In game moon cycles

[LaRaj]

One of the things I hear most about the Lycan events is related to when it happens, during the real life full moon. Either people are concerned that they won't be able to get online and play when a full moon is coming or dread the full moon because it means that only time they may have free to play and relax is pre-planned for them for three or four days while the moon is full. Although I feel that using the true full moon is interesting maybe it would be better for Project Gorgon to have its own moon cycles. By the game having its own moon cycle Lycan events might be feasible for more players more often for a lessor period of time. As I have been hearing from some players... ensuring that they can be online during a full moon can be challenging, this kind of makes a person have to prioritize game life over real life in some circumstances. It seems to me that there are several day/night cycles in Project Gorgon per day, so it would seem to me that a full moon should happen more often, also since there seem to be several day/night cycles per 24 hours that a full moon should pass much sooner within the game.

Additionally I feel that having in game moon cycles could make things more interesting is several ways. How many moons does the world of Project Gorgon have? If there were several moons could more than one moon be full? Could have 2 or 3 moons full at the same time add to the Lycan powers? Could certain moons that were full have different effects on the Lycan? Maybe moon 1 has a red glow and unlocks certain abilities while reducing others? Maybe one of the moons is super huge and could give an additional boost to Lycan powers. People could then use the moon phase’s skill to determine when the moons could be in line with each other, or all full, etc.

Although I do not play a Lycan character I have heard many people talking about it. I feel having an in game moon cycle that happened much more often for a lessor period of time would go a long way to help players plan as a whole. It would also loosen some of the time restrictions a person might face with real world plans. Thank you!
-LaRaj

[ANT3RA]

dread the full moon because it means that only time they may have free to play and relax is pre-planned for them for three or four days while the moon is full.
-LaRaj

Can you elaborate on this a little please. I don't quite understand what you mean.

I think you have some valid points here. However real time moon phases are a novel idea and work well in my opinion. I dont see any issues with moon phasing in its current form in the game. That's just my opinion though. They may introduce an in game moon/s cycle. They may even time it to real life. You never know.

I guess just like any other 'event' (whether game or player generated) in any other mmo style game, people need to adjust.

Being from Australia i have to adjust most of my gaming experience with my US friends to their clock, mind you when i play during my day time its prime time in the US, so that point is somewhat moot. I do however have to adjust my times for scripted or locked in things like raids or dungeons if i choose to do them in games. Long story short though, people will have to adjust to the game mechanic. Its always been like that. That will never change unfortunately, otherwise everything will need to be instanced to personal preference/reasons and that would make it largely a single player game experience.

I missed out on most of the Asheron's Call live developer events due to time zone issues. This is the case for me in most non single player games.

As an adjunct...Any two places that can see the Moon at the same time will see the same phase. Each Moon phase happens at a precise point in the Moon's orbit around the Earth, and hence at a precise moment in time. This is the same moment all over the world, but will be a different local time for every time zone in the world.

A full moon occurs every 29.5 days, which is the length of time it takes to complete one lunar phase cycle.

So effectively players from different time zones would have to adjust their play times. Saying that though, it is for 3 days, so everyone gets a nice bite of the cherry during that time/phase.

You obviously missed the most important question though...!

Can we go to the moon?

Cheers
Ant

Edit: Grammar

[Khaylara]

Initially the full moon was popping in random moments during the real month, few days here and there. Since at the time I was playing lycan anyway I can't give too many details on how it worked (I stayed in wolf form most of the time). Now though, I would find it really disruptive to be sent in wolf form randomly 3-4 times during the month. I normally plan ahead for the full moon, usually play an alt or do whatever craft skills i can that don't require interaction with certain NPCs.
I feel bad for people who play lycan and have to wait a full month for an unlock or a skill (i understand that's how it works now) so if they have any other suggestions Idm. As long as we're not randomly transformed w/o notice.
The current full moon type was implemented way before the altar of Norala and the new unlocking system so maybe Citan plans to reconsider or change it anyway.

[kabbutto]

For me personally I believe the while lycan aspect needs some working. First off it is still a skill in work that needs feedback, very few people want to make a perm change to their character to test out a skill. A change that for 4 days a month you are pretty much useless unless you have been lvling lycan and getting the armor for it. I believe that in alpha lycan should not be permanent change, when launch happens then yes but not in alpha if someone picks it up just to test it out. Yes I know you can always make another character, but who wants to start over on a new character in alpha after they have put all the work in already. Again just my thoughts on it seeing as though I have already had a discussion with whoever replies to the messages on the facebook page, the reply I received was basically "too bad we can't or don't feel like changing things so make a new character".
As for having moon phases that aren't linked to real life moon phases I think this could be a good idea. A day a week or a few hours a week/weekend I believe would be much better than a whole weekend every month. Some people only get to play during the week, so if full moon is on the weekend and they want to be part of it they wont be able to. Or if someone only gets to play on the weekends, unless these people are preparing lycan by lvling and gearing for it, then their only time to play on the weekend is wasted sitting in town not being able to hunt on their own. Full moon is something that is intended to being looked forward to, not something that people dread for 4 days a month (I know not everyone, but a lot of people). I also have made the suggestion that higher lvl lycan can ignore or choose not to be effected by the full moon effects (be able to control their rage type of thing) but all these suggests keep getting the same answers from devs, so that's why im putting it up on the forums for people to see.

