going to try to blog more, but could use some ideas and topics from the community -- it's always easier for me to write about a topic if I first know people want to hear from me about that topic.
https://www.pantheonmmo.com/content/blogs
Appreciate the time you took writing both of these blogs: I've included some links for reference:
https://www.pantheonmmo.com/content/blogs/151/173/grinding-good-or-bad
https://www.pantheonmmo.com/content/blogs/151/174/old-ideas-and-features-to-address-potential-problems
For me, I'd like to hear your take on resource management, limited skillsets (8-12 spell gems), and downtime as I feel the twitchy combat with fast regeneration is a main reason of the lack of social interdependence.
But, your blogs always offer interesting perspectives, so I'd be glad to hear about any topic relating to a Pantheon tenet/mechanic, etc.
Thanks again
Aradune said:going to try to blog more, but could use some ideas and topics from the community -- it's always easier for me to write about a topic if I first know people want to hear from me about that topic.
Instead of a blog, why not do vlogs. Just look at Casey Neistat on yt.
Bluefyre said:As a programmer, I'd like to hear about how you are running things? What kind of methodology you use? Agile/Scrum? Waterfall? If I didn't already have a great job, I'd offer to be your Scrum Master. lol
Anyway, some insight into day to day ops might be interesting,
I'm a certified scrum master. Also ITIL foundations certified and I most like and agile/itil approach then scrum.
I'd like to see how the dev ops is.
Aich said:Bluefyre said:As a programmer, I'd like to hear about how you are running things? What kind of methodology you use? Agile/Scrum? Waterfall? If I didn't already have a great job, I'd offer to be your Scrum Master. lol
Anyway, some insight into day to day ops might be interesting,
I'm a certified scrum master. Also ITIL foundations certified and I most like and agile/itil approach then scrum.
I'd like to see how the dev ops is.
Certified SM and Certified Scrum Developer myself. When I joined my current job 3 years ago, I never thought I would like doing things that way. Now I couldn't see doing it any other way. :p
Building upon your "potential problems," blog, I'd like to hear some of your thoughts on how to combat "real money trading," while still preserving a fun game. Unfortunately, RMT has become so rampant that developers come up with systems that typically ruin the community and ecconomy of a game (BoP, BoE, instancing, trade restrictions, etc.). Black Desert for instance, will not allow trading from one character to another at all and prices on the auction house are fixed by the developers. We saw the introduction of the gear rollercoaster, token grinding and instancing, in my opinion, as a result of RMT issues. I personally think all three of those solutions are undesirable. Ideally, the community should ban together and vow to not buy currency, but we all know that won't happen.
You mentioned instancing as a potential resolution to the "bottom feeder" problem, but instancing would introduce way too much loot into the ecconomny, hence requring BoP and BoE. Can you elaborate on some of your ideas in that regard? I personally do not see a problem with farming lower end gear, as long as the higher level player is willing to give the camp up if a level appropriate group comes along. I am also not a fan of trivial loot code. On FFXI for instance, there were low level pieces of gear that were still relevant at level 75, so it wasn't unheard of to see a lv 75 camping a lv 50 mob for a piece of gear that was needed for their set.
As a software developer, I'd love to hear about behind the scenes elements as mentioned above, but as a CTO I believe that some information should stay "behind the curtain". I'd rather see Brad's time spent talking about the architecture/philosophy of the game as opposed to the dev/ops aspect of Pantheon as a platform. I believe he would be speaking to a wider audience.
Here's what I would like to see for future blog topics:
Pantheon's Customer Service Team - Will there be a Guide program at launch with associated GM events, role play activities, etc...? What have we learned from past games in terms of handling disputes between players/guilds? How will "rewarding good behaviour" be balanced against the traditional GM intervention (bans, loot reallocation, guild lockouts on particular raid targets, etc...)
Pantheon and Immersive Play - How will Pantheon accomodate role playing and/or discourage non-immersive play. Will naming conventions be enforced (beyond profanity, racial slurs, etc...)? It's been my experience that RP servers tend to attract perhaps a more mature group of players, less interested in griefing, disruptive behaviour, etc... You can start shaping desired behaviour right at the character creation screen, whether it's a RP server or not.
"End Game" vs "The Journey" - What's the philosphy and/or emphasis on depth of play at lower levels versus end game and high level raid content. Are low level zones just for helping you level to get to the more interesting content or is there comparable low/mid level content that's on par with the depth/fun of later encounters. Using EQ/P99 as an example, the game play from level 1-50 is very different than from 50-60. How will Pantheon be different from past games at lower levels?
"Crafting In Terminus" - What's the overall design philosphy for Pantheon Crafting? Will it be integral to the game? How would the game be impacted if nobody crafted? Is crafting just something to do to keep me busy when I'm not off adventuring? Will there be advantages to adventuring on the same character that I do crafting on, or can I just sit by the forge all day and max out my skills?
