Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Caravan visual representation for abilities.
Voxtrium
Member, Alpha Two
In the showcase a few weeks ago we saw the caravan utilize a speed, repulsor and heal ability. I would really like to see a visual representation on the caravan for each of those abilities. For example if a caravan has a heal ability, perhaps it has a flower on the top of the caravan that blooms when the heal is activated. Or for the speed some sort of of crank underneath wagon that releases to "help" move the caravan at higher speeds?
Just having the ability happen felt like it was missing that magic sauce that the rest of AOC has demonstrated. Perhaps that is just me but I felt it might not be a bad idea to mention it.
Caravan abilities should be tied to a visual representation on the caravan.
Just having the ability happen felt like it was missing that magic sauce that the rest of AOC has demonstrated. Perhaps that is just me but I felt it might not be a bad idea to mention it.
Caravan abilities should be tied to a visual representation on the caravan.
2
Comments
I see no reason why it wouldn’t work in Ashes.
Its not so much about the kind of indication as much as it is about having something to represent the mechanic as its happening... it can even be hidden until the ability is used but regardless my suggestion was more about having something show the mechanic, like when you cast an ability as a mage your hands move in a pattern to represent the cast, similarly for a caravan but since it can't move its hands something else to represent it instead... like a flower for healing... or make it blood colored veins that attach to the players from the caravan idk.
And same as important -> an " OPTION " Please to activate or de-activate this visual Effect for any single Player.
That the Players can decide, whetever they want to see this happen - or not.
Because i am completely honest with You -> i don't.
Please don't.
Please don't ruin my Taste of Immersion for me, by putting a h~uuuge Icon-Flower like from an 8bit-Mobile Game or so, above the Wagon.
Please don't.
My Eyes start to bleed at even the Thought.
ARG !!! Curses. Is it the Ancient Ones and The Others again, trying to throw our World into Chaos ?
✓ Occasional Roleplayer
✓ Guild is " Balderag's Garde " for now. (German)
Y'all are getting caught up on the idea of it being specifically a flower? What it is has absolutely no bearing on the fact it an ability is being represented visually instead of merely happening.
In fact it would be no different than the Barbarian using the great sword. except instead of a swing to indicate the damage... the damage is instead just applied, no animation whatsoever.
Everything else has an animation tied to it, the wand casts a pattern for auto attacks, similarly the ice storm has an animation, running has an animation... why does casting an ability on a caravan have no representation.
Before you say the Caravan is inanimate and the caster is not therefore nullifying my comparison, consider a rock, it cannot cast an ability, however even if it did would you not expect the rock... to perhaps glow BEFORE hand?
The key in the later statement is that the rock would glow before the casting not during and after. The glow would be the indication of a cast.
Well ... ... you said it like that, s~ooo ... ... 😁 🤣
I just hope i won't see a " World of Warcraft "-Repeat, like when back in Vanilla - suddenly "BIG EFFECTS" appeared like around your Feet, around your Body - or above your Head,
so that every Enemy Player on for Example Alterac Valley could see your Buff -> EVERY ENEMY who might have a Purge-Ability of said Buff.
Like a huge, Luminous Advertising Neon Sign, screaming into the Face of everyone who see's your Character,
" I AM BUFFED !! QUICK !! PURGE M~EEE !!! " (lol) 😆
From what i have seen,
Caravan's won't be overpowered. A fully Extra-Equipped Caravan with all kinds of Extra's can keep Enemies at Bay for a few Seconds, plus move fast for a short Moment,
"plus" can heal itself to some Degree,
but i think we all know how this is supposed to go with Caravan-Strength, right ?
It will be harder to attack and destroy the Caravan, dependent on the Number of Players around it and how strong and powerful they might be. Plus of Course how well their Skill and Abilities will be, to shield the Caravan from Attackers.
Please just don't make a ridiculously big, Luminous Advertising Neon Sign Festival that takes all the Immersion of an Fantasy Game away.
Or simply -> make it optional.
Make it so, that Players can decide themselves the Level of how intense, strong, huge or small and weak visual Effects of active Abilities and/or Buffs are. Be it on something big like the Caravan Wagon, or smaller things like buffed Players themselves - or Players who use active Abilities.
