NPC Towns, what makes them special?

I voted yes because I am currently living in Etceter and most of the NPC's are of a different race, plus their behaviors are different. I can see why people that have not spent time there would vote no though.

 

I think this is a great question and poll. IMHO NPC towns need some work. I get that a lot of the various NPC interactions and storylines aren't implemented yet, so if/when that happens I believe they will be better. More importantly, @Tahru 's point, NPC towns are where most folks congregate and hangout so to me that makes them special. Overall though, given some time and polish I think they could be great. I just hope that happens.

 

Sure there are differences like that... but when every town has the exact same building for their tavern...

 

I was visiting Owl's Head again and I have to say that this is a good city. It looks interesting, it is very detailed and the layout is good.

Also, does anyone know why the textures in Owl's Head, especially the ground textures, do look so much better than in most other scenes? The sun was setting and the ground textures didn't looked like flat painting on the ground. They looked like they had structure and depth.

 

I agree with OP, it feels like Ardoris is one of the only unique towns in the game, at least so far. All the buildings feel the same, and even the individual marketplaces in town centers use the same awnings. Here's hoping they do a fine detail pass at some point at least.

 

I guessing I'm not disallowed to mention towns from the QA, since its public knowledge that they exist and they'll be in the new release in about a day.

- I think Owl's Head, Kingsport, Ardoris, Kiln, Aerie look relatively distinct.

- Solania and Resolute are just blocks of lots, except for small NPCs areas in both; the docks in Solania and courtyard in Resolute. Maybe this is to be expected because of their small size? Besides the small NPC areas, they're mostly distinct because of their setting; swamp vs. mountain.

- Soltown and Braemar are the same; though their central area is distinct, at least between the two of them.

- Etceter mostly suffers from a lack of good textures, lack of polish.

- Desolis is distinct from other towns in that it has adobe buildings, but not much to speak for it in regards to being distinct from desert POTs. It has Epitaph, though.

Most of the towns suffer visually because of some of the eclectic player housing, ie Obsidian towers, towers of ankhs, etc. etc. I think the game would have had a much better feeling to if housing and decoration architectures had more forethought to them.

I think the same exact reused elements in some cases harms the unique feeling. I don't expect the architectures of every necessarily town to be wildly and completely different -- I actually disliked how they did that in U9 and, to some extent, UO. But in some cases, unique buildings, unique textures, unique heights and widths to walls, unique details, polishes, trims, etc. could help. In a game like Witcher 3, building architectures aren't that different from each other (from what I remember) but the towns still feel hand-crafted. There was an attention to detail.

More life in the towns could help, also details in that regard :

-Guards could have different dress, including a sigil or coat of arms for that town on their shields or clothes.

-Regional styles of dress (think how in the real world there is traditional dress in all different parts of Europe). Details to dress, like guards having a sword in their scabbard.

-Banners or pennants with town sigils or coats of arms.

-More types of merchants and more types of wares outside on merchants carts, instead of them just being repeats.

-NPCs not just having schedules, but actually doing activities -- shown and animated -- like fishing, crafting, hauling items, getting water from wells. Children playing.

-Peddlers and more merchant carts in the street. Traders by the docks and market areas. Mercenaries and hirelings in taverns. Which of each type depending on the town and region.

-Instead of just chickens and sheep, there could be more forms of domestic animals and wildlife. For example, I hope to have geese in the POT I'm building. Sort of like the hobbling geese you see roaming the village streets in Witcher 3. Geese. Ducks. Some towns could have goats. Ardoris could use things like storks. Kingsport could use seagulls sitting on the docks. Solania egrets. Pelicans, cormorants maybe in other dock areas. Some towns could have rats at night coming from sewer grates (I expect Drocis will want this). Oh yes, but birds everywhere would be great. Crows, owls, etc. Whales / dolphins off the coast of Aerie at certain times of the day. Crabs on rocky areas by the water. Frogs on bridges (like in U9) and in swampy areas.

-Regional weather, meaning swamps and dock areas, and maybe mountain areas, would have fog more often than something in a grassy plain. Deserts would have sandstorms. Mountain areas would have snow and blizzards.