"Pantheon Tools" - What's the team's philosophy toward outward facing tools for chat systems, database/items, guild tools, web views of characters/achievements/etc... Will all tools be internal/official VRI products or will there be APIs for 3rd party developers to securely interact with Pantheon? Will there be an in-game messaging system for contacting an off-line player? What safeguards will be in place to prevent spamming (limit to friends list, invitation only, unrestricted, blacklist/ignore)?
"Lore - The Chicken or The Egg?" - How does lore impact other design elements, quests or even game mechanics? To what degree is lore restricted by technology or game engines? Are you creating races and classes to fit the lore or is the lore being shaped around the races after the fact? The lore of EQ is very different from that of Terminus but we have a very similar lineup of races and classes. Explain. How is Pantheon going to immerse me in lore and keep me interested through multiple characters? How will lore make the game experience different when I'm playing alt #5.
Thanks for the interaction, Brad. I read the grinding post in its original thread and I enjoyed the insight into the design process. I enjoy the more personal feel of these blogs as they provide a more human insight into the development rather than just "we did this and this because this".
As for other topics for future blogs, obviously little tidbits into Pantheon's development are always welcome but I can understand if you are limited in what you can divulge. I wouldn't mind reading more about the team at VR and how you guys work together, any other games or other media outside of what you have previously worked on that you draw inspiration or influence from, how do you feel about the Chargers potentially moving to LA, etc.
I'm a big fan of state of the game type updates. Even something quarterly would be cool. Just where the game is, what you're working on and what you hope to have accomplished by the end of that quarter. Then next quarter, you reflect on your past goals and talk about your new ones.
Brad I would love to hear a blog about the differences / advantages over your modern mob AI versus options back in EQ days. This could tie into Pantheon teasers about what we can expect.
I would also like to hear how the "rare" mob spawns will be handled, in Pantheon, from your directive.
Thanks,
Aradune said:going to try to blog more, but could use some ideas and topics from the community -- it's always easier for me to write about a topic if I first know people want to hear from me about that topic.
Can you provide a LINK, since it is incredible hard to navigate this site. (There use to be a BLOG button).
Hieromonk said:Aradune said:going to try to blog more, but could use some ideas and topics from the community -- it's always easier for me to write about a topic if I first know people want to hear from me about that topic.
Can you provide a LINK, since it is incredible hard to navigate this site. (There use to be a BLOG button).
If you scroll to the bottom of any page you will find many useful links, under "Updates" and clicking "Dev Diaries" you will find the Blogs for future reference. :)
https://www.pantheonmmo.com/content/blogs
I would love to hear you discuss the implications of limiting the amount of players able to raid vs having no limits on the amount of players permitted in a raid. The differences between VG's MAX of 4 groups for raids vs EQs unlimited style. Perhaps your thoughts on 'zerging'. Or just raiding in general, its idealology and your philosophy on it. Raiding in the past vs raiding in the future. Or even crafting in raids such as 3 groups of crafters working together at the same time to construct a massive boat or building.
I'm curious about your thoughts on game systems that support grouping with close/RL friends and the potential impacts these systems would have to the Vision and Pantheon's tenants.
Every legacy and next generation MMO has taken a different approach at integrating a system where it is mutually beneficial to meet and play with a group of close friends. I forsee myself playing Pantheon a moderate length of time before my friends will join in on the fun. Is there any hope of us being able to team up without having to implicate the game/world experience for either the high or low level player before we reach the level or gear plateau?
Bonus: Can you speak to Vangaurd's Fellowship system that worked to maintain level/progression consistency within a group of friends?
Hope this helps, and keep the blogs coming!
Celandor said:As a software developer, I'd love to hear about behind the scenes elements as mentioned above, but as a CTO I believe that some information should stay "behind the curtain". I'd rather see Brad's time spent talking about the architecture/philosophy of the game as opposed to the dev/ops aspect of Pantheon as a platform. I believe he would be speaking to a wider audience.
Here's what I would like to see for future blog topics:
Pantheon's Customer Service Team - Will there be a Guide program at launch with associated GM events, role play activities, etc...? What have we learned from past games in terms of handling disputes between players/guilds? How will "rewarding good behaviour" be balanced against the traditional GM intervention (bans, loot reallocation, guild lockouts on particular raid targets, etc...)
Pantheon and Immersive Play - How will Pantheon accomodate role playing and/or discourage non-immersive play. Will naming conventions be enforced (beyond profanity, racial slurs, etc...)? It's been my experience that RP servers tend to attract perhaps a more mature group of players, less interested in griefing, disruptive behaviour, etc... You can start shaping desired behaviour right at the character creation screen, whether it's a RP server or not.
"End Game" vs "The Journey" - What's the philosphy and/or emphasis on depth of play at lower levels versus end game and high level raid content. Are low level zones just for helping you level to get to the more interesting content or is there comparable low/mid level content that's on par with the depth/fun of later encounters. Using EQ/P99 as an example, the game play from level 1-50 is very different than from 50-60. How will Pantheon be different from past games at lower levels?
