My proposal for fleshing out the Quest System of SoT
Let me know your thoughts, comments, and questions!
Will this add the Quest Content you need for longetivity?
QUEST & PROGRESSION CONTENT (Proposal/Graphic)
@shoothere4exp So, are you suggesting that advancing through the reputation ranks with the trade companies will reward you with those things?
If that's the case, I think Rare would be against some of the rewards you suggest because it might give people an "advantage."
Dual pistol and dual cutlass are the worst idea for weapon additions in my opinion. Essentially they're just flat upgrades to single pistol and single cutlass, which is something the devs have stated from the beginning they're avoiding at all costs. Not to mention most pirates weren't ambidextrous and could barely handle a pistol & cutlass combo.
Besides there's already a good array of weapons they were using from the 1500s to the 1700s, when the pirate era took place, that could easily be implemented in this game without giving any significant advantage and can offer players some varying playstyles. Boarding axes, pikes, crossbows, hand mortars, daggers, rapiers, etc.
@xcalypt0x I'm suggesting that on each outpost there is 1 Unique Guild (faction) which you can build rep with by accomplishing assigned tasks/challenges. SO for example, you go to the Cannon Flyers Guild:
CHALLENGE
Exp: Shoot yourself out of a cannon onto enemy shipREWARD: Advance to Rank 3: Recive Fireworks ammo ability for cannons
*Rewards will be sidegrades, not really upgrades. Giving you more options for ways to play, but not giving any strait statistical advantages@shoothere4exp ok, first the ship thread, loved it, then the post-launch thread, loved it, and now this. At this point you are just showing off. Love this one too.
Seriously, Rare needs to take note of you man. Again, great job.
@subaqueousreach
Dual Pistols would take up both slots/ and have slower reload, and no down sight aiming... its a tradeoffDual Cutlass: slower swings,no second weapons slot, therefore also a tradeooff
Don't forget bigger islands that are actual towns like Tortuga in Pirates of the Caribbean to get quests or do jobs for people, Adding quests from people that are a member of a faction would increase the reputation too.
I think this would be neat instead of going to islands and do voyages you can go around town and get quests that could be like voyages.
I feel like adding that your ideas are very good @ShootHere4EXP.
But to answer your question: no, it won't add the kind of content I personally like. The game design is fundamentally flawed because it is based on marketing principles, not gaming principles, though Rare argues otherwise...
Maybe it just is a subjective matter afterall, yet I feel that with the pirate legacy (Sid Meier, Monkey Island and so on) Rare could rely upon, they did such a poor job in terms of backstory and social immersion. The game's almost empty, not even small stuff to pick up on a regular basis, there's just a handful of npcs, the whole game is based on dull rep grinds... such poor design decisions. It's a real shame because obviously, some people at Rare do possess incredible talent.
I personally don't care about the money in the end, I just wish the game would have taken me deeper into a vibrant pirate universe with much more environmental interaction. The engine is awesome, the water is the best I have ever seen, but you can't re-design the game or fix it with such changes down the design line mate. At least that's not what I want to see... It won't make up for what I feel is missing.
Cheers and nice work again.
So then there's actually no benefit to having dual cutlass or pistol and you're purposefully putting yourself at a disadvantage.
Why would you give up all ranged possibility for a slower melee swing? In most games dual weapons give you additional attacks.
And for the pistols it already takes forever to load, why would anyone take that on on top of a lack of accuracy? Not to mention giving up a melee option when ammo is so minimal.
It just doesn't seem like these were actually thought out to me and were more slapped on because it sounded cool.
Heres some ideas that come off the top of my head, thanks for putting your graphic together, looks awesome.
