How ZOS can get lots of new players!

Faugaun · February 2015

Gidorick wrote: »

Faugaun wrote: »

The emote thing sounds nice and fun, I'll have to think more on it. I know with crawlers and googles penguin algorithm they are able to determine quality of content so gibberish like then line you typed where people were obviously trying to game the system would be identified and lose the rp exp for a set period of time ... Then again googles system is proprietary and I dunno how hard it would be for zos to make a similar system. That is a bit beyond my knowledge base....I still maintain that the fact someone is/could/might abuse the system is not a reason to stop others from getting exp.

Hey, if they could figure it out, I'd be all for it. I just don't know if they could deliver a system that would be meaningful for all players.

I would love to see them try though!

Even if it only fixes it for 50% of RPers, that is better than the current system, am I wrong?

NewBlacksmurf · February 2015

<Instant VR14 for RP walking from one side to another in Cyrodil with magelight and Coulharbor lvl1 gear.

TheShadowScout · February 2015

Personally I would love to have something in the game that rewards decent roleplay with extra experience. Though every option I could think of, I can also think of ways it could be abused, badly, one way or another. Except the one that would take more resources then the powers that be would be willing to spare on their game.
Give XP for gametime/chat/emotes? People will write add-ons that do this automatically while they go afk. Use selection critera like keywords and locations? People will write that in their add ons too.
Give XP for other players? Friends will boost friends. Lock out guildmates and friends lists? RL friends will make un-friended accounts and boost themselves again.
Have GMs hand out XP? Neat, but to be actually worth something there would need to be a Lot of GMs working in the game looking for RP. Otherwise it will not count for much. Still... it certainly would be neat if people RPing did occasionally see some reward dropped into their laps from on high... just keep it a special gift, and make sure everyone knows its not something RPers are entitled to.

That said... there are some notions that could improve roleplay value of ESO.

Some character background info in-game would be a good thing. Possibly not merely the occasionally seen "background info tab (though that alone would be better then nothing), but done in an "Ask NPC about (Character Name)" format, giving out rumours... random chance of a game-content related rumour "I hear X once cleared out a nest of orc raiders in Deshaan" or player written info about their character... (hopefully done RPish like "X fought in the akaviri invasion, ten years ago, that's where they got those scars..." and not "X has the biggest D*** in all Tamriel!") GMs -could- reward well written RP info with XP gifts... ("I like your story, here have some XP"...)

Usable furniture would be neat. Not just chairs to sit in at the tavern, but also beds to take a nap in, stocks, cells and cages to "get locked in" for "free the captive" RP, etc.

Tavern minigames might be fun. Those could even give out XP, if they were done in ways that can't just be done on auto... I for one would love to see arm wrestling (bonus for characters with high stamina and double bonus for those whose character size slider is at the "tall and muscular" edge), drinking games (Health bonus for endurance?), and possibly a simple board- or cardgame (magica bonus for smarts?)... possibly playable against other players instead of just NPCs?

Targeted animations allowing actual interaction with another player (pending their approval) would be good too. Come on, every hero needs a good hug sometime... (and some a kick in the...)

Duelling. Fighting with other players outside Cyrodil (that one will please the PvPers as well, since in my experience that kind never could pass up another chance to show off their big PvPness

). The upcoming crown store "monster disguise" costumes (OK, right now its only a draugr, with skeleton and goblin attianable in-game, but in time I am sure more will come) would help there, alloowing some players to RP antagonists...

Non-combat and everyday-activity quests. I like the crafting writs, I like the cyrodil dailies, I would love to see more of the sort. Especially the sort that lets you revisit old regions - the combat there would be neglectable due to overlevelling, so it would have to be more the time spent doing the running & item/NPC finding part of the quest...
- Messenger daily quests where you have to deliver letters all over your alliance? Most to places as far from wayshrines as possible? Possibly to NPCs of which you get only a "area" location and have to find them yourself?
- Surveyor daily quest where you have to visit specific location and do something there (take ore sample, water sample, pick up special quest only stuff, interact with item, whatever)?
- Hunter daily quest where you get to bring home some bacon for provisoners to cook (like the fighters guild bounty in cyrodil, kill randomly chosen beasties for collecting x number meat)?
- Trader daily quest where you buy from one NPC (like the farmer near the mountains) then sell the bought stuff to a different NPC (like the trader in the city) at the other end of the map for profit?
- Patroller daily quest where you get to roam one region until you find and resolve three "bandit" encounters?
- Fisherman daily quest where you catch and deliver certain randomly choosen kinds of fish for profit and XP?
- Temple daily quest where you do something for the head priest, depending on temple, perhaps? Deliver supplies to the poor, collect healing herbs for the temple stores, exterminate undead for arkay, whatever might fit...
- Bard daily quest where you have to play a musical emote at a series of randomly choosen taverns all over your alliance? (would be better if there was a bardic guild skill line...)
- Thieves Guild (once they get done) random daily quest where you just get assigned one random house to empty a special spawn strongbox?
- Mages Guild random daily quest where you get sent to random locations to grab a special ingredients/collect special spellbooks?
- (Fighters Guild already have the daily cyrodil bounties)
- Dark Brotherhood (once introduced) random daily quest where you get a contract on some randomly choosen named NPC? Possibly one who is in hiding and you have to find first by persuading/intimidating/bribing NPCs to give you clues to the hiding spot?
(and yes, those "random quest" ideas I did nick from "Daggerfall" the first TES game I stumbled over)

