- A screen with horizontal tiles featuring names of different starting content with brief description and background image for the different stories/locations you can choose from when you start a new character
- An option (partially monetized?) to allow players to "save" a profile of a character with all gear and customization options included for a quick swap between two to four options (dungeon healer to trials tank to pvp ganker with a *click* then *click* then *click*)
Monday, March 30, 2020
Basic Concept: UI Enhancements
I have posted some user interface ideas previously on the forums and some on another blog that I wasn't sure what to do with. I truly believe they could do quite a lot for quality of life and enjoyment within the game. As they will hopefully getting their own posts, I won't elaborate here, but will just give a quick description of two ideas:
Basic Concept: More Non-Combat Systems
I was glad to hear about the Antiquities system being added with the Greystone Chapter. I hope it is well-designed and implemented. ESO could use more of that kind of thing and use more often in different contexts to make the world feel more alive and colorful while adding new things for players to do, especially in the base game
The thing is, some systems already kind of exist - if feels like the coding is 40% to 80% already there (which relates back to another basic concept, using two-plankers). Of course I don't *know* that as an arm chair dev, but I do see what's already in the game.
To give an kind of examples here dips into specific suggestions a bit, but they can be fleshed out more fully later. Maybe.
Making lizard racing a game:
simpler - race against NPCs in different locations for wagers of gold
more complex - raise/train your own lizards to race against other players
Allow us to play spike ball:
Bare-handed tavern fights which could include some or all of the following:
I could go on and on but maybe this gives an idea of what I mean?
The thing is, some systems already kind of exist - if feels like the coding is 40% to 80% already there (which relates back to another basic concept, using two-plankers). Of course I don't *know* that as an arm chair dev, but I do see what's already in the game.
To give an kind of examples here dips into specific suggestions a bit, but they can be fleshed out more fully later. Maybe.
Making lizard racing a game:
simpler - race against NPCs in different locations for wagers of gold
more complex - raise/train your own lizards to race against other players
Allow us to play spike ball:
- simpler - race against NPCs (you already do for a quest) to win prize money
- more complex - race against NPCs and other players to win prize money
Bare-handed tavern fights which could include some or all of the following:
- fight for reputation and achievements for gold and reputation
- bonus for fighting drunk (we have drunk animations and could add fighting/movement penalties)
- have special NPCs that sometimes spawn as part of achievements
- questline(s) for the sparring circuit
I could go on and on but maybe this gives an idea of what I mean?
Basic Concept: Two-Plankers
In another popular MMORPG, World of Warcraft, the Alliance quest hub for the Battle for Azeroth was in the port city of Boralus. And the Alliance flagship docked there was important to get to on a regular basis. Before flying was able to be unlocked, you would be riding right at the ship as you came to some stairs. Just beyond the stairs was a wooden platform. Naturally, players tried to jump to that platform, generally to miss and have to go down over, up, and over to get to that platform.
So a dev saw this and added a couple of wooden planks to make it possible to jump every time and go quickly onto the deck of the ship.
When you see me described something as a two-planker, it means that a solution or feature already has a lot of the needed components already in the game. No need to build it from scratch. Of course, something might be a bit more complicated than adding two wooden planks, but the gist is that the game's existing state has a good head start toward whatever it is I'm suggesting.
So a dev saw this and added a couple of wooden planks to make it possible to jump every time and go quickly onto the deck of the ship.
When you see me described something as a two-planker, it means that a solution or feature already has a lot of the needed components already in the game. No need to build it from scratch. Of course, something might be a bit more complicated than adding two wooden planks, but the gist is that the game's existing state has a good head start toward whatever it is I'm suggesting.
Basic Concept: PvE Role Stances
I posted about this once on the forums and used examples of things other players have previously requested to give readers a sense of what was possible. So naturally I got replies about the examples and not the concepts. Because forums.
Anyway, the idea is that anything, large or small, could change in privately instanced PvE content (group dungeons, trials, group arenas, etc.) based on the role a player has chosen for that particular run. This could be resistances, attributes (health, magicka, stamina), etc. It could some kind of change to UI elements or the appearance of objects on the screen. How abilities work. Anything.
Naturally this sounds a bit like the PvP Battle Spirit buff, so respondents focused on that and *only* that, which kind of defeats of the point of it potentially being "anything".
I am wary of posting any kinds of examples, because for some that limits their imaginations. I will keep it limited to one very narrow potential use, and again say this narrow potential represents a small fraction of what one could do it.
Consider the issue of fake tanks.
Say queuing as a tank gave you "tank stance", which caused all of your weapon attacks to put you to the top of the threat list. If you don't come prepared, queuing as a tank will get you all of the love of the mobs and bosses immediately.
But you could also help genuinely would be tanks out this way and allow for other off-weapons in tanking other than frost staff and one-handed with sword. It would definitely allow for more build options. You could even give tanks a boost up to a minimum set of resistances (that would be far surpassed by proper armor and set bonuses and the like).
