The Gang of Five
The Land Before Time => Cancelled and old projects => LBT Projects => LBT Multiplayer RPG Project Discussion => Topic started by: action9000 on June 19, 2008, 04:32:06 PM
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Hey!
If you have any ideas for tasks that the players can take on, feel free to post them here!
What is a Task?
A Task is a quest, basically. A task is given to the player, either from a non-player character (NPC), from finding something that triggers the start of a task. Basically, it's an assignment that the player may (nor may not, if they choose) do that will reward them in some way when it's completed.
Some tasks are relatively simple. Some will be more complex and some are designed to be impossible to complete alone and calling upon your dino friends is necessary to accomplish it.
If you have any ideas for tasks, please throw them up here and we'll consider them for the game! If we end up using your idea in the game, your name will appear in the credits. :)
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I did a few idea in another post. Instead of digging around to find it to repast here I"ll attempt to recap.
One idea is to use some episodes from the tv series for ideas and maybe some scenes from the movies & also other scenes from other movies & maybe tv series that are similar in genre and would fit.
One is that Mr Threehorn can tell (since it's not within his personality to ask) that since Tria likes pretty stones to bring her some. "Tria likes pretty stones, take her some!" Since in an episode, I think it's Shiny Stone Canyon, At the beginning Tria is shown to have a very large pile of various kinds of pretty stones. Maybe points could be based on how far it is from her nest, or on the location the stone is from, a far or dangerous place like Shiny Stone Canyon, which is next to Smoking Mountains, may give more points then a stone laying near a river or in a shallow river.
Another one from an idea from an episode is a quest or task like the gang and Bullies do in the Great Egg Adventure episode, where some Fast biter eggs need to be moved farther from the valley, maybe from point 1 to point 2.
Maybe a pointer type of thing to one's quest destination like they have in Oblivion would be nice, since folks like me would not get totally lost, like I do with no pointer or quest indicator on the map.
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This might be orginal...
One of the easier, start off task could be to collect some treestars for a NPC.
The amount of Stars could varry, and the task could show up several times for different NPC's.
That's something that I could see before me in a LBT RPG game! :yes
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How about this task for a swimmer character: For a reason yet to be determined an special algae is needed. The strange thing about this algae is that it will grow only in rapidly flowing water (e.g. right above a waterfall or the like) There could be a stretch of rapid water through which the swimmer could swim. It would be impossible for the swimmer to stop and the water would carry him or her very swiftly. He or she can just influence the direction and must be very carefully to float close enough by one of those algea to snatch it.
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Specific tasks for certain types is a good idea, swimmer, flyer ect.
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Indeed!
Maybe tasks that require extra strenght could be for Threehorns?
As for, if in co-op, all kin have to use all of their abilities togehter to solve a task?
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As for, if in co-op, all kin have to use all of their abilities togehter to solve a task?
I'd love to do stuff like this! We'll need to come up with some clever situations to throw a group into so that everyones' abilities are utilized.
I suppose, that being said, we need to agree on abilities that each character will have! :lol:
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I suppose, that being said, we need to agree on abilities that each character will have! :lol:
Yeah, you gonna make an own topic for that?
As for more tasks,
Should NPC's (I assume those are the ones that you most commonly recieve tasks from) have options?
Like, you move your character towards Grandpa Longneck, and choose "Interact" and you can choose from different options such as:
"What's going on?"
"You know... where/how/when/which, (questions you can ask to get clues on certain things/tasks etc.)
"Got any work/job/can I do something for you?/what's wrong?/want me to help you out?/maybe I can help you
"I know/I have/It's done/Is this it?/(if you've completed certain tasks, you can interact with a NPC to confirm that you've completed it, if not, they can shake their head or something and give yoyu some advice, if you're done correct, you complete the task and get reward?)
"Talk" (just talk with the NPC, might put some funny lines, or lines such as: "Been to the watering hole yet? I've heard there's a troubled swimmer there..."
"Leave" (stop talking and continue exploring!")
Sorry if the post is messy!
Think anything like this could be an option? Or are we getting to much water over our heads? :)
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How about this task for a swimmer character: For a reason yet to be determined an special algae is needed. The strange thing about this algae is that it will grow only in rapidly flowing water (e.g. right above a waterfall or the like) There could be a stretch of rapid water through which the swimmer could swim. It would be impossible for the swimmer to stop and the water would carry him or her very swiftly. He or she can just influence the direction and must be very carefully to float close enough by one of those algea to snatch it.
