Myst Online: URU Live Forums

Re: Multi-User Ages

ja'pheth — Mon May 15, 2006 2:22 am

Author: ja'pheth

Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 2:22 am

Only one request : All multiplayer ages (or the multiplayer instances of ages that we also have access to privately) should have FULL day/night cycles!

Since these ages are (or could be) continuously-populated, the lack of a day/night cycle will quickly become apparent, breaking some realism. There are so many other reasons for doing this too though... I mean, think of all the different nature puzzles that could require different strategies for solving based on it being day, night, or dusk. (We'll need to have flashlights or firemarble lamps by this time.) A Stonehenge like area or that might require waiting until a certain time of day to be understood or recognized for what it is. Imagine what Edanna would have been like at night!

As long the cycles on these other ages aren't *exactly* 24 hours long, no one will be stuck with the "it's always nighttime when I'm able to visit it" problem for too long. And it provides a powerful incentive to explore communally if you can experience something (with others) that doesn't happen within your Yeesha-provided private ages.

On a side note... does anyone know if the plasma engine has progressed to a point where the quality would make it *easier* to write ages this way? No more having to burn in different textures everywhere for a realistic look?

Re: Multi-User Ages

Sudre — Sun May 14, 2006 6:13 pm

Author: Sudre

Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 6:13 pm

Corona wrote:

The Garrison Well Gear puzzle would be a lot easier with more people.

Would have? It was. A couple of us did it together and it worked... well at least the first time we did it.

Re: Multi-User Ages

Corona — Sun May 14, 2006 5:39 pm

Author: Corona

Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 5:39 pm

The Garrison Well Gear puzzle would be a lot easier with more people.

Re: Multi-User Ages

Texana — Sun May 14, 2006 5:07 am

Author: Texana

Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 5:07 am

In earlish beta the Teledahn bucket ride was a multi-person effort. One person would climb into the bucket and another would pull the switch! But that was the only one I recall that absolutely had to have more than one player. Although there were several other puzzles that were definitely better with multiple people.

Re: Multi-User Ages

Corona — Sun May 14, 2006 12:42 am

Author: Corona

Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 12:42 am

Reverend Vader wrote:

If I understand things correctly, many of the puzzles in Ages Beyond Myst were intended to be multi-player puzzles, not timing puzzles. For example, you'd have to go find someone to help you turn on the power in Gahreesen, or get someoneelse to throw the lever to the buckets in Teledahn.

This all had to be scrapped in favor of a single-player adventure...

I'd like to see SOME puzzles in Uru that actually do require more than one person to work together.

Multi-player puzzles aren't practical in any "public" Age. That concept would only work in your own private Ages. Mini-games are practical in public & private Ages. They "reset".

Re: Multi-User Ages

Cycreim — Sat May 13, 2006 11:57 pm

Author: Cycreim

Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 11:57 pm

To recap: we've got three classes of access to Ages, right?

- Personal access, i.e. individual access unless KI invitations or "share book" links are used. This is the way most books in Uru have been so far.
- Location access, like Kemo for the 'hoods. A specific book in a specific place goes to a specific instance of an Age.
- Public access, like the city, accesible to everyone from any instance of an Age (this Age being the Nexus mostly).

Normally what happens when you first visit an Age for the first time is that the Age book appears on your Relto bookshelf. However, from that point on, the book only allows personal access to your own private instance of that Age, even if you linked through someone else's book.

What would be awesome would be if the instance your Relto books linked to depended on where you had linked from the first time you used the book. If you first linked to Kemo through the neighbourhood Kemo book, The 'hood-owned instance would be the one held in your Relto.

Of course, you could change which instance your book lead to by simply removing the book and linking to that Age from a different location. It'd be sort of like the process for joining a neighbourhood.

And, if you really wanted your own private instance, you could do that from the Nexus. Or probably something a bit more clever than that.

Re: Multi-User Ages

Sudre — Sat May 13, 2006 4:47 pm

Author: Sudre

Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 4:47 pm

Quote:

Well, this idea to me makes the most sense.

Is it actually possible to, or was it possible to, do some of the power / bucket bits with multi player assistance in Until Uru?

I do know that it is possible to assist with some things in the first Eder age (sp?), as I myself did give the odd hint or two while actually in the personal age of a friend during the Prologue.

