PlaneShift
Gameplay => General Discussion => Topic started by: corsairk8 on January 08, 2002, 08:33:15 pm
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I was thinking, if this world is so large people may have trouble contacting others. People may wanna chat with friends but not be able to. In real-life we have a number of systems to communicate and transport, which versions of which may be useful in this game.
- Telephone
- Mobile Phone
- Pager
- Written Letter
- Computer / Email
- Computer / Chat
- Network / Internet
- Bus
- Car
- Taxi
- Subway
- Airplane
- Space-craft
- Train
Im thinking if we are to keep things interesting we need simular devices for this game. Perhaps a telephone-like device for all houses and appartments, I dont think a mobile-phone would be realistic nor would a pager. I would love to have a telephone system and a letter writing system where you purchase stamps and send it to a post office. We could even have post men who deliver it to each house.
One thing that would be great would be a network-within-a-network sorta idea. This would be to have an internet in the game. This would mean, if there is technology like computers, or perhaps some races may discover magically-driven devices simular to computers, there could be a network simular to the internet with pages on magic, personal pages, roleplay pages, magic-mail and the magi-internet-chat-system or mics.
Another thing that would be great would be transportation, a good job could be a taxi driver who makes money by transporting people to areas and stuff. I for one would like to put myself for hire as a mercenary for fun, and perhaps drive my employer to areas of the wilderness and then rent out weaponry all for a charge. We could incorperate this into a law-system by having contracts where if broken a court appearance be made, and if they fail to turn up the guards can hostile them and kill / forcefully make them show in course.
This may make things a little too realistic, but I think some of these ideas may be quite useful and when worked effectively into the game could make it much better. These are just ideas so please comment on them on which ones you like, thanks!
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LOL acraig, have you ever heard of FANTASY role playing? ofcourse there\'ll be transportation methods (maybe even including teleportation) but all will have it\'s costs. and the other things are just plain stupid. Have yu ever seen a dwarf calling his elvish contacts with his mobile phone from behind his laptop that he\'ll be little later for buissness dinner because his private yet doesn\'t want to take off? GIMME A BREAK MAN! :D
Thekkur
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Some great ideas there :D
I agree and think that \'modern\' devices from our world should definately stay out of the PS world as should modern transport etc. But, as you said, communication could be a problem and I\'m not sure if a mail system would work unless it is instant, as people tend towrite things for the moment and would lose their point or meaning after any time delay, for example having to be be retreived from a house or post office.
Do the majority of other MMORPGs have instant messaging available to use with people currently in other locations?
If you are trying to avoid this due to the lack of realism involved - after all it is just like having an in game mobile phone ;) you could perhaps have a system of NPC \'runners\' or messanger birds - these services could be town and village based services, bought items or even just an option everyone has all the time as a way to include some form of instant messaging between players.
If you wanted simple messaging as it currently exists in many games, maybe you could have available to buy or win in a quest, somekind of mystical orb thingy which allows the transfer of ones thoughts to another who also has such an orb?
As for transport, horses or any number of beasts would do the job nicely. Maybe one day we could raise and train animals, then you have a whole other branch of gaming to explore...but maybe that\'s something for the future...
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Well, I was just listing what we have in modern-days and I am corsairk8, not craig. Anyawy, id love to have enchanted rocks or shells you can listen into that works like mobine phones. Again, I wouldnt want anything ive mentioned to be in the real game under the name they have in modern days. We should use creativity to attain that functionality yet present it in a attractive role-playing style. For example:
- Telephone = Magic Horn
- Mobile Phone = Call Shell
- Pager = Magic Slate
- Computer = Personal Command Hive
- Internet = Plane Shifters Network (Run by government?)
- Bus could stay
- Car = Magic Sphere or HexaTram
- Space Craft = Space Crawler
Please note that I am rubbish at coming up with good names and I havent put much thought into the names or what they look like, but rather what function they will serve in the game. I would like to know what you think of having *simular* devices, not the exact same things.
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Hmmm, did you post that before seeing my post Corsairk? Just like I have just done with Thekkur\'s post before me?
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hmmm... it\'s odd we both said acraig instead of corsairk8...
It seems that I mis-read your post corsaik8 (or you might have adjusted it after I replied. ;) The idea is good, but i think there shouldn\'t be too many of such magical devices. The internet system wouldn\'t be possible in my opinion. About the runners: imagine dozens of like-mailmen-dressed npc\'s running around and bumping into everyone... I think there shouldn\'t be too much communication either. In a real medieval world you couldn\'t have contact with people over great distances too. It would be far more realistic. And say for yourself: how many imes would you send an urgent message to someone on the other side of the map? if you want to meet: call eachother in real life and meet on certain coordinates.
