Narrative quests
Narrative quests will focus on gameplay that reflects the story and won't contain "filler".[1]
- What you find in the Narratives category is where you’ll find most of what you might call traditional quests. Because we’re jettisoning filler, we’ll have the resources to craft a really excellent story, with gameplay that reflects the scope of that story.[1]
Player driven narrative
The world of Verra will be the same on each server, but Nodes will develop differently. Different servers will have different narratives. Things that happen on one server may not happen on another.[3]
- The overarching narrative of Ashes of Creation is that players are the returning children of Verra but they will not be characterized individually as "saviors".[4]
We want as many people as possible to experience the main server Narrative. These will branch at different scales, but largely at the personal level. Where things change is at the Node level – different parts of the story will be unlocked based on where and when Nodes grow. Unlocking a part of the story in a certain way locks out progression of the story in a different way. You’ll see different antagonists, different NPCs, and different calls to action depending on what’s happening with the server at that time.[5]
It redefines what the players will experience in an MMORPG to come into a wilderness that is devoid of really any structure outside of what the community creates themselves; and then what can be created can be changed, if they want to experience a storyline that's been seen on another server, but you're fighting a dragon because you're near a mountain and the other server's fighting a Kraken because they're near the coast and you want to fight that Kraken because of its drop table. If you want to meta it or because you just want that under your belt: to be the server first to take out that Kraken and you have yet to develop the node there, it's incumbent upon you to manifest that in the game.[6] – Steven Sharif
Story arcs
Story arcs are unlocked by multiple types of player activity within each server.[11][9][8][12]
- Every stage a node develops it's unlocking narratives, storylines, it's changing the spawn population of the area around it, changing what bosses exist, it's triggering events where you may have legendary dragons attack the city. It's basically writing the story of the server based on the actions and determination of the players. So, you may experience a dungeon one month earlier and have a completely different story that relates to this location the next month, because something has changed either geopolitically or from the node standpoint.[12] – Steven Sharif
- Personal or class-based activity.[16][17][18][19][13][14][20][15]
- It is possible for some storylines to relate to a darker/evil path, if a character should choose.[21]
- Even player driven mechanics will still have story components. There will be a reason why the player driven mechanic is available or required of the player; so every system that's created touches a story.[20] – Steven Sharif
- If there are too many other major arcs happening at the same time in the same zone, a story arc may need to wait its turn, even if conditions are right for it to be unlocked.[11]
- Story arcs drive one or more storyline quests within the game.[22][23][24][25][15]
- Story arcs can branch into different stories with multiple possible endings depending on the quest objectives that players complete during each chapter.[22][23]
- The developers will try to ensure that story arcs in future expansions flow on from existing story arcs, regardless of the different possible outcomes.[22]
- Story arcs can initiate world events.[26]
- There will be a variety of different types of story arc content at different scales, with different cooldowns to suit different types of players in the game.[27]
- We must provide enough of this content at varying scales such that it isn't worthwhile or economical to control every single story arc in the world. Some will be smaller in scale and production value, and thus, will move faster and have shorter cooldowns before they're reintroduced.[27] – Skott B
- Corrupted resources are variations of resources that are only available in corrupted areas or during certain story arcs.[28][29][30][27]
Certain story arcs can be unlocked through the bulletin board system. Certain requirements would need to be met in order to access story arc quests.[31]
- Burgemeesters require certain resources.[31]
- Buildings are required within a node.[31]
- Social organization tasks need to be completed.[31]
Storyline quests
Story arc quests (Storyline quests/Narrative quests) contain objectives for each chapter of a story arc.[22][23][24][25][15][1]
- Players can progress each chapter by completing story arc quests within the timeframe that each chapter is active.[24]
- Story arcs can branch into different stories with multiple possible endings depending on the quest objectives that players complete during each chapter.[22][23][25]
- You can't really farm the quests in any meaningful way, because once you've done the quests in a chapter, that's it until the next chapter. Whether 1000 people participate or 10, the chapters will stay active for the same length of time, and as long as you participate in the clearly-marked time frame in your quest journal, you're good. The only thing that a concentrated effort can help with is influencing the narrative paths through the arcs.[32] – Skott B
- These quests stages can be failed. The ability to retry a failed quest depends on Node progression.[25]
- There will be many different quests that actually have stages of the storyline; and these stages can actually be failed. You can actually fail a storyline; which sucks when you think about it, but at the same time that risk makes your investment that much more important.[25] – Steven Sharif
- Quests may differ based on the stages of nearby nodes, seasonal influences, and events such as world bosses.[33]
- Quests involving citizens from multiple nodes are unlocked based on the alliances and other relationships between the nodes and their progression.[34]
Epic/legendary quests
Epic and Legendary quests affect the narrative of the game.[35] These quests will unlock gated content.[36]
Zie ook
Referenties
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 MMOGames interview, January 2017
- ↑ Video, 2023-03-31 (28:11).
- ↑ Livestream, 2017-05-19 (37:03).
- ↑ Livestream, 2019-12-17 (1:10:30).
- ↑ Interview: Ashes of Creation on Building Their Virtual World, 2017-04-13.
- ↑ Livestream, 2017-05-22 (28:02).
- ↑ Video, 2023-03-31 (14:14).
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Video, 2023-03-31 (3:32).
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Video, 2023-03-31 (1:22).
- ↑ Video, 2023-03-31 (6:30).
- ↑ 11.0 11.1
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Video, 2018-04-05 (35:01).
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Livestream, 2022-04-29 (1:05:37).
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Livestream, 2022-03-31 (1:15:29).
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 Livestream, 2018-01-18 (39:08).
- ↑ Livestream, 2023-04-07 (55:22).
- ↑ Livestream, 2023-03-31 (1:00:16).
- ↑ Livestream, 2022-10-28 (32:52).
- ↑ Livestream, 2017-06-01 (37:39).
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Livestream, 2019-05-30 (1:18:16).
- ↑ Livestream, 2017-05-26 (15:37).
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 Livestream, 2023-04-07 (58:39).
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 Video, 2023-03-31 (14:20).
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Video, 2023-03-31 (12:47).
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 Interview, 2018-10-20 (2:36:25).
- ↑ Video, 2023-09-29 (2:59).
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2
- ↑ Interview, 2023-07-09 (47:05).
- ↑ Livestream, 2023-03-31 (59:10).
- ↑ Video, 2023-03-31 (16:42).
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 Livestream, 2017-10-31 (29:50).
- ↑ 32.0 32.1
- ↑ Livestream, 2021-03-26 (1:12:51).
- ↑ Livestream, 2020-07-25 (1:50:20).
- ↑ Livestream, 2017-05-15 (20:58).
- ↑ Livestream, 2017-05-08 (50:32).