tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post3735843283399201110..comments2024-03-27T23:28:19.341-07:00Comments on Telecanter's Receding Rules: The Accessible SandboxTelecanterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07238356788092725244noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-15322113881052465312012-12-14T18:38:18.392-08:002012-12-14T18:38:18.392-08:00Thanks, Olav. Yeah, I'm not so confident I kn...Thanks, Olav. Yeah, I'm not so confident I know what my group wants at any one time probably because my group might be composed of different people on any one night.<br /><br />I don't think Morrowind's illusion is the travel, but when you get down to the level of quests and find out, that you *have* to kill someone or that you *have* to steal something. Then it feels very video gamey and unsatisfying.Telecanterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238356788092725244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-19248582062306017072012-12-13T17:05:07.511-08:002012-12-13T17:05:07.511-08:00Thinking:
The Morrowind/Elder Scrolls idea of eas...Thinking:<br /><br />The Morrowind/Elder Scrolls idea of easy and safe travel is more important if you're designing for someone else. With one's own group, chances are that one knows them well enough to cater to their favourite activities. When designing for other people, however, chances are one has no clue as to what they prefer doing.<br /><br />Thus, the Morrowind approach seems to me like mostly about providing an illusion of freedom and diversity to make up for the lack of true freedom and diversity. But I'll admit that at least for an island it has some virtues.Olavhttp://boningen.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-68992877573306160232012-12-12T10:29:27.978-08:002012-12-12T10:29:27.978-08:00Yeah, Morrowind is a wonderful sandbox. It is har...Yeah, Morrowind is a wonderful sandbox. It is hard to set up the same degree of detail in terms of number of organizations, number of encounter sites, number of quests, and so forth in building a tabletop sandbox... This discussion has got me thinking about running a somewhat less post-apocalyptic sandbox than my current one, where there are no questgivers, few organizations, a bare handful of towns, and most travel is on foot (with river travel being the exception, and my PCs are now rich enough to own a boat, so there's no organizations dependance there).<br /><br />Alchemy is a lot of fun... arguably the strongest skill, because of the 'action economy' of being able to down a great heaping pile of potions while the game is paused, then regenerating through almost any combat (in addition to utility capabilities like flight, fatigue restoration, and intelligence boosting loops).<br /><br />Also agree completely that MW did a much better job of sandboxing than Oblivion or Skyrim.jedavishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08586249502818922886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-62329841137624975452012-12-12T10:17:11.483-08:002012-12-12T10:17:11.483-08:00@Nick: I wonder if the slow movement adds to that ...@Nick: I wonder if the slow movement adds to that feel. I forgot how horribly slow you start out. I've got my Speed over 50 now and still run everywhere to move faster. I do think part of it is the way the terrain is laid out. You aren't prevented from going anywhere but steep hills and lakes make straying from the curving roads troublesome. So you get a sense of things being bigger from having to travel the switchbacks.<br /><br />@EPW: Yeah, easier travel as perks of different organizations is cool. What struck me about this was how much you could move around without any of that. I think the way I would try to achieve it is to make several start areas with simpler but more efficient set up.<br /><br />@DungeonMastahWieg: I know that just exploration doesn't satisfy me-- I need some kinds of quests and tension to interact with different factions-- but I have no use for the default "You are the One" the Elder Scrolls keeps telling. Also, for single player games I enjoy a lot of messing with the system itself to see what is possible. I'm still exploring alchemy and enchanting right now.<br /><br />@Victor:Props to Ken for what he achieved with Morrowind, but I think with Oblivion he threw out a lot of what he'd done right in chasing a bigger audience. I suppose they succeeded with the popularity of Oblivion, and now Skyrim, but it really doesn't compare to what they threw out to get there. I might write a blog post about this later.Telecanterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238356788092725244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-55321965843810344232012-12-12T06:41:55.657-08:002012-12-12T06:41:55.657-08:00I lived on Planet Morrowind for an extended period...I lived on Planet Morrowind for an extended period of time while in graduate school (why, yes, I was avoiding my dissertation...).<br /><br />No surprise that the lead designer on Morrowind was Ken Rolston, author of many different tabletop RPG products in the past.Victor Raymondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05928494560036528653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-41174614570081569002012-12-11T20:31:06.158-08:002012-12-11T20:31:06.158-08:00Oh, and I should add... I never did finish Morrowi...Oh, and I should add... I never did finish Morrowind. I didn't have the attention span to follow the main quest. The prophecy can wait; I want to become Grand Master of the Fighter's Guild. Hey, what's in this cave? Is that a shipwreck? Etc. DMWieghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03682249561077936507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-50050963506364148102012-12-11T20:30:12.192-08:002012-12-11T20:30:12.192-08:00Definitely something to think about for my next D&...Definitely something to think about for my next D&D campaign. DMWieghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03682249561077936507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-57056125693019483962012-12-11T18:56:31.888-08:002012-12-11T18:56:31.888-08:00I suppose a Morrowind type map with safe long dist...I suppose a Morrowind type map with safe long distance travel would allow the players more freedom to choose where they want to explore. Freedom to explore is a hallmark of a sandbox campaign. To keep campaign prep down you could restrict the travel by making certain routes too expensive for beginning (usually poor) characters. Some modes could be restricted to only members/allies of an organization, requiring the players to earn membership through quests, etc. As they gain wealth and prestige, doors will literally open up for them.Priddayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17988483528642234280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-48663562802284806562012-12-11T18:16:48.056-08:002012-12-11T18:16:48.056-08:00"I suppose a traditional D&D sandbox is a..."I suppose a traditional D&D sandbox is also bigger, though, in-game this world feel huge. I wouldn't want to have to walk across the island real time."<br /><br />I totally agree. Morrowind had pretty much convinced me that I should design smaller worlds with more travel options and more frequent encounters.<br /><br />Did you know that the world map is supposedly less than 10 square miles? That is, if this math I found is correct.<br /><br />Morrowind Vvardenfell World: 2688 x 2816 [ 84 x 88 TES4 size cells ] = 4.8km x 5km = 24 sq km = 9.3 sq miles<br /><br />I was rather surprised when I saw that figure. Quibishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13566050970164487157noreply@blogger.com