Post by atlaua on Jul 16, 2013 12:01:01 GMT -5
I started writing up this chunk of a suggestion in the designated thread but it got far too long 
I figured creating a new thread couldn't bother anyone too intensely and would offer a platform for other people who may be incapable of writing anything concise such as myself to discuss any ideas they may have for multiplayer.
Now it only takes me 2 seconds to imagine the fun I could have with a friend exploring the islands, but what really gets me thinking is how much fun the wider online multiplayer could be handled. Maybe it has already been discussed, but a system similar to Dark Souls could make this game very interesting.
Now I am not talking about you happily patting your pigs when suddenly an 'invader' rolls in with a blunderbuss and all hell breaks loose, what really appeals to me is the mystery and more random nature. Games that introduce me to strangers at random on an intimate level make the multiplayer gameplay SO much better.
Games where the other people you don't know just run around and you all ignore each other really make multiplayer pointless. Games where you haven't seen anyone in an hour and suddenly you turn a corner and bump into someone, THAT is how multiplayer would be epic in this game.
People are curious creatures, and this sort of gameplay is great. Who are you? Where did you come from? Do you have your own island yet? What is it like there? Shall we go there? The interesting adventure that starts from this sort of introduction is far better than if people are just thrown on the same screen from the start. Meeting by chance in a game world should not be an underestimated feeling.
In these ruled lines is an in depth description of my multiplayer game mode idea, Tl;DR at bottom.
Now, my ideas about how this could actually work.
The idea that I have could potentially be its own game mode, called 'Day Trip' or something like that. In Day Trip, you start on a completely random island, randomly generated. The main objectives, if you can call them that, are to explore, establish a home island and meet people. That is primarily what it is about, meeting new friends in UtO.
But anyway, on with it. In this game mode each and every island will be linked with 4 others, in an open box sort of configuration, one above, below, left and right. Which island it is that is linked is not established until a player takes that path. Maximum of 3 players in any 5 island configuration. If 3 players are there, no other players will be linked to that set of islands when they take their paths off their islands, simple. But this is a maximum only, the player could also be alone. It is unlikely, but possible.
The important thing with Day Trip is that only the last island you traveled from is saved. If you take the left path to a new island, and then left again, you can take the right path back to the island you just left, but the right path from that island will now be a new randomly generated island, even though the player had taken that path originally. The only exemption from this is home islands. This is for multiple reasons.
Home islands are when a player has been exploring and decided he wants to make a house and home base. Building a construction bench (or some other item) on an island will save that island as that player's home base, and will not allow any other construction bench to be built on that island.
Once a player has established their home island, they can only go to the islands above, below, left or right. However, every time they re-enter their home island, all connections to islands will be re-randomized. So for example, they could take the path going left out of their island, arrive at island A, return to their home island, and then immediately take the same path and arrive at island B.
So this is where the name comes from. Taking a Day Trip to other islands, for once you come back to your own, it is nearly impossible that you will ever return there. This also makes for meaningful player interaction, knowing that you might only play with this player for one session (with the option of adding to friends list of course).
So to wrap up day trip and as somewhat of a TL;DR, A player spawns on a randomly generated island and travels to multiple of an infinite number of connected islands, encountering a few random players along the way. They finally find a perfect island and build a home. They then take trips to connecting islands, sometimes just collecting treasures or resources, sometimes meeting new friends, and sometimes inviting those friends back to their island to see their home. That is essentially what my idea for Day Trip is, temporarily bridging any combination of islands.
I figured creating a new thread couldn't bother anyone too intensely and would offer a platform for other people who may be incapable of writing anything concise such as myself to discuss any ideas they may have for multiplayer.Now it only takes me 2 seconds to imagine the fun I could have with a friend exploring the islands, but what really gets me thinking is how much fun the wider online multiplayer could be handled. Maybe it has already been discussed, but a system similar to Dark Souls could make this game very interesting.
Now I am not talking about you happily patting your pigs when suddenly an 'invader' rolls in with a blunderbuss and all hell breaks loose, what really appeals to me is the mystery and more random nature. Games that introduce me to strangers at random on an intimate level make the multiplayer gameplay SO much better.
Games where the other people you don't know just run around and you all ignore each other really make multiplayer pointless. Games where you haven't seen anyone in an hour and suddenly you turn a corner and bump into someone, THAT is how multiplayer would be epic in this game.
People are curious creatures, and this sort of gameplay is great. Who are you? Where did you come from? Do you have your own island yet? What is it like there? Shall we go there? The interesting adventure that starts from this sort of introduction is far better than if people are just thrown on the same screen from the start. Meeting by chance in a game world should not be an underestimated feeling.
In these ruled lines is an in depth description of my multiplayer game mode idea, Tl;DR at bottom.
Now, my ideas about how this could actually work.
The idea that I have could potentially be its own game mode, called 'Day Trip' or something like that. In Day Trip, you start on a completely random island, randomly generated. The main objectives, if you can call them that, are to explore, establish a home island and meet people. That is primarily what it is about, meeting new friends in UtO.
But anyway, on with it. In this game mode each and every island will be linked with 4 others, in an open box sort of configuration, one above, below, left and right. Which island it is that is linked is not established until a player takes that path. Maximum of 3 players in any 5 island configuration. If 3 players are there, no other players will be linked to that set of islands when they take their paths off their islands, simple. But this is a maximum only, the player could also be alone. It is unlikely, but possible.
The important thing with Day Trip is that only the last island you traveled from is saved. If you take the left path to a new island, and then left again, you can take the right path back to the island you just left, but the right path from that island will now be a new randomly generated island, even though the player had taken that path originally. The only exemption from this is home islands. This is for multiple reasons.
Home islands are when a player has been exploring and decided he wants to make a house and home base. Building a construction bench (or some other item) on an island will save that island as that player's home base, and will not allow any other construction bench to be built on that island.
Once a player has established their home island, they can only go to the islands above, below, left or right. However, every time they re-enter their home island, all connections to islands will be re-randomized. So for example, they could take the path going left out of their island, arrive at island A, return to their home island, and then immediately take the same path and arrive at island B.
So this is where the name comes from. Taking a Day Trip to other islands, for once you come back to your own, it is nearly impossible that you will ever return there. This also makes for meaningful player interaction, knowing that you might only play with this player for one session (with the option of adding to friends list of course).
So to wrap up day trip and as somewhat of a TL;DR, A player spawns on a randomly generated island and travels to multiple of an infinite number of connected islands, encountering a few random players along the way. They finally find a perfect island and build a home. They then take trips to connecting islands, sometimes just collecting treasures or resources, sometimes meeting new friends, and sometimes inviting those friends back to their island to see their home. That is essentially what my idea for Day Trip is, temporarily bridging any combination of islands.