Musician Archive
Thread: The problem with cantinas isn't the entertainment ^^
Page 1 of 1
Ubergamer
Tue Jan 25, 2005 12:03 pm
#1
The problem is actually hidden in plain sight. You walk into a cantina and you see: Entertainers, tables, chairs, food props, drink props, a bartender (sometimes) and npcs. So you sit at a table. In front of you are food and drink props. That's when you realize there is no foodor drink interaction at all in the cantinas. Isn't that the whole point ofa cantina? To eat food, drink, and be entertained?
Right now, food and drink are consumed instantaneously with no animation and an instant buff. In a word, boring. All the MMOGs on the market have yet to implement hunger / thirst effectively because no one likes to have to eat and drink 3+ meals a day. However, SWG is in a unique position because it's the only MMOG on the marketthat has a entertainment system this complex and user-friendly. People already have to go to cantinas for entertainment buffs because the devs made cantinas one of the few places their buffs work. So, bringing people into cantinas isn't an issue.
However, there is nothing else to do in the cantinas. At all. What about immersion in the Star Wars Universe? I'd like to be able to sit down, order food, and hang out with friends. Maybe the payoff intechnical termswould be a more potent buff (not by much, maybe 25% added duration)if you eat/drink while watching entertainment. Or have the percentage of timerextension equal to the time spent in the cantina.
Examples. Oh and my results may be skewed, I'm a new Master Musician / Entertainer and haven't sat down to actually figure out the precise buff numbers. So these are estimates:
SWG now:
Scenario 1
Player A enters cantina. They choose to stand and watches/listens toperformace.
Result: 2 hr mind buff for watching/listening for 4 min.
SWG with above system:
Scenario 2
Player A enters cantina. Sits down and watches performance.
Result: 2 hr mind buff for watching/listening for3 min.
Difference: 1 min off watching for takinga seat (and not hindering the performers). Common sense.
Scenario 3
Player enters cantina. Sits down and watches/listens to performance. Orders meal and drink.
Result:3 hr mind buff for watching/listening for3 min.
Difference:Buff extended1 hour. Timer is 1 min shorter.
----------------------------
Modifiers and Other Ideas
1. You can't order or eat/drink if standing.
Reasoning:Do you eat standing up at restaurants now?
2. Proximity based entertainment buffs.How can you get buffed if you can't really see or hearthe performance? This doesn't need to be too strict. Just need to have line of sight and a decent spot. For example, you won't get a great buff if the entertainment is in one of the side rooms and you're all the way across the cantina in another side booth. Maybe thiscan affect buff duration. Oh and this should also work if you're too close. HOWEVER, there should be acheck boxin your abilities (perhaps under Sound settings?)for "Close-Proximity Buffing" because this should not impede roleplaying (ie. close dances or table-side musicians).So if you have CPB turned on, people can get as close to you as you want. If you have it checked off, then they need to maintain a decent distance so as not to disturb your performance (ie. 10+ feet). On the receiving end, audience members will get a system message saying they are too close to the performance and are distracting the performers.
Reasoning: This system will penalize the players that purposefully try to mess up performances or harass the entertainers and reward civil players that actually want to enjoy the show.
3. Table Side Entertainment. There are weddings in SWG, so why not romantic music and settings? There should be a feature in cantinas -- player or otherwise --to have a personal table for couples. Perhaps after it is requested via npc, candles will be placed as a visual cue. And if you click on the table, you can "flag" it which will alert all entertainers in the vicinity that you would like someone toperform at the table-side. If you want to get really fancy, you can make a simple and advanced menu. If the person is musically savvy, they can go to the advanced menu and actually request a specific song or dance which will only flag entertainers that have that skill level or higher.
Reasoning: There are no MMOGs that give enough attention to thecantina / inn / tavern setting. In all classic stories, these places are meant for fun, relaxation, information, etc.Too many MMOGs focus on the fighting, and let's face it, all have managed quite nicely to offer nothing really innovative or new since Ultima Online first released. It's still rat-killing. What makes or breaks a MMOG is the immersion. If it's all about rat-killing, it gets boring. The Star Wars movies weren't all about Jedi. How many people loved the Han Solo scene in the cantina? That's the essence of Star Wars folks. A living breathing down and dirty world.
Feedback appreciated.
Bronski113
Tue Jan 25, 2005 12:18 pm
#2
I like some of these ideas. I would stick to having this kind of effect stay with just the duration and not the strength of the buff. Mainly because PvPers usually don't need that long of a buff. But if someone was going out on a hunting trip then they probably wouldn't mind spending a bit of extra time at the start of their trip getting a longer duration buff.
In regards to the table side entertainment idea, I like it, stuff like this would enhance the roleplay aspect of the game. That may not be the best idea but things that promote that kind of thing are good.
In regards to the table side entertainment idea, I like it, stuff like this would enhance the roleplay aspect of the game. That may not be the best idea but things that promote that kind of thing are good.
Page 1 of 1