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"Decoration" NPC's to liven up deeds

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Yes please to any/all of these. Would happily spend coin on either functional or decorative NPCs for villages and settlements.

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This is a discussion that by now I think it's been 10 years at least in the making.

 

Wurm Online is probably the only mmorpg out there that doesn't have many NPC's. I get the idea of wanting to be "different", but there is good "different" and then there's just the hardcore mentality of "players" should fulfill the role of nPC's. While this worked well when we had 2000-3000 monthly players, right now most deeds look empty.

 

Personally I'd expand on the idea of NPC's that can be "bought" as decoration and NPC's that can be Earned.

 

You can buy various NPC's from a trader, such as "regular citizen" or "decorative guard", but specific NPC's should be earned through skills.

 

1. Earning NPCs through skills

 

Let's say you grind blacksmithing. You earn 50 BS skill, you get an "apprentice blacksmith", as an inventory object. Place said NPC either at a forge or at a large anvil.

 

a) Assign to NPC action : hammer, stand still, ocassionally curse about the serryl ceiling in game and wanting better wages.

 

b) At 70 BS you earn a 2nd NPC called Blacksmith. You can place him as well at a forge to do whatever action you select.

c) At 90 BS you earn a Master Blacksmith. You can add a minor function to him such as = refuel forge. Master blacksmith can act also as a small crate where you can dump 150 logs in him and he'll use it to refuel the forge he's "tied to" .

 

Other NPC's can be Gardeners = they can wander around deed with a bucket pretending to water flowers.

Priests : Assign to altar, have him hold regular sermons for religious banter.

Farmers: assign them to plant a "decorative field" which they'll always tend, but the field doesn't give any output. Gives the nice view of a plantation going.

Woodcutters, Miners, etc, same idea, give them "emtpy actions" to do, similar to other NPC's in other games.

 

2. Managing NPC system.

 

NPC's can be managed via a similar system such as houses or animals.

a) Manage - > NPCs > List of named NPCs appear.

b) Select for example Jack the citizen.

Possible orders include : i ) Go to token ii) Pray  (such as in a chapel) iii) Meditate iv) Patrol from pre-defined points, such as around the deed.

c) NPCs at token can be picked up and re-placed, same as you'd place a flowerpot.

 

3. Bought NPCs

 

As previously mentioned you could buy NPCs from a trader.

Guards could have a cost of = 2 silvers

Regular citizens = 1 silver

You could even buy guards with specific outfits such as :plate armoured guards (more expensive) , leather armoured guards, etc.

 

P.S. I'd love to see the trade chat one day looking like a slaver's auction : WTS 10 citizens , 2 guards, 1 farmer, etc.

 

Maybe make some "character bound" so they aren't tradeable, at least those "earned".

Edited by elentari
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I actually love the ideas in some of these comments. In particular, the idea of a bard to put in our taverns is adorable.

 

Even if we can't have ones with complex interactions, some very basic ones would be nifty. I would imagine pathing would be an issue for them, so we'd need some stationary options that link to an object in a similar way the merchant links to the merchant stall.

 

Bard: links to a stool on a small platform. Will play music autonomously or can select 2-3 options through interaction.

Barkeep: Linked to an oven model. The merchant for food and drink. Inventory is limited, serves bread, cheese, stew (hot), and ale. Prices are static and foods must be filled by owner, but foods do not decay as though placed in an FSB.

Follower: Attaches to altar of chosen god, then will quietly kneel in reflective prayer.

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love this whole idea of npc villagers some with fuctions and perhaps even stories given to them by the player about the village, and what if in certian npc options they could have a quest giver option, or even have the "quest giver" npc.  i know il working on a project that something like this would be perfect for

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On 5/1/2020 at 5:14 AM, leander said:

love this whole idea of npc villagers some with fuctions and perhaps even stories given to them by the player about the village, and what if in certian npc options they could have a quest giver option, or even have the "quest giver" npc.  i know il working on a project that something like this would be perfect for

Lots of great ideas for player owned/controlled NPCs !

 

Have some of you seen KatsPurr Ultima Project? - recreating the cities of Ultima within WURM Unlimited.  Here is one episode that shows how NPCs can bring WURM to life:    Wurm Unlimited - Recreating Ultima Online - Part X - Building Nujel'm

 

For the nay sayers...  It is hard to understand why NPCs on a deed can be a bad thing.   The main argument that I keep hearing is that they want players to fill the deeds and make them living breathing villages.  We've had 15 years of fantastic projects and we fill our deeds with items to make it feel more "lived in" but never quite succeeding without other players visiting or being part of the deed.  If you could consistently gather enough players to keep a deed lively then why isn't it done on a consistent basis?   Its because we are human and we strive to explore and create from our own mind's eye.  I can travel to 10-20 deeds in one day and never meet another person despite 150 people playing on the server.    It is for this reason that we should have Deed NPCs developed for the players.

