Jump to content

Instance dungeon: Difference between revisions

From IdeaWazaWiki
← Older editNewer edit →

wikipedia>Mrwojo

m →Usage: Columns
+2 refs, reworded criticism to be more specific
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Unreferenced|date= May 2007}}
{{Refimprove|date=August 2010}}
In [[MMORPG]]s, an '''instance location''' is a special area, typically a [[dungeon (games)|dungeon]], that generates a new copy, or ''instance'', of the dungeon map for each group, or for certain amount of players, that enters the area. This saves [[game server|server]] work and ensures that there will never be competition ([[kill stealing]], [[spawn camping]]) over resources such as [[mob (computer gaming)|mobs]] within the instance. Because the [[player character]]s in the instance do not need to be updated of the information going on outside the instance, and vice versa for the characters outside the instance, there is an overall decrease in demands on the network, with the net result being less [[lag]] for the players. This technique also tends to spread out populations of players, instead of concentrating them. This increases individual player's gaming performance by placing less graphical processing demand on their computers, reducing graphics-based lag and making the game itself more available to people with less powerful computers.
In [[MMORPG]]s, an '''instance location''' is a special area, typically a [[dungeon (games)|dungeon]], that generates a new copy, or ''instance'', of the dungeon map for each group, or for certain amount of players, that enters the area.<ref name="Carless">{{cite book | title=Gaming hacks | author=Simon Carless | year=2004 | publisher=O'Reilly Media | isbn=9780596007140 | page=112 | quote=A term used to describe a private portion of a gameworld created just for an individual or group of players.}}</ref> This saves [[game server|server]] work and ensures that there will never be competition ([[kill stealing]], [[spawn camping]]) over resources such as [[mob (computer gaming)|mobs]] within the instance. Because the [[player character]]s in the instance do not need to be updated of the information going on outside the instance, and vice versa for the characters outside the instance, there is an overall decrease in demands on the network, with the net result being less [[lag]] for the players. This technique also tends to spread out populations of players, instead of concentrating them. This increases individual player's gaming performance by placing less graphical processing demand on their computers, reducing graphics-based lag and making the game itself more available to people with less powerful computers.


This also preserves the gaming experience, since some gaming scenarios do not work if the player is continually surrounded by other players, as in a multiplayer setting. Instance dungeons may contain stronger than usual mobs and rare, sought-after equipment. They also may include level restrictions and/or restrict the number of players allowed in each instance to balance gameplay.
This also preserves the gaming experience, since some gaming scenarios do not work if the player is continually surrounded by other players, as in a multiplayer setting. Instance dungeons may contain stronger than usual mobs and rare, sought-after equipment. They also may include level restrictions and/or restrict the number of players allowed in each instance to balance gameplay.
Line 8: Line 8:
Several games use instancing to scale the [[mob (computer gaming)|mobs]] to the players' levels, and/or the number of players present.
Several games use instancing to scale the [[mob (computer gaming)|mobs]] to the players' levels, and/or the number of players present.


Despite its many advantages, some players are critical of the use of instancing. They feel that instancing detracts from the realism of the game world.
Despite its advantages, the use of instancing in MMORPGs has also been criticized. For example, one reviewer described the extensive use of instancing in ''[[Age of Conan]]'' as "[destroying] the sense of expansiveness an MMORPG should have".<ref name="Ryan">{{cite journal|last=Ryan|first=Leon|title=Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures|journal=GameAxis Unwired|year=2008|month=July|pages=35|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=weoDAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false|accessdate=8 August 2010}}</ref>


==Usage==
==Usage==
Line 57: Line 57:
* [[Game server]] (or "shard")
* [[Game server]] (or "shard")
* [[Persistent world]]
* [[Persistent world]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}


[[Category:Video game gameplay]]
[[Category:Video game gameplay]]

Revision as of 20:29, 8 August 2010

Template:Refimprove In MMORPGs, an instance location is a special area, typically a dungeon, that generates a new copy, or instance, of the dungeon map for each group, or for certain amount of players, that enters the area.[1] This saves server work and ensures that there will never be competition (kill stealing, spawn camping) over resources such as mobs within the instance. Because the player characters in the instance do not need to be updated of the information going on outside the instance, and vice versa for the characters outside the instance, there is an overall decrease in demands on the network, with the net result being less lag for the players. This technique also tends to spread out populations of players, instead of concentrating them. This increases individual player's gaming performance by placing less graphical processing demand on their computers, reducing graphics-based lag and making the game itself more available to people with less powerful computers.

This also preserves the gaming experience, since some gaming scenarios do not work if the player is continually surrounded by other players, as in a multiplayer setting. Instance dungeons may contain stronger than usual mobs and rare, sought-after equipment. They also may include level restrictions and/or restrict the number of players allowed in each instance to balance gameplay.

Instances were first proposed by Richard Garriott in the late 1990s as a way to solve a set of related problems which had become obvious in Ultima Online. The problem can be stated as follows: everyone wants to be "The Hero" and slay "The Monster", rescue "The Princess" and obtain "The Magic Sword". When there are thousands of players all playing the same game, clearly not everyone can be the hero. The problem of everyone wanting to kill the same monster and gain the best treasure became obvious in the game EverQuest, where several groups of players would compete and sometimes harass each other in the same dungeon, in order to get to the monsters dropping valuable items. The creation of instances largely solves this set of problems, leaving only travelling to and from the dungeon as a potential risk in player versus player environments.

Several games use instancing to scale the mobs to the players' levels, and/or the number of players present.

Despite its advantages, the use of instancing in MMORPGs has also been criticized. For example, one reviewer described the extensive use of instancing in Age of Conan as "[destroying] the sense of expansiveness an MMORPG should have".[2]

Usage

Games that have been known to use instancing include:

Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

In Guild Wars, Town/Outpost areas are created on demand, with a new "district" of that town being created for every 100 players in it; players can move between these at will. Players can play with players across the globe, as in EVE Online, along with the advantages in load scaling and resources of a traditional multiple server model for ArenaNet, the developers.

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes does not use instance dungeons. However, it is envisioned that, through the Advanced Encounter System (AES), certain "boss" NPCs can be triggered when a group enters an area; this NPC would then be "tagged" to that group, meaning no other players could attack or interact with it. AES was not implemented in the commercial release of Vanguard, but the developer is reportedly working on it and plan to release it in a future patch.Template:Update after

In RuneScape, instances are used mostly in quests, so that other players cannot interfere with the player who is doing the quest, such as battling boss NPC's or having to accomplish a special task. They are also used in certain 'minigames'. However, most monsters not related to quests are not instanced, so players often have to compete with each other to get the reward from killing them.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Simon Carless (2004). Gaming hacks. O'Reilly Media. p. 112. ISBN 9780596007140. "A term used to describe a private portion of a gameworld created just for an individual or group of players." 
  2. ↑ Ryan, Leon (July 2008). "Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures". GameAxis Unwired: 35. http://books.google.com/books?id=weoDAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved on 8 August 2010. 

cs:Instance (MMORPG) de:Instanz (Computerspiel) fr:Donjon instancié fi:Instanssi (World of Warcraft) sv:Instans (datorspel) zh:副本 (電子遊戲)

Retrieved from "https://ideawaza.com/index.php?title=Instance_dungeon&oldid=72170"