Keeping Flight in Mind

[Arcen6]

It would be nice if the new game was developed with flight (and teleportation for that matter) in mind. If I lived in a world with races/classes capable of evading my massive walls with ease I would certainly take precautions against flyers, whether those precautions be a shield, specific artillery, a roof etc.

I think that defences should be circumventable, just not so easily as flying over walls. What value is there in a defence which a guild can easily negate by flying over it. I think rather than implementing measures to deal with less mundane entries after the fact, they should be considered from the beginning as they would be in that world. That way we can avoid the belated implementation of spires and have something a little bit more competitive and less controversial. Does anyone have a good idea on what that could be?

[KayleeM]

Stretching the bounds of your post Arcen6, instead of having flight as just an extention of ground combat, why not develop it into its own battlefield?

Flying ships, sheilding spells, enhanced flying abiliies (imagine 2 full grps of Aracoix fighting several hundred feet up!) Floating islands (Ripoff: DnD 2ed hollow world) with player built cities.....

I know I am just dreaming but that would be an encredible aspect to add to the game.

[waltzie]

Stretching the bounds of your post Arcen6, instead of having flight as just an extention of ground combat, why not develop it into its own battlefield?

Flying ships, sheilding spells, enhanced flying abiliies (imagine 2 full grps of Aracoix fighting several hundred feet up!) Floating islands (Ripoff: DnD 2ed hollow world) with player built cities.....

I know I am just dreaming but that would be an encredible aspect to add to the game.

& magic carpets ? ;)

[KayleeM]

and flying monkeys. No flying elephants though as I don't approve of that disgusting type of 'AoE' attack

[cornholio]

the most important thing about flying is that it feel more natural. In sb you had to stop in order to fly up or down, which is [censored]. Also, in sb you could only fly at 6 possible altitudes, which is [censored]. Helicopter toons ftl.

[KayleeM]

Yeah, flight in SB felt like an extention of the 2D terrain, not true 3D.

[waltzie]

To develop a true Fly system it's really HARD.
An example is the "flying collision"

So ... plane it well ...

To mutch things does not give a sure good MMO ...

[cornholio]

So ... plane it well ...


nice pun ;)

[PKedUtoo]

even space MMO's like Star War had to make a full expansion pack for space combat becuase the systems where so large and different from the rest of the game.

I would like to see a "true" flight combat system in a Fantasy MMO but it maybe to much to ask at the first launch.

[cornholio]

In addition to flight it would be nice if you could alter your own characters height while walking. (slouch, crawl, tiptoe)

In these games, height never seems to be a factor. Having a tall char should give you a better viewing angle somehow, yet leave you more vulnerable to damage. Maybe height itself could become a stat, just like con or dex. Height does affect perception dramatically irl so I don't see why it shouldn't do something for you in a game. Maybe character height could affect that "perception bubble" thingy that says when a character loads.

[TDLSeika]

oh flight would be fantastic, even as clunky as it was, playing my bird scout was a blast in sb.

[Cohort]

the most important thing about flying is that it feel more natural. In sb you had to stop in order to fly up or down, which is [censored]. Also, in sb you could only fly at 6 possible altitudes, which is [censored]. Helicopter toons ftl.


It wasnt always like that. People just complained so much about people being able to almost insta max their flight height and avoid anychance of getting killed.

[Cohort]

In addition to flight it would be nice if you could alter your own characters height while walking. (slouch, crawl, tiptoe)

In these games, height never seems to be a factor. Having a tall char should give you a better viewing angle somehow, yet leave you more vulnerable to damage. Maybe height itself could become a stat, just like con or dex. Height does affect perception dramatically irl so I don't see why it shouldn't do something for you in a game. Maybe character height could affect that "perception bubble" thingy that says when a character loads.

all that type of system would do is make everyone roll the smallest toons they can, because if in order to see farther or take less damage i would pick the latter. Also the onyl thing height really affects IRL on a day to day basis would be on the social side not the omg i can do everything cause Im so tall side. Lets face it other than sports there isnt really any major advantage of being tall. Other then not getting made fun of by alot of people for being short.

[Chadwick]

Dark and Light had (has?) real flight. Don't know how it plays in actual combat, but it was pretty fun.

[Cohort]

Dark and Light had (has?) real flight. Don't know how it plays in actual combat, but it was pretty fun.


By real flight do you mean the dragon pets or the ballons? I will say that this is one of the few times i heard anyone describe that game as fun.

Just kidding I had to bash it a little cause they let down alot of people just like all new mmo developers who promise the world seem to do.

[Chadwick]

No, you had a personal glider you could fly around with. You could also unequip it midair and do skydiving, along with an optional parachute. Hitting targets, like a citadel, was challenging and fun. I could easily imagine how that would translate into interesting siege warfare. Not very realistic flying, though, since you could basically go indefinitely if you jumped from a high enough mountain. Along with the shieldboarding (using your shield to sled down mountains at crazy speeds), the flying was about the best thing the game had going for it. Of course, this was all engine testing years ago, so I can't say how the game has developed (or not developed) since then.

[Ramsie]

the more real something becomes or follows the laws of, the less fun it can be.

[PKedUtoo]

the more real something becomes or follows the laws of, the less fun it can be.

real and fun are two very different things

I'm not sure about everyone else... but i dont play games to be real... if i want real then i wouldn't play game.

i only want fun

[Chadwick]

the more real something becomes or follows the laws of, the less fun it can be.

I agree, I was just remarking that DnL did not exactly have some state of the art physics engine.

[gremmlynn]

the more real something becomes or follows the laws of, the less fun it can be.
The same can be said for things being to unrealistic. If things are illogical to the point of stupidity (say, healing oneself by socketing a gun in ones ear and gently squeezing). There is a point when the ability to suspend ones disbelief is no longer possible. Once past that point, the game becomes nothing more than a collection of meaningless actions that trigger desired effects IMO.

[iScout]

the more real something becomes or follows the laws of, the less fun it can be.

True, but some things can be simplified into mundaneness. Take the flying mounts in the new WoW expansion. Hey, you can fly, and if you stop, you just sit there and hover. I would have liked to see some dogfighting, or even being able to dive to pick up speed, but No such luck.

[Cohort]

the more real something becomes or follows the laws of, the less fun it can be.


some ones been eating out at the chinese resuraunts a little too often.

[Ramsie]

IScout, They know their market. Dive bombing people questing is not wanted. As funny as the movies on YouTube might be, it would destroy their content driven world.

It would be the world of Leeeeeeeeroy all over again.

Cohort, We just want to be sure not to speak too early. Until something is set in stone, it will not be discussed outside the walls of SBG. Its for your benefit as much as ours. Disappointed players is not good for anyone, and we want to be sure that what we get excited with and talk about is real.

We will talk about what is reality, not desire. There is a caveat to that, in that, some topics you will hear our personal opinions on things. That should not be taken as a direct connection to any decisions being made pertaining to this project. Make no mistake about it, no one person is behind the design. Its a team effort to not only build, but also design something in the size of an MMO. Having a console background, its staggering when you first see the scope change from a PS2/Xbox game to that of an MMO.

How's that for a fortune cookie?

[Cohort]

How's that for a fortune cookie?

I would love to see the oven they used to bake that cookie. :D

[AllYourBase]

and flying monkeys. No flying elephants though as I don't approve of that disgusting type of 'AoE' attack

Or rabid dogs or killerbees... or rabid dogs with killerbees shooting out of their mouths!