With one of the major focuses of the game being social interaction among players, I feel that the developers should consider implementing support for a smartphone application. I'm not suggesting the game should be playable through a smartphone, but there should be a way to view in-game world chat, guild chat etc. as well as accessing the marketplace system and perhaps crafting and other aspects. While I don't expect the developers to have the resources to make this available at launch, they should keep it in mind as a future goal and program accordingly so that access to these different features will be possible without recoding everything.
They stress that the game will have new innovative features while relying on many of the old core gameplay designs that created the foundation for MMO's. I think one of the new innovations that many MMO's have taken advantage of are smartphone supported applications. I don't want the game to be delayed to incorporate this feature but I would love to see it happen if possible. While many guilds use services like Discord to keep in touch, you don't have access to in-game chat and miss a lot of social experiences while at work and offline.
What does everyone else think about this? I'm sure there are certain aspects people wouldn't want to be included in a smartphone app so I would love to hear what those are.
I'm not in favour of any sort of play through smartphone apps, so I agree with Mr. Seven on no crafting or trading. There are some interesting app integrations that may be possible. Here are a few and I'm sure there are more.
* Guild management tools
* Group/Friend finder tools
* Monitoring item prices whether in some formal trading system or informal player-driven /auc channels.
There are a couple of ways this could go down.
First, the devs could open certain aspects of the game up through an API which would allow 3rd party developers to create applications (web, mobile or desktop) which would interface with the game in very controlled ways. This would allow third party providers (like the various current guild management sites) to integrate existing tools with Pantheon, much as they have done for other games.
Second, they keep it all in-house, which gives them more control but adds more labour and another required skill set to the dev team. The VR team would also have to deal with draconian overlords such as the Apple App store.
I think it would be advantageous to be able to start LFG while still commuting home or in the middle dinner (because the rest of the family are on their phones anyway and nobody is talking).
Managing guild events, checking in with the guild, updating your status, ETA for arrival, etc... That just all seems like something folks would want to do from their mobile and there may be aspects of the in-game guild tools which aren't mirrored through tools like Discord.
Watching for a deal on a stack of brute hides while I'm making dinner... well who wouldn't let supper burn and rush to their computer to pick up some mats for tonight's crafting session?
Celandor said:I'm not in favour of any sort of play through smartphone apps, so I agree with Mr. Seven on no crafting or trading. There are some interesting app integrations that may be possible. Here are a few and I'm sure there are more.
I'm not advocating or opposing this idea, I'm just curious why you both feel this way? In this age, smart phones are becoming more and more powerful, truthfully mobile computers - whats the difference between a smart phone and a laptop? Or a tablet? The line is beginning to blur. I'll give you an example: I travel for business very often, generally about one week away every 40 days. I use my work laptop to game while I'm away, because it's a mobile device which I can take with me while traveling. Smart phones are nearly there in terms of tech, so why not? I guess without taking a stance, my question is: What is it about the idea of playing the game on a smart phone that bothers you, but playing on a laptop doesn't (in the way I use it at least, as a mobile computer - many people use a laptop as a pseudo desktop)? Where is the line?
Again, I'm not for or against, just more of a social question I guess.
For the record, I really like the ideas you've laid out for the uses of a Pantheon mobile app @Celandor.
Nikademis said:What is it about the idea of playing the game on a smart phone that bothers you, but playing on a laptop doesn't (in the way I use it at least, as a mobile computer - many people use a laptop as a pseudo desktop)? Where is the line?
When someone is playing on a laptop, they have the full UI of the game. As soon as we have people who are playing via mobile device, PS4 or some other platform with limited UI options, then the pressure begins to modify game elements to make things easier for those players. The game gets dumbed down and the player base begins to shift or lose interest entirely.
So I draw a line in the sand now and hope we never get close to crossing it.
If someone has a smartphone that is capable of loading up the actual game (not a dumbed down version made specifically for the phone), visiting the auction house, and making transactions between players, I have no issue with it. (I say this somewhat biased, mostly because I don't think that will ever happen for any game that I will be playing.) I don't want to see players having the ability to affect change in the world while they aren't actually in it. That breaks immersion and also diminishes the value of player to player interaction. If these smart apps are used as tools to communicate, and that communication could ultimately end up turning into real player to player interaction, I am okay with it. Allowing people to play an MMO while at work, school, or driving introduces a host of other issues that I hope we never have to deal with.
I'm afraid the technology for smartphones being capable of running MMO's has arrived. Lineage: Revolution is up and running as a mobile MMO and while there are certainly grounds for improvements in that game, it proves that smartphones are capable of running MMO's. The majority of games and developers are seeking ways to expand their products into the smartphone market because its just makes sense to capitalize on that revenue stream. There are a whole slew of games including MMO's that are utilizing apps, even on a limited basis. In order for an app to be successful, I think there need to be more robust uses other than just social interaction via in-game chat or guild management features.
Personally, I think any MMO that revolves around a player driven economy NEEDS a mobile app for the marketplace. In conjunction with this, I think that whatever in-game crafting system is implemented would be accessed through the mobile app as well, even if there are limitations in place such as queue timers. That way there is a tangible benefit to being logged into the game, but at the same time, you are able to queue up items for crafting while at work or away.
I feel like a lot of people interested in Pantheon are former EQ players (which I am as well) and they are a little stuck in the old nostalgic ideas of how EQ ran. It is now 2018 and denying technological advancements and capabilities because you are not used to them will not make a new game successful. You need to look at this with a larger perspective beyond your own preferences. Personally, I would be surprised if any new MMO doesn't have some form of mobile app capability after 2020.
My understanding is that VR wants to keep a tight lid on their API and I hope it stays that way. I don't have an issue with some of the ideas that Celandor shared but feel pretty confident in saying that I wouldn't want anything to extend much further than his examples. That could possibly change. If someone has a specific idea they would like to discuss then feel free to mention it, but as far as crafting or trading is concerned, that would be a hard no from me. Lineage: Revolution might be an example of a mobile MMO but it was designed to be that, specifically. Pantheon is being designed as a next-generation PC MMO and there is a literal WORLD of difference between the two. The last thing I want to see is development resources being dedicated toward a dumbed down version of the same game, and world. Age of Empires was one of my favorite RTS games of all-time and look what happened when they tried to recreate that experience on a smart-phone. It was a disaster as far as game quality is concerned. Maybe Microsoft walked away with a nice sack of change but I can't imagine many fans of the original game having anything to be happy about.
I am all for technological advancement but the WORLD of Terminus should be sacred. If you are not running a machine that meets the minimum performance requirements of running the game, then you should not be able to directly interact with that world. Brad mentioned a type of friend-finder tool that is being considered. If that tool allows players to customize their player profile or send messages to other players on the network, I would be okay with an app that allows players to interact with this tool through their phone. As far as an out-of-game auction channel of some sort, it's possible that something like this could exist in Discord. If that's the case, there is no need to develop an app. It will only serve to fracture the participation of those that are interested and thus diminish the value of having it in the first place. Anyway, I usually like to be as open-minded as possible when it comes to discussing ideas. I would like to hear more. I will make an effort to try and think of an idea or two of my own to contribute to the discussion but I think a few ground rules need to be established.
Please continue the discussion in the already active thread with an official answer, this one will now be closed.
https://www.pantheonmmo.com/content/forums/topic/5074/smart-phone-support