"Crafting In Terminus" - What's the overall design philosphy for Pantheon Crafting? Will it be integral to the game? How would the game be impacted if nobody crafted? Is crafting just something to do to keep me busy when I'm not off adventuring? Will there be advantages to adventuring on the same character that I do crafting on, or can I just sit by the forge all day and max out my skills?
"Pantheon Tools" - What's the team's philosophy toward outward facing tools for chat systems, database/items, guild tools, web views of characters/achievements/etc... Will all tools be internal/official VRI products or will there be APIs for 3rd party developers to securely interact with Pantheon? Will there be an in-game messaging system for contacting an off-line player? What safeguards will be in place to prevent spamming (limit to friends list, invitation only, unrestricted, blacklist/ignore)?
"Lore - The Chicken or The Egg?" - How does lore impact other design elements, quests or even game mechanics? To what degree is lore restricted by technology or game engines? Are you creating races and classes to fit the lore or is the lore being shaped around the races after the fact? The lore of EQ is very different from that of Terminus but we have a very similar lineup of races and classes. Explain. How is Pantheon going to immerse me in lore and keep me interested through multiple characters? How will lore make the game experience different when I'm playing alt #5.
Very good questions :)
swillen said:I'm curious about your thoughts on game systems that support grouping with close/RL friends and the potential impacts these systems would have to the Vision and Pantheon's tenants.
Every legacy and next generation MMO has taken a different approach at integrating a system where it is mutually beneficial to meet and play with a group of close friends. I forsee myself playing Pantheon a moderate length of time before my friends will join in on the fun. Is there any hope of us being able to team up without having to implicate the game/world experience for either the high or low level player before we reach the level or gear plateau?
Bonus: Can you speak to Vangaurd's Fellowship system that worked to maintain level/progression consistency within a group of friends?
Hope this helps, and keep the blogs coming!
VG's Brotherhood system along with the Caravan system worked very well :)
Pyye said:Brad I would love to hear a blog about the differences / advantages over your modern mob AI versus options back in EQ days. This could tie into Pantheon teasers about what we can expect.
I would also like to hear how the "rare" mob spawns will be handled, in Pantheon, from your directive.
Thanks,
I, too, am interested in what advancements have been made in mob AI technology.
The old camping grounds like the Sarnak fort, Karnor's castle, etc all had very predictable, very static spawn rates and locations. Although it made "grinding" almost hypnotic with the regular and predictable combat, it wan't very immersive. Calls for re-inforcements, the odd wandering mob, even actual spawn location movements would have made these encounters less static from a player's perspective.
About the rare or boss mob spwans: Does killing "X" numbers of skeletons in a dungeon spawn an enraged lich? Are they going to be static? Are there mini-quests or a chain of activities in an area that will spawn these?
Lots of games still have static spawn locations. Those poor mobs ... all they do is stand in the same spot for days ... just waiting to be killed. Couldn't they have a programmed activity to make it look like they were more living things and less like targets?
I guess that's my question: How are you bringing the enemy mob environment to life?
Kilsin said:Hieromonk said:Aradune said:going to try to blog more, but could use some ideas and topics from the community -- it's always easier for me to write about a topic if I first know people want to hear from me about that topic.
Can you provide a LINK, since it is incredible hard to navigate this site. (There use to be a BLOG button).
If you scroll to the bottom of any page you will find many useful links, under "Updates" and clicking "Dev Diaries" you will find the Blogs for future reference. :)
https://www.pantheonmmo.com/content/blogs
I think the question is, why is the login screen showing old news from last summer and not new items like these blogs, having to comb through each sub section to find new posts, when they should be put out front and center, just does not make any sense to me.
Maybe its my mozilla browser but i tried everything, but after I, again, have logged in I'm served 8 months old news, gives the unfortunate impression that there's nothing being done, and I know that is false :)
Lots of great ideas, topics, and quesitons -- thanks all. Will do my best to blog more as time permits.
One thing does occur to me that I should share:
Until Pantheon is closer to launch, I am inclined to blog about more general MMORPG topics. I certainly can't get into the details of, say, Pantheon's crafting system. I could write up my thoughts on Instancing in general. That sort of thing.
Until Pantheon is closer to launch, I am inclined to blog about more general MMORPG topics. I certainly can't get into the details of, say, Pantheon's crafting system. I could write up my thoughts on Instancing in general. That sort of thing.
I'd love for you to share your thoughts about handling mudflation. Particularly in two areas: equipment itemization and character skills. Over time, mudflation always presents a very large hurdle in both these areas, and MMOs typically handle these issues in a variety of ways (mostly through and during expansion content releases). How do you foresee mudflation management in future MMOs as it relates to a character's skill lines and equipment?