if someone:
A) Failed to deliver it within a set time
B) Failed to accept the job at all
This way it would prevent item griefing and not hold the player up if the mail wasn't delivered. I even had mentioned an automated NPC system to take over if a PC failed to grab the mail after a certain time had passed. Either way, the mail would get delivered within a certain time (not instantly to break immersion or too long to annoy the recipient) by either a player or an NPC courier.
You could barter the price of delivery within a small margin and once agreed upon the player would take the job and set off on the journey to deliver the contents to the required destination but no matter how expensive or what the item was (even plat or gold currency) the Courier could not physically touch it, use it, equip it or keep it, it would just be a parcel or ticket to be carried in the Couriers inventory.
It is refreshing my memory just talking about it, the post was a monster lol :DI suck at using this forums search function but I'll try and dig your thread up. If I find it I'll bump it so people can see it.
It was archived, so there's basically no way you can find it with the search function. I think VR would have to pull it out on their side. It does sound like an interesting idea though.
Ah shame. Oh well.
Yes, unfortunately it and every other post was archived when we made the forum changes a while ago, it was needed but a lot of good posts got buried for our eyes only.
Fluffy said:Few thoughts on the courier system Killsin mentioned
Would a courier be required to deliver the package to the final destination all the time?or would a courier be able to get clearance at points in between?
Ofcourse a courier that braves all the challenges to get the package to the final destination deservers greater reward.If couriers would be able to deliver the package to postal points in between
where a courier could get package clearance
there also could be 2 kinds of postal spots: safe clearance spots and clearance spots that could get contested by bandits.
For example,on this map the blue circles are the safe clearance spots that would give a bonus reward to the courier's service expertise.
Because the intended recipient can always opt to pick up the package at those safe postal spots.
So if a courier clears their package at a safe postal spot,the recipient gets a notification that their item has now arrived at a safe location
which also grants them the choice to alter postal process if they desire;example if they decide to pick up the package at that safe spot,the item disappears from the courier's *to-deliver* poolIf a courier decides to clear the item at a spot that can be contested and where the items can be confiscated by bandits for example(glowing small orange dots on the map),the courier get a small reward only.Good for players that are headed that direction and would like to offer courier services
but do not plan to go all the way to final delivery destination.However thier reward is greatly reducedif that item has been paid for by the recipient to be delivered within a set timeThe shorter that set time for delivery ,the more expensive for the recipient
Also couriers should be unable to destroy the item that is meant for a recipient,it could simply drop or be reallocated to previous or nearest unsafe postal spot that can be contested by bandits when a carrier attempts to destroy the item.(in a way they are kind of crooks if they try to do so lol) This attempt could also have a penalty attached like reputation loss,losing courier privileges temporary or permanently
I don't want to derail Vaultarn's thread too much but my system didn't have checkpoints, if you took the job, you had to see it through to the end/delivery point to gain the exp/reward whatever that may be, it wouldn't be too outrageous but something to make the trip worth your while, the longer the trip the better exp/reward and more skill points towards your Courier class/profession which would allow you to spend to unlock small perks/passives only related to the Courier profession.
There is no time penalty other than delivering it within the set time for that job, if you take too long it disappears and you don;t get anything, just go about your business and do what you like or go and grab another one and try to commit properly this time. The time would be reasonable enough for anyone to make it to the destination depending on how far away it was without making it too close for comfort.
As I said in my above post, they can't physically touch, use, drop, destroy or equip it, it would be a parcel or ticket in their inventory that would disappear if not delivered on time or at all, no one would lose anything.
Jeron said:While Pantheon is billed as a game more in-line with the older generation of MMORPG's challenge, you do sort of eventually reach a point where you're makng systems punitive just for the sake of making systems punitive.
I generally have the opinion that Time Spent does not equal Difficulty. Making something take a long time doesn't automatically mean it's more challenging - it just means it takes longer.
