Technically... suggestions for Mythruna aren't being solicited right now, but that won't stop people from posting ideas, and that's good. All the ideas that are posted here are given Paul's sincere consideration... but there are some things that should be considered when you think you have a good suggestion.
These aren't hard-and-fast rules by any measure, but they are highly recommended to review before making a 'suggestion' post. The
posting guidelines are also recommended reading material before making a suggestion post.
0. Before even thinking about drafting an idea...
remember that you're posting an idea or suggestion... not a persuasive essay. Unless it's a super technical suggestion that delves deep into the code and whose ramifications would be poorly understood by even seasoned Java veterans... nobody needs your prose on how it'll make Mythruna a better place. People need to draw that conclusion on their own. Saying that it'd be "cool" if it'd be implemented is fine and all, just don't overinflate your suggestion with so-called reasons to implement it. That said, you DO want to present your suggestion as a solution to an issue; just be concise, and don't shove that reason down our throats.
1.
Is your idea already on the roadmap or posted on the forum elsewhere? If it is, then you don't need to go through the trouble of posting it. In this case, either Paul intends to do it, or someone else already suggested it for you, and Paul has considered the suggestion already. Believe it or not, almost all the suggestions that get posted are already on Paul's radar, so try your best to be scrupulous when checking the forum for pre-existing incarnations of your idea.
2.
Does your idea fit with the theme of Mythruna's world? In the most concise description possible, the world of Mythruna has a medieval theme and steampunk technology. What that does
not mean is steampunk laser rifles or claymores the size of pine trees. Looking through the game's lore is also good practice before posting some ideas.
3.
Is it practical and balanced? This is probably the hardest part of figuring out whether you have a good idea.
- When asking if your idea is practical, you should be thinking "Does it make sense?/Does it make sense to do this?". If it's just plain silly or ridiculously expensive to do or use... it's probably not practical.
- When considering if something is balanced, the questions you want to ask are many. The following are but a few of the questions you may want to ask. Does it confer an excessive advantage to certain users? Is it capable of severely inhibiting someone's enjoyment of the game, or restricting users unreasonably? Are the benefits or consequences of the idea too helpful or damaging? If it's player made or usable by the player, is the cost for it too great or too low?
An example of an impractical idea is trains. While they do make sense, they don't make sense to build because of ludicrously high costs for a service just as well performed by airships. The materials needed to build the train and lay the tracks would be better spent elsewhere.
An example of an unbalanced idea is... a super fast spreading crop blight. A farmer should be able to leave their residence for a month without fearing that blight destroyed their massive field of crops and rotted their home.
4.
Is it something Paul can be reasonably expected to code? Saying "Make Mythruna load terrain from a million blocks away and be lag free and have infinite map height!", for instance, isn't reasonable. Nor is a suggestion that would necessitate Paul rewriting the physics engine.
5.
Does this address an issue or create a meaningful addition? In other words, it should fill a void in Mythruna. For instance, trains do not necessarily add to Mythruna significantly, because airships already function similar to trains and are already planned.
6.
Asking for a bug to be fixed is not a suggestion. If you see a bug, you'll want to describe the bug in the tech support forum.
After writing up your first draft, you
may want to proofread and re-read to make sure your suggestion is comprehensive.
Suggestion formatAlthough you can format your suggestion as you please, here is a format that I tend to use.
1. Descriptive title - You want your title to immediately give the readers at least a vague idea of your suