Curse

ogami_ito · Jul 24, 2006, 10:10 AM // 10:10

I have been playing Prophesies and Factions since last March and I have to say that I like both “chapters” a lot. I like how Tyria seems more “open” with diverse geographies and large areas to run through. Playing Prophesies feels more like playing an MMORPG…almost anyway. Lots of places to go and lots of things to do. I think the story-line sucks though…another “Chosen One” to save the world story. And the Prince of Ascalon seems sort of gay (please no offence to homosexual people intended). I’m happy the Char overran Ascalon…the Char are more interesting. I hope we can play Char characters in a future expansion.

I live in China and am a student of East Asian history and culture, and so I find myself more drawn to the story, lore, and “looks” of Cantha. I really like the architecture found on the starter-island. Sort of like Chinese-style houses with Japanese style roofs; stone bases structures with wooden tops. Very cool. Although everyone seems to hate Kaineng City, I really like it. It reminds me of “The Old Walled City” of Hong Kong, if that was made 400 years earlier. (some pics I could find: http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4015 ,
http://tenplusone.inax.co.jp/archive...ngkong044.html )

All big city slums and big city sewer systems, with pagodas, roof-top dwellings. And more NPCs walking around so you feel it’s more like a real city. Like most people, I am sick of the repetitive quests within Kaineng…I will only do those quests once probably. Too much backtracking. But if I didn’t have to do that backtracking, Kaineng would be excellent. The backtracking quests makes it feel repetitive…not the locations itself.

Factions lacks the size and openness of Prophesies, and probably that will never be changed. But some things could be improved upon both in Factions and in up-coming chapters.

1. Metropolitan Zones Proportion. Kaineng takes up most of the Canthan continent. I don’t think it should be smaller, but the other zones should be bigger. If the new Nightfall chapter has an ancient “Baghdad” type city (and no reason why not), it can be large and diverse, but should have a lot of countryside land outside of it. Kaineng city ends and all of a sudden…no Kaineng. No Kaineng farms. No Kaineng outposts, etc. This is just a game I know. But usually if there is a city-state that occupies most of the continent, there should be some influence outside of the City. At least farms.

2. Expansiveness. There should also be an option to run across the continent, similar to running to Droknor. This probably can’t be changed in the current factions, but is a suggestion for future chapters.

3. Kaineng environmental content. I think there could have been a little bit more diverse content in Kaineng, which can be added without too much difficulty. For example…roof-top gardens and roof-top farms. Where do all the people in Kaineng get their food? From that Imperial Chef that give food to the poor? If you ride on the highway in Taibei (Taiwan) or Hong Kong, you will see gardens on the top of skyrise appartments. I think some peasants should start farms in Kaineng. Also NPCs with food carts. You got big oxen on the starter island. Should’nt there be some big cow-carts that merchants have in Kaineng? Other things that could make it prettier are more water fountains, More small road-side shrines. Taverns with drunk people getting into kung-fu fights. Burnt-out buildings (Kaineng is a huge fire-trap, so with elementalists running all over, how come you don’t see any burnt out building?) And…would it be so bad if there was a brothel or two? All Asian cities have them…and have always had them. Don’t call them brothels…call them …uh… what they are called today in Asia…entertainment centers, English schools (for This can all lead to new, easy to create quests. Oh! A new quest idea! Protect the merchant cart. Merchants bringing in jade/ amber/food from outside the city need to be accompanied through Kaineng. Repeatable quest for gold and Kaineng faction. New quest idea: escort to courtesan through afflicted-territory to see her john…er…patron.

4. Politics. Really…Kaineng is so much bigger than the Kurzik and Luxon. The Kurziks and Cathans are socially and politically lightyears ahead of the Tyrian states. Maybe I missed it in the lore, but how come Kaineng isn’t trying to invade, or at least manipulate the surrounding powers? There should be Kaineng faction too. Wow…can you imagine a 3-way Factions game? Here’s an idea: Chapter 7 World War! The Empire of Cantha (allied with Kurzik Kingdom) v. Kytra (allied with Luxon tribes) v. Char v. The Bedouin Alliance (or whatever kingdom is in Nightfall). Political intrigue is part of most of the literature of Asia. There was not a lot of politics in the Legend’s of King Arthur, in Lord of Rings, in Beawolf…but the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and all the Samuri stories have intense politics. How about a little more of this? Hey…you can make an expansion to Factions and allow players to side with the Jade Brotherhood.

5. The backtrack quests. This may seem sort of dumb to some people, but how about some new quests that force players to backtrack back into Kaineng again? Before people groan, here is the catch…the quests should be longer and start on the other side of the continent. Backtracking is OK if its taking you back to a place you have not been to in a long time and does not feel like busy-work. This can be tied into the Alliance wars too. For example, complete a quest which starts in the Jade Quarry to go into Kaineng sewers and retrieve a part of a siege machine which had been custom made in Kaineng and was being shipped to the Kurziks. Then, in the mission, party members with the component can give their side a little bit of help in the mission.