Now, having written that, forget it. It isn't a good idea. The point of it wasn't to offer a good idea. The point was to show an example of what you could do. Another example is simply to have some special mechanics react differently to people stanced as tank, healer, or dps. Again, an example and not a suggestion at this time, though that one sounds like it has more potential to explore in a later post.
Anyway, the idea is that anything, large or small, could change in privately instanced PvE content (group dungeons, trials, group arenas, etc.) based on the role a player has chosen for that particular run. This could be resistances, attributes (health, magicka, stamina), etc. It could some kind of change to UI elements or the appearance of objects on the screen. How abilities work. Anything.
Naturally this sounds a bit like the PvP Battle Spirit buff, so respondents focused on that and *only* that, which kind of defeats of the point of it potentially being "anything".
I am wary of posting any kinds of examples, because for some that limits their imaginations. I will keep it limited to one very narrow potential use, and again say this narrow potential represents a small fraction of what one could do it.
Consider the issue of fake tanks.
Say queuing as a tank gave you "tank stance", which caused all of your weapon attacks to put you to the top of the threat list. If you don't come prepared, queuing as a tank will get you all of the love of the mobs and bosses immediately.
But you could also help genuinely would be tanks out this way and allow for other off-weapons in tanking other than frost staff and one-handed with sword. It would definitely allow for more build options. You could even give tanks a boost up to a minimum set of resistances (that would be far surpassed by proper armor and set bonuses and the like).
Now, having written that, forget it. It isn't a good idea. The point of it wasn't to offer a good idea. The point was to show an example of what you could do. Another example is simply to have some special mechanics react differently to people stanced as tank, healer, or dps. Again, an example and not a suggestion at this time, though that one sounds like it has more potential to explore in a later post.
Basic Concept: Skins and Reskins
Skins in MMOs refer generally to the artwork for some object or space. So adding a skin or reskinning something means replacing or modifying the outward appearance of something in the game. It's a great way to reuse assets from object building.
In ESO we already see this with mounts - how many different skins are there of different guar, wolves, bears, horses, camels, indriks, and so on? Or, take the Abyssal Geysers from the Summerset Chapter or the Harrowstorms from the Greymoor Chapter; both are reskins of Dark Anchors/Dolmens from the base game.
I will be suggesting here that ZOS consider more reskins to liven up the game and to add new rewards. I will cover some specific ideas in more detail in other posts where they may be part of a larger idea, but just to give you an idea of what I mean and to help me remember later (I think of lots of things randomly and then get busy or distracted) here are a handful of examples:
Oh, and these should always be tied to in-game achievements and rewards. There need to be more cool things that you get for playing the game not paying in the cash shop.This would be a great area to add more meaning and value to in-game efforts.
In ESO we already see this with mounts - how many different skins are there of different guar, wolves, bears, horses, camels, indriks, and so on? Or, take the Abyssal Geysers from the Summerset Chapter or the Harrowstorms from the Greymoor Chapter; both are reskins of Dark Anchors/Dolmens from the base game.
I will be suggesting here that ZOS consider more reskins to liven up the game and to add new rewards. I will cover some specific ideas in more detail in other posts where they may be part of a larger idea, but just to give you an idea of what I mean and to help me remember later (I think of lots of things randomly and then get busy or distracted) here are a handful of examples:
- keeps and outposts in Cyrodiil
- siege weapons in Cyrodiil
- normal class ability effects/animations
- selected other skill line abilities effects/animations
- music in different situations (yes, an auditory "reskin")
Oh, and these should always be tied to in-game achievements and rewards. There need to be more cool things that you get for playing the game not paying in the cash shop.This would be a great area to add more meaning and value to in-game efforts.
Original Post
Please see the introduction.
This is just a place for me to transfer ideas, add ideas, and organize ideas I have about The Elder Scrolls Online. Not a place to argue or debate. Plenty of places exist for that.
My initial plan, if we can call it that, is to have posts on Basic Concepts and Specific Suggestions. I might change those names or add more categories later. Basic Concepts are things that are not unique to any one idea or suggestion, so Specific Suggestions may include one or more previously articulated Basic Concepts or unspoken/not previously posted basic notions. This will hopefully help me to keep tracks of things better than I would otherwise.
Again, this is a repository. Read along if you wish. Polite comments if you like. Who knows how often I will check this place, though, so don't worry if your comments don't show up.
This is just a place for me to transfer ideas, add ideas, and organize ideas I have about The Elder Scrolls Online. Not a place to argue or debate. Plenty of places exist for that.
My initial plan, if we can call it that, is to have posts on Basic Concepts and Specific Suggestions. I might change those names or add more categories later. Basic Concepts are things that are not unique to any one idea or suggestion, so Specific Suggestions may include one or more previously articulated Basic Concepts or unspoken/not previously posted basic notions. This will hopefully help me to keep tracks of things better than I would otherwise.
Again, this is a repository. Read along if you wish. Polite comments if you like. Who knows how often I will check this place, though, so don't worry if your comments don't show up.
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