Ideas for a "role-play update/DLC"?

tinythinker

I have written many times that I am all for variety of updates/DLCs to help give a little something for everyone over time: a general PvP update, a small group PvP update, a large group PvP update, a group PvE update, a solo PvE update, etc; and at the end I toss in "even RP" to be fair. But, while I have made suggestions on the forums aimed at most play styles, I haven't really focused much on RP.

Now, I stress the "emphasis on" in the first sentence above. It is unlikely any update will be 100% focused on one play style. Imperial City was billed as the PvP update and had PvE elements, while most players group up to do the major overland bosses in the single-player focused Orsinium update. So yes, there would have to be quests, major challenges, a main storyline, etc. Of course. The RP content would still be a big part of the DLC, though.

That said, what would you like to see that adds elements useful to role-players or just to those who like a bit more immersion in the game world? Particular types of landscapes or urban areas? Certain costumes? Changes to how some game mechanics work? Spicing up the atmosphere with more or better background events? Something else?

I will kick things off with a few suggestions:

1. A zone with fun spaces designed to evoke a sense of immersion and provide places in which to RP. [Feel free to suggest what this might look/sound/feel like]
2. A character sheet or bio that other players can view.
3. Player housing designed to contribute to game play. [Not my thing but it fits the theme and there are lots of threads about it]
4. A basic religion system (with home altars to go with #2).
5. Lore/immersion friendly changes to Werewolf and Vampire.
6. More varieties of/patterns of background events like weather.
7. More music, including event-based and zone-specific.
8. Gambling, betting, racing, etc.

OK, that's enough to get things started. Your turn. Thank you for your comments. (And if you know any RPers point them here, please. Their feedback would be awesome.)

Florial

Oh good thread. I'll bite with some ideas off the top of my head:

-Player housing of course and guild halls.

-Hobbies. Maybe card games, gambling, etc.

-A music system ala Lord of the Rings Online. Love what players did with their music and some of the concerts. I'm getting very tired of that Red Diamond song in the inns, lol.

-Love the character bio sheet. Even though I'm not a heavy RPer, I have mental stories that go with each of my characters.

tinythinker

Florial wrote: »

Oh good thread. I'll bite with some ideas off the top of my head:

-Player housing of course and guild halls.

-Hobbies. Maybe card games, gambling, etc.

-A music system ala Lord of the Rings Online.

-Love the character bio sheet. Even though I'm not a heavy RPer, I have mental stories that go with each of my characters.

Yeah, I am more of an immersion player than any kind of roleplayer, but I still want a character bio sheet

MornaBaine

So many possibilities. But ZOS has never done anything but pay lipservice to RP with absolutely nothing in-game to back it up. Player housing will be the first thing they've done even remotely for the RP community that has supported this game since launch and before even in the face of being utterly ignored. I'm not holding my breath that they'll do it right by a long shot. I'm so absolutely used to them not listening to us at all that it'll be a shock to me if they actually make it so that we can bring groups into our houses.

tinythinker

MornaBaine wrote: »

So many possibilities. But ZOS has never done anything but pay lipservice to RP with absolutely nothing in-game to back it up. Player housing will be the first thing they've done even remotely for the RP community that has supported this game since launch and before even in the face of being utterly ignored. I'm not holding my breath that they'll do it right by a long shot. I'm so absolutely used to them not listening to us at all that it'll be a shock to me if they actually make it so that we can bring groups into our houses.

Maybe, but I was trying to help out the immersion crowd and the RP crowd by generating some attention and enthusiasm on the forums I think even players who don't care about immersion and who never RP might like some of the ideas people contribute to threads like this, so I figured it was worth a shot.

MornaBaine

tinythinker wrote: »

MornaBaine wrote: »

So many possibilities. But ZOS has never done anything but pay lipservice to RP with absolutely nothing in-game to back it up. Player housing will be the first thing they've done even remotely for the RP community that has supported this game since launch and before even in the face of being utterly ignored. I'm not holding my breath that they'll do it right by a long shot. I'm so absolutely used to them not listening to us at all that it'll be a shock to me if they actually make it so that we can bring groups into our houses.

