COMMUNITY - FORUMS - GENERAL DISCUSSION
DJ#3 is live - Easter egg hunt here

Hello lovely CoE community.  The DJ#3 is live on MMORPG.com and can be found here: http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/1308/feature/9993/Chronicles-of-Elyria-Design-Journal-3-Time-Aging-and-Offline-Player-Characters.html.  

Since the other DJ#3 thread was about writing the journal and is already 3 pages long, we'd like to request discussion of the article and the Easter egg hunt go here.  Happy hunting!


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8/17/2015 2:24:12 PM #1

“With that in mind, we wanted to give players a visual indicator that their character was growing, maturing, getting stronger, and yes, approaching the end of their life.”

Body mass changes depending on your characters lifestyle and other similar factors?

 

“When creating characters in Chronicles of Elyria you enter the world at either age 12, 15, or in some cases over the age of 18.

We’ve discussed Wards being 12 and players born into player run families being 15, but what’s this 18 years of age?

 

“The apothecary you frequent for your reagents will age into retirement and will instead be found working her loom.”

Herbalists have been mentioned and we’ve discussed healing medicines created from herbs and such, but apothecaries are different and are more in the business of “magic potions”; mixing chemicals together and to create formulas.  Magic was mentioned as a method of healing, so could this be the magic healing we heard about or is this confirmation that along with herbalists and their mixes, apothecaries is also a method of gameplay and/or other chemical potions will exist in the world with the ability to alter other things.


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8/17/2015 2:42:41 PM #2

I'm not sure if this is an easter egg or if you were just waxing poetic,

"While it is true adventurers must keep a keen eye on their sundial, they’re not the only ones affected by the passage of time. Those who choose a simpler life will still need to periodically check their almanac."

Is there an actual dynamic of checking what location in a season you are in? Can you pull out an actual Almanac or find a Sundial? It was mentioned earlier about being able to choose were to insert yourself along a time line. Would one of these devices be useful in doing that?


8/17/2015 2:48:14 PM #3

I found this statement interesting,

"Yes, it’s possible for your character to die while you’re offline. We recommend either signing off in a safe place, utilizing Behaviors that know how to respond effectively to danger, or hiring other OPCs to act as guards"

Does that mean I could preset a condition for my self while OPC to be hired to protect another OPC? Sure openes up the Roleplay possibilties of sellswords and Bodyguards. Someone could be part of the kings' personal guard while they were offline.


8/17/2015 2:48:25 PM #4

Already posted this on the other thread but....

"When out in the wilderness your character’s hair will grow, your face may get dirty, and if your soul does get separated from your body, you’ll return to find permanent scars to remind you of the price you’ve paid"

Your apearence changes depending on the envioment and how well you take care of your character!!!

"As to the final question… Yes, it’s possible for your character to die while you’re offline. We recommend either signing off in a safe place, utilizing Behaviors that know how to respond effectively to danger, or hiring other OPCs to act as guards."

We talked about Hireing NPCs on the forum. seems like you will be able to hire OPCs instead (or maybe both?) 


WARNING: The above post may contain sarcasm and/or sophisticated satire. Any psychological damage sustained is purely your fault!

8/17/2015 2:49:49 PM #5

I wonder would a Barber be an NPC or could that also be a trade? LOL Cutting peoples hair while your asleep.


8/17/2015 2:50:13 PM #6

“And thus over the course of a year, you’ll become attached to multiple generations of NPCs. Ever promised to take care of an NPC’s family line in an RPG before? This puts it in a whole new perspective.”

CoE doesn’t rely on NPCs for quests and such unlike other RPGs as most quests will be provided by other players, so what use really are NPCs in CoE for anything other than to fill the world up a bit?  Well, how about being able to become friends with them?  The two sentences above hint that a deeper bond can be formed with NPCs allowing for deeper immersion into the game and also perhaps getting little bonuses for loyalty and maybe even the ability to strike contracts with NPCs as well as PCs/OPCs.


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8/17/2015 2:52:15 PM #7

Ya I found it interesting that the NPC's age and go on to next generations. What if the apothicary you always went to never passed on here secrets? Then you have to find someone else.


8/17/2015 2:56:35 PM #8

"In contrast, you’ll find skills that rely on your willpower, or prolonged focus, become significantly easier. You’ll be able to spend more time and become more effective in research and hobbies that require a keen eye."

In another thread we were talking about how awesome it would be if there were collectable in-world books and libraries. That there will be a research system points that there will indeed be books and probably other ways to do research.  

