Some things that bug me...

[Mango]

There's a couple of things that bug me about Planeshift. I don't mind if you disagree with me, but please read through it and give me any feedback you can think of. Maybe you could prove me wrong!

1. Dialogue system
I know this feature is also being developed, but really I don't see much point in it. It's an original idea, but with quests there's always one direction you're headed in with the conversation, so you could just as easily have a few sentences to choose from instead of fishing around for the right words. It's also confusing, and time consuming and I'd rather just have a few options. It also adds to the game's learning curve, and I have been in situations where no matter how obvious you make the sentences, the NPCs just don't get it.

2. Game speed
This is a biggie. I don't think anyone could disagree if I said that Planeshift's gameplay is very slow. Not just traveling around, but also gaining experience.

For example, it gets really dull when you have to keep repeating the SAME thing OVER and OVER again. Recently I tried the 10-day trial of World of Warcraft. The thing that struck me as to how it is fun to play is that it is extremely awarding. Just playing for those 10 days I had progressed quite a lot, whereas with Planeshift it's a different story. I'm not trying to compare the two games, I'm just saying that Planeshift could learn something from WoW. You should be able to get better faster, but there should also be things that are more challenging as you level up, but with better rewards.

It would also add to the game if you could do things like make weapons no matter how low-leveled you are, even if they are primitively basic.

Some things that could help this would be:
a) More low level monsters around the starting areas that aren't a threat unless attacked so beginners can immediately begin gathering experience easily.
b) Clearly marked mining areas with higher success and progression rates.

As well as equivalents for skills apart from mining and fighting.

3. Stamina
Get rid of it! Walking is just too slow, especially getting from one city to the next. Why is there stamina? It slows the game down and makes it generally less enjoyable.

Thanks for considering this, and I hope it gets noticed!

[Arka]

In complete contrast, I have been trying out another MMORG. This one has no stamina issues, no fall damage, all the quests are signposted (a Town crier says 'talk to...' the npc with the next stage of the quest has an exclamation mark over his/her head and you don't have any dialogue with them - you just click on them and they give you the quest). And, you can level up the first ten levels really quickly and move onto the next town where the challenges get progressively harder.

And guess what? It's totally unrealistic and humdrum. And more importantly, no one talks to each other, except to party to kill more difficult mobs. So, no role-play, no community, no immersion.

Yes I feel I am making progress more quickly, if levelling up is what you are into then I guess that's fine. I am not. I am more interested in developing a character, with her own quirks and interests, who exists along other characters. I don't want to be able to run from one end of the map to the other without getting tired. I don't want to be able to step off mountains and survive. And I don't want to spend my time killing hordes of animals to level up my points.

My first weapon in Planeshift was a gift. Gholmyr (where are you now?) gave me the money to buy it after I bought him a drink in Kada-Els. People I spoke to helped me get established. Now, I am not encouraging the 'give me a sword' type of interaction, but if you get to know the established players, speak to them nicely and in character, try to understand and use the settings, then you may be surprised at how friendly and helpful we will be. More importantly you will develop a sense of 'who you are' by interacting with the rest of us.

As for the dialogue with NPCs in quests - I agree it's not perfect and can be frustrating. But it is still being developed (it's 100% better than it used to be). But having Jayose tell you you are a mud-dobber when he can't understand you is part of the fun. The quests here are mostly more demanding than the average MMORG. I for one want to keep it that way.

Arka

[Zan]

1. Dialogue system:

It's unique and most new player's worst nightmare. I very much like the ideal situation the Developers have planned. For us to interact with NPCs like we'd talk to normal people. However there is still a very long way to go before the NPC AI lets them understand and talk like people. In the meanwhile it is best if you as a player learn about their 'language'. Once I understood the NPC 'way of thinking' most quests were no problem for me anymore. I can now 'talk' to NPCs without problems and rarely run into a dead end. The trick is getting to know the simple key sentence structures they always understand.