Maybe, but I was trying to help out the immersion crowd and the RP crowd by generating some attention and enthusiasm on the forums I think even players who don't care about immersion and who never RP might like some of the ideas people contribute to threads like this, so I figured it was worth a shot.

I'm hoping you are right.

TheShadowScout

1. RP zones? Are sadly somewhat unlikely to be made especially... though I for one would like to have some social interaction zones as well. But closest we get might be player housing and guildhalls I fear... it would be neat to have more space that's not all combat though. I'd really like to see an "all factions safezone" daedric plane, say, hosted by Sanguine, tor eternal partytime

2. Oh, definitely! I'd love having some short backstory I can write for my characters for others to see... and peek at what others dream up for their characters bio.

3. ...coming, someday...

4. Definitely! I sooo want my characters to declare for one diety to follow... set more of a theme to them...

5. Yeah, I really want them to feel more like the "monsters" they are seen as by the public then just normal characters with a special skill line... including more reasons for vamps to be night active and more connection of doggies to the moons...

6. Definitely. And weather having -effects-, maybe? Reduction to all fire damage and buff to ice during rain? Reduction to ice and buff to fire damage in the desert sun or near lava? Freezing damage if going nude in ice and snow? Stamina reduction for wearing heavy armor in desert heat? General small DoT during rare hailstorms? Involuntary movement during stormy weather as the wind blows? Occasional ice slick effect in winter regions? Patches of quicksand/mudholes that take a bit of effort to get out of? Reduced visibility mist/fog? Better darkness handling, including light and nightvision options to deal with? And most of all, swimming reduction for armor, including sink chance for heavy armor? Stuff I would love to see added to the game...

7. Always a good thing to have more music...

Personally I'd also like to see...

8. More interactable furniture. Chairs we can sit in. Beds we can nap in. Even shackles some unfortunate character can get locked in awaiting rescue for some RP on occasion. All over the world.

9. Non-combat daily missions. Stuff like messenger quests, fishing quests, prospecting quests, bardic quests, whatever...

tinythinker

TheShadowScout wrote: »

1. RP zones? Are sadly somewhat unlikely to be made especially... though I for one would like to have some social interaction zones as well. But closest we get might be player housing and guildhalls I fear... it would be neat to have more space that's not all combat though. I'd really like to see an "all factions safezone" daedric plane, say, hosted by Sanguine, tor eternal partytime

The zone would still have a storyline, delves/dungeons/trials, etc, like any other zone. It would simply also have more elements/spaces/etc designed to accommodate RP or get people into a more immersive mood. The other stuff would be part of the "base patch".

TheShadowScout wrote: »

Personally I'd also like to see...

8. More interactable furniture. Chairs we can sit in. Beds we can nap in. Even shackles some unfortunate character can get locked in awaiting rescue for some RP on occasion. All over the world.

9. Non-combat daily missions. Stuff like messenger quests, fishing quests, prospecting quests, bardic quests, whatever...

Yeah the whole "Why can't we sit in chairs we find in the environment?" thing was brought up a while ago and the answer was something like "It didn't occur to us people might want to do that." Non-combat quests sound like an interesting avenue to explore. Fishing quests? Yup. I'll take that.

Spacemonkey

tinythinker wrote: »

I will kick things off with a few suggestions:

1. A zone with fun spaces designed to evoke a sense of immersion and provide places in which to RP. [Feel free to suggest what this might look/sound/feel like]
2. A character sheet or bio that other players can view.
3. Player housing designed to contribute to game play. [Not my thing but it fits the theme and there are lots of threads about it]
4. A basic religion system (with home altars to go with #2).
5. Lore/immersion friendly changes to Werewolf and Vampire.
6. More varieties of/patterns of background events like weather.
7. More music, including event-based and zone-specific.
8. Gambling, betting, racing, etc.

OK, that's enough to get things started. Your turn. Thank you for your comments.

