Player-created quests

I would really like to see player-created quests in game, based on the whole interactivity-thing. I don't know how the player-quests can be integrated into that whole MP/SP thing. But yes, maybe that could somehow add atmospheric stuff to the game.

 

I would love to see this as well. I think any sandbox game that allows for player created content really keeps the community alive.

 

The online nature of a game makes any mod support difficult. So complex player created quests would need to have their own in-game system to create and share and it would have to limited to what the player has some control over.

Simple fetch quests would be easy enough. Player puts a reward out for a certain item they need for example. You have to consider though, how would the quest be flagged as complete? Would the player have to flag it manually? If so, how do you handle this scenario when said player becomes inactive? How would you go about assigning completion conditions so it can be flagged automagically?

Apart from fetch, what other kinds of quests might be feasible with an ad-hoc environment? How is this system going to make quests available and to whom? Just your friends or will people in other games be able to see it too?

All that being said I kinda like this idea but there are a lot of questions that need answering before this kind of feature can be designed.

 

Minecraft manages both being online and having mods.

 

Minecraft is neither an MMO nor does it follow the idea that this game seems to. There is no official Minecraft server. They're privately owned and run out of people's home. Despite being "online" Minecraft games are local to a specific server only accessed by a small number of people. Those servers are completely separated from each other.

 

I remember there was some UO comics about two dudes who made a guy find a treasure (put a point on the map) and it appeared to be a horse dung. If somebody has the link please share

 

Neverwinter seems to handle it quite well though. Shroud being not an MMO should make it easier, shouldn't it?

 

The key idea here is 'player-created' quests. SOTA isn't an MMO but it has online mutiplayer components. NWN was strictly solo unless you connected to a player run server so there was no built-in player made quest system.

Having been a DM on a NWN server for several years I have a little experience with this concept. We had special quets that required interaction with certain player characters. These would be mostly simple fetch quests with different stories.. ie my boy is sick.. please talk to this character.. and then the player tells them to bring them an herb for a cure etc.

The problem was, when those players stopped playing it broke those quests. So any in-game system that allows players to create quests for other players needs to be robust enough to handle the creating player's absense.

 

I don't know how to. But I TOTALLY support player-created content And not only fetch-quests please!

 

This would be nice but as long as they keep releasing new episodes we shouldn't get to bored of the game.

 

To make a distinction here there's a difference between player "content" and player quests. A quest system can be implimented within the game to allow people a limited capacity to create their own. Player "content" carries a different meaning and can't be supported by game staff.

I have some ideas I think I can flesh out as to how this sort of thing might work. I doubt it's within the realm of what was planned for the game. It'll be hard to think of something very detailed though since we don't know all the features or how they'll function but now I'm getting interested.

 

I like this idea it'll be like 500 ingots for 50000 for example except instead of being a trade it would be a quest or help me build this section of a town for a reward of your choice.

 

I remember UO providing a great role-play environment from the administration side of freeshards:
-instead of just "housing" it was possible to design structures really free, create dungeons, maps, set portals, add customized graphics
-script npcs, skills, item interactions (event triggers, crafting system)
-interact live to parties on their journeys (control npcs, events)

I really would like to see techniques, that give us the possibility, to create adventures ourself. So we can present them to friends and other players as optional content.

 

@Bowen - I'm talking about the D&amp;D Neverwinter that is currently in beta. They have a system called the Foundry, which is used for creating quests. Take a look <a href="http://nw.perfectworld.com/about/foundry">here</a>.

 

Ah I see.. though I'm afraid that's like far beyond the scope of what will be feasible in SOTA.. I've only just glanced at it but what it looks like is they've done something akin to what Bethesda does with Elder Scrolls by providing the toolkit for players to create their own mods. Only the Foundry looks like they've simplified to be more laymen friendly.

The problem I see here is SOTA is not strictly single player. There's a persistant world quality I've heard mentioned.. so in order for players to enjoy any 3rd party content.. they first have to find it and download it. The dev team can't possibly provide support for that kind of content if only by the sheer quantity of it and all the things that can go wrong.

hmm well ok it's not impossible. I'm thinking from experience with stuff that isn't entirely built in-game. I can't imagine though that you'd be allowed to construct new buildings or dungeons though.. and that I think is where the biggest limitations will lie.

Foundry sounds a lot like you create your campaign.. publish.. then others can download and play. The catch here is each campaign is almost certainly separate from the original game world. But SOTA is persistant as I understand it.. so you should not be able to simple edit any of its physical properties and change any of the official story.

 

With the twin-layers of navigation, adding scenarios would be easy. Drop it on the nav-map, and it doesn't interfere with the surrounding terrain. One slip in code can turn a simple "retrieve/escort" scenario into a God-Mod!

It becomes labor-intensive to play-test every mod before approval from The Team. How many "fetch &amp; carry" scenarios could you test before wanting fall on your sword, just to make it stop?!

"Adding player content"="Losing creative control"
...or having to test everything.
I like gaming too much to force someone else to get really, <i>really</i> sick of it.

 

How about bounty quests and such that can be posted by players? Not just simple fetch/carry (though I love those), but also escorts, defending a town (that is under siege), attacking a town (that will be), etc.

Pathfinder Online is working on something similar

 

Ok I've been thinking about this one off and on for a little while now. I think what it ultimately boils down to is the level of interactivity within the game world itself. Quests should be generated based on your characters actions and among those actions would be the opportunity to actively put those quests forth.

So to 'create' a quest the player goes to a certain place.. such as the local pub which would have a community board. The more basic quests could be generated simply by placing a bounty on something (or someone) since all quests need to have a reward right?.. the target of the bounty would determine the nature of the quests, while the reward could be gold, an item, possibly services rendered, shop discounts etc

If the target is a specific item then it's a fetch quest. If the item is non-specific like raw materials then it's still fetch but in a broader sense let's say harvesting. If the target is a criminal then you could designate dead or alive.. (or both). Basically this could be split into a 2 in 1 quest with separate rewards.. or perhaps the quests could have a fail condition such as another quest being completed. That way you could have a capture quest and a kill quest.

Basically what I'm thinking is a relative simple system with options. There's a target, a reward, and conditions. Starting conditions and Pass/fail conditions. Pass/fail could be tied into other quests that you have put out.. in this way you can string quests together to make something more complex.

Example: Quest 1 &amp; 2. Bounty of 1,000 gold. Target - bandit chief Lars. Quest 1 success is capture (knock unconscience).. Failure is a kill Quest 2: is a kill quest making it a dead or alive scenario. Capture is fail, kill is pass.

Quest 3: Start condition is quest 2 pass. Target: Stolen goods. (making this a fetch quest).

There's some technical stuff I'm leaving out but you get the idea. In this way you could string together more complex scenarios with a system relatively simple for a player to use. The behind the scenes work.. in theory shouldn't be too difficult.

I could come up with a more detailed framework. Wouldn't be too hard but I lack the deeper understanding of the game the devs have so I imagine they'd be able to whip something up rather quickly if they like the idea.

 

Player created quests could be simple grind quests like hunting, mining or crafting. And this could sub the need of an action house.

 

The idea is neat, but, I am against this, only because we don't need it. There's already any entire team dedicated to bringing this game to us, so why not let them take care of it?


If we have players doing quest making and such, it's probably going to lead to skewed results.