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The Making of The Forest Siege

Discussion in 'Developer Work and Blog posts' started by Sea-Wolf, Nov 9, 2016.

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  1. Sea-Wolf

    Sea-Wolf Avatar

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    Hey folks, Sea-Wolf here with some screenshots for the new forest siege encounters!

    The Entrance
    [​IMG]

    The Blockade
    [​IMG]

    The Battlefield
    [​IMG]

    The Enemy Camp
    [​IMG]

    The Forest
    [​IMG]

    ~Chris Wolf
    Level Designer
     
    Sea-Wolf, Nov 9, 2016
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  2. Sannio

    Sannio Lead Quest and Level Designer Moderator SOTA Developer

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    For those wondering about "Town Sieges," they're currently on the schedule for Release 37. How will they work? Well, here's an overview:

    Anyone approaching a town in the overworld that is under siege will see a temporary "siege weapon" object (e.g. a catapult) next to the town. If you try to enter that town, you'll instead be sent to a "siege encounter" scene. (As with roving encounters, your fellow party members will see a special icon in the overworld that they can use to join you in that siege encounter scene.)

    The siege encounter appears according to a schedule and won't leave until the schedule says it should (for example, it shows up at dusk and won't leave until dawn).

    You'll spawn into the siege encounter on its edge near an enemy camp. Nearby is a central battlefield where waves of enemies and allies clash again and again while also being assaulted by periodic catapult attacks. On the opposite side of the map is a squad of allies, pinned down by enemy forces as they defend the only exit.

    There are two obvious paths: The long way around includes a handful of low-threat enemy patrols, while barreling through the enemy camp and frontline will be quicker but far more dangerous. There's a third option: Your allies need your help destroying the three catapults that keep them pinned down. Destroying the catapults and their high-threat siege engineers will draw out the greatest threat, the siege commander. If you can take out the siege commander, enemy reinforcements will stop coming and the siege will end.

    Some additional notes: The forest siege is only the first "siege biome." More will come over time, with a variety of enemy types. Also, we would like the act of defeating the siege commander to immediately remove the siege from the overworld as well, but this is a future consideration and won't be in the initial implementation.
     
    Sannio, Nov 9, 2016
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  3. Woftam

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    This looks like a lot of fun!! Great work Chris!
     
    Woftam, Nov 9, 2016
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  4. Lord Andernut

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    Thank for the overview!

    Will size of town or the moon tower defenses play into it at all?

    Is this NPC towns only? Or does it include PRTs and POTs.
     
    Lord Andernut, Nov 9, 2016
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  5. Gideon Thrax

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    Nice!

    Q: How will the notification work with scrolls? Teleport and Recall... will they get an identifier or will those under siege destinations become locked out?
     
    Gideon Thrax, Nov 9, 2016
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  6. Alexander

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    I really like this. Looking forward to seeing this in game.
     
    Alexander, Nov 9, 2016
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  7. Daxxe Diggler

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    Can't wait to see one of these in action! Looks fun. :D
     
    Daxxe Diggler, Nov 9, 2016
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  8. Selene

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    Squeeeee!!!! So excited to try these out!!!
     
    Selene, Nov 9, 2016
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  9. Anosa Saycosie of Gilnea

    Anosa Saycosie of Gilnea Avatar

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    Side note, will there be Siege Deco available for our homes? I would definitely like to see some for crafting as well as the add on store!

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    Anosa Saycosie of Gilnea, Nov 9, 2016
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  10. Drocis the Devious

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    That's awesome! Can't wait to try this out.

    Do you get anything special for ending a siege or killing the siege commander? Are there virtue tests integrated into these scenes? Can you farm them?
     
    Drocis the Devious, Nov 9, 2016
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  11. Ancev

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    Would be interesting if there could be a town siege variant where avatars can enlist in both sides of the equation so 2 of the commanders can be spawned and they fight each other. One commander defending the town, the other attacking and each side fights against the other until one commander is victorious. +/- virtue. Players that happen to be PvP flagged could still fight each other for the PvE version of this scenario. Then a pvp version where all players fight each other and mobs.
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2016
    Ancev, Nov 10, 2016
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  12. Frederick Glasgow

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    Thank you for the preview,this looks like it will be great.
     
