Fanmade continent creator

[dyslecix]

Originally Posted by kaffis

Modding tools and map creation tools make sense in a peer-hosted (or publicly hosted server) environment.

This is neither. There will be a limited number of servers to select from, and so there isn't room for servers serving up mods and community content for a niche subset of the market to either enjoy or shop around for a better offering. In addition, you only need to find 11-31 (depending on the game and map) other players who share your unique mix of preferences to have a thriving game on that server.

The key to mod/custom map content is that if I don't like what a server's running (because it's crap or catering to a fringe playstyle that may or may not be at odds with the rest of the game's design principles), I can move on and select from hundreds of other ones that choose to run something more akin to my tastes. SOE can't afford to run that many, nor fragment its userbase that far even if it could afford to, since it needs to pack thousands of players into each server-space to provide the player density to support its massive game edict.

I don't mean fragment the user base. Just so that SOE make tools for people to create a continent with and then submit to the dev's, so that they can choose which to put into the game. I wouldn't want it as open as you're saying for it to be. They will have to add continents either way, this is no different. It would save them the time to focus on other parts of the game, if they made tools for people to use.

[I SandRock]

They'd have to check every inch of the map and test it for bugs, glitches, easy exploitable areas, imbalances, performance, quality etc.
They're better off doing it themselves and doing it better.

Ain't gonna happen hombre.

[SixShooter]

With every inch of the continents being hand crafted by the dev team, I think it's pretty ridiculous to think that they could just give users "a set of tools" to create their own continent.

[WarbirdTD]

I understand the desire to help, but you'd need to have so many man-hours to get the level of quality of a continent like Indar, that you'd need to have a forum community like this one to make any real progress. And what happens when the PS2 devs say, "No, not the artistic approach we want to take"?

One thing I will say tho... I think SOE may be underestimating the number of players that will be flooding the servers at launch. I get the feeling that 3 continents will just not be enough for each server at launch.

[kaffis]

Originally Posted by dyslecix

I don't mean fragment the user base. Just so that SOE make tools for people to create a continent with and then submit to the dev's, so that they can choose which to put into the game. I wouldn't want it as open as you're saying for it to be. They will have to add continents either way, this is no different. It would save them the time to focus on other parts of the game, if they made tools for people to use.

This is, still, pretty mad in a system where one can't run their own servers. *All* of the testing and review would have to be done post-submission, with the creators having no ability to even try things out and see if they feel "right" to *themselves* first.

That's way more effort reviewing submissions than creating a few under the direction of in-house folks who have experience and access to the design docs and guidelines and whatnot that would govern the review process anyways.

[Sabot]

Too many things that can go wrong with player made maps... and the devs will have to test all of them. It will probably take longer than just making it right themselves in the first place.

[Revanmug]

Originally Posted by dyslecix

LMAO, comparing it to CoD, since when has cod had a MAP CREATOR?

Cod2 and the first MW had mod tools (which was extremely used by the community to create maps and game mod) but don't worry, you can still follow the hate train, act retardly and look cool!

[Dloan]

It would be silly to assume that SOE have a monopoly on talent.

[I SandRock]

Originally Posted by WarbirdTD

One thing I will say tho... I think SOE may be underestimating the number of players that will be flooding the servers at launch. I get the feeling that 3 continents will just not be enough for each server at launch.

How does that matter? Who says they intend to fill all 3 continents full with players at all times anyway? There will be multiple servers, not just one, either way. Perhaps in the future we will have 10 continents and we will also have a similar conquest system as with Planetside 1, where you need to hold a continent to capture another, etc. Or like cave locks, a continent locks down at a certain time and there are only 3 open at a time, moving the battle along nicely and providing a more static reward for capturing territory. After a lock down you will get a steady income of resources based on the territory you have there for awhile. Making capturing territory more useful. But anyway, that's all in the future. So I don't see how they need more continents because of server pop, if all 3 are full then thats fine. People can go to a different server