I'll promise to read it if they promise not to make it pointless*

ArchivedUser

Every single person here has done it. If you disagree you are lying to yourself  . Text comes up and you click/esc/enter to make it go away. You may do this for any number of reasons. They really don’t matter but I feel the blame for this TERRIBLE habit lies on both sides. 

We are so eager to get to the end of the game, and developers are trying to slow progression. Now I know some people will say, “The storyline isn’t just to slow the user down.” I feel that a high percentage of them are now-a-days. The more MMORPGs I play the worse this habit gets. I only read now if I’m forced to. It could be a grind quest, Inn keep, or wandering NPC I’ll just click through it. “I want kill stuff not read this rubbish.” - Waffles in every game 

 

I will make this promise:

I will start this game as I did when I was a wee lad. I’ll read it all.!

When my friends are flying through the content I’ll fight the urge to skip a single line of text. When they are yelling at me in VOIP to hurry I’ll mute them and read on. 

Intrepid studios make me this promise in turn: 

Your storyline won’t be rubbish to simply progress me through the storyline. 

Fight the urge to push out a new NPC quickly to just meet a deadline. Don't make a long text quest chain just to reward me XP and a bronze sword.

 

My suggestions (learn from others failures)

-          You’re already staffing up, right? Higher a writer! They can be part time, or contract. Character creation is what they do.

-          If you are going to have the grindy quests to simply reward gear/money/items don’t make them have dialog. Put them on a town bulletin board. Put the entire summary there. We can sort through them as we want. This makes questing streamlined. In the event there is story driven quests it will be more unique. It won’t simply get drowned out by all the dialog from grind quests.

-          HAVE REACURING NPCs. My favorite games (mmorpg or otherwise) have those random characters that you just see pop up and are like “holy crap that person!”.

I am totally behind this game. I’ve gotten so many coworkers and friends hyped about this game. I believe in you. Even if you don’t promise I still will, and I’m curious to others takes on my thoughts and suggestions.

ArchivedUser

I have never done this. 

ArchivedUser

Every time a new game comes out I tell myself "this time I will really do it, I WILL read every single text/story detail!". Then the game comes out and 30 minutes and 10 levels later and I give up...
I really, really do hope that it will be different this time. I remember from one of the live-streams or podcasts (can't remember at all which one) that Steven said lore/story is very important to him. I hope this means that he will go to great measures to make sure that the story is of high quality. Because honestly, I would love to read every single text box, but it needs to be really interesting and engaging for me to even bother. Here's to hoping
About your suggestions, I find the first one really interesting. An actual writer would be amazing, because they know exactly how to make a good story! Steven could give them his ideas and see where the writer would take that... So, if Intrepid's funding allows it without gimping other needed areas, that would be awesome.

ArchivedUser

I can't do it. I'm too much about speed and efficiency. Doing everything as precise and quickly as possible brings me enjoyment. Reading the quests? Probably not. It really is too bad, but I know who I am, and I can't help myself.

ArchivedUser

HAHAHA When i start in a new game I tell myself "Dont skip, you need to know the story" but after 2 or 3 quest I just skip it all. Every single game  

ArchivedUser

When it is the first time playing through any game I never skip it's storyline. After a second run-through or on an alt, I can skip it for the sake of speed.

ArchivedUser

Honestly it depends. My first go of WoW I read most things. Especially because you had to because some things were confusing or the world was to big and they didn't have giant circles on the mini map showing the zone the mob you were supposed to kill 10x of was at.

ArchivedUser

Zarivan said:

When it is the first time playing through any game I never skip it's storyline. After a second run-through or on an alt, I can skip it for the sake of speed.

This has been my modus operandi for years. However, given the ever-changing nature of the world, and the fact that quests grow or die with our nodes, and the weather, and so on and so forth ... I've a happy feeling I'll be reading for a good bit of the time.

This only really becomes an issue with I roam about with @Possum, as the poor man just doesn't read as quickly as I do. I'd venture he may read more completely, but could I admit that?

