Where to Begin (The Game)

[Gehn, lord of ages]

Yes, the kind of thought I had would have been to have something like a DRC porta-cabin dumped just by the desert fence at the sign post. Depending on your alone or together choice, one of two doors is open. For "alone" the door leads out the cabin to the traditional desert start. The other door (open only in the "together" mode) leads to another room with a linking book to *somewhere* in the cavern (I never claimed this was a fully worked out plan ). The cabin could have manuals, guides lying about to help people get started, and as the "together" version is public you could expect (hope) to have GoG-like people around too, at least some of the time.

Why not just have the person get dropped in either one right after choosing? And wait, the cavern is in Earth, so how do you plan to link there?

To what extent are we trying to avoid the creation of a new Age for this purpose? After (finally, because I am lazy) installing the Uru Library Manager, I have been impressed by how good fan-created Ages can already look.

Fan-created Ages take a lot of time and effort. Cyan Ages are already there and have a good amount of logical backstory to them (and are also very good looking).

Why not just have a private (no problems with spoilerage or lack of puzzles) cleft (logical beginning) with a quick way to link to Relto (let's people get into the game quickly) or even [while still getting a Relto book] to a populated Greeter dominated Age/area (even quicker and concentrated people to help) but still the way to start Yeesha's Journey and all with the single player cleft (the proper sense of mystery, puzzles, a logical start for the Yeesha Journey, etc.) if the player wanted to? Information could be put both in pre-game "backstory" or "help" or "getting started" writings and in-game journals at the Greeter dominated area (which would also be where people would be funneled to even if they went through the private cleft route).

[Tweek]

Alone - Player is dropped into private cleft as usual
Together - Player is dropped into public cleft.

Journey is completed book add to shelf is the usual private version, perhaps a link to a public cleft could be in the office on Teledahn or something, I dunno haven't put to much thought into it.

Push comes to shove you could always have 3 cleft pages in the book one stamped with some symbol to make it obvious it is public (course I dislike multiple linking pages books but there we go).

[Nalates]

However, given the recent info from Cyan on the MO:UL site (I'm at work right now so can't access the link ) we won't be gifted the Cyan game assets, so we don't appear to have the option to modify the cleft for either The Stranger's proposal or some of the others I've seen touted.

I’m not sure this is accurate. Here is the pertinent part of the post.

The 3D models and textures that were used to create Myst Online: Uru Live will not be part of the open source license. We will probably release some of these models and textures, but under a different license than the code source. However, we will be creating a Myst Online: Uru Live data server with the compiled game data so that fan supported servers can connect to and then serve that data to their users.

I’m betting Cyan is aware of much (some…) of our thinking on the forums and is aware of this problem. Some think the Nexus, AV’s, and some other parts will be part of what they release. Getting the Cleft may be way wishful thinking. But, we may get a pleasant surprise. Asking can’t hurt so a proposal might be a very good thing.

Tweek makes the point of “what if”. So, what if a new player needs to get back to the start? If one picks ALONE and needs help, or chooses together and decides that is not the way to go?

I like the idea of the help key or following help dialog allowing one to link to the Greeter’s Bevin or some place with other players. In that case, I think a new player would need a way to return to the entry points. Players farther along would have other places they could link to but those doing Cleft ALONE might have a problem.

Also, there was a way to call ResEngs and ask for help in game. May be we just put info in the login dialogs on how to use it. Several other RPG’s use in game admins and have ways to call them. That might avoid large age changes and IC conflicts.

Gehn’s pedestal on the Cleft’s surface does not work for me. I suppose it could be IC’d in… But, may be a link book by Zandi with notes on the left page and some advice from Zandi. As to getting players to it… that could be a problem. Does anyone think a large neon sign twice the size of Zandi’s trailer would break the immersive quality of the Cleft?

As to a private Cleft, preferably a multiplayer one – let greeters in, I like the idea but I suspect it depends on what Cyan allows us to do with their ages and what parts they allow us to make changes to.