Sounds like a good idea. We will need a tutorial that could be worth a point or two just to start you off. The tutorial should cover stuff such as how to move, interact, and other basic stuff. It should also explain how to use special abilitied depending on which type of character you are using.
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Maybe more difficult tasks would require better ablities?
If so, should there be ways to "level up and develop" your abilities?
There might be a place where you can do certain training, maybe push logs, slam trees etc to bulid up strenght so you eventually can move that rock covering an entrance or something like that?
"Doc's/Mr.Treehorns workout...:" lol... :lol:
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Think anything like this could be an option? Or are we getting to much water over our heads?
This was kind of what I was thinking to do for a system for getting tasks from NPCs. I don't think that's too out of line!
We will need a tutorial that could be worth a point or two just to start you off. The tutorial should cover stuff such as how to move, interact, and other basic stuff. It should also explain how to use special abilitied depending on which type of character you are using.
I really want the tutorial to be optional. Nothing's worse than starting a game with a new character for fun and being forced to go through the boring tutorial again. :p
Sure, we can try to set up a tutorial!
If so, should there be ways to "level up and develop" your abilities?
Absolutely! :)
Not every ability needs to be levelled up though:
Some are given to a character as soon as you start a new game. Some, once you learn the skill it doesn't need to be improved anymore: either you have it or you don't.
Other skills, like "Swim speed" or something, sure, I'm sure we can have lots of skills that can be levelled up and developed!
Maybe more difficult tasks would require better ablities?
I totally agree with this. "Stealth" may be have to levelled up to a certain point before you can complete a certain task, for example.
Maybe longnecks could find a special place in the world to do their "Longneck test" to gain certain skills.
There might be a place where you can do certain training, maybe push logs, slam trees etc to bulid up strenght so you eventually can move that rock covering an entrance or something like that?
"Doc's/Mr.Treehorns workout...:" lol...
LOL We could certainly do this. I'd rather have this as a task that you can only do once though, instead of being able to go back to it all the time. Last thing we need are a bunch of low-level characters with insane amounts of strength doing random things. :lol
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I really want the tutorial to be optional. Nothing's worse than starting a game with a new character for fun and being forced to go through the boring tutorial again.
Sure, we can try to set up a tutorial!
One of Runescape's most horrible flaws! :x Have an option that asks you if you have already taken the tutorial or not.
LOL We could certainly do this. I'd rather have this as a task that you can only do once though, instead of being able to go back to it all the time. Last thing we need are a bunch of low-level characters with insane amounts of strength doing random things.
Maybe there should be a skill upgrade available every time you advance a level. You would have to choose which skill to upgrade because there would only be one upgrade per level or something.
Also, perhaps certain adult characters could be instructors for various skills. Topsy could teach something (I'm not sure what), Ducky's mom could be the swimming instructor, Petrie's mom could be the flying instructor for fliers only and maybe she could teach something else to non-fliers.
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Maybe there should be a skill upgrade available every time you advance a level. You would have to choose which skill to upgrade because there would only be one upgrade per level or something.
Also, perhaps certain adult characters could be instructors for various skills. Topsy could teach something (I'm not sure what), Ducky's mom could be the swimming instructor, Petrie's mom could be the flying instructor for fliers only and maybe she could teach something else to non-fliers.
I'd like to do a combination of both. This will give us the opportunity to have hidden skills around the game, as well as expand the variety of gameplay. :)
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Maybe like something x points you get per level you can spend on skills, or something like that. Not it goes up as you use it since you could have, in games like Oblivion or Morrowind, a character who is a master of mystic magic or stealth since they practiced that skill a lot.
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Maybe there could be some kind of natural disaster or emergency which requires you to lead others (preferably NPCs) to safety like in LBT3.
Or maybe a mission to stop egg stealers.
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I don't know if this would be too difficult, but perhaps the level system could take into consideration what a character has done all the time when determining which abilities would improve. For example a swimmer who has been climbing rocks and trees all the time is not likely to get a bonus on swimming for that one (the same goes for any other species and activity of course).
Yesternight I came up with a few more tasks in a chat with Tim. Both tasks would be about finding a particular spot in the Great Valley where Captain Flint burried his stone of cold fire... (we might have to reconsider the Captain Flint part, but I'm sure we can think of something the characters would be looking for:lol). The simple version of the task would be "the spot where the shadow of peak X falls when the bright circle stands right behind it".