I've been to many Tele's to help ppl with the sun catcher. One person would pull a handle and another pull the other handle then I'd spot the sun. I could get buggy at times but most everything went much faster with more ppl. Kadish was a problem tho.

Re: Multi-User Ages

Tiella — Sat May 13, 2006 12:19 pm

Author: Tiella

Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 12:19 pm

Austruck wrote:

FreeLanZer wrote:
I would love to have a sqee running around in my Relto
So you have someone funny to come home to..

I thought that's what my husband was for.

But if you have no husband a sqee would be a great backup

Re: Multi-User Ages

Austruck — Fri May 12, 2006 6:35 pm

Author: Austruck

Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 6:35 pm

FreeLanZer wrote:

I would love to have a sqee running around in my Relto
So you have someone funny to come home to..

I thought that's what my husband was for.

Re: Multi-User Ages

Morningstar — Fri May 12, 2006 8:41 am

Author: Morningstar

Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 8:41 am

I really like your point of view, Troubadour... except about this:

Troubadour wrote:

The only problem with this theory is that you would need to do all the preceding puzzles to get into an area you haven't yet been to

isn't this what Myst and Uru are all about?

Re: Multi-User Ages

Troubadour — Fri May 12, 2006 3:04 am

Author: Troubadour

Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 3:04 am

I think public ages with no puzzles (just places to hang out, explore and enjoy the scenery) are a good idea, but I also think it should be possible to have public ages incorporating multi-user puzzles.

The main problem of such puzzles in public ages is that they have to be infinitely replayable but not a hindrance to those who've already done them or who just don't like multi-use puzzles.

One way of getting around this would be to have ages like Kadish, in which the age is separated into discrete areas, each of which requires some puzzle to be solved to get into it, and moving between areas resets the puzzle.

For example, take the first area in Kadish, where solving the puzzle opens the door: to continue on requires rotating the newly opened room you are in and thus blocking the way back. Or imagine an area that has three plates on the floor, all of which must be stood upon simultaneously to open a door, allowing a fourth person to go through.

In each area there would be a Nexus terminal (like those in Aegura) which allows you to add that location in that age to your list of Nexus links. That means you can always bypass the puzzles you've already done.

The only problem with this theory is that you would need to do all the preceding puzzles to get into an area you haven't yet been to, as Nexus links cannot (as far as I know) be shared with other players. If they could, or if ages in one's Nexus list could also appear as linking books in one's Relto bookcase, then this might not be such a big problem.

Re: Multi-User Ages

Reverend Vader — Wed May 10, 2006 9:15 pm

Author: Reverend Vader

Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 9:15 pm

Erandel wrote:

Well, this idea to me makes the most sense.

Is it actually possible to, or was it possible to, do some of the power / bucket bits with multi player assistance in Until Uru?

Yes, it is!

Until Uru can be buggy with more than one person in an Age -- but, for the most part, it's been very common for folks to scout the cavern looking for help to finish their ages.

It's simply easier with more than one!

Re: Multi-User Ages

LaReh — Wed May 10, 2006 11:45 am

Author: LaReh

Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 11:45 am

Tallonenx wrote:

All these ideas sound right...maybe it means more than one thing?

Yeah! Group swim in Ahnonay!

Re: Multi-User Ages

Morningstar — Wed May 10, 2006 11:04 am

Author: Morningstar

Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 11:04 am

What subumbra said!

Re: Multi-User Ages

subumbra — Wed May 10, 2006 10:33 am

Author: subumbra

Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 10:33 am

I've always thought there should have been "public" versions of all the ages, say, on pedestals in the Library as someone mentioned earlier. And perhaps this will be the way we get new new ages in Uru Live 2 (I'm officially coining the phrase "UL2" to refer to the upcoming game ), by checking in the Library or the Museum for new books. Linking from that book takes us to the public version of that age, but puts our own private book on our Relto shelves. If we link from our private book, it's always our own age and if we link from the Library version it's always public. This is the way i always thought it should work, including for the hood books, as someone mentioned earlier.

But having said that, I would think those ages would be called "Public". "Multi-user" suggests to me ages with more that one owner like Alahmnat mentioned earlier. This would be cool too, but I prefer the public idea. Imagine the party when a new age is released and EVERYONE is in the public version seeing it for the first time together (with no lag, of course)! I can't imagine it getting any better than that!