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On 5/11/2020 at 12:08 AM, Snowmantis said:

For the nay sayers...  It is hard to understand why NPCs on a deed can be a bad thing.   The main argument that I keep hearing is that they want players to fill the deeds and make them living breathing villages.  We've had 15 years of fantastic projects and we fill our deeds with items to make it feel more "lived in" but never quite succeeding without other players visiting or being part of the deed.  If you could consistently gather enough players to keep a deed lively then why isn't it done on a consistent basis?   Its because we are human and we strive to explore and create from our own mind's eye.  I can travel to 10-20 deeds in one day and never meet another person despite 150 people playing on the server.    It is for this reason that we should have Deed NPCs developed for the players.

 agreed i have spent years making my deed look like a town, decorated every house to look as if someone lives there, filled out every workshop to look active, like the worker had just stepped away, and for a time it was just me living there and it felt like a dollhouse it looked like it would be a bustling fishing and trade port village just empty, and if it wasn't for my deedmates, alts, and sermoners that's how it would remain forever, empty, the only npc's there would be the merchants and wagonier. to add the villager npcs would add more depth to the place i live even if it is still a dollhouse it at least has some active dolls. 

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+1

I want an npc that will play checkers with me. ;)

Edited by Katrat
added thought

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I've been asking for something like this for a long time. Wurm Unlimited is possible to play single player, but it's just downright boring being on your own. Even on servers players tend to go off and do their own thing, NPC's that do nothing but mill around the settlement would make it a bit more interesting and also make it worth building a settlement that is more than a house for yourself and maybe a workshop as well. Creating a small village or even a town would be worth doing if it wasn't just a ghost town.

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Deed upkeep.

 

Presumably, when a deed's upkeep is being paid, the notion is that SOMEONE is being paid for all that upkeep.  So who is that someone?  Spirit templars are the only NPCs that are being paid out of upkeep.  What about the lamplighters, to light and snuff the lanterns, fireplaces, braziers etc?  What about whoever is maintaining the buildings to stop them decaying?  There is a lot of room to create NPC roles for existing mechanics in the game for deed upkeep.  Maybe the bigger the deed the bigger the staff.  

 

Barkeeps, innkeepers, stablehands, dockworkers; these could all be set up to operate much like merchants, although maybe with a bit more mobility - whether they need to be paid for their services on a user-pays basis or whether they are "paid" out of deed upkeep.  

 

WU has a pretty neat Crafter NPC, but I can see how that could seriously unbalance some elements of WO.  A modified version might be a good addition to the village workshop, though.

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All for it if it doesn't cause lag. But I suppose you could reduce the nr of npc's when more players are around.

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I'd love to see more 'people' when I get on Wurm. I mostly play for the mechanics of the game and one of the most interesting is that it's *all player built. That being said if I get on everyday for a week and don't interact with anyone even through chat I start to wonder if I'm playing a laggy single player. 

 

That said adding NPC's would, for me, be just 'decretive'. But an interesting idea to put a face on some of the features that come with deeds (no decay and such).

 

Maybe the number of npc's could be based on the size of the deed (or number of structures) and balanced with the number of real players in the settlement. Even have a option to turn off npc's. 

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My quick 2 cents

NPC with functionality 

Farmer- tends crops but does not harvest 

Innkeeper- creates a limited type & amount of meals then placed in larder

forester- prunes only and informs you what trees are harvestable

animal caretaker- grooms but does not sheer or breed animals 

 

all npc NPCs count towards your citizen cap

all npc will require a bed, access to food in larder and access to water 

 

a lot of us are running deeds solo and a little helpers around would be great

 

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Lol trying to patch the dying servers / population problems with NPC's ?

I agree with Histaty above... only if they have a somewhat useful function.

 

I'm also for NPC citizens, kinda like The Elder Scrolls series... have them live in your inn, pay small tax, do basic tasks in village and whatnot... or else we are left with huge deeds and 1-2 players 

who aren't making use of the fabolous village you've just built.

 

Edited by Berms

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20 hours ago, Histaty said:

My quick 2 cents

NPC with functionality 

Farmer- tends crops but does not harvest 

Innkeeper- creates a limited type & amount of meals then placed in larder

forester- prunes only and informs you what trees are harvestable

animal caretaker- grooms but does not sheer or breed animals 

 

all npc NPCs count towards your citizen cap

all npc will require a bed, access to food in larder and access to water 

 

a lot of us are running deeds solo and a little helpers around would be great

 

 

It's always sad to see people with (huge) deeds and all alone and solo...

Wurm could have been a semi good MMORPG but the everyone wants own deeds.

 

imagine logging in  to the game and seeing a busy village with people with no alts, all real players, working and having fun in 1 village... yea a nice dream for Wurm ( they want it so bad, look at their loading screens and trailers lol )

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11 minutes ago, Berms said:

imagine logging in  to the game and seeing a busy village with people with no alts, all real players, working and having fun in 1 village... yea a nice dream for Wurm ( they want it so bad, look at their loading screens and trailers lol )

 

Come visit Harvestmoon Lagoon sometime.  It isn't so little, but has quite a few active villagers.

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