Since the Caravan-Wagon shown was mostly made out of Wood -> how about "Splinters" and small Pieces of Wood flying around and away, when someone hits the Caravan-Wagon with a Greatsword or strong Ability or so ?
Nothing that would need to make "to much Sense". Just a visual Sign, like -> Jepp !! This Place on the Caravan was hit.
Maybe it will be, in the Future. Maybe in Alpha Two, or in the Beta - or around Release. I admit it would be a bit comical if all this Talk here in this Topic would be completely for nothing. 😁
✓ Occasional Roleplayer
✓ Guild is " Balderag's Garde " for now. (German)
Best Comment here. * hands over small Gigachad Medal *
This is my take on this, as well. It will also make a PvP Assault on a Caravan more challenging and hence, cool.
I think Voxtrium's Concerns might be completely unfounded or to negative. I don't think it will be "to hard" to for Example attack or defend a Caravan.
I am only concerned for the Case, that it might be to easy. When i am an Attacker, i don't want to destroy a whole Caravan Wagon as easily like finishing of a smaller to medium-sized Mob.
And when i am a Defender, with enough Team Mates and Preparation, Arrangement and Team-Work, i want to have the Impression that i can actually "DEFEND" the Caravan - instead of being just nearby, helplessly looking like it is cracked open like a Fortune Cookie.
✓ Occasional Roleplayer
✓ Guild is " Balderag's Garde " for now. (German)
My topic has nothing to do with the ability for attackers to assess a caravans capabilities. I don't mind if the attackers can't see it till cast, all I care about is that something happens when he ability is cast similarly to a person casting a spell. Something happening is all that I want, instead of what currently is in place where the ability just happens there is no "cast"
It might be helpful to try to reiterate your idea, or what you're asking for!
Perhaps if you can come up with an additional 1 or 2 examples of what you're talking about (similar to the flower = healing idea), with some arguments as to why these ideas would be nice to see, you might start some new thoughts or discussions in the thread!
Visual queues.
That's what I got from it.
Allow me to provide an illustration: picture an ability that enables the summoning of lightning strikes, visually there would be a witch aboard the stagecoach. This would serve as a clear indicator to observers that my caravan possesses such a formidable ability.
I think your idea is interesting and it has appeal, I would create an ability that brings a huge octopus inside my wagon and when I activate the ability it would make all octupus arms start an AoE ability around it, that would hold everybody in place and prevent them from using block/dodge abilities... somthing like that
Your idea is a high value idea, it is up to Intrepid to see if this fits their vision on this and if they have the time and resources
My original thought process is that when anything in Verra has an ability there is a movement to indicate that ability is being cast. For example, a player auto attacking with a wand, the wand moves in a pattern during the auto attacks, the ranger charging a piercing shot shows him drawing the bow fully and taking a half crouched stance.
Those examples are specifically point to a visual Q to indicate the ability is being cast. Somebody used an ability and it was "cast" showing us an animation.
The "problem" right now is the caravan cast that ability but there is no indication, nobody knows what happened, so the heal is a really weak pulse on the ground that shows its active, the repulsion was a shockwave affect. What I would really like to see is an ability utilized by the caravan have a perceived reason it was cast. So like the wand moving in a pattern during auto attacks shows that the player is actively auto attacking, a caravan casting an ability should show that. The repulsion ability could have some sort of magnetic mechanism that opens up as part of the cast the caravan does for the repulsion. For the speed buff of the caravan you could use something similar to the rubber band airplane propellors we had as a kid, where its an axle that is "wound up" and when the ability is pressed it unwinds helping the towing animal move at a significant increase to speed. For the heal you could have red veins etch into the ground around the caravan like a summoning of a monster except its the healing area cast.
Each of those ideas above are merely to give the ability cast a perceived "reason" to exist like every other spell and ability in Verra. Every ability cast in Verra utilizes some animation by the player during its cast before being triggered in world.
The animation is the "reason" the ability exist, the caravan right now gives no reason for an ability to exist so it looks off compared to every other dynamic I have seen so far.