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Thread Statistics | Show CCP posts - 2 post(s) |
Avallo Kantor
1171
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Posted - 2016.09.14 16:03:00 -
[1] - Quote
Taking a quote from CCP LogicLoop:
CCP LogicLoop wrote:On the Nova Discord channel earlier today.
[4:48 PM] CCP Rattati: just assuring that the Nova team absolutely working on improving what you saw at fanfest
[4:48 PM] CCP Rattati: especially on the feedback we got
[4:49 PM] CCP Rattati: "looks like good fps gameplay, NOW WHAT"
[4:49 PM] CCP Rattati: "not eve enough"
[4:49 PM] CCP Rattati: etc
[4:49 PM] CCP Rattati: we have been working on the "essence" of the game if you will
[4:50 PM] CCP Rattati: uniqueness and setting
[4:50 PM] CCP Rattati: it wouldn't be a new eden fps if there wasn't
So this brings up, in my mind, an interesting point of discussion that warrants its own thread. What feature or features distill the universe of New Eden into a tangible form for you? How can somebody make a game that feels like it belongs in that universe, and what components are core to it's setting.
I think that is a topic we would have the best shot of answering, and hopefully bring insight to the devs who read the forum (or at least LogicLoop if nobody else)
To that end, I feel New Eden is best defined by its sense of Consequences.
By that I mean that choices you make in the game have a weight and importance to them that have meaningful impact down the road. This is done by having them affect all levels and types of play, from the minor details of skill application defining your character, to the larger politics of entities that affect the power balance of space.
New Eden's history is, in my opinion, defined by player action and the consequences those actions carried. DUST was able to achieve this through a number of ways, from the skill point system, to the ISK cost of suits, to the tug of war between Faction Warfare and Planetary Conquest.
When these features fell flat for the players was only when that sense of consequence and impact was disrupted or began to ring hollow. Such as when people had enough money to not care about it, or when the FW battles seemed arbitrary and had little impact on the greater war, or when Planetary Conquest felt it had no real benefits aside from the fights it generated.
To that end, I feel that any game that wants to feel like it belongs in New Eden needs things that tie together individual play experiences to feel like they are impacting a greater whole.
- There needs to be player progression that involves choice, not just a static level that dictates what you have for you.
- There needs to be an ability for player's moment to moment gameplay affect some meta aspect of their experience that goes beyond simple statistics. DUST did this with consumable fittings that impacted the player after a match.
- Activities need to be in place for a group of players to impact larger aspects of the world in a way that has some degree of persistance. DUST tried to do this via FW and PCs.
- Players need a variety of ways to impact other players beyond simple combat mechanics. This can be done via trade, industry, politics, or any other activity that touches upon the play experience of other players outside of matches.
- The world / universe needs to feel as if players can impact it in some way. Some aspect of the world needs to be able to be changed by player action. Such as ownership of a system, availability of resources, or generation of missions.
All of the general points I laid above help to create a setting that is more distinctly New Eden, even if it lacks some of the more familiar trappings of EVE or DUST. The important things about New Eden and the experience players seek from it lie in a perception (not necessarily a reality) that their actions can ripple through the universe and some consequence of their actions affects future events which can be limited to themselves, a few others, or the entire cluster.
"Mind Blown" - CCP Rattati
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Avallo Kantor
1172
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Posted - 2016.09.14 16:27:00 -
[2] - Quote
TooMany Names AlreadyTaken wrote:I think what makes it unique (at least to me) is the fact that it's set so far into the future, and everything is high-tech. I love future tech... And I guess I don't even have to mention what else. 
Going off of that, what makes the future tech of New Eden different from say... Star Trek, or Firefly, or the numerous other great Sci-Fi settings out there? What aspect of Technology makes it feel like it belongs in New Eden.
Without going into another long paragraph, for me the key technology of New Eden is the Clone, and how it handles all the aspects of the Clone.
"Mind Blown" - CCP Rattati
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Avallo Kantor
1174
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Posted - 2016.09.14 19:41:00 -
[3] - Quote
Mobius Wyvern wrote:I just don't understand the "leveling" obsession. Getting progression has never really been my primary motivator in EVE.
Then what parts of New Eden make it unique for you?
"Mind Blown" - CCP Rattati
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Avallo Kantor
1175
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Posted - 2016.09.14 20:14:00 -
[4] - Quote
byte modal wrote:It's a bit more than "leveling".
If I might be able to expand on Byte's point, another powerful part of EVE, both its progression systems, and other aspects of the game is that it gives the world a sense of History.
It is not just that the game has consequences to actions it is that they have a lasting impact that carries forward in a meaningful way. It comes in small things from the skill training history, to the larger Sov Map over time. New Eden's consequences mean so much because they contribute to a history of the game.
Think on this, in New Eden you can go and look up a player's corp history of every corp they have been member to (for better or worse), that player can look up their own wallet transaction history back to a pretty significant point in time, and players can do the same for their skill training history, cert obtainment, etc. On a larger scale it is possible to track via various sources the ownership history of any single system in space back to it's origin. Which systems have been taken, lost, or conquered has left a record. The prices on minerals and other player products are also kept in historical data.
