02-09-2006, 12:03 AM
I've been thinking about a way we could give players the option to get extra game hints and advice while playing our mod, and would like to get opinions on it.
My idea is that when the player first loads the mod he's asked a question - something along the lines of "Do you want to turn on game hints for this mod?" If he answers yes, the script triggers the hints spread out in the world to become activated and visible. If he chooses no, they are turned off and invisible. I'm not sure in which manner he should be asked the question, because if it's just a scripted question he can't go back and make another choice. Maybe we could do it by placing an NPC along the road from Cyrodiil to Silgrad Tower? But I'm sure there are other ways to do it as well.
The game hints would come in the form of objects with attached scripts, so if the player has chosen to make them visible he'll get a simple pop-up message when clicking on them. The objects might be a translucent, glowing question mark model or something like that... it could be anything that isn't too jarring, but it should still be something the player can easily identify, because players who turn hints on probably won't care.
Game hints like that could be an easy and uncomplicated way to convey helpful information to the player without having to worry about making it fit with the style and atmosphere. Players who are sensitive to that could just turn them off and play traditionally.
A case in point could be a Velothi tomb which has a pit that can potentially trap the player without giving him any obvious means of escape, so if he didn't pack an Almsivi intervention scroll or such thing he'd really be trapped. The game hint outside the tomb could give the player a reminder that he's not in Cyrodiil, modders don't play fair, and that he should always save his game before exploring our tombs. :brew:
So, if it works like I pictured it, this way modders have an alibi and free hands in messing with the player and giving him real challenges, making it the player's own fault if he doesn't take advantage of the hints. There are other applications as well; for instance, one type of game hint could let the player know what level he should be to have a decent chance of completing the adventure ahead. Placing game hints or not would be up to individual modders to decide.
My idea is that when the player first loads the mod he's asked a question - something along the lines of "Do you want to turn on game hints for this mod?" If he answers yes, the script triggers the hints spread out in the world to become activated and visible. If he chooses no, they are turned off and invisible. I'm not sure in which manner he should be asked the question, because if it's just a scripted question he can't go back and make another choice. Maybe we could do it by placing an NPC along the road from Cyrodiil to Silgrad Tower? But I'm sure there are other ways to do it as well.
The game hints would come in the form of objects with attached scripts, so if the player has chosen to make them visible he'll get a simple pop-up message when clicking on them. The objects might be a translucent, glowing question mark model or something like that... it could be anything that isn't too jarring, but it should still be something the player can easily identify, because players who turn hints on probably won't care.
Game hints like that could be an easy and uncomplicated way to convey helpful information to the player without having to worry about making it fit with the style and atmosphere. Players who are sensitive to that could just turn them off and play traditionally.
A case in point could be a Velothi tomb which has a pit that can potentially trap the player without giving him any obvious means of escape, so if he didn't pack an Almsivi intervention scroll or such thing he'd really be trapped. The game hint outside the tomb could give the player a reminder that he's not in Cyrodiil, modders don't play fair, and that he should always save his game before exploring our tombs. :brew:
So, if it works like I pictured it, this way modders have an alibi and free hands in messing with the player and giving him real challenges, making it the player's own fault if he doesn't take advantage of the hints. There are other applications as well; for instance, one type of game hint could let the player know what level he should be to have a decent chance of completing the adventure ahead. Placing game hints or not would be up to individual modders to decide.