The "So what happened to X?" Thread

[Sylve]

I recall there being talk of more expansive dungeons "where sometimes the player will feel lost."

Yet all I see is linear hallways in everything released so far.

What you see is what players want.
People these days dont actually want dungeons that are huge because it "just wastes time" and is "not efficient".

As much as i would love a huge explorable dungeon... It wont happen.

[Cidel]

What you see is what players want.

I could poke holes in this statement. One such example is that I've seen is just how much players want the crafter's red script system...

...But I'll leave it at that before I cause a derail.

[Colorful]

What you see is what players want.
People these days dont actually want dungeons that are huge because it "just wastes time" and is "not efficient".

As much as i would love a huge explorable dungeon... It wont happen.

I personally don't know any player that wants boring dungeons like Neverreap or Fractal. I want huge dungeons with multiple paths, that could possibly utilize flying mounts and present actual difficulty. I hope that's what airship exploration will be.

I'm still waiting on the companion system, there's a tab for it on the Lodestone so I have to assume they started working on it at some point. I remember they said in a recent interview that we could make a platoon, or something of the sorts (I believe the translation used the word army). I hope it's not something like WoW's boring garrison NPCs.

[Nadirah]

I personally don't know any player that wants boring dungeons like Neverreap or Fractal. I want huge dungeons with multiple paths, that could possibly utilize flying mounts and present actual difficulty. I hope that's what airship exploration will be.

I'm still waiting on the companion system, there's a tab for it on the Lodestone so I have to assume they started working on it at some point. I remember they said in a recent interview that we could make a platoon, or something of the sorts (I believe the translation used the word army). I hope it's not something like WoW's boring garrison NPCs.

You know what happens when they're not linear?

http://wow.gamepedia.com/Halls_of_Origination

Take a good look at that map. Particularly the Four Seats region. Dungeon completion happened after Rahj was killed, but you did not have to kill the other three bosses. THEY'RE IN THE SAME ROOM. Yet, 98% of groups that I've gotten for this dungeon over the years it was relevant up until the moment I quit(since you run it while leveling), skipped the other three. It's not efficient. They'd rather shave 3 minutes off, ignore the loot(some good healer/caster items off Isiset for example) and the other three bosses, and then run again.

There's a reason dungeons went linear. Most games with non linear dungeons, the stuff off the shortest path through the dungeon gets ignored and the groups take a straight path to the end most of the time.

[Colorful]

snip

Why not take a similar approach to Turn 2, then? Every path must be completed (unlike Turn 2), but each path changes another in some way. You might say people will just come up with the most efficient route and then stick with that? Then randomize it every time, once you clear a path a dice rolls and then that effect is applied to the other paths. It change each dungeon up a little bit, even if very slightly.

The developers just have to design is so there's no "most efficient" way to do the dungeon.

[Nadirah]

Why not take a similar approach to Turn 2, then? Every path must be completed (unlike Turn 2), but each path changes another in some way. You might say people will just come up with the most efficient route and then stick with that? Then randomize it every time, once you clear a path a dice rolls and then that effect is applied to the other paths. It change each dungeon up a little bit, even if very slightly.

The developers just have to design is so there's no "most efficient" way to do the dungeon.

They've tried that in other games too. Each boss you kill adds to the next fight. In fact, that was how the hard mode worked for Flame Leviathan. Activating hard mode activated four towers. If you didn't want a specific ability to happen in the fight, you went and killed it's particular tower.


Last boss was the same way, you could choose which of the four titan keepers helped you with the fight. The more that did, the easier it was.

The players *will* find a way to do it the easiest way. And making randomization like that in normal dungeons tends to be bad because when you need a different strategy every single time in a pug... yeah. No. I'd just not do roulette if they put something like that in it. Not worth the hassle. And I'm not the only one.