There is always the possibility of the web site providing support too. Often before joining a new RPG I look at reviews and the RPG's web site. A "getting-started-page" could do lots to reduce these problems and expectations. It may be that the game changes and a web site are integral parts of the solution. See: GoW thread: Issues for MMVW Managers

[Mac_Fife]

I’m betting Cyan is aware of much (some…) of our thinking on the forums and is aware of this problem. Some think the Nexus, AV’s, and some other parts will be part of what they release. Getting the Cleft may be way wishful thinking. But, we may get a pleasant surprise. Asking can’t hurt so a proposal might be a very good thing.

Undoubtedly Cyan are aware of many fans hopes and plans in this respect. But the key word in that Cyan brief is some: They're prepared to release a portion of their game assets (models and textures) to assist Age developers, either as "worked examples" or to help maintain the Cyan look-and-feel. They will also, no doubt, give fair consideration to reasoned requests for access to additional assets. However, they'll also be wary that if they accede to too many requests like that, then by a process of aggregation they could end up giving away virtually all their IP.

I'm not saying that tinkering with Cyan created ages can't happen in the context of that quote, rather that for any given age, I wouldn't be risking my mortgage on the probability of being able to .

Back on topic.

Alone - Player is dropped into private cleft as usual
Together - Player is dropped into public cleft.

I'd also considered that option, but was thinking that some of the other posters here wanted to bypass the cleft altogether in the "Together" mode? I also hadn't considered the option of earning the same, private cleft book in both modes. Yeah, a 3-page cleft book would work - the precedent exists for multi-link books even the notion doesn't seem right. I'd prefer a different link panel image (maybe people standing by Zandi's trailer) over a stamp on the page.

[Gehn, lord of ages]

Alone - Player is dropped into private cleft as usual
Together - Player is dropped into public cleft.

I see just one possible concern. This gives Greeters or such two different areas to patrol - the public cleft and wherever people go first from Relto.
Okay, and also that some people will start screaming about lack of immersiveness with a button option.

Also, there was a way to call ResEngs and ask for help in game. May be we just put info in the login dialogs on how to use it. Several other RPG’s use in game admins and have ways to call them. That might avoid large age changes and IC conflicts.

There should definitely be some way to get help before the KI. "Phoning" people would be a good solution.

Gehn’s pedestal on the Cleft’s surface does not work for me. I suppose it could be IC’d in… But, may be a link book by Zandi with notes on the left page and some advice from Zandi. As to getting players to it… that could be a problem. Does anyone think a large neon sign twice the size of Zandi’s trailer would break the immersive quality of the Cleft?

I just mentioned a pedestal as one option. It could be in a box, a pedestal, or even just loose (and it could be anywhere, although I think somewhere near the trailer is best because people won't find it otherwise - unless you have the neon sign). I'd love to have Zandi offer it to you "*sigh* All you explorers are impatient these days. Here, I've got a book here. You want to just get to Relto? Okay. Take the book. And uh, you can come back anytime. There's still the journey." but that would need more Zandi lines.

[Tweek]

Well I'm not bothering to factor the GoG in, there isn't much point when not all shards will have the GoG on them.

[Gehn, lord of ages]

Well I'm not bothering to factor the GoG in, there isn't much point when not all shards will have the GoG on them.

But all vaguely beginner friendly shards will have some people who want to help. It is best if there is some area where beginners are funneled through, so really confused people can get help.

[Tweek]

Yes but you were talking about the GoG not helpful explorers.

GoG have a limited number of people, who wont be on all shards and possibly stretched to cover a public cleft and a GoG hood.

Helpful explorers don't have these constraints.

[Gehn, lord of ages]

Yes but you were talking about the GoG not helpful explorers.

That's what "or such" meant.

And even Helpful explorers have constraints, and any model where there are multiple Ages to patrol will stretch their abilities.

[Nalates]

Well I'm not bothering to factor the GoG in, there isn't much point when not all shards will have the GoG on them.

Oh darn… I had not thought about that.

I wonder if a global chat channel could be created to allow help messages to rely through the shards? If so, that could greatly extend the reach of the GoG. Rather than having to man every shard, one member to could answer questions across several shards.

If so, live help could be made more easily available and reduce the number of people needed to do it.