Stress test & pre-EA feedback

[Woody]

• Most questions in help chat seem to be around how to leave Haven and which city is best. We need this in the tutorial. Put the white line back into the sky?
• AI needs to be the focus from here on out. The most critical feedback people have about the game is the AI or the lack of suitable AI mechanics (proper threat, bunched AI, warping when too close etc). If there's any focus given over the next 6 weeks before launch, make it AI. If you have decent enough PvE to get people invested in the game, they'll stay for the PvP.
• Tone guard damage down a tad. New players will want to "try" their luck in towns and it shouldn't be absolutely impossible to live more than 2 seconds after committing a crime. If we have TPing lictors doing 160 damage a swing in the high sec areas of towns (banks, markets etc) then the surrounding areas should be a mixture of normal and elite guards with overbearing damage but not on par with lictors.
• I know it's a sandbox game, but there absolutely needs to be some direction for players to take once they leave Haven. Break the mould ever so slightly and ease players into the game further:
  • We need a Bounty/Noticeboard/Town Crier system directing players to get out into the world to take on camps, wildlife, gather resources, craft items or travel to another city for some purpose (deliver a letter?). All things to just get people going. Hell, go look at something like RDR2's side content and take some inspiration from there. Tie reputation to this kind of system. That way you've got a semi complete gameplay loop for launch with regards to PvP/PvE intersection.
  • This should be fairly easy to implement on paper. The game already has all the required triggers, trophies, heads, points of interest, resources.
• Add more pickables, chests, things to find to the world. People love exploring in games, so make this a core pillar of the game world sooner, rather than later.

Ultimately the game is nearly there for an EA launch so with a bit more polish, it will be in an acceptable state.

 

[Nefnate]

I agree on all fronts, especially the AI and how they interact with the NavMesh. Watching new players try to deal with AI whose aggro is broken, then have it run away and sink through the ground when it meets a hill or rock, hurts my heart and ruins their experience.

 

[Dracu]

Reasonable stuff. Thumbs up.

 

[Apostol]

This is exactly what the Early Access game needs!

 

[ElPerro]

There shouldnt be lictors anywhere but the capitals (Tindrem and Morin Khur). Let the players and town militias defend everywhere else so the sandbox gameplay can actually take place.

 

[bbihah]

Couldn't have made a better list of totally achievable "short" term goals.

 

[ZVNII]

Yeah, this game needs more POIs, it is very hard to get into the PVE because there is nothing rewarding to do long term.

I can kill a troll or spider queen and then what? I have some top tier backing material. That is about it. Need some achievements, rare items that don't drop with each kill, harder encounters that take a while and strategy to beat (spider queen is decent but ultimately way too easy), need more mobs that solo's can farm not being MAs (mounted farming is so boring and too rewarding in term of risk vs reward from both pve and pvp).

I am closing in on 2k hours, i cannot PVP exclusively for 10 hour a day. It's a MMO not an arena game. Also PVP that comes naturally when out PvEing is the sweetest imho. Right now there is almost no reason to PvE besides the experience itself. One of the reasons why I wanted a wipe for the stress test. All banks are full and no reason for MO2 vets to leave town and integrate into the flow of the game naturally. Many many people sit in front of town and waits for easy targets


This is also why I think regular wipes of the game will bring back so much life and activity. Season based games are very popular for several reasons. I know many in teh community don't like to hear this but if there won't be seasons the game needs a MUCH greater gear sink and gold sink than we currently have. I played this game for 2 months and had every single bank full of materials to last ME years (unless i die several times a day, thousands of gold as passive income from selling butchery by products), multiply stacks of steel, tung, cron. I am going off topic.


tl:dr Give more POIs with and more repeatability before launch

 

[Hexebus]

One issue I have currently that I think would help new players is to allow the equerry to sell donkeys. Now as a new player once you leave haven and start at a town, since the world is just massively larger it can be a huge pain to find a spawn of horses. This is even more so a pain when you are on foot and you have no idea what direction to go to find horses. Granted you can ask players but 90% of them will say go look at mortal map. Thats just bad game design that as a new player you NEED to use a 3rd party source just to find something substantial to start your journey.

 

[Amadman]

Good points!

I did notice that many where asking for how to change instances to meet up with friends as well.

They should be showing new players where the statues are and what they do in the tutorial.

Other points to note in the tutorial would be the library and the trainers that give free skills.

I have to wonder how many are running off to Myrland before even getting the free skills?

 

[Kameyo]

Ultimately the game is nearly there for an EA launch so with a bit more polish, it will be in an acceptable state.

I agree SV needs to focus on fixes and polish not adding more content.

 

[Woody]

One issue I have currently that I think would help new players is to allow the equerry to sell donkeys. Now as a new player once you leave haven and start at a town, since the world is just massively larger it can be a huge pain to find a spawn of horses. This is even more so a pain when you are on foot and you have no idea what direction to go to find horses. Granted you can ask players but 90% of them will say go look at mortal map. Thats just bad game design that as a new player you NEED to use a 3rd party source just to find something substantial to start your journey.

Good point but I'm on the fence about how this can be implemented seamlessly. One part of me thinks, absolutely, simply to help the new player experience and the other part says, no, this isn't in the spirit of the game.

Perhaps this could come in the form of a "Hitchhiker's Guide to Nave" - a new player inventory handbook that is soulbound. When activated, there could be any number of basic/useful functions - even tying over some of the tutor chapters/dialogues from Haven. One such function on Horses that when selected, prompts the player something in the form of a thought:

"If I want to find a horse, I should head West".

All the game is doing is finding the closest Steepe Horse spawn, and then the player still has to use the compass to find it. They would have to keep checking back to the book to adjust their course as they travel, so this wouldn't be using the Haven style waypoints. Additionally it should also suggest people talk to other players and seek out a breeder to buy a horse, while giving them base 20 Creature Control too.

I mean heck, a handbook alone combining all the Haven tutor/tutorial information into one place is a must in my book.

 

[Tzone]

The funniest things is new players picking up a single piece of silver from a bag and getting lictored. Same people doing over and over too.

The next thing is that everyone ask how to leave haven. Or about the statues. Make those things bigger and more prominent.


Among the new players asking multiple things one main issue is that they DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO AFTER ZOMBIES.
"What do I do after zombies" is a common question. The issue is that the game is not telling them what to do. Its that they dont know what there is to do, or where it is.

They dont know bandits even exist, they dont know about risars, or the bosses.

I was asking for a NPC that gave them task but really just a town posted board letting people know there are bandits in a certain direction and that the heads are worth money. Posted board mentions if there are any near by horses, or other rumors of the area.


Outside of all the newb stuff for vets we really need the PvE to be more fun. The spider queen is fun, but is its aggro planned or random, no on knows. Need more spiderqueens like bosse. Need mobs to be entertaining, better AI and such.
I do see the massive improvements SV has done for AI. We need much more of these.

We also need a reason to play since no one wants to leave town to fight. This means things to get like nice cosmetic drops from grinding and gold sinks. You can put pigs in a room that dropped interesting loot and people will think its fun killing them all day. I would prefer the need to fight more challenging AI.