1 (edited by DaftWullie 2011-08-21 11:52:01)

Topic: We Need Content

So I've been playing a little under 2 months now with 2 accounts, 1 combat 1 industry.

First thing I want to say is that I'm really enjoying the game. The industry is complex but as a buddy and myself have figured out its also balanced well enough, especially since the last patch, that even newbies can turn a decent profit.
Combat is engaging requiring tactical decisions in your piloting, LoS and all that good stuff.

BUT

It's not going to keep me amused for much longer. The game is in desperate need of more content. The devs have said that they think that balancing existing content is more important than introducing new stuff and causing more problems and that true up to a point but atm there dont seem to be any solid plans AT ALL for anything other than revamps.

We need stuff to look forward to and a Beta outpost makeover just isn't enough. Heres just a few things, both easy to implement and not so easy, that the devs could think about and get us excited about and more to the poit, keep us playing in anticipation of:

More Robots. EWAR assaults and HMechs are pretty self explanatory. Logistics would be nice.

Re-Jig current bots. Take Nuimqol for example. The Arbalest, Kain and Mesmer are THE SAME BOT. They have the same bonuses and they represent 100% of the blue pew pew bots. Each bot is just a bigger version of the previous, there are no "sideways" steps, like this combat bot is better able to operate at range or this one is shorter ranged but has much better masking. Or something liek that. Variation keeps people interested and right now there ain't any.

Mk2 makeover. MK3 maybe? Something aspirational anyways cos after only 2 months my combat toon is only a week from driving a mesmer and after that there is nowhere else to go. All thats left is training extensions which will rapidly start running into 10's of thousands of ep. 30 day skills after 3 months are not a good thing.

Flight. Thats right, I don't see any reason why there couldn't be atmospheric flight in this game, UAV style. Put this under the not easy to implement category but at least it would be something to look forward to.

LoS stuff. I'm driving a high tech robot with (presumably) sophiisticated targetting systems. It certainly has radar. There should be something which makes it easier to see when you have LoS on something. With no 1st person view point and the ease with which you can end up shooting the floor its sometimes damn near impossible to figure out if you can actually shoot stuff. Some kind of targetting overlay, or a little green line or SOMETHING would be quite nice. Make it suitably blingy and high tech looking and it will be a cool addition to the game and not something intrusive.

Large guns. Artillery, call it what you will. They got shelved to make way for (yawn) beta outpost changes and the rate the user base is declining  by the time they're back on the table it will be too late.

More Bases. People need a reason to do stuff so instead of moar beta terminals what about Air bases or Naval bases. Which in turn gives rise to naval and air robots. And presumably marine resources. Some kind of oil equivalent perhaps. Which would need an installation and defense and stuff. NOt an easy implentation for sure but theres no reason why it cant be done. And then we cold have huge naval dreadnoughts battering the shore from miles away with MAHOOSIVE guns.

tl;dr. The game has bags of potential, the core systems are all in place and they're all good but that ain't enough. Im a patient mature gamer (steve for nearly 8 years) and I really want to be able to enjoy this game for a while but atm....potential is all there is sad

Re: We Need Content

You should read the dev blog

Re: We Need Content

The intrusion 2.0 dev blog? The one thats about revaming an existing mechanic instead of introducing anything new?

Whats your point?

Re: We Need Content

Dont repeat the mistakes CCP made by introducing new content to appease the masses or their own misguided plans while forgetting to fix or improve what is already in the game.

As Alfredson has said read the dev blog(s) there is much more on the way, this game has only been live for about 9months & taking this into account is doing well.

If you still feel what the dev blogs cover isnt enough for the short to med term then *shrugs*

I do feel that if this game goes for 8 years more. If you were to compare it to what eve has become after 8 years i do believe perpetuum will be a far superior game.

when i have had some sleep ill try to find an interview a french web site did with a perp dev that outlined terror forming & other things in the works.

Or you could talk to those who have been playing this game since closed beta who might have a rough idea of some things that are coming out?

True Pros make a Podcast to influence the Devs minds, 
The rest of you guys are Hacks tongue

PS. I got my Highways & stopped playing b4 they came in & have never used them! ...... Irony much ? tongue

Re: We Need Content

Did you read any other blogs? The ones about upcoming features, storylines, new massive bots, energy credit systems, artillery etc.? Also, forum posts by devs hinting at environmental effects implemented "sooner or later"??