-Different types of enemies (not just different types of skeletons)
-Different types of quests (fetch quests for 3 factions can only go so far)
-Different types of weapons
-Different types of ship customization
-Ship perks (shotgun/flamethrower/water cannons, different hulls to increase speed/maneuverability/durability/ramming potential)
-Different items to collect to actually incentivize exploring an island
-PvP system to incentivize PvP aside from just the chance they may have a chest on board
-Clothing set perks (increased resistance to swords or bullets, increased dmg with ____ weapon, faster running speed with items, increased reload speed on cannons/guns, increased damage with cannons, increased speed on turning the wheel/sails or raising the anchor)@subaqueousreach
There would obviously still be advantages,
DUal Cutlass would hit harder and obiously landing 2 pistol shots hits harder, its advantages and disadvantages, its about giving players choice.Every other MP game figures out how to balance weapons while giving them different stats, i see no reason why SoT can't have an extensive horizontal progression.
@shoothere4exp I'm not saying it shouldn't have an extensive horizontal progression, I'm saying theres already a large variety of weapons from the pirate era that can be implemented to give players that variety without just doubling down on what we already have.
Hits harder and slower than a sword?
Boarding AxeStronger gun, but with a slower reload?
Hand Mortar (1500s grenade launcher)Faster melee strikes, but does less damage and can't block?
DaggerLong reach melee, but slow to recover?
PikeThis would add much more variety to player choice than a simple dual wield slap on.
@subaqueousreach All that would be great too, if you notice I actually have the baording axe there as well. I never said I was against other weapons. I suggested dual wielding because its an easy add that uses existing assets.
@shoothere4exp that's fair. I just feel like dual wielding taking up two weapon slots is way more of a disadvantage than just having a melee in one slot and a gun in another.
@subaqueousreach I get that, to each their own! Personally I would enjoy dual flintlocks, it would also be a fun way of showing off individual character and playstyle. I think it would be especially helpful for skelly forts when you're getting swarmed
@ShootHere4EXP - Can i have your babies?
I love every post of yours. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.
Are you actually a RARE employee in disguise?
@captainsloopdog Haha a little creepy but thanks!
No I'm not a Rare employee, I work in Hollywood. But really I'm just a fan who thinks this game has so much potential that it hasn't quite realized yet.
@shoothere4exp said in QUEST & PROGRESSION CONTENT (Proposal/Graphic):
@captainsloopdog Haha a little creepy but thanks!
No I'm not a Rare employee, I work in Hollywood. But really I'm just a fan who thinks this game has so much potential that it hasn't quite realized yet.
Even creepier because being a male I am completely incapable of fulfilling such an offer. HA!
Anyhow, so that the thread is not derailed - I love the idea of having specific factions that exist only in certain places. It gives us reasons to visit and reasons to do things.
@captainsloopdog Yeah I'm a little disapointed in how the outposts in reality right now are all functionally the same, and even aesthetically similar considering the people are all morphs of the same person. I understand why they did it... but it would be nice to have at least one unique Guild/Shop/Faction on each island to make sailing around more meaningful.
Say the Sailing Guild is on Galleon's Grave Outpost...
The Diver's Guild is on Ancient Spire... etc.I even think it would be cool to add a Thieves City Island... I thought about pitching it as part of this but I thought it owuld be too much to communicate.
Also the Museum of More Pirate should be a visit-able place somewhere in the game
Always love these graphics you make bud. Rare ought to make you an honorary developer.
This game is screaming for a sort of Adventurers Guild/Temple Seeker faction. It needs temples/dungeons to be raided with puzzles to advance to the next section with an ultimate treasure at the end. The diving guild can also mix in here with underwater temples or the SoT version of Atlantis. This here is the extra blocks needed to make SoT great!
@psych0-knightro said in QUEST & PROGRESSION CONTENT (Proposal/Graphic):
Always love these graphics you make bud. Rare ought to make you an honorary developer.
This game is screaming for a sort of Adventurers Guild/Temple Seeker faction. It needs temples/dungeons to be raided with puzzles to advance to the next section with an ultimate treasure at the end. The diving guild can also mix in here with underwater temples or the SoT version of Atlantis. This here is the extra blocks needed to make SoT great!
