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Re: Classes



> 
> 
> As long as everyone is on the subject of classes/races I might as well
> put in my own 2 cents...
> 
> Okie, here's my idea...
> 
> Screw ALL classes.. Dump em, blast em, flush em, etc...
> 
> Instead, do this..
>
I like your idea a lot, one of the biggest problems that I see is a
total newbie, just wanting to look around, having to make all of
these cryptic choices (immune drain? what's that).  Maybe haveing
some of the basic character classes as defaults would be appropriate.

I do really like this idea though.

It seems that xfire gets closer and closer to being AD&D with every
idea almost.  This may not be that bad of an idea since many people
find AD&D very playable, but should xfire be an AD&D clone?  I don't
think that it should be.
 
> Let the player pick what he wants to be... 
> When they create their character, let them role their stats, then let
> them custom design their class..
>
(stuff deleted)

basically code the class generation tables from AD&D 2nd edition.  Not
a bad idea, it could work fine. 
> 
> --Huma
> 
> 


Out of all the things that I see could be fixed in xfire, here is a list
of what I think should be done.  I really think that xfire could become
*the* biggest game on the internet.  It is so close.

1) client server.  I really could care less if a version 1.0 comes
out before the client server.  As the game stands now, 3-5 people can
play locally if they have a good network and a good server.  If an offsite
player comes on, the game lags for everyone.  It crashes horribly every
time a player kills a window, and has lots of other bugs.  I'm not saying
that people don't do a good job fixing bugs, but I just don't know how 
much it is worth it.  I really see xfire as being a dead end, without
going to client server.

2) make the game revolve around people, not maps.  I think that the 
coders should take a good look at why so many people play MUDs on 
a daily basis.  The multi-user part of xfire is the greatest thing
about the whole game.  I think that with a good rewrite, client/server 
the game could support 30 people at the same time (about this at least).
What should all these people be doing?  Racing to scum the artifact 
at the end of a 5 minute quest?  I think that the players should 
have an environment that they can communicate with each other in a 
more realistic way, or make it more important, or more beneficial.
(I hope I'm making sense.)

I have seen people playing at chico go through these cycles.  When tvangod
brings down a new distribution, there is a great demand to play 
xfire because it is something different and new.  Then after playing
all the new maps, scumming new characters up to level 30, finding new 
bugs etc, people quit playing because it is the same old thing.  Then 
they go back to playing MUD's.  So what does xfire need to keep
people's interest?  Should we look more closely at MUD's and figure 
out why they have such a high "addiction" rate?  Should xfire have
this?  I really think so.

I just believe that the game, once it can support ~30 users,  and
when it revoles around other players, the game has such great potential, 
it could be the best game I have ever played.

I would love to exploit this potential.

3) How about a user scriptable language that allows a player or "dm"
to change the way an object interacts with the world. This could add
great flexibility to everything from monsters with missions, to a
trap triggered when you open a door.  Again, maybe we should look
at MUD's and the LPC language.

4) I propose that we change the view on how the character sees his/her
inverntory.  I think that an Ultima Underworld like view would be much
better.  A picture of the character and "hot spots" like left and 
right hand, head, torso... that hold various items, sword, shield, 
helm, armour.  I think that this would be a much better interface
and also help the problem of encoumbrance.  Where are you going 
to put all 10 luggages?  4 suits of armour... in your belt pouch?
This could also be flexible enough to allow the user to change the 
way that his/her character looked like, and maybe even have something
that if one character looks at anoother, that character can see the 
other's inventory picture.  feed back on this idea?

5) along with the multiuser idea, I think that we should give more
flexibility to the player who controls the character.  Let's give players
the ability to "emote", or to control what their character looks like, or
give the characters a .plan that others can look at and get a description
of a character.

Well, just thought I'd let you all know about some things that I was
thinking of.  I don't MUD myself, but would if xfire became more like
a MUD.  Pointless dungeon crawling only holds interest so long with
me.  I really like some of the ideas that MUD's are based on, I just
think that text is not a medium that I would like to "be" in.  The 
addition of the human experience, I honestly thing, is the greatest
stength in xfire.  If you don't have that, you have ultima III with
a couple other people playing, slowing the game down, scumming your
artifact at the end of the level before you can get to it.

Well, I hope that most of you can relate to where I am coming from.

Karim