1 - I honestly think there's already plenty of this, you just need to find them etc... obviously they will keep crafting the world with each new zone
2 - Interesting indeed. I think I'd rather simply have the option for more customizable 'titles' though. So if you are rping as a woodworker (i dunno), you could but the 'woodworker' title in green to appear under your name. Stuff like that.
3 - Its been on the wish list for a long time, im sure well see it eventually.
4 - Could be interesting, could also be a tiny boost 'complement' to mundus stones. But quest related.
5 - no clue, never played ww or vamp
6 - Yes!
7 - YES!
8 - I like the idea but there would have to be mechanics involved etc...

My 2 cent:

1) Craftable vanity items/trophies (can be bought in crown store or also quest rewards). Lets face it, theres really a lack of 'unarmored' equipment. A few shirts and pants but overall not that much. Thats a huge part of rping in my opinion. (who does walk around in heavy armor 100% of the time....?) And the ones we do have, mostly arent amazing. Craftable trophy or 'effect' costumes would be really a nice idea for the rping comunity as well as crafters out there.
2) Emoji menu. Because it really breaks immersion having to open up a browser to look up whats the code for an emoji - allthough there might be an addon for this one already

tinythinker

Spacemonkey wrote: »

tinythinker wrote: »

I will kick things off with a few suggestions:

1. A zone with fun spaces designed to evoke a sense of immersion and provide places in which to RP. [Feel free to suggest what this might look/sound/feel like]
2. A character sheet or bio that other players can view.
3. Player housing designed to contribute to game play. [Not my thing but it fits the theme and there are lots of threads about it]
4. A basic religion system (with home altars to go with #2).
5. Lore/immersion friendly changes to Werewolf and Vampire.
6. More varieties of/patterns of background events like weather.
7. More music, including event-based and zone-specific.
8. Gambling, betting, racing, etc.

OK, that's enough to get things started. Your turn. Thank you for your comments.

1 - I honestly think there's already plenty of this, you just need to find them etc... obviously they will keep crafting the world with each new zone
2 - Interesting indeed. I think I'd rather simply have the option for more customizable 'titles' though. So if you are rping as a woodworker (i dunno), you could but the 'woodworker' title in green to appear under your name. Stuff like that.
3 - Its been on the wish list for a long time, im sure well see it eventually.
4 - Could be interesting, could also be a tiny boost 'complement' to mundus stones. But quest related.
5 - no clue, never played ww or vamp
6 - Yes!
7 - YES!
8 - I like the idea but there would have to be mechanics involved etc...

For #1, yes, this exists, but I am asking the immersion/RP crowd if there are places/settings they want to see added. Maybe something they think is missing or would like to have added for fun.

For #8, they have the mechanics to watch lizard racing already in a couple of places, you just can't bet on it. And in Reaper's March there is a place where you can pay to play in a race called spikeball and also bet on a troll fight. The dialogue for both of these is there for "betting" but it doesn't actually *do* anything. No gold is removed from your inventory and you don't get paid if you win. For an RP update, fleshing out these shells in existing base game zones and then adding new versions to the zone that comes with the DLC seems like a reasonable request.

Spacemonkey wrote: »

My 2 cent:

1) Craftable vanity items/trophies (can be bought in crown store or also quest rewards). Lets face it, theres really a lack of 'unarmored' equipment. A few shirts and pants but overall not that much. Thats a huge part of rping in my opinion. (who does walk around in heavy armor 100% of the time....?) And the ones we do have, mostly arent amazing. Craftable trophy or 'effect' costumes would be really a nice idea for the rping comunity as well as crafters out there.
2) Emoji menu. Because it really breaks immersion having to open up a browser to look up whats the code for an emoji - allthough there might be an addon for this one already

These sound interesting. For the Emoji, I would think there would need to be an option to turn it on/off like there is for chat bubbles for those who don't want it. Hmm, Elder Scrolls themed emji would be... something to see

Forestd16b14_ESO

LUSTY ARGONIAN MAID UPDATE !

tinythinker

Forestd16b14_ESO wrote: »

LUSTY ARGONIAN MAID UPDATE !

