Development Cycle Archive
Thread: IC4: Path of the Jedi
jenelis
Mon Jul 05, 2004 5:43 am
#1509
WOWA GODDESS I SAY, i am blown away by this post, i believe the quest's should be proffession or character built so if the character is a TK/Commando make it uber hard, if they are a crafter make them craft peices of thier LS and thier ROBES,if they are a scout,Let them find REsources off rare animals,IF they are entertainers let them find the force in a entertainish kinda way, maybe 20 quests then after that make people initiate, make each of the 20 quests as long as like jabba's theme park, the first quests make easy to moderate, and the last quests make not uber difficult but difficult, but do try to include crafters cause you didn't in holo grinding,no offence dev's
try to include everybody. here this is how i think you should get the quest's together, find some locations for good npc's, place them perminatly, then start a series of quests start the first one off at the level of a new member of the SWG community maybe get a item for the next quest a key or such, do this for the first 2 quests, then pick it to where the quests need at least a level 2 skill in a novice proffession to get,do this for another two,tehn they gotta be a master novice proffession to get that one
make the npc's not give out quests if they are too low, so the progression would work like this you have 2 quests for each level, one for a crafting proffession such as tailor/artisan- for a jedi to craft their own robes, then u got the other quest brawler/marksman to atain a item to be used in thier first lightsaber construction, if a material or such, then u pick up the notch maybe make them retreive a holocron fragment cause it holds a special item for the saber like a damage crystal, then they gotta be a novice elite combat class to get a colored crystal,and master tailor to complete the robe which they will where,then to contiinue the quests make a jedi training, none initiate force sensitivity training which will last 1-2 months to give them understanding on the class before they pick it yp, some will turn away at this point cause they might not like your version of the jedi. after this long training have a spawn which would spawn in multiple points that can only be beaten by going through the FSCS training, like make a creature which can only be affected By LightSabers whom has 100%resists to all other things and a 30% LS resist so that it is a challange for the almot jedi, make this creature hold the final component for the jedi to finish thier robe and then once the creature has been defeted the eveidence taken back and the jedi complete the 2 items needed at novice jedi,then the fscs Slot would be opened, but dont get me wrong you might start the quests at the easy level but that gives everybody a equal chance,and by making them to 1 class crafting and one combat this will intale time so that it insures that they eill not unlock in 3 weeks,also by making them craft thier own items for novice jedi this will make thier jedi character a litttle more special to them,this idea might not please everybody but if i had to grind for 6 months i would feel that was a fair time to work for jedi. if you look at the current population of jedi,well lets say its a little more open, i just think that everyone should be included and have a equal chance to make jedi so by doing it this way you will have people whim might make jedi in 6months and you will find people whom unlock in 12,or maybe 3, you gotta make all quests so that everybody hasa equal chance, well i guess i am done
takme Corbantis
Llaar
Tue Jul 06, 2004 4:37 am
#1511
I think that haveing Static Spawns and Camping things is what EverQuest is for and I dont think SWG should turn into people camping things where there are no reay KS rules that anyone fallows as there is in Everquest. The only thing that Static Spawns and Camping leeds too is less people unlocking there FS but intime that changes. I think that haveing Static spawns and camping certian mobs is silly, I think the FS quest should be diferent for most people, if someone likes artisan profession I think they will have a hard time killing a Krayt Dragon. (I know I cant spell and it is late) FOr the most part I would like to seem the FS quest differ from person to person. Although I know programing that would be very hard but at least make it diferent for most people and more class spific like if you are a Cheif make some cupcakes for hungry kids to show compasion as a Jedi or a FS person would have and for a Fencer or combat bassed classes to save some children from a rancor stuff like that so that it still remains kind of random and difernt and this way people who cant play 12 hours a day have a chance to ulock their FS. Thats just what I would do.
retro2499
Thu Jul 08, 2004 9:08 am
#1512
I think that it would be nice if sometimes quests had a permanent effect on the land. It would be a VERY difficult quest that could only be completed once. Maybe when the quest was completed something like a landmark could appear that told who completed it and when. As these quests are completed more could be added so that everyone has a chance to do one. It would need to be something VERY hard to complete so only the most dedicated players could do it (being immortilized(sp?) in SWG is a big thing). The quest could permanetly change the land.
