EDIT:
Oops; I missed the other two replies when I composed this. I'll address them at the bottom, because my responses to them are less important.
There's a difference, however, between being an unpleasant game experience because it differs from what a player wants and being a poorly designed roleplaying game. In MMORPG design — and not
faux–RP MMOGs, of course — you have both the necessities of the simulation and how the designers structured the players' experiences, and interface, so that players are able to smoothly engage with the game's world.
You brought up some good counterpoints which I hadn't properly considered, apparently.
It doesn't really answer this question, though: Would the Hydlaan guards be so trusting that they'd allow any magic to be practiced anywhere but they don't let people show their weapons openly?
Yes, wielding something which is certainly a weapon is more threatening than someone who appears to be “competent” in the use of magic.
What about restricting healing to hospitals and healers' tents? Enchanting and divining only in private areas and in shops? Permitting strength buffs on someone who is obviously carrying, or will be carrying, a heavy load? (We can't see it inventories, but let's say that the guards can discern the total load someone is bearing.)
That's why I brought up making so that players and NPCs could detect the spell being cast and therefore being able to know whether it is harmful or not, and whether it is dangerous.
I'm not only recommending that something be implemented: I'm also asking for clarification on the apparent inconsistency.
There's a difference between adding so much detail — or “realism” in some discussions — that it makes a game tedious, and having inconsistencies which detract from the roleplaying experience. One can result in the other, but they are different things, and you need to consider both of them:
Not implementing something because you don't like the way it affects gameplay then requires you to go back and ensure that the world of the game doesn't suffer from your decision.
Yes, restricting the use of magic would have a larger impact because your character really doesn't need their weapon out in Hydlaa: you only need to
/dequip it once, as compared to restrictions on where you can perform magic. (Maybe if weapons could be utilized in a
/use to interact with things other than during combat, but then you could also expand
/use to take arguments like in a text game.)
If the fact that the guards don't care is due to the fact that you cannot cast offensive magic on other players, then that should be explained somewhere. All it would require, in that case, is a few lines added to the blurts — an unsolicited NPC
/say — issued by the guards at the gates and on patrol in Hydlaa.
As to Emaline's reply: Thanks, I didn't know about that — either PlaneShift didn't have the unmissable floating alerts, as do some other games, which notify you when you cross into a PvP zone, or they were added after I ceased playing for a while. I'm guessing that the Arena west of Hydlaa is one of them.
Although, now I need to learn something else: PvP in those zones, but PK?
So, there is a decree, but why don't the guards mention it? It really seems to me like they should mention it along with the admonition to sheath our weapons which many of them blurt out.
If that's all it takes, then I'd be satisfied with the game-world consistency. If somebody desires for me to write the changes, then let me know.
And, finally, the reason I bring this up now is exactly because UE4 development is not yet ready to host a server instance and begin accepting beta-test clients.
I didn't know if something major should be done; if so, now would be a better time than during beta-testing — when it would need to be put off until later — or during the time when PlaneShift is up and running with new users who don't want to suddenly be confronted with a drastic change like restricted magic in Hydlaa!
Of course I considered all this.
