Let's talk about the quests of SotA

~"What's a Seeker to Do"~?'
(Before I begin, I'd like to say that every review or comment about what our "Lum the Mad and his Portalarium menagerie" are making ready for us is a play who's curtain has yet to rise, while we read the smallest bits and pieces of a script outline and attempt to judge the play before it's even begun, aka "launched".)

~Secrets Piled Deep~
As soon as every aspect of a quest is known, it all then is plastered across a 1000 web sites where the Seeker is then lead away from the game to return following a predetermined set of actions dictated by those web sites as if a rat scurrying swiftly for cheese. We see this even happening now where we know what was from a previous release and run down the same trail as before only noticing slight differences. We can see where their going with it yet critiquing it as if that's all there is... and I say to that, "do we really know that what we are seeing is something that will be there within the Seeker's pathway when the play is launched?" It's changed many times you know, yet with always the same flavors as before with just a touch of different additive.

Let's all be reasonable... Do you actually think that with what little we have seen is what such a person gets paid for in the amount of time that the individual quest maker has taken to accomplish so little ?' Certainly it takes allot of time to develop concept design and then add words to the concept and then to have it magically computer tech placed to then test the quest mechanics within it. Yet to blurt out the all of it's ways within it's concept design as well as it's direction and riddles before the play has begun would be madness. So, instead we get what any good movie has which are those bits and pieces we have seen to entice us to stay or come to see the movie which is it's cinematic trailer.

"Space Pirates!" Scourge of the universe, terror of the galaxy, "Space Pirates!"... now appearing at a theater near you Rated R for language, nudity, cannibalism, violence and otherwise nasty behavior ...

"Now what does that say to you?" and then apply it to what we've heard from our dear Lum's menagerie? You know, I'm always so surprised whenever they've done a Portalarium interview with him, not to have seen the leavings of the impact of his head upon his computer's screen !'

We have all that "we need" as players to construct quests within the MMO. I would love to hear what they had to offer about such questing ideas that could seem better than what we've thus far been criticizing
"I know I feel very challenged by it"
~Time Lord~

 

I like quests. I am a great fan of Adventure games. I did Scott Adams text adventures in english as a (german) child. Well, that was a challenge and a reason to learn my vocabulary!

But who would like to write sentences and talk in this way to NPCs? A great parser á la infocom would be necessary. So the way to give us words for clicking was a good idea.
What about open the book writing clues (with a *pling* sound) when get one while talking to persons? So we would see, what text is written in the book directly.
And: what about giving a colour (highlighting) for links we clicked before?!
When reading and clicking again and again sometimes it is vexing - did I got this information before? Have I clicked the words above? okay: lets click again *g*

It would be great, if the informations from the NPC's would be filled in a glossar. There are 3 people giving information about a town. May be at the moment it is not interesting for me - but later.
So a glossar with

Novia
...
Soltown
...
Ardoris
...

filled with informatin of NPC's would be a good thing to reread information when need it later ...

I wrote something before about doing, finding quests. There are a lot players like me who didn't have so much time to spend. So may be I come after a week or more to go further.
What confused me as I started were the entries in the book of quests. Sometimes I had to find the needle in a haystack
A REALLY good thing would it be to don't have to read the quest book for an (felt) hour to know what was the last I've done the week(s) before.

So it would be a very nice idea to make a Filter to give us a book of "love quest" which contains everey clue of THIS quest.
My idea was to put it in chapters like a real book. So after doing the quest you could read the whole quest like a story.
Wouldn't it be great to have "the book of love" with pictures(!) of the main stations we had to found? (in future - may be 2020 with save/load button to resume )

This was an idea of how to keep in touch with the actual questline.
At the moment the "current tasks" is a try - but it didn't work correct at the moment. And it reveals all actuel quests!
Is it important to read the mail deliver every time I got one in the main quest book?
[As Lord Darkmoon told in his starting post: fedex quests aren't the future ]

Think about the future when doing 10 and more quests parallel ...

A good organized quest book is a key to do a lot of quests. And it is also very helpful for the programmers to have the connections and how it should work.

And now to the point of "finding persons, buildings and ..."
Well - what about giving a clue on our maps (we can buy them - at the moment it isn't so important to use them...)
WHERE a quest point is? Don't missunderstand me: Not like in WOW! There you can do quests without reading and understanding the story(!). A few nephews of mine did it this way...
It's like reading the last page of a book ...

For example: Doing the quest in Ardoris with the killed children.
After asking Tanya there could be a sign on the map where Samuel can be found. After talking to Samuel there could be a sign where the tower can be found. And after finding the notice ... there could be a ...
I hope, you understand what I mean: receiving a clue from a person contains the clue where to go next. What I often missed was the "red line". Where to go and doing what?

