Kiso Okami
Militaires Sans Jeux
57
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Posted - 2013.04.20 23:26:00 -
[1] - Quote
Greetings, ladies and GÇ£ladiesGÇ¥ (wonder if youGÇÖll get this reference)...
Today, I wanted to bring a topic to you based on something that has come up in some of my conversations over at the IRC. I was talking to CCP LogicLoop about maps and wanted to know how they worked and why they were taking a bit too long to get them all corrected (sometimes even my patience runs out), changed or modified for differentiation. Then I asked him something along the lines of GÇ£is there even an GÇÿUnrealModGÇÖ type tool for DUST 514?GÇ¥ and he did answer to that affirmative. I was pretty sure the he was likely talking about the engine itself (Unreal Engine). So I asked him of a possibility that we could have an equivalent tool for this, to which he replied with a GÇ£maybeGÇ¥ type response (he wasnGÇÖt sure because either thatGÇÖs not on the roadmap or he was not aware of it). Further along, I think about the possible implications of having players help further the development of this game and I find myself typing this post for you to read.
What is your (the players) opinion on crowdsourcing? Is it something that could help DUST progress as a game? Would like to have a crack at the make-up of the world of New Eden, bet in the form of player-created or player-modified maps? How far would you like to get crowdsourcing, given the chance to have it? Personally, these questions IGÇÖd have an answer for myself (theyGÇÖre just opinions though). I have always been the kind that likes to create stuff, either for the sake of creation or for the mere representation of what the world looks like in my eyes.
Given the chance, I would personally like to create my own collection of drop-suits and vehicles, not because I think the current ones are not attractive to me (some of these do look quite interesting and do paint the world in the colors of their respective factions), but because I sometimes think that the extra input helps add another layer of perspective (the idea of what you personally would like to see found in this world, for one). The same I could say of maps, actually. Sometimes I think that I can do something in a completely different way, one that completely eschews the current concepts of what CCP think New Eden represents all the while representing what New Eden is (or is not, in the case of utopian concepts).
Obviously, there are so many ways that one can create a map or a drop-suit, or even a vehicle, but that does not mean that they have to follow a strict (GÇÿrigidGÇÖ might be a better word) set of design guides to get good results. This is where I think that crowd sourcing could help DUST 514, and, personally, I think crowd-sourcing, even if limited, could help bring that deeper feel of community that this game needs to achieve great success. I am certain that this would also help bring even more of a sense of story for the game, as well as add to the depth of character interaction (read: role-play). Obviously, creating an individual character, down to the equipment he carries, would help make these, generally no-name, bland individuals we know as clones far more unique as individuals even beyond the idea of being soldiers or mercs.
Of course, crowd-sourcing does not come without faults, and one would say that the biggest fault of a crowd sourcing system is usually the one reason that many a company often refuse to even support it. It has to be noted that crowd sourcing would also mean that the idea of the game, the one that the companies (in this case CCP), would be diluted under the scope. Maybe they want us to not have such a heavy input in their world and change it beyond what they think New Eden (rather than DUST or EVE) should be. Yes, they did host one contest in which ideas for new EVE ships were to be crowd sourced, but you can say they made the conservative picks for the winners, that is, those that won were chosen because their designs were the most relevant to EVE, and not one winning concept stood out for being unique (in the sense of not fitting in any known faction). But once again, CCP does look to crowd sourcing, if only in the forum of events.
Now, letGÇÖs go back to the questionsGǪ
- What is your opinion on crowd sourcing?
- Do you think CCP would benefit from having a more permanent (or recurring) crowdsourcing system?
- How far would you like to see DUST let you crowd source (just modding or creating original content from scratch, or something in between)?
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Kiso Okami
Militaires Sans Jeux
57
|
Posted - 2013.04.21 00:43:00 -
[2] - Quote
Arramakaian Eka wrote:post
I really wanted to avoid the whole economical aspects of crowd-sourcing because it's really not relevant to what it can propose in term of in-game prospects. So, yes, my original post assumes that CCP would still develop the game at the same pace that they have been doing as of current knowledge.
Yes, this is what I was trying to look for. How deep can one go before one sees crowd sourcing or modding becoming a problem.
In the case of one being able to create their own sets of drop-suits (be them from already created pieces or a completely original design), the general solution to diversity comes in the form of "doctrines". In EVE, fleet doctrines create a set composition for fleets that dictate what people can and cannot field for a given situation. That can already be applied here if you tell people what they are allowed to field for a given battle (though, in the end, there will be situation where you will have to break formation to actually achieve an objective). It'd be interesting to see Gallente drop-suit with Caldari parameters/bonuses and the Caldari with Minmatar, or even an Ammar Heavy with Gallente Assault bonuses, yes.
This also applies to maps as well. It'd be interesting to see a map deep behind Gallente borders with a good set of non-industrial Ammar engineering (Ammar city in my Fed space? BLASPHEMY!), and of course, with even some Gallente structures oatched alongand also add to the identity of the place.
One could also take the whole 'cosmetic only' approach. It won't be as deep as one would want, but at the very least it would allow you to have an identity past the whole "I'm a soldier and I look like everyone else" sense that sometimes comes up. |