Idea: Customization interface where players can create their own objects

[KingOfAwesomnia 3]

So I've been playing with this idea a lot, got talking about it with another player and they liked it so I thought, let's put it on the forum

 

This is not an idea for ingame items or interfaces or something, but I was thinking of an external application/webpage where users can put together an object they like. They give it a name and description, define what it would need to be crafted, if it's a tool what it can be used for to make.. Basically all properties of the current objects in Wurm can be set. Then, when they've created the object, they can submit it to the system and then other players can vote on it. Objects with a high number of votes go to the devs and they will then decide if it should get implemented in the game or not. This could happen in approval rounds, like the Steam Greenlight system, or could happen once an objects reaches a certain number of votes.

 

For the dev side, depending on how the item/crafting database is built up this program could create the necessary game code for them automatically upon submitting, so that it just has to be activated or inserted in the database. An expansion of this concept is that the system could even support uploading of proposed icons and maybe even 3d models (e.g. SketchUp or Blender models) so that a designer can use these to base the game model on, to make the additional workload as little as possible.

 

The aim of this concept is to increase the number of craftable items and create a greater variety of objects in Wurm, cause - let's face it - seeing the same statue over and over again.. Well let's just say it'd be cool if we could really make whatever we want, in the pretty much literal sense of the word. Now I know this wouldn't be something that could be created in a moment, but I do think a game like Wurm, using creativity and freedom as their main hook, would receive a huge benefit from something like this in the long run.

[Klaa 4,872]

Say a vetted process of adding more flora and fauna to the game?

 

Or at least for mobs and items where the basic fnctionality is already ingame. Obviously anything requiring new functionality would require more changes to code rather than a "plug n play" item. An object-oriented language ike Java is actually pretty flexible in this regard with its useage of classes, inheritance, and polymorphism.

 

For example entering in values for a tomato: name, material, weight, default price, nutrition, type, seed type, etc.

 

Perhaps even upload the appropriate gfx files for review. Although that would require some kind of waiver of the artists' rights, and no idea what Swedish or Euro law on the matter is like. US law by itself is bad enough trying to navigate.

 

EDIT: Although the OP does sound more along the lines of EQ Next: Landmark

Edited February 13, 2014 by Klaa

[KingOfAwesomnia 3]

Say a vetted process of adding more flora and fauna to the game?

 

Or at least for mobs and items where the basic fnctionality is already ingame.

I hadn't even considered mobs.. But would be a cool idea too. I was mainly thinking about crafting objects, so you'd basically get something like that new crafting window but instead of it saying what you need you can just fill in what the object is and what it will need

 

Perhaps even upload the appropriate gfx files for review.

Doubt that's gonna happen, with artist copyright and stuff like that.

[Suntzu 644]

yes please

[Arronicus 641]

There's nothing at all stopping you or others from setting up a site, creating ideas and models for items, plants, animals, etc, collecting votes on them, and submitting the designs to AB Code Club. However, without some verifiable proof that the votes on the items were done by active wurm players, that they were done in a controlled, regulated manner, (not people using botnets to register tons of votes), I sincerely doubt that many of the ideas would get any further than being fan-art that might occasionally inspire future designs.

As for deciding an objects properties, like weight, what sort of bonus it might give, or what it might require to be crafted, I think those are attributes best left to the devs to decide for the sake of balance in Wurm.

At the very least, I'd love to see more fleshed out ideas =)

Neither votting +1 nor -1 as this would be a third-party initiative, not something the devs would do.

[jdrake 14]

+1

[KingOfAwesomnia 3]

this would be a third-party initiative, not something the devs would do.

I could set up such a platform myself, but this would not yield much results I think, since this way the devs would still have to do all the work of implementing the new items into the game, rather than (as was my original idea) the system setting up the appropriate code so the devs only have to review it and balance out some values, which takes a whole lot less time than adding all the code and models manually.

 

Although, if I see there is support from the players I could try to set up something, and see where it goes But ultimately we'd at least need backing from the devs in terms of procedures for accepting new items, player verification, and things like that.

[Druidnature 1,118]

No, things would get out of the "theme" very quickly. Things like this work in certain games (Klaa mentioned EQNL and I'd fully agree) but in wurm, I don't see this working to our advantage.