Whether mail is received in ten minutes or two hours later, you have to ask yourself what meaningful effect on gameplay does the two-hour letter delivery have versus the ten-minute letter delivery. Does it make the player feel as if they achieved something? Do they feel as if their time investment was well spent by waiting on a letter to arrive?
If not, then he player was punished with an excessive wait time just for the sake of having an excessive wait time.Things to think about! :)
Can't agree more.
Cromulent said:Kilsin said:This is actually something I posted a big idea on back when I was a community member before the 2015 archive. :)
I can't remember my whole post but it was basically offering up a system for mail, where players took jobs from notice boards, and players could place mail in drop boxes in each town/city and have other players get a small bit of experience in delivering mail around the world of Terminus.
I had pros and cons, mitigating mechanics to stop spam and abuse, the works! I even tied it into a skill system like a kind of class but more related to say a harvesting skill called Courier.Anyway, thought I would mention it as it is a system that could be played around with to be a lot more meaningful and immersive while making it more interactive and fun for the players.
Sounds like an interesting idea. I'd certainly be up for delivering peoples mail if it made me some money or experience. It would be even more fun on PvP servers assuming their was partial or full loot of corpses there. What would happen if a player took a job got a really expensive item to deliver and just decided to keep it for themselves? Would the game have some sort of mechanic where by the item was not usable or tradable by the person who was delivering it or would theft be a very real risk? If someone doesn't pay you enough for your services and then asks you to deliver a really expensive item I could see some players might think they could just steal the item.
Would be good if someone could find the original post. I'd be interested in reading that.
The easiest was, and it still fits into immersion and realistic ties, would simply be for the item to be a package. When a player picks up the quest to deliver and item to someone else, all they are getting in their inventory is a box. While the actual intended person will be able to open said box to receive the mailed item. Same would be doable for letters and money. It's simple enough to have an envelope, and box icon, that then gets tied to an item and only openable by a specific person. This resolves the issue of someone outright stealing the item, but would still leave the possibilty for them to greif by not delivering said package - though thats where Kilsin's suggestion of a time limit comes into play.
This would also lead to only being able to retreive your mail from one specific mail box instead of having them globally linked, though that could be ignored on the receiving players end and destination location only being a thing for the quest portion. But that then brings a different discussion of globally linked mailboxes which I'm not trying to start.
As for the time frame of mail delivery, it can be annoying to not have mail delivered instantly but it also adds benefits. Immersion is one, while helping to combat spam and other forces of abuse is another.
Kilsin said:if you took the job, you had to see it through to the end/delivery point to gain the exp/reward whatever that may be, it wouldn't be too outrageous but something to make the trip worth your while, the longer the trip the better exp/reward and more skill points towards your Courier class/profession which would allow you to spend to unlock small perks/passives only related to the Courier profession.
If players have to take the job and see it through to the end/delivery point to gain reward,
I just hope content scaling won't get in the way of equal courier chances to deliver.
However that curse might only apply to a linear progression system
As long as it is possible perhaps? some players like to go into zones where they do not belong level-wise.As I said in some other topic I would not object and be indifferent if levels were removed.want the focus to be more on exploration
Or would the courier expertise/level and size of the available delivery network to that courier be interrelated?The disadvantage would be that you can't do it anytime/anywhere you feel like it,must feel like getting to a place where you know you'll have something to do soon but just have not met the level requirement
Fluffy said:Kilsin said:if you took the job, you had to see it through to the end/delivery point to gain the exp/reward whatever that may be, it wouldn't be too outrageous but something to make the trip worth your while, the longer the trip the better exp/reward and more skill points towards your Courier class/profession which would allow you to spend to unlock small perks/passives only related to the Courier profession.
