Ryzom

This is long but I had this idea for a set of skills and I thought it was pretty good and wanted to put it up here. Of course, I tend to think most of my ideas are pretty good, even the really crappy ones.

I was reading the thread about having low level mobs aggro high level characters and there was a lot of debate about whether it was realistic or not.

I think there's merit to both sides of the debate. Yes, an animal might not be able to tell the difference between a person that will just stand there and be eaten and someone that has the skills/equipment to fight off the animal.

However, if you drop me in the middle of the wilderness in Africa I'd be much more likely to be eaten than someone that has lived in that same wilderness all their lives. Why? I'd say it's because 1) they know the area and behavior patterns of the animals and 2) because they have learned skills and techniques to keep the animals at bay.

We can certainly have the ability to do #1 in Ryzom right now. We can learn where the mobs are and work around that.

But #2 led me to thinking about having some kind of "Explore" type of branch in the skill tree. Too often we equate "mining" with "exploring" in these type of games. Ryzom has improved on this with the large set of skills for prospecting. However, I think this could be taken further and perhaps an entire "Explore" skill tree could be added.

This could allow you to learn skills that gave you knowledge about mobs (how to approach them without aggro, migration patterns, etc.). You could perhaps learn skills that allowed you to navigate terrain you otherwise could not (maybe difficult with current game terrain mechanics). Maybe there could be skills that allowed you to discover new things. That's pretty much what prospecting is but why does it only have to be resources we discover? Why not be able to discover storyline things with the appropriate skills? Maybe we could discover artifacts that help illuminate our history and the story of Atys.

Additionally, the whole set of prospect skills could potentially be moved into this category. If you consider history, it's rarely the same group of people that discover a resource as harvest that resource. Prospecting is very much an explorer's role. They go out and scout the wilderness and find and mark the new sources. Then another group of more industry-minded folks come in and extract those resources.

Ok, this might be a pretty extreme change and may not be totally practical, however, you never know when some crazy idea might spark something with those that make the game. If they can find ways to add more explore oriented skills (i.e. not just mining), I think that'd be pretty cool.

Anyone that played Earth and Beyond with me knows that I am a major supporter of exploration content. People love to explore yet it always ends up being either forgotten or something just thrown into a game. So I like your idea.

Things that could also go into an exploration type skill tree.
Navigation skills. Things like map making, use of materials to find things better. The Zorai are suppose to know how to use magnitism, so that could play into it.

As you said you could have some skill sets that requires the player to educate themselves on game history and then use that to find and study ruins and artificial landmarks (like the grave stones that are all over the place).

You could also have skills that specialize in city layout and building techniques. So if a guild wanted to go start an outpost somewhere they would have someone with exploration skills scout out a place. Then have them plan a layout that uses the features of the area they pick. Something like putting the a river in a particular place so that the camp has a water source running through it.

You could also have it so that there is a skill set that allows the player to become an expert at studying the land to plan for attacks and invasions on other groups camps and cities.

Yep, ex EnB player here so I'm aware of your stance on explore content (and I agree with it).

Just to add a few more ideas I came up with while talking to a friend....

In EnB, there were "fragments" that people collected and decoded. They used these to try to piece together some of the backstory of the game but it was pretty much an aside to the gameplay. It didn't generally help your character advance. It'd be pretty cool to have this be core to the experience system. What about a set of skills that we used to discover more about the world we play in, both present and past (flora, fauna, geology, Kami, Karavan).

How about skills in diplomacy? Surely an important skill to an explorer venturing into a new land.

In line with my thoughts on learning more about mobs and their behavior, perhaps this would be a good place for animal domestication skills.

I think there's HUGE potential for exploration GAMEPLAY, not just exploration content. I think there's a big difference. A lot of games have explore content (i.e. go explore the NPCs and have them tell you the story of the world) but there doesn't tend to be a lot of explore gameplay.

Good ideas, Aylwyne.

I have REALLY high hopes for the Encyclopedia coming out in Patch 2 (or at least it better come out in Patch 2). I'm hoping that it will act like a real encyclopedia, in that it'll contain EVERYTHING there is about Atys. So, when I walk out of Yrkanis and target a Yubo, instantly there is an article about Yubos in my encyclopedia. When I target the Bodoc next to it, another entry is created. Whenever I walk in a new town, an entry will be created (with a map, I hope). So my dreams of exploration content will revolve around me wandering all over Atys collecting information and articles for my personal Encyclopedia.

It's still weeks away from coming out, but I hope that's the idea the devs have in mind with it.

jhaan wrote:Good ideas, Aylwyne.

I have REALLY high hopes for the Encyclopedia coming out in Patch 2 (or at least it better come out in Patch 2). I'm hoping that it will act like a real encyclopedia, in that it'll contain EVERYTHING there is about Atys. So, when I walk out of Yrkanis and target a Yubo, instantly there is an article about Yubos in my encyclopedia. When I target the Bodoc next to it, another entry is created. Whenever I walk in a new town, an entry will be created (with a map, I hope). So my dreams of exploration content will revolve around me wandering all over Atys collecting information and articles for my personal Encyclopedia.

It's still weeks away from coming out, but I hope that's the idea the devs have in mind with it.

Wow you have much higher expectations than I do concerning that. If it actually ends up being like that I will forever be in love with this game. I'm pretty much expecting that it will act more like a journal that keeps track of story related items that you learn as a result of the missions you complete.

raynes wrote:Wow you have much higher expectations than I do concerning that. If it actually ends up being like that I will forever be in love with this game. I'm pretty much expecting that it will act more like a journal that keeps track of story related items that you learn as a result of the missions you complete.

I'm trying to find out where I read about all that. I can't seem to find anything though. Maybe Cerest can shed some light.

I agree, a scout line is definately missing in Ryzom. There should be abilities in there like tracking, scouting, etc. There are equivalents of the fighter, mage, and crafter/harvester in this game but there are no scout/thief equivalents.
Are races in Ryzom simply not sneaky enough?

Found it!

What are Knowledges?
Knowledges are a unique system of character development oriented towards players who enjoy exploration and immersion. Knowledges work like an encyclopedia with different major topics. For example, one topic within the Knowledge system is the 'Ecosystems' topic, which is subdivided into various chapters (covering flora, fauna, resources, lore, etc.). Each individual Knowledge chapter has a Rite involved to gain the Knowledge; accomplishing the Rite unlocks text (lore) specific to the Knowledge, as well as provides in-game rewards.

Now you know why I am so anxious to see this Encyclopedia.

I know someone who explores pretty much every corner of Atys with nothing more than her own skill at using the radar and map to avoid agressive mobs, plus more patience than I have ever seen in another living being. She's capped out her death penalty a couple times (at least) getting through the Prime Roots, and was one of the first players to reach the Nexus on Windermeer.

Exploring is one of the few pastimes that requires real player skill, real knowledge of the game mechanics, and a lot of persistance. I would like to see this remain as it is, rather than see the game mechanics tweaked to make it less challenging to explore and travel.

In my opinion, a "stealth" or "scouting" skill that is gained merely by grinding levels should never be allowed to replace or even diminish the value of real in game experience, skill, and knowledge in this area.

jhaan wrote:Found it!





Now you know why I am so anxious to see this Encyclopedia.

Ok, if it turns out like that.... I will never be able to log off. lol