    Frederick Glasgow, Nov 10, 2016
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  13. Lockey2

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    Not sure about Deco siege. If I make it I want it to work! Trebuchet, Ballista's et al. Complete with Ammo for them.
     
    Lockey2, Nov 10, 2016
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  14. Sannio

    Sannio Lead Quest and Level Designer Moderator SOTA Developer

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    No, they won't factor in.

    Yes, NPC towns only. Not PRTs or POTs.
     
    Sannio, Nov 10, 2016
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  15. Sannio

    Sannio Lead Quest and Level Designer Moderator SOTA Developer

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    I love the idea of entering a massive battle scene and being able to choose one side or another, but that would be beyond the scope of these new siege encounters. Also, I like the idea of having one's virtue be a relevant factor. Also outside the scope here, but choices and repercussions are always good to keep in mind!
     
    Sannio, Nov 10, 2016
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  16. Sannio

    Sannio Lead Quest and Level Designer Moderator SOTA Developer

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    No plans yet for any special rewards for ending a siege. No virtue tests integrated into these scenes but I want to keep it in mind for future improvements. They'ree not meant to be farmed, but players are a clever lot and I'm sure some will try to find a way.
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2016
    Sannio, Nov 10, 2016
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  17. Sannio

    Sannio Lead Quest and Level Designer Moderator SOTA Developer

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    You will not be restricted from using special means (teleport/recall) to leave a siege encounter. You won't be trapped except in the sense that you'll need to cross the scene to get to the scene's one exit volume.
     
    Sannio, Nov 10, 2016
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  18. Jens_T

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    Will there be any impact on town life under siege? e.g. different vendor prices/goods? Extra quest to smuggle things in/out?
    The sieges somewhat remind me of U5 with the Shadowlords staying in a city. To give meaning to sieges however it is imho necessary to change npc behavior and perhaps graphics (smoke on sky, extra guard npc, healers, refugees, wounded people, barricades...)
    Also a siege should end after something happened like players fought the attackers successfully not just because some timer (celestial mechanics) demands it. Or the siege automatically ends with destruction of the town. I.e. No / very limited town life except player housing for some time. As siege affects everybody there should be less limitations to temporarily change npc and dynamic items than with individual quests.
     
    Jens_T, Nov 12, 2016
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  19. majoria70

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    I was really hoping for random town sieges all over the map. A popup would announce the siege and say for example ' hey all avatars there is a town siege in wizards rest', please help. Anyone not interested in the siege could lock themselves in their house or leave town. A timer would start off with creatures running throughout the town. Killing them all would be a community/game event and rewards given each avatar is based on things like kills and time it took to eliminate the threat.

    This could be a bit different for pvp towns and announce wars in random towns asking avatars to help to clear the threat to town out and would work with rewards awarded also increased or decreased by time it took to clear and amount of kills people got during the siege, or something like this. ;)

    We have enough towns in the game that one town would not be taken over by creatures all that often but it would add some fun risk to the game, call people together in a team setting not requiring groups to get rewards everyone in town would be involved in the count. Surprises like this imo are much needed in my strong opinion. I just posted this pic or one like it in another thread but it meets the spirit of one of many of my strong requests to improve the fun in the game.

    [​IMG]
     
    majoria70, Nov 12, 2016
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  20. majoria70

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    Also to add to the Sieges occuring all over the map, it does give players the opportunity to visit everywhere, we could have different sieges but town sieges are a great opportunity that could be missed. This game is so in need of fun things to do and things to draw players in, we are so sick of grinding for all things as the basis of this game, grinding is ok at times, but there is no reasons added in for the grind, no crafting quest, pvp quests, pve quests etc,. Also make town bulletin boards with work orders instead of on vendors to give a reason to grind. Not forced grouping in town sieges but everyone pitching in. Also the Catapult and notification flashed on your screen is important and notes a siege is happening. A copy of the scene is set up to enjoy the fun and gets randomly put in a different town each time. Please consider this too ;)
     
    majoria70, Nov 12, 2016
    #20
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