Nnnnaaaaahhhhh.

Fortunately, because I really do love the man, I've learned to school myself to patience when we roam about, together

*sighs happily* Yep, he sure is fortunate to have found me!

ArchivedUser

Isende said:

Zarivan said:

When it is the first time playing through any game I never skip it's storyline. After a second run-through or on an alt, I can skip it for the sake of speed.

This only really becomes an issue with I roam about with @Possum, as the poor man just doesn't read as quickly as I do. I'd venture he may read more completely, but could I admit that?

Nnnnaaaaahhhhh.

Fortunately, because I really do love the man, I've learned to school myself to patience when we roam about, together

*sighs happily* Yep, he sure is fortunate to have found me!

Indeed.  

ArchivedUser

I think the odds are higher that I will read it in this game. Since what we pick and do not pick has a lasting impact on us and the world.  It also depends on fonts used and how easy it is to read. Tiny fonts and bad color choices are rough to deal with. I do read very, very fast though so that helps.

ArchivedUser

I'll read through epic quests and anything related to the upper tier node advancement. I won't read through side quests unless they're kept really short and add good flavor / ambiance to the experience.

I'd prefer any lesser quests to just be area events where you can hop in or not. The NPC that might trigger something could have a few lines but we don't need to hear his entire life story of how he dropped out of wizarding school to become a farmer and then hear the detailed reasons of why we need to remove the undead that have taken over his farm. We see a problem, we remove it. Actually, it'd be funny for renegade players to have a chance to side with the undead against the farmer village. Now that'd be a twist. Maybe use the lowest tier of monster coins for players who like to play that villainous style.

Side NPCs, books, and miscellaneous items that add a bit of lore and backstory here n' there are a good idea though.

ArchivedUser

Sozia said:

I think the odds are higher that I will read it in this game. Since what we pick and do not pick has a lasting impact on us and the world.  It also depends on fonts used and how easy it is to read. Tiny fonts and bad color choices are rough to deal with. I do read very, very fast though so that helps.

I agree with the impact of the world part. Are they going to change up the NPCs text as the towns change? Will you see NPCs move and not just appear/disappear as towns do?

ArchivedUser

I want to delve into the lore before corruption 

ArchivedUser

I feel more comfortable reading the dialog when I'm soloing, but in a group? I think most people feel the pressure to push forward quickly as to not waste anyone's time. 

However, I think it would be interesting to offer incentive to read through it all, such as play some atmospheric music that plays when you read it - something fitting to the tone of the text and you don't hear elsewhere in the game. Then you have an audible treat to go along with the visual comprehension. 

ArchivedUser

Hmmn. I guess in many ways I care more about my own experience of the story than I do about the lore.

I clearly remember in Cataclysm shooting fire cannons across a gorge and 200+ goblins writhing in flames as they flung themselves off the cliff on the other side.
And I remember chasing down goblins with a giant steamroller, as they ran away from me screaming in pain and terror...and backing over some repeatedly to make sure all 500 of them died.
Don't recall any details of why it was necessary for me to do that in order to save Mt. Hyjal.
I don't know that I care about the details of why someone wants me to go on the quest - as long as the quest itself is fun. Especially if the quest asks me to use non-combat class abilities.

My expectation is that in Ashes, I'll be less focused on scripted quests and more focused on how the world is evolving. That a spider demon came and destroyed parts of the market place before we vanquished it will be more memorable than why some NPC wanted me to obtain 8 Forest Guardian meat.
Defending a caravan so we can gather the resources necessary to build that library we want will be more memorable than the quest text for why some NPC wants me to gather 50 wolf pelts.

ArchivedUser

I recall @GMSteven mentioning that you really must read the text in Ashes quests, but there will also be Tasks with minimal or no text. That being said, I'll probably just ask my wife, the reader

ArchivedUser

As a guy who has some hundred hours in D&D and other text base games as well as making my own I can say hand over phylactery that I alway read every bit of text in these types of game.

