New content - created by the players

11 replies [Last post]
El-Odio's picture
El-Odio

I'll be so shameless and post some other games content here. I know, I'm evil.

Valves "Perpetual Testing Initiative"

Everyone should instantly get what I am playing at.

But I'll elaborate anyways, trying to keep it short. Wall of texts seem to scare some people, after all.
I saw this Promo Trailer and the first thing that came to my mind was "Why is almost nothing of this in the game?"
The Levels have all kinds of neat things:

  • Space - look at how big the plattforms are
  • Design - you can see a bunch of "traps" and monster placement that actually makes sense
  • Items - Headgear is quite fancy there

But what is it at the moment? The Clockwork right now is linear and narrow, the space you are given is restricted as good as possible. Of course, it makes it more difficult if you can't kite, but it's a cheap way to make something challenging. Like, tieing your hand behind your back. What else? The current levels seem to work after the principle "just throw as many enemys at them as possible". I think "Just add more monsters" to be a really cheap way out. Instead of making the monsters stronger, faster or just making entirely new ones, the solution is "just add so many skeletons until they HAVE to get hit".

Another thing is, the Clockwork is repetitive. As hell. They scramble the plattforms together to make a "new" level, while the single rooms themselfs have been played so often you recognize them the moment you set food on them. Nothing new, nothing interesting.

While we can't do anything about creating new monsters, we COULD do something about the design, IF we are given the means. Of course, we'd want to revive the Clockworks with that, so it shouldn't be a "design your own level"-thing. What I have in mind is something where you can create ONE room. You can make it an arena, a trap passage, whatever you feel like. Of course you can control which monsters spawn at which place (they'd give no loot). That one you can test as a single room. If you like it, then you can once a week / month / year submit the room, so that OOO can decide to implement it in their level building. That way, the Clockwork would really change every time you set foot in it.

But there's more! OOO could get his grabby hands on your money by selling you expansions! You can only make and save one room, but would like to make two, or three connected rooms? Pay them! You'd like to make a giant arena that takes a minute to cross from one end to the other? Pay them! You'd like to spawn special monsters? Pay them!
Money! Money everywhere!
And also, content.

Toxicyoccm's picture
Toxicyoccm
greeting cards and designer hair

http://yppedia.puzzlepirates.com/Yohoho_Tools

The Island/Scene editor has been used to add player content to the game (most notably islands for the Cursed Isles Sea Monster Hunt).
I thought Spiral Spy was a level editor, but it isn't.

I can't tell you how much I love this concept. Even if room-by-room, OOO stands so much to gain by releasing a user-friendly level editor. Contests and having an easy to update clockworks, being the obvious selling point (Oceanus Presents: Pimp your Wolver's Den! Top three winners may appear in the clockworks). Then factor a subscription to use, as you noted, or more micro-transactions.

Addisond's picture
Addisond
It's not cheap

How is limiting space cheap? User created content would be nice.

However, I am getting the feeling that OOO has made SK extremely hard to build off of, given the rate of production. Level creators can be easy or hard to implement depending on what you already have in the game. Also, only letting players create single levels is annoying. I don't like danger missions as much as I thought I would because they're JUST TWO LEVELS. You don't really get the same experience when you start in the beginning of KoA, rather than running FSC old school. I'd like being able to pay for unlocking a level permanently, and with the levels I'd bought I could construct a personal gate, that only I could see and start parties in. That said, each level would cost a certain amount of minerals to implement. You could invite people to parties in the gate, of course, and it would only last eight days like every other gate. You could include non-new levels in your gate too, but you'd still have to pay to unlock them like the other levels. Levels that had been in testing (the create-your-own-gate) may or may not be implemented, but remain in testing.

Draycos's picture
Draycos

User-created levels might be a little rough, but individual levels that would appear in the Clockworks would be great! Love the idea of a room design contest.

Little-Juances's picture
Little-Juances

With the new guild update, we can work this out.

I mean from what I understand, it'll include a design mode where players move furniture around the hall right?

Give us an empty square room, replace furniture with boxes and enemies and there you go. A level editor in-game.

Marazo's picture
Marazo

Couldn't people design levels in such a way that it maximizes easiness and crown payout?

The crown payout could be solved with a limit on the amount of crowns earned in the levels. Also put a limit on the amount of monsters, probably per room. We don't need a 5x5 room with 10 trojans and 20 deviltes.

Not sure how to fix the easiness part though..

Luguiru's picture
Luguiru

No rewards or participation costs.

Only floor creation costs for the makers.

Maybe some material sinks to build various objects on maps.

Marazo's picture
Marazo

@Luguiru: True, true, it can just be something fun to do when you run out of mist, creating or playing other peoples maps. (alternative for upgrading ATH too!). Also, since there is no entry fee or payout, there should be free revives.

Maybe a small publishing fee of 10 energy so people will think twice before spamming their maps all over the place, without making it exclusive to rich players.

Why are we taking out the subject line?

Luguiru's picture
Luguiru
Because subjects are for posts with purpose

Usually if I post for a quick response or something minor I drop the subject to keep it simple. But that is just how I do it. Others probably have their own reasons.

By creation costs I mean it costs materials to build every map feature (respawnable pots, indestructable blocks, etc.) and enemies (Retrodes, etc.) to mess with. Different map sizes would have different foundation costs (bigger maps, bigger cost) in energy and/or crowns. The main focus is throwing materials into the various objects in the map to keep people busy. Nothing in the floor itself would create loot and energy revivals would recycle the training hall mechanic where you can revive for free. It costs resource to make the floor, but not to play it; and the more stuff in the floor, the more expensive it would be to make. People can make their own training maps to derp around in without worrying about losing energy in battle, though they probably had to sell some fingers to get a big map to play in.

El-Odio's picture
El-Odio
Well

Got to say, the latter suggestions aren't exacly what I had in mind, but at least it shows that people actually have so much interest, that they come up with their own ideas, so that's at least something.

Personally I prefer the "out of game"-editor, but Luguirus idea to make it a sink of some sort ain't to bad either.

Bugtester's picture
Bugtester
People should see this

really. game needs some really big update

Raptorsevens's picture
Raptorsevens
Good suggestions. The

Good suggestions.
The clockworks themselves already look incredibly tile-based so a tile-based mapmaker would be possible to make.