MornaBaine · February 2015

Some interesting ideas here but they are either incredibly labor intensive (having GM's stealth watch players) and would cost too much or they depend on systems that would be fairly easily exploited. Plus, roleplayers themselves would reject such systems. Roleplayers often enough have very little interest in having others observe their roleplay and therefore often roleplay in group chat rather than spatial. So short of eavesdropping on "private" conversations (yes I think everyone is well aware that ZOS employees can see anything anyone is saying regardless of the chat channel being used but the idea that they would be deliberately "spying" on people is likely to have a chilling effect) there's no way to suss out all the RP that actually goes on.

What is far more likely to reward RP isn't some system to monitor and assess chat but to give players in general alternate ways to advance that do not involve combat. A housing system that allows players to gain XP for building not only houses but all the things that go in them would be a huge start. Giving players professions such as Entertainer (hello SWG) where our characters can learn more complicated and advanced dance styles (Age of Conan actually had an awesome dance system that was very interactive), additional musical instruments and songs for instance. An acrobat profession perhaps combined with a juggler and jester skill. Experience awarded for crafting would also be a huge step in the right direction, perhaps requiring crafters to make X type of item X number of times to advance. Sadly, all of those things would require this game to become far more sandboxy than ZOS has any apparent interest in doing.

When it comes right down to it though, roleplayers generally don't really want XP for roleplaying. This really is an activity that is its own reward. We don't NEED XP for coming up with cool plotlines for our guild members or engaging in political intrigue or arranging alliances or starting a romance or a war. All of these things are just fun to do in and of themselves. All we really WANT are the tools that allow us to engage in these activities as immersively as possible.
Our characters are our actors and they need extensive wardrobe, hair and make up options. We need to be able to change their names and appearances to suit our plot needs. We need EMPTY INSTANCES of various locals to provide the backdrop for our various roleplay needs. We need to have the ability to spawn mobs in those empty instances that suit the requirements of various combat-oriented roleplay. We need the ability to duel! We need the ability to have a private instance in Cyrodiil where we can set up the conditions for RP PvP (and yes, there really is such a thing) and the ability to coordinate with roleplayers from the other factions so they can participate. We need ever more emotes! We realllly need a cross-faction PvE area so we can AT LAST craft plotlines with our fellow roleplayers in the other factions. We need SOME form of player housing.

But I cannot stress enough how important it is to have private instances of darn near everything. Because the NUMBER ONE wish of every roleplayer is not XP for roleplaying. It's the ability to roleplay without being trolled. EVERY SINGLE TIME I have my characters speak in character for more than two sentences with other roleplayers who are doing the same, some utter lackwit will come over and
start saying really rude and demeaning things
spam spells
stand in the middle of whatever is going on and dance
stand within other characters (thanks lack of collision) just to be a jerk
start playing instruments while standing "in your face"

You get the picture. And the only way to get rid of them is to screenshot and report them en masse. Because only when they get a sudden flurry of reports do GMs act to remove the offending player. Generally speaking what happens is a series of "drive by" trollings by multiple people who will come over, be rude and disruptive for a few moments and then move on. This happens MULTIPLE TIMES in any RP session I have ever been in and it is the common experience of every single roleplayer in the game. Does it hurt my feelings and make me cry? No. Is it incredibly annoying? Yes. But what is even MORE annoying is the fact that ZOS could fix it and simply won't.

Gidorick · February 2015

TheShadowScout wrote: »

Personally I would love to have something in the game that rewards decent roleplay with extra experience. Though every option I could think of, I can also think of ways it could be abused, badly, one way or another. Except the one that would take more resources then the powers that be would be willing to spare on their game.
Give XP for gametime/chat/emotes? People will write add-ons that do this automatically while they go afk. Use selection critera like keywords and locations? People will write that in their add ons too.
Give XP for other players? Friends will boost friends. Lock out guildmates and friends lists? RL friends will make un-friended accounts and boost themselves again.
Have GMs hand out XP? Neat, but to be actually worth something there would need to be a Lot of GMs working in the game looking for RP. Otherwise it will not count for much. Still... it certainly would be neat if people RPing did occasionally see some reward dropped into their laps from on high... just keep it a special gift, and make sure everyone knows its not something RPers are entitled to.

