Here we go - my rethinking.
Descent - Another Way to D'ni
Over the past week, discussions have blossomed on OpenURU's forums regarding two topics near and dear to my heart (and apparently, to the hearts of several other prominent community members). One of those topics is this one, proposing a way to take the Descent. It really connects to how Uru really begins for a new player, and I think the whole thing needs to be thought through very carefully and methodically. This is my attempt to do so. I've changed a few things from my previous take on this matter, so I hope you'll read through completely.
5 Criteria
Before I launch into this topic, I feel it is important to set some ground rules. If I cannot specify my goals, then at the end of my proposal I have no way to measure whether my ideas improve upon the status quo. Note that some of these ground rules don't necessarily apply to the topic at hand, and are written more towards measuring solutions for other problems I hope to discuss in a similar manner soon.
Five criteria:
1. Existing resources are re-used. New resources introduced are minimal.
The world of D'ni is not being reinvented. I just want the world to "work better."
2. The player is not presented with too many choices and options at once. The player has an opportunity to learn before making choices.
As an example of rule 2, the initial user interface must be simple; complexity is added as the player becomes more familiar with the game. This idea already exists in the form of level0, level1, and level2 KIs. While I feel the level0 KI is so simple as to be painfully crippling, the basic concept of not overwhelming the beginning user with too much complexity is critical.
3. Constraints and rules shall be consistent and not seem arbitrary. This shall help to make the world believable.
When the player performs an action, the resulting reaction from the world or user interface should be fairly obvious, and it should make sense to the player. If one player sees another player perform an action, if the first player is not yet able to perform the action, it should be clear why.
4. Technology and magic should not mix, and Yeesha's abilities shall remain in the domain of Yeesha.
As an example of this problem, instancing of the worlds is supposed to be a Yeesha/Bahro ability. But the Nexus and KI system, with which Yeesha supposedly has not tampered, allows invitations to private Ages to be created and revoked. This does not make sense.
5. The player's navigation of the world and interface to accomplish goals should be simple, and generally at hand at all times.
That means while pulling private instances out of the Nexus and KI, the player's ability to generate inivitations at any time, from any place, should not be crippled. Another solution must be introduced that retains the necessariy flexibility.
Beginning and Cleft
I have see a good number of posts from community members who would like, or at least would not mind, if the beginning player was presented with an option to travel to D'ni by the Great Shaft. In some proposals, this path has become the only way into D'ni (Yeesha and Relto are removed). In
Alamnat's proposal, Yeesha's way is still an option, but the player begins their way into the Great Shaft before Yeesha's journey is made available. The proposal I like the most, however, permits the user to make the choice close to the beginning of the game - Tweek's
Concept - Uru Live Beginning.
Tweek's proposal begins with making the opening area of D'ni public. I happen to like this idea, and I'm not alone in that company. Others, however, hate the idea, and that position should not be ignored; Uru is a wonderful world and we want it to be inviting to many people. Many people still prefer to explore alone; Myst and Riven were solitary games, after all. So while a public cleft at the beginning may be more believable, I think it is necessary that we give players the choice to begin their visit privately. This question would appear after the player has completed customizing their avatar. "Would you like to begin your exploration
alone or
together?"
Players choosing "Alone" would begin the game in a privately instanced Cleft. This is a one-time thing; once this Cleft is "solved", players will not be able to return to the private cleft except as a reward for completing Yeesha's initial Journey. At the end of the Journey, players jump into the cleft in their Relto and visit the private Cleft, are able to link to the rainy private cleft, and are able to obtain the rain page. (The rain page button never activates at public Cleft.) Once this is done, players may invite others into their private Cleft (rainy or sunny) to play marker games or to drive around on the Zamboni. The only difference between the public and private clefts for the purposes of beginning the game is that players will have the ability to begin solo without interference by others.
Players choosing "Together" would begin the game in the publicly instanced Cleft. (This assumes that issues regarding the number of concurrent players in Cleft can be addressed. Cleft may need to have a population limit of some sort, and players wishing to visit Cleft may need to queue to enter if it is at the limit.)
For the public instance, we face a few problems touched upon by Tweek, although I feel he may have dismissed some issues a little too quickly.
Problem: Puzzles already being solved
The Cleft was not designed for multiplayer; it has breakable bridges so only the first person to break a bridge would ever get to see it fall. It has a windmill puzzle that affects several items that can only be used when the power is on - a water bucket, the imager, and two doors.
Tweek had suggested that the windmill simply stop moving periodically (the wind stops blowing). But this solution would put beginners on a time limit to complete tasks involving the powered cleft. Timers are not a good puzzle for a starting player. Further complicating the matter, a player could begin tasks with the windmill already powered on by another person, and then be confused when the power suddenly shuts off.
