Random Game Improvements

[frunk]

Here's a thread to kick around ideas for improvements to the game, regardless of how practical or impractical.

Dynamic Level Adjustment - As best I can tell the game currently totals all of your numbers and then scales it down by the appropriate amount. It would be better if it adjusted the player and each item separately. So a level 80 character in a level 60 zone would have their stats and their level 80 items downleveled by 20, but a level 75 item only 15 and a level 60 item unchanged. This would allow a harsher adjustment overall without unduly penalizing those with gear in between their character level and that of the zone they are in. Theoretically you could intentionally use all lower level gear in lower level zones and still get full effect if you wanted.

Camera Adjustment - I really dislike that the camera is zoomed in when you are against a wall (or tree limb, or slight outcropping) and that items in your field of view between the camera and your character block your view. What I would prefer is that the zoom level stays static and that any items between you and your character become "ghosted".

[robinsiebler]

I've posted about fifty 'leven posts regarding RP improvements. I had planned to create a single thread comprising all of the RP improvement suggestions, but that has been postponed until my latest ban expires.

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[ouroboris]

Scaling down sucks. In any other game you take a high level toon into a low level map to get those things he got killed trying to get earlier and it's simple to do, then you can go back to the high level maps to continue the challenge. Here I take my 80 ranger into a 23 zone to get those things I had to pass on earlier and he gets wiped by a 23 boss that takes ZERO damage from my ranger's god-killer bow. But when I take a 23 character into a high level zone he isn't scaled UP, so the end result is no matter where you go you have to step with care or you get killed by weak groups.

And I HATE it when I kill one baddie, turn to kill another and get myself down to 2% health in the process, and then the first guy I killed re-spawns right behind me out of nowhere and swats me like a fly while I'm defenseless. And while I'm at it, I hate mines that appear out of nowhere and zap you, and I hate that it makes me jump out of my skin when it happens. I know - kvetch, kvetch, kvetch. But I hate that.

[hlindegar]

Here's a thread to kick around ideas for improvements to the game, regardless of how practical or impractical.

Dynamic Level Adjustment - As best I can tell the game currently totals all of your numbers and then scales it down by the appropriate amount. It would be better if it adjusted the player and each item separately. So a level 80 character in a level 60 zone would have their stats and their level 80 items downleveled by 20, but a level 75 item only 15 and a level 60 item unchanged. This would allow a harsher adjustment overall without unduly penalizing those with gear in between their character level and that of the zone they are in. Theoretically you could intentionally use all lower level gear in lower level zones and still get full effect if you wanted.

Camera Adjustment - I really dislike that the camera is zoomed in when you are against a wall (or tree limb, or slight outcropping) and that items in your field of view between the camera and your character block your view. What I would prefer is that the zoom level stays static and that any items between you and your character become "ghosted".

Disagree with the first, agree with the second.

A level 80 in better gear than another 80 should have an advantage when the two are in a level 60 zone together. Otherwise the gear isn't doing anything in those zones.

The camera would be awesome that way. I know I've seen that it some games but I don't remember which off the top of my head.

[Lucread]

The problem with ghosting is that it actually requires extra code to create the transparency of the generated image which becomes even more complicated with the fact that you don't want everything to go transparent, but rather just the things in the way. So as much as it may be a nice thought, a camera zoom does not require all that extra code, since the ability is already designed into the game, and thus doing that instead can free up the programmer's time and attention to do things that really matter... like the dealing with the rest of the game.

[Mr Crow]

I personally don't mind the down-levelling. IMHO it adds to the challenge longevity of the game in that I'm not able to breeze through lower level areas.

As for the camera angle, I would like a first person option. I can't count the amount of time I lose track of where I'm headed coz the foliage got in the way...

[tym]

For me, I have all but about given up on the game. Had SO much fun, Got my money's worth and then some. Just seems like the 70/80 maps running solo is almost impossible. 60/70 is pretty tough as well. Its like they are forcing you to run with someone else.

I play such strange hours and days, Finding help can be frustrating. I just wish you could "hire" a computer generated helper, something low cost or even free. Just enough to offer even SOME help. Some of the skill points can be in tough spots and Kiting much is almost impossible, and you do need to be careful so you don't draw in another fight.

Finding another player to run with should be a option, not a necessidy. I want to enjoy the game, not be frustrated by it. I do have one level 80 toon. Working on a second one. Just taking forever to get him Leveled up. Still learning how to play it. I went from a ranger, to a thief.

[Lucread]

I just wish you could "hire" a computer generated helper, something low cost or even free. Just enough to offer even SOME help.

Yeah, this is something I was actually surprised to discover didn't exist in the game.

Considering GW1 was so focused on the idea that you NEVER had to play with anyone if you didn't want to, and thus offered you number of Henchmen (and eventually Heroes) to choose from to take with you into battle so you would still have a full group at all times, it was just an easy assumption to make that GW2 would have something similar, especially since they say you can go from 1-80 without ever teaming with someone.

I dunno... I've noticed that even just having one NPC around in instances helps a lot, so I don't see why they couldn't have made a Henchmen system of some sort in this game, but yeah.

[frunk]

Disagree with the first, agree with the second.

A level 80 in better gear than another 80 should have an advantage when the two are in a level 60 zone together. Otherwise the gear isn't doing anything in those zones.

If they are both equipped with level 80 gear than the one with better gear will be better. In a level 60 zone why shouldn't level 60 gear be just as useful for a level 80 character as a level 60?

Right now the problem is that if you are level 50 in a level 50 zone with level 50 gear nothing is adjusted. If you come back to the same zone later at level 54 with the same level 50 gear, that gear is weaker than it was before. I think that's part of the reason the downleveling is so weak.

[frunk]

Equal Waypoint costs for all points in a city - Right now waypoint travel within cities is free, but travel to it from outside locations varies depending on distance. This means it makes sense to travel to the closest (cheapest) location and then jump again once you are in the city. If all locations in a city cost the same there wouldn't be a reason to do this.

- - - Updated - - -

The problem with ghosting is that it actually requires extra code to create the transparency of the generated image which becomes even more complicated with the fact that you don't want everything to go transparent, but rather just the things in the way. So as much as it may be a nice thought, a camera zoom does not require all that extra code, since the ability is already designed into the game, and thus doing that instead can free up the programmer's time and attention to do things that really matter... like the dealing with the rest of the game.

The transparency code is in the engine, you can see it sometimes depending on the camera angle. The difficult part is correctly calculating it for points between the camera and the character.