That said... there are some notions that could improve roleplay value of ESO.

Some character background info in-game would be a good thing. Possibly not merely the occasionally seen "background info tab (though that alone would be better then nothing), but done in an "Ask NPC about (Character Name)" format, giving out rumours... random chance of a game-content related rumour "I hear X once cleared out a nest of orc raiders in Deshaan" or player written info about their character... (hopefully done RPish like "X fought in the akaviri invasion, ten years ago, that's where they got those scars..." and not "X has the biggest D*** in all Tamriel!") GMs -could- reward well written RP info with XP gifts... ("I like your story, here have some XP"...)

Usable furniture would be neat. Not just chairs to sit in at the tavern, but also beds to take a nap in, stocks, cells and cages to "get locked in" for "free the captive" RP, etc.

Tavern minigames might be fun. Those could even give out XP, if they were done in ways that can't just be done on auto... I for one would love to see arm wrestling (bonus for characters with high stamina and double bonus for those whose character size slider is at the "tall and muscular" edge), drinking games (Health bonus for endurance?), and possibly a simple board- or cardgame (magica bonus for smarts?)... possibly playable against other players instead of just NPCs?

Targeted animations allowing actual interaction with another player (pending their approval) would be good too. Come on, every hero needs a good hug sometime... (and some a kick in the...)

Duelling. Fighting with other players outside Cyrodil (that one will please the PvPers as well, since in my experience that kind never could pass up another chance to show off their big PvPness ). The upcoming crown store "monster disguise" costumes (OK, right now its only a draugr, with skeleton and goblin attianable in-game, but in time I am sure more will come) would help there, alloowing some players to RP antagonists...

Non-combat and everyday-activity quests. I like the crafting writs, I like the cyrodil dailies, I would love to see more of the sort. Especially the sort that lets you revisit old regions - the combat there would be neglectable due to overlevelling, so it would have to be more the time spent doing the running & item/NPC finding part of the quest...
- Messenger daily quests where you have to deliver letters all over your alliance? Most to places as far from wayshrines as possible? Possibly to NPCs of which you get only a "area" location and have to find them yourself?
- Surveyor daily quest where you have to visit specific location and do something there (take ore sample, water sample, pick up special quest only stuff, interact with item, whatever)?
- Hunter daily quest where you get to bring home some bacon for provisoners to cook (like the fighters guild bounty in cyrodil, kill randomly chosen beasties for collecting x number meat)?
- Trader daily quest where you buy from one NPC (like the farmer near the mountains) then sell the bought stuff to a different NPC (like the trader in the city) at the other end of the map for profit?
- Patroller daily quest where you get to roam one region until you find and resolve three "bandit" encounters?
- Fisherman daily quest where you catch and deliver certain randomly choosen kinds of fish for profit and XP?
- Temple daily quest where you do something for the head priest, depending on temple, perhaps? Deliver supplies to the poor, collect healing herbs for the temple stores, exterminate undead for arkay, whatever might fit...
- Bard daily quest where you have to play a musical emote at a series of randomly choosen taverns all over your alliance? (would be better if there was a bardic guild skill line...)
- Thieves Guild (once they get done) random daily quest where you just get assigned one random house to empty a special spawn strongbox?
- Mages Guild random daily quest where you get sent to random locations to grab a special ingredients/collect special spellbooks?
- (Fighters Guild already have the daily cyrodil bounties)
- Dark Brotherhood (once introduced) random daily quest where you get a contract on some randomly choosen named NPC? Possibly one who is in hiding and you have to find first by persuading/intimidating/bribing NPCs to give you clues to the hiding spot?
(and yes, those "random quest" ideas I did nick from "Daggerfall" the first TES game I stumbled over)

This! All of this! Talk about adding value!

LunarMynx · February 2015

Gidorick wrote: »

How? Offer suggestions not just abstract ideas.

This is simple. they would need and should have GM/DM available as it is, to help the RP community deal with the immense number of trolls.
A DM floats around, sees people in RP, grants XP.
Really, not that difficult and it's not an abstract idea. Other MMO's have done this.
SWG / RIFT to name two.

Gidorick · February 2015

LunarMynx wrote: »

Gidorick wrote: »

How? Offer suggestions not just abstract ideas.

This is simple. they would need and should have GM/DM available as it is, to help the RP community deal with the immense number of trolls.
A DM floats around, sees people in RP, grants XP.
Really, not that difficult and it's not an abstract idea. Other MMO's have done this.
SWG / RIFT to name two.

I just don't see the "value" from ZOS' perspective.

And the backlash from the community would be intense. The threads from players who DON'T RP and those that do but aren't "chosen" would be full of complaint after complaint.