WE might add somthing like the palantir from LoTR. but not with webcams ofcourse, but with in game over distance viewing. (imagine somthing like a webcam but then entirely in-game) the ppl who read LoTR know what I am talking about, and the ppl that saw the movie should also know it.
Thekkur
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If you want to bend the \"fantasy only\" rules a little bit, you could incorporate private messaging like in RS and other games - two players could communicate with each other, no matter where they are in the game. But since there\'s no real reasoning behind it (it\'s telepathic!), and it lends itself to player harassment, I wouldn\'t recommend it.
I read LotR long ago, so I don\'t recall exactly what the palantir are - weren\'t they orbs or something? That would be neat, though - magical orbs in certain places that are accessible by the players, and they can contact another orb anywhere in the game, as long as they know about it (maybe they type a name in or something).
In one game I player for awhile, they also had e-messages - you could go to a desk and send a message to someone else in the game, like an e-mail, but it could only be sent or read at a desk.
In most fantasy settings there are \"runners\" who take messages across town for a few coppers, and there are people who carry mail (send it along with a merchant caravan, e.g.). It might be a little harder to implement in-game, though.
Or you could just do what many RS players do, and hang out in the chat room while you play. Many\'s the time we communicated through there - if someone had stuff to give away, or wanted to get a group together to go hunting. You could also, of course, use AIM or MSN or whatever.
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Originally posted by Thekkur
About the runners: imagine dozens of like-mailmen-dressed npc\'s running around and bumping into everyone...
LOL, you don\'t actually have to have the npcs running all over the landscape, all that would happen \'behind the scenes\' - I thought it just might be a nice way to explain and incorporate a message system if one was required. But I do agree that much of the distance communication is often unecessary, so may not even be needed ;)
Are palantirs similar to what I suggested about the orbs in my earlier post then?
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Alright, fine, then if thats unrealistic then lets do it like in MUDs and have it so you have to goto a post office to get your mail and then you can read it or take it home.
I dont see whats wrong with a mobile rock, that you dial into your friend, then if he picks up his rock, you can chat. We could have a telephone number for each player or have it so you dial in their name, and then it would be cool. Of course, it would only be for high level players, or maybe those who spent alot of gold.
I think stamps and items like these enchanted rocks shuold be very expensive, so people cant just go and make tons and keep posting hundreds. Maybe have it for a few Hexa for a stamp, because of how hard it is to transport letters. There should be different classes of stamps, like \"City-wide\", \"Zone-wide\" and \"Global\" with Global being very expensive and City-wide being cheaper.
Enchanted rocks would very rare and so there are a finite amount could be found, and they are geneted periodically perhaps by the gods. I think these should be luxuries for only the best warriors, adventurers or merchants.
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Yeah...At lest some sort of communication spell ;)
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Maybe you should go to a wizard and the wizard would telepathicly contact your friend, and these wizards could also put a \"block\" spell on you so that you cant recieve any telepathic messages and the very rich people could afford something like a permenant telpathic enchantmet whereas they could contact anyone at anytime (of course they couldnt contact \"blocked\" individuals)
Well those are just some ideas,... but the only problem with these wizards and with mail is that they STAY at one place and cant come with you so that you arent mobile.
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I like the nonmagical communication best, and think that having a postoffice and some sort of hireable messenger pet (bird, rat, snake, bat etc..) is a must!!
I vote that magical communication should be expensive and rare.
Of course you could use a few objects for low range communication, like a horn, signaling with a mirror, waving a flag or the arms.
You might have skills to cover the rest, like making smoke signals, using telepathy or special spells, though I still don\'t think the magical stuff shuld be easy to master.
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We migh include encumbrance, you might only walk 2 hours without resting for half an hour. and a maximum could be 6 hours a day. Then you would get damage from walking further.
It would be nice if you could ride with a wagon (either one of yourself or a public one) and set a destination on the map (you might have to buy/find) Then you could log off and go to bed. Using a distance calculation system the you would reach your destination some hours later.
If you log in earlier/stay online, you\'ll find yourself sitting on the cart riding towards your destination, being able to stop/redirect it at any time. (just like moving in a vehicle in other games) If you do log off your cart won\'t be visible for other players, and you will arrive at your destination without risking to be robbed.
Thekkur
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Then we come to the Familier discussion again. How about your \'furry\' companion can deliver mail to other characters (and their familiers). Also Psicic Type Familiers could send automatic IM type msgs and Mage\'s could do it too. But then again...What about not magical types (like me)
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You could always use animals, Like a Spider for instins, You would pay it *Any Amount* and it would let you sit on its back while it takes you to a optional destinations.