They kind of included that with Orsinium, if you've met the Alchemist at that city's branch of the Mage's Guild through the relevant quest.

pirate3

Florial wrote: »

-A music system ala Lord of the Rings Online. Love what players did with their music and some of the concerts. I'm getting very tired of that Red Diamond song in the inns, lol.

-Love the character bio sheet. Even though I'm not a heavy RPer, I have mental stories that go with each of my characters.

The music system in LoTRO is fantastic. I spent ages tinkering with that.

BIO sheets can be fantastic, especially the really bad ones. A nice way to put some distance between the character you envisage and the chosen-one nonsense that the game forces on you.

I'm not a RPer myself and never have been. But I'm always surprised by the way that MMO developers seem to overlook the existence of that particular playstyle. I imagine most younger devs are common-or-garden gamers with no background in tabletop. They may not appreciate that the audience for these games is actually quite diverse.

tinythinker

Hmm, gonna add:

- further cosmetic racial customization
- more polymorphs

notimetocare

1. This will come by default with other DLC. It would be bloat to add a zone that serves no story purpose.
2. Needless bloat. Most RPers already have ways to share this info, and non-RPers don't need the extra data bogging down the UI.
3. Probably the only thing that RPers might get, and I would like to see it.
4. Either it ends up bloat(unless it is crafted altars for decoration in the home) or it ends up some buff non-RPers have to waste time with.
5. There is a point where immersion becomes to much in an MMO. Day/night cycle stuff, that is not very minimal, is generally annoying. "oh yay, mu buff changed because time..."
6. Weather is already client side and annoys many RPers. "oh I love this rain" rper1 'what rain?' rper2
7. Yay... more giant files to download... not completely against it, but regardless of how much music you have it will get repetitive and annoying.
8. Why... just why...

notimetocare

pirate3 wrote: »

Florial wrote: »

-A music system ala Lord of the Rings Online. Love what players did with their music and some of the concerts. I'm getting very tired of that Red Diamond song in the inns, lol.

-Love the character bio sheet. Even though I'm not a heavy RPer, I have mental stories that go with each of my characters.

The music system in LoTRO is fantastic. I spent ages tinkering with that.

BIO sheets can be fantastic, especially the really bad ones. A nice way to put some distance between the character you envisage and the chosen-one nonsense that the game forces on you.

I'm not a RPer myself and never have been. But I'm always surprised by the way that MMO developers seem to overlook the existence of that particular playstyle. I imagine most younger devs are common-or-garden gamers with no background in tabletop. They may not appreciate that the audience for these games is actually quite diverse.

OR they are not building a game for tabletop RPers. As someone who does RP and pvp, a pvper cannot play their game without rev attention, but RPers have little to no issue with pretending already. There is less need to focus time on that playstyle.

Peel_Ya_Cap_517

I've thought gambling and betting would be awesome!

Actually, all of your ideas are great

Robo_Hobo

Bio sheets or something to that extent as an in-game feature would be great. I love creating characters with detailed personalities and backstories, and a way to show them in-game would be ideal. An extension could be a whole profile tab that can show achievements, character model of some armour or outfit you want to show off, guilds you're in optionally, some motto you want to use, etc. stuff like that. More than just RP'rs could make use of that as well.

CJohnson81

Gambling/betting yes, but I would like to separate horse betting from table games. I would love more interactive spaces in taverns. Card games, dice games, darts, sitting to drink - all things you could be doing while having a guild meeting in voice chat.

For me, the ultimate would be the ability to craft your own quests. Maybe the functionality doesn't start out too robustly (like just a handful of quest types), but being able to hire an adventurer to go get you get a sword from a delve, or collect some mats would be cool. You create the quest and fund the reward.

Gidorick

I WANT ALL OF THESE THINGS!!!

A couple of notes...

1: I genuinely think an alternate Tamriel that is devoid of mobs and combat would be cool for this. Too bad there's not lore that supports this weird idea of a separate but equal version of Tamriel *COUGH-LYG-COUGH*... hehe. ZOS could release each Zone, exactly as they are now and have players pay for permanent access zone by zone. 1000 Crowns per zone? people will pay that. ZOS could even perhaps throw quests in there and could flex their creative muscles.

