On the invisible walls subject (Didn't read page 2 so sorry if this is just a repeat of someone else’s stuff): we're in a giant stalactite. I forget which level, but it seems to me that we'd really need to know just how big this level we are on is, and chart the entire map of this level, so we know how many areas are in it, and thus where the walls are and thus what we're making and where to end it. I don't know how detailed you need to make a giant wall, but I shouldn't think it's all that different to an invisible wall, just a few extra polygons, because I'm assuming that a decent amount of the detail is going to be expendable and you can have a few noticeable indents of something. Basically right now we seem to have two types of map though - the old school maps such as Hydlaa, which were around in the old days, where the terrain looks... for lack of a better term, not much like terrain. I’m going to take an educated guess and suggest that they aren't as efficient as they could be. Then there are the 'wilderness' maps, which do look like terrain. If we can find a way to import the city models from those maps, and place them on a terrain like those of the wilderness maps (because I assume they are more efficient), then there is surely leeway for performance issue with the invisible walls on things like the road just outside the city. From there you can introduce foliage and object generators, which will make up your standard forests and such. I'm not sure how efficient crystal space is for this type of thing, and suppose that it's mainly down to that in the end.
Pvp and the ability to affect the world are close subjects to me after spending most of my time in shadowbane, but having to go away from it, as it's shutting down, I came back to see how the project was doing. These were two large driving forces in shadowbane. And I suppose to that end that combat also gets mention here. PVP needs to have a purpose in the world, I really don't think that in a place like Planeshift that PVP should be 'flip a switch and pvp is go'. I suggest:
Bounty hunting - a board or some such in where players go to post bounties and where bounty hunters go to accept them. A player must enter the name of a chosen character, submit a certain amount of money which is stored, submit a timeframe up to (however long the max length is), submit their last sighting of that player, or their ideas as where they might be hiding and of course a reason why and they are notified when someone accept the bounty. More than one person may accept the bounty and bounty hunters after the same bounty are all on automatic PVP to each other (bounty hunters don't like competition for their prize and will either stay and fight for it, or back down from it). When the bounty is killed, it goes back to normal and the successful hunter get the money deposited (so we don’t have any swindling).
Factions of some sort opposed to one another and have a great love of murdering their opponents. This could be guild v guild, religious ware, or some other type of faction. In a city the violence is reacted to by the guards (who also can have an ability to can recruit players who will act on the in-city violence and declare (for a set time limit) the entirety of that faction off limits to the city, anyone coming into that city is to be killed.
King of the hill style objectives. Some sites of importance dotted around the world that people want to control. Does need much explanation apart from a back-story and reason of course, but you want it, it’s there - go out and fight for it.
Combat – in general combat in this game is boring. Click, watch animations, repeat. I’d rather it’s was either directly controlled, or there were some sort of abilities for lack of a better word that you gained as you became better.
Other means of leveling – the leveling system needs an overhaul in general I think, but this would be, without a doubt, a welcome addition because not everyone wants to go and kill things. Planeshifts ‘level’ system is perfect for this because it doesn’t have an overall level, it’s just a lot of micro levels. So if you handled everything as you do combat – for each success you gain something, then it’d make doing everything that isn’t combat viable.
Events. Don’t actually mind if they’re scripted random events, or GM led (preferably a mix of the two), but we’re all supposed to be defending ourselves from evil attacking monsters that want to tear out our intestines, or for a lack of intestines, something else that’s hot, bloody and tastes like bacon, and hang them on their walls, necks and other appendages. I know it’s not in the scripting and whatnot, but there needs to be more evidence of scary monsters who want to kill the cities, because it involves the players in the world, it makes the story viable and it makes the monsters and the world more real.
I know that what I suggest is in the far, far future beyond the sight of modern people, and possibly may never come to fruition, even if they are accepted as decent ideas and some such, but these are my elaborations on my suggestions as they are.
Poll