Meta-Poll or survey for the devs that's weighted or ranked?

[Parsifal]

I'm surprised that this hasn't been done already, whether from the devs or the ultra-fans. I haven't found a poll that really fits this.

 

Given all of the polls and comments that mostly conclude with "yes I'd like that in the game", times 100 things, should we give the devs some sort of weighted system of priorities?

Basically I'm imagining a poll with 40-50 features where each voter picks 10 priorities. This would give the devs a pretty great weighted or ranked list of fan priorities.

 

I'm not the ultra-fan to put this together, but I do know cRPGs pretty well and I'll try to get the ball rolling here, based on what I've seen loved or hated in the forums. A few opposites will probably need to make the list, and if you don't prefer either, just use your vote on a different priority. The picture that we give the devs probably needs to be painted in pretty broad strokes, for clarity. Hence I have mashed some things together that tend to go together. The devs can always look at the individual polls later. Some of these options could be trimmed out by those who know what's already been decided for Project Eternity.

 

FIRST DRAFT OF META-POLL

Check your top 10 priorities across these categories:

 

STORY / GAME WORLD / MAIN CHARACTER

clear good and evil

fuzzy/complex good and evil

mostly one big save-the-world plot [with a few side-missions]

mostly episodic plot [with one connecting thread or ultimate goal]

lots of survival challenges [food, drink, rest, carrying capacity, etc]

no survival challenges

dystopian, gritty themes [explicit horrible evils & bad guys are probably lawful evil types]

utopian, or "save our village" type themes [implicit evils & bad guys are probably chaotic evil types]

humor and camp with a little seriousness

seriousness with a little humor and camp

high fantasy, stylized

low fantasy, realistic

make it mostly bread & butter fantasy cRPG, just great bread & butter

make it mostly weird, unexpected elements from top to bottom [no cliches!]

lots of my choices should affect the world, or lead to later events, multiple endings

lots of rare, weird events that may or may not happen

main character is "the chosen one", better than his party

main character is not "the chosen one", equal to his party

[i don't know what they've decided about the main character. Someone revamp this part?]

 

CLASSES/RACES/MAGIC

stats like d&d

stats like s.p.e.c.i.a.l

unique stat system

balance the races

give them good specific game world details [feel, etc]

make the subraces very different

make different languages matter

balance the classes in combat

balance the classes across the playthrough [combat +skills etc]

give the classes lots of specific feel and unique abilities

make the classes feel almost like a skills system and/or include dual-classing

make "prestige classes" or highly divided development trees

spells should lean toward time/engergy-consuming and big effects

spells should lean toward lots of small effects

unique magic system

counter-magic

different types or schools of magic [arcane, divine, etc.]

 

NPCS/FACTIONS

companions & npcs with robust personalities [side quests, needs, can become MC's friend/lover/enemy]

companions & npcs with personalities mostly just for feel; easy to recruit and deal with

factions that are based mostly on story [politics, religion, mob, neighborhood watch, secret societies]

factions that are based mostly on mechanics [thieves' guild, mage's tower, dragonslayers etc]

killable companions & other npcs

 

COMBAT/SKILLS/GAMEPLAY

highly tactical

simple enough that I'm not always reloading or trying to cheese the game

challenges levelled mostly on my party [i.e. even random monsters ramp up based on your level]

challenges levelled mostly based on logic, location, story, etc, even if it's sometimes too hard/easy

combat should be avoidable with skills

skills should be avoidable with combat

multiple solutions for a challenge, even if this cheapens each skill [pick lock, bash chest, cast open]

many challenges should be far easier or only possible with the right skill

do what you do well, but don't forget what MMORGs do right

stick with what the old-school did right, lean away from MMORG as much as possible

lots of randomness in combat and skills like critical successes and failures

combat shouldn't really be decided by randomness

 

DIFFICULTY/ LEVELLING

higher difficulty setting brings higher rewards in-game [xp, unique treasure, perks, etc]

higher difficulty just for the sake of the challenge

levelling is steady throughout

levelling is rapid at the start and tapers off

lots of levelling, even if it's usually little bonuses

not too much levelling, but when I level it should be a big deal

 

OTHER FEATURES

mod tools for elite modders to make user-created content

main character's home base / inn / fortress

crafting

mega-dungeon

puzzles, riddles, complex traps, mini-games etc.

lots of undead

lots of bandits and/or pirates

rival adventuring parties to deal with

dragons and other massive creatures

firearms or steampunk

lots of unique loot, even if it's hard to find, earn, buy, randomly get in loot, etc.

lots of sex

lots of fluffy/fuzzy bits [art works, books to read, performers, original music, slang/lingo, cultural details]

lots of visual/game background [NPCs walk by, run errands, stores open & close etc.]

time, weather, seasons that matter

difficult main plot, easy to choose wrong

a few side missions that aren't given to you but are based on realizing or noticing something

 

POLL #2

PET PEEVES - Pick your biggest 4

Don't rush the game out [good size & replayability, good balance, no bugs]

Don't even tempt me to grind [whether in crafting, re-rolling stats, killing respawns to make level, etc]

No pulling enemies while other enemies don't notice the huge battle going on one room over

No cheesing in general, including pulling, re-rolling, pre-buffing etc

Don't let NPC conversations interrupt my intentions if I want to walk in swinging

No overly sexy junk that makes console games fodder for 15-year old boys

No romance at all

Minimize my need/want to constantly reload [game is too hard, or to cheese combat, loot, rolls, skills]

No chinsy DLC [buying in-game armor with real-world money, etc]

Don't make me have to collect a bunch of stuff all the time

Minimize the dialogue choices that don't have any real effect

Give me a lot to read, think about and decide

Don't give me too much to read, notice, map, or make notes on

 

That's all I can think of. I tried to aim for no redundancies, so lots of preferences should be vote-able by choosing the right 2-3 priorities. Some of people's "pet peeves" are included by just voting FOR things in the first poll. If something's missing leave a comment. But I do believe that really broad strokes should help the devs tune this original, ground-up game. I left out the details from some good polls, because this priority-order type of poll isn't about details.

 

If anyone wants to take this over, get some feedback, add and remove things, and make a check-mark poll, that would probably help everyone.

If one of the developers wants to trim this down to only what they need to have feedback on at this point, that's great.

Or, if this just rolls down to page 25 with 0 replies, that's great too.

[alphyna]

• clear good and evil
  
• mostly one big save-the-world plot [with a few side-missions]
  
• main character is "the chosen one", better than his party
  
• companions & npcs with personalities mostly just for feel; easy to recruit and deal with
  

Would anyone really chose these?

• balance the races
  

Would anyone really NOT choose this?