Varying story experience per player based on story progression

[xordevoreaux]

In Everquest II, when you reach the city of Kelethin, a tree is on fire. It's a big tree, and it's a big fire. Orcs have set it on fire, and your quest is to douse the fire. That tree will appear to be on fire your entire gaming career until you complete that quest.

 

If you complete the quest, guess what? The fire goes out, and STAYS out. You'll never see that tree on fire again. Yet other players swarming around that tree who have not completed the quest see it as on fire.

 

It's a very clever story progression effect that maximizes player experience by having a changing world based on what you do. I wish SWTOR could do that. Case in point, I think about that burning tree every time I click a quest update, which then, after a few minutes resets for the next player. Great example, in The Works, you have to put out these three unstable things that are crackling with electricity and making a lot of noise. For a few minutes, as you click one, the noise settles down and thing is operational again, but stand there long enough, and the object resets and starts making the same noise again like you never touched it.

 

Why can't Bioware program the same environmental change for the quest update that Sony (now Daybreak games) can do? Game engine? How much harder would it be to alter what a player sees when something is done by testing whether someone's completed a given stage of a quest (or completed the quest)? Daybreak can do it.

[Sorpaijen]

Another advantage to having phased environments would be that a second person would not have to stand around and WAIT for an open-world event to "reset" for them ---- it would always be ready for them, and when completed by them, ALWAYS complete for them. No more competing with other players for 'resources'. Alas, I fear it may be an engine limitation.