Or any other kinda of animal.
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Lol, wow, and are these massive spiders who fire acid out of their fangs at theifs?
I think another option would be a \"Town NPC\" with telepatic communication skills, who could relay messages to someone else and they could have it appear on their screen. It would be limited but much cheaper than buying a rock, maybe even have it so if yourve both at an npc that has this ability you can chat with you being charged over the time you use.
Just ideas anyway...
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so we\'ll have person to animal communication?
why not just make it so you have a pub where people meet, if they like each other they could go exploring together... problem is finding that person again...
Heres my idea for planeshift\'s communication
theres
Talk: Talk to people in the same room as you
Yell: talk to people far away
Mail: send letters
this system is stone-ageish, but hopefully people will respect friendships more, and not backstab as much
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for transportation i think teleportaion works the best or maybe portals.
for communication i think it would be nice to have a pager type system that alerts you where your friend wants to meet you or somthing of that nature
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what about using wagons for transporting goods .like ore and ingot from your mines to the city.it would help you by taking the burden of carrying items that would make you less effective in battle if you were attack by monsters or bandits :]
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if you could use wagons i think that monster or players could attack you and take your good (all that they can carry without wagon)
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Theres always those Megaras and Pteresaurs (the magaras designed to carry goods). For traveling between levels pteresaurs, Megaras and those (private)pulleys are the best
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Well since there can be no cheap invisible wall that sets the boundries of the place, because that would mess everything up, so you can make it simply sourounded by water. It could be called the Grand Canal like in venice. Venice. This could bring in gandala type boats, or perhaps just a regular row boat.
I don\'t know, it would just be interesting and add a whole to travel system not usually seen in an on-line RPG I believe.
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:D we can have that...read the Settings Documents on our main site. We\'re located in a Stalactite underground lighted by a crystal. It has 8 (or was it 7...) levels, the bottom ones are submerged by water...that\'d be a great place to have boats
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i liked the idea about the in-game \"mailmen\" or \"messege carriers\"
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Same here.
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What about telekinesis for communication through a chat window, and a skill can be taken to talk long distances. And for transportation, what about powerful portals at different places throughout the world created by powerful wizards long ago.
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The game is based probably somewhere back int he old age, almost like its a mythology game. The only thing I think should be used for transportation is maybe a donky drawn wagon that a farmer allows you to ride on. You maybe rent donkeys to ride? For communication I think letters would be best.
Sorry again if someone had already said this.
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well, things like these are relative to every game, but I just think slow transportation or only local communication will be bad for the game. But obviously, these things can probably be better decided once a demo is released.
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sorry, but telekinesis is moving objects with the power of your mind...
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Originally posted by Valathous
The game is based probably somewhere back int he old age, almost like its a mythology game. The only thing I think should be used for transportation is maybe a donky drawn wagon that a farmer allows you to ride on. You maybe rent donkeys to ride? For communication I think letters would be best.
Sorry again if someone had already said this.
Or you can just ask random people riding to town if you can hop on, but it won\'t be a major system or transportation just a rode side taxi non-service.
Some guys may say \"Get away you fool! I am taking my [enter item here] to town and I have no room for a person like yourself! Be away with you!\" or \"Well I\'ve got some room in the back. Hmmmm. I guess I can take ya! Hop on!\". That way its not like people will purposely look for carts which will make it a major transportation method.
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yeah, your moving the sound waves to someone\'s else\'s ears.
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the games setting is fantasy(without the advanced technology)/medieval, so think within that realm. i think telepathy is a good idea, but you would have to earn that skill( or at least one persons that is participating in the exchange, like a mage).lol, that would give a lot of worth to a mage in a guild that communicates with many branches.
we can use the horse like creature(OMG i forgot the name again,im gonna write it down) cuz theyre fast , allowing us to run away if we have to.wagons for carrying things that we cant carry on our own, or ppl that just want to get somewhere and not have to worry about attacks(armed escorts).... boats for transporting us across large bodies of water.
depends on how large the world is, you could have outposts for protection when ppl sleep.
i think that when the game begins, ppl will come up with needs for transportation and communication.
what other neccessary trans. and comm. ideas can you guys come up with? ?(
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realistic medieval? Do you really think anyone will play that? Magic needs to be heavily involved to improve gameplay. Maybe decrease a mage\'s fighting power and increase his communication and teleportation powers to balance the character templates.
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Originally posted by subnet_rx
realistic medieval? Do you really think anyone will play that? Magic needs to be heavily involved to improve gameplay.
