“Totally not an !” or Quest Markers must go

Discussion in 'Quests & Lore' started by Leinad Laurelwreath, Feb 22, 2017.

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  1. Bowen Bloodgood

    Bowen Bloodgood Avatar

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    There's nothing wrong with the grammar there. The part you need to focus on.. (which I apparently missed) is this..

    " and/or who you have active tasks to complete for quests." "or who have current active tasks, will now have a blue glow."

    grr now I'm a bit annoyed.. but as was clarified this is just a place holder.. so hopefully it will not last long.

    But the part I really have to still disagree with is the assumption that devs won't write instructions because this system is in place.. whether it's a blue glow or animation... That is not a given and I think doing the devs a disservice. If they actually get lazy then call them out on it.. but until then I will assume they will do the job.
     
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  2. yarnevk

    yarnevk Avatar

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    And upon further reread I understand that quest NPC you have not been to yet will be indicated with blue glow, compass/map arrows.

    Sure you can presume the devs are different than every other dev out there, but there is a clear history of game series adding quest arrows because it removes the burden of writing quest directions and the burden upon readers for carefully reading. It is the very reason that quest arrows are added, why would they add them if they was instead going to do careful quest directions. It is not about being lazy it is about effectively using resources, with limited writing staff it makes absolute sense they want to relieve the writer workload from having every NPC in every town know how to get to every other town and every other quest NPC. That is a huge writing nightmare that has to be rewritten everytime you rewrite the quests, or when you are still fleshing out towns with NPCs. Morrowind did it by having everyone in town share the same topic list, so every NPC basically had the same thing to say, small town immersion that everybody knows everybody.

    If indeed they was committed to writing this all out, the update would have read something like 'Adoris and Soltown NPCs are now aware of all other NPCs and will give you approriate quest directions to help you find quest NPCs" They are punting because they do not have the time left to do that anymore, because the main storylines are not yet done and they have been promising it will get done for longer than they have left to release.
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2017
  3. Bowen Bloodgood

    Bowen Bloodgood Avatar

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    Unlike other games.. SotA is not on a set schedule.. and there are reasons other than simply making it easier on the devs . Such as players who want such features. As far as giving NPCs knowledge of how to get to places, they've had a system in place just like you described for Morrowind. SotA's been using this tech since very early on.
     
  4. Tamsen

    Tamsen Avatar

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    Such as ... the NPC who has an emote to teach should periodically perform the emote.
     
  5. Cordelayne

    Cordelayne Bug Hunter

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    This is terrific to hear! Thanks for listening and taking the time to address this concern and offer a positive path forward, LB! :)

    This solves the issue for me. I can much more readily accept an NPC waving at me, rather than one emitting a blue glow. As if they were a radioactive test experiment gone way, way, wrong. :D
     
  6. redfish

    redfish Avatar

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    Depends on what this means, guys. Its not like there are people in the world with the official job of "quest giver," who get paid to give quests to outlanders.

    I don't see a problem with NPCs waving in some occasions to get a players attention, if the storytelling warrants it. So, for example, it makes sense for the Guard Captain in Soltown. Also, certain NPCs need to be naturally more identifiable. Like mentioned last release, town criers should really have a fitting outfit, a bell, and a scroll.

    But, if you're investigating a crime and have to talk to some townsfolk, making the suspects wave to you makes no sense. This is also the problem with the glow system used more generally.

    The point is storytelling, storytelling, storytelling. The reason people get confused with quests is if the way the game presents them is poor. Present the story well, and you don't need a glow. And of course, for reference in case you come back after a couple of months, the journal should be more useful.
     
  7. Bubonic

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    Yes. I agree with everything you said there.
     
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  8. majoria70

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    Thank you so much for writing this and thank you for this opportunity to be here. I knew this was just the team experimenting with the best ways for features in our game. I stand by your experimenting very much and would love to say to the community to wait, watch,listen, and question as we journey forward in the development of this game. The answers will many times come later ;)
     
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  9. Cordelayne

    Cordelayne Bug Hunter

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    They're not? Darn it, there goes my SoTA career aspirations, lol. ;)
     
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  10. majoria70

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    lol I want to see the blue glow though before it is nixed with the ultimate fix for this. I don't want it to be just an outline of blue, let em glow ;)
     
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  11. Lord British

    Lord British Lord British SOTA Developer

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    The way I see it. The woman whose child is LOST back in the town she escaped as the undead arrived will flag down ANY and EVERY new Outlander she sees to ask "Have you seen my daughter? Will you go get her!" Then when she sees you again, she would wave AT YOU and say "Did you find here?" hoping for a nice answer. And when not waving, before and afetr finding good or bad news about her daughter she can be crying in the encampment, her whole town was just wiped out, her husband was killed and the status of her daughter is variable based on quests, still PLENTY of cause to be crying uncontrollably.
     
  12. Bubonic

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    ...so it seems that what you are describing here is a version of "instancing" or "phasing", which would allow different players in the same scene to see different statuses of the world and NPCs. Is this accurate?

    Because if so, you are introducing mechanics that would allay the fears and trepidations of a LOT of single player fans! (Quests with true consequences!)
     
  13. Leinad Laurelwreath

    Leinad Laurelwreath Avatar

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    @Chris @Lum the Mad are you listening? :D:D:D
     
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  14. Zapatos80

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    Couldnt agree more!
     
  15. Lord Andernut

    Lord Andernut Avatar

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    This already exists in Owlshead in a particular quest. She yells at me and won't even talk to me outside of calling me a monster (oops!) but others will find her in a different state.
     
  16. Bubonic

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    Is this during a conversation? Or does she actively yell at you and no one else when you walk by?
     
  17. Myrcello

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    Same like the Skulls showing difficulty. If you know what they mean. Fine. If not.. ouch.

    But i like RedFish explanation better. Far more immersive then mine
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2017
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  18. Myrcello

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    May i give on remark proofing for me personaly something that all can feel and see in this thread as an example.

    Before a Developer ( in this case Richard ) did come in - we are all over each other - tension, back and forth... bad vibrations.

    Then a Developer comes in - gives us some understanding , some insights - tells us his "thinking".

    and bam - suddenly all are trying to help, are being focused on the solution and we have a good thread going on.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Keep that in mind.
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2017
  19. Bubonic

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    Yup. Good communication goes a long way.
     
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  20. Zapatos80

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    Really like this idea. Only marker for newbie/low quests to get ppl into the game
     
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