well i only know about WoW, but this is what i know:
An economic system
Quests and Quest Rewards
levelling (upping skills and attributes)
rewards after doing something difficult (equipment and money after killing something in most MMOs)
huge areas which get streamed (uru ould use this... would help with loading)
getting better equipment

cant remember more right now

well how to implement such things into an archeological/exploratory (actually theres not so mouch of exploring... the areas seem so linear...) environment?
Money is weird for an archeological site... but would be good to buy some kind of equipment, clothes, relto pages, pets etc.
Quests and rewards would be more possible, but for that the Cyan would have to add some NPCs...
dunno about levelling, i thought maybe getting into new areas and finishing puzzles would get you XP, but for what? something exploratory...
we've got some rewards already (relto pages clothes), but we rarely had to do anything difficult to have them... they were almost like a present to us. would be possible to make some of these rewards only accessible after a full-fledged puzzle.
yeah streaming... faster loads, bigger city, bigger Ages... but dont think Plasma engine supports it.
we are explorers, so why dont we have any kind of special equipment? no lights no ropes no pickaxes, no cleaning-brush for archeological discoveries, nothing!

well anyone got any idea how to implement features which make normal MMOs addictive or Mainstream? Obviously im not that good at it

I have not played any other MMO's. Or I should say not for long. Most of what's on your list was the reason.
1) I'm not going to BUY virtual things to put in virtual rooms to show virtual ppl. I will pay a reasonable monthly fee, but to have to buy D'ni money to purchase items in the city would not be something I am interested in.
2) Equipment: I don't want to have to choose between which items I have to carry in order to go on in the game. Having things like the KI or a flash light is fine but personaly I don't want to be carrying around a backpack.
3) Leveling? I always loved that when playing RPG's. all of a sudden one day after killing a bunch of creatures I suddenly became more wise.
I hope that URU is going to be completely different than all the other MMO's in that ppl will play for the story and to explore new places. Not so much to see how much better they can be than the next guy.

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well you wouldn't pay real money obviously. maybe get money through a monthly allowance or something, dunno it is weird for the setting

equipment, obviously flashlight like, nothing like swords or stuff that makes you stronger than someone else, just something to help in explorations

leveling i meant much like in TES4 oblivion. running makes you faster, jumping makes jump higher, say walking the dark makes you see better in the dark, who knows what else works for a game like uru

i meant implement that stuff in an Uru way, not exactly the same, i dont want to unt down shroomie to get a better protective gear and money, no way

-1 for all WoW / EQ like stuff like leveling a character. It would ripe the soul out of uru live.

Lot's of ppl loved the MYST series because it was NOT a Hack 'n Slay pseudo roleplay my-character-has-better-equipment-than-yours game series. It was about a great story with complex but logical puzzles. MYST was revolutional because it had amazing graphics and no GRAB foo, USE foo WITH bar puzzles.

Oh don't get my wrong. I enjoyed playing monkey island, DOTT and Indi FoA. But MYST and later Riven, Myst 3-5 and Zork Nemesis were the games I was able to submerge into the story. I was used to shut the windows, lighten my candles, open a bottle of red wine, fire up my pipe and then *wuuaar* (joining age sound) I was in the game. It's hard to describe my feelings because I'm not a native speaker but I hope you can get it.

For me uru is about continuing the story of MYST and to work and play with other ppl. If Cyan would add levels and money to uru they would also add jealousy and fighting between the players. I don't want it and I'm absolutly sure most other players don't want it, too.

You can't compare Uru with WoW. It's a different type of game.

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[KI again #01792364]| Uru images | KI guide

darn does no one read what i write?
im not talking about killing stuff, nor doing it like all the MMos. "i dont want to hunt down shroomie to get a better protective gear and money, no way"
But you have to agree that the image that URu shows to new gamers is "a nice 3d environment to chat... oh, you can also invent some games based off what you can do with the current engine"

evolving in some way would be nice in my opinion
also how do they want to implement pets, getting them for free isnt that great, finding them becomes much like "tame a beast" finding a relto page limits them to a relto, last option is buying. NOw what would you do with the money except buying pets? buy clothes obviously, but you could add more.. flashlights for more light for example...

whatever doesnt matter... you guys dont seem to understand that i dont mean to turn Uru in something which involves killing or searching for epic equipment

Crrash You will find many people are against a monetary system in Uru, in fact the reason most people switched off from your post is because your describing a standard MMO.

Uru is not a standard MMO,

I like the idea of minor leveling, so running around alot will mean your avatar can run faster or for longer periods. Smiilarly spending a lot of time in the dark will give you better nightvision etc.. these sorts of things are quiet and just Add to the 'realness' as it were.

But the idea of having a complete level system would put people off Uru completely, I don't play other MMO's because its no fun you get some wierdo who spends 24 hours a day online who makes sure he always has a online precense and is level 3 billion aginast you the level 1.

