I'm referring to the true living, breathing world term in games like Distant Worlds, Kenshi, and Space Pirates and Zombies. Not the marketing buzzword that every game out there loves to use these days to sell a non-living and breathing world.
With that out of the way, I want to talk about the new dynamic npc spawns which I honestly think is a great feature for a game like MO2. From what I know so far, it is just random npcs spawning and they mill around mindlessly in a certain radius waiting to be PvE'd?
I would like to suggest that this dynamic spawning system could be expanded to make each individual mob type have their own unique short- and long-term objectives, lore, natural allies and foes, and a needs-driven system that governs their behaviour.
To give an example:
The scoundrels, bandits and outlaws are natural allies since they have a common enemy, the civilised world that sees them as part of the greater criminal underworld (could be an npc faction, perhaps?). They have common enemies such as town guards, wild animals, and other players who have poor reputation with them.
They have a need to hunt regularly for food, raid towns and maybe even cities for plunder and loot. When they kill an opposing npc or player, they may take an item of monetary value like coins which will still be flagged as stolen if it was from a player's loot bag. This gives players an incentive to hunt these mobs even if they are below their skill level, whether to play the part of an altruistic hero or a heartless opportunist.
Their short-term goals could be to disrupt supply chains and cause problems for the civilisations they oppose. Their long-term goal could be to establish themselves as a formidable power that can challenge the civilised order. However, they may at times fight each other over petty squabbles or simply for dominance.
Having such a system adds meaning, context and makes the game stand out from all the other mmorpgs out there that so far have npc mobs just stand around and mill about with no higher purpose than to produce a loot bag and give clade experience to the player.
I'm hoping that since SV added a dynamic npc spawning system, they may already be thinking along the same lines.
With that out of the way, I want to talk about the new dynamic npc spawns which I honestly think is a great feature for a game like MO2. From what I know so far, it is just random npcs spawning and they mill around mindlessly in a certain radius waiting to be PvE'd?
I would like to suggest that this dynamic spawning system could be expanded to make each individual mob type have their own unique short- and long-term objectives, lore, natural allies and foes, and a needs-driven system that governs their behaviour.
To give an example:
The scoundrels, bandits and outlaws are natural allies since they have a common enemy, the civilised world that sees them as part of the greater criminal underworld (could be an npc faction, perhaps?). They have common enemies such as town guards, wild animals, and other players who have poor reputation with them.
They have a need to hunt regularly for food, raid towns and maybe even cities for plunder and loot. When they kill an opposing npc or player, they may take an item of monetary value like coins which will still be flagged as stolen if it was from a player's loot bag. This gives players an incentive to hunt these mobs even if they are below their skill level, whether to play the part of an altruistic hero or a heartless opportunist.
Their short-term goals could be to disrupt supply chains and cause problems for the civilisations they oppose. Their long-term goal could be to establish themselves as a formidable power that can challenge the civilised order. However, they may at times fight each other over petty squabbles or simply for dominance.
Having such a system adds meaning, context and makes the game stand out from all the other mmorpgs out there that so far have npc mobs just stand around and mill about with no higher purpose than to produce a loot bag and give clade experience to the player.
I'm hoping that since SV added a dynamic npc spawning system, they may already be thinking along the same lines.
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