Think about the quest with the spirit speakers: Dind't they say, they meet us on the path to necropolis? Well, what about receiving the clue on our map, where to go to find necropolis?
Now I know - but as a new player it is so much to learn about this world. Don't let us waste time runnig in the wrong direction

Okay a few thoughts about the quality of actual quests:
The actual quests are -ehm- playable. It is need to come in flow with them.
I really like them and I also like to finish quests. When I saved a child - why don't bringing her home and seeing mum hugs her daughter? Can we learn to hug each other? Okay, backflip is acrobatic superior, but to hug something would be a very good thing on the way of LOVE ))

More detective storys would be great (like the murder in ardoris).
(In the 80's there was a nice game "murder". You had to talk to each person to get the murder. Like the game "clue" )
An assassination: Lord Siranto, Lady Khasi, Lord British ... Well, who did it?
A "robin" thief stealing goods on market, etc.
A werewolf killing humans and animals ...
There are no borders for a game full of events (and when I say "events" I don't talk about drinking alcohol to unconsciousness)

Well, the quests aren't completed like the whole SotA. Good for us, we can change things we don't want in the next years Well, I hope so ...
I think, a programmer is needed doing the storylines and quests in his maintime to bring them in such a range as it is claimed and desired.
What reason is it to read a book a second time? It has a great story. What is the reason to buy part 2 of a book? Book one was great.
So let's do good books. Ehm - about books: who choosed the books we can find all over in SotA? What about to implement real good books to buy as E-Book inside the game.
The Book of Richard Garriot could be one of them Don't forget to give us a sales discount, Richard

A game just going and killing and selling and runnig from a to b - well, there are enough of such games ... (okay, be serious: we have to run, to kill and sell - but all in good time!)
But a game with interesting storys and quests starting by falling over a banana peel *g* can surprise all players who like adventures and quests ...
May be there could be - in near future - implemented spoken dialoges???
And may be - in far future - short films like "meanwhile ..."
--> the herald comes in town and telling about what happened in Solace Bridge!

Okay, let a bird or a bard sing a good song while walking through the market ...
Oh - an jester could be funny too ....

Imagine this for example:
December 2016 you made a quest in Soltown. After runnig around the world (in SotA ) you come back in 2017/2018 ... to Soltown and you're on another very important quest.
You have to visit Jack (aren't we all Jack? - *ups* is he still in Braemar? Too many people all around us: where is my glossar?)

Because you talked to this person 1 or 2 year(s) ago he tells you a hint ... or maybe nothing.
Like in real life. Have had a few minutes for someone? This could change your and his life ...

You gave the beggar more than one time a coin? Well, may be THIS beggar in Soltown wasn't a beggar, but a high priest from ...
And in a moment you don't thought of him: he comes and give you a very special weapon to fullfill your quest. (Okay, may be he helps you in a fight, when playing solo? )
You feed the dog in town? You helped a hurt animal? May be he comes and bites the cutthroat behind you at the right moment!
But to do this means, the program has to record our behaviour in a matrix to each(!) individual in novia and hidden vale ...

Well, dear developer:
When will this matrix be installed to save our (good an bad) karma?

Enough for this thread. There could be said a lot more - let us talk after release 40 - we are watching further and hope the best

Hearty Greetinx
Michael

 

That's what every Ultima VII fan wants. I suppose most of the universe looks at Ultima VII as some random old game with some random quests. I suppose, someone needs to detail why X quest was amazing, what mechanic made X quest amazing, from A to Z, because, it seems, some parts of the universe need to learn, they need to learn, they need to learn what why and how, the actual mechanical details of why that quest in Ultima VII was amazing, how such a quest can be re-created, etc. I focus on Ultima VII because, I've played the game both parts many times and they remain to me, to be the best quests of any of the Ultimas, and Ultima VIII: Pagan, that game had some awesome quests too.

Just saying, 'awesome quests in such and such game' is meaningless really, so, I suppose I'll make a list of my personal most memorable top 10 quests from Ultima VII 1 & 2 & VIII. The mechanics of the top 10 quests seem simple, but they are 1 billion times more complex than anything I've seen in SotA, 1 billion times more complex, even pretending to detail the programming and mechanics behind it will be a task, but can't imagine how complex it would be to actually implement & reverse-engineer such awesome mechanics in SotA, but doing such would be worth it, as some of the old school fans are starting to fade.

When SotA gets quests, non-player, actual NPC quests, quests that... to quote SotA staff, "tell a story even more compelling than Ultimas IV-VII" Then I'd consider playing regularly, my brother (Caspian Dragon) who is a big Ultima fan refuses to play this game, because he doesn't see Ultima in it and hasn't since day 1, I doubted him, but I'm starting to lean more in his direction. I should record him some day so you all can hear his perspective, he's a big Ultima IV fan who pre-alpha tested UO.

 

I remember the quest in which we had to retrieve the notebook from Alagner in Ultima VII. He sent us to Skara Brae, where we had to discover the mystery of life and death. This was a very complex and long quest as we had to do some tasks for the undead there - but not before we had to find the spell with which we could talk to them. Back at Alagner he gave us his notebook but then he was killed. So we had a very complex, multilayered quest with a real. visible and lasting consequence at the end.