[LaRaj]

dread the full moon because it means that only time they may have free to play and relax is pre-planned for them

What I mean is that a full moon only once a month for several days at once kind of forces a certain play style. Not everyone wants to have to be made to play this way at this very designated time. If this time, which generally seems to be near weekends, is the only time this person they have to play they are more less forced to play during this time to gain benefit. This is one reason I feel that a in game moon cycle which might happen predictably more often for a less amount of time (say 24 hours) per full moon may be a good thing for a lot more people in general. I feel this would make the Lycan skill set generally more available to everyone, while also keeping from being forced to play this way for several days all in one sitting. Many people may not even be able to participate for any or even some of the event. A 24ish hour moon cycle would still make the Lycan available to all from all parts of the world. I feel like have more exposure for less time per event would help appease people who are unable to cure their disease as well. I also feel that this type of change may encourage more player to try out the Lycan skills as they will not be forced to wait so long per period for an event.

Thank you,
-LaRaj

[kabbutto]

I can agree with this, being forced to play as lycan for 4 days a month really turns me away from lycan and really the game in general during this time.

[rastaah]

I feel like when I read this my initial response is "then don't be a lycan? Isn't it a choice?

If everyone is one it is no longer an accomplishment or something to work on ie 'on the rails' type game. I like that it is different, a commitment and you have to give something up to get it

I hate that my response is so dismissive but eh, I guess it is! I just am tired of the games that go that route to please everyone and not that this one is, but just reading that last one gave me that feeling

If it inconveniences you that is almost the point....it is a choice with consequences good and bad.

[Khariel]

Because being stuck in wolf form for the duration of the full moon is intended to be the drawback of the skill, I'm inclined to agree with Rastaah... Don't change it to make people happier.

If anything, it should be harder to avoid. So many people just play an alt during that time, and I think that's kindof silly. Like, I get it if you didn't actually want to be a lycan, though in that case you should have gotten an alt changed to try it out before changing your main. Keeping it on your main, and actively using it.... except during the time of the month that you're not supposed to have a choice, it's kindof cheating. Same thing with druids who log out when there's a druid event... You knew they'd happen. The game warned you about them even before they were fully implemented....

These things are meant to be the cost of the power you've obtained. Whether that power is strong enough to justify the cost is open to interpretation by individuals. I think it is, but others disagree. That's okay, but you need to leave feedback reflecting that so that it can be looked at, and maybe changed down the line.

[Hoxard]

I personally greatly enjoy the moon cycle as it is.

I knew how it worked when I became a lycanthrope, I was not certain if I would enjoy the skillset, I was not certain if I would be okay with how the moon cycle worked, and I knew that once I became a werewolf there would be no going back. I accepted the risks and responsibility for drinking the spit, just like I did for selling my soul at the druid altar.

Just like the druid events, the full moon is a mixed blessing. It's a wonderful experience to work together with other wolves and complete the wolf quests, but it can also be quite annoying to be locked in wolf form for three days, especially if it's not your primary skill. I think it serves its purpose well, to make lycan a commitment that is not for everyone. It's a permanent, incurable curse, and it should feel like that. Sure, there are improvements that could be made to the full moon event(more wolf quests, more rewards, more faeries to kill other than that camp in sun vale, etc.) but that's just polishing. There's no need for an overhaul of the system. If you don't like the way it works, then don't drink the spit.

[Khaylara]

Because being stuck in wolf form for the duration of the full moon is intended to be the drawback of the skill, I'm inclined to agree with Rastaah... Don't change it to make people happier.

If anything, it should be harder to avoid. So many people just play an alt during that time, and I think that's kindof silly. Like, I get it if you didn't actually want to be a lycan, though in that case you should have gotten an alt changed to try it out before changing your main. Keeping it on your main, and actively using it.... except during the time of the month that you're not supposed to have a choice, it's kindof cheating. Same thing with druids who log out when there's a druid event... You knew they'd happen. The game warned you about them even before they were fully implemented....

These things are meant to be the cost of the power you've obtained. Whether that power is strong enough to justify the cost is open to interpretation by individuals. I think it is, but others disagree. That's okay, but you need to leave feedback reflecting that so that it can be looked at, and maybe changed down the line.


I'm fine with both druid and lycan and I'm okay with never getting rid of them.

I want to adress this though, slightly off topic. I don't get what is "cheating" about not using the lycan form. Fyi I was lycan for a long time, i enjoyed playing it, I gave feedback (plenty). While Citan revamped the skill he also wiped/legacied the wolf armor several times till I gave up on it alltogether since I couldn't keep up with replacing my gear. I don't get why I'm "cheating" since I had to level another character specifically so I can play during full moons.
The same goes for druid, I participated in druid events since they were implemented (I have all bird forms so obviously I earned the blessings), gave my feedback on them (mostly negative, I don't like the current type of druid event). Why is it expected of me or others to keep going for druid events? If anything, it's a positive, allowing lower levels to have some fun and not just loot.
In general I don't see how some of us not participating in full moon questing or druid events has so much impact on other players. That's valuable feedback in itself, it means we don't enjoy them (or got bored and moved on to other skillsets).

I like the full moon the way it is now but idm if Citan thinks it's disruptive for others if he changes it. I'd prefer not to have full moon days scattered all throughout the month but whatever changes happen I'll have to adjust.

[kabbutto]

My main issue with lycan and the full moon is that this is alpha, it seems to be made such a big deal to remind everyone that THIS IS ALPHA, as its posted everywhere. If this is alpha then why are skills that are still being tested and constantly changing permanent for our characters even after launch? I can see Laraj and others making suggestions to keep people from hating playing during full moon or making people reroll and restart all the work that has already been put forth but all they get in return for their suggestions is negative comments. I will try to make my frame of mind a little more clear here. This is alpha, some people may of liked lycan the way it was in the past or maybe they have had their fill of testing out a different type of play style and dont want to have to completely start over on another character, while again in alpha, just to continue enjoying their play experience and testing skills. Seems a bit excessive for an alpha game.