What do you want from Layonara?

[G.Giant]

I think that kind of thing would be great for your MMORPG.  Solo quests, I mean.

Instead of just having CNR areas that can be cleared over and over you could have once-a-day repeatable quests that could function as "day jobs" (getting hired to clear monsters out of mines or forests for mining or logging companies, for example, or escorting caravans and dealing with random bandit attacks on the way) that function as short solo quests and give enough XP and gold to be worthwhile, but not so much that it's preferable to finding a group.  Having a reason to repeat them would be great for the RP as well, and they'd be good ways to meet up with people of your level for other adventures.

[Link092]

I think that kind of thing would be great for your MMORPG.  Solo quests, I mean.

Instead of just having CNR areas that can be cleared over and over you could have once-a-day repeatable quests that could function as "day jobs" (getting hired to clear monsters out of mines or forests for mining or logging companies, for example, or escorting caravans and dealing with random bandit attacks on the way) that function as short solo quests and give enough XP and gold to be worthwhile, but not so much that it's preferable to finding a group.  Having a reason to repeat them would be great for the RP as well, and they'd be good ways to meet up with people of your level for other adventures.

As per my Deliarite tendencies (By this, I mean Idoran) ,I must say I support the Idea of escorting caravans...

[davidhoff]

What about increasing the max character level cap from 40 to say 50 or 60 so the higher ups like Storold, Angela, Alantha, etc (I can't think of any others right now), would have something to look forward to.  I think for me if I hit 40 it might be kind of discouraging that I can't further my character.  It also would be upsetting to see my character approaching 40 and knowing I'm coming to the end.

You could make it really hard to level past 40.  Say make it 10 million for each level after 40, but still it would give you something to aspire and shoot for.

[Dorganath]

Alright, since I had the first word, I'd also like to have the last word.

Abuse of power?  Possibly, but it's only fair, right?

Perhaps predictably, my perspective is somewhat different than most, though at least one of the posts in this forum had some resonance with these thoughts.

I would like to seem more of a community-oriented thought process among some players than the "what can Layonara do for me?" sort of thinking.  To explain, I mean to remember that we're all here for the same basic reason: To have fun and enjoy ourselves.  However, when your fun impacts the fun of another player, there's a problem, and people have left due to this, rather than deal with the inter-personal drama.  Players are players. We're all human, despite what we play. Remember that.  Work out your player-to-player issues directly rather than letting them bleed into your game time, and if it can't be resolved that way, ask for help from a GM. We're here to help!  Really!

I'd like to see less avoidance of GMs in general. We're not evil tyrants.  We're not out to hunt you down and make you miserable. You can approach us via PMs or IRC without also bringing along a bucket of apologies.  In most cases, we'll help if we can.

In the same vein, I'd like to see less in-game avoidance of characters of GMs. It's somewhat demoralizing to log in, see people and see them keep to their own group or whatever without so much as acknowledging my character or that of any number of other GMs.  It's doubly demoralizing then to hear whispers and rumors about how GMs and WLs have their own little "clubs and cliques" and keep to themselves, though without bothering to consider that the reason for that is that people scatter when some of us log in like cockroaches when you turn on the lights.

I'd like to see less rumor-mongering and gossip, whether about other players or the GM team.  99% of the time, such things are simply hurtful and far from accurate.  In the case where there is a real problem, take it up with the other person, or if that is not appropriate or effective, bring it to an uninvolved GM.

I'd like to see more focus on character development prior to level 20 rather than after level 20.  We've taken away the rules about character level spreads and level requirements for certain areas, but the mindset of keeping up with one's friends still exists.  The "race to 20" still seems deeply ingrained, and even new characters of old players now have a planned progression to get to a given level as quickly as possible, leveraging known "well-paying" areas learned through their other characters.

I'd like to see, when a GM tosses an impromptu into a group's "run" somewhere, that such things are seen less like annoying hindrances and more like a departure from the "same-old, same-old" and an opportunity.  I know not all of you do that, and it's appreciated when the interaction is appreciated, not criticized as just something to get through so the group can get back to their run for CNR/Loot/XP.  Just so everyone knows the other side of things, when GMs get complaints about "interrupting", it discourages GMs from doing these things.  And yet, this type of interaction is high on the request list.

I would like to see people remember that there is a cause-effect relationship to everything that goes on here.  If the GM team seems to be "targeting" a particular individual, whether positively or negatively, there's generally a reason.  In the former case, it's a "reward" of sorts for contribution or a recognition of abilities, initiatives, connections and so forth.  Everyone has the same opportunities to receive such attention, but most do not take them.  In the latter case, the player has done something that has caught our attention and which needs to be addressed in one way or the other. Often either case also launches rumors and such, most of which are false.

Lastly, I would like it if people who have a question, concern or problem with something would just bring them forward and ask, rather than degenerating such concerns into wild and eventually bitter rumors and gossip. *points up a bit*

Remember, as I said, we're all here to play and enjoy ourselves.  The politics of real life often get in the way of that, spoiling the experience for players and GMs alike.  Many of the things I have listed above are the primary contributors for GM burn-out.

[Dorganath]

OK first of all, thank you all (yep, every single one of you) who took the time, thought and effort to reply to this thread and my original question...and especially to those who were able to figure out what I was really asking rather than my (admittedly frustrated) original question.

I will say I did not know what to expect when I put up this question. It was, despite my initially poor wording, intended to be quite an open question and I'm glad most of you saw it as such. Even though the GM team is of limited resources and work on the MMO is progressing, we're always looking for ways to improve the world in its NWN incarnation.

I will also say I was not expecting mechanical suggestions, though the openness of my question surely didn't exclude it.  What I was seeking more was things that touched on the overall experience of Layonara, why people play, what people want to do and so forth.  We have lots of players here, some active, some just lurking.  Every one of you has your own opinions and your own perspectives, and they've all been interesting (and in some cases, enlightening) to read.

Again, thank you all very much for contributing.

Now, moving on, I intend to summarize these points for the GM team, as some of them overlap things the GM team has been discussing since before I started this thread.  We put the talk on hold pending the outcome of the thread.  Several times, I intended to close the thread, but suggestions kept coming in.  Now after a month (a little over, really), it has probably run its course enough to start drawing from it and seeing what can be done.

Now, so that no one is offended, let me state this so that we're all of the same understanding.  On the whole, these suggestions are very good, but there is of course a limit to what will come of them.  There are of course many factors at work here, the primary ones being issues of consistency (lore and other such things), balance and availability of resources (read: time and effort).  As such, we may only be able to implement a few of these things, but I want everyone to know that we will give every suggestion due consideration.  For example, massive system overhauls or new implementations of massive systems are rather unlikely to be done simply from the perspective of how much it would take to do them.  As another example, the economic issues are not likely to be addressed in any significant way without doing a bank/gold/chest wipe, and no body wants to do that. Other things simply aren't possible in NWN, though we'll of course look forward to the MMO as well where such suggestions are appropriate.

On this note, I am closing this thread.  I'm sure some of you will continue to have ideas and as such, I strongly encourage you to make use of one of our existing suggestions forums:

http://forums.layonara.com/development-related-topics-drt/
http://forums.layonara.com/nwn-ideas-suggestions-requests/
http://forums.layonara.com/quests-ideas-discussion/
http://forums.layonara.com/cnr-suggestions-discussion/
http://forums.layonara.com/lore-ideas-suggestions-requests/

Once again, thank you all for your contributions to this topic.