LQGaming Community Q&A
Name 3 mistakes you made in gaming development that you would like to do differently in Vanguard.
Well, I've certainly made a lot more than three
I guess what comes to mind most stems from experiences trying different approaches to MMOG development. For example, having tried to develop an engine from scratch as well as licensing an engine with source and then modifying it as the project evolves, I definitely prefer the latter. It really gives a head start to the entire team, and getting the artists and designers working concurrently as quickly as possible is very important. Having them wait on the programming staff to build up an engine and toolset makes for a much longer and potentially more frustrating development cycle.
Another would be staffing up too early. I think putting together a small, core team of experienced developers and getting through the 'prototype' or 'alpha' phase is very important. The key is to get into real production mode before you start throwing people at the problem. Once you have your pipelines down and know how you are going to build the world, or create content, then you can schedule and plan out from then until beta and beyond and determine your needs personnel-wise much more accurately.
One other lesson learned is that holding onto the culture and collaborative environment when team building is as important if not more important than the skill sets of the individual team members. Certainly you want experienced, talented, and smart people, but MMOG teams are getting big which means a lot of the work is split up - modularized in a sense. This means a tremendous amount of brainstorming together, helping each other out, collaborating and compromising such that the sum is greater than all of the parts. Unfortunately, there are developers out there who are extremely smart but don't 'play well with others', so to speak. And if you want to make and finish a great MMOG, I've certainly learned they are to be avoided.
Is the plan for the experience curve traditional PnP design (double the xp from level to level), an exponential curve or something else?
At this point we're still experimenting with different curves and functions and the like. What's nice about our tools is that it's very easy to tweak values like experience curves. Most likely we'll be similar to the traditional curves you've seen since the early days of D&D and then into RPGs and MUDs, but with a few twists and adjustments to make it MMOG-friendly.
If I want to be a Ranger, will I be forced to play what Brad thinks a Ranger is or will there be some leeway to where I can tailor my character to what I think a Ranger is?
When looking at various traditional RPG classes it's pretty easy to come up with different sub-types, many of which are popular and appealing to a lot of players. When looking at the Ranger specifically, three sub types come to mind right away: the scout/tracker, the archer, and the dual wielder. While I personally prefer the damage dealing, dual wielding, nimble and light fighter style Ranger, there's absolutely no reason to make that an archetype for all Rangers. One can handle sub-classing or specializing in many ways, and we intend to accommodate as many of the traditional and popular sub-types of the various classes as best as we're able. So, for example, while Aradune might not be firing his bow all the time, or even that proficient with it, this wouldn't preclude in any way another Ranger from becoming a master archer.
Has Sigil created any scripted events/scenarios on a large scale yet or is it still to early on, i.e. other systems need to be completed first? Will scripting be dynamic with a few outcomes? What sort of scope can we expect from a script, i.e. causing an entire town to panic for whatever reason, etc?
We have not currently implemented any large scale events in the game, though we have implemented a number of smaller scale quests/events, as well as various forms of test content. In regards to both the number of outcomes for a script/quest/event/ and the scope both of these factors are controlled by the amount of time we can spend on an individual piece of content. Causing an entire town to panic certainly seems plausible :)
Is Vanguard: Saga of Heroes skewed more toward the mechanical, advancement and character progression or more toward the social, communication and role-play?
With Vanguard we have focused heavily on creating a fun and compelling game that brings people together. I don't think you are going to find a lack of compelling ways to advance your character. That is not to say we are ignoring the social aspects of the game. When designing systems we insure that we have created enough compelling forms of interdependence and interaction between the players. It is our belief that the game mechanics should draw players together to overcome various challenges.
Will you utilize or build-on any current systems that are out there now, such as the whole underwater adventure in DAoC, or the SWG character creation process; or will Vanguard be a totally new experience? So many games seem to just be a slightly different version of what we all have been playing for years...questing and beat em up. Does Sigil have something new up its sleeve that we can be excited about?