All of these minor things help to contribute to a greater whole, that your impact on the world leaves a record, one that persists. Now look to other games, such as WoW, or Everquest, or SWTOR. They each have historical events as well, but they also have expansions and major content that, in effect, wipes the board clean. The sense of history to the world is lost because everyone gets to those markers in the normal course of gameplay. True, those games have rare items or achievements that document substantial events, but they do not impact the world in the same way that various historical events touch upon EvE.
Another unique aspect of New Eden is that it has a history, one that is unique upon all the Sci-Fi genres, because it is a history of our own creation. Look to the ships one obtained ten years ago, the Domi, the Rifter, the Caracal. Those ships have not been turned into vendor trash by the march of expansions and resets, but still hold a place on the field today. EVE is a game that persists, and it is in that history that the consequences of thousands of players can be seen and felt.
For a game to feel like New Eden, progression should not be a generic march from A to B, but a path that has options, with those options having "end game" impact the entire way. Much like how the frigate is still a valuable ship, 10+ years later.
"Mind Blown" - CCP Rattati
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Avallo Kantor
1177
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Posted - 2016.09.15 15:41:00 -
[5] - Quote
byte modal wrote:
I'm pretty sure I've drifted far off topic. Sorry OP!
Not at all! What is -not- the feeling of New Eden is just as important as the feeling of the game.
You wrote an amazing paragraph on the parts of New Eden that make / made EVE an important experience to you, and I very much enjoyed reading it.
"Mind Blown" - CCP Rattati
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Avallo Kantor
1183
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Posted - 2016.09.17 00:56:00 -
[6] - Quote
Trying a bit to redirect the conversation back to it's original point, I'd like to argue the merits of why getting the feel of New Eden is so important, and why it's a thing that players can help out with. It is important that mechanics help bring the feel and theme of a game to life, instead of the two being created at separate points. (Often with mechanics before theme)
This can cause imbalances or inconsistencies in the narrative / feel of the game which generally detract from the fun and immersion of the game.
NOVA has the clear advantage of having two games worth of prior experience to establish the mood, feel, and themes that such a game should adhere to, as well as certain mechanics that help to enhance that theme. It is important then to distill those themes down as much as possible, preferably to a small list of bullet points (like what Rattati did) to keep in mind.
Then from those concepts and themes, mechanics can then be developed that tie into those themes. For example, if a theme is to feel a sense of "SELF" where things you own are important to you then mechanics that make you feel less ownership over things would harm that notion. As a minor example free vehicles spawning on a map would harm this as it does not grant a sense of ownership over things.
To continue on my line of questioning, let's look at a comparison. DUST and STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT both have "load out" systems. Here defining a "load out" system, as some mechanical system that allows you a difference in kind of gear and tools at your disposal that differentiates one load out from another in feel and mechanics. However, DUST managed to make fits feel unique or special to the point that some players considered a fit to be "theirs". Meanwhile, Battlefront did not grant this same sense of ownership despite also having the same mechanical system in place.
What was the difference that made one feel like New Eden, and the other... not?
"Mind Blown" - CCP Rattati
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Avallo Kantor
1187
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Posted - 2016.09.18 02:11:00 -
[7] - Quote
I've not yet joined but I will do so when I next am able (probably Tuesday)
Thank you for thinking I should be member to that conversation.
"Mind Blown" - CCP Rattati
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Avallo Kantor
1189
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Posted - 2016.09.21 18:53:00 -
[8] - Quote
Expanding on the social aspect of DUST / EVE, what makes the social experiences for these games better / different from any other online game? In broad strokes what makes you feel like you have a community in DUST as opposed to having any other shooter that allows for some form of communication between players?
"Mind Blown" - CCP Rattati
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Avallo Kantor
1190
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Posted - 2016.09.21 20:33:00 -
[9] - Quote
Nomed Deeps wrote:Avallo Kantor wrote:Expanding on the social aspect of DUST / EVE, what makes the social experiences for these games better / different from any other online game? In broad strokes what makes you feel like you have a community in DUST as opposed to having any other shooter that allows for some form of communication between players? I think this is mostly due to in game corp structure. Sure, Destiny has its clans (which are kind of a joke) but DUST/EVE corps make you go and find people to join your corp to strengthen you and your corp. Other online games, not so much. For example, I am currently playing Hawken on the PS4. I hardly ever plug in my mic because there's almost nothing but smack talking and/or whining going on; no strategy or worry for loss (beyond pride) like DUST provided. I think that is why I am waiting for Project Nova like I am. I don't plan on leading a corp this time around though.
So in short,
you felt like teams were valuable because they provided a benefit to working together (like is in most games with social elements), but you feel they were uniquely valuable due to the value of victory / defeat in DUST vs other games that did not have a similar reward / cost system in place for their own games?
DUST corps provide a feeling of tangible power that other games do not provide due to less mechanics to make social groups more powerful or at least able to exert more meaningful power.
"Mind Blown" - CCP Rattati
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