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Update 2 : Epic-Volume 2

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Epic - Volume 2 -– “Solofication” Pass

By: Bob “Maurath” Hess

Well, this is my first Developer Diary for the Lord of the Rings Online™ team, so I figured I would take a second to introduce myself. My name is Bob “Maurath” Hess, and I am the newest member of the Content Team. I have been working here at Turbine for a little over four years, with the first year working in QA, a little over a year working on Dungeons and Dragons Online as a systems designer, and then for the past two years on Lord of the Rings Online. Previously, I’ve worked on several different projects in LOTRO, including quest and encounter design for the Lich Bluffs region in Enedwaith.



When we first began to look at a 'solofication' pass of the Volume 2 epic, our team knew that it would be quite the undertaking. We ended up breaking the task into two parts, with Jonathan “Berephon” Rudder changing the battle instances in Chapter 5 into Skirmishes, and with me working on the rest of the Volume 2.

Following the breakdown of tasks, we then went about gathering feedback from internal and external sources regarding specific points in the epic which are particularly difficult to solo. To add to my own experience in attempting this content, the QA Department was kind enough to lend a good deal of feedback regarding the 'soloability' of the content using a wide array of classes and character compositions. This feedback was invaluable for evaluating problem points within Volume 2 and became indispensible as we proceeded to implement changes.

Design Goals

There were several overall design goals when undertaking the task:

  • To make the entire Volume 2 Epic completable by a solo player.
  • To allow solo players to experience several instance spaces and encounters that are truly unique and interesting.
  • To smooth some of the gameplay aspects of the Volume 2 Epic, with a particular eye to some particularly difficult content to complete, and travel times.
 

These specific design goals were addressed using a variety of different methods, which will be further explained in their own sections:

  • Re-leveling Quests
  • Simplification of quest objectives with the addition of quest objectives that are more numerous and easier to locate.
  • Redesigning several instance spaces for solo and duo play while allowing players to experience aspects of the original instance design
 

Re-leveling Volume 2 Epic quests:

One of the difficulties of our work environment is that several teams of content designers have varied responsibilities for the type of content that they are creating. During the implementation of the Volume 2 Epic and the Mines of Moria region development, there was a shift in the level spread of specific areas in Moria. Because of this, a few chapters of Volume 2 are not level appropriate for where they are placed. So in an effort to more accurately represent the challenge level of the quests, we changed the level of several chapters in Volume 2. Below is a listing of the quests that have been adjusted.

  • Book 2 - Chapters 1 to 5 re-leveled to 53
  • Book 2 - Chapters 6 to 8 re-leveled to 54
  • Book 3 - Chapters 1 to 5 re-leveled to 56
  • Book 3 - Chapters 6 to 9 re-leveled to 57
  • Book 4 - Chapters 1 to 5 re-leveled to 58
  • Book 4 - Chapters 6 to 8 re-leveled to 59
  • Book 5 - Chapters 1 to 2 re-leveled to 59
  • Book 9 - Chapters 6 to 7 re-leveled to 63
  • Book 9 - Chapters 10 to 11 re-leveled to 64
 

Simplification of Quest Objectives:

During the play-through of several Chapters, a small number of quests seemed disproportionately difficult to locate quest items for a variety of reasons. Several quests had low drop rates, some had poor quest tracker guidance, several were too difficult to navigate given the nature of the landscape, several had specific monsters that were a bit too difficult given their surroundings and, lastly, the travel time and the number of monsters between objectives was a little high. Due to all of these factors, a wide array of changes were made to several chapters. Below is a listing of several of the chapters, and the changes that were made.