Having the windmill stop if all players have exited the Age doesn't work if Greeters are camped in the Cleft area to meet new visitors.
"Phasing" the windmill, so that one player may see it powered while another sees the windmill turned off, leaves the problem that players who have turned on the power can open doors and move the water bucket, but other players would see these things happen but be unable to perform the same actions. If we phase the doors and water bucket as well, that would work OK for the water bucket, but now one player could watch another player walk through a closed door. And furthermore, any phasing implemented needs to not confuse players too much; if players realize that they do not each see the same thing, now you've introduced new magic into the game experience, and that ability can only be attributed to Yeesha.
So, the windmill is a thorny problem. My proposal is to
change the puzzle so that players will have to co-operate. Players in the public Cleft would encounter some puzzle tasks that must be completed with the power
off. Tasks with the power in both states would need to be completed before advancing beyond the Cleft in any fashion other than being linked away by a friend. (If that happens, we must assume the friend knows what he or she is doing. We should resist the temptation to make books unshareable in Cleft.) My thought is this - the power in the Cleft would also operate a small fan in a vent leading from the cleft rooms up under the fence, out higher on the volcano. If the fan is running, players cannot proceed through the vent.
The other puzzle problems are the water bucket and the symbols on the imager. The water bucket must be in the "up" position to go through the vent. The symbols on the imager reset when the blue button is pressed. This is a little ugly, but it is effective.
Players who want to take Yeesha's path will find that the journey cloths are not initially present. Activating Yeesha's hologram will cause the journey cloths to appear for the player who activated the message; as Yeesha causes the first cloth to manifest, so then will the remaining cloths phase in as well. These players will want to turn on the power to begin their journey.
Players who wish to take the Descent through the Great Shaft will want to turn off the power to go through the vent and bypass the barbed wire fence. Tweek's idea for having Laxman leave a message on the Imager is workable with this, although the power would need to be on to view the message. My preference would be to have an introduction to the KI added elsewhere. However, unlike in myriad proposals, the fence won't be jumpable or have an open section. A button positioned on the far side of the fan allows a player in the vent to turn off the fan in order to return to the cleft; this prevents a player who has moved through the vent only to have the power turned on afterward from being trapped and unable to come back if he or she has a change of heart. Only one player can be in the vent at a time, and leaving the vent by either side will cause the fan to resume spinning if the power is on.
Players who enter the Tree to collect their Relto book will find that the door closes behind them; only one player can climb through the door at a time. Other players are barred from climbing through the open door while one person is already moving through the door. Also, the door will open from the inside if the player climbs up the ladder and tries to exit the tree... again, so that players don't feel trapped and committed to a course of action once they've gone through. This door is not affected by the power in the Cleft - it works on Yeesha magic and only works for someone who has touched all seven journeys.
From here forward, I see the Descent as being similar to how Tweek, GPNMilano, and Alahmnat have suggested it, with a KI dispenser being necessary to proceed any further than the top of the shaft, and with the path down to D'ni being segmented into parts with nexus registration points to make the journey faster for future visits.
Problem: What About Having No Relto Book?
Various solutions attempting to solve the problem of "No Relto Book" have relied upon the Bahro rescuing players (suggested by Tweek), or the KI acting with teleportation powers (suggested by Alahmnat). I do not like such solutions. I have a better idea - players who take the tunnels to D'ni collect a neighborhood book and place it on their hip, just as they would a Relto book. If we want to put this book into players' hands early on (out of concern for panic links in the Great Shaft) but we want players to complete the Great Shaft before journeying on to some places, then we solve that by adding a KI upgrade at the end of the Great Shaft journey, and lock some areas of D'ni to those who haven't upgraded the KI.
Players can use their neighborhood book to link back to their neighborhood at any time, and will do so automatically in a panic situation. However, in doing so, unlike with Relto,
they'll drop the book. The book will sit on the ground or keep falling for a few moments - nobody will be able to take a book dropped in this manner - and then it will fade away, lost forever. In this way, authorized explorers carrying neighborhood books will share a little more in common with Atrus' experience when he jumped into the starry fissure on Riven.
Players who link back to neighborhood in this manner will need to pick up another book before journeying out again. This will be an automatic action; when the player links into the 'hood, they'll link in next to a stack of spare 'hood books and immediately pick one up.
The music is reversible, but time is not.
- Perhaps GPNMilano, Alahmnat or some of the others with well developed ideas here should consider getting a "Great Shaft" forum set up in the "Projects and Proposals" section?
Nexus is the only real solution. I think we have to get away from the idea that the panic link is also one's home age. We only think of it that way because that's how Relto works. Using a nexus book at the hip should be viewed as an act of desperation - you're stuck and you need an escape to a safe place. Note: The player shouldn't encounter any panic link situations prior to picking up the KI and Nexus book, and the items should be picked up together.