2. Game speed:

I agree with you, Planeshift has a much slower and less action oriented game speed than most other games. Planeshift is built around Roleplay and encourages this roleplay. One way of doing it is by making the game without roleplaying relatively boring. There is still a lot of work being done on the game and all these things though so they might change in the future.

3. Stamina:

What's wrong with not being able to run very far when you're untrained? Stamina is, by my knowledge, the attribute that can be increased the most. When you're new to the game it's a pain but as soon as you have some training behind your belt it won't be a problem anymore at all. Personally I dislike everyone running all the time, it's unrealistic and it's impossible to start talking to someone when they're not moving slow enough to hear you.

[Under the moon]

I would agree that leveling is slow for what you get. But, I would go another way. Instead of having to train to insane levels, I would make more things accessable to lower levels, and cap it a lot lower.

[Erisnas]

Probably the current issues with the training system will not be solved for a long time.  This is most likely because it is too hard to improve.  Now I am not implying the Devs are lazy but consider it.  It may take weeks or months of hard work with very few results.  Unlike new maps where they are easy to make and instantly add a lot to the game.

[Caarrie]

Unlike new maps where they are easy to make and instantly add a lot to the game.

Who ever said new maps were easy to make? to make a new map you need someone to come up with the idea, someone to sketch it out, someone to model it. You also need someone from settings to help make that new map part of the world with ideas and npcs. A LOT goes into making a map, it is not just a matter of a few days to make a map, it could take months to get it made from start to finish.

[zorbels]

Caarrie' right about the map. I personally would rather see the dev's working on the game, not making maps for a world that is so small you could totally figure it out in a day. It isn't really that hard to find your way around, most people just don't use their common sense and follow the paths. That is really all you need. I know it can be overwhelming to a new comer to the game, but give the player sometime and they will figure it out.

As for the rest I think the Dev's have a long term plan on how this game is going to go. I don't believe it will take so long to get to places in the distant furture. I even heard at one point there might be animals that pull carts that help you get around. Who knows, this game has huge possibilities. It is going to be frustrating at this point with the game because it is being developed. Believe me your post Mango is one of few that are posted weekly by new players. The dev's are aware of these irritations. I am sure they have plans to make the game better, it is just a matter of who is working on what, where and when.

[Erisnas]

I was talking relatively.  The reason why I said a map is easier to make is while so many steps are involved, it becomes a repetitive task to do.  Basically, yes it may be difficult to model a map, code it, and make it fit with the settings, but it is so similar to every other time you add a map.  Compared to recreating the leveling system though, it is fairly easier.  With developing a new system you may spend most of your time just perfecting the idea of system.  You then need to code it, test it, and add any other miscellaneous things. 
   Even if the amount that goes into them is equal most people will lean towards the new map since working on a system shows little results until the final project, which can be discouraging to the developers.  In comparison with a map each time you: model one, texture it, add it to the settings, etc. you get a small feeling of accomplishment to motivate you. 

[Streawei]

I agree that making maps would detract from the role-playing aspect of the game, but people need to know where they're going especially for new players. An easy way to do this would to create sign post that the players can read. Point out which roads take people to what cities and to which shops inside those city and this wouldn't detract from roleplaying.

[steuben]

I agree that making maps would detract from the role-playing aspect of the game, but people need to know where they're going especially for new players. An easy way to do this would to create sign post that the players can read. Point out which roads take people to what cities and to which shops inside those city and this wouldn't detract from roleplaying.

planned(tm)

[Lanarel]

planned(tm)

If soon(tm) indicates 'soon, but maybe not in the next years', does planned(tm) mean 'someone might have thought about this a while ago'?

[Prolix]

planned(tm)

If soon(tm) indicates 'soon, but maybe not in the next years', does planned(tm) mean 'someone might have thought about this a while ago'?

Maybe it means that they dust it off every time a new prospect comes along and offer it as one of the first project choices but nobody ever chooses it. 

[ThomPhoenix]

Signposts have already been made by art, so perhaps sooner than planned(tm).