If every server is the same, is anything different?

tugowar

We now know that the node types are the same across all servers, so your map is basically going to look the same. What about triggering events? If we hit condition XYZ, will always trigger condition at node a little ? Or are there things were as soon as the first node hits the conditions, it doesn’t matter which node it is, but it will happen there.

Basically I need to know that there’s a little bit of spice in life. The world is much less dynamic than it was originally pitched to be imo.

Nagash

seaber

Devorandom

I think this is exactly as it was pitched. The differences will be based on how players choose to progress the server not a completely unique server on it's own. That would be a pretty unrealistic expectation.

tugowar

Why is it unrealistic to have expected node types to be random? I’m not saying a totally different map, I’m saying totally different node types.

Devorandom

I would think because there are narrative reasons for the set up. There is a story for the world, and parts of it will be triggered based on which nodes are progressed. So I imagine that the node types would be relevant to the story. Also there will probably also be balancing problems based on node layout.

There are already enough unpredictable factors with the players dictating the progress of the world. Randomizing node placement would probably overcomplicate things. Assuming my guesses are true of course.

Damokles

They said that lore events would trigger through legendary or epic quests, so i would say that some servers are going to be ahead of others just through player participation.
It would be really funny if a small server was ahead of everyone else, because they are mainly consisting of hardcore PvE guilds, who push the story, while the larger servers suffer from infighting xD

tugowar

So you are saying that there is a definite endgame then?

In the current scenario, a website like wow head is unavoidable. That is a shame. A more traditional RPG game with truly dynamic choices would have been nicer. This is just a PVP game, not a RPG.

Damokles

tugowar wrote: »

So you are saying that there is a definite endgame then?

In the current scenario, a website like wow head is unavoidable. That is a shame. A more traditional RPG game with truly dynamic choices would have been nicer. This is just a PVP game, not a RPG.

We dont know how they will do it^^
It could be that they make epic or legendary quests failable, which would then open other questlines etc.
We know for certain, that they have storyline quests that could be really rare to find.

Devorandom

@tugowar No single player game has achieved a truly dynamic world, so I don't see an MMO doing it first.

tugowar

Outward did a good job of it I thought @devorandom

tugowar

Also, dynamic worlds ina MMO do not have to be programmatic. A game master could choose when to insert an event or change.

Devorandom

That's different from your original point and I wouldn't necessarily call it a dynamic world world with that. But I would certainly be all for it.

Lyiat

Keep in mind that only 6 nodes can be max level on the entire server. Out of 103 you're only going to be able to upgrade six of them to metro level (Level 6). Because of the influence system, only so many are going to be able hit City (Level 5) and so on. You'll not be able to max out every node on a server. Some of them are going to be down at level 2-3. On your sever, unless you destroy the level six nodes already in place, you'll never see the higher level content in those left out nodes.

Devorandom

Also I played a bit of outward and I didn't see that as a particularly dynamic world, although I haven't had the chance to get very far in it.

tugowar

I don’t mean dynamic world as in the map changes, but dynamic in the sense of the story changes. You lock yourself out of things or miss opportunities based on what you do in Outward.

Devorandom

Well the story in AoC will change based on what the players do so you already have what you want there. In regards to the outwards system, that been a part of RPGs for years.

Lyiat

tugowar wrote: »

I don’t mean dynamic world as in the map changes, but dynamic in the sense of the story changes. You lock yourself out of things or miss opportunities based on what you do in Outward.

Like I said, you can only level up so many nodes. So yes you'll lock yourself out of content you could have gotten by leveling up different nodes. Some servers will have different levels in different areas.

Ezenkrul

There's already a lot of spice in life.
Only boring people get bored

I feel that each server can and will be greatly different if there's no true advantage or known advantage of going one way or another. If people know that leveling this node does this compared to that, which is extremely beneficial, then most people will aim for that. I would love to see the events/benefits change from alphas/betas to release. The illusion of choice is just that.

Karthos

I think there will be "preferred" locations. Hills, rivers, nodes near points of interest. I'm assuming every single will have a particular spot that is deemed "the best" which may vary.

It may not though.

Lyiat

Karthos wrote: »

I think there will be "preferred" locations. Hills, rivers, nodes near points of interest. I'm assuming every single will have a particular spot that is deemed "the best" which may vary.

It may not though.

True, and a meta my form around specific nodes over time. But because of the amount of effort required to actually upgrade and level up nodes, that meta may not be discovered until months and months or even years down the line. And if a really good node got overlooked on your server... Well it's a level 2, there are six metros, and the two towns near it are keeping it at level 2. You'll need to convince enough people to put in the work to fix all of that to get it up there.

That's dynamic gameplay.

tugowar

@Lyiat small points of clarification, there are only five metros. And if the server manages to develop five into metros, it is 100% of the map zone of influence.

Makinoji

You're a PI member, you should be posting these questions to the IS team for clarification. There's too much misinformation floating around and you're bound to be fed some.

trojo

"If every server is the same, is anything different?"

The fact that there are different players on the different servers will cause different results even if the other initial conditions are the same. Say for example, there's a coastal Economic node named Westwend (completely made up name) next to an inland Scientific node named Silverdale (also completely made up name). What we are expecting, based on what the devs have said about how all this works, is that on one server Westwend might be a Kaelar Metropolis, subjugating its neighbor Silverdale, which develops into a Py'Rai City, both nodes teeming with freeholds. On another server, the whole area might be ignored altogether, some other part of the world deemed "better" by most players on that server, with Westwend being only a Vek fishing Village, and Silverdale an utterly empty level zero node. On yet another server, perhaps Silverdale is a Vaelune Town and Westwend a mere Nikua Expedition, and both are vassal to a distant Tulnar Divine Metropolis. And so on. This area-- and by extension the world-- will, one would hope, end up looking very different based on the collective choices of the player base as a whole.

It is almost a social experiment, I guess, to see just how differently things will shape up on the various servers despite having the same starting conditions. It could also end up being the case that all servers end up looking very similar if, for example, the uber-guilds and/or influential streamers decide that "coastal Scientific nodes are meta" (or whatever), and force the node development of every server down a similar path. As well, it could also very easily end up being the case that all Metropolises and Cities across all servers are either Elf or Human (despite the diminishing returns thing) due to those races being overwhelmingly more popular than Orcs or Dwarves. But that is not set in stone either. Whether something like that happens will ultimately depend on the players. We shall see.

I think it's cool that all the servers will be starting out "the same" but are expected to evolve in different directions. We are all starting with the same blank slate, but what we ultimately draw on it will be different (hopefully).

Karthos

makinoji wrote: »

You're a PI member, you should be posting these questions to the IS team for clarification. There's too much misinformation floating around and you're bound to be fed some.

But confirmed Nodes in game right?

tugowar

Don’t tell anyone, but there will actually be this action bar that you have to press right when it’s in the middle to be able to level up your node. And the higher the node level, the smaller the acceptance time will be

Karthos

Nerd rage in 5...4...3...2...1

Nagash

Karthos wrote: »

Nerd rage in 5...4...3...2...1

Sips tea ☕

Wololo

Wololoooooopooooooooooioooooooooooooooo

Nagash

I do say old chaps this has been a fascinating read

Varkun

While it may be a nice idea to have random node types develope per server there may be many reasons behind the choice to make them static that have to do with development time than we realize. Yes the same node types may be developed on different servers but will they be the same race, we do know race will change many of the quests within a node even possibly the theme of other content within the node as well.
Have to see how it shakes out through the alpha tests and provide our feedback.