If ZOS was going to interact with players I would much prefer it to be like this:
http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/143464/in-game-zos-developer-events-concept

Faugaun · February 2015

@TheShadowScout‌ @MornaBaine‌ great suggestions I hope @ZOS_GinaBruno‌ and other devs check them out.

@Gidorick the value to Zos...let me try to explain my view on this

Zos comes from a background that seems to be very lore heavy this creates a (imo) good backdrop for RP, a logical step for them to take would be to push for a strong niche to be the market leader. Right now (as best I am aware) there is not a crazy amount of well developed competition in the medieval fantasy rp realm.

People have mentioned that RPers do not care about EXP...I think this is not necessarily a rule some people like to RP and Play the game. Additionally RPers who are lower level have reduced access to higher level zones...it is pretty hard to rp in the wilderness of craglorn without being VR5+ or spending a fortune in soulgems (which RPers don't make that much gold either...maybe gold for rp is valid also). RPers (not all but many) would be more than happy to buy cosmetic items in a crown shop which have no impact on the game...this will help keep pay to win items out of the crown shop for all the non RPers and provide revenue for Zos.

People criticize a crawler of your chat? Every facebook, MySpace and forum post you ever made was crawled (unless its in the darknet). Peferabbly the crawler would do the bulk of the work (this promotes a fair and automated system). People criticize the ability of a program to correctly determine gibberish from real RP.....here's an easy one...Microsoft office has run grammer checks on sentences for decades ....if something classified as RP is failing tons of grammar checks then manual review....if someone is found gaming the system 6 month (or one month or whatever is approporiate) rp exp ban. Make it even easier OpenOffice also has grammar checks and the source code is open.... This grammar check could easily be modified into a quality check for RP and most of the code is already written and freely available.

You think the crawlers would have problems evaluating this, try building a website and really digging into SEO (search engine optimization) info. The currently existing algorithems are pretty darn good (at least for search engines). Running on chat text in a fairly standardized environment (within ESO) is much easier than running similar checks on websites that vary widely.

They could even do a Page rank type system (might even be able to get some starter source code for the under an open license, I am not sure). Initially known RPers such as those making YouTube videos of events etc...would be given rp rank, then each time people group with those people they gain a tiny amount of rprank. The more associations you have (joining groups, having on friend lists, being in guilds with) with other people with rprank the more rprank you gain. The higher a persons rprank the more benefit people who associate with them receive. Finally these rpranks can be placed on a sliding exp scale. The hire your RP rank the more exp per hour you get when logged in (to a point). Perhaps also require a proximity check to other people with rprank, or emote usage.

Google penguin for catching people who violate the system http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Penguin

Google panda for quality checks
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Panda

Google Page rank for associative ranking
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PageRank

Obviously zos may not be able to get googles source but a decent replacement shouldn't be that difficult to program....and if Zeni is serious about MMOs, they could develop and utilize similar systems for all their MMOs and really shoot for king of RP.... Latching onto big name contracts like "a game of thrones" mmo...talk about a following with loads of lore...or "Harry potter" ... A company that is RP king could utilize this edge to negotiate big name contracts get player base and develop a strong rp following ...as well as a non rp following that doesn't need to tolerate cash shops that have pay to win items ( cause the rp community is paying the bill on cosmetics).

In the end if p2p is abandoned then this is a great way to pay the bills and keep the spirit of the game(s).

I hope that is more clear?

Gidorick · February 2015

You're right... technically it CAN be done, and I'd really love to see some of these systems implemented but a game that is missing as much as ESO is missing in the RP department and ZOS' unwillingness to work on these systems makes the likliness of them even trying slim to none.

I mean.... it's almost been a year and we still can't sit in chairs and this seems to be a VERY low priority to them.

But as I've said before:

Gidorick wrote: »

Faugaun wrote: »

The emote thing sounds nice and fun, I'll have to think more on it. I know with crawlers and googles penguin algorithm they are able to determine quality of content so gibberish like then line you typed where people were obviously trying to game the system would be identified and lose the rp exp for a set period of time ... Then again googles system is proprietary and I dunno how hard it would be for zos to make a similar system. That is a bit beyond my knowledge base....I still maintain that the fact someone is/could/might abuse the system is not a reason to stop others from getting exp.

Hey, if they could figure it out, I'd be all for it. I just don't know if they could deliver a system that would be meaningful for all players.

I would love to see them try though!

Roechacca · February 2015

What about being in a town or area out of combat and while using emotes and role playing with others , getting a equivalent to rested xp gain ? Some games have rested xp buffs that reward you for being in a social area or while logged out as the toon is considered resting . It's hard to describe but it would be more or less a buff for doing social things .

MornaBaine · February 2015

roechacca wrote: »

What about being in a town or area out of combat and while using emotes and role playing with others , getting a equivalent to rested xp gain ? Some games have rested xp buffs that reward you for being in a social area or while logged out as the toon is considered resting . It's hard to describe but it would be more or less a buff for doing social things .