The Grabbers of Lyg (those that live there) are possibly Magna-Ge and I always liked to think they were a bit... off. Like they don't seem quite right and their logic and sanity isn't quite set properly. I also have always thought of them as being doppelgangers of sorts. So it would be cool if there were quests that involved dealing with the Grabber version of yourself. All of them are kind of like Sheogorath... if he wasn't aware he was mad. Lyg does have ties to Mehrunes Dagon so there could be a story arc there.

I could totally see the story revolving around releasing the zone from the grips of Mehrunes Dagon and similar to Orsinium, as you free the zone it starts to look more and more like the Tamriel we know and love and maybe once the zone has been "cleared" it's peaceful without Mobs and Daedric influence.

Of course there is the possibility we are all on Lyg in ESO but that's for another thread.

2: I would LOVE to have the option to write a little blurb. I would write something like

"Before you, you see a stoic and aggravated Redguard. He stands with his fists clenched and his chin turned downward. His jaw switches beneath his covered eye. On the same side of his face his mouth is frozen in an eternal scowl by the stilled melting of the skin of his face. His dreads cascade over his bulging shoulders and flick across the blade of the two handed broadsword on his back. In the averted gaze of his one good eye, you see a lifetime of underlying betrayal and pain. A sense of purpose and drive emanates from this man. He does not appear to have the time for whatever it was you needed, but he may be just the one you need. "

Of course, I would also want to have a character named Cobb and in his blurb it would say "Ask me about LOOM!"

It would be anything anyone wanted to put in there... Armor, stats, and CP number? Have at it! Full reporting capabilities should also be enabled.

Along these same lines is the idea of being able to write your own lore books that are only in your house, and can only be sold (for in-game gold) to friends to have in their homes. Those would be BOP and cannot be sold. But players would be able to write their very own sagas... These skills could tie into a Scribes guild with the possibility to craft your own lorebooks.

3. Talked a lot about player housing. Many ways to do this. As long as I can sleep in the bed.. I'll be happy.
4. Gah! I still need to edit that religion concept. hehe.
5. I have thought a LOT about how this could be done in ESO. I honestly think the best way is to introduce new Vamp and Lycan strains with new zones. Want to be a Wereboar? Those can be found HERE.
6. Oh my goodness YES!!! Weather really does need an overhaul. I talk about that here: http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/157644/environment-weather-systems-overhaul-concept/p1
The fact that we don't have ACTUAL weather variation just flat out sucks.

7. Zone specific music would be AWESOME. If they do that, hirable bard companions would be welcome too! This way a bar would FEEL like a Nord Bar by the music and not just the decorations.
8. Yes, yes, yes!!!! Inns and Towns in general need an overhaul.

That was fun!

Johngo0036

Go to the cliffs at frostreach and roleplay flying off them

LMar

I personally would like more emotes and being able to sit on chairs etc.

SantieClaws

All I really want is emotes - lots and lots of new emotes.

More dances, maybe some to do with stealing, a flip emote, a boo emote, a blow kiss emote - lots of the ones that I miss from LOTRO actually.

This game has quite a small emote pool compared to what I got used to there before I sailed away for good and landed on these shores.

Jura23

Every MMO should have blackjack type minigame.

ArcVelarian

Well, these first two are just, in general, but can be seen as RP oriented.

1. Name Changes. C'mon, how hard would this be to implement?
2. Appearance re-customization. Remember that bug on day one where you couldn't zoom into your character in the creation screen? Yeah...
3. More customization options in the character creator. Some of those hair-dos are absolutely atrocious.
4. Instanced Player Housing or Instanced Guild Halls. Just make sure we can go crazy with the customization if we feel so inclined. Four-poster beds balanced on fish bowls, dining room table on the ceiling, frescos made from dwemer automaton parts, etc.
5. Make it so we can tell the bards to shut up. Some of them have REALLY bad singing voices (all the non-Malukah ones ).
6. Player created content. Remember that fantastic modding community? Give them a way to create stuff for the game.

