jaxad0127 wrote:I started this thread so we could start discussing how the tutorial island will work.
I'm not claiming that it doesn't need discussion, but it'll be pretty difficult to nail down much of this area's actual function at the immediate time, because the new game mechanics are still being developed.
I don't think the island should be limited to a single 200x200 map. We should expand it to allow for some terrain for new players to explore.
I don't have much of an opinion regarding the actual dimensions of the map, but I don't think it needs to be very big. New players should have plenty of terrain to explore, once they
leave the starting / tutorial zone.
Personally, I don't like the idea of people spending too much time in the tutorial area. In my opinion (and that's all it is
) the tutorial area should be little more than a (very) small town. Since our death sequence will have no real permanent penalties, I don't see the need to isolate new players for so long. I've always felt that isolating new players in an online game is an act of newbie protection, which last for a minimal of time. The more in-depth the tutorial area becomes, the longer they will stay. I say, "Teach them how to interface with the game's menus, maybe even allow their character to learn their first skill, then shove them on their way, to explore the world." ..and besides all of my opinionated BS, the intention was for Argaes to be a newbie / lowbie continent.
we'd need to move it out from Argaes' central lagoon, maybe part of Ancea, or just not on the map. It can also be integrated into the history better this way.
I'm just taking a guess here, so please correct me if I'm totally off-base, but I'm assuming that you're looking at the currently published world map and thinking to yourself, "Hm.. this alleged 'central continent' doesn't really appear to be
centralized.. so maybe we need something that is." .. regardless of what your reasoning is, beyond your desire to expand the zone, I will admit that I don't really have a
strong argument against moving the tutorial zone away from Argaes, but the closer it remains, the more sense it would seem to make that you end up there, after completing the tutorial. If you're amongst the Ancean Isles, there would seem to be many more locations at your fingertips than simply Argaes.. even if the people aren't very modern, I would imagine a populated island having more than a single boat, heading to more than a single destination.
To use this in the game, when you reach a certain level, the captain will take you back the the island, only for you to find out it was destroyed ages ago..
I could be misunderstanding you, but to me, this makes very little sense. Something to take in to consideration is that the the starting / tutorial zone was moved to an island in the first place, because we didn't want players to return, once they'd left.
Ever. Also, I'm having a very difficult time wrapping my mind around your suggestion that this island can be the starting location for every new character, yet upon the event of each character reaching a certain level, have it be destroyed. In terms of role-playing, which I'm sure lots of people really don't give a rat's ass about, that would pretty much start the game with the destruction of continuity between characters' experiences.
"
You say you came from Tutorial Island five minutes ago, eh?.. Well I was there five days ago and the place was a mess!"
..besides the general lack of continuity, how did you imagine handling the map itself?.. Having two separate maps; one for before the island was destroyed and one for after? Having areas change for one character and not for another sounds too much like a single-player game, which has been adapted to accommodate simultaneous players. In short, I don't think we should ever have multiple versions of a single zone. Imagine following someone through a door and having them not be on the other side, because they had completed an event that you had not. That lack of event / map-continuity was a facet of most Graal servers that turned me off to that particular game.
Please correct me if I have misunderstood or misinterpreted any part of your suggestion. ..because I feel as though I have done just that.
(it's getting late and I'm getting tired.. I probably should've waited until tomorrow to respond, but what the hell, right?.. no time like the present to stick my proverbial foot in my proverbial mouth.
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