If players have to take the job and see it through to the end/delivery point to gain reward,
I just hope content scaling won't get in the way of equal courier chances to deliver.However that curse might only apply to a linear progression system
As long as it is possible perhaps? some players like to go into zones where they do not belong level-wise.As I said in some other topic I would not object and be indifferent if levels were removed.want the focus to be more on exploration
Or would the courier expertise/level and size of the available delivery network to that courier be interrelated?The disadvantage would be that you can't do it anytime/anywhere you feel like it,must feel like getting to a place where you know you'll have something to do soon but just have not met the level requirement
This was my idea that I put forward as a community member over 2 years ago, it is not our official system, just my personal thoughts. :P
I will let you folks get back to discussing this topic, it just brought back memories for me and I thought it would be cool to share them as I am still a passionate community member on the inside even though I show a CM outside :)
Instant, period. If you are trying to craft and your alt has the items you need it would really take the fun out of the game if you needed to wait for hours or days to get the things you need. Also with the people asking for the option of bandits killing and looting the messengers It would reaaly S___ if you but your rare cloak on a messenger and he lost it to bandits. If you have a mailing system and buy an item from Kilsin in wilds end and you are in east overshoe then why should it take a day to deliver it. Even f the world was as huge as they say it will be you could probably get to Kilsin in less than an hour and take it from him. So although charging to email items is probably the way to go, making it take a long time is just wrong. It really makes a point for the shared bank system IMHO.
This game, as far as I can see is going to be awesome. And should keep people involved for a long time. without artifically prolonging mail and travel etc. If they really want to keep your attention then make the levels last longer. That will keep a lot of the "racers" to top level busy and keep them from getting bored.
There are so many things that resources can be spent on that actually affect core elements of the game and contribute to making it slow, challenging and rewarding. I am not sure that a complex mail system is one of these.
There are other things that contribute to a rich ambiance and help immersion. Such as boats. A complex mail system falls into this category but I am not sure it should be near the top of the list.
There are things that help marketing - never ever forget that a GOOD game isn't enough we need to have a SUCCESSFUL game that lasts. Thinking of things from threads I've read recently boats are obviously a plus to a marketing type and would surely make it into the puff when we get that far. Keep sieges are obviously a similar plus. Just think of the games emphasizing boats or sieges in their marketing. How many players will we attract with:
"Pantheon offers a huge and immersive world with rich graphics and the most sophisticated support in the industry for grouping and for guilds. One of the highlights is the first truly realistic mail system where things you send to other players or your other characters take hours, perhaps days or weeks to arrive and with a very real chance that they will be intercepted and never arrive.."
Personally I like realistic and complicated systems in a MMO, and see a lot of merit to the suggestions in this thread. But I suspect in practice it isn't really a wise approach to take.
I could have said the same thing in five words - "What Jeron and Isaya said" - but I prefer to get my money's worth out of my pledge by spending a bit more time on these issues.
Courier system is a good option,a way it could be handled,thanks for sharing Kilsin
As long as we are passionate inside it doesn't matter what we are on the outside
MMOs have been plagued with convenience,group finders,auction house,instant mailing/travel
We all want adventure,meet friends, have engaging and challenging content.
The convience works against that and creating a community.Contact is shallow.it hinders the creation of bonds.
With a group finder,player names have no meaning,only your role matters.
Have we ever looked at the recipients of our mails as potential friends?
With convenience tools,players don't have the chance to get familiar with each other like in the old days.
In the older mmo's you had to actively do stuff and in turn that made the whole experience memorable,and it gave meaning
to the encounters with other players.
Dorotea is right that little things can affect core elements of the game.
I think the largest debate is between players that only have time to play for an hour or 2 and thus the convenience is really tempting.
But convenience also makes the experience shallow.Double edge sword.
Sacrificing all the depth and sophistication for convenience and shallow game core is also bad(one of the reasons MMOs have been doing poorly)
Best of both worlds is achievable,perhaps testing is needed to get to a kind of balance between the 2
It is important to understand the negative impact convenience has been having on these games.
Thanks for your thoughts on this everyone.
Just to be clear, I don't want the mail system to be a chore to use but I do believe that it could be done in a way to make it more than just an instant item transfer system. There could be a way for the player to choose a more instant mail service, or to use a more indepth one that allows for player interaction which can give benefits to the person doing the delivery and the sender themselves, perhaps.
Would be great to have a read of Kilsins past post, but looks like that isn't possible.