This is exactly what I was imagining with the Temple Seekers Trading Co.!
Especially considering they already have the beginnings of ruins and caves that are underused
Perhaps have native tribesmen guarding the temples? Or maybe their skeletons? Mermaids for the underwater parts!
@stafylocok Haha thanks, i'm pretty happy with my job right now though!
Honestly I just want to see this game do well and reach its full potential, and since I work in the entertainment industry I thought I could lend some of my developing skills to the discussion.
@shoothere4exp Nice graphic, i've seen a couple of post with the same art style, where do you make these?
As for the post, i agree with the Temple Seekers trading company, an Idiana Jones, Tomb Raider inspired trading company, with actual puzzles and not just riddles, and traps to avoid, the reward could be the trinkets that's already in the game, with more tiers of course.
As for the guilds, i don't relly understand the grafphic, what do you mean by guilds? The canvas and flint ones didn't make sense, seems like they don't belong in this game, and the other seems unbalanced. I wan't more ship types, but they should be unlocked as you rank up in the trading companies imo.
Edit: Din't see the guild titles, now the cooking one makes sense, still a lot of things i want before that, and what would food do, other than the same as bananas?
@shoothere4exp Well... Clearly a lot of work can be done. Especially on the merchant side, which is at the moment completely broken. Far harder than the two others, and also, sadly, far less rewarding. Also the only faction where what you carry can be killed by enemies...
Staf'
@LightWindow3331 Thanks! I just added the guild titles to make it more clear.
What you're thinking for Temple Seekers is exactly what I'm imagining too! Big Indiana Jones style physical puzzles (think Assassins Creed dungeons esc) That require you to stna don things, shoot things, open doors.. etc. You're rewarded with a Gem or Idol that is your "Chest" that can be sold at outposts or stolen. Thats what makes it operate like a Trading Company.
I imagine Guilds to work as Factions you gain reputation in (Similar to Trading CO.) However instead of going on fetch quests you are tasked with difficult challenges (Think Assignments in Battlefield) Example: Shoot yourself onto an enemy ship at a distance of over 400 yards, or *Strike up a band with 6 or more people or *Beat this guy at Blackjack in the Ancient Spire Tavern or *Sail between X and Y in X amount of time.... *prove your skill to the cannon flyers guild by shooting yourself through these pirate circus hoops (Monkey Island?) Each Outpost would have at least one unique Guild. Unlike the Trading Co. on every island, Guilds would be spread out.
They would be focused on specific skills, and tasks. And ranking up in these guilds would expand your inventory of gear and abilities. Ranking up in Sailors Guild gives you more ships, Ranking up in Musicians gives you access to more Instruments and Shanties... Ranking up in Artists GUild gives you access to more canvases (Devs said they had a painting canvas prototype in the game as a way of having in game screenshots)Essentially Guilds would offer difficult challenges of PERFORMANCE, that encourage you to play the game in different ways and test your skills. Ranking up would require more and more skill, or coordination with other players. (example Maybe getitng Rank 10 in Musicians would require you to form a 10 person Band... difficult but would really mean something)
SEA of STORIES quests would really flesh out the world with unique NPC specific storylines. Right now for example if you talk to a certain Tavern keeper she'll tell you she's looking for a trinket... actually making a questline around the search for this trinket could be insteresting. Having monkey island style questlines between NPCS could really flesh out the world, an dmake talking to them more worthwile.
The SEA JOURNAL would be your mean sof tracking these personal guild and story quests, it would always be in your voyage inventory, and you could turn its pages to see your different quests. Just like the map you could show other players, but the progress would be unique to you not your crew giving you a sense of personal progress, but encouraging you to share your progress and challenges with your crew.
I think most of the OP is right on point.