  • Volume 2, Book 2 - Chapter 6: Goblins in the Western Halls: This changes several aspects of the quest. The quest guide directions have been simplified. There are now more crude maps available.
  • Volume 2, Book 3 - Chapter 6: Arms of the Sharpest Bite - The monster drop rate has been increased, and additional world spawns have been added for all three types of items. The quest is also closer to the bestower.
  • Volume 2, Book 4 - Chapter 1: All Escorts have now become signature mobs. Several quest mobs have had their levels adjusted.
  • Volume 2, Book 4 - Chapter 3 & 3B: Chapter 3B, “Scavenging for Weapons,” has been uncoupled from the Epic book and Chapter 3 is required for completion.
  • Volume 2, Book 4 - Chapter 5: Added additional item spawns, unlocked travel route and thinned monster density near quest objects.
  • Volume 2, Book 4 - Chapter 6: The locate the plaques and defeat monsters objectives have been separated into two steps to allow the quest guide to more accurately display the objectives.
  • Volume 2, Book 5 - Chapter 1 & 2: An additional quest vector NPC was added in Chapter 1 and is now the person that you turn the quest into. This new NPC will then send you back out for Book 2.
  • Volume 2, Book 6 - Chapter 3: Orophin has had his stats increased to make him easier to defend.
  • Volume 2, Book 6 - Chapter 5, 5B, 5C: Taken By Madness and Mazong's Searchers - The signature mobs involved with this quest, while still signatures, should be easier to defeat.
  • Volume 2, Book 8, Chapter 5: Shackles for Mazog - This quest has had the pre-reqs changed to now accept either the group or solo version of "Chapter 4: A Relic in Nalâ-dûm ".
 

Redesigning several instance spaces for solo and duo play:

One of the more daunting tasks involved with the 'solofication' of the Volume 2 Epic is that there are several pretty lengthy group dungeons that were included as part of the critical path. For each of the dungeons, I will try and give a brief explanation of what was done to the dungeon and the choices that were made during implementation. Please note while many of these experiences are able to be completed as a solo player, many of them allow you to duo the content as well.


  • Book 4 - Chapter 7: Drowned Treasury
    For the Drowned Treasury, we decided to employ Inspired Greatness. With a slight reduction in some of the monster stats and a change to a few of the pulls, the encounters within the instance scale pretty well with Inspired Greatness. Please note the overall difficulty of the dungeon has been tuned to be a bit easier with larger groups.
  • Book 6 - Chapter 8: New Devilry
    This instance was a daunting challenge in the 'solofication' process.. Due to the complexity of a number of the encounters and overall difficulty even with Inspired Greatness, we chose to rework the space into a single or two player experience rather than greatly reduce the difficulty of one of the more challenging instances. We liked the feel of the instance and the speed of progression as you went through with Inspired Greatness, so we decided to allow you to use it during this instance. Additionally, during the development process we discussed if we should remove the Cloak of Shadow and Flame from the loot tables of the final encounter. We decided to leave it in an attempt to allow players that were unable to recover it during previous runs, or unable to complete the instance.
  • Book 8, Chapter 3: A Relic in Lumul-nar & Book 8, Chapter 4: A Relic in Nalâ-dûm
    We felt rather strongly that these two instances are some the more dynamic spaces in our game today, and we felt that we should allow players to complete them in either a solo/duo experience or the original 3-man experience. We removed the chest loot from the solo experience to reward players who attempted the original 3-man version while still accomidating those who are looking to experience the space without a group. Additionally, the puzzle solving aspects of these instances were left intact so that players could experience some of the more dramatic game play.
  • Book 8, Chapter 6: Return to Azanarukâr
    As with Book 6, Chapter 8, this space had some unique challenges when implementing a single or two player experience. Once again, we felt that the space would be best suited by utilizing both Inspired Greatness and making it into a single or two player instance. One of the greatest difficulties involved the door mechanics in the final encounter, so we decided to make the instance fail if you or any allies (Other players or Escort NPC) perish. (Please note: This change is not reflected in the first build on Bullroarer).
 

In conclusion

Overall, I feel as though the changes made will allow a great number of players who previously could not proceed through the epic to see the rest of the story unfold. While some of these decisions will change how the epic is completed, I feel that we were able to maintain the integrity and creativity of the encounters while allowing a wider array of players to complete it.

“Well, I got the instance done without begging in kin chat and GLFF for hours/days so I would say this is a hugely positive change.” -Feedback from a player in one of our playtests

Bob “Maurath” Hess

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그니까요. 제가 일전에 IRC에서 중간계에 남아있는 발록 7마리중 3마리를 벌써 게임상에서
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