-Plants and trees. Also some unique trees in some cities with a hand-crafted quality to them. Like "the old oak" that has been in one town for generations.

-Griminess. Details like barnacles on docks. Vines and ivy on old stone areas that aren't maintained. Bird droppings Puddles of water built up by rain in rainy areas (but hopefully only after rains) and footprints and cartwheel prints in mud. Water dripping from buildings after rain (like in U8).

-Ships sailing in the waters outside of towns with docks. Frigates. Fishing boats. Etc.

-NPCs gathering around parks and taverns and other rec areas in off hours.

 

This does happen in Etceter. Love that about it. But there are so many, it is hard not to bump into them.

 

Wonder if all towns will get mini maps i guess may be difficult for the dynamic pots.

 

- Tavern games. The easiest to implement would be darts. Have a "Throw Dart" glyph and a dartboard. Don't hit other players!

- Taverns should become noisy when they're full with NPCs like the tavern in Britain in U9.

- NPC bards playing tunes on lutes at certain hours, though stepping aside if players want to entertain.

- Cats in taverns. Tavern owners have pets!

- The barmaid animated filling up mugs, and bringing mugs to customers on a platter.

 

Should bankers and town criers sleep? I have gotten used to fact I cannot do transactions at night. Sometimes it is slightly aggravating, but it encourages me to mix-up the game play and not kill kill all the time. If vendors do it, all the NPC's should except for perhaps guards. Another thing that is nice is the NPC's have a different dialog after hours.


On second thought, maybe the bankers should stay awake, at least for the land rush. I can already hear the players screaming as they wait for the banker to return to work in the middle of the rush.

 

Yes. Personally I think so.

And honestly, I think having to wait through the night would create good gameplay around camping. Which I hope gets in the game. The more in the game that makes time of day important and travel important the more rich the game will feel IMO.

Though there can be some nightlife in taverns up to a certain hour.

 

I agree, yes, all NPCs that are human should have proper schedules and sleep at night. Taverns should be open and active late, as should business of the more... nefarious variety.

 

Especially in piratey towns like Etceter.

 

I agree. Each town should have its own song, and each town should be unique!

 

I think each town owner should advertise their towns in a spotlight (thread) called Come to my town! They should explain why its good to be there and what it offers, as well as future plans for it.

 

Lol, and LB and DS should have their own theme songs which play when they arrive. (No, BDF, you can't have one)

 

Sure, but that won't help the NPC towns become distinct.

It isn't just lack of NPC's and Buildings, I feel it is a lack of direction for each town. They could not be here and the only thing that feels is missing is a meeting spot.

@redfish you gave a great list, but looking different and soul is a different thing to me.

@Lord_Darkmoon Owl's head is probably the best put together of the bunch, also one of the first.

To me they need a lot of work like I said, not just a pass over quick update. Though like I said before I'm doubtful they have time with the schedule.

 

It would more productive if players were to provide some feedback on what they are looking for in each town. One of our players did have some sketch painting for Ardonis guards, which I find it pretty cool and I hope the dev team use that sketch as an inspiration for making clothing for those guards.

Wouldn't that be part of the "design NPCs" once the tech is ready?

 

People are able to give feedback on towns here....I have already....feel free to add.

I don't think design NPC's is still in....or not the same way.

 

I'm not going to do Portalarium's concept art for them - I do fanart stuff whenever I'm in the mood. =P But actually Leostorm's concept (which I liked) sort of illustrates the point that the Ardoris guards for example need to look different from the Owl's Head guards to match the whole chinese theme they have going on in Ardoris. And the town NPCs need to be dressed appropriately. And the little details need to match. And the dialogue and NPCs need to fit with the whole theme of the city. They are part way there with Ardoris - that is why I like it - that and it's character is not drowned out by player housing too. But it still needs a lot of work.

Sometimes it seems like there are so many placeholders and yet there is talk of a final wipe and launch this year. And I just think there are still some serious worldbuilding and game mechanics things to address still. It's like they can add bowler hats, holiday items, and such totally out of whack with the rest of the world, but they can't put in culturally appropriate dress for the folk of Ardoris or make Etceter look like fauns live there? And it's just one of a bunch of major NPC cities in Novia.