Now that makes a certain amount of sense. Being in social spaces, a certain percentage of emotes, a certain percentage of typing going on in /say....ok that could work. But it would need to be less than actually doing the content and even then there will be annoying non-RPers gaming the system by using it to troll.

Faugaun · February 2015

MornaBaine wrote: »

roechacca wrote: »

What about being in a town or area out of combat and while using emotes and role playing with others , getting a equivalent to rested xp gain ? Some games have rested xp buffs that reward you for being in a social area or while logged out as the toon is considered resting . It's hard to describe but it would be more or less a buff for doing social things .

Now that makes a certain amount of sense. Being in social spaces, a certain percentage of emotes, a certain percentage of typing going on in /say....ok that could work. But it would need to be less than actually doing the content and even then there will be annoying non-RPers gaming the system by using it to troll.

So what about a "Troll" button when you right click their name which removes them from the RP exp for 15 minutes.

Edit: if an account passes a certain amount of troll reports they are submitted for manual review and subject to possible longer removals from the rp exp system.

Edit2: and why would rp exp "need" to be lower than doing the actual content? My view is different but I'm trying to understand yours.

Faugaun · February 2015

Sorry mispost

Gidorick · February 2015

Faugaun wrote: »

MornaBaine wrote: »

roechacca wrote: »

What about being in a town or area out of combat and while using emotes and role playing with others , getting a equivalent to rested xp gain ? Some games have rested xp buffs that reward you for being in a social area or while logged out as the toon is considered resting . It's hard to describe but it would be more or less a buff for doing social things .

Now that makes a certain amount of sense. Being in social spaces, a certain percentage of emotes, a certain percentage of typing going on in /say....ok that could work. But it would need to be less than actually doing the content and even then there will be annoying non-RPers gaming the system by using it to troll.

So what about a "Troll" button when you right click their name which removes them from the RP exp for 15 minutes.

Edit: if an account passes a certain amount of troll reports they are submitted for manual review and subject to possible longer removals from the rp exp system.

Edit2: and why would rp exp "need" to be lower than doing the actual content? My view is different but I'm trying to understand yours.

Troll button would be subject to SO much abuse. Again:

Gidorick wrote: »

In order for a system to be viable it would have to
Be applicable to all players

Be impartial

Be quantifiable

Be track-able

Require no direct maintenance from ZOS

Not be given to players by players

As for RP giving lower XP... do you think it makes sense for a character that spent their time hanging out in a city to be as powerful as a player that took down Molag Bal?

if we had RP skill trees I think this would make much more sense.

MornaBaine · February 2015

Gidorick wrote: »

Faugaun wrote: »

MornaBaine wrote: »

roechacca wrote: »

What about being in a town or area out of combat and while using emotes and role playing with others , getting a equivalent to rested xp gain ? Some games have rested xp buffs that reward you for being in a social area or while logged out as the toon is considered resting . It's hard to describe but it would be more or less a buff for doing social things .

Now that makes a certain amount of sense. Being in social spaces, a certain percentage of emotes, a certain percentage of typing going on in /say....ok that could work. But it would need to be less than actually doing the content and even then there will be annoying non-RPers gaming the system by using it to troll.

So what about a "Troll" button when you right click their name which removes them from the RP exp for 15 minutes.

Edit: if an account passes a certain amount of troll reports they are submitted for manual review and subject to possible longer removals from the rp exp system.

Edit2: and why would rp exp "need" to be lower than doing the actual content? My view is different but I'm trying to understand yours.

Troll button would be subject to SO much abuse. Again:

Gidorick wrote: »

In order for a system to be viable it would have to
Be applicable to all players

Be impartial

Be quantifiable

Be track-able

Require no direct maintenance from ZOS

Not be given to players by players

As for RP giving lower XP... do you think it makes sense for a character that spent their time hanging out in a city to be as powerful as a player that took down Molag Bal?

if we had RP skill trees I think this would make much more sense.

This post AMPLY answers the question you posed to me. So I'll just say... THIS.

Faugaun · February 2015

OK but if troll button is abused it is very short duration, it could be required that a minimum threshold of troll reports within a certain time frame (maybe 5 minutes) need to be clicked for the rp xp block to even occur.

This has an indirect effect of keeping rp more local, cause yell results in many more people seeing the post thus more people who would potentially think you are trolling. Where as a local gathering in say would be unlikely to be seen by people who might abuse the system.

That said if people abuse the troll button why is that a concern? I think it is a step in the right direction.

Consider

no troll button and no exp = rper get nothing (like currently)

Abused troll button with exp = RPers might get blocked from exp by jerks sometimes...but they will get exp other times (improvement now RPers get something where before they got nothing, is it perfect? No. But its better than current).