However, I would take out the three first guild (Sailor, weapon and canon) because I feel those would be too hard to implement without giving advantages (unless they are purely cosmetic)
The way I think the guilds should work is instead of unlocking new items, cosmetic or "skills", they would unlock secrets. In the old times, when you were a guild member, you would be revealed secrets available only to those of the same rank or above in the guild. For example, the golden ratio was a secret kept by woodworking guilds and you had to become a master woodworker to learn the secret. Most craft guilds had those craft secrets but you had to prove your devotion in your apprenticeship and sometime journeyman years to learn them.
In the context of sea of thieves, it could work the same way and would differentiate trading companies and guilds. Where trading companies would only "trade" as in get payment, the guild would make you do work for free until a certain level where you could be reward with a secret.
The secret could be a new recipe for the cook guild or a new location of potential sunken ships for the diver guild. And to limit the amount of spoilers leaked through the internet, those secrets could change following a timer.
So you could, for example, have unlocked the first secret in the diver guild. You get to the outpost where the guild is and in the headquarter enter a chamber only accessible with your clearance level. The common room would show maps of basic sunken treasures for the apprentices to search, but inside the, let's call it, "the journeyman" chamber, you would see a map of greater ships sunken randomly around the map. This map would differ from server to server and would regenerate randomly every two hours.
And since basically, the apprentices and the masters can both do the same things, just not get the same reward for it, it wouldn't stop a new player from doing the same thing as an older player.
Every guild could have their secrets;
Gambling guild: Location and access to undercover casinos with greater stakes;
Fishing: Location of bigger and rare fishes;
Artist: Better techniques that raise the value of the painting and location of breathtaking views;
Musician: basically the same thing as the graph in the OP
Cooking: Access to better recipe and kitchensAnyway that just an idea, but I think it could work. What do you guys think?
P.S.: Sorry for the long post. Hard concept to explain through a few words.
@spookyblackhole Thank you for the well thought out response and I love your ideas for non-combat focused guilds you and I are very much on the same wavelength there.
I do disagree however on your opposition to combat progression and here's why:
I agree with Rare's design philosophy of trying to keep players on a level playing field old or new, however the way I have always understood that is that there is an absence of a power leveling system (like typical MMOs or RPGs) Where a level 50 player has 99999health and can deal 999999..damage and a new player has 10 health and can deal 1 damage... I completely agree that type of system would destory the game.
What I don't think Rare should rule out though is the kind of progression found in most multiplayer and even battle Royale games, where you can unlock and find weapons that have definite advantages but don't throw the entire leveling of the match off balance. Horizontal Progression with some verticalities is interesting and I think would offer so many people like me who feel the game is lacking in rewards at least some carrot on the end of a stick. Adding the ability to unlock chain shot for example (along with de-masting) would help players wishing to knock down other ships masts, but it could sytill be done with a typical cannonball and while you made the choie to shoot their masts your opponent is shooting your hull.
The game already has assymetrical gameplay and I actually really enjoy it when its there... a Galleon has a definite advantage over a Sloop, but its more reward for a Sloop when you figure out how to take down a Galleon. If a guy with a blunderbuss comes on your ship and you only have a flintlock, you're at a stat disadvantage. These things are the spice and variety this game needs though...
Having many different types of ships or even a few more would add the spice and meat on the bones this game needs... I get that you want to make sure eveyone's encounter is completely fair but in striving to eliminate any advantages anywhere you flatten the entire game (hence why it feels so flat on release)
If this game decides it can never add serious variety to weapons/combat/ships like every other MP game has figured out how to do... then its really going to die out and only hang on with the small community willing to put up with the lack of meaningful content.
I'm sorry but if you tell me that the Galleon and the Sloop are the only ships I'll ever be sailing... and that I'll never have any real customization control over them in how I choose my cannons or harpoons or ammunition... and that the flintlock, blunderbuss, and eye of reach are the only guns... then you've really ripped out the spice of multiplayer progression so that a few people don't get their feelings hurt.
I completely agree with no power leveling... but no progression whatsoever in combat items/ships? That's just sad and every other mp game proves that doesn't have to be the case.
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