I haven't given a whole lot of thought to specific quests but when I was going to Yavin 4 I noticed a couple seemingly pointless mountains. Maybe there coule be a cave with tough monsters near the mountain. There could be a section of wall that would not be targetable unless clicked and would be very tough to notice. It could be a spot on the wall where it wore thin because of a giant worm like on that astroid. Once all the monsters are killed you could shoot the wall and it would make the worm mad. He could start moving around and pop out of the crater in the mountain. It would be a suprise boss. He would drop some nice loot but best of all there would be a marker saying the player names who contributed and the worms body would always be there.
Maybe that specific idea isn't great but something similar to it might be cool to give the game the feeling that players are making an impact.
Sorry for my bad spelling, I am typing in the dark.
I haven't given a whole lot of thought to specific quests but when I was going to Yavin 4 I noticed a couple seemingly pointless mountains. Maybe there coule be a cave with tough monsters near the mountain. There could be a section of wall that would not be targetable unless clicked and would be very tough to notice. It could be a spot on the wall where it wore thin because of a giant worm like on that astroid. Once all the monsters are killed you could shoot the wall and it would make the worm mad. He could start moving around and pop out of the crater in the mountain. It would be a suprise boss. He would drop some nice loot but best of all there would be a marker saying the player names who contributed and the worms body would always be there.
Maybe that specific idea isn't great but something similar to it might be cool to give the game the feeling that players are making an impact.
Sorry for my bad spelling, I am typing in the dark.
Marstil
Thu Jul 08, 2004 5:04 pm
#1513
Intended generally for the FS quests, but applies for all:
When I used to play D&D, I would give "zero level" quests for new players as a tool for developing their characters background, and as a tool for helping them determine what proffession they were interested in. These quests wouldn't really have much fighting involved because of the characters pre-level one status.
For example: You (an apprentice)are to go out and obtain aunique component for construction of an item(s), (this can be done in any way - theft, purchase, murder, trade.) Reguardless of 'how' the item is recovered, you will first have to do research on what the item is and where it might be found and then actually start out on the quest. Along the way, there are many ways to add dynamic content to the quest - "as you crest the hill, you see a band of swoopers camping just ahead...the alarm sounds and the swoopers all head to their bikes while drawing their blasters" (killing these guys isn't your goal, so it doesn't really matter if you fight them or talk, or just run away...the quest will continue either way, but had you killed them berhaps you would have found a journal with an interesting passage...perhaps if you had gained their trust (via a sidequest,) one of the swoopers would have told you of a rumor that he had heard while drinking in a dingy tavern. But since you ran away, you continue on with your quest uninjured, and preceed to where your initial research suggested you should go.
The whole point of the quest from the masters perspective isn't to have the item, but to teach you what you need to know...how to rely on yourself and your masters teachings.
When I would do a quest like this for someone, I would generally have 3-5 Item quests. The apprentice would not keep the items or the final constructed product, unless I was very impressed with their gameplay...afterall, doing the masters bidding is what an apprentice does. The true reward would be in the form of stat and level gain appropriate with a level one character.
Item quests for any level of jedi can be done in SWG without requiring combat, in the current crafting system, there are already several schematics and a multitude of components that people quest after every day. It really isn't alot of fun to "go here, kill that, get ____loot, and return it too me"
Dancer : re-discover a lost dance from before the rise of the Old Republic.
Musician : "... song ..."
Musician: Build a masterpiece (unique) insturment that duplicates the mating wail of the Pygmy Rancor (they only mate in secluded areas and only once per 4 years)
Any Crafter: Perhaps something can be done with all those "unknown" resource types?
merchant: this is a good one for Item quests because a merchantmight try to wheel and deal for the needed components
Scout: obtain rare milk/meat/hide/bone from a rare beast (that would only have that item for a scout who is doing a jedi quest...just normal loot for anyone else)
Scout / explorer: Discover the location of an ancient ruin rumored to contain knowlege of _____.
Politician: negotiate an alliance between rival merchant houses via bribes, backstabbing, deciet, etc...(Palpitine had some nice political skills.)
Medic: You must come up with a cure for a new plague sweeping the plannet (symptoms are reminicent of a plague that is rumored to have wiped out billions in a time
long before the Old Republic...perhaps if you could determine how that plague was defeted...)
Image designer: Love potions anyone? No, but maybe a exotic perfume guaranteed to make your clients into the most desirable creatures of their perspective races.
