1. This forum section contains Blog style threads from the Developers, and/or threads with details about what they have been working on, previews of upcoming content, and sometimes backstory associated with the content. Players are permitted to reply to these threads if the developer has indicated it is permissible by leaving the thread unlocked. Please note that TOS applies, and any abuse or trolling will be moderated.
    Dismiss Notice

Here Come "Roving Encounters"

Discussion in 'Developer Work and Blog posts' started by Sannio, Oct 14, 2016.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
Page 1 of 5
  1. Sannio

    Sannio Lead Quest and Level Designer Moderator SOTA Developer

    Messages:
    4,744
    Likes Received:
    6,653
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Male
    Shroud of the Avatar already has random encounters--you'll be walking across the Novia or Hidden Vale overworld maps and, without warning, you'll be teleported into a small encounter scene. We like the idea of running into unexpected threats on the overworld, but the "without warning" part is less than ideal…so, as of Release 35, we're changing how random encounters are triggered.

    You won't be blindly caught by a Random Encounter anymore. We're replacing that part of the encounter system with new overworld enemies who will trigger encounters when you get too close. These overworld enemies will be similar to the ones you've battled countless times in adventure scenes, except they can't be engaged in actual combat. Instead, if you approach too close to the new overworld enemies and they see you, they'll run at you. If they get next to you, you'll be pulled into the encounter associated with them. For example, bandits will pull you into bandit encounters, while wolves pull you into a scene full of wolves. Once you see the enemy, you can walk around it to avoid the encounter or run toward it to force the encounter. If the enemy has already spotted you and you're quick, you can try to run away before the enemy catches up and keep the encounter from ever triggering.

    Both overworld maps have enemies scattered about. They might be wandering in the woods, meandering along a shoreline, or patrolling along a road. Initially, we'll be adding in common encounters like wolves, bandits, and undead. Over time, dragon encounters will return and we'll include other rare situations.

    [​IMG]
     
    Sannio, Oct 14, 2016
    #1
    Sator Faryn, Stahlknecht, Black Tortoise and 65 others like this.
  2. Selene

    Selene Avatar

    Messages:
    3,106
    Likes Received:
    11,697
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    Serpents Watch Brewery!!
    Yaaaaay! Don't forget the cows!
     
    Selene, Oct 14, 2016
    #2
    Stahlknecht, Black Tortoise, 4EverLost and 10 others like this.
  3. Themo Lock

    Themo Lock Avatar

    Messages:
    4,891
    Likes Received:
    17,639
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Australia
    *cheers* Sannio you rock!
     
    Themo Lock, Oct 14, 2016
    #3
    Stahlknecht, 4EverLost, majoria70 and 8 others like this.
  4. Gideon Thrax

    Gideon Thrax Avatar

    Messages:
    2,497
    Likes Received:
    6,771
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Male
    Very cool... now wondering if this will be how towns come under siege... strolling across the overworld to see a horde of Kobold go screaming into Brittany.
     
    Gideon Thrax, Oct 14, 2016
    #4
    Stahlknecht, Black Tortoise, 4EverLost and 6 others like this.
  5. Oba Evesor

    Oba Evesor Avatar

    Messages:
    974
    Likes Received:
    2,188
    Trophy Points:
    105
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    S.F.
    This is the goods! XD
     
    Oba Evesor, Oct 14, 2016
    #5
    4EverLost, majoria70, Alexander and 3 others like this.
  6. Roycestein Kaelstrom

    Roycestein Kaelstrom Avatar

    Messages:
    4,627
    Likes Received:
    10,229
    Trophy Points:
    153
    reminds me of mount and blade.

    looking forward to hunt them!
     
    Roycestein Kaelstrom, Oct 14, 2016
    #6
    4EverLost, shathiell, Alexander and 2 others like this.
  7. Alley Oop

    Alley Oop Bug Hunter Bug Moderator

    Messages:
    15,719
    Likes Received:
    19,490
    Trophy Points:
    153
    is it always the one thing, and not a herd/pack?
     
    Alley Oop, Oct 14, 2016
    #7
    4EverLost, Birne Gilmore, Alexander and 3 others like this.
  8. Leinad Laurelwreath

    Leinad Laurelwreath Avatar

    Messages:
    253
    Likes Received:
    575
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Jaaanaford
    Question: If we are in a party but separated in the overworld, how these encounters will work?
    Will the pack of wolves pull the whole party into a scene even if i'm in the other side of the world or just if i'm somewhere near?
    Or only one party member gets pulled and the other ones must run to help?

