Originally Posted by DashRev
To start, in an ideal world, how do you propose instances fit into PlanetSide? If the two are perfectly balanced, do you see 50% of players participating in open-world combat and 50% in instances at any given time? 70%/30%? How do developers strike this balance? You've replied to every example given that it was just a poor implementation of instances. To me that suggests that finding that flawless balance is much more difficult than you give it credit. Why would it be any easier for SOE? Can you even find an example of it working perfectly?
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98/2%? I'm not asking for anything more than a room with a lock.
Though yes, if SOE implemented instances with zero development of open-world combat (WoW) or gave people a 500% xp bonus (DAoC) I'd fully expect instances to become the most popular place in the game.
As far as where instances could fit into PS2, I'll have to get back to you on that one, seeing as I have yet to play the game.
Originally Posted by DashRev
As for your "sandbox" rationale, where do we draw the line? You're a really ardent supporter of instancing. What happens when we find a really ardent supporter of PvE raiding? Of an in-game auction house? Of space battles? Of submarine warfare? Of Minecraft-style terrain manipulation? Or any other fringe feature?
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I hate instancing. I'm just enjoying the debate.
I wouldn't be opposed to PVE, space battles, submarine warfare or map building if they were somehow implemented correctly. In fact, if PvE were implemented, instances are where it could happen.
Originally Posted by DashRev
The reality is, game development is not a magical, infinite machine. You don't simply input ideas and output quality gaming. These things take resources, namely money and production time. The more elements you try to squeeze into a game, the more resources it requires to make a quality game. In practice, the best games are made by realistic developers. These developers take a core set of concepts, and spend years hammering them out to make a balanced, polished, and complete game.
Instancing does not further the stated design goals of the PlanetSide universe.
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I don't expect to see instances, PvE or additional planets anywhere near release, but if they decide to go down the EVE route of constantly updating their game, who knows what we could see or where we could be 8 years down the road.