Citadel of Sorcery

I only have one concern so far about the quest system: will the fact that no two quests are the same cause others not to join in a quest with you?

What if a friend and I want to go out questing but we can't effectively accomplish that because we don't have the same quests?

your thoughts? preferably a dev if possible.

Originally posted by jagust05

I only have one concern so far about the quest system: will the fact that no two quests are the same cause others not to join in a quest with you?

What if a friend and I want to go out questing but we can't effectively accomplish that because we don't have the same quests?

your thoughts? preferably a dev if possible.

You can pretty much join up with anyone, any time, on any quest.  You can join a friend's personal quest, and for a time, your paths will merge, and whenever you want you can leave that friend and continue your story on your own.  What you did while you were with the other player becomes part of your story, but your story is not dependant on staying with the other player. 

I know this brings up as many questions as answers, believe me, we have spent hours and hours with a host of game designers going around the question of how to make this all work.  Just let me tell you, we have it figured out and can offer unique personal quests and group missions (either of which can have multiple players involved). 

This system is one of the key elements to the game, and one which we are proud of and can't wait to show players.  I hope this answers most of your question.  The rest may have to wait until you play.

I think the best quests in an mmorpg is runescape.

Thats the only reason why the game is still running.

Interesting storyline with so much suspence/thrill, and cutscenes(not too much) that are entertaining interesting and cool :D. PLEASE!

Originally posted by nightwing70

I think the best quests in an mmorpg is runescape.

Thats the only reason why the game is still running.

Interesting storyline with so much suspence/thrill, and cutscenes(not too much) that are entertaining interesting and cool :D. PLEASE!

This game will not be like that, luckily.

1. I have to say I remain skeptical of the ability of any computer-generated quest system to create engaging, immersive content.  It has to get its goals and dialogue from somewhere, and that "somewhere" is going to be a finite pool of human-generated material.  Once you've done enough "dynamically" generated quests, you are going to start running into the same situations over and over again, and the whole thing is going to take on a certain sameness and monotony.

But this is a discussion for a different thread.

2. I do not claim to be an expert on very many subjects, but I think I am something of an expert on the subject of grouping in MMOGs -- why people group and why they don't, as well as what game systems engender a group-friendly or -unfriendly environment.

So far, I see nothing here that will prompt anyone to group.  It seems as if each player in CoS has his own story to pursue, and each quest or mission is designed to scale itself to the size of the group, even if that size is one.

Without common goals, people will not group.  Without a game-systems incentive (such as a hefty XP bonus), people will not group.  Unless you have a top-notch player search interface integrated with your LFG system, people will not group.  If travel time is even the slightest issue, people will not group.

I really get the impression that you are expecting people to group up just for the heck of it.  I am telling you it simply doesn't work that way.  Even if you have friends of the same level in the same game, people tend not to go to the trouble of teaming up unless you give them very good reasons to.

Originally posted by Hexxeity

1. I have to say I remain skeptical of the ability of any computer-generated quest system to create engaging, immersive content.  It has to get its goals and dialogue from somewhere, and that "somewhere" is going to be a finite pool of human-generated material.  Once you've done enough "dynamically" generated quests, you are going to start running into the same situations over and over again, and the whole thing is going to take on a certain sameness and monotony.

But this is a discussion for a different thread.

2. I do not claim to be an expert on very many subjects, but I think I am something of an expert on the subject of grouping in MMOGs -- why people group and why they don't, as well as what game systems engender a group-friendly or -unfriendly environment.

So far, I see nothing here that will prompt anyone to group.  It seems as if each player in CoS has his own story to pursue, and each quest or mission is designed to scale itself to the size of the group, even if that size is one.

Without common goals, people will not group.  Without a game-systems incentive (such as a hefty XP bonus), people will not group.  Unless you have a top-notch player search interface integrated with your LFG system, people will not group.  If travel time is even the slightest issue, people will not group.

I really get the impression that you are expecting people to group up just for the heck of it.  I am telling you it simply doesn't work that way.  Even if you have friends of the same level in the same game, people tend not to go to the trouble of teaming up unless you give them very good reasons to.

You always have the option of grouping up.  You can go help somebody with a quest..Or mabye you could go with a friend and help save a city, or go kill a monster which was terrorizing the town.

The game just never FORCES you to group up, although you always have the option of doing so.

That is my point exactly.  You have the option of grouping in every MMOG; the MMOGs where it actually happens are few and far between.

If you don't strongly engourage it in some way, it is not going to happen.

I am not advocating "forced" grouping.  That's just as bad as a game where everyone solos all the time.  It takes talent and effort on the part of the designer to walk the fine line, but it can be done.

The first step is deciding that you want players to be social and that you want to promote teamwork.  If this is not important to the designers, it's not going to happen for most of the players.

Originally posted by Hexxeity

That is my point exactly.  You have the option of grouping in every MMOG; the MMOGs where it actually happens are few and far between.

If you don't strongly engourage it in some way, it is not going to happen.

I am not advocating "forced" grouping.  That's just as bad as a game where everyone solos all the time.  It takes talent and effort on the part of the designer to walk the fine line, but it can be done.

The first step is deciding that you want players to be social and that you want to promote teamwork.  If this is not important to the designers, it's not going to happen for most of the players.

Now this is not true.  I am actually going to play with my cousin, and I plan on playing with him.  If I meet a friend, why not play with him and go kill a murderer which haas been haunting the town?  There is no force against me to group, but I like doing quests/killing monsters while interacting with other players.

Some MMO's do force you, but in this game, it gives you the options, so if I feel like playing for a friend for a while, then I will.  After he leaves, now I will not be forces to group up with someone I don't know, I can just play by myself and lead my exciting adventure.

Again, I explicitly said you should not be forced to group.

Also, saying people have the option to group is totally irrelevant, as there is an option to group in every MMOG.<