But I think that many of the quests in Ultima VII wouldn't work that well anymore today. People are used to experience "more".

Let's take the first quest in Ultima VII for example in which we have to solve the murder in Trinsic. Nowadays I would expect that we would have to spread rumous that Christopher somehow survived and set up a trap for the murderer. He then appears at night and we have to chase him through the city but he escapes. Something a bit more complex with a bit of action in it. I think that this would be in line with "tell a story even more compelling than Ultimas IV-VII"...

 

I would like to see in the future that we can ask NPCs where another NPC is.
For example - when trying to find Captaian Cugel, it would be nice if other NPCs in the buildings next door could say that "he is in the building next door" for example. Or have NPCs in Sequana Square be able to let you know which building Cai Lau is in for example. I don't think that some guard way down the other end of a city/town should know where an NPC is on the other side of town, but it would be nice to have NPCs nearby to who you are searching for at least give you a clue that you're "close" to finding who you need to.

I am fine hunting around and looking up on google where to find NPCs, however most people would find it incredibly frustrating to spend time searching for NPCs (losing 1 hour of your evening after work to searching for things in a game is not the greatest way to spend the short amount of time you have of a night time).

 

Braemar has the guard in town direct you to to other NPCs in town who need "help". I think this worked very well. I do like the idea of making people go out and seek quests, however in the starting areas I think it is important to make it easy for people get them and give them some direction.

 

@Tanglewood
There is already a
Where is X
Command in NPC conversations. It is just one of those things that are put in last since things change around. I even think it specifically works with Where is Cugel for some NPCs in Ardoris.



While in Soltown writing a name like Harry will give you a short description.


Edit
Links to Lum

https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/f...nd-the-guard-captain-cugel.35818/#post-411775

https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/asking-for-directions.38255/#post-436558

 

I don't know why we cannot have the location of the NPC be marked on our map. When asked about the location of someone, the NPC could say: "Let me mark it on your map".
I think that many are tabbing out of the game to ask Google for clues about quests. So I think that not having those clues directly in the game just leads to people looking for those clues elsewhere.

 

Agreed I'd even prefer if Town crier and Inn/Tavernkeepers had this function for a handful coins since it makes sense.

 

I wish this happened as well. The only thing I can think of is that they don't have the tech in place to mark a location in another scene, so are waiting on implementation.

Really, I wish we had learned our lesson from Ultima Underworld and our maps (and Journal) could be freely annotated with our own notes. Let us add a point of interest to our map, with a label, and have that appear on the compass. The closest we have now is the Town Crier, who will add a property to your compass that fades as soon as you reach it, which would be great to use for other quests, but it doesn't appear on the map at all.

 

Yes that would be awesome!

 

Cartography and annotation on the schedule. What do we want? When do we want it? Repeat after me.

 

Where do you see this schedule? The latest post of upcoming features I can find is the Roadmap, which does not have either of these.

 

Hence the "what do we want" and "when do we want it" right there...

If it already was on the schedule then forming this picket and handing out beers and steel pipes would feel a bit redundant.

 

I don't really mind the quests as they are, there's just not a lot of them at the moment, which make leveling a challenge. Path of Love does send you to 5 skulls too fast imo, although it could be due to the game being unfinished. I think a lot of the suggestions done so far in this thread would be awesome too see in game and I hope the devs pick up on it.

 

i agree, an "Infocom style" parser would be great but thats probably not possible in the nearish future.

Just habe a look at how dungeon siege did it. You could call it immersion breaking but as this game seems to aim at an wider audience as hard-to-die Ultima fans i recommend improvement. Cant be that much of coding and its neccessary before launch. If one wants to see how such a system works check out the "Ultima VI Project" remake, using the "Dungeon Siege" engine and how they use its journal system.

Heres a screenshot of my U6P journal.



This would be the minimum i would expect after release. Note that you can take your own notes, search and filter the journal. Which is IMO a must. For a modern system it would be cool to be able to include media (screenshots, maybe offered via the journal) into your own notes together with dialog transcripts (copy/paste). While you are at it, put a KOS list with portaits and comments in. Like "Shot me with a bow while sitting on the locus"

You could also integrate recording crafting recipes into "the same book", using the sam code, i assume.

// Armar

 

Yeah, kind of a catch 22 thing. I need exp points for leveling but cant do really questing because i am more or less instantly blocked by 5 skull zones. And all of those Fedex-Quests really doesnt "turn me on"... More immersive Quests for lower level players would be needed at some point in the future....

// Armar

 

keep the suggestions coming, some great ideas here, i like them very much

 

i tphink the concept is that they want the players to make maps and such, not have it be automatic. and i agree with the concept, i like that they dont make it easy and automatic, they want you to feel what it was like when life was rough and you actually had to take steps yourself to make things easier, selling maps with annotations would be an awesome trade for explorers to refill their coffers after doing all the work for you

the only problem here is that players will undoubtedly go to external sources for answers instead such as a webpage and wiki