Quests I thing are something that is already in Uru (the whole journey is quest.) Completing an age also brings rewards.

The area streaming would be a good idea, but then its Cyan's bag to do that, it would help with loading times but i fear it would lock out any chance the Dial uppers have.

Equipment you wil lfind most people against this because they justly fear a equipment puzzle, these aren't that fun and can get very very boring. However increasing some of the things you can choose to carry would be a cool idea

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I think I get your point CCrash and it does have a bit of merit if done correctly. Something like, the longer the time I've spent in the cavern, my eyes get stronger so now I can see better in the dark places (now I can ditch the flashlight but will need those goggles). Or because I've solved a difficult puzzle, I now I've received the gift of a Bahro connection--who can help me get to other inaccesable places if I only learn how. I don't know if that is actually leveling but it is growth of my avie at least and helps me continue the story.

Maybe you are right. There may be a way to work things into the story line that require leveling up, equipment or money. I just don't know if that's the direction the game is going to go. Since pets is our example I will work with that.
For one getting a pet for free is fine. Getting a relto page for fish in my pond is great. But I can see cyan being more creative than that. I can see sitting at a bench in a new garden age just looking at the scenery when a little critter wonders out onto the path in front of my chair. If I jump up or move it runs off into the woods again. If I sit there and just watch it, it might get a little closer then wonder off. Next time I am sitting in that spot alone it comes up and maybe jumps up on the bench with me, sniffs then back to the woods it goes. Next time it might actually get in my lap... etc. It never has to leave that age with me or it can sooner or later travel with me, sitting on my shoulder or whatever. The point is there are creative ways to come up with things that do not require money, level building, etc. But maybe we are just looking at the same thing from different perspectives. You might look at all the creature time described above and call it level building or the berries I pick in the garden to feed the critter equipment.

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I'd like to see some of these ideas implemented for sure.
The running is a good example, as is the vision stuff. It would cool if,
after coming out of a dark cave that you've been in for awhile, you are
briefly blinded by the light. That would be cool for new ages, because the stuff beyond the tunnel would have that "shock factor" when you first go there. So you're in a dark tunnel, you come out, are blinded for a few seconds, and then the blindness gives way to the Khalo hive .

Other strength systems would be good. So if you push heavy objects a lot during the course of your puzzle solving, your going to get pretty good at it. You might actually become so strong that you become a valuable member of a puzzle-solving crew.

If you run a lot, you'll be able to do it longer and faster. That's an obvious one. So maybe you won't have a really hard time hitting that switch and then dashing to the door one the far end of the room and opening it for good.

If you jump a lot, you can jump higher and further. So let's say they added Riven to Uru. If you're a good jumper you can grab that handle at the docks and pull your self up easily.

I also like the idea of a flashlight, but with a catch. Batteries. Rechargeable batteries, but they must be all used up before you can charge them again. And it may take a day for them to charge. This forces people to conserve their flashlight batteries.

Pets would be awesome, especially the way described in this thread. And what if they could be used to help solve puzzles?

The challenge is keeping everything doable for someone who can't run, jump or see in the dark very well, while still giving the players who put effort into upping these skills a worthwhile reward.

Tylinol strikes again.

Tylinol wrote:

The challenge is keeping everything doable for someone who can't run, jump or see in the dark very well, while still giving the players who put effort into upping these skills a worthwhile reward.

That's the trick, isn't it? I agree, features like this would be nice, but only if they are not necessary for puzzle-solving, and only if they do not allow access to otherwise inaccessible areas.

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.reprad kenen nahr
.redoyhah pradteegahl kenen shin b'hahrten gah b'foles

KI# 45434

Tylinol wrote:

It would cool if, after coming out of a dark cave that you've been in for awhile, you are briefly blinded by the light. That would be cool for new ages, because the stuff beyond the tunnel would have that "shock factor" when you first go there. So you're in a dark tunnel, you come out, are blinded for a few seconds, and then the blindness gives way to the Khalo hive .

well lets hope the new plasma engine uses HDR lighting. new games with HDR already have things like this implemented (play Halflife 2:lost coast, i think its free)

Sudre wrote:

You might look at all the creature time described above and call it level building or the berries I pick in the garden to feed the critter equipment

no actually i call the creature time quality time with a pet, and the berries an item (now let's hope we can use our hands, wouldn't like to feed my pet with my feet )

I think if you want those things, you should play the other game.


~Joey Froondeeshi

I'm sure I've heared in one of the meetings a pet mentioned, Am I wrong?

If I'm right about that, does anyone have any more details

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Last edited by Slightlybartfast on Thu May 18, 2006 12:59 pm; edited 1 time in total

May Yavo forbid Uru ever have levelling characters!

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Silence. Introspection.
The weighing of possibilities.
Inking the pen,
eyeing over the Elements.

Uru is the only on line game i've ever played, so what is meant by levelling characters?

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Last edited by Slightlybartfast on Thu May 18, 2006 12:59 pm; edited 1 time in total