Introducing NPCs day/night cycles

[Illysia]

Being able to ask Allelia where they are would work as she doesn't go anywhere. I think she is already supposed to be able to tell players where certain NPCs are. And you just love that term don't you? 

[Aramara Meibi]

The wandering NPC does add to the realism, but at a heavy price as far as game play and frustration level goes.

I'm of the opinion that any NPC, wandering or not, only detracts from the realism and immersion of the game.  I don't log on to play with automatons; I have other games for that; I log on to play with people. I've used the term 'vending machine' to describe how the NPCs function in PS, and I stand by it, just now they're vending machines on wheels.

[bilbous]

I'm of the opinion that keyboards virtual or not detract from the realism and immersion of the game. I call it teletype telepathy.

 

[Pakarro]

I like the moving npc's. It always was pretty disturbing for me to find them at 5 in the morning and at 11 pm, rooted to their place. It is not convenient, but by far more logic _and_ nice the way it is now.

[Ceraline]

There are games without npc’s where you can rp (and which I play). However I believe this topic is about game mechanics (which many rp’ers enjoy as well as to rp) and providing feedback to the developers regarding its impact on the player base so I’ll stay on topic.

Many players, from new to old, depend on the availability of the npcs to either quest or train. The older players will learn the timed wandering or short disappearances quite quickly. However for newer players especially the frustration may make or break their interest in the game. If they have spent some time travelling to see the npc this can be doubly frustrating.

As mentioned before there are a number of Hydlaa npcs who have (still) not re-appeared due to the npc server not being fully operational which highlights the problem (I now have 4 quests on hold awaiting their return). Consider, for example, if this list had included Harnquist, Trasok, Levrus and Jayose.  I wonder how many players would have logged off or newer players abandoned the game completely? If it had included the new leather trainers (at least one was often disappearing previously for a break) the new leather skills would not have been testable for the last few days.

While npcs taking time away to sleep for example may seem to be more natural I think this needs to be balanced against the added frustrations players may feel, and prolonged absences in particular need to be avoided.

[Pakarro]

Maybe one should make clear to newcomers that there is thew possibility to not find an npc, and one has to look for her/kra/him or to hunt some rats meanwhile, or dig some ore or whatever. Or find someone to talk to, do some rp-ing, or wahtever you like. No problem. Where I live in rl you also fail miserably if you want to buy some milk at 4am

Obviously, PS is not a game for the impatient anyways. So, this is something it has to live with.

[Rigwyn]

In real life, nobody tells you "go find xyz" without telling you what town or country they live in - likewise, you would ask for clearer instructions.
 

If the quests were a little more specific, then the wandering npc thing would be less of an issue.  If I knew that npc x was stationed at a watch tower at the eagle fort, then I could camp out there until he/she comes back or search the vicinity.

 

[novacadian]

For what it is worth the fact that NPC trainers have not been available in Hydlaa on the times my character has gone there to train has been the last straw to bring about my almost complete inactivity.

Hydlaa, itself, is so painful to now load that to then not find the NPC trainers present is just too frustrating to bother much any more.

Perhaps it is only me that has been affected thusly; perhaps not; yet it is one less player as a consequence.

This is not mentioned as a complaint but as a heads up for the admin who appear, on other threads, to be concerned with the decreasing player base.

- Nova

[ Edit: When about to log in this evening it came back to me that my character is in need of shield training. So rather than log in this message was posted instead.]

[Vankseal Serozan]

I must say moving npc's are a good idea and they add to the realism. But at the same time we need to be careful that we don't make the game so real that it becomes unbearable. I think we could use a improved quest tracker that tells us if the npc is available and a the rough location so we are not running all over creation looking for someone thats not even there.

[Mordaan]

I hate to say it but I just don't see day/night cycles ever completely working.  It makes sense from a realism point of view but not from a practical point of view.

The game has a time cycle, but we the players are not on the same cycle.  And we never will be.  So it's not like all characters are running around during the day time and "asleep" at night.  Players play when we have the time.  The ingame time that corresponds to varies so characters are running around the world 24-7 game time.  And we're in all different time zones on top of that.  Having NPCs be on a cycle that cannot be in synch with players just leads to limitations and annoyance.

Either nix the idea of day-night cycles, or hold off on it until there is "shifts" for every merchant/trainer.  And quests are another issue completely since they usually refer to specific NPCs.

[zarre]

Having NPCs be on a cycle that cannot be in synch with players just leads to limitations and annoyance.

Have to agree with Mordaan on this one. Hate to see players leave PS over this issue, but I have when the only time they can log in is when certain NPC's disappear.

More than once NPC's have crossed my path when I wasn't looking for them at the time and needed to complete a quest or walked right through me when roleplaying with their weapons in hand. 

[ether]

I think a better idea would be to have scripted paths in SMALL areas.

BAD ideas:
NPCs required for quests and/or training disappearing, even for two minutes.  Ever.  I don't need to tell you why.

NPCs being impossible to locate or track down because their movements are erratic or carry them long distances.

NPCs that won't stop to interact with you when they're moving, or are confused about where they're supposed to be.

GOOD ideas:
Harnquist drops his hammer and runs off to gather some apples once or twice a day for maybe an (in-game) hour or two before returning to his post would be a good idea to give him some life without causing a whole lot of frustration for newbies or experienced players.  Of course, he'll still stop to talk to travelling adventurers should they need him.  Trasok does something similar, hopping over to Brado's to grab a beer before returning to work.

Guards don't have shifts or disappear, they have patrol routes.   They'll sit at point A for a few (in-game) hours then move to point B (which is at least still in the same general area) and chill out there for a while before returning.

Small 'wandering' packages for creatures and monsters that would give them some life but keep them within a very small and confined wandering area.  Unless of course they were more migratory, then a whole pack of them could be given a wide roaming path.  Could lend A LOT of life to the wilderness, especially if monsters were given an aggression range.

Rogues and cutthroats stalking passing players in the same strength range as them would provide a pretty unique experience as well - I think I saw this idea mentioned elsewhere.  Especially if these were added to the alleyways of the various cities and they only came out at night.

[LigH]

Let's conclude: The "technology demo" of day cycles and moving NPCs was effective (it worked, technically). But not very efficient due to the chosen constraints (with an annoying result).

[Rigwyn]

NPCs moving about makes the game more realistic.. its a nice touch.. If the NPCs remained easy to find, then it would be great. One way might be to give them shorter travel paths with more frequent cycling of locations.

[Mordaan]

Yes, moving NPCs I think is inevitable.  It does make the game come alive.  I was speaking specifically to the day/night cycles where NPCs are completely gone for the night/a period of time.  Like guards on patrol or even Harnquist going to the tavern.  That would be nice to see.  But if they're gone completely, it's just too much of a hindrance.  It's the kind of thing that gives people a reason to NOT play, instead of a reason to play.

We need to find a balance between keeping the NPCs "alive" and having it not be too big a hindrance to game play.  For -right now- I think we should have most of them stay put until all of that is sorted.