Reading some of the plans for the changes to the regions made me think of possible changes in each based on on the season. And so each season change would bring something fresh to do. Of course the downside would be having to wait a year potentially for doing certain things. These though would most likely be ideas for way down the line at some point.
- Pets, Nodes, and NPC's that pop up or move in a seasonal fashion
We already have this with pets to some degree with the lighira, aeridini, ryori, and the griffi along with themed pets for the festivals. But perhaps this could extend a bit for the entire season to certain regions with a type of pet. Perhaps certain species can also migrate.
Nodes that could be used for crafting materials could appear more based on certain times of the year. Certain plants for instance. Maybe a plant that normally appears in multiple regions can still be found in a warmer region or in special places but become more scarce in colder locales. Maybe something like fir trees can be chopped down for Christmas trees when we have player housing as decoration.
There could be NPC's who show up only one time of the year offering certain quests and rewards. Or also NPC's who wander from place to place.
- NPC Town Festivals
This would be something extremely minor. Not like the four large seasonal festivals or the mini-fests we have. But I could imagine that the inhabitants of Sylestia also have their own little festivals. Maybe something as simple as doing a few quests for some gold or having a chance at a rare pet. I know though that we have so much time spent on site festivals that not much resources should go to these. But I wonder if this would add a little bit of depth to the world of Sylestia. |
I like this idea...
Frozen lakes in the northern areas could allow access to "nodes" as you say, or even a whole town that is only accessible in winter (like for the winter fest). Certain flowers could bloom at specific times of year (Snow Glories in winter, Regal Chrysanthemums in fall, Pixie Flowers in spring, Sunflowers in Summer, etc.)
If there is something like mining in the new crafting, certain areas could be open or closed off do to the weather. Or if fishing is implemented, again, certain kinds of fish could be caught at certain times of year, or even somewhat randomly through the year, like Salmon runs usually only last a couple of weeks once or twice a year.
I do think it would be cool though, to have an actual spot on the map to go for the festivals. Like I said above, maybe a lake blocks access in summer, but freezes in winter allowing people to access a Winter only town, with a gateway to the festival zone (you would still be able to follow the links on the Festival page, but if you wanted to go through the map, you could also find it that way.) Maybe the Spring Festival could be like a Medieval Fair kind of thing, and a collection of tents pop up in the meadow in Viridian Meadows, or in fall, the volcano area on the map shows what amounts to a haunted mansion that phases in for the fall festival or something? However it works, i think it would be cool to have an actual place to go see where the festival is, on the map.
I also like the idea of seasonal NPCs wandering around the regular areas of the map. Now, as soon as the festival starts, I bet 90% of the people playing are in the festival zone, and the normal maps are all but ignored. This would give people a reason to go exploring outside the festival zone, and something to do, that goes along with the seasons before and after the festivals. |