Image designer: you've heard about a genius engineer that is working on microscopic robots...imagine if these could programed to create new new hair colors, eye colors, holo effects
Droid Engineer: build a better mousetrap...current advanced droid brains simply are not good enough to outwit the mouse that lives in your workshop...(lol, but something like this)
I would imagine that I have gotten the idea across by now...just remember, it's not what the apprentice makes or gets, but what they have to go through along the way.
P.S. There is so much wanton killing involved in order to become a jedi knight, that IMHO, combat oriented quests should only be for combat classes, and then used only in moderation.
Piuclown
Fri Jul 09, 2004 2:12 am
#1514
Is something being done with the master and apprenitice concept we know from the movies?
Something like; a master Jedi can take on an apprentice. And a character that becomes force sensitive; is somewhat forced to be trained by a Master. For instance, you can only gain your Jedi skills from a player Master Jedi, instead of from a NPC. This would also stimulate the fact that players will have to work together, which is the philosophy behind MMO's right?
Please let me know what you think.
pocketwocket
Fri Jul 09, 2004 5:44 am
#1515
I like a lot of these ideas that are focused more on the roleplaying of a jedi rather than the grinding of xp or the time-consumption of questing. I believe that the questing should take a while but it should be open to everyone and doable, whether it takes a month or a year. I'd be willing to be that if the quests were more oriented towards roleplayers in the game then you would have more roleplaying jedis, rather than gank squads of 5 or 6 jedis running around trying to get FRS xp (even as a dancer in the cantina it bugs me to see that). I think the biggest reason people hate jedis so much is because the path to opening the slot was oriented towards the grinders, the power gamers and the hardcore players. Not everyone likes to "pwn nubs" y'know. I like the idea of having the NPC roam around for the FS quests. That way he's there and you have to find him, but I don't think he should roam the entire planet, maybe he just walks from building to building in one town and occasionally visits a cantina in another, that would be good enough. I also like the idea of chatting with the NPC rather than walking up and saying "HI, I R WAN LIGTHSABER, K?" One post on here said something about telling him what profession you are, I like that idea a lot. Another good idea, some people have said some things about puzzles. I hate to bring the xbox KOTOR game up, but I liked some of their puzzles. Perhaps a hypothetical Q:A session with an NPC to determine what kind of quests you could run, light side/dark side or crafter/entertainer/combat/explorer/healer. Also, I think the quests should be time consuming, but not frustrating. It should take time because there's a lot to do, not it's so difficult to do that it takes forever. Perhaps they could only be done every so often, like the NPC tells you to come back in a few days if he's heard of something new for you to do (someone also said something about NPC e-mails, awesome idea!). Maybe not all quests should be combat based, but not all non-combat based missions should be based otherwise (anyone get that?) For instance, light side jedi don't kill unless necessary, so maybe rather than killing some huge monster, you have to find a crafty way to get away from it. Another thing, dark jedi may be evil, but it's not so much about power as it is free emotion. The power of emotion allows one to surpass others, yada yada. So on this subject.. perhaps dark jedi should be subjected to something bad and in retaliation, kill something. Two part battles perhaps? (An NPC overwhelmingly destroys you once and you go back after a day or so and the NPC's not so tough then and you can surprise it and kill it? I'm coming up with this as I go). Also one could refer to other things that were required in KOTOR. Also.. don't make the NPC give a person 36 missions/quests, that's just bothersome. I don't like going back to the same person and seeing "Good work!" repeatedly. Perhaps one big quest or even one quest per NPC and 36 npcs, I don't know, but it needs to span over a bunch of npcs, not just the same guy. I like the idea also of having a personal jedi trainer rather than everyone using the same one, you could even include the jedi trainer as part of the FS quests, such as different possible answers to it and if you treat your trainer well (light side) or not (dark side) then you gain an affinity with them, but make it such an inconspicuous NPC that they wouldn't possibly know which one it was. The more affinity you have with them could affect your progression as well.. perhaps if you treat your light side trainer poorly he just refuses to give you a quest. Main note on this post is the more plot-based and roleplayer oriented thisnew quest system is, the more plot-driven, roleplayers you'll have as jedi. Otherwise we're stuck with gank squads and "UB3R L33T JET-EYE" and I think people get enough of that in everyday society, y'know? Put some fun into it!
pocketwocket
Fri Jul 09, 2004 5:46 am
#1516
And I apologize for posting such an eyesore.. spent 30 minutes on that and didn't think about how annoying that might be to read
MaxKempis
Fri Jul 09, 2004 11:39 pm
#1518
First idea...first Padawan mission = find your trainer. Its gonna be some random "in the ditch" Jedi who's gone underground to avoid detection from Vader right? find them is not supposed to be easy. Maybe all you get are random mails from yourself with things like "Had another dream...i saw <insert landmark near trainer>" If thats all you need to find them...then your first quest doesnt take long. But the first clues should be completely random, maybe just identifying the planet. Each successive one gets a little more precise and descriptive of their location. But never an exact location. Maybe if you get close a system message could be sent along the lines of "You feel a disturbance in the Force..." So you know to talk to NPCs nearby...
