New jump/swim/climb/fish spot markers?

I considering making some new models for the various "skill use" locations. Right now, they are invisible objects marked with different colors of low-set magical sparks. This works ok, but the sparks model has a light emanation that seems "not quite right" at night or in dark areas (lighting up other objects nearby and creating an "underground ball of light" that's visible to players). If I make new markers, they could be self-illuminated, but wouldn't throw light onto other objects.

The problem with this: I'm not sure what kind of placeable markers to make. I want to make something where just the appearance tells you what kind of skill get's used (even without mousing over it or looking at the description), but I don't want it to be this obnoxious "obvious you're playing a computer game" type of item.

My ideas so far:

- A very short stone cylinder with an appropriate "skill symbol" painted/etched onto it.

- A small, simple, rectangular stone block with a similar symbol on it.

- A small, self-illuminated (aka, glowing) hemisphere, with a different color for each type of "skill" it's for.

So, do you like one or more of these ideas? Do you have a better idea?

What I think might be neat is instead of a stand-out OOCish marker.. maybe some placeables with the theme of the skill?

Fishing could be the fishing pole... instead of it being 'placed' when you use the skill, have it always there as the marker.

Climbing could be a rope coil and/or a pile or rocks (hey, sometimes a failed attempt is someone grabbing onto a lose rock, and nobody's gonna "clean up" the rocks they knock all over.

Perhaps for jump, a log or rock... something to use for getting that extra few inches of height in that leap (logs for outdoorsy jump spots like in Daramok, rocks for underground/lava jumps).

Not sure about swimming though...

MannyJabrielle wrote:

Not sure about swimming though...

Chainmail bikini?

I like Manny's ideas... and perhaps a "diving plank" for a swim spot? What I was thinking was that maybe the swim/climb/etc spots in and just outside of the Vale could have a glowy marker like they have now AND the appropriate more subtle thing, so that people who haven't seen them before can learn what to look for.

Also LOL @ chainmail bikini

Amethyst347 wrote:Chainmail bikini?

*Pictures Gog making swim checks in a chain bikini*

Umm... yeah, maybe the diving board

If it is possible, perhaps the travel points could be accessed by any of the three skills if applicable?

For example, in the areas that have water to cross could be travelled by either swim or jump if the shore is not too far away. Or a small vertical distance could be acheived by either climb or jump skills. This would eliminate multiple points, and an interface could be used to select the skill of choice by the player.

As for appearance, how about the symbol of Gort?

I dunno ... I personally like the sound of these:

The Amethyst Dragon wrote:- A very short stone cylinder with an appropriate "skill symbol" painted/etched onto it.
- A small, simple, rectangular stone block with a similar symbol on it.

Simplicity, I think is nice - and it helps reinforce the idea that this is a psuedo-medieval world populated by folks other than crazy mages. Just think of the pyramids...

I think it needs to be "slightly" OOC... it needs a light source of some kind to attract the attention of players, that was the problem with the original spots not being noticed.... ....

I quite like MJ's idea's of "standard items to mark points", but yet again think that they might blend too far into the background to be noticed...

I like the small stone cylinder with an appropriate symbol.. something kinda gravestone marker like, big enough to be spotted easily but subtle enough to not stand out, something similiar to old roadside marker stones.... ... ...

I like the 'stone markers with symbols' idea too. Wouldn't stick out too much, but would also be noticeable enough. I also like Elhanan's idea of being able to use different skills when appropriate.

The more I think about it, the more I like the rounded cylinders idea ... like RustyDios said, old roadside markers... and I think Elhanan's thought concerning selectable abilities is very, very boss!

New placeables in the latest hak update. I'll start replacing the "glowing light sparks" soon. These look good in a variety of environments, and they don't include a walkmesh so you can just walk right over them in your travels (instead of having to walk around them).


(screenshot taken from within the toolset)

Nice!!!!!

Well done... you never fail to amaze me with improvements to this game and your world ....

... Will they glow when tab is selected and do they have some form of "inner light" or "natural glow"....... are they easily spot-able in the game (and especially in the dark ~ including the "newer (well since it went to the new tileset)" ultra-dark V V, as well as various tombs and the underdark of Aenea) ....

They will be highlighted with the Tab key, but don't glow on their own. I plan on leaving the "sparks" in the darkest of Underdark areas, but in most places they will be easy to spot if you're paying any attention to your surroundings.

Oh, and the Vale will be getting a little brighter at night in the near future.

Awesome!

and thanks for brightening the vale at night... hehe

Brilliant.... I love that they will be tab-highlighted (for our ooc needs), and they look so cool for in-game immersion, that you can almost imagine a priest/disciple of Gort travelling the world with a bag of bricks, a chisel and some runepaints(For colour ~and for the light sparkle in the darker areas !).. and placing one of these markers for everywhere Gort tells them some amazing way of traversing the land should be attempted at that spot..... .... ....

And thank you giving nocturnal VV a bit of moonlight, it was something I always forgot to mention before but slipped it in this thread as it entered my mind... I do spend 75% of my Aenea time traveling at night and sometimes VV was darker then the underdark ! ..... ....

Hehe, actually, I liked the really dark night in vale, and wouldn't mind seeing other areas be not so bright at night as well

MannyJabrielle wrote:Hehe, actually, I liked the really dark night in vale, and wouldn't mind seeing other areas be not so bright at night as well

It would actually make things like torches (and darkvision) more useful. But since I haven't made the entire gameworld that way (and don't intend to with over a hundred outdoor areas), I'm not planning to anytime in the foreseeable future. Plus, with two moons to illuminate the landscape, a really dark night should be incredibly rare.

Boss, , simply boss! Bravo!

The Amethyst Dragon wrote:

MannyJabrielle wrote:Hehe, actually, I liked the really dark night in vale, and wouldn't mind seeing other areas be not so bright at night as well

It would actually make things like torches (and darkvision) more useful. But since I haven't made the entire gameworld that way (and don't intend to with over a hundred outdoor areas), I'm not planning to anytime in the foreseeable future. Plus, with two moons to illuminate the landscape, a really dark night should be incredibly rare.

From an immersion perspective, I can see a desire to want torches and darkvision be really useful in some places.

From a stright up "fun factor" perspective... having to unequip weapon and/or shield to hold a torch just to be able to see in the dark in the main starting town at night is ... well..... annoying.

Make it that dark indoors in caves/dungeons, sure...

I gotta go with Dave on this one ... darkness is cool, but an above-ground town shouldn't be practically pitch black ... unless that vampire dude is around...