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A Compromise Between Open World Gameplay and Instanced Gameplay...
arontimes
Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild Users Posts: 0 Arc User
The Neverwinter game world feels so small and cramped. Although there is a wide variety of zones to adventure in, their linear design and the instantaneous travel between them result in a feeling of closeness, of how they are all within easy reach.
What if there were intermediate zones that connected all of the existing zones to each other, in a way that gives the feeling of an open world but are really separate linked maps strung together. For example, there might be a buffer zone between the Blacklake District and Protector's Enclave that one had to cross to get to either zone. One would have to take one of the area transitions in Protector's Enclave, which sends the player or party to one side of the transition zone, and they then have to make it to the other side and take the area transition there to get to the Blacklake District.
This is how it worked in Neverwinter Nights 1. You started at the city core, and then move through a chaotic No Man's Land zone which ends with the heavily guarded entrance into Blacklake, and finally the Blacklake District, where all the nobles live.
Or perhaps something similar to Baldur's Gate 1, where you couldn't instantly travel to distant zones. You would have to cross the map to unlock possible transition zones to each cardinal direction, and so on until you reached your destination. However, once a zone is unlocked, you can travel instantaneously between them through the world map, just like how it currently works in Neverwinter.
Or maybe, there could be permanent teleportation circles like in DnD 4e which allow people to teleport from circle to circle for a fee (to pay for the ritual components expended). It would be a good money sink for people who want to get somewhere NOW.
So, folks, what do you think?
What if there were intermediate zones that connected all of the existing zones to each other, in a way that gives the feeling of an open world but are really separate linked maps strung together. For example, there might be a buffer zone between the Blacklake District and Protector's Enclave that one had to cross to get to either zone. One would have to take one of the area transitions in Protector's Enclave, which sends the player or party to one side of the transition zone, and they then have to make it to the other side and take the area transition there to get to the Blacklake District.
This is how it worked in Neverwinter Nights 1. You started at the city core, and then move through a chaotic No Man's Land zone which ends with the heavily guarded entrance into Blacklake, and finally the Blacklake District, where all the nobles live.
Or perhaps something similar to Baldur's Gate 1, where you couldn't instantly travel to distant zones. You would have to cross the map to unlock possible transition zones to each cardinal direction, and so on until you reached your destination. However, once a zone is unlocked, you can travel instantaneously between them through the world map, just like how it currently works in Neverwinter.
Or maybe, there could be permanent teleportation circles like in DnD 4e which allow people to teleport from circle to circle for a fee (to pay for the ritual components expended). It would be a good money sink for people who want to get somewhere NOW.
So, folks, what do you think?
Post edited by arontimes on
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Comments
- Dualspec
- Better rewarding foundry and foundry pvp maps
- Custom PvP leagues with leaderboards instead of the current 'matchmaking'.
- Armory
- make jumping cost stamina (to reduce hopping in pvp)
I hope I'm wrong though XD
Peter James
Host of Inside Neverwinter Podcast
Guild Leader of Knights at the Ceili
Something i like doing when i don't want to pvp and do dungeons, or farm more dailies, or do what cryptic wants me to do, is going to helm's hold with a lvl 60 character, enjoy the scenery (because the map is awesome, probably the best by far in the game), and grab some profession nodes. Mobs don't attack me, that's relaxing. I'm free to do whatever i want to do in the area.
Thats why when i play this game it seems like its a consol game. It doesnt feel like a true mmo.
I like the foundation we have here at NW, you can log on for an hour and actually accomplish something. Sandbox games you will spend an hour just trying to get to your destination...no thanks
That said...
...I've played a number of MMOs with a similar style. And several others that were even more instanced (like Vindictus). That's why I figured this thread would be about how NWO currently is when I saw the title "A Compromise Between Open World Gameplay and Instanced Gameplay...", because that's how I see the game right now - sizable adventure zones that you run all over while getting to the instanced areas.
(I also find it kind of humorous that the game all the "true" D&D players drool over, D&D Online, is more instanced than this one - yes, there are wilderness areas to explore, but those are private group instances, too. Only place you run into piles of random other players is in town.)
The instant Q's and ability to grab dailies from anywhere and the automatic porting of your group to the instance are big bonuses, for me at least, and I'm very happy that I don't have to walk/ride everywhere and waste hours of my game time just travelling.
by instant Q's I mean you can Q yourself instantly from anywhere, not that they pop instantly
We are definitely dominating, and we are always about to win.