First Impressions: Highvale

First impressions of Highvale:

- Stepped through the lunar rift and felt a little out of sorts not knowing where I was.
- Looked to the sights on the horizon not the ground.
- Missed seeing the Dying knight. Ooops.
- Ran through the burning bridge, thinking it was a test of courage to do so (it is the courage line afterall).
- Wondering why it mattered that I was on fire in the bridge.
- Found the healer, who really had not much to say except to tell me about Resolute. Let down.
- Found the guy at the gate, who gave me stuff about the Oracle. Couldn't get out of the gate.
- Didn't see a requirement for a key for a number of tries to open the gate.
- Randomly ran around harvesting gold and weapons and stuff not quite knowing why as I explored.
- Felt a little frustrated that I could not exit the area.
- Went back to the starting point and finally saw the Dying Knight.
- Got the Amulet, but no (BUG?) no quest recorded in my Journal as the NPC dialog indicated.
- The chat log also indicated that I received 0 of 1 of something.
- Checked buildings but didn't really feel directed to do so or know what to expect. Didn't find much.
- Randomly looted more corpses until I found a key.
- I expected to find a single weapon I was required to use. I found many (happily).
- Exited the gate and felt elated to do so.
- I really didn't get why all of the corpses were lurking around in the interior area inside the gate.
- Exiting I appreciated the scenery a bit more.
- I fought the elves, finally realizing I was in an elf area.
- I didn't know why I was fighting elves.
- After dispatching elves, I explored the area, I like the scenery. But it felt a little...busy...
- I wasn't sure why some areas mattered. The area to the right of town, after leaving, felt just tacked on.
- I wasn't sure why I was logging finding certain areas in such a relevatively small scene.
- Why do I care that I found the cemetary? I didn't linger to find out.
- I was at my happiest when I found a halberd drop. Awesome.
- Carrots, worms, arrowheads were great too. Nice progress on drop itemization. It seemed logical.
- I couldn't chop the autumn colored tree but expected to.
- Other than fight the elves, I wasn't sure what to do except exit.
- My journal remains empty.
- I'm exiting now. I leave not feeling like I would be compelled to come back here.

Summary: Overall I can see a good start here. I like the idea of the instance. I can see potential. I like the graphics and colors. But it needs meaning. Its places need to feel more meaningful or impactful - why do I care to be on that burning bridge? Why do I care to be in the tower? Why do I care to be opening the gate? Why do I care about the elves? Should I feel intrepidation leaving the gate? Why do I care about this cemetary? Why do I care about the areas off the main road out? Why do I care about an empty gypsy wagon. I think the instance generically -- so far -- just uses corpses and relies on hunt and peck exploration to drive it. It misses the opportunity to use the burning bridge as a real test of courage. As is, I don't feel courageous for making my choice to come here earlier.

I hope to see a real story evolve around the town and landscape. Looking forward to the next installment.

 

Here is brainstorming list of suggestions that would have made the instance more grabbing for me:

- Think of this scene as being the aftermath of the Alamo. What stories could be told?
- What is the virtue that has played out in the battle that the Avatar missed? Provide better evidence of virtue that took place in the battle? Not just corpses.
- This is the start of Courage. Provide more cues (NPC dialog, imagery, whatever) that hint at courage and its related virtues (honor, sacrifice)
- Use the burning bridge as a test of courage. Give the Avatar a reason to fear the bridge. Then give the Avatar a reason to go in there.
- Give the dying knight dialog that leads you to run through the burning bridge.
- Require one to talk to another victim at the edge of the flames after you go through them. Place the key there.
- Give the healer some dialog on how brave the Avatar was to run through the burning bridge to try to save a victim.
- Is there an option for a compassion (extinguish a burning victim) vs. a truth (talk to the victim to ask a question as he suffers) type choice in the NPC dialog? Perhaps too gruesome.
- Place some notes in the houses here or there referring to so and so (the dying NPC in the burning bridge) as the keeper of the gate key, in case it is missed earlier.
- Have the Dying Knight raise more consternation in the Avatar about the elves. The elves should be feared when one leaves the gate. The Avatar should learn about them later.
- Expand the healer NPCs dialog about Resolute. Explain more in that Dialog that Highvale called for help from Resolute, but it has come too late. Something like that. Hint about the Resolute paladins?
- Give the cemetary some meaning. Give it some empathy. Create a headstone that clearly implies that a pet (dog, or something) is buried there.
- Add a little walk in crypt with an NPC hiding in there. Let the NPC tell the story of being the last living person in the town. And why they ran in there. And how rough the attack on the town was.
- Where is the Lord of the town? Dead just like any other corpse?
- Consider making the Lord of the town the one hiding. Perhaps there is a virtue choice there to get him to reveal humility for revealing his lack of courage or sacrifice for leading an elf into the crypt away from children about to be attached.
- Are there women and children? Where did they go? Are they corpses too? Is there a story an NPC could share about that?
- Give the Avatar a reason to inspect map areas outside of the town? Give the side area some meaning.
- Somehow explain why the elves are outside lurking. Clearly they have won the battle. But their force is tiny now? Are they elf soldiers? Or elf looters now?
- If I knew the elf was a soldier, I might react to them differently than if they were a looter? Virtue dialog potential with an elf before slaying them?
- Consider adding a less courageous way out of town, other than raising the gate and fighting the elves. Can the Avatar choose a cowardly way out of town that the Oracle might later comment on?
- Does that create an opportunity for a guide? A guide who could offer the Avatar the easy way out without courage, or point the way to the burning bridge as a path of courage?
- Consider adding books on the History of Highvale. Tell the Avatar why this place was important, and its loss impactful.
- Consider adding books about the Avatar here. About Novia. A burned out library for example. If this is a first experience, some players might spend time in this town reading on what the world ahead is before going there.
- Instead of using only random corpse placement, create more of a battle scene where the town guard clearly failed and fell. Let the Avatar see the courage, honor and sacrifice that occurred.
- Or if it didn't occur, somehow tell the Avatar a story about why the town fell if it lacked courage to fight. It would be a big revelation to learn that the corpses are citizens, not the guard force that ran off.
- Place an NPC at the exit who has a dialog telling the Avatar about the courageous act of the Knight (Dying knight or someone else) who went back inside the burning fortress to save someone. Lead the avatar back in and get that story. Maybe an NPC in a harder to find place (one of the side areas) with a little reward?

 

I tried the bridge first as well. The scene works if you go the other way around. As you approach the well, you are instructed to search the corpse for the key. After you pass through the training ground the hint is given to loot a weapon. The healer had not a lot else to say. Perhaps a more clear path around the other way than the bridge.

Outside was a lot to look at. Only 3 low level elves to kill, not a lot of a crushing invasion force left. I looted several bedrolls, opened and closed, from the empty elf camp. A beautiful lake, a rocky passageway, and a closed off eastern exit. (This was the most 'northerly' exit) leaving by the south entrance, which exits to Soltown currently did not make sense since Resolute was described as north of high vale.

I liked seeing the new scene. I suppose all the other real estate in the scene is for the use after the starting quest. There will probably be more, and tougher elves when you go back there.

 

About the Journel, it now has two sections, on the main page its says something about "tasks" and below that it says something about "Knowledge", clicking those phrases will open each section...

 

I agree with everything said above. My main gripe was that (I answered all my gypsy questions compassionately, and wound up here) so the thing that distressed me the most is that there's a 'dying knight' and you can't do anything to try to save him. You tell the healer about him and he seems not to care at all. What kind of terrible people are these? And why am I helping them??