Multiplayer

[Danny]

If the game world is large enough,
the story line can cause the players (the characters) to spilt up into different (geographically remote) paths, without option to return,
in the hope of meeting at the end of their paths,
if each player manages to find his/her way through their path.

There should be more available paths, of course, than the number of players.

Also, the outcomes of path completions should be independent of each other,
so that if a player fails or quits, the other(s) can continue in the game without him/her,
but their tasks should be harder due to it.

[Corsair5]

So essentially, it's like a single player game that starts in a sort of lobby area with multiple people?

To put it bluntly, why bother?

[Danny]

The players paths should join now and then and also contain joint missions and battles on those occasions.

If the players were together all the time it could just ruin it for some of them (i.e. one player hogging all the action).

My idea is to give each player the best of a single player games,
yet enable interaction, common goals and joint missions using the outcomes of the single missions.

You could picture it as a quest party separating into smaller parties or singles,
working alone and then reuniting again and again - allowing group scenes and single scenes in the same game.

[Silverbolt]

Here's my oppinion on the subject:

No.

[Danny]

If you are so certain my idea is no good,
I'd be happy to hear your idea on how to implement the multiplayer aspect.

[lazygamer]

Well it's not that your idea is bad, it's just that some people think that a multiplayer
Hero7 isn't worth the extra effort. My fear is that it would either be half assed, or it would be awesome but require tons of extra work. The Hero6 team has had enough trouble just make an awesome singleplayer game. Could they handle creating an awesome single player game(Hero7) with an excellent multiplayer component?

What I'd really like to see for multiplayer is each player controlling an NPC from the game(and someone plays the hero). The player controlled NPCs can end up making decisions that change the plot, and run into dialogue and events the Hero never sees.

But yes that is quite complex, I told you making it awesome would require tons of extra work.

[Corsair5]

It'd be like a Multiplayer Elder Scrolls. From a distance, it sounds awesome. But then you realize that when there're thirty people tromping around Cyrodiil, you're hardly a Hero anymore, you're just a number.

And I am not a number! I AM A FREE MAN!

[Danny]

[Reply to lazygamer:]
The multiplayer idea itself wasn't mine, however I think it would be great to see a good multiplayer RPG - games I have seen were mostly one band walking together, passing items between them and doing everything together - not very interesting. Also if one player played more than one character the battles were always boring - either in turns or trying to set a strategy for the others characters, which usually were not dynamic enough to work well (the strategies were to simple to last for long). Even in the final battle in QFG5 (which by the way had a good battle system - different moves using keyboard, changing weapons during battle, ...) the battle was hard to coordinate - passing weapons and potions to everyone at the start of the battle became a tough race against time with the purpose of completion in time to defeat the dragon without anyone dying.

I believe that a good RPG is as drawing as a good movie, but enables the player to complete the mission in various ways and according to his/her own thinking style (like in QFG and in opposed to KQ and the others).

My idea was to keep the single-player charm, but allow playing with friends - giving each missions that change the plot and meeting now and then to work on goal that can not be completed alone (like group battles or missions that one character class could not handle alone or that have to been done simultaneously by more than one person).

Yes, that would require more work - more complex plots, smarter enemy (so they can decide who to attack), more software design and programming, but the outcome would be worth it - it could bring RPG quests back into mainstream (where games have budgets).

If your response is "easier said than done", then I am willing to stand behind my words and participate in the development, as a programmer or at least in the design of the code and to offer whatever I can to the plot.

By the way, I think a hybrid 2.5D game, like QFG5, with 3D battles would be best for this - group battles in 2D combat could cause one player to block a part of the other's view of himself or his foes.

[Reply to Corsair5:]
Of course the game should be limited to a party no larger than 5 (unless the other players play villains).

[Edit by Swift] Please make use of the edit button instead of double-posting. Thanks.
[Edit] Didn't realise I did double post - just meant to reply, not to be repetitive.

[Silverbolt]

If the game were more complex you could have it like an instanced Multiplayer game. (everyone can do the main quest separately)

But under NO circumstances do I want to hear

"LOL SELLING FLAMING PALADIN SORD PZL WHISP WIT OFFER" in an old-school adventure game.

They were not made for multiplayer. My oppinion still stands.

No.

[Danny]

That is pathetic - selling game items  :cheerygrin:

There should NOT be an option to move your character from game to game and sell things and each game should have limited member access to prevent such things.
Also - if character import/export from game to game is possible it should be without any items except the basics (they can be lost during the teleport or at sea or something).

Multiplayer gaming should be about collaboration and team work (kind of like pre-modem games, which enabled to players to play together were).

But the empasis should be on great single-player game, with, maybe, optional future multi-player support.

[Ignus_Draconus]

yeah, one of the things I find rather rediculous about games like Baldur's Gate is the ability to export your end-game character and give all your stuff to some newbie character over and over again.

anyway, I don't go in for multiplayer games since I never make use of the multiplayer functions anyway.