Will hobbies be a different system than crafting? 


WARNING: The above post may contain sarcasm and/or sophisticated satire. Any psychological damage sustained is purely your fault!

8/17/2015 2:59:43 PM #9

"In contrast, you’ll find skills that rely on your willpower, or prolonged focus, become significantly easier. You’ll be able to spend more time and become more effective in research and hobbies that require a keen eye."

The players will be responsible for discovering trade skill secrets. So for example a retired explorer would study artifacts to learn how to replicate effects.

I'm definitely biased in this one, hoping for more regarding the crafting system.


8/17/2015 3:05:20 PM #10

“You’ll be able to spend more time and become more effective in research and hobbies that require a keen eye."

The research part of this sentence caught my eye, because it suggests to me that it will be possible to invent/craft or improve on items in the world.  Research generally is the study of materials in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions, which could lead to the creation of things never before seen in Elyria.  We know there were civilisations before the age of Mann, so maybe through researching them, player can create new items, elixirs and more.


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8/17/2015 3:22:53 PM #11

My first thought with research was to research the world around you to find hidden locations, and to learn/improve existing skills (and spells)).  

For example a general could read "the art of war" to increase leadership and if the player reads the text he/she could learn practical strategies that can be used on the battlefield. 

But being able to create compleatly new stuff by "trail and error" would be awesome!!

 


WARNING: The above post may contain sarcasm and/or sophisticated satire. Any psychological damage sustained is purely your fault!

8/17/2015 3:32:03 PM #12

I'm really hoping for a system like this so I keep banging on about it haha.


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8/17/2015 4:29:20 PM #13

"We read about the band of heroes taking shelter in a cave or hovel to protect themselves from snow or sand."

An indication of changing weather, which could impact a player's ability to complete actions. Could also lead to some interesting requirements to unlock hidden talents.


8/17/2015 5:25:50 PM #14

I know some of these are not possible eggs, or have already been mentioned, but they are still worthy of mentioning just for being so cool:

"Leave unprepared and you could end up with insufficient food, water, or clothing and be forced to either turn back or push on and risk repeated spirit walking."

- Spirit walking is what you call the "post-death" experience where the soul wonders the astral planes?

This, combined with the fact that fatigue affects you differently during the day and night means players grouped up for a few hours will likely need to stop and rest at some point. Make sure you light torches. They won’t necessarily protect you from what’s hunting you, but at least you’ll see the light shining in their eyes before they attack.

- Will being in a group affect the speed of fatigue differently?

- Also, the torches, another good hint at survival-style-crafting?

While it is true adventurers must keep a keen eye on their sundial, they’re not the only ones affected by the passage of time. Those who choose a simpler life will still need to periodically check their almanac.

- A good reference to the technological standpoint in CoE: clearly no watches around =P

"marching in the snow in plate mail"

- Always nice to hear about in-game armor types =P

"The apothecary you frequent for your reagents will age into retirement and will instead be found working her loom"

- Again a good reference to in-game crafting: alchemy and clothing/leatherworking ^^ And possibly cooking if u use weird stuff in it ahahahahahaha

Ever promised to take care of an NPC’s family line in an RPG before?

- I know several people already pointed this one, but i do find it awesome the idea of interaction with NPC's, not only hiring and putting them to work, but also tending to families! Nice touch!

You’ll find you’re less able to hold your own in fights against the younger, more virile characters

- Suddenly felt like PVP just turned into the good old competition to mate and rule over clans XD

These Behaviors will let you do things like train character skills, run a storefront, perform weekly trade routes, do some gardening, and many other things

- Again so many good references to the huge and awesome variety in CoE: gardner, merchant...

We recommend either signing off in a safe place, utilizing Behaviors that know how to respond effectively to danger, or hiring other OPCs to act as guards.

?- I know people already mentioned it, but still, HOW COOL CAN THIS BE? You can actually hire people WHILE offline, and they are offline aswell. Talk about extreme character bonding. I wonder what else can we do as OPC ahahahahaha


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8/17/2015 5:36:39 PM #15

“Next, we’ve introduced creatures into the world, both mundane and magical which only hunt at night. This, combined with the fact that fatigue affects you differently during the day and night means players grouped up for a few hours will likely need to stop and rest at some point. Make sure you light torches. They won’t necessarily protect you from what’s hunting you, but at least you’ll see the light shining in their eyes before they attack.”

Do you mean this quite literally?  Your company could be stalked over large distances by monsters waiting for the right time to attack you?


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