    EDIT: I prefer the last option
     
    Leinad Laurelwreath, Oct 14, 2016
    #8
    Black Tortoise, Acred and FrostII like this.
  9. redfish

    redfish Avatar

    Messages:
    11,366
    Likes Received:
    27,674
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Yea, I was thinking that it might have a better feel if a pack of bandits, or pack of wolves, for instance showed up as a small group of at least three...
     
    redfish, Oct 14, 2016
    #9
    Birne Gilmore and Acred like this.
  10. redfish

    redfish Avatar

    Messages:
    11,366
    Likes Received:
    27,674
    Trophy Points:
    165
    At some point I suggested that this is how elf/kobold camps or possibly control points would refill with enemies after they were "cleared". You'd get a patrol on the overland map going back to the area that was cleared. Though that could be complicated across different instances.
     
    redfish, Oct 14, 2016
    #10
    Black Tortoise, Acred, Kambrius and 1 other person like this.
  11. Grimbone

    Grimbone Avatar

    Messages:
    575
    Likes Received:
    957
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    USA
    Awesome!

    Roaming Orc packs? :D
     
    Grimbone, Oct 14, 2016
    #11
    Black Tortoise, Acred and Kambrius like this.
  12. redfish

    redfish Avatar

    Messages:
    11,366
    Likes Received:
    27,674
    Trophy Points:
    165
    I'm interested in how visibility will work and whether you'll be able to see a bandit across a long distance, or they'll fade in when you get close... and whether this depends on the type of monster (dragons vs wolves vs spiders) and how encounters like the burial shrine and so on will work, unless they're keeping them as invisible type "ambush" encounters.
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2016
    redfish, Oct 14, 2016
    #12
    4EverLost, Acred and FrostII like this.
  13. Lord Andernut

    Lord Andernut Avatar

    Messages:
    3,340
    Likes Received:
    10,087
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    New Britannian Market
    Woohoo!
     
    Lord Andernut, Oct 14, 2016
    #13
    Acred likes this.
  14. Hazard

    Hazard Avatar

    Messages:
    397
    Likes Received:
    991
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Thanks for the great info. It's nice to see the overworld map about to come alive a bit and I'm looking forward to possibly seeing a (better looking) dragon circling like the early prototype!

    Will the speeds of the encountered entities vary depending on creature type/terrain, or I guess possibly.. purpose ?
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2016
    Hazard, Oct 14, 2016
    #14
    4EverLost, majoria70 and Acred like this.
  15. Proteus Tempest

    Proteus Tempest Avatar

    Messages:
    1,820
    Likes Received:
    2,538
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Location:
    Tempest Reef
    Awesome, awesome, awesome!

    Question: If the dragon is chasing me can I run to another overland encounter I see like wolves and engage them to avoid the dragon or will the dragon follow me into the encounter?

    Question: Will roaming encounters enter POTs? Can we lure them into POTs? I hope so. It would be neat IMO to have Dragons and undead wandering into my POT.
     
    Proteus Tempest, Oct 14, 2016
    #15
    Acred likes this.
  16. redfish

    redfish Avatar

    Messages:
    11,366
    Likes Received:
    27,674
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Or if its chasing you, will it follow you into any scene?
     
    redfish, Oct 14, 2016
    #16
    Acred likes this.
  17. LoneStranger

    LoneStranger Avatar

    Messages:
    3,023
    Likes Received:
    4,761
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Petaluma, CA
    I'm sad if all of the sudden, unseen random encounters go away. I liked the idea of bandits in an ambush or a hidden troll waiting under a bridge. Perhaps our characters would even roll to beat some value to uncover it before being pulled in and given the option to avoid it or take it head on.
     
    LoneStranger, Oct 14, 2016
    #17
    Saosis, 4EverLost, Ancev and 2 others like this.
  18. Proteus Tempest

    Proteus Tempest Avatar

    Messages:
    1,820
    Likes Received:
    2,538
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Location:
    Tempest Reef
    Could be fun and devastating
     
    Proteus Tempest, Oct 14, 2016
    #18
    Acred likes this.
  19. Browncoat Jayson

    Browncoat Jayson Legend of the Hearth

    Messages:
    6,334
    Likes Received:
    14,098
    Trophy Points:
    153
    It sounds like this will be great for the 90% of random encounters, especially ones players might want to skip. But ambushes, shrines, merchant wagons, gypsies, etc should still entice us into encounters too.
     
    Browncoat Jayson, Oct 14, 2016
    #19
    Black Tortoise, 4EverLost, Corv and 2 others like this.
  20. redfish

    redfish Avatar

    Messages:
    11,366
    Likes Received:
    27,674
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Yea.. you should be able to hide or get them off your trail though.

    Yea, but to be honest.. merchant wagons and gypsies should also appear on the map. Wagons can even travel on the roads, like we saw in the Kickstarter prototype. And in theory you could also have a burial shrine appear on the overland map, as long as the encounter is available...

    Though there could still be hidden ambush-style encounters and I think that would be a cool thing. If the visibility distance of the roving encounter depended on the terrain and size of the creature, you could also have "near-ambush" style encounters. Say, for instance, that spiders only show up on the map from a short distance, because they're tiny. You'd be walking through a forest, or through plains, or over hills, and spiders would pop up right in front of you, making them hard to avoid.
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2016
    redfish, Oct 14, 2016
    #20
    4EverLost, Corv and Acred like this.
Page 1 of 5
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.