Re: We Need Content

CCp didnt really do it wrong did they Obi? It's only recently they seem to have become hell bent destroying the game, before that they took a niche game with a low initial subscriber base and a shaky start and turned into one of the most successful and long running MMO's around and probably the most successful sand box mmo EVER.

I really like this game but right now it is thin on stuff to do. The other side of the coin is that this is also, in my experience at least, one of the most stable, well supported (the devs  are awesome) well balanced new mmo's in a very long time.

It deserves to succeed but with the best will in the world its not going to unless we start seeing a solid commitment to getting new stuff in. Theres nothing to say that new stuff can't be introduced in a balanced state to start with you know and at this stage of the game its not like it would even be new stuff for the sake of it, there are plenty of spaces in this game that need filling.

In a month i'm going to be bored and going by user numbers, subs etc, the 3 months i'll have been playing by then will be longer than most hang on for before the boredom sets in.

If you're really okay with that as a model for this game than great, im glad for you and im sure you'll enjoy playing with the 50 or so folk that are still subbed in 6 months time.

Re: We Need Content

I can sum up your posts like this:

I like what I played so far.
There are no new content in development.
I will be bored in one month and leave the game.

If you haven't read the dev blog, or dev posts in the forums, then I will tell you: new content is in development. If you're trying to say that the pace of development seems slow, then that is a valid point. Posting your 'ideas for new content' which are already in development serves no purpose at all.

All I can say is: read the dev blog (all of it, not just the most recent one), read the forum posts (especially in "features discussions"), and take a chill pill.

Re: We Need Content

There is a lot of contend in the game that could be added to very easily as well.
New content will come but new content costs resources.
A game needing new content to stay live is a fact but these can be lots of little changes over a long period of time. All we need is a few random events and a few more things to do. More higher tier complexity.

Keep the game simple but make it so that more complex material is available.

9 (edited by Winter Solstice 2011-08-21 17:47:44)

Re: We Need Content

I always sort of get this hysterial giggle (with the true definition of hysterical) when people make a huge amount of suggestions and then say "I'll be bored in a month..." it reads like a passive agressive ultimatum, for one, and for two, they're usually asking for something that would be completely impossible to achieve in the time frame given.  I know because I went through it personally elsewhere, burnt the hell out , left. and oh... the expansion *still* isn't out and people are still working on it like dogs.  And we had given ourselves a what.. Xmas 2010 deadline I think.  Haha!

Let's just roll the first three points into one, to start, because they all are equivalent to the same thing - more bots...

So, hm, what's first.  Right.  Let's be shallow and say "Art assets!" and make the pretty come first.  The pretty gives people something to show the playerbase while they're waiting anyway, so it is usually the first thing most MMOs go for.  So we have four races of bots, and four weight classes, but hey, let's just skip indy for the moment, since that seems to be "okay" - so that's 3 races, four weight classes.

First we're going to need concept art, for each of the twelve bots.  This concept art can be further used in press-packs, swag, etc - it is an actual vital part of the development that continues to be used ar after it is done.  So, someone scribbles out twelve robots.  The team mulls over them, and lets go with miracle and say that the first design for each was approved as totally awesome and not a mis-fit to the existing art assets.  Great.

Then each of these twelve new models needs to be assembled; to be puppeteered out in 3D rendering program of choice, reinforcing the idea of unique creative designs to make them distinguishable from each other and from all of the old existing models.

Now you have twelve beautiful matte-white models waiting for a "splash of paint". 

... oh. woops.  We've already blown WAY past this one month deadline.  I may as well stop now.  The assets haven't even been textured yet (takes quite a bit of time, a sadomasochist at a drawpad for 12 hours a day can push out a full skin a week for human-style avatars, but humans have a lot more skin and a lot less plates and bolts).  The coding could have been going in in paralell (which would currently be  'invisible'mechs/bots) but all of that will need to be balance tested as it needs to be different enough from what already exists to make a differerence(is adding these even having a point) without imba'ing the rest of the system (combat system, logistic system, SP system, economic system, all of them together.)

I dunno.  What Alex said.  An icon and a new module or two.  The already coming changes.  Stuff like that.

Sheesh.  When was the last time CCP added a new ship anyway?  It's what people cry for the most when they're bored -- if it were easy she'd be squeezing them out every month like puppies.  Your first requests are nearly intrinsic changes to a game.

