Topic

Instanced Challenge Zones for Team Play

I was at work when it dawned on me how to make team play. It was a eureka moment. 

Ok... how players access the challenge zones is another thread. Currently, I want to focus on what a challenge zone is and the ideas for them.

A challenge zone is akin to the Rook Egg smash quest. It's an instanced area where players are given a challenge to complete. Additionally, there are going to be debuffs which present further challenges to the players. There will be puzzles. The area will be huge, have a time limit, a 1 per game day per try limit (plus it's repeatable). The area will have obstacles, pitfalls, etc just like any platforming game. The challenges will require players to use their skills to make things. Severe energy loss, for example, could occur instead of death requiring a chef handy. Let me go on about this by making a list of debuffs.

The debuffs would be horribly inhibiting. The cause of these debuffs would be zone to zone, but here are a few ideas I have on the effects. 

Agonizing Memories - Severe mood loss over time. When mood becomes red, player goes into fetal position and can't move til mood is back to normal.

Shrunk - Avatar actually shrinks. Takes double energy loss from any energy affect. Can't make anything. Jumps are shorter. 

Rapid Food Decay - The rotting food becomes something for challenge zones! In these zones, food decays almost after making it. This would prevent players from bringing their own food.

Weakness - Players can't carry bags or toolboxes. Suddenly players are limited to 16 item slots and whatever is in them to bring. If players enter the zone with bags/toolboxes, the bags are mailed to their house. 

Memory Lapse - Players lose some random number of skills while in the zone or for a time.

Muted/Deaf - Player cannot use chat or player cannot read chat.

These are just a few ideas. So players have to work together to complete these challenges. Completion should grant great rewards. The quest line should become harder and harder with each step. Players are required to have previous quests done in order to team-up with one another. 

So the zones are filled with things to figure out, and the players must complete the challenge in spite of horrid limitations. Having players specialized in different skills would be useful. Also, players being designated for certain tasks such as making food, or repairing tools, or whatever. Could be really interesting.

Let me know what you think.

Posted 16 months ago by Mr. Dawgg Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • I really like the idea of instanced challenges for teams. Debuffs are only a part of it, and not really necessary. What do you think the challenges might be?
    Posted 16 months ago by Ximenez Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I feel the debuffs are necessary because otherwise it's not a challenge. Players have access to too much as-is. Without inhibitors, they wouldn't be challenging.

    Getting to the top of a zone. Could require solving door codes. Players standing on certain platforms. Jumping challenges. Under time constraint. If players have to do 'steps' and each step reduces energy by 200, they'll have to have enough food. 

    Things like that.

    Also, could go PVP and have it be like a super race. Teams vs Teams trying to get through the challenge first.
    Posted 16 months ago by Mr. Dawgg Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Debuffs would make it easier to create challenges, and harder to solve whatever is thrown towards the team. Anyway, I prefer low resources, or a time limit, instead of pure debuffing.

    Coordination requirements would be a good challenge. Like massaging two butterflies at the same time in different streets, or finish mining two rocks, or completely new actions.

    We already have races with gahering goals, etc. This should be different, with a strong emphasis on teamwork.
    Posted 16 months ago by Ximenez Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Oh yeah, forgot to mention that in these instances, dying kicks the player outof the challenge and he can't try again til next game day. So losing energy isn't an option.

    Also, had another idea. Limited number of jumps. Players only get so many jumps and have to know when to make said jumps. And yeah... having a guy dedicating his jumps to butterflies in the zone might be pertinent. Who knows. 
    Posted 16 months ago by Mr. Dawgg Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It'd be one thing to have a few debuffs, one or two, but piling on would just make it massively too complicated for most people... and if people regard the challenge zones as a PITA, then you'd have very few people willing to screw around in them without some sort of requirement to do so.
    Posted 16 months ago by Djabriil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It's not suppose to be interpreted as a PITA. It's a challenge. Rise to meet it, or fail. The rewards will be there... that is for people who need that. I personally like a challenge just because it's a puzzle to solve.
    Posted 16 months ago by Mr. Dawgg Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Oh, I don't mean the concept is a PITA. I just mean if you have to hop from this platform to the other eight times, while being shrunk, at half energy, with no food, your mood at zero, conserving jumps due to the limited number you have, while randomly losing skills and being unable to communicate with anybody else... it's gonna come off like the risks outweigh the benefits. Sure, it should be a challenge, I agree with that. But it probably shouldn't be the kind of challenge that penalizes people so heavily for taking part that they don't wanna mess with it again. I would think, going into a challenge with 14 steep debuffs, that it was overkill, and I doubt I'd be alone. And after awhile, given the choice, I'd just end up tending my herbs or grinding in the Deeps to beating my head against a wall.
    Posted 16 months ago by Djabriil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Wull, I don't mean all just off the bat. Except for maybe the encumberance one (no bags) these things would happen as consequences in lieu of death.

    For example, you miss a jump and land in mud. You might suddenly become 'muddied down' and can't jump for 10 minutes (a significant portion of time in the challenge) or maybe a player might figure out a 'secret' and use honey to clean-up the mud. See?

    But yes, I 100% agree that if players had *all* stacked on, it wouldn't be fun. I guess I misrepresented how I wanted the debuffs to occur.
    Posted 16 months ago by Mr. Dawgg Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Or shoot, encumberance as a debuff in the middle. You just suddenly drop all of your items and are limited to a few inventory slots. That would be damning as well. The threat of losing all of your items to it might make people just not bring anything to begin with.
    Posted 16 months ago by Mr. Dawgg Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ahh, okay. I was trying to figure out the fun in being able to barely move, but now I see what you're getting at, and I'm on-board.
    Posted 16 months ago by Djabriil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Cool. Yeah my bad. But I like criticisms like yours because it helps more than just saying praise or whatever. Very good.
    Posted 16 months ago by Mr. Dawgg Subscriber! | Permalink