can we have info on the new tier markers?

Discussion in 'Player Test Environment (QA Server) Feedback' started by Alley Oop, Jun 21, 2020.

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  1. Alley Oop

    Alley Oop Bug Hunter Bug Moderator

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    [​IMG]
     
    Alley Oop, Jun 21, 2020
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  2. Pawz

    Pawz Avatar

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    Is that what that is?
     
    Pawz, Jun 21, 2020
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  3. Elgarion

    Elgarion Dev Emeritus Dev Emeritus

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    That's one of @Sannio 's new projects. It's a new style marker to help depict high tier locations better. We'll have a good description written up for this soon :)
     
    Elgarion, Jun 22, 2020
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  4. Sannio

    Sannio Lead Quest and Level Designer Moderator SOTA Developer

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    I'm trying out these new tier markers as something unique for Mistrendur. They fell a little "heavy" and eye-grabbing, so their final design is subject to change. Here's how they work:

    Many players already know we're implementing multiple difficulty levels for Mistrendur scenes. We call these difficulty levels "Easy," "Normal," "Hard," and "Extreme." I wanted to represent this change in spawning in the tier markers.

    The old tier markers had up to 5 skulls on a spike--the more skulls, the harder the difficulty. Also, a ribbon on the top meant "plus" in that there was at least one large section (not just one enemy) within that same scene that was a notably higher difficulty.

    These new tier markers include five shelves. A skull on the bottom shelf means you're in the Easy version of the scene. A skull in the second shelf from the bottom means you're in the Normal difficulty. Third from the bottom means Hard. Fourth from the bottom means Extreme. The top shelf is reserved for the "plus" marker or some other future use.

    (A scene's default difficulty in Mistrendur is tagged "Normal," and is at least tier 8 but more likely tier 10 or higher. In general, "Easy" suggests the difficulty is around 2 tiers easier than the default, "Hard" is probably 2 tiers higher than default and "Extreme" is at least 4 tiers higher. This may be be slightly different for some future scenes.)

    Tier markers also appear in the overworld, and Mistrendur's tier markers are handled in a special way. For example, if the scene has a Normal and a Hard difficulty, the oevrworld tier marker will have skulls both on the Normal shelf and the Hard shelf to let you know both modes are available.
     
    Sannio, Jun 22, 2020
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  5. Cora Cuz'avich

    Cora Cuz'avich Avatar

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    Are we set on the easy-normal-hard-extreme? It's a little misleading, since I'm sure some people's easy is going to be other people's hard or extreme. Especially a brand new player with ep2 access, who maybe doesn't understand the tiers yet. T7 is not "easy" to a player who has only been playing a few hours and discovers the boat to Mustrendur. Granted, they may notice the text even in "Easy" us going to be cherry deathy red, but still, relying on players to understand all the little details isn't the best way to give a good impression.
     
    Cora Cuz'avich, Jun 22, 2020
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  6. Bedawyn

    Bedawyn Avatar

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    Absolutely. I've been playing over a year now, and this thread is the first I've heard about a ribbon on the skull post indicating Plus difficulty, and it's only this spring I heard any real explanation of what "plus" means (beyond the obvious intuitive "harder than without a plus"). @Sannio -- especially while it's still possible to enter Mistrendur accidentally, we ARE going to have low-level players end up in Mistrendur, see a ladder with only one skull and think it's the same as a one-skull post. Or see "Easy" and think it means Tiers 1-3. Granted, once episode access is restricted, it's more likely to be returning players than true newbies, but there are plenty of potential returning players who haven't been following all the little details like this in the past few years. At the very least, please add a center-of-screen tip explaining the differences in the Ep 1 and Ep 2 tier markers so newbies get at least that much warning.

    That said, I do like the stone "ladder." If you end up making major changes to the design before using it as a tier marker, you could always use this version as craftable deco. :)
     
    Last edited: Jun 22, 2020
    Bedawyn, Jun 22, 2020
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  7. Alley Oop

    Alley Oop Bug Hunter Bug Moderator

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    i saw this and thought "but of course it's in the player instructions, right?" it is not. @Sannio, add info on both tier marker styles to the instructions doc?
     
    Alley Oop, Jun 22, 2020
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  8. Browncoat Jayson

    Browncoat Jayson Legend of the Hearth

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    They could also flank these with the skull poles. So two poles with five skulls each (one with a ribbon, likely) on either side of shelves with two skulls would be a T10 scene on Normal difficulty.

    I don't think I've ever heard about the ribbon either. The "Plus" difficulty itself I knew about from Avatar's Update, but not how it was displayed to players.
     
    Browncoat Jayson, Jun 22, 2020
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  9. Alley Oop

    Alley Oop Bug Hunter Bug Moderator

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    there's an existing mechanic for that: there are larger bumpy skulls that are worth two skulls each. here's ulfheim, t8+:

    [​IMG]
     
    Alley Oop, Jun 22, 2020
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  10. Browncoat Jayson

    Browncoat Jayson Legend of the Hearth

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    Interesting. You can tell how often I go to high-tier zones.
     
    Browncoat Jayson, Jun 22, 2020
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  11. Sannio

    Sannio Lead Quest and Level Designer Moderator SOTA Developer

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    The tier markers are more for flavor than required knowledge. No one needs to know the "code" used by a tier marker to learn the tier of the scene, as the tier displays as part of the UI. It's unlikely tier markers will get a full write-up in the player guide for this reason.
     
    Sannio, Jun 22, 2020
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  12. Pawz

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    @Sannio We need release notes! I know it's not your job but call somebody! Release in 3 days and no notes! :eek:
     
    Pawz, Jun 22, 2020
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