The more complex version (requiring two characters) would be a spot from where you can see two pairs of particular trees / rocks in a straight line. To make it more difficult one cannot actually see those trees / rocks from the spot. So the characters have to move from those rocks / trees in a totally straight line and where their tracks meet is THE spot.
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but perhaps the level system could take into consideration what a character has done all the time when determining which abilities would improve. For example a swimmer who has been climbing rocks and trees all the time is not likely to get a bonus on swimming for that one (the same goes for any other species and activity of course).
The Dungeon Siege series of games did just this: If you used bows and arrows, your dexterity increased. If you used magic, your intelligence increased, etc.
It wouldn't be impossible to program, I'm just not completely sure I'm a fan of that system. I'm really torn on that system...I'm biased towards saying "no" at this point but I can see why it would be appealing.
basically...if you're a swimmer who doesn't swim much, you don't get much better at swimming. :p
It would significantly complicate programming. It wouldn't be impossible but it would add quite a bit to development time. From a realism point of view, it's a good system. From a social gaming/entertainment point of view, I just don't want force players to "exercise" their characters to gain skills. Maybe I'm just looking at it the wrong way. Other opinions? :)
Certainly another idea up for debate, I'm just not a big fan of that system myself. If there's enough support, we can definitely incorporate it.
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One problem is if one can get better by doing a thing over and over you could have a first level character who is a master at 1 or more skills since when they are online that is all they do over and over.
If there is a way to abuse a system some players will do that to get a more powerful character then others have. I've noticed that when I use to play pen and paper rpg's. There are power gamers everywhere, more then some folks suspect & some may be power gamers themselves without knowing it. To me that spoils an rp.
I'm more use to gurps, which has no levels. You get points that you can put into skills or save up to put into skills or stats, it has no levels nor classes.
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One problem is if one can get better by doing a thing over and over you could have a first level character who is a master at 1 or more skills since when they are online that is all they do over and over.
Don't forget that it would also take experience points to gain higher abilities. Such points would be acquired by fulfilling tasks which are not likely to require one ability only.
Some games make it impossible to improve ability X from a certain level on without improving ability Y along. Maybe something like that could be done in this game too?
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I played Maplestory a long time ago. In the beginning, they give tasks on how the controls work. Maybe when you start a game an instructor appears and tells you to move to that spot. And then you have to go to a spot where you can only reach when you jump. And so on until you know the basic controls.
Just an idea. :)
But there is one thing I can't figure out. The game will have a level system right?
Will there be any "fighting" tasks like defeating a sharptooth?
Just being curios.
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Will there be any "fighting" tasks like defeating a sharptooth?
Probably but they will be minimal. I don't want to focus much on fighting for two reasons:
1) Fighting in the classic sense of the word doesn't exist very much in LBT. Outwitting sharpteeth to defeat or simply lose them seems to be more common. In most "combat" situations in the game, chances are a face-to-face fight won't be the nature of the fight.
2) Programming artificial intelligence scares me. :p The less I need to program intelligent enemies, the happier I'll be. :lol
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Those could be done in various ways so one doesn't really fight one. I agree that fighting sharpteeth of various types doen't fit into LBT, running from, escaping them, outsmarting them, and either getting to where the grown ups are, does, but not battling them personally. If the pc's are going to be kids it seems unlikely.
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Just make sure there's a cliff+boulder or 2 trees+slingshot vine somewhere near each sharptooth. What'd be cool is if each sharptooth had a diferent way of taking it out, turning it from routine dogfights to a different unique problem to solve every time.
The downside is, depending on our amount of amassed creativity and Action9000's supply of aspirin, we might not be able to add that many sharpteeth, or the game would take longer to program.
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When it comes to "fighting" sharpteeth I really think that we ought to focus on somehow tricking it rather than actually fighting it head on (no way a dinosaur kid could "defeat" a proper sharptooth that way). I guess it would be more practicable to let one character (preferably a flyer) lure it away from the way it is blocking for the other characters of the group or the like.
In my opinion we should really avoid making silly sharpteeth which will trip and die in agony if one of the kids hurls a pebble at it or crawls under its feet.
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That is a good idea. Though also maybe most quests and tasks do not require encountering sharpteeth, maybe only a few and only group ones.
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When it comes to "fighting" sharpteeth I really think that we ought to focus on somehow tricking it rather than actually fighting it head on.
I didn't mean take it on in a head-to-head. I meant climb the cliff and drop the boulder on it's head (a strategy which has worked well in several LBT movies already), or use two trees & a vine as a slingshot, either to take out the sharptooth from afar, or even just to shoot yourself over and past it.
