The new changes to Randimar's are definitely better for the new kids on the block but there is a legitimate question of why SP oriented people would continue playing the game when their collection is complete. There is a very old mmorpg called Horizons (now called Istaria) that had a system where players would come together and fund community projects for the good of the entire server. That meant that players and guilds would spend a significant amount of time harvesting in-game materials (rocks, wood, cloth etc) and then donate them to the bigger project which would end up being a dungeon or portal to a new area. Something along those lines. With active participation these projects could take weeks, possibly months to complete. The genius part of it was that not only did it bring the community together by keeping a record of those who contributed, it also gave people a reason to continue putting effort into the harvesting aspect of the game - something that you wouldn't otherwise do (if there was nothing left to craft that is). How would this tie into Cardhunter? You could do things like section off a part of the map and create a community funded project to build a boat to access a new area of single player missions. The missions could be player created like Mauve or created by BM to coincide with the campaign. As for the funding, it could include large amounts of gold but also loose items like gold nuggets, bronze bars etc. Another suggestion would be to give guilds the ability to build a home that is visible on the campaign map (which to start with might not even be interactive in any way). It could start as a humble group of huts and with enough resources end up being a castle complete with moat and drawbridge. Both of these would obviously need to be fleshed out properly but could end up adding a new depth to the game and (more importantly) retain the SP players wondering what to do when the collecting aspect is over. However temporary that may be.
So, um, are you in a guild? (couldn't match up your forum name with ign) >_> I'm certainly looking for something more from CH at the moment, whether in SP or MP. Long-term grinding isn't really my style, and MP will always fall back into some kind of static metagame. Some official attention to guilds might help them become more than just a social club. The return of MM, or some kind of semi-official fan content, would also be welcome.
Haha, no not yet! My in-game nick is Genkigen but I haven't played in a long time because I felt like the MP portion of the game was being ignored. As soon as the new balance patch hits live though I'll be back in action! Cant wait.
There are a few interesting ideas with keeping SP interesting for those with a full collection. There was a pretty insightful talk about "player governance" by Daniel Cook (of Spryfox fame) in games and how community created events with minor backing from devs can really extend longevity and create a dynamic community.
I don't think the video is available for the public. It is in the GDC Vault if you have a subscription. But I'm sure there are tons of other things on the topic that could be interesting for research. I think having a "daily level" like many games have would be interesting. Some random generator that makes really difficult levels for people to try their hands at. Would probably require a lot of initial set up though. However, having something that keeps people coming back day after day is essential for free-2-play games to keep people interested.
The loot fairy was sort of a quick way to encourage people to come back daily.... At least based off of the thread activity it seems to have been a good return on the time investment. I'd like to see a more challenging daily level, but I know that would take more dev effort. Currently I think there's 2 main long term goals for most SP players, for something to do after you've beaten the campaign a couple of times. For some it's completing the quests, for others it's farming via acquiring a top notch firestorm build. Quests seem to play more into the challenge/puzzle aspect of CardHunter, where as the farming is for those more into the loot acquisition. The proposed changes to firestorm will impact both of these. Community projects are another way to focus the SP community. It definitely plays into the acquisition aspects of the game, and presents a sort of global challenge at the same time. I would tend to agree that introducing something like this would be a net positive for the SP players. edit: Something like this could also function as a gold/treasure sink....
True. I stopped doing quests because I was getting rares and no better. Work vs. reward just wasn't there. I'll do 5 or 6 in a row now and then, but I've still only been getting rares. Unlike many, checking those blocks just isn't a motivator for me. Disparity of user desires has to be a pain for developers. Bless their hearts.
I wouldn't mind but with Sir Veza the Farming Deity in our ranks, we will get a new expansion every two days. I don't think that BM can keep up with this Otherwise if there is such a system, there should be some rewards for the ones who participated the most, be it guilds (every guild members have their points added) or unique "rankings" for each players. It would be unfair if, let's say one give all his treasures to the greater goods while others keep their gold in order to buy many chests of the new expansion.
If Bm goes for it, it would depend on what they charge. (I hope gold or donated legendaries/epics are acceptable instead of just pizza.) This might be a foundation for SP Guilds or Associations. Players submit suggestions. BM responds with a list of what they would be willing to do. (Including their own suggestions.) Players could pick which, if any, they want to donate to. This might at least help determine what players actually want.
I would definitely hope that pizza would be left out of the equation if they went forward with this type of suggestion. I agree with you Veza, it could be a foundation for SP guilds so should be completely focused on adding to what this group of players currently enjoy doing anyway.
I do hope something like this will be implemented in the future. MP is not where it's at for me. Testing last night was not fun for me. I hold no ill will to my only human opponent, but I get so jazzed up it's more of an ordeal for me than fun. This is also why I don't play Hearthstone regularly. As for the SP quests, I do them sometimes when I remember they are there. My first priority is the Loot Fairy and that brings me back daily. But I usually have other stuff going on in the summer so I can't/don't continue playing. I'm also in the midst of putting two different groups through the campaign: 1 Warrior/2 Priests & 2 Warriors/1 Wizard. As I get these teams through the campaign I'll be able to try some of the obscure quests. An SP guild would be fun.
Hey, you should join a guild. Look up Double Rainbow. Also, I think I'm now going to bug @Flaxative incessantly to bug Jon/Farbs incessantly to enable the API to work for single player. I'll be much less depressed about trying to balance the guild wars stuff (which is why I dropped it completely a while back) if single player activity can feed into it.