As for the Molag Bal argument...do you think RPers would be restricted to town locations if they got experience and could keep an area reasonably clear of enemies? So they wouldn't necessarily be sitting around town all the time...but they might. Do you think a player who engages a dozen other players to participate in the game have fun and add to the player base (and likely buy cosmetic items) deserves less exp for his/her time than a player who kills Molag Bal? Anyone in a single player RPG can kill the last boss of the story line...but single player RPG doesn't have the social component. That's the real reason people play MMOs instead of RPG. RPers take that social component to a more extreme level than non RPers perhaps they deserve more for going above and beyond.

Now I'll give you icily it doesn't make sense for a slave character to be more powerful than the hero of tamriel who kills Molag Bal ....but I bet that slave is more powerful than a persona that doesn't exist (the non rper who killed Molag Bal) because the real (the character that exists icily) is stronger than that which does not exist (the character that does not exist icily).

There's an IC and an OOC argument for why RP should generate exp at an equal (or greater) rate than non RP. (Granted I know this will never happen because the non-rp community would be furious....like they are over so many things: unbalanced PvP, being nerfed in 1.6, any other random Nerf, not getting enough cp, lower players getting to much cp.....and whatever other thing then complaint of the day might be).

Gidorick · February 2015

Being that XP=skill & power. Yes. I think they deserve less.

Just as a navy seal is a more capable warrior than someone spends their time.... well... doing THIS (forums, fantasy, games).

Again. If there were RP skill trees then this idea would work but there aren't... ESO sn't designed with RPers in mind.

I would LOVE for there to be more RP centric skill lines (like being a Baker or a Hunter or a librarian) but this isn't the direction ESO is moving. Sadly.

MornaBaine · February 2015

Gidorick wrote: »

Being that XP=skill & power. Yes. I think they deserve less.

Just as a navy seal is a more capable warrior than someone spends their time.... well... doing THIS (forums, fantasy, games).

Again. If there were RP skill trees then this idea would work but there aren't... ZOS wasn't designed with RPers in mind.

I would LOVE for there to be more RP centric skill lines (like being a Baker or a Hunter or a librarian) but this isn't the direction ESO is moving. Sadly.

How I wish the "big" companies, that can support the awesome graphics development, would figure this out. Let us PLAY IN THE WORLD YOU MADE and don't just force us to endlessly push the same button for the same piece of cheese...with different looks... endlessly.

Roechacca · February 2015

MornaBaine wrote: »

roechacca wrote: »

What about being in a town or area out of combat and while using emotes and role playing with others , getting a equivalent to rested xp gain ? Some games have rested xp buffs that reward you for being in a social area or while logged out as the toon is considered resting . It's hard to describe but it would be more or less a buff for doing social things .

Now that makes a certain amount of sense. Being in social spaces, a certain percentage of emotes, a certain percentage of typing going on in /say....ok that could work. But it would need to be less than actually doing the content and even then there will be annoying non-RPers gaming the system by using it to troll.

RP means a lot of things to different players . I think granting a buff to increase XP gain when the Roleplayer returns to fighting would be a inclusive incentive for people to try or continue RP . Again , all I'm suggesting is a XP Buff earned in social areas . Time emoting and interacting would be required to get the buff . The buff time and requirements to earn it would be up to ZOS , not other players , as that can be abused .

Faugaun · February 2015

@Gidorick is the focus of a mmorpg so focused that it cannot include both the seal and the non seal? I mean yeah the seal will be a better warrior....so will the PvP player who levels from PvP compared to the rper who levels from RPing ...this is because they have more experience with the task...doesn't mean one or the other should be prohibited from progressing.

@MornaBaine‌ I agree wholeheartedly

@roechacca‌ I think that's an interesting concept worth exploring

Also this is not directly related but is would be a way to open up more exp routes to both rpers and non rpers.

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/149963/a-radical-redesign-of-the-champion-system#latest

Rev Rielle · February 2015

Rather than rewarding us with experience (or some other extrinsic mechanism) for RP (as RP is it's own reward to most), I think focus should be on asking development to provide improved & more mechanisms for RP.

Continual improvements to the clothing/outfit/cosmetic system is one obvious area, as well as providing suitable situations and places for RP. The latter is most likely the the more important just now, what with the reduction in available space (e.g. semi-private housing) due to the Justice System's introduction.

Other areas could be things like; suggesting for expanded and improved emotes (e.g. /sitchar1 /sitchair2 etc, with different looking chairs); as well as providing us with 'barbers' to redo our hair styles, make-up etc.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is providing us with some simple method in which we can identify other RPers at a glance whilst in game. Personally I think this could be relatively simply achieved by providing every player with a 'Roleplayer' title they can activate.

Providing us with great tools with which to find and enhance our RP is all the reward I will ever want.

Jeremy · February 2015

Rev Rielle wrote: »

Rather than rewarding us with experience (or some other extrinsic mechanism) for RP (as RP is it's own reward to most), I think focus should be on asking development to provide improved & more mechanisms for RP.

