I know that we are still in Pre pre Alpha and that the designers havent put everything in yet.
I notice on quite a few ingame screenshots that a LOT of buildings, towns etc just dont look LIVED in. for Example there is a screenshot on a building with a fire, anvil and weapons on the wall, But where are the tools? there is the Mess from being Used? there is a town but where is the Evidence of it being lived in? there is no mess from daily living, tools laying around, boxes, carts, General junk laying around from a place being Lived in.
Some of the places just IMHO look WAY too clean, like they have a maid going around cleaning everthing.
Personally I would like to see more Mess, make the buildings, towns Etc look LIVED in, ESO does a very good job of this, Towns and buildings do look very lived in, barrels, boxes, Etc everywhere. the places Look Real, like people actually live there, they Reak of life.
I think the mess, and clutter adds to the immersion of a game, otherwise IMHO things look a little TOO clean, and a little clinical.
What do you think?
Are the designers planning to add the lived in look later on? are they just getting the basic buildings Etc in first, and then fine tuning them later on, adding everything that makes them look and Feel real?
Convo has said a few times that this is exactly what he spends most of his time doing. But thoughtfully handcrafting minor details over a huge world takes an immense amount of time, especially when the goal is actually to take it a step further and make those details interactable. So just be patient...
"Tim "Convo" Wathen here. I just wanted to stop by and shed some light on some of the work I've been doing as we prepare for Pre-Alpha. One of my main responsibilities working on Pantheon is placing the NPCs in the world. I tend to find inspiration and ideas for filling out an area as I work through our zones, so today I want to talk about the "little things" which in actuality add up to the big things that are so impactful in our world. What I mean by the "little things" is the importance of smaller details that exist in our points of interest and the game world as a whole. It is important that the world resonates with you, the player, and we believe a handcrafted approach to content is key in making that happen.
I want to share an example of how my work ties together this idea of the "little things" in our zone development and giving players opportunities to interact with the environment. It's a minor example, but imagine a bowl of fruit that is left on a table at a Ratkin camp, filled with fruit that a player can actually pick up. Instead of having the fruit respawn on its own, it will be dependent on a Ratkin trader to replenish it. The Ratkin trader would leave its camp periodically and walk to the nearest village to restock and sell its own goods before returning. Upon returning, one of its actions would be to refill the empty bowl with fresh fruit. If for some reason the Ratkin trader is killed before completing their routine, the bowl will remain empty and there will be no fruit for you!
In general, we want you to come across a faction in our world and identify all the unique things about their culture. The areas they inhabit should truly feel lived in. What do they eat? What do they make? What type of resources are around them that would support those questions and how do we make sure we tie it all together? What about the folklore? Do Fuzzy Trolls exist?! These are just a few of many questions that we ask.
Lately I've been having a lot of creative sessions with our Lead Writer, Justin "Istuulamae" Gerhart, who is super passionate about this topic. It has been awesome sharing thoughts and ideas with him and then presenting those ideas to our Creative Director, Chris "Joppa" Perkins. Chris has this amazing ability to take all these ideas, add his own touches and then implement them into the world. We're working hard to make sure your experience in Pantheon is an enjoyable one. It's my hope this example and overall message makes you a little more excited for our game."
(Source: http://www.pantheonmmo.com/newsletter/2017_june_devdiary/ ;)
That would be cool, I know these touches take a long time.
Personally I think it would be awesome to see Before and after screenshots of buildings, towns etc, After the team have added the "lived in" touches and the Signs of life that are currently missing but add So very much to the feel of the game, and to immersion.
I would not be surprised if they go through zones and give them a second and possibly third pass prior to release to add final touches of detail. To some degree I suspect they cannot get to extreme detail because NPCs may need to change locations for certain reasons which means doing all the work over again, so to what degree of detail they are looking for this early who knows.
This is why it is hard to release screen shots so early in development. What you see is not what you are going to get.
Considering development isn't even to alpha I don't even think about that level of detail yet in screenshots or during streams. This early on you worry about getting the overall structure and mechanics working, then when that's in place you refine and work on details. Otherwise you tend to get a very pretty game that's buggy and broken.
bigdogchris said:I would not be surprised if they go through zones and give them a second and possibly third pass prior to release to add final touches of detail. To some degree I suspect they cannot get to extreme detail because NPCs may need to change locations for certain reasons which means doing all the work over again, so to what degree of detail they are looking for this early who knows.
This is why it is hard to release screen shots so early in development. What you see is not what you are going to get.
I agree. This is probably something that's going to be tweaked all the way up until launch. These things take time, and the order of priorities is very deliberate.