----
I play MMOs. I need a signature which is deep, thought provoking, and devours bandwidth with the voracity of rabid weasels. It is also, by nature, vaguely sad with a tinge of my obvious internal, unfathomable loneliness. Like this, sad  , but at 1.3megs packed into 2 by 6 inches. ANIMATED.

Re: We Need Content

Well done on missing the point Solstice.

If you think i'm making some passive aggressive deadline or whatever than meh. The fact is that after a mere 2 months I and the VAST MAJORITY of people who have ever subscribed to this game are bored. In another month there will be one option and one option only and that will be to join one of the beta blobs, fight for a pointless outpost and then what?

As it stands there isnt enough in this game to challenge a player if all they wanna do is stay on alpha and occasionally wander into beta and harrass some miners or, more realistically, wander about for ages and never find another living soul. Unless its Nova ofc.

What do I get for being on Beta? Increased resources? Big whoop. In 2 months on alpha ive bought and subsequently lost (to evil evil npc's) 3 t4 fitted mechs. In a few weeks when ive got the ep i'll be able to buy and t4 fit a Mesmer. Clearly the aquisition of wealth is not an issue here.

So other than more money what does beta offer?

Bugger all frankly, and therefore any changes to the way beta is fought for also offers basically bugger all.

But nvm. Long running fans of the status quo, however small a number of people that may be, will always disregard the opinions of short term players, however well intentioned, as worthless. 8 months in and near enough everyone who leaves this game does so citing lack of content/boredom as the reason but I guess they must all be wrong.

Re: We Need Content

What do I get for being on Beta? Increased resources? Big whoop. In 2 months on alpha ive bought and subsequently lost (to evil evil npc's) 3 t4 fitted mechs. In a few weeks when ive got the ep i'll be able to buy and t4 fit a Mesmer. Clearly the aquisition of wealth is not an issue here.

So other than more money what does beta offer?

Just because you can fit a certain type of bot, doesn't mean you can fit it well. T4 doesn't automatically = win. I've got triple your time in and only now just starting to get where I can properly fit and use a mesmer, and that's not deviating along other training lines very much. So you still got a long way to go there.

Beta offers PVP, that is what it's there for. The Epi and the better facilities are there to encourage people to be out there to pew pew. Now mind you since the extra resource/money potential isn't that great, the chance for pew pew is what draws alot of people out there.

12 (edited by Winter Solstice 2011-08-21 18:43:42)

Re: We Need Content

*checks own join date*

Okay.  As a not long running fan of the status quo I suppose I will continue to miss your point.

The game's primary focus (at the moment) is PvP.  PvP is its OWN game that has little to do with the mechanics.  The players *are* the mechanics.

Join the beta blobs?  That's your choice.  I argued this point and its appearance already, not doing it again.  Thing is - it doesn't have to happen.

PvE suffering?  Hells yes.

Flight?  I'm usually muttering something about tactical dropships at least once a week.

In the end it is a measure of an individual's wants and their patience and the balance between the two.

I won't ask how you're losing T4 fit mechs to NPC's - likely because "just because you can fly a battleship into an L4 doesn't mean you should".  (I lost 600mil isk that way, once.)

----
I play MMOs. I need a signature which is deep, thought provoking, and devours bandwidth with the voracity of rabid weasels. It is also, by nature, vaguely sad with a tinge of my obvious internal, unfathomable loneliness. Like this, sad  , but at 1.3megs packed into 2 by 6 inches. ANIMATED.

Re: We Need Content

Losing mechs is surprisingly easy actually, simple inexperience of not knowing what type of rat does what will do it.

The most recent was when I went from farming t4 green assaults (very easy indeed when driving a Kain) to a mixed t3 blue light/assault spawn. Technically an easier spawn and i needed some blue kernels, but a couple of jams and one demob and I'm dead before I can think "oops this was a bad idea".

And I'm fine with that, even if my wallet isn't.

As for the "just cos you can drive it doesn't mean you should" and "t4 doesnt=win" thing yeah but that doesn't change the fact that without ever setting foot on a beta island I can already AFFORD comfortably to buy and lose these things. As I cannot buy or earn additional EP (and before anyone starts I dont want to either) I now either sit around twiddling my thumbs waiting for EP to build up so i can effectively pilot these things i already have or I use them with sub-optimal skills and at least get some entertainment value out of them.