ArchivedUser

lexmax said:

I recall @GMSteven mentioning that you really must read the text in Ashes quests, but there will also be Tasks with minimal or no text. That being said, I'll probably just ask my wife, the reader

In the playthrough they did, he missed the quest offering because he wasn't paying attention and chose the wrong option in the conversation.  He had to repeat the interaction to get the quest.  So, reading will matter in some cases.

ArchivedUser

MrWaffles said:

-          You’re already staffing up, right? Higher a writer! 

My favorite take away from this post

ArchivedUser

I've only skipped through if I've done it before, I watch and read everything the first time.
Sure a lot of the times it's boring, but some of those quest will be referred back to later and you'll be happy to have read it

I can understand if people skip through though, it can get in the way. Feeling wise anyways, specially if you join the game after launch, you have this feeling to catch up and thus want to get through with it faster.

ArchivedUser

I promise this to myself every time I start a new game. It never worked out yet.
If narrator is not there, there is not a chance I'll read it all.

Sure, at least once a couple of hours something catches my interest and I read it, but... it's only 1% of it all.

Also -> walls of text scare me. I avoid them.

ArchivedUser

Dygz said:

My expectation is that in Ashes, I'll be less focused on scripted quests and more focused on how the world is evolving. That a spider demon came and destroyed parts of the market place before we vanquished it will be more memorable than why some NPC wanted me to obtain 8 Forest Guardian meat.
Defending a caravan so we can gather the resources necessary to build that library we want will be more memorable than the quest text for why some NPC wants me to gather 50 wolf pelts.

I agree. Now-a-days there is no need for text for those kinds of quests. It's just for completeness sake. If the text of an NPC changes base on the world changing thats what i care about. Will his dialog go more grim if the town around him is failing? Will a child actually age?

ArchivedUser

I read the first time, and if I still remember it on an alt I'll skip it.  Sometimes there's some info you need to be aware of in those texts. 

ArchivedUser

Like, A for attack.

ArchivedUser

Dygz said:

Like, A for attack.

LOL yeah, from EQ, I died a few times by accidently hitting that; then learned to remap it.  

ArchivedUser

Kasyee said:

I promise this to myself every time I start a new game. It never worked out yet.
If narrator is not there, there is not a chance I'll read it all.

Sure, at least once a couple of hours something catches my interest and I read it, but... it's only 1% of it all.

Also -> walls of text scare me. I avoid them.

@Kasvee your post was TL;DR

ArchivedUser

I tend to read everything at least the first time and if I am tired or have forgotten the story I may read it with an alt.  As this is a Sandbox game I think the quests will be evolving with the node and repetition to be limited to the main story line.  I liked some of the ideas that limited the text for some quests.  I also think that if there is a long text and multiple interactions with an NPC it should be significant and have consequences and then reading the text will be part of the quest and not a speed bump to completing it.

ArchivedUser

I read and listen to all.  It's hard in groups, maybe that's why I enjoy my quiet time when soloing.  Though it does help to be a speed reader at times also.   I think in Ashes with the idea of an ever changing world and what we do matters it might be more important thing to do.  Do we know that npc's will always have the same dialogue?  I seem to recall that randomness is a computer programs specialty.  
I've taken alts and hurried through dialogs but I wonder if that will be a good idea now.

ArchivedUser

I read every single line of text no matter how pointless. Now going through it with a alt there's a good chance I will skip it unless I enjoyed that quest line

ArchivedUser

Zlade said:

I read every single line of text no matter how pointless. Now going through it with a alt there's a good chance I will skip it unless I enjoyed that quest line

But if you level your alt at a different node, you'd have an entirely different experience    I think the people who like to thoroughly read everything might end up spending a lot of time immersed in the world for any of their characters if Intrepid succeeds in their vision.

ArchivedUser

Solarion said:

But if you level your alt at a different node, you'd have an entirely different experience  

I truly am hoping this is the case. I think it would even be great if the same character was on two different servers but because how different the world developed they are very different.