Development Cycle Archive
Thread: In-Concept 3: Entertainer, Dancer and Musician Missions & Quests
Thunderheart wrote:
The SWG team has begun development on upgrading quests and missions for Entertainers, Dancers and Musicians and I’d like to get your input on some important issues.Please remember that there are many challenges for these types of professions.“Entertaining” NPC’s basically means that a player will be entertaining to a computer object that has no real response mechanisms (An NPC can cheer or heckle players only so much before it gets very repetitive).
1. Entertainers, Musicians and Dancers: what improvements would you make to the existing missions to make them more fun and interesting?
First, improve the mission payout. Missions for Entertainers pay way too little. Entertainer missions, based on your Entertaining abilities, should range from 1k to 6k. Group missions should pay out 6k to 20k, depending on the level of the group. The current entertainer missions pay too little, and I think they're based off of combat abilities. We need some form of income other than relying on other player's charity - they work hard for their credits, and we work hard too...so we should get some decent cash for running missions.
Next, rewards should be available to entertainers who run the most missions, like a factional point system - but make it popularity based. With your popularity rating, you can purchase items, similar to how you can requisition factional items with faction points. Popularity points could be spent on instruments that are different colors (please, please let us have colors for instruments other than the default), dancing outfits, maybe some various props to dance with. Make the items interesting and worth the time they'd take to get. Maybe some special posters to decorate with, maybe a custom gig poster you can "Edit Name" with (likea backpack can do)and advertise for performances. I know a lot of Entertainers would like that.
2. What type of “gig” challenges would make an (entertainer, musician, dancer) quest and/or mission fun and exciting? (and more "Star Warsy")
Make a popularity points system. With these points, you can purchase items similar to a requisition of items with factional points.
Make spy missions, where we'd have to pick up on some sensitive information from an NPC, and return to the mission creator to report back what we heard. If we select the right information to tell them, the mission is a success. If we fail to tell them the right stuff, the mission fails.
3. What kind of “gig” activities can players do with other players that would make missions interesting?
One type ofactivity would be to form a group of entertainers, or go solo, and visit a player who requested you come heal them.
This would make entertainers much more accessible to the player base, as it stands right now someone can walk into 3 outlying cantinas, find no one, and think that entertainers don't exist in the game.
Make entertainment terminals, or NPCs like a Gig Manager, that players can interact with in cantinas to request live entertainment. An entertainer, wherever they are in the galaxy, can then accept the mission, form a group,and visit the player who needs healing/buffing. There should also be solo missions for this. If a single player wants an entertainer, a solo entertainer should be able accept the mission (in any other cantina galaxy-wide) and go to that cantina that the player is at. Perhaps require that a group needing buffs/healing requests a group of entertainers, and a single player can request a single entertainer. Make the group missions have an advantage, like a free Travel voucher for the group to shuttle to the group needing entertainment. Make the tracking work how Bounty Hunter seekers work, we go find the person who needs entertainment after we accept the mission.
How about putting an Entertainer request terminal in cantinas, or a Gig Manager? If someone goes into a nearby cantina and no one is there (which happens in the less populated areas of the galaxy) they can then create a mission for the entertainer to come heal/buff them. Everyone wins, the Entertainer benefits from getting out of one cantina and travelling to new places and visitinganother cantina, and they get the mission payout. Thepatron wins because they can request entertainers to come to the cantina wherever they are, and perform for them. Much less searching for entertainers and not finding one.Let the weary traveller rest in the cantina, make the rested Entertainer go to their gig and perform (i.e. go to the other player and heal them/buff them).
4. What are the basic character types of NPC’s do you think should be involved with Entertainers, Musicians and Dancers?(Agent, Manager, etc)
Gig Manager. There should beone in every cantina, players talk to them to request entertainment if there's no one in a cantina. An entertainer can then check the missions (Talent Agent, another NPC next to the Gig Manager NPC)and see who needs entertaining, and where. The player goes on the mission, heals the battle fatigue of the player, and gets rewarded.
Ticket Collector. Have missions where you must play aconcert in a theater. That's what they're for, right?? Near the theater, you need to invite as many NPC's as you can to your show, and give them a "ticket." You have a limited amount of time to invite folks, so you need to invite NPC's and players ASAP and hand out some tickets. Make it so we can give players tickets, too. Once the timer for giving out tickets runs out, the entertainer must get in the theater and start performing. The Ticket Collector "takes" the ticket of each NPC/player who comes in the door with a ticket. Depending on how many come in, you get paid more. Sell out the house and make a fortune. Encourage player concerts, please!!
When the entertainer starts the concert mission, they can specify what they want on their tickets. The ticket stub could say, for example, "The Wookiee Band - Coronet Theater - CorellianMoonlight Tour." Something that's unique, so players might just want to keep their stubs.AGREE 100% PUT THIS IN! This and able to make bands without being a PA!
Warryyr wrote:
This would apply to all Entertainer professions.
Thunderheart wrote:
The SWG team has begun development on upgrading quests and missions for Entertainers, Dancers and Musicians and I’d like to get your input on some important issues.Please remember that there are many challenges for these types of professions.“Entertaining” NPC’s basically means that a player will be entertaining to a computer object that has no real response mechanisms (An NPC can cheer or heckle players only so much before it gets very repetitive).