BTW, when you say "crawl under its feet," you aren't thinking of any 'kid' in particular, are you?
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BTW, when you say "crawl under its feet," you aren't thinking of any 'kid' in particular, are you?
I was referring to Shorty in LBT 10. That scene really destroyed anything that was left of the Sharpteeth in that movie being a menace of any sort.
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BTW, when you say "crawl under its feet," you aren't thinking of any 'kid' in particular, are you?
I was referring to Shorty in LBT 10. That scene really destroyed anything that was left of the Sharpteeth in that movie being a menace of any sort.
I know. I just thought it was funny, since the exact same event popped into my mind when the topic was broached.
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That was an odd scene. I wonder why they got the idea to do that.
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As for tasks I've got some (inspired by Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and examples inspired by the LBT movies):
Find [insert object]: This is a simple "fetch" quest.
Example:
Mr. Threehorn: My wife is missing some Shining Stones. Why don't you make yourself useful [player's name] and get some for her?
Rescue: This is a mission to save a certain character (or characters).
Example:
Cera: The twins are missing! [player name], please help me find them! (In this example she'll temporarly join as a playable character)
Example:
Ducky's Mom: Ducky has been kidnapped, please rescue her [player name]! (This will be a more combat oriented mission.)
Escort: This is a mission to escort a character (or characters to a certain destination)
Example: Escort Mo to the Big Water.
Others: This can be anything from guard a nest to clean up after a natural disaster.
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Helping find missing hatchlings is a good task for any kind of dino and one many can do. Cleaning up is a good idea, though I guess it would have to be coded something like, take x number of y to z location.
Since some folks are repeating some earlier ideas maybe a list can be done somewhere to keep them organized. Just an idea.
Maybe for flyers or swimmers maybe bringing a special item that can only be found high up on a certain location or deep, to prove how skilled they have gotten at swimming or flying. Something similar for other types.
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Maybe for holidays like Christmas and Haloween, there could be some holiday themed task just for fun, not for story purposes. I think there are several online RPGs that do special stuff for holidays. Runescape had a Haloween mission where you got a Grim Reaper outfit as a prize. Maybe we could have some special occasion stuff and the prize be a couple extra points or something.
Or, what would be even better would be celebrating LBT events in the game. They do seem to have some special occasions in the movies, like at the end of the third movie, they mentioned the "Time of the Great Giving". Maybe once a year, that could be celebrated like a holiday and anyone who takes part can have a few points or a free skill upgrade for the skill of their choice.
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That can be a fun thing for some folks and may be fun also since they are things that happen only once a year. As for holidays that are celebrated in the Great Valley, the time of the great giving may have been just a one shot thing, or it may be celebrated to remember how things are like in the Mysterious Beyond. There is also some who celebrate their star days, though not all since some of the gang had never heard of it, but Mr. Clubtail had. There is also The Bright Circle Celebration that has been seen in 1 episode that is celebrated.
They are likely not tied to a day like April 4th, but maybe like the the after the first full night circle (full moon) after the cold time is over, and things like that. But it certainly does not mean there can't be special holiday things put in that are calibrated in parts of the world. Maybe even a special look to certain things that are in the Great Valley, or to npc's and things like that.
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I agree that many holidays would probably be based on something the dinosaurs could observe. Maybe the longest / shortest day of the year or something like that. With regard to the time of the great giving day maybe one could gain special experience points for every bit of food or the like which one gave to someone else who actually ate it (to prevent the acquisition of countless experience points by just switching the same treestars between two players... come to think of it I'm not really sure the striving for EPs would really transport the spirit of the time of the Great Giving. Something else may have to be thought of in case we want to adapt the idea into the game.
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Curiously, some time ago, some friends and I were making a project about a game for Land before Time... it got out, since we got separated... anyways, besides normal tasks, we included shorter quests, the sidequests, in other words.
Sure, it would probably take a storyline for a sidequest, but there is another way of including them: quests inside quests. For example, decisions on what to do with object X, whther to give it to Y or to Z, assuming Z is the original character that asked for the item.
I hope I didn't make it too confusing...?