Of course people would play! Regardless, I\'m sure magic will have a heavy involvement of course, as this is fantasy. But there is no reason why realism can\'t be adheared to in a fantasy setting - fantasy has it\'s own brand of realism and unspoken rules :)
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Originally posted by subnet_rx
realistic medieval? Do you really think anyone will play that? Magic needs to be heavily involved to improve gameplay. Maybe decrease a mage\'s fighting power and increase his communication and teleportation powers to balance the character templates.
lol, when i said \"fantasy(but not with the technology)\" i ment no jet powered boats, hoover crafts, or motorcycles.
as far as magic goes, you can do almost anything. levetation stones, secure them to a heavy cart, allowing you, or a theif, to move it around with easy(instead of having to push it around).
thats what i ment. sorry if i wasnt clear :(
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yes, I was referring to the horse-drawn wagon comment, and all of those like it. Sure, people will play it, but it will get old fast.
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why not have animals delevering your mesages an owl or a pidgeon U just tie the letter to the animals leg and off it goes!! maybe have an owl office where people can rent an owl to send a message!! this way no crowded bumping into everyone idea but take the mail to the air!
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there is a simple remedy to this MESSENGER MONKEYS that\'d be great...
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Not exactly....possible... :rolleyes:
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those ideas eariler you were joking i hope ?
neways heres some ideas for both communication and transportation.
amulets +made out of different stones depending on how you turn ,rub or pull them you get different channels from a general channel to a marketplace channel also you would be able to send private messages by giving it a command to think to a certain someone as long as they had an amulet as well and it was turned on.
Also different amulets could be used perhaps for individual clans or groups perhaps they could all be set or made at the same time anyways they would all be linked ao that the members could stay in touch with each other eaiser.
there could also be a feature on the amulets that allows you to add friends and if you were on theres as well you could see when each other was online.
Also a message service with couriers is a great idea really for rp imagine being out and about and either a npc or a player that is working that job duty at the time comes up and tells you he has a message from someone it adds to the roleplay exp and also helps certain people have a certain kind of style and others a certain type of job.
Transportation
easy anything science can make for the most part magic can as well they just work by different rules.
magic boats :pay a small fee and tell them where to go
and voila they float over land and water
Magic carpets:need i say more.
Teleportation booths:step here please destination?
carriages: self moving ones
now all of these plus a few more could be the ones that are used most by the public for a small fee .
while there are all sorts of beasts spells items contraptions that could be used by others at later times using all of these ideas making severl different choices is what will truly set planeshift above and beyond the rest.
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I remember there being talk in teh old dev boards about not having a long range shout or long range communication system... for me personnaly while /tell /shout is helpfull it isnt realy realistic in teh setting... in EQ in guild chat or through connections you could find out about events or organise parties spread out from every corner of teh world... thats one reason why GM events often fail in online games.. TOO many people hear that some things going on to fast, and the zone either crashs from the overload of players flooding in, or so many turn up that teh event becomes un-managable. Ever seen 50 players in UO try and cram into a library in britain to hear a GM sage read a book about an immanant evil!... total CHAOS.
As for Travel, like the others mentioned... theres the Giant Mutant Bats, and the Prehistoric looking Ptredons. I posted a conceptual idea of what id do them like on teh dev board.
to me Gate travel or teleportaion magics must be very high level... since restricted movement or making travel long and distant makes adventuring farther out from a players home range more exciting and dangerouse, rather than mundane and short as it is in most online games, EQ and UO with there gate and recall spells especialy. Reduced means of travel also keeps the world feeling large...
This is an RPG not a chatroom, so part of teh fun is not being able to know every thing going on in teh world. Its all about the surprises. and you cant have surprises if you can talk to your adventuring mate 500 kilometers away in real time...
http://www.geocities.com/lamedanger/petradon.jpg
drag and drop url to the address bar, since yahoo has no image linking
Theres the concept for those curiouse... needs some tweaking, teh body is screwy...
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Nice like the designs back to transportation though
Ive seen the city it appears to be a magical city I for the most part would like to have magical transporation in the town itself if possible I think that would be very kewl perhaps its powered by the blue crystal.
Just at certain key locations of course the creatures and magical means of stronger nature would and could only be used by those of higher lvl.
Perhaps also you could make it so the cities magical transports were only able to be used for a price they wouldnt really take you to anywhere important just something as a ride of some sort.
perhaps getting to see the city from a different perspective.
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for the long distance communication i have an idea: just ad a skill to the game telepathy! man I am smart :P and U would have different levels higher level could communicate to some1 furter away!
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another useful post about horses etc