1. Entertainers, Musicians and Dancers: what improvements would you make to the existing missions to make them more fun and interesting?
First, improve the mission payout. Missions for Entertainers pay way too little. Entertainer missions, based on your Entertaining abilities, should range from 1k to 6k. Group missions should pay out 6k to 20k, depending on the level of the group. The current entertainer missions pay too little, and I think they're based off of combat abilities. We need some form of income other than relying on other player's charity - they work hard for their credits, and we work hard too...so we should get some decent cash for running missions.
Next, rewards should be available to entertainers who run the most missions, like a factional point system - but make it popularity based. With your popularity rating, you can purchase items, similar to how you can requisition factional items with faction points. Popularity points could be spent on instruments that are different colors (please, please let us have colors for instruments other than the default), dancing outfits, maybe some various props to dance with. Make the items interesting and worth the time they'd take to get. Maybe some special posters to decorate with, maybe a custom gig poster you can "Edit Name" with (likea backpack can do)and advertise for performances. I know a lot of Entertainers would like that.
2. What type of “gig” challenges would make an (entertainer, musician, dancer) quest and/or mission fun and exciting? (and more "Star Warsy")
Make a popularity points system. With these points, you can purchase items similar to a requisition of items with factional points.
Make spy missions, where we'd have to pick up on some sensitive information from an NPC, and return to the mission creator to report back what we heard. If we select the right information to tell them, the mission is a success. If we fail to tell them the right stuff, the mission fails.
3. What kind of “gig” activities can players do with other players that would make missions interesting?
One type ofactivity would be to form a group of entertainers, or go solo, and visit a player who requested you come heal them.
This would make entertainers much more accessible to the player base, as it stands right now someone can walk into 3 outlying cantinas, find no one, and think that entertainers don't exist in the game.
Make entertainment terminals, or NPCs like a Gig Manager, that players can interact with in cantinas to request live entertainment. An entertainer, wherever they are in the galaxy, can then accept the mission, form a group,and visit the player who needs healing/buffing. There should also be solo missions for this. If a single player wants an entertainer, a solo entertainer should be able accept the mission (in any other cantina galaxy-wide) and go to that cantina that the player is at. Perhaps require that a group needing buffs/healing requests a group of entertainers, and a single player can request a single entertainer. Make the group missions have an advantage, like a free Travel voucher for the group to shuttle to the group needing entertainment. Make the tracking work how Bounty Hunter seekers work, we go find the person who needs entertainment after we accept the mission.
How about putting an Entertainer request terminal in cantinas, or a Gig Manager? If someone goes into a nearby cantina and no one is there (which happens in the less populated areas of the galaxy) they can then create a mission for the entertainer to come heal/buff them. Everyone wins, the Entertainer benefits from getting out of one cantina and travelling to new places and visitinganother cantina, and they get the mission payout. Thepatron wins because they can request entertainers to come to the cantina wherever they are, and perform for them. Much less searching for entertainers and not finding one.Let the weary traveller rest in the cantina, make the rested Entertainer go to their gig and perform (i.e. go to the other player and heal them/buff them).
4. What are the basic character types of NPC’s do you think should be involved with Entertainers, Musicians and Dancers?(Agent, Manager, etc)
Gig Manager. There should beone in every cantina, players talk to them to request entertainment if there's no one in a cantina. An entertainer can then check the missions (Talent Agent, another NPC next to the Gig Manager NPC)and see who needs entertaining, and where. The player goes on the mission, heals the battle fatigue of the player, and gets rewarded.
Ticket Collector. Have missions where you must play aconcert in a theater. That's what they're for, right?? Near the theater, you need to invite as many NPC's as you can to your show, and give them a "ticket." You have a limited amount of time to invite folks, so you need to invite NPC's and players ASAP and hand out some tickets. Make it so we can give players tickets, too. Once the timer for giving out tickets runs out, the entertainer must get in the theater and start performing. The Ticket Collector "takes" the ticket of each NPC/player who comes in the door with a ticket. Depending on how many come in, you get paid more. Sell out the house and make a fortune. Encourage player concerts, please!!
Thank you for requesting ideas from us, at last it seems we have some Dev attention. I know these ideas are rather lofty, but I think this could add some fun to the lives of entertainers, as well as benefit players who need healing/buffing - players need to be able to request entertainment, and we need to know it and go to them to heal/buff.
This is a lil crazy, but i think that musicians should get a "music crafting tool" ! That would make the prof the best one for sure!
It would have a simple composing interface, somthing like finale or sibelius that can become more advanced as the musician progresses in the skill. Musicians could write multiple parts for a song and trade it to players in their group and they could really jam! or they could just go solo... (speaking of solo,sorry. i think there should be an effective solo interface, for the real musicians! lol.) back on topic>I think there would be enough people out there that would take advantage of this to make it worthwile. This would be a HUGE breakthrough in the mmo world to me (unless it already exists, im a n00b lol) and would give the game a very real "music scene"! It doesent sound TOO too complicated to me and the effects, if done right, would be amazing! And i dont think that anyone would be enraged by the addition, would they?
to make a good game.. you NEED creativity! im saying this game lacks it at all! but this is a huge burst of creativity... and a huge injection of real CULTURE! NO other mmo ive seen can claim that!
oh, right. and then it can be used for a new catagory of musician missions alltogether.