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Perhaps there could be quests for several major NPC characters, some of which become available as older ones are completed... (more ideas)
Tops
1. Deliver message to Cera.
2. Gather special leaves for "buffet" at big meeting.
3. Deliver message to Tria.
4. Get "sweet bubbles" (grapes) for Tops and Tria.
5. Locate lair of hidden mammals (optional!)
6. Deliver message to upstart Triceratops male who challenges Tops.
Tria
1. Find shiny stones
2. Find/return Tricia
3. Get leaf to help Tricia's injury.
4. Deliver message to... Mrs. Twoped?
5. Find thick-barked scratching tree.
6. Find hot springs (from movie VIII)
Littlefoot's Grandfather
1. Investigate possible hole in mountain walls
2. Help close up hole in mountain wall
3. Deliver message to Littlefoot's grandmother.
4. Find missing Sauropod eggs (for other Sauropods, of course!)
5. Gather dinosaurs for important meeting
6. Find Littlefoot
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We did think, however, of a few sidequests. The sidequests were meant to be the unlocking factor of other areas, like caves. For that, we expanded slightly the Mysterious Beyond, which has nearly infinite possibilities, and created a small place called the Cave Plaza. As its name implies, caves will open for some factor as a certain sidequest is completed.
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Or on the play station the LBT games on it but one the not allow
1. great race adventure
the task or quest of a characters are different or the same that is up of the game maker
( this is just a idea :lol )
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Perhaps there could be quests for several major NPC characters, some of which become available as older ones are completed... (more ideas)
There also should be chain quests to give a bit more depth to the quests. For any of you that don't know, chain quests are a series of quests, one given after another, and usually relating to the previous quest. Taking one of Nonames quests for example.
-Find/return Tricia to Tria
-Upon returning Tricia, Tria notices that Tricia is injured in some way, and asks you to go to Mr. Thicknose to make some sort of herb or medicine.
-Ask Mr. Thicknose to make the medicine, but he realizes that hes out of ingredients, and asks you to find them for him.
-Return to Mr. Thicknose with all the gathered ingredients so he can make the medicine.
-Finally, return the medicine to Tria.
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As long as it is not to complicated or to many things to do, or wont' take to long to do. Some of those could be different, but not to many or it could get annoying.
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There also should be chain quests to give a bit more depth to the quests. For any of you that don't know, chain quests are a series of quests, one given after another, and usually relating to the previous quest. Taking one of Nonames quests for example.
I like the idea of chain quests.
I think a good limit for chains is 2-6 items.
Perhaps harder quests should earn greater rewards.
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As long as it is not to complicated or to many things to do, or wont' take to long to do. Some of those could be different, but not to many or it could get annoying.
i agree completely, chain quests could be implemented for the more serious or harder quests, especially later on. We would still need the simpler quests, otherwise it will end up being like World of Warcraft, tedious and a chore to play.
I think a good limit for chains is 2-6 items
do you mean 2-6 quests per chain? cause that would be a decent number to have, definitely try not to have more then 6 as it could start to get a little tiring, though some higher level quests might go a bit higher (very rarely though).
Perhaps harder quests should earn greater rewards.
Nothing worse than doing that whole series of quests then to just get a pat on the back and a "thank you" :lol
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I think a good limit for chains is 2-6 items
do you mean 2-6 quests per chain? cause that would be a decent number to have, definitely try not to have more then 6 as it could start to get a little tiring, though some higher level quests might go a bit higher (very rarely though).
2 to 6 quests per chain.
I know combat is an extreme rarity but it does occur. What missions would require such combat?
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I know combat is an extreme rarity but it does occur. What missions would require such combat?
None that would involve a big sharptooth (those would have to be tricked otherwise but it would be suicidal to take on one of them). So actual combat would probably come only in case of characters of similar size and strength. I suppose anything with a larger size / strength difference than GOF vs. bullies would not be possible.
We will do our best to come up with other tasks that are not so much focused on fighting.
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Fighting really has no place in an lbt based game I'd think. Though most folks seem to live player vs player and such combats.
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One idea I thought of was this:
Maybe you could help random little sharpteeth get away from big leafeaters who try to harm them? (Sort of like when Chomper was being chased by Ali's herd.)
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That could be a different sort of quest indeed. Though I guess the char may need to be outside the valley for that one, maybe due to another quest and if you go to the right area you may come across this quest.
Maybe one of something like a flyer, or someone mentions a flyer saw a herd of far walkers heading this way and were close, but didn't look like they knew the entrance to the great valley and if you can go out and tell them, or guide them to the entrance.
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Well, any sort of mission that involves sharpteeth portrayed in a positive light is A-OK by me. :DD
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Maybe include a way for the characters to learn their abilities from a certain NPC in the form of a task that would grant you an ability at the end, instead of straight out getting abilites after repetition of some similar ability.
