Fyrosfreddy
What constitutes a broken mission ?
a) Kill a mob that doesn't exist. Agreed.
b) Killing a mob that you can not defeat solo. Life's tough
c) Killing a mob that exists that you can't find. Look again.
d) Killing a mob that is part of a spawn containing different level creatures ... and you won't see the one you need until spawn is killed and respawns. Again, life is tough. Success is not guaranteed.
e) Killing a mob that is not present in the current season. This seems unfair but who said life here or in Atys is fair ? I'd prefer it was possible, but I rec'd no guarantee that every mission could be competed.
I would take the opportunity to address a longer pet peeve of mine, using this example.
First, some prerequisites. What is the beginner and average player knowledge level? How aware are they of the bugs-dressed-as-features of Ryzom? How inclined are they to have patience to figure out the details? Mostly rhetorical questions.
Oh, and second set of pre-requisites: what is the purpose of a daily mission in other games?
Now, onto the quote:
a) Non-existing mob is in the category "beyond broken". Especially grating since killing "goo mobs" has been an item in regular mission lists for years. Seeing the same flavor of problem again is ... I have no words.
b) Un-soloable mob is in the category "grating but acceptable". In any other game, I would say that the level designer who told me to kill a mob that's way too difficult is a dingus. In Ryzom, this is typical, you're expected to ask for a party. Fine, let's allow it.
c) Mob/npc that is incredibly difficult to find - No, sorry, I hated this in the past, and I'm certainly not the only one. But at least with regular missions, it was my choice to pick up the task - presumably I had the time/inclination to go around looking for things. But in a daily? No, this doesn't mesh well with my definition for a daily - too time-consuming and frustrating. It's not fit to be a daily mission if it takes 3 quarters of an hour and several stacks of death penalty.
Being able to look items up on BMSite just marginally improves things. Many people, myself included, dislike having to resort to out-game resources. It takes you out of the game, and it spoils the fun somewhat.
d) Needing to kill a spawn in order to get a different mob - this is completely anti-intuitive. Over the years, hundreds of newbies have asked for help with "that kipee mission in Fairhaven"; many others may have simply given up on the game thanks to such idiosyncrasies.
This is a clear case of a bug dressed as a feature, and therefore such an experience has NO place in daily missions. Consider that higher level players sometimes fail to remember this particular aspect of the game, suffering needlessly before someone puts them out of their misery.
e) Daily mission, but you are season restricted? As in, needing to wait 2-6 real life days, just for one mission? This is anything but a daily.
f) Bonus: the ordeal of occupations in dailies. Figuring out occupations when you're a beginner is difficult to begin with. Trying to balance dropping and retaking several occupations is simply too much mental overload for most players that I know.
In short -- I like the idea of dailies, it is a clear step in the right direction, but so far the entire system is plagued by the issues carried from existing mechanics and designs in the game.
I am sure things will improve with time, but only if we drop this attitude of "I've played for years and I'm a geek, therefore everyone would get the same kind of enjoyment as I do". The player base is far more diverse than that.
---
My home is always sweet Yrkanis..