TheShadowScout

Jura23 wrote: »

Every MMO should have blackjack type minigame.

Possibly, but not to stop there, so many more minigames they could come up with to spice up the RP! Be it arm wrestling or checkers, dart throwing or drinking contests, race tracks or archery competitions, it would be a blast to have minigames to compete against NPCs and also your fellow players...

ArcVelarian wrote: »

Well, these first two are just, in general, but can be seen as RP oriented.

1. Name Changes. C'mon, how hard would this be to implement?
2. Appearance re-customization. Remember that bug on day one where you couldn't zoom into your character in the creation screen? Yeah...
3. More customization options in the character creator. Some of those hair-dos are absolutely atrocious.
4. Instanced Player Housing or Instanced Guild Halls. Just make sure we can go crazy with the customization if we feel so inclined. Four-poster beds balanced on fish bowls, dining room table on the ceiling, frescos made from dwemer automaton parts, etc.
5. Make it so we can tell the bards to shut up. Some of them have REALLY bad singing voices (all the non-Malukah ones ).
6. Player created content. Remember that fantastic modding community? Give them a way to create stuff for the game.

1., 2., 3. - definitely, and hopefully they will come early nextz year. Can't be soon enopugh for me...
4. - will likely come too, someday. Likely not soon, considering how many other things they have to work on, but... eventually. And the roleplayers will rejoice once it does!
5. - nah, they are not that annoying. Some are even quite pleasing... if only... they'd learn some new songs...
6. - that might be a bigger can of worms. But who knows, someday perhaps, they will add some way for players to bring something into ESO. I for one would not hold my breath though, few games take those chances, as it can become both a technical quagmire, and a legal vexation...

aria230

Here's my input in relation to your suggestions:
1. The sens of immersion is all around us and the hole TES series has done the best job at it so far. If there needs to be some tweaks here and there (like the NPCs in taverns that move players around, braking their emote), we can look past them to some point.
2. The character sheet option would be nice though PvE-ers and PvP-ers will totally ignore it. However, this can be worked around by implementing writable books. You can craft/purchase a blank book and inque and you can start writing on it as an in-game journal/story, keeping notes for yourself. And you can put it in your personal collection of books, in your home. This dose imply having more than 1 book that can be written.
3. Player housing, hell yeah. And I believe it's already confirmed.
4. Can be RP-d around
5. I would certainly love to see the werewolve's face reworked to look more ... naturally and fearsome-ly beautiful. The vampires can do with a make-up to but I'm not into them so I'll restrain my critiques at it.
6. Weather is linked to the geographical position and I believe it is good as it is. But I would say that rain lasts to long (in my opinion/experience)
7. Not many players keep ESO background music on. Most of us prefer our own music.
8. Can be RP-d around

But I have to agree with ArcVelarian as his post states the most wanted/needed options by the RP coommunity.
I have made a post myself of the most wanted/needed functions for the RP community and promoting it will eventually a developer's attention. Please visit: http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en-GB/discussion/230355/request-list?new=1 and state your opinion and feel free to add more to it.

Elloa

My idea is pretty simple and would allow a nice space for roleplayers to enjoy themselves: a Cyrodiil RP server.

There would be no alliance point to be gained, no reward of the worthy and no tel var stones. No stores either.
But roleplayers would have access to a imense zone, with PVP enabled, where they could organise RP events of all kinds including Roleplay battles.

I think from a budget point of view, it would also be the simpliest and most efficient gesture Zenimax could do for roleplayers. Also, pets would be allowed, and deer and torchbug aswell.

Gidorick

ArcVelarian wrote: »

• Player created content. Remember that fantastic modding community? Give them a way to create stuff for the game.

@ArcVelarian This is the single greatest miss for ZOS (and boy... are there a lot of them). I made a pretty long post about that very thing back on January 1st.

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/144735/player-created-content-suggestion-for-the-future-of-eso/p1