Ex. There was talk about flying being a separate level-up skill in a different thread. Level one, every flyer starts out like unflyable Petrie. Then, at level 2 or something, instead of immediately getting the ability to glide, or being able to allot "points" to gliding, you could talk to Guido, who will teach you how to glide if you do a task for him and if your level is high enough. Then some more levels later Petrie or maybe even Pterano can teach you how to fly.
Also, would treestars be a form of payment/currency for completing tasks?
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Maybe include a way for the characters to learn their abilities from a certain NPC in the form of a task that would grant you an ability at the end, instead of straight out getting abilites after repetition of some similar ability.
Ex. There was talk about flying being a separate level-up skill in a different thread. Level one, every flyer starts out like unflyable Petrie. Then, at level 2 or something, instead of immediately getting the ability to glide, or being able to allot "points" to gliding, you could talk to Guido, who will teach you how to glide if you do a task for him and if your level is high enough. Then some more levels later Petrie or maybe even Pterano can teach you how to fly.
Also, would treestars be a form of payment/currency for completing tasks?
Interesting that you brought up those ideas, as I have thought of using that system for learning abilities as well.
The system I'm picturing for abilities in our game is basically what you described there, NaNaNa. I'm thinking:
There could be some abilities that are learned automatically when you reach a certain level. There would not be very many of these.
Most abilities would be taught to you by an NPC, either as a reward for completing some task or some other reason. I'm also picturing some tasks involving learning a new skill from an NPC then being expected to apply the skill to complete the task that NPC gives you. ( "Here, I'll show you how to do this so now you can go do something for me!", basically)
Some abilities or ways to improve or "specialize" your abilities could be earned by spending points that you gain when you level up.
As for treestars being a currency, I thought about it but the decision on that was, * our game will not have a currency system because it seemed too "human" and not "LBT-like" *. Some tasks may involve giving and receiving but that's the extent of currency in our game.
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Hmm. Currency is basically a core of pretty much every RPG I've seen but it's not very inline with LBT.
Hmm. It's kind of interesting to have a sequential skill set.
Glide ---> flight
Floating/treading water ------> true swimming
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Hmm. Currency is basically a core of pretty much every RPG I've seen but it's not very inline with LBT.
Not much about this game is going to be like any RPG we've ever seen. ;)
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Well if there isn't currency, I suppose we could go with that species reputation thing. Did that ever get green lighted?
I like your idea for getting an ability and then using it to complete a task. Sort of like a mini-tutorial for it. If you decide to quit the task halfway, you would lose the ability, and if you complete it you get it permanently.
For the sequential abilities thing, you should make it so that each ability remains useful the entire game throughout. For example, flying would allow to to stay in the air indefinitely and go higher/lower, but gliding would be a lot faster. You could even fly way up high in the sky and then glide down to get to your destination fast, like a deranged prehistoric stuntman
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Well if there isn't currency, I suppose we could go with that species reputation thing. Did that ever get green lighted?
Not officially but I like the idea very much; I see no reason not to use it.
For the sequential abilities thing, you should make it so that each ability remains useful the entire game throughout. For example, flying would allow to to stay in the air indefinitely and go higher/lower, but gliding would be a lot faster.
Aside from flying and swimming, there won't probably be many examples where one skill will "develop" into another. It's a cool idea but I don't really see why "gliding" and "flying" need to be considered completely separate skills, for example. Other abilities in the game will be even more different from each other than gliding/flying so I suspect that they'll function as separate skills for the most part.
As for how flying will work:
Flapping your wings will require spending stamina. Gliding will use no more staminathan being on the ground. I suspect that conserving stamina, just like a real living thing, would be the main reason for gliding.
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You could even fly way up high in the sky and then glide down to get to your destination fast, like a deranged prehistoric stuntman
In this case, that would be a 'diving' skill, which would be different again from gliding and flying, I would think.
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Aside from flying and swimming, there won't probably be many examples where one skill will "develop" into another. It's a cool idea but I don't really see why "gliding" and "flying" need to be considered completely separate skills, for example. Other abilities in the game will be even more different from each other than gliding/flying so I suspect that they'll function as separate skills for the most part.
True, but there's no point in trying to hurl a boulder before lifting a rock. Of course that's a total exaggeration but you get my point.