As we build Vanguard it would be foolish to ignore what has been done so far in the genre. There will definitely be elements of Vanguard that are familiar to MMOG players. However they will have a definitive Vanguard spin and level of polish to them.
That being said we intend Vanguard to be a 3rd generation title, a ground-breaking 3rd generation title. Consequently I have to say, "Of course we have something up our collective sleeve." I have always been troubled by the disconnect between the world and the character in MMOGs. In pen and paper games the world revolves around the character (or party of characters); in MMOGs character actions have done little to shape the world, other than the landscape via housing. I foresee character actions meaning more in Vanguard than they have in any game to date. Without spilling more beans than I am allowed to, let's just say that certain entities will need, crave, react and survive according to the attention characters give them. Characters will then have to react to the reactions, etc. and etc. It should be a blast.
One major component, sorely overlooked by MMORPGs is the desire to collect information about our character and publish it on the Internet. Sites like Magelo and Creyindustries.com are examples of non-official ways this has happened in other MMORPG communities. Will Vanguard provide official support? Will there be an in-game component?
We have been discussing several methods of allowing players to share their character both in terms of appearance and accomplishments in game and out of game. We also recognize that allowing third parties to extend your service, like Magelo and Creyindustries have clearly done, also builds value in your service (and hey, who can complain about talented programmers who you don't have to pay for?!). We have some pretty significant and exciting ideas, but can't go into too much detail about them right now. You can use your imagination and pretty much see where we're likely to go with this stuff.
With respect to the "looks" of a characters gear, I like variation, but I don't like "required" gear. Let me explain, I don't like that all lvl X type Y class must have breastplate of uberness Z to be viable & wanted in a group. In VSOH, how important is it to the devs to ensure as many variations in characters looks exist as possible throughout the characters leveling as well as at the "end game". To elaborate some more, will character creation (& I guess progression) allow for alternative & yet viable "looks" a character can have. So all lvl 10 warriors for example won't look the same (whether it is because all amours look the same or an item is the only 1 every one "has" to get)? I don't understand why every Paladin/warrior melee char in EQ had to have an FBSS (flowing black silk sash)...would it have been that hard to make a yellow one, red one & blue one & put them on other mobs?
Individuality of appearance should be an important and relevant goal for players to pursue. With Vanguard, we intend to have a great variety of equipment for the player to acquire or strive to acquire, and we're trying to avoid the "one size fits all" method of itemization that led to Breastplates of Uberness. Meeting that goal sometimes requires multiple items that have the same functionality but different appearance, or in other cases, items that have similar functionality, but are more or less useful in different situations.
We need to balance that, however, with the advantages of easily recognizable items as a mark of status or prestige. In EQ for example, you knew that when you saw a cleric in purple or a ranger in green that they had been to the Planes or completed a series of quests, and that conferred a certain status. What we'd like to do is have many of those types of items, each difficult to obtain, and each worth owning for different situations.
I won't get into the effect this could have on our texture budget, but we have to keep it in mind.
The horses sound great. So great in fact, I see them getting used everywhere, all the time. Is this your intention in the implementation of horses (I feel boats are a separate issue)? If it's not, what kinds of methods are you using to balance them out so they are not as integral to game play as food and water, or your equipment? And if you DO plan on having them be that big a part of the game, could you explain some of the rationale behind the decision?
Mounts and vehicles are going to be integral to game play, starting fairly early in a player's career. It's a big world, and we're not keen on instant travel. However, we're not sadists either, requiring everyone slog through the world on foot. To deal with that, we're going to let everyone have access to mounts and vehicles. Mounts and vehicles will help to reduce travel times (and make it possible to journey to areas you could not reach without a vehicle or mount), provide another interesting progression path (mount/vehicle upgrades) and are just plain cool.
In MMOs, making my character as unique as possible is a big selling point for me. I get that much more attached to my character when he's just how I envisioned him, or as close as I can get. So, what kind of focus has Sigil put on your character's image, on appearing unique? A big emphasis? A medium one? Will you strive for the same range of options like City of Heroes offers, like multiple builds, and more than one base "face" graphic?
