Instancing is Dumb

For those of you that don’t know, I used to work in the games industry. I was a scripter/quest designer for two major MMOs, both of which had fairly heavy use of “instancing”. I created areas and quests that utilized instancing, as this was how the games reflected player choice and consequences. But instancing always bothered me. The more I used it and saw it used, the more I felt that it was the antithesis of what MMOs should be. With the launch of Fallout 76’s new Wastelanders update, I am once again reminded of all the reasons that I don’t like instancing.

First, in case anyone doesn’t know, instancing is a system in multiplayer games where one player may enter an “instance” that is unique to them. This might be loading into a new area, or simply an invisible (or visible) boundary that when the player crosses they enter the instance. Sometimes players can take teammates with them, letting them share the instance for a time. Other players may have their own instances or they might have a shared instance unless they are on a particular quest, made a certain choice, or whatever. Sometimes instances are just used to limit the number of players in a particular area. If the instance is not gated by a door, then players entering it might look like they just disappear as they cross into an instance.

There is a less intrusive version of this as well: conditional visibility (CV). This system doesn’t actually separate players with instances, but instead changes what players see based on quest, choices, etc. One player might see an NPC standing in the corner, others see it empty. Some players might see a town in ruins, others it restored.

Now the arguments for using these systems are pretty sound. Player’s don’t like entering a combat zone and finding it already cleared out. Everyone hated having to queue up for boss spawns in older MMOs. Players want to feel like their choices matter in the game, that their character is special. The list can go on.

But this all leads to a lot of problems: Separating players that make different choices, causing teams to have to repeat the same quest over and over so each player can make their own unique choice, seeing groups of players standing around and empty space where an NPCs you can see is, and so on.

And I feel that this is all missing the point of playing an online game. If you want to be the one true hero, who saves the world… then play a single player game. Single player games do all of this much better. They don’t need technical trickery to make the player feel important, because a single player is automatically important.

When I play an online game I’m looking for a SHARED experience, but instancing and CV degrade that. They stop being shared events and start to be parallel single player stories. I still have a lot of fun playing with others, but I find that I tend to remember the “open world” battles and experiences more than the quests, choices, and consequences. I’m sure there are some folks, maybe even a majority of players, that want to have those parallel stories. But that isn’t me.

What I would like to see is MMOs and other online games, that focus on their strengths (shared world/experience), and not their weaknesses (unique player story). When I go into a smoking ruin, I want to know that the player standing next to me is also seeing that smoking ruin. When I go help my buddy fight a group of rebels, I don’t want to see a bunch of hostile loyalists. I want to share that experience and be on common ground. I want to know that this world that I play in is the same world that my companions are in.

I've rambled on for awhile now, so I'll stop here for now. More to follow.

Who are the Factions?

So, as I continue to search through the the various videos for information on X4, I've picked up a few things that I didn't even know I wanted to know yet. Like who are the factions that will be the major players in X4? I've seen ships marked with the following letters:

• ANT
• ARG - It is a pretty safe bet that this is the Argon Government.
• HAT
• HOL - Home of Light? This doesn't seem likely, as X4 is not suppose to be connected to the events of X Rebirth
• MIN
• SCA
• TEL - The Teladi Company
• XEN - Xenon

There are probably more that I missed, but till more information is released, there isn't much more to say about these. Most of these are likely to be companies like the Albion Energy Subsidiary or TerraCorp.

If anyone has more info on what these might be pass it on. When I learn more I'll probably create a page for them.

Adding X4 data

I've started to add a bit of information about X4 to the site. First up is a list of the ships shown or mentioned in the videos. This is pretty basic, and I probably missed some (let me know). I'll be adding additional information as I gather it (Factions, Sectors, Station Types, Trade Goods). And hopefully more details and images (when I have time to get them).

X4 Ships

It's been awhile...

With X4 slated to release this year, I've decided to dust off my old blog and start posting a bit of information. I'm not sure if I'll return to the old gameplay journal format, as I have far less time than I use to. We'll see how things pan out. In the meanwhile, here are the videos that Egosoft has released for X4:

Announcement Trailer

XCON Presentation

Modular Building

December 2017 Q&A

X3:AP Live Stream

Wandering the Wastes 2 - Mr. Burke

2277.08.17 - Day 1 (continued):

I didn't have time to drink my beer before a well dressed man in the corner beckoned my over to speak with him. He introduced himself as Mr. Burke and offered me a job.

Nice hat.

That job was to destroy Megaton, but attaching a remote detonator to the bomb! I though he must be joking at first, but soon realized how serious he was.

