Evenin\' all..
I\'m new to Planeshift and after playing it for a bit, talking to some of the folks (who were all very nice by the way) and reading up on the game and some of the forums here, I\'d like to offer some of my initial thoughts...
First.. I think this is probably one of the coolest and most worthwhile projects I\'ve ever seen - on so many levels.
Given its completely voluntary nature, that it\'s being developed by some very talented people - not because they\'re being paid to do it.. but because they *want* to.. I think this alone makes Planeshift a very special and unique endeavor. When you replace \"a paycheck\" with \"a passion for what you\'re doing\" as the driving force behind what you do, the possibilities are unlimited and that passion comes through in the results. I think they\'ve already begun to show, even in these early stages of PS. Kudos to everyone on the team for their work thus far.
When I read the interview on Warcry, about how open the future is for this game, and especially the question about what sets this apart from other games... The answer that immediately popped into my head is \"The sky is the limit.\" And, unless my understanding of this project is totally out-of-whack, I believe that\'s exactly the case.
With no corporate restraints or pressure from a Publisher to meet a deadline or \"do what everyone else is doing because it\'s proven to make money\" - the people behind Planeshift are free to do *anything* they want. They can totally blaze new trails, try new things and go places no big-name developer would ever dare or be allowed to go for fear of it not succeeding and them losing $$$$. The worst setback for Planeshift would be to know that something didn\'t work out quite as expected and the time invested to implement it. Remove it from the next build. No harm, no foul.
Sure, you want to have all the necessities of a MMORPG in place - but in the case of a project like this.. that can be your *starting point*.
I\'m getting quite excited just thinking about the possibilities and potential this project has.
Here are some thoughts on what I think might make for a truly unique and enjoyable gameplay experience:
1. Consistent addition of meaningful content.
This could be something like the discovery of some new cave system, new quests.. new creatures.. new items.. anything of that sort. Anything that brings a new \"breath of fresh air\" to the game and keeps it new and interesting even for its veteran players.
2. If there\'s a story planned, or even a variety of different plots all happening at the same time (with each race, etc.), have major climactic events that take place that really get the players involved. Monsters raiding a town or city. Exploration of a some new cave that leads players into some previously unknown hidden underground city - perhaps it\'s abandoned... or maybe it\'s not...?
Maybe, a whole underwater city is discovered somehow... Perhaps there\'s a brand-new aquatic or amphibious race introduced, they could have some kind of sleek, dolphin-like creatures that they use to get around... Imagine the impact that could have on gameplay... the trade that could be set up, alliances.. and so forth.
These are things just off the top of my head and aren\'t necessarily literal suggestions... My point is, you can really just let your imagination go wild with these things.. and as it\'s a fantasy world.. anything goes. Anything the designers dream up and can pull off can be done.
As for the community... Well, I would tend to think that as the game gains recognition.. you\'re going to attract the immature folks who enjoy going onto other such MMORPGs and ruining everyone else\'s experience in any way they can (ie. griefers). So.. that kind of thing is going to have to be *seriously* monitored and controlled... Since it\'s free, there\'s nothing stopping them from signing up and bringing their \"party\" to PS. I know I\'m not saying anything that\'s not already obvious.. but, there ya go :-).
A social system that encourages a strong sense of community would be awesome - especially as the population grows and, by virtue of the sheer number of people, it becomes harder and harder to \"know everyone\". One of the things I love about Final Fantasy XI is its \"Linkshell\" system.. Basically, it\'s a chat-room system that allows any player to buy a \"Linkshell\", name it and assign a \"color\" to \"pearls\" which they hand out to players. By equiping the linkpearl, you are now \"logged in\" to the linkshell and can chat with other players in that LS no matter where they are. That was such a great part of the gameplay, I think.. because even when things were dragging for you, there was almost always something entertaining going on in the LS you could read, or partake in. You could almost always find people to group with for a quest.. or just to level.. or to go gil (money) or crystal hunting... It\'s great in so many ways.
Another big thing.. and this falls under content.. Things to do! One thing that drives me nuts is when the developers of other MMORPGs seem to have just totally forgotten to provide content - things to do, places to go, quests, etc.. for people in a certain level range. It\'s like.. you just start out and there\'s all these things to do.. it\'s almost overwhelming. Then you hit this dry period that almost everyone acknowledges where there is just *nothing* going on but to level your character. Then all of a sudden, you hit a \"magic number\" and suddenly everything picks up again.. I do not get that. So.. to have something for people to do at all times would be quite cool... and would pretty much be a first in an MMORPG in my experience :-).
I could really go on and on here.. but I think I\'ve said enough.. lol..
Anyway.. just wanted to share some of my initial thoughts.. I guess a good summary is.. I like it! :-p
Thanks for reading!