.[/i]

Good post and I agree. Adding new ways to role play such as enhanced emotes or cosmetics (I loved the music system from LOTRO) would be a much better way to go.

Most role players like to take their time and are in no rush to level their characters anyway. So giving extra experience for it could actually be a disincentive.

SanderBuraas · February 2015

TheShadowScout wrote: »

snip

Usable furniture would be neat. Not just chairs to sit in at the tavern, but also beds to take a nap in, stocks, cells and cages to "get locked in" for "free the captive" RP, etc.

Tavern minigames might be fun. Those could even give out XP, if they were done in ways that can't just be done on auto... I for one would love to see arm wrestling (bonus for characters with high stamina and double bonus for those whose character size slider is at the "tall and muscular" edge), drinking games (Health bonus for endurance?), and possibly a simple board- or cardgame (magica bonus for smarts?)... possibly playable against other players instead of just NPCs?

Targeted animations allowing actual interaction with another player (pending their approval) would be good too. Come on, every hero needs a good hug sometime... (and some a kick in the...)

Duelling. Fighting with other players outside Cyrodil (that one will please the PvPers as well, since in my experience that kind never could pass up another chance to show off their big PvPness ). The upcoming crown store "monster disguise" costumes (OK, right now its only a draugr, with skeleton and goblin attianable in-game, but in time I am sure more will come) would help there, alloowing some players to RP antagonists...

Non-combat and everyday-activity quests. I like the crafting writs, I like the cyrodil dailies, I would love to see more of the sort. Especially the sort that lets you revisit old regions - the combat there would be neglectable due to overlevelling, so it would have to be more the time spent doing the running & item/NPC finding part of the quest...
- Messenger daily quests where you have to deliver letters all over your alliance? Most to places as far from wayshrines as possible? Possibly to NPCs of which you get only a "area" location and have to find them yourself?
- Surveyor daily quest where you have to visit specific location and do something there (take ore sample, water sample, pick up special quest only stuff, interact with item, whatever)?
- Hunter daily quest where you get to bring home some bacon for provisoners to cook (like the fighters guild bounty in cyrodil, kill randomly chosen beasties for collecting x number meat)?
- Trader daily quest where you buy from one NPC (like the farmer near the mountains) then sell the bought stuff to a different NPC (like the trader in the city) at the other end of the map for profit?
- Patroller daily quest where you get to roam one region until you find and resolve three "bandit" encounters?
- Fisherman daily quest where you catch and deliver certain randomly choosen kinds of fish for profit and XP?
- Temple daily quest where you do something for the head priest, depending on temple, perhaps? Deliver supplies to the poor, collect healing herbs for the temple stores, exterminate undead for arkay, whatever might fit...
- Bard daily quest where you have to play a musical emote at a series of randomly choosen taverns all over your alliance? (would be better if there was a bardic guild skill line...)
- Thieves Guild (once they get done) random daily quest where you just get assigned one random house to empty a special spawn strongbox?
- Mages Guild random daily quest where you get sent to random locations to grab a special ingredients/collect special spellbooks?
- (Fighters Guild already have the daily cyrodil bounties)
- Dark Brotherhood (once introduced) random daily quest where you get a contract on some randomly choosen named NPC? Possibly one who is in hiding and you have to find first by persuading/intimidating/bribing NPCs to give you clues to the hiding spot?
(and yes, those "random quest" ideas I did nick from "Daggerfall" the first TES game I stumbled over)

Yes. This is exactly what eso is missing and is in dire need of. Various fun activities, tasks, chores, bounties, and more interactive environments and objects.

Messy1 · February 2015

Grunim wrote: »

The OP really made me smile and remember the various RP Enforced MUDs I used to play in the '90s and early 2000s. I've seen several variants of MUDs that attempted to reward roleplayers with XP through various means and all of them were full of players who gamed and abused the RP XP reward systems to death.

I've played games where staff members would snoop players and manually award experience. In one of my favorite MUDs, Shattered Kingdoms, nothing would thrill a player more than to be involved in an intricate RP session and suddenly see the following message: You have received Enlightenment from the Gods. While testing the Champion System on PTS, I wonder if some of the ZOS Devs played that MUD too. As much as this MUD immersed me, its enlightenment system was rift with favoritism and was very labor intensive to administer.

I've also played MUDs that had a reputation system and these systems were prone to corruption and favoritism. I also played MUDs that attempted to automate XP rewards by monitoring the number of emotes, poses, word counts, unique word counts used in says and emotes and so forth. In this sort of system, players would creatively game the system by writing so much text, much of it not truly RP.

Perhaps you have a better idea of why MMOs don't reward XP for RP?