I knew that if not me, he'd eventually find someone to do this horrendous act. I told him I'd do it, then immediately went to find Sheriff Simms.

He's the law, right?

I told the Sheriff and showed him the detonator that Burke had given me. Then the Sheriff and I went back to confront Burke.

Time for a reckoning?

Burke didn't want to coorporate at first, but then agreed. As soon as the sheriff had his back turned though, Burke drew on him. I don't know what came over me, but without thinking, I took aim and shot Burke dead.

It was like time had stopped.

 The sheriff thanked me for saving his life. There was other commotion in the tavern, but I was just sort of in a daze. I had killed a man, and the thing that bothered me the most was that I wasn't bothered at all by it.

Goodbye Mr. Burke.

I took Burke's gun and his hat. Sat at the bar, and finished my beer. Less than a day outside the vault and I had learned my past was a lie, killed a man, and saved a life.

Gob, another one.

Wandering the Wastes 1 - Arrival at Megaton

My name is Jasper and I'm searching for a man named James. He left me to die and I want to know why.

My early life was pretty typical I guess--typical for a vault dweller that is. But all that changed one day. I won't get into the details just now. Just know that I was suddenly forced to leave the vault and find my way in a hostile world that I was in no way prepared for.

2277.08.17 - Day 1:
I found myself outside the vault and overlooking the "Capital Wasteland". It was bright, hot, and huge. I had never seen the horizon before, and it took a moment to get use to the sensation that I wasn't surrounded by walls and a ceiling.

This is where it all began.

Down the road a bit I found the remains of a few houses, my Pipboy told me that this was Springvale. I checked the crumbling ruins of what were once typical american homes. It seems that someone had used the one of the mailboxes to stash some weapons. In another house I found a safe. Inside the vault I had taught myself something of the art of picking locks and was able to find even more useful weapons.

Springvale

At the other end of "town" there was some sort of flying robot playing music. It seemed harmless and I was more interested in what it had flown past. I sign for something call "Megaton".

Signs of civilization?

I followed the direction and found a fortress looking structure. Outside was a robot that welcomed me and the guard above waved and the "gates" opened.

What the?

Inside I found a whole town built of scrap and old plane parts. The local sheriff, Lucas Simms, greeted me. This was all a bit overwhelming, but I tried to stay calm. I asked if he had seen James, but he sort of brushed off the question.

Is this what everyone outside dressed like?

I asked a bit more about this town and learned there was a live atomic bomb in the middle of town! I told him that it was crazy to live there, and that someone must disarm it. He said that if I had the skill, he'd make it worth my while to deactivate the bomb.

WHAT!?

 Before I knew what I was saying, I accepted. I didn't know the first thing about disarming a bomb, but well I was gambling that this would get me on the good side of the sheriff and it worked. Asking again about James, he said that he did remember someone coming by and heading up to the saloon.

I told Sheriff Simms that I'd look at the bomb and get back to him. Then after glancing at the thing and not knowing the first thing to do with it, I walked slowly away (avoiding the kooks that were standing around worshiping the damn thing).

There was no time for this. I needed to get some answers, so I headed up to the saloon.

I imagine that there is a lot of drinking in a town build around a bomb.

Inside I met the first ghoul I had even seen. His name was Gob and he seemed like a decent enough guy. Then I met Colin Moriarty. I knew at once that there was something I didn't like about this guy, but he was my key to finding James.

Moriarty told me some things that I found a bit hard to believe at first. I kept my composure and bluffed a him into thinking that I knew more than I actually did. This paid off and I learned where James had gone off to after his short stay in Megaton.

But that didn't seem as important just then. James had lied to me. Everything that I knew about him was build around that lie. Then he left me and nearly got me killed. Now I was stuck, unable to return to my "home" in the vault, surround by strangers and strange things.

I traded a few of the things that I had found in Springvale for a beer. I needed a drink.

A cold one, Gob.

[To be continued...]

What's going on?

Just a quick update. No, I haven't stopped this blog, but I am not sure when I am going to get a chance to post more. There are a few reasons for this:

1) I am busy. I just have had a lot of things that I want to work on, and so I don't have a lot of time and this blog and gaming have both dropped in priority at the moment.

2) I haven't been playing games that are worth blogging about. Really I haven't been playing much of anything for the past week or so.

3) The one game that I am playing, I can't blog about. I won't go into details, but the game I've spend the most time playing and want to log, well... I just didn't get any answer to some questions I had before I wanted to post.

So, I'm sure I'll be adding more soon... but I'm not sure exactly when that will be.