Long-term Entertainment

Quests and long-term Entertainment:

The game quests aren't made for long-term entertainment. The stories behind them are most often not very interesting and they simply involve running to 2-4 different NPCs, greet them, and then return. Or the same but with killing 20 mobs in between. As a reward you get a few exp once and perhaps rarely a minor item. Then you can repeat the quest as often as you want with fewer exp.

This is not the stuff of fantasy. The game is in dire need of some really interesting long-term quests, requiring days or weeks of gameplay, finding NPCs and locations hidden in far corners of the world (without getting a note with the coords) and solving some story-related riddles. Such quests should encourage players to work together and to scout the world.

World Building:

The world of Istaria currently is not really exciting. Apart from finding the resources for crafting there is no reason to further scout the world, although there are many locations inspiring curiosity, as I can attest from my days roaming the continent far and wide. But such curiosity is short-lived, for all that locations are simple empty spaces of nothing. Looking awe-inspiring but with no NPCs, no treasure, no dangerous creatures, nothing. The aspect of unknown and hidden locationsand secret treasures is a very crucial point with any fantasy world in a MMORPG and should be addressed properly.

World Events:

The idea of events deciding the destiny of the world of Istaria as a whole or to free some new races for play was perhaps one of THE major reasons I had to give Horizons a try in the first place. All players - adventurers and crafters - were required to work together for the benefit of their world. That is something that gives the world of Istaria some greater depth and once again sets Horizons apart from most other games. It has been neglected the past few months, perhaps due to more pressing matters. I nonetheless strongly recommend to continue this major part of gaming experience since it makes up much of the atmosphere of the game and is one of the very own trademarks of Horizons that is dearly missed.

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Narkano

Quests without the eventual walkthoughs posted on every forum would be nice. However,it is up to you to read those or not. In game however it is a different thing altogether. You cannot expect people to close their chats everytime someone in Market asks "Where can I find.."

What is needed are quests with detailed descriptions of the events behind it, the person we seek, the reason we seek that person (re:NPC) However, that person should not be in a static spot or have static puzzles to solve to find. Istaria does not allow NPCs to wander. They are in such and such a spot today so you know they will be there tomorrow and the next.Even quest MoBs roam only a very short distance from the established spawn point.

So the only way at present to make these Quests more interesting would be to randomize the steps to the conclusion. For example I might get a clue to find a Tamed Apple Oastic where the next person may be looking for a Trout. (okay rough example) The number of choices (random) in each given step and the number of steps would insure that the Quest is not a Fed-Ex delivery system. Even the original Aroahs Health Crystal quest (the one to find the head off the mylocs--I could be mistaken) would have been more interesting and fun if it would have stated that "He was exploring the eastern deadlands...... So was it the Myloc that killed him? The Marrow? The Wraith? Any clues about? No. There were no clues,signs, etc. in the ED. Everyone knew you went to kill mylocs and kill mylocs is what you did until you found the head.

If the randomness is too hard to programthen at least have a few different outcomes and base them on whether or not your ingenuity is an equal or odd number, your class, your race. Nobody should be able to sit in Marketplace and give detailed instructions on how to gain the Warriors Edge level 10 Questthough I bet most oldtimers can do exactly that and many can rattle off the cords of the battle and the Quest Mob from the top of their heads.

The problem with a Quest system like that though is when you wish to Quest with a partner or a group. No sense in being in a group if you all have to go different directions. Ergo, they should have Quests that are tailored to groups,couples and even Guilds. The group leader (and in this instance there can be only one) would be granted the Quest.

The other thing lacking in making fun Quests and puzzles is the lack of a working World Model. How can we figure out to open a door or a chest or a secret wall when we do not have and cannot have those things? Anyone ever check behind one of the numerous waterfalls for a door or a switch or at least wished they could?

So to summarize because I think I am rambling we need Quests that can be randomized to limit walkthroughs, Quests that are meant to be solo,partnered with another or big groups and Quests that use a world model to give us more challenging puzzles.

Exactly Bori, this was the direction my thoughts went, too.

Narkano