Man I loved MUDs like that that had RP rules. Like in Medievia where you had to pick a name that was not a common english name, or could not be based on another fantasy character in a novel. I got called out once by a GM for my character that was named "Jimmy the Hand."

Snowstrider · February 2015

Now when Eso is going to be more casual and kinda more for rpers,I really hope they look on Guild wars 2 for inspiration,They got some good stuff there. I have always wished there where more to do in eso when i just feel bored of everything and want to do something relaxing and fun in the game. Mini games,Events and all sorts of creative stuff. Its up to ZoS. I am kinda suprised how little customization and those sort of things this game have due it being an MMO.

Events,mini games,festivals and stuff like that would add more life to the game and especially more life to the empty citys over the world.

Maybe one event we get the oppurtunity to meet players from different factions? :)I hope they make the game more open.

Uviryth · February 2015

Faugaun wrote: »

Be the first major mmo to give exp for RPing

I am Roleplaying an Argonian Exhibitionist. But since there is no way to properly show my *** to other players at, for instance, the bank, how will my special perverted way of Roleplaying generate EXP?

...
In all seriousness though, who will decide what counts as RP and what doesnt?

jaggedhbb16_ESO · February 2015

The way to do this would be to be able to buy a level 50 character on the C-Store but it would basically be useless in pvp or pve with ZERO skill points, and would NEED to do quests to gain skill points. Once the character got X amount of quests and exploration done. (Say Two zones, all World bosses, mini dungeons, quests, Dark Anchors, books and Sky Shards.) Said character would then be awarded the 50 some odd skill points missing from it.

Most RPers wouldn't do this though, they get enough skill points to get a cool animation or two and that's it.

PvP and 4 man dungeons could actually be locked until the character meets the X amount of quests completed so there would be no gaming of the system for an exploit.

I for one, don't see a down side to this. ESO gets a new feature which costs money (more money more content) and Role Players get to look BA.
Win Win the way I see it.

Selique · February 2015

Star Wars Galaxies did this best in two ways.

First was the Entertainer Profession, which allowed players to buff others by playing music and dancing for them. They earned EXP by doing this, and could get access to better buffs, different songs, and different dances as they leveled up.

Entertainers could also "Image Design" your characters, where in they would "trade" with the toon to be image designed and help that player pick a look that they liked (Both parties could see the image screen, and selections.)

Again, EXP was granted for that as well.

The BEST thing about SWG's Roleplayer exp gains was a little system called Story Teller!

The Story Teller system allowed players to hand craft basic quests! That's right! You had a UI interface that gave you basic tools to create quests. Upon creation of a quest, you could load an item up with rewards, such as gold or items, and trade them to other players. Completing the Player Made quests earned NORMAL quest exp!

There was another part of the Story Teller system too. You could buy "Props" such as NPCs (Which you could "program" to say what ever you wanted them to and could either be stationary or "wandering". They also had inventories where you could place loot!), or effects (Like fire burning, smoke smoldering, or crashed ships ect ect), and PLACE them in the game world! Of course, after a certain amount of time the props would decay and despawn.

It was a great system, and I think ESO could take some ideas from it. It would go a LONG way to helping RPers gain exp the way they love best.... Player made stories!

Morana · February 2015

Selique wrote: »

Star Wars Galaxies did this best in two ways.

First was the Entertainer Profession, which allowed players to buff others by playing music and dancing for them. They earned EXP by doing this, and could get access to better buffs, different songs, and different dances as they leveled up.

Entertainers could also "Image Design" your characters, where in they would "trade" with the toon to be image designed and help that player pick a look that they liked (Both parties could see the image screen, and selections.)

Again, EXP was granted for that as well.

The BEST thing about SWG's Roleplayer exp gains was a little system called Story Teller!

The Story Teller system allowed players to hand craft basic quests! That's right! You had a UI interface that gave you basic tools to create quests. Upon creation of a quest, you could load an item up with rewards, such as gold or items, and trade them to other players. Completing the Player Made quests earned NORMAL quest exp!

There was another part of the Story Teller system too. You could buy "Props" such as NPCs (Which you could "program" to say what ever you wanted them to and could either be stationary or "wandering". They also had inventories where you could place loot!), or effects (Like fire burning, smoke smoldering, or crashed ships ect ect), and PLACE them in the game world! Of course, after a certain amount of time the props would decay and despawn.

It was a great system, and I think ESO could take some ideas from it. It would go a LONG way to helping RPers gain exp the way they love best.... Player made stories!

The Storyteller system was one of the best things about SWG. What some people could do with the props for player-run events was just amazing.

It would be nice to see ESO have the same interest in the social element of game play that SWG had, though that's a high hope.

Faugaun · February 2015

Here's another rp centric idea....how about no level restrictions to equip gear (but if required level is not met then you get either reduced or no stats from the gear) but the skin is avaliable for rp...also all skins should be craftableft or at least not super rare drops.