Re: We Need Content

hmm Dude, take everyone's advice and read the damn blog already:
http://blog.perpetuum-online.com/posts/ … er-part-1/
http://blog.perpetuum-online.com/posts/ … er-part-2/
http://blog.perpetuum-online.com/posts/ … perpetuum/

Re: We Need Content

Solo farming NPCs in an MMO is not that rewarding? What a shock. The best kind of content in a sandbox game will alwys be that created by players, which is why the focus is (rightly imo) on creating a good beta environment for people to fight over. New shiney stuff is nice, but the biggest thing for a sandbox game is to create a system where players are rewarded for creating their own content, not for killing X number of NPCs.

Re: We Need Content

Didn't want to spoon feed him the information. Oh well!

Re: We Need Content

DaftWullie wrote:

Losing mechs is surprisingly easy actually, simple inexperience of not knowing what type of rat does what will do it.

The most recent was when I went from farming t4 green assaults (very easy indeed when driving a Kain) to a mixed t3 blue light/assault spawn. Technically an easier spawn and i needed some blue kernels, but a couple of jams and one demob and I'm dead before I can think "oops this was a bad idea".

And I'm fine with that, even if my wallet isn't.

http://forums.jeuxonline.info/showthread.php?t=1116079
http://www.orderofatlas.com/perp/images/damg.png

----
I play MMOs. I need a signature which is deep, thought provoking, and devours bandwidth with the voracity of rabid weasels. It is also, by nature, vaguely sad with a tinge of my obvious internal, unfathomable loneliness. Like this, sad  , but at 1.3megs packed into 2 by 6 inches. ANIMATED.

Re: We Need Content

Hybrid bots, now THATS what this game needs.

get them live and overnight anyone who ever owned a transformer when they were a kid will be playing this game.

Re: We Need Content

Too bad any hybrid-bot system will quickly turn into 5-6 best cookie-cutter builds and everything else will be mostly ignored/laughed at. Good luck balancing a hybrid system. lol

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20 (edited by Sundial 2011-08-22 04:55:06)

Re: We Need Content

Syndic wrote:

Too bad any hybrid-bot system will quickly turn into 5-6 best cookie-cutter builds and everything else will be mostly ignored/laughed at. Good luck balancing a hybrid system. lol

I remember everyone was all excited about Rifts class system... no more cookie cutter builds etc... and then what happened....

1 Cookie cutter build for each role for each class...

General purpose bots would be nice, but hybrid would just be... meh. I would say make an Arke like assult bot and mech.... More Syndicate bots.

Specialized bots are able to be balanced much easier. Problem is we have no specialization really atm.

Looking forward to new players and new conflicts.

21 (edited by Snowman 2011-08-22 09:35:30)

Re: We Need Content

I kinda agree... and just saying "omg read the blog" isn't a good enough argument since nothing in those blogs really reveals that much more content.   revamp to alpha island missions.. yea, great. roll

Apart from the indication of player built structures at the end of the year, which is really what weve all been dreaming about since release.


PvP is indeed content in itself, but guess what? pvp needs players.. and with recent trends there will be less that 100 players on line at anyone time, even then half of them are non-combatants.

ironic that the biggest content update to Perpetuum has come from CCP in the form of players lol


LoS Stuff;
completely agree with all that, there must be code already existing and being used to determine LoS, it makes no sense at all why there is no indicator.  From a lore perspective and from a technical perspective.   I guess its just low priority.

Re: We Need Content

Sunday night, primetime of the week it made it to 450+, thats not anywhere near a 100.
The quietest time this day it was still above 150.

Re: We Need Content

Shaedys wrote:

Sunday night, primetime of the week it made it to 450+, thats not anywhere near a 100.
The quietest time this day it was still above 150.

I never said that there WERE only 100, I said that with current "Trends" it would go that way.

But since your so ignorant you probably also missed the point about half of them being non-combatants.

And what of multiple accounts?.. I dare say that for the majority of a 7 day week, and not a few hours on one day of that week, 100 available pvp players is actually pretty optimistic.

Even on an island that has the most active pvp 'content' were mostly sitting around doing nothing.

Re: We Need Content

New Alpha content isn't going to bring in more PvPers to create that content. A good system for fighting over and controlling beta islands and making controlling them worthwhile is much more likely to bring in players who want to PvP, get involved in player corporations and build their own robot empire.

Re: We Need Content

Its been almost a month since the last blog? Where are we at with the new features?