I have two main concerns with harvesting.
I would prefer that harvest nodes be not very common and definitely not evenly spread out. They should be somewhat concentrated in specific areas, with only occasional nodes elsewhere. Finding a node should feel good, not like a chore .
How it feels when nodes are too common and evenly spaced: Group leaves town on dramatic quest to slay the Big Bad. On the way there, they're like an ADHD stereotype meme:: Walk 10 feet...ooh, a shrub Walk 10 more feet...ooh, some wood...Walk 10 more feet....ooh, a rock. Totally forgetting what we are actually doing and come back to town full of harvested items but Big Bad is still alive
With Experience coming from primarily group content in fairly fixed camps, I don't think this will be as big an issue as theme park MMOs that require a lot of travel. I can see group members distracted by shinies in dungeons, falling behind, or missing a pull. I don't think it'll be a major issue though.
A lot of harvesting and crafting has not been finalized to this point. It still remains very challenging to make a senseable estimation of how things will end up feeling or playing.
One concern about people getting sidetracked, I do understand. But that's more a player attitude issue then a game design. Find yourself the correct bunch of people that can walk to a desired spot in a straight line, kill, clean , update and go home and you'll have a great time. This game aimed to be experienced as a world, so you're not speedshopping in a store. You're suppose to be attracted to things in the world, there is that intent in their development. This could be harvesting nodes but might aswel be plenty of other things. So it's mostly up to the player or your groupmembers to consider this as an inconvenience or a nice time together playing this mmorpg.
Nodes will be spread all over, is quit the generalisation. To my understanding, nodes will be present in senseable places, but not as commonly present as you're used to in other games. When they are harvested they, most likely, will not appear on the same spot again. Personally, I don't expect to see a dozen harvestnodes in one glance or on one screenshot.
From their 'refinement' design and mix and combine concept, I would think there is plenty of room for material requirements. How fast the demand will be saturated is to be tested, but it's unlikely that this saturation stage is something they want to aim for. A hungry (read supoptimal) economy is a thriving one.
Lastly, the amount of time investment required to level up your crafting is not set in stone either. Again, to my recollection, it will also occur less quickly in comparison to what you're accustomed to in other games so far.
Time will tell, perhaps Coh's stream might uncover more details about it.
Counterfleche said:
How it feels when nodes are too common and evenly spaced: Group leaves town on dramatic quest to slay the Big Bad. On the way there, they're like an ADHD stereotype meme:: Walk 10 feet...ooh, a shrub Walk 10 more feet...ooh, some wood...Walk 10 more feet....ooh, a rock. Totally forgetting what we are actually doing and come back to town full of harvested items but Big Bad is still alive
First, I think the world needs a ton more foliage and trees in it. Secondly, when everyone is on one server or server pops are higher, I doubt this'll be an issue as you might not see any nodes then.
I actually would like to see gathering taking longer. (More nodes, trees, plants etc are needed) But I like the long, or even longer, gathering times, because it would deter EVERYONE from doing it. Those that want to put the work in and spend their entire gaming session getting materials and getting a couple skill points in crafting should be rewarded for it. If it's too easy, and fast, and you can just run past a node harvest it and still keep up with your group, then it's just too easy. I'd like to see trees taking 2 or 3 mins to fell, or an iron node taking 3 or 4 mins to mine completely, this would really up the value of those material's and make those that craft a desired person on the server, rather than everyone being able to do everything.
Kittik said:Counterfleche said:
How it feels when nodes are too common and evenly spaced: Group leaves town on dramatic quest to slay the Big Bad. On the way there, they're like an ADHD stereotype meme:: Walk 10 feet...ooh, a shrub Walk 10 more feet...ooh, some wood...Walk 10 more feet....ooh, a rock. Totally forgetting what we are actually doing and come back to town full of harvested items but Big Bad is still alive
First, I think the world needs a ton more foliage and trees in it. Secondly, when everyone is on one server or server pops are higher, I doubt this'll be an issue as you might not see any nodes then.
I actually would like to see gathering taking longer. (More nodes, trees, plants etc are needed) But I like the long, or even longer, gathering times, because it would deter EVERYONE from doing it. Those that want to put the work in and spend their entire gaming session getting materials and getting a couple skill points in crafting should be rewarded for it. If it's too easy, and fast, and you can just run past a node harvest it and still keep up with your group, then it's just too easy. I'd like to see trees taking 2 or 3 mins to fell, or an iron node taking 3 or 4 mins to mine completely, this would really up the value of those material's and make those that craft a desired person on the server, rather than everyone being able to do everything.
You know I think you have a point there about the length of time it takes to gather. At first I felt it took too long. And then I realized 'the heck with this... I'm not going to gather everything anymore... just the one or two things I am interested in crafting'. Both bag space and the time it took to harvest stopped me from going hog wild. Especially in dungeons or with groups. I didn't want to stop and slow my group down.