Off topic a little bit, but the sequential abilities reminded me of something. Do your characters ever...grow up? Or do they start as adults
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True, but there's no point in trying to hurl a boulder before lifting a rock. Of course that's a total exaggeration but you get my point.
In that particular example, your ability to move objects depends on your strength stat as well as maybe the level of whatever *ability* (not your character's level) you're using to hurl said boulder. The distance, speed, etc. of the hurling would depend on your strength, type and ability level. Also, every object will have a "strength requirement" to be able to move it. If you don't meet that minimum, you won't even be able to budge it.
This same idea would apply to most/all abilities in the game. As your character gains levels, the player gains points to spend in different aspects of your character:
Strength
Agility
Toughness
Resilience
Off topic a little bit, but the sequential abilities reminded me of something. Do the characters ever...grow up? Or do they start as adults
Your characters start off as and remain as, even at max level, kids like the Gang.
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Actually, for species reputation, there should be some tasks/adventures you can only start on after being at a certain reputation level.
This way, the reputation system could be deeper. By continuously doing tasks for a certain species, their tasks become harder and the rewards become more and more specific.
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Actually, for species reputation, there should be some tasks/adventures you can only start on after being at a certain reputation level.
This way, the reputation system could be deeper. By continuously doing tasks for a certain species, their tasks become harder and the rewards become more and more specific.
I totally agree with this. The reputation system could bring a lot of depth to the game and we'll take as much advantage of it as we can.
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will it be with just the 1 species or will it effect your standing with other species also?
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will it be with just the 1 species or will it effect your standing with other species also?
That would depend on the task and situation. We'd have to work out which events would affect your reputation with what species or group.
Remember too, that if you're a Threehorn and you do something against one "group" of longnecks, not every longneck in the world may hear of this event. We will probably have to break up the reputation system beyond simply "longneck", "threehorn", etc., but into "Tribes' of sorts as well, in some cases.
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The same may apply to threehorns since some of them may be more like tria instead of like cera's dad.
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I like the tribal faction idea.
One of the things I thought about is this:
The Mysterious Beyonders offer much more challenging and rewarding quests (possibly even some combat oriented ones). However, they cannot be approached for quests until you reach a certain level (or reputation or both) threshold.
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Maybe if you do tasks for the mysterious beyond tribes, they'll offer you some "homes" outside of the Great Valley. As in you'd be welcome there anytime, and their places would function like the Great Valley. So this would also expand the map even further.
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Maybe if you do tasks for the mysterious beyond tribes, they'll offer you some "homes" outside of the Great Valley. As in you'd be welcome there anytime, and their places would function like the Great Valley. So this would also expand the map even further.
I like it in theory.
I'm just thinking here:
What would be the difference between a "home" and just "being in an area around some neutral or friendly dinosaurs"? What would make a "home" particularily special or useful in the game?
The first thing that comes to mind is some kind of "shortcut" or "fastforward" button to instantly move from one home to another. I am against this because I was planning on using a different system to accomplish this.
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Well then I believe we'd have to distinguish the mysterious beyond from the Great Valley.
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Well then I believe we'd have to distinguish the mysterious beyond from the Great Valley.
I agree and that won't be a problem. :) We have a very easy way to determine which part of the world the player is in.
Another use for a "home" could be:
If you talk to an NPC at one of your "homes", you instantly regain all of your HP and Stamina, sort of like "resting". Whether or not this is particularily useful is debateable but it's the best I can come up with. :p
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I mean distinguish the two as in, besides physical appearance, whats the difference?
But I like the resting thing. also, maybe if you're in a "home", you can take supplies or something from a stockpile. Though I know we still haven't ironed out the inventory feature yet
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also, maybe if you're in a "home", you can take supplies or something from a stockpile.
Hey, now that's pretty cool! I guess the only question that remains here is, is there a benefit to stockpiling stuff at a home rather than elsewhere in the world? Why couldn't I just leave a bunch of stuff sitting somewhere? How would the game respond to that?
My idea to that is, once the game is saved and closed, items at your stockpile would remain as-is but everything else in the world would be reset to some sort of default state (with the exception of some events based on tasks, etc.) . This could be justified by simply saying that "some dinosaurs moved your stuff" or something. :p
I think that works! Nice one!
Though I know we still haven't ironed out the inventory feature yet
Some ideas have been thrown around between Malte, Littlefoot1616 and myself in MSN chats but I don't think they're posted up here. I should get the latest updates to the inventory system on the forum. Nothing finalized yet but we have a system that seems pretty decent.
