Curse

Ninna · Dec 01, 2006, 03:10 PM // 15:10

copying my reply too ...

in Guildwars
- necro monsters kill the roaming lvl 5 critters to make minions
- rangers tame nearby critters

it doesnt compare to oblivion, but some monsters do interact with their environment -- due to their "class needs"

Inde · Dec 01, 2006, 03:24 PM // 15:24

I merged these 2 threads and took out the similar content matter and irrelevant topic matter (concerning myself

) please go back through and read the first page of this thread where some of us try to explain about the infighting and the comparison being made to Oblivion.

Baranor · Dec 01, 2006, 11:05 PM // 23:05

The article is about a pc-generated ecology, and not whether monster a fights NPC b in Guild Wars. Its not even aimed specifically at Guild Wars.

Infighting in all games is scripted, no matter which way you turn. There is a little difference between the scripting (say, a fight staged to occur when the player arrives versus a fight occuring regardless of whether the player arrives) but everything is staged none the less. However, some games attempt to emulate real life, whilst others don't bother, and that's an interesting point. Take a look at Spore and you'll see what I mean by the difference between attempting or not attempting to emulate real life.

Trvth Jvstice · Dec 01, 2006, 11:47 PM // 23:47

I think that in Oblivion, they add some randomness to the NPC's activities which adds a little more realism. The NPCs have a certain path/routine that they follow which is scripted, but some of the things they do seem to be random. I would say this is part of the ai described in the article that makes it at least partially unscripted. (unless I misunderstand the meaning of the term "scripted" )

The paths that the animal NPCs take in Oblivion often seem to be completly at random except that they are contained within a certain area.

Baranor · Dec 02, 2006, 10:36 AM // 10:36

Since I wrote the article, I can tell you you are correct, good sir ^_^

Aeshek · Dec 02, 2006, 12:57 PM // 12:57

The level of ecology that exists in Oblivion isn't needed in Guild Wars. A big part of GW is PVP, of which there is virtually no ecology. Every time you enter a mission or explorable area from an outpost, that area's creatures are "reset", so I think more of an area monster ecology could exist. That being said, I think the infighting in GW could be tweeked a little bit to show a more realistic ecology. There are many instances where you think, "Those two groups of monsters should be natural enemies. Why arn't they fighting?" I would find it interesting if GW used infighting between hostiles as part of a stratagy for solo farming bosses that are almost impossible to get to without a full or partial group. Say for example there is a boss you can't solo farm because he is surrounded by too large a group of his loyal soldiers. What if you could lure a group of the soldiers out to fight some nearby monsters? You could thin the numbers enough to make the boss fight managable. It could be challanging as well. There is the chance you might not get to a safe distance before both groups engage each other, killing you in the process. It's also very difficult to use an ecosystem like this as a loot exploit because this game, like many other MMOs, require a group or player to do a certain amount of damage for the player to get credit for the kill and for loot to drop. I think if you've been following GW for a while you are seeing the ecosystem develop a little more with each game that is released. There are PvE weapon mods that add damage vs. Plants, Dragons, Undead, ect. with the first GW. In Factions, we have Kurz Vs. Lux, which affects greatly how well you perform in certain environs, based on who you are aligned with, and if you can talk to a Kurz or Lux priest in certain areas. And finally, in Nightfall, we recieve an XP bonus and bounties for hunting certain types of monsters. I think in the next episode of GW we will see an even more evolved ecosystem, with NPC's and monsters that can react more with each other as well as the player, perhaps even a level of randomness that may help keep explorable areas and missions fresh and more realistic. It is the next logical step.

Trvth Jvstice · Dec 02, 2006, 02:53 PM // 14:53

@ Baranor: My apologies, I was under the impression that Inde had written it.

Great article btw. Thx

EDIT: Wouldn't the Hopper, Grabber and Snatcher scenario you described be unscripted? Mind you I'm thinking that scripted means preplanned or that said occurrence will happen every time you go to a certain area to trigger an event, or x will happen every time a monster meets b monster. Maybe scripted means something different when it pertains to game programing?

In the Hopper, Grabber, snatcher scenario the hopper or Grabber would only be devoured if their predator hasn't met it's daily allowance of food. It would be amazing to be exploring somewhere and see a Hopper running for it's life from a Grabber and be saved at the last second when a Snatcher bursts from the bushes and attacks the Grabber.

Anyway, I think that the simulated ecology you described, put on a much larger scale would greatly enrich the realism to any game. It doesn't seem like it would be very hard to program.