"For over a thousand years the Jedi were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic..."
Have some diplomatic missions! Maybe for Knights, after Jedi have made their Light/Dark decision or have had time to end up on one side or the other (in the event of a system where day to day decisions determine alignment) I mean seriously, think about KotOR and the family dispute quest on Dantooine or the Crime investigation quest (same planet). And make it so there are several outcomes. The 'perfect everyones happy' outcome. the 'oh crud everything went wrong' outcome and two or three somewhere in between. If you're Light, maybe a quest where you settle disputes between farmers, or arbiter talks between the Rebels and weapon Smugglers, cool stuff that makes it feel like youre a Jedi. If you're dark, maybe a mission or two where you have to 'convince' NPC BHs to work for the Empire or even 'persuade' captured rebels (maybe do the whole use info from one Rebel captive to break the other...) to give up information.
and your final Jedi quest from your mentor should be final. You know how your mentor has been hiding...well...not all spots are perfect. Your final quest comes in the form of an email from your mentor. You arrive just in time to see him/her cut down by Vader, you then have to haul *** out of there...or suffer your mentors fate you will.
finally, just make quests that have different outcomes, my favorite RPGs have quests that dont always turn out right...but you still complete the quest.
just some ideas to spice things up.
Gohan_Trunksss
Sat Jul 10, 2004 7:23 am
#1519
i dont care what other quests are but add more quests like the "mark of honor" quest i loved seeing those Dark Troopers come in and arrest those pirates, that was an awsome quest....... make some like that for jedi quest.......
maybe one of them could be help the jedi protect the temple and you join in with NPC jedi to fight off the Sith and keep them from entering..... kinda like the act 3 alderan for the rebels, how we had to defend..... make it 3 spawns of sith NPC we have to defend against.
TheBrandeni
Sat Jul 10, 2004 9:04 am
#1520
"I would like to see quests to obtain your lightsaber components. For instance, your master sets you on a journey to find a Krayt pearl. This could result in a few different paths, which could be either random or based on your own decisions. For instance, one would result in killing a Krayt, while another path may result in doing a favor for a Merchant who has acquired one in his travels. There's also the possibility of killing another Jedi and removing the Krayt pearl from his saber. I cannot begin to list all the possible ways to obtain the rare components needed outside of merely killing things and praying they drop or spending millions of credits on them. This also opens the opportunity for lightside/darkside points that could dictate your progress...I'm just throwing some ideas out here, let me know what you think and I could try to brainstorm through them a bit more detailed..."
i think this is a great idea, the key to these quests is to make it fun, and semi-long BUT still fun. dont make is a "go kill 45 krayt dragons" thing, cuz thats just insanly hard and has no meaning to it at all, DONT MAKE IT HARD, make being a jedi hard instead 
if being jedi is hard then not alot of people will do it cuz they will give up, like most jedi would do at the time
if being jedi is hard then not alot of people will do it cuz they will give up, like most jedi would do at the time
Flashover1969
Sat Jul 10, 2004 9:36 am
#1521
If you start the jedi quest as force sensitive, I think it would be neat to have your sensitivity to the force "assist" you in completing the quest. A cool quest would be one where you are sent by a NPC to invesigate some "unknown hidden" archives of ancient jedi knowlege and lore. This could possibly lead you to several different planets and locations, avoiding or engageing enemies. During this quest your actions could possibly tilt you to the dark side or light side. All of these quest are going to have to be adjusted according to the individuals professions. I would hate to have a quest involving dangerous NPC's if I was a merchant.
Once you gather all of the various pieces of holocron or whatever from all over the galaxie, you could then return to the original NPC that assigned you the quest to advance more torwards the path of becoming a jedi.
Just an idea I hope its not lame. I finished 22 professions so far and no unlock 
heh
hehMarcbacca
Gorath