Forums » General Pantheon Discussion

The Little Things

    • 646 posts
    December 22, 2018 11:53 AM PST

    When a video game is made, there's always a lot of focus put on the broader game systems - things like the combat style, gearing, dungeons/raids, crafting, etc. These are critical, of course, but something I really appreciate is when developers take the time to put in little details. Here are some details I would love to see in Pantheon.

    - Player character's eyes/head/neck/shoulders turning to look toward whatever you have targeted. (I've seen this taken a step further in one game, where you can press the Home key and your character's head turns to look at the camera. Allows for arranging some great screenshots!)

    - Idle NPC conversations in the background - not just when you talk to them.

    - A "wet" effect on your character's hair, skin, and clothes when it rains.

    - A little puff of condensed air from characters' mouths when in a very cold area.

    - The ability to toggle visor-like headgear up and down.

    - Different idle and sitting stances you can toggle through, to give your character their own personality.

    - Footprints - for player characters, as well as mounts and pets!

    - Appropriate footstep sound effects for the type of ground you're crossing.

    - When sitting in a chair, on a bench, on a ledge, etc, your character goes into an appropriate sit animation, so that there's no crouching on top of chairs.

    - Character's mouth moving when you type something in /say. Bonus points if the animation is slightly different depending on the punctuation you end with.

    - Logical placement of gathering objects. As an ecologist, I'm happy to consult on where you should place certain types of plants and where they shouldn't go. ;P

    - Creatures having line of sight for detecting you.

    There's probably more. Most (save for the last one) don't really impact combat gameplay at all, but I really enjoy it when I encounter them in the MMOs I play.

    • 287 posts
    December 23, 2018 11:02 AM PST

    I love the passive effects you listed and agree they would add a lot (a lot) to the game.  I'm less a fan of the active effects, the things you have control over with toggles, etc.

    In EQ2 NPCs' heads would turn to track you as you walked/ran/rode by and I thought that was amazing.  It had a handful of other environmental effects, too, all of which served to make the game much more immersive.  With the realistic (at the time) graphics it all served to make you feel part of a world rather than just a "toon" in a game.

    I hope VR is planning some of the things you listed.  It almost seems a requirement for any new MMO.

    • 239 posts
    December 23, 2018 11:27 AM PST
    I could not agree more with both of you. In EQ2 when the head would turn when you targeted something to the side I recalled something along the lines of... WTF, that is awesome!
    The standard to sway when standing, or leaning your weight to one side while afk is fine. But sounds, slight facail movements is always a big add that lets the player know they put a lot of time and effort in the game. I am sure most people will start saying too early for this detail, and just make the game work, ect.. I can see a whole team working on this in the last half year or so making the details really pop in this world.
    • 1 posts
    December 23, 2018 11:39 AM PST
    What I would like to see is a new way of mana regeneration instead of sitting down. Maybe have a meditate button where you character is actualy standing but goes in a meditation transe and you start gaining mana.
    Maybe for example as a druid you see some green energy flowing into him from his surrondings.
    I don’t know why, but it always feels so weird when playing EQ and half the people are doing something and the other half are sitting down like they are having a picnic in the middle of a battle :0




    • 233 posts
    December 28, 2018 12:41 PM PST

    Two of many small details.

    1. Ambeince, i want it to be real, if i hear a dog bark, i want there to be a dog somewhere.

    2. I want inns to feel sleazy and dangerous and i want npcs to have lifes with 100s of scripted chores and routines.

    • 334 posts
    December 28, 2018 1:04 PM PST

    These "little" things actually end up being a huge part in enhancing and helping make game worlds feel alive.

    • 1021 posts
    December 28, 2018 2:03 PM PST

    Naunet said:

    - Different idle and sitting stances you can toggle through, to give your character their own personality.

    I completely agree with all of these and think it would be amazing to see every one of them in the game.

    I hightlighted this feature though as I think it's a way VR could make money.  This is exactly how Epic Games makes so much money on Fortnite without making anyone ever "have" to pay anything.

    I would probably spend a few extra hundred dollars throughout my game life span in Pantheon on features like these.  Even opening a store to buy more emotes or dances, or the likes of which you have said.  Does not give any advantages to anyone an if people want to pay for it, then let them and it's free revenue for the company.

    • 646 posts
    December 28, 2018 3:07 PM PST

    Please don't turn my thread into a request for cash shop items. :( Everything in my list I have experienced in MMOs with no need to make cash shop purchases for any of them - including idle and sitting stances (honestly I would just say "look at FFXIV's emote system and do what they're doing" haha).

    • 6 posts
    December 28, 2018 6:40 PM PST

    In relation to having a cash shop for something like an emote; i'm whole heartedly against it. I'm not interested in another game that just tries to nickel and dime with you with things that should have been in the game at launch.

     

    I am, however, completely okay with having to observe another NPC or character perform an emote in order to learn how to do it yourself. 


    This post was edited by Geminias at December 28, 2018 6:42 PM PST