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Right, so basically the stockpile's where you put stuff if you want to keep them after signing off. Stuff like food or vines. But they'd naturally have a limit. Or maybe the more tasks you do the more you can store in.
I took a look at the inventory discussion thread. Interesting ideas. I could imagine how hard it would be to put in a realistic inventory in the LBT universe
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I took a look at the inventory discussion thread. Interesting ideas. I could imagine how hard it would be to put in a realistic inventory in the LBT universe
It took a lot of beating heads against trees but we figured out something that works for both single player and the team aspects of the game.
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Thing is that unlike most RPGs the inventory does not play a major role. While characters with arms and hands may be able to hold a few things (or more if they are working along with a character who has no arms but can carry more stuff while a character with arms is sitting on his or her back to hold the stuff in place). However, there are except for quest-relevant items not too many cases where stuff would have to be carried around.
Most RPGs have a strong focus on getting better equipment for your characters and that's also what the currency in these games is mostly for. But in case of LBT characters there isn't much equipment they would need except in very special situations. As the game is not planned to be focused on fighting (another thing to differ this game from most other RPGs) Ducky is not likely to walk around with a big wooden club in her hands all the time :p
As for stockpiling leaves, I think this could work but only for a limited time. If the characters are to set out to cross a region with scarce food they might want to take as many leaves along as possible. But once they have fallen of their trees leaves are not likely to last many days.
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Yes, they likely wouldn't and how many leaves can someone carry, even if you break off a branch with leaves on it and have someone like Ruby carry it, it still would only last a certain span of time, and in the movies as I recall none of the gang thinks about carrying leaves with them as I recall.
The one thing is if the quests is done for dinos outside the Great Valley they may allow your character to rest there and get water and food, if they are the non nomadic but resident types, and they may have some knowledge also. Farwalker, nomadic types may have some information about other places since it's unlikely a resident herd would have much first hand info about other then where they live. & a nomad herd may let you rest with them also.
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As I remember there always seemed to be an abundance of food everywhere in the Mysterious beyond, except when there were natural disasters like in LBT I or snow like in VIII or a swarm of locusts like in V.
Nomadic herds obviously dont have any "homes", but yeah, basically what Kor said, they could offer you benefits and allow you to rest with them or something of the like. Since theres the constant threat of sharpteeth in the mysterious beyond, sleeping in the wild is ill advised.
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all right this might be a cool and interesting quest
maybe if Action includes the lake in the original you could go over to it and a talkbox would appear saying acouple things then the ghost of the original Sharptooth would appear and you would have to push a boulder(that's in the same posistion as in the 1988 film" on him the same way Littlefoot did Its not exactly good but it would be interesting to see another could simply be explore the hidden canyon and what not.
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A concept I came up with:
TV series episodes and original ideas can be done at any time. Movies might last all of every other year or something, and progress made by one player can be seen by anyone.
For instance, someone blocks the pass in VIII by meeting up with Mr. Thicknose, and then there will be a huge pile of snow for everyone else to climb for a while until Thicknose comes back. Someone finds the Tinysauruses in XI, and all of the NPCs try to go after them and give special quests until they're found by someone else.
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The only problem with that is people may decide to alter their system clocks, giving them an unfair advantage.
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As for sleeping in the Mysterious Beyond, how about you need to be in a sheltered place to do so?
If you try to sleep in an open area, your character will say something to the effect of "I can't sleep when there's sharpteeth about!"
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^You could always shut the game down, forcing them to sleep.
Wait, why are we making them sleep? Most people want to play dinosaurs who are awake. When the dino falls asleep, would it go into "speed mode" until he wakes up?
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We had the idea that perhaps we are going to let the characters of players who are currently not logged in appear as sleeping in the game at the spot where they were when they logged out. The idea of not allowing people to drop out and sleep at any point (sharptooth right behind you etc.) does make sense and perhaps finding save places in hostile regions could become an integral part of the game play outside the Great Valley (where it would be pretty save in most locations). The idea of letting logged out characters appear as sleeping has the advantage that the Great Valley would look more "populated" that way even if it is impossible to interact with sleeping characters.
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@Serris
Actually, suppose every other year the server just adds the features in quietly, like during some special quests in WoW?
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^^^^^ That's the problem, THERE is no dedicated server as of now.
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if only there was,if only.
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^^^^^ That's the problem, THERE is no dedicated server as of now.
Aye. I am working on a means to hopefully fix that. It's not a guarantee just yet but I am doing everything I can to get a dedicated server running.