If there's one thing I've learned, it's that character customization is one of the most important areas to focus on. We will be spending considerable resources on making characters as unique as possible. One of those ideas would be to size multiple body parts within a range, tall and short, skinny and pot belly, etc. The same would also apply for faces, and possibly hair. We can be much more definitive about this as we get closer to ship, but character customization is very important to us.
We can see geography and architecture from very far away in the game. That's awesome. But how far away can we see PCs and NPCs? An overview of the city is nice, but if that city looks like a ghost town, it won't be very consistent when you get closer and all of a sudden people pop onto the streets.
PC's and NPC's would be handled the same way as architecture: percentage of screen space. Once an object hits whatever magic number we decide, say 5%, then the objects would fade in once they occupied 5% of your screen. And once they occupied less than 5%, they would fade out. And that number will change depending on the capabilities of your hardware -- the slower the system, the bigger the number.
I've played a ton of MMORPGs, and I'm starting to become really jaded. Most fantasy MMORPGs build dungeons, quests, trade skills, and wrap them up in a nice lengthy grind. However it rarely gels into a good fantasy RP experience. How will VG avoid the past pitfalls of MMORPGs and provide that gel or cohesion in furnishing a vibrant fantasy world?
Engaging mechanics are clearly a must for a game to be viable, especially in today's market full of organized, experienced and critical players (among which I count myself).
We recognize that content and presentation are equally important. Making the 'rules' of the game fit seamlessly and naturally into a convincing, immersive world is something foremost in our minds.
As to your question of how we intend to accomplish that, I think the first step is to recognize, from the inception of the project, that it needs to happen. After that it's a matter of planning and taking steps to ensure that it isn't overlooked or brushed aside when the chaos comes.
Typically, I imagine, developers do plan for the flavor to make it into their game and set time aside for its creation with the best of intentions. Then, too often, when schedules meet reality, priorities are shifted and you end up staring down the barrel of an imminent ship-date, the polish becomes an expendable luxury.
With proper planning, our combined experience and a bit of luck, we hope to escape that fate.
One thing that is important in playing a MMORPG is establishing not only an empathy with our characters, but establishing cultural identities within the game. Most MMORPGs use guilds and level restrictions to help folks establish cliques, etc. How will VG help various communities spring up outside of the normal MMORPG conventions?
Interesting question. I personally believe that communities naturally develop when people with a common interest find one another. There are countless examples all over the internet. Here are just a few from right here in the office:
Jeff Butler's favorite: Hamtaro Forever
Jeff is Ham-Ham's biggest fan!
Lee Harker's default webpage: Special Delivery
They don't seem to be responding to his emails for some reason though.
Ryan Elam's daily visit: Good tips on herb gathering
Ryan's App is pending approval. Someday we know they'll let him in. Persistence pays.
Seriously though, we aim to encourage community whenever we can, providing hooks whenever possible and eliminating aspects that discourage socialization wherever gameplay allows. With that, assuming the game attracts a healthy player base, I'm confident that players will find their own reasons to create groups and cliques. That's not to say that interdependency, economies, racial lore, guilds and other player organizations have been at all neglected.
Cindy does a great job handling the 'business' of community building, but on our end I think as long as we're solidly focused on making the next great game, the in-game communities will happen naturally and in ways we would never predict.
Will there be some obvious gathering place for players from all walks like the Nexus was? Or will they be forced to disperse?
Well, both I guess. Seamless worlds are different than zone-based games. Where zones provide choke-points for players to accumulate, our open world requires us to design spots that will be natural gathering places, attracting players in between their roaming adventures.
I see New Targonor being a target for this, but will dark races ever be allowed there? If they can go there, will it be grindable faction swings, or some extremely difficult quest that humans will hail you for, while not double crossing your own race?
Loaded questions=). While New Targonor will surely be a major gathering place early on, it isn't really an example of my answer to the previous question.
As for the last question, there will be places that respond negatively to you based upon choices you make, including race. But there will always be sufficient peril nearby to encourage would-be enemies to put their petty differences aside and work together to survive.
