Information and AVWW

[kof91]

Now I am going to approach this from a different perspective. I think game mechanics wise for AVWW is typically enjoyable (I am happy the spell range is back to what it should be). I have not been following all the thread in forum, so not sure if this has been brought up before. Thoughts, ideas, comments, flames are welcomed.. I want to enjoy this game more and hope many more will enjoy this "unique" game

I think typically for games that requires crafting and exploration a good wiki explaining will helps a lot. When I was playing Terraria I did a lot of reading on wikis, get ahead in the preparation on which area to explore and what to expect, at least I don't feel so lost. I have friends that actually "lost" on terraria because they do not have the necessary information to play. On top of that their experience is totally spoiled when given equipment way above their tiers. (I do not know if in multiplayer, you can give another player spells above his tier for AVWW) If there is information or pre-game preparation, then it will be much easier to play. Example on terraria, I will tell my friends, lets explore jungle and get getting jungle only craft material comes naturally as you explore, typically dun need to keep track of what you need. But I already have the information on my required craft material is in jungle area. I guess in this regard can be said terraria has a more simplistic approach.

When I am playing AVWW most of the time I just got lost in exploring and after a while it feels repeated. After few hours, well I don't feel accomplished. Shopping list is a good enhancement, now at least I know what to look for and where also the information is pretty vague when it tells you its on the grassland, dessert etc. (side question: Is there a teleport spell where I can teleport to the surface?) A good wiki will definitely help, before that happen I already have information on how and what is required to be successful. Wiki also should have task oriented guide, example rescue npc, how to maximize the appearance of npc quest? I like to research off game, when playing game feels like AVWW is trying to play "wiki" to feed the information (heavy reading). Other games that requires research that I play is Monster Hunter 3, which I did a lot of offline research of what material and how to get those for crafting. With AVWW I got a feeling of "now what do I need now?" and next question "where do I find the info regarding this?". Right now I just randomly explore, and getting random material and craft random spells with whatever I have on hand (beggers can't be chooser eh?). Just doesn't feels as intuitive as terraria in that regard. Feels like AVWW is missing this which frustrate some especially new player with overwhelming information. AVWW doesn't start simple at all. I have like 10+ spells ready to add at the beginning. I want to have fun playing, not reading on how/where to get what during game. Honking encyclopedia feels like AVWW wiki in-game.

The comparison on terraria not in terms of game play, purely I am looking at the information perspective. I think it is important on this kind of open ended game. Is there any good wiki around for AVWW? Can all these honking encyclopedia information be made available at AVWW wiki? It will be amazing, if the information is available and player can process the information to their style. Each person processes informations differently. A player contributed wiki would be nice, like terraria relies heavily on that.

[Misery]

(side question: Is there a teleport spell where I can teleport to the surface?)

As far as I know, no such spell.

That, though, is what gates are for.   Gates being the swirling blue portals you'll encounter pretty frequently.   They show up on the dungeon map as a tiny blinking gem, in any room that contains a gate.   Each gate can link to any other gate (within that.... er.... overworld map square, however you call it), so long as you have at least entered the room/area that contains the one you want to travel to.

These are very frequent aboveground, and also very frequent in caves;  generally, these are how you want to leave caves.   Find a gate on the surface before you enter said cave, and then when you're done with your spelunking expedition, look on the dungeon map, find a nearby gate, and use it to warp out to the surface.


It's a very convenient, well done system, actually.

You'll even find gates inside of buildings sometimes (though alot rarer in those).

[khadgar]

There is a teleport spell, but it comes in a consumable scroll variety, as is known as an Ellusion scroll. They are pretty rare, to give you an idea of how rare, I racked up 200 glyph transfer scrolls by the time I beat continent 1, and maybe around 12 Ellusion scrolls (having used perhaps 2).

But I compeltely agree, this game could use a wiki. I'm sure it will be developed and written as time goes on, but right now the wiki that exists is more about development and such, rather than game info. Because the game info is/was changing all the time, it wouldn't have been a worthwhile effort to make an accurate wiki. As things settle down, it might be more produent!

Ideally, the game will not need a wiki because everything in it is so intuitive!    That'll be the day, because I don't think any game ever has reached that point.

[tigersfan]

The wiki for the game is here: http://arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=A_Valley_Without_Wind . Though, it's not nearly as complete as you might want it. If anyone wants to help make it complete, with the understanding that things in it might change a lot, then let me know and I can set you up with an account on it.