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Your MENTAL IMAGE? A Stranger Steps into Town....
Tyranthraxus
Member
It's come to the attention of yours truly that the "mental image" of the game-to-be is typically quite different for those of us who have been following awhile, versus those whom are more recently following the project. Example: I predict most of us will be choosing a new Node to re-settle in, every 4 to 6 months, whereas a lot of new-comers expect to defend their original choice of Node until Lights Out.
There are currently a good number of to-be systems listed on the Ashes of Creation Wiki page, but it takes awhile to put them all together. That said, what is your PRESENT MENTAL IMAGE, of stepping into a town that you're new to - either as a visitor looking for goods not available where you've just come from, or perhaps you're looking for a new Node to settle in?
Specifically, what do you see as your priority of things/services to look for, what order and where will you find the things you're looking for, around town? For example: there are to be fulfill-able work orders for things like stacks of materials that players can create, for other players to complete and fulfill. What order and of what are you looking at/for, when arriving in a new town? What might convince you to settle there, and what might make you return, as a non-resident?
There are currently a good number of to-be systems listed on the Ashes of Creation Wiki page, but it takes awhile to put them all together. That said, what is your PRESENT MENTAL IMAGE, of stepping into a town that you're new to - either as a visitor looking for goods not available where you've just come from, or perhaps you're looking for a new Node to settle in?
Specifically, what do you see as your priority of things/services to look for, what order and where will you find the things you're looking for, around town? For example: there are to be fulfill-able work orders for things like stacks of materials that players can create, for other players to complete and fulfill. What order and of what are you looking at/for, when arriving in a new town? What might convince you to settle there, and what might make you return, as a non-resident?
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Snowy mountains because I always love the snow/ice levels in games, and ice/frost spells/themes in general.
I don't plan on moving from that node until it is either destroyed or some other reason.
As for what I want to see in town?
NPC's in cold-weather gear. Fur cloaks, pelts, the whole shebang. I want to see winter-themed buildings (Though I know that that particular expectation might be too much as I doubt they'd have "cold-weather" building variations on top of all of the race-variations they're already going to have), snow spilling out onto the cobblestone, snow and icicles dripping from the rooftops, characters with frozen breath coming out as they breathe. And to top it off nice warm fires in every building with good lighting to match.
It might be too much to expect for their procedural node city system, but I'm hoping they exceed expectations.
Beyond that I really don't care, everywhere is the same as everywhere else just with different assholes and a different background.
Yours truly will stay in whatever node they like for as long as it makes sense, but as soon as a node with more opportunities presents itself I will not stay in my node unless I can see some profitable reason to do so. Perhaps I will spend a lot of time at sea. In general I expect to be quite mobile.
If I had more time, I would write a shorter post.
And I also love to take root, it will depend on the moment and the situation.
Yours truly is more of a functional-ist; My toon will be in whatever Node I predict to be best for contributing towards Science Nodes. A ride/trip to other parts of the world for scenery isn't out-of-character.
Hadn't thought about the NPCs following the seasons, but since the buildings will, you're probably safe to wager that the NPC locals will, as well.
Aye - with a day/night cycle, it'll be interesting to see just how customizable the city's lights will be. It can really add memorable character to a player-cities, across the medium of MMOs.
Very pragmatic and merchant-like. Aye - resources will be be varied and scattered, and few places will have any soul or character, at launch; that takes time to develop.
Exploration is great, when game-worlds of this size are put together. The video on the comparative sizes of different worlds was good for a point of reference; There's going to be a lot of Verra, to see!
When yours truly enters an unfamiliar Node-town center, the first concern is identifying which of the 4 Node-types it is. The best services to have around for someone who will be *HEAVY* into crafting? Probably the Economic type for the expanded market listings, or the Scientific type for the additional schematics and the hope of seeing an airship on our server, someday:
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Economic_nodes#Economic_node_superpower
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Public_transportation#Faster_travel
Is the local geography neat or unique in a special way? It's always neat to live in a cool-looking place. Next, there will be billboards of the different services and shops around town:
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Bulletin_boards
Can I find a shop here that other towns don't offer? (ship upgrades, siege engines, etc) Probably most towns will have locals setting up weaponsmiths and armorsmiths - are there any of server-renown with a vendor, here? Who is live-and-available in their shops, for custom requests? Who's looking for group members to complete local content? The bulletins will be helpful in finding all of this out.
Lastly, what's the social scene like, around this town? The 3 largest-contributing guilds (Patron guilds will have the right to place their guildhalls inside of the Node-town's walls, beginning with just 1 at the Town stage; Who are the 3 largest influencers here - and what are their reputations with the other guilds they "live" in close contact with? How heated is the competition to become/remain the local Patron guild(s)? Is anyone in this town also just poking around, and maybe interested in the achievements from the Tavern Games?
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Guild_halls#Patron_guilds
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Parlor_games
Am I missing anything? This is the current assessment of yours truly as to what to look for, in coming through a strange or unfamiliar Node-town. Is there anything else the rest of you know of that I don't, thus far? Did you learn anything new from this thread about the experience-to-be?
https://knightsofember.com/forums/members/winner909098.54