Fishing for a Complement

[elessaria]

Originally Posted by Remus Ah, but I am not complaining about the outfitting stats. Yes I know Small, Medium and Large Equestrus are OP right now, but they will surely get corrected in the next build and I could even live with them on Live for a few weeks. It is fishing itself which risks bringing the game into disrepute.

Well if that's your issue I think 2.7 is optimistic tbh...

[Remus]

Originally Posted by elessaria Well if that's your issue I think 2.7 is optimistic tbh...

Not really.

I would be surprised if fishing could be made 'fun' for 2.7, but it probably would not take much to frustrate auto robot fishing.

[Chervil]

Originally Posted by elessaria Did it involve repeatedly clicking the same spot over and over and hoping the dice were right?

Actually, my point was just that SWG had a nice fishing system.
It wasn't by any means perfect (cast your line then keep clicking to try to get a bite, set the hook, reel in, etc.) but is was a diversion from the grind.

Mostly my post was pointing out that I was surprised PotBS did NOT have one yet.
I have not yet tested the angling, but look forward to trying it soon.
As the dev mentioned, I am sure that any downfalls could be improved on if CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is given.

[maxsauce]

seriously Why cant i cast and go AFK, why is the style of fishing like Fly fishing,.. me no like i need to go AFK,....now i wasted bait,....pls Explain

[Desertwind]

If I catch one more sea bass or flounder I think I will jump out that window.

From what ive noticed its like nearly impossible to catch any of the good fish without buying stuff from Treasure Aisle..

[Joseph Fletcher]

Fishing is a perfect example of a skinner box. There is zero skill involved and really no game play, it's simply hitting X and sometimes you get a prize. Sure it keeps people playing but it's not compelling game play.

What I would do is have a skill based fishing system. Remember Oil Imperium on the Amiga? When you drilled for oil you have to keep the drill in the centre of the screen (it would wonder off) by using the mouse to steer. Something similar could be made were you have to keep the cursor over the fish as you reeled it in. The better you did, the rarer the fish you land.
This system would be very hard to macro (unlike the current one) and would be fun, and skillful in it's own right.

Links time:
Extra Credits article on the Skinner box and why it's a bad thing in game design.
Oil Imperium play vid. Go to 3.55 for the drilling scene

[Chervil]

So I had a chance to try angling for about 10 mins before leaving for work.

I actually kind of like the mechanics behind it.
Let me explain why:

In SWG, (the only other MMO I have played) fishing worked like this:
Cast your line pretty much anywhere, and a box popped up that showed you fish density (your chances of catching something) and vegetation density (chances of getting your line snagged).
It also told you how far out your line was and the condition of your bait (fresh, soggy, mushy).

There were 4 choices to click [tug up, tug left, tug right, small reel in].
You would click one and wait a few seconds while it processed what was happening (the dice roll).
The choices were [nothing, nibble, bite, caught something]
The first three just resulted in a new roll.
Caught something started a set of rolls where your catch would either [take more line, rush towards you, you reel in].
Depending on how far out your line was, this could go on for around 5 - 20 clicks (dice rolls) any of which could result in you losing the fish.
So for each cast, you had a minimum of 4 clicks (about 30 seconds to a minute) and upwards of around a few minutes.
All with no guarantee to catch anything, since there was also a possibility of reeling in junk loot!

Compare that with this where you click and within a few seconds you know what (if anything) you caught, and I say it is a much better system.

While SWG let you fish in literally ANY body of water (on all but about 4 planets) and anywhere, it was a much longer process, almost like real fishing.

The one thing I can say I don't like so far is that you can only buy a basic pole from the fish monger, and there is no option for players to craft them.
As a FT, I would to be able to craft varying qualities of poles.

[ForumUser20000]

A few quick comments about fishing....

initially i hated the idea, but i actually think its quite a cool feature. its certainly something vaguely interesting to do during those short periods where your waiting for a port battle invite or a 6th group member to sail a ship over etc.

however a few key points i have found:

1. the common fish lack any real use for practically every1 in the game. by the time youve hit 50, especially if any of that was done via fleeting, you already have a vast array of similar consumables which are of no use to you. there really needs to be something else these 'useless' fish can be used for - for example you could allow them to be traded (in largeish numbers) for things like career respecs

2. purple fish are a) not rare enough and b) lack use

iv fished for maybe 2 hours maximum while watching films etc and already recieved 2 purples. this would suggest in a few weeks time most of the active population will have obtained most of these rare rewards, and suddenly be obtaining 'rare' fish with no long term use. id suggest adding additional rewards for these trophy fish, which are in some way consumed such that people will find a constant use and desire to obtain purple fish. examples could include consumables which are better then those currently available (not by a huge amount, but for e.g. the same stats as an admirals 1st rate + 100 structure, 100 armour), such that they provide rewards that are desireable, but not too game breaking - the expectation that any1 is going to 'grind' enough fish to have more then 1-2 purple fish a day is unrealistic.


edit: would also add a countdown timer on claiming the fish. iv already spotted a fair few people afk fishing....add a simple 5minute timer on claiming the fish, and afk fishing should become alot harder

[elessaria]

Because this thread gets a bit more of an airing I am going to reference this thread in a post here.