What Xsyon Said...Yesterday

[Osirrus]

+1

Absolutely spot on Dub.

but i am starting to think that xsyon and his team have no idea how the new systems will be implemented themselves!

that is why we are getting vague answers.

everybody always seems completely focused on the current issue whatever it may be.. lag/animal/pvp

what i would love to see is a complete road map of the next 2 years or so (no need to actually date anything)

we all want to know what sytems are going to be worked on next and how the mechanics are going to work. Not 3 hours after it has gone live on the server, but months in advance. have a cleary defined goal of what you want the game to be(at the moment i dont think even Xsyon knows)and plan for it in full detail of how everything will interact with everything else.

[MrDDT]

I dont care about a road map, I care about updates in the game.
If this next update comes into the game, and its working well, people will play, people will adapt.
If you dont like the direction the game is heading, then quit, or post your ideas on the forums and maybe people will agree with you. Its clear the devs listen.

Right now the game is very boring, and people have already dropped off like flies. With the next update depending on how its done with regards to contested stuff, and rare resources. Well make the game fun for a lot of people with the desync combat issue fixed. M&B combat, and rares having an effect on crafted stuff. All will give people focus, and bring the fun factor back into the game.

How you control contested areas, how many contested areas, how much open pvp, and safe zones all over the map, will effect who is playing, but at least there will be a lot more.

I believe you CAN please most of the carebears, and most of the PVPers at the same time. But really that shouldnt be the goal right now. The goal I believe is to get a working fun game for people. Balance and work out the details later.

[Osirrus]

I dont care about a road map, I care about updates in the game.
If this next update comes into the game, and its working well, people will play, people will adapt.
If you dont like the direction the game is heading, then quit, or post your ideas on the forums and maybe people will agree with you. Its clear the devs listen.

Right now the game is very boring, and people have already dropped off like flies. With the next update depending on how its done with regards to contested stuff, and rare resources. Well make the game fun for a lot of people with the desync combat issue fixed. M&B combat, and rares having an effect on crafted stuff. All will give people focus, and bring the fun factor back into the game.

How you control contested areas, how many contested areas, how much open pvp, and safe zones all over the map, will effect who is playing, but at least there will be a lot more.

I believe you CAN please most of the carebears, and most of the PVPers at the same time. But really that shouldnt be the goal right now. The goal I believe is to get a working fun game for people. Balance and work out the details later.

thats not what this thread is about DDT, ofc we all want the new patch in asap.

but this thread is about the vagueness of replies.

do try to stay on topic old chap.

[Trenchfoot]

@Dub

Right on.

Here's my private interpretation.

1. It's difficult to answer this as these aren't all statements that I've made about the game, but I'll try.
2. Xsyon should be an open world, but not with attacking or destroying anything at all times.
3. Structures should have a level of safety, depending on defenses and choices made by players (alliances, choice to war or not etc.).
4. Siege mechanics have not been planned out yet. This was not part of the original design, and as I've stated before, it's something I'd like to add as many players have requested this. I want to first examine other games that successfully deal with siege systems.
5. Yes, you should be able to make peace.
6. Achievements should server different purposes, whether they provide something useful or are just for bragging rights.
7. Enemies should be formidable (and we will make creatures stronger soon, they are increasing in power, but not fast enough).
8. Xsyon should be a zone free seamless world.
9. The world should change dynamically, as determined by players.
10. Attaining 'victory' and maintaining safe zones through hard work (I think that's what you're getting at) is on the table.

1. Of course, the questions were sort of 'loaded' from Xsyons perspective. Also, my statements as to what I want had nothing to do with what or what hasn't been said. It was simply to establish what I am looking for in a game, regardless of previous statements. It was the same as asking 'Am I going to get some all or none of what I personally want out of this game?'.

2. This statement is highly likely to conflict with the answer to 8. How will this be achieved?

3. If this means 'walls are as safe as it gets', but with the caveat that if you choose to be a warring tribe your walls will be easier to breach, I might be able to live with that.

4. The mere fact that walls are designed into the game to begin with lends itself to the idea of sieges. This idea is reenforced by the fact that everywhere outside the walls is FFA PVP. I'm saying that because I want the devs to know that this is sort of confusing to me, not that I want to argue a point. If walls were never meant to be besieged, and were simply a mechanism to establish safe zones, then this can make more sense to me.

5. I expected this one. It was a loaded question to see how confident the devs are about their planned solution to the issues of waging war. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I'll take this to mean 'We're just getting our sea legs on this issue'.

6. Worse case this means 'Conflict will serve no other purpose than conflict.'. Best case this statement can make sense as long as 'something useful' doesn't mean 'something useful to have an advantage in gaining more bragging rights'. Something useful for what?

7. I think he misunderstood this one. Though I like that they're making creatures tougher. I meant my human opponents. ie. If I play evil I want good to be a 'real' threat not gimped so we can just run the server. Likewise if I play good, I don't want a gimped brady bunch sort of evil that I can toy with at my leisure.

8. I love this statement, but it doesn't make sense to me in light of answer 2. and 3.

9. Great! Now if we can make this jive with 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. and 7. I'll have more confidence in this statement.

10. Yes that was part of what I was getting at. I asked this mainly to address the death problem. I can't enter into a victory by killing my enemies, because they just respawn. So something has to be in place where I can achieve a level of definitive victory over them. ie. pull their I teeth and claws so they are no longer a threat until they go off somewhere and grow them back.

[Book]

Perhaps he's implementing this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrum_%28development%29

to game design?

Vague so as to not lock into a position prematurely?

I have to admit, the "you should be able to make peace" response made me smirk.

I do feel clarificated (<--- not a word) with regard to the new zones being opened up and how that's going to affect things.
Feels like a compromise to me in a sense, yes there are safe zones, but no safe zones will not be placed directly on top of rares.

Thus, there's still the safety but there's also a reason to fight when you get to the rares position... that's different than what we have in the current zones, but a step in the direction many were asking for. Not a leap perhaps, but certainly a step.

To make the new zones be fully contestable so then people can wait as long as it takes to implement the siege mechanics? That wouldn't really be productive either would it?

At some point I'd like to do the math on what percentage of the whole map 50 zones will be. My guess is maybe not that much which opens the possibility for different things in the future... which will be determined when that future comes closer to the present than it is now.

If people do come back with the combat fixes and new zones and other things... Some will pick up their current totems and move to a new location which will also open up the current part of the map... it's a process.

Dub omitted the first part of the answer that points out some of the things Trench was saying were not things Xsyon ever said would happen. I found that telling if you combine it with Xsyon's bio in which he says he wanted to create the game he's wanted to play since he first sat down at a computer...
Player input is obviously taken into consideration, look at thirst and hunger, BUT, at the end of the day, the man is working on the vision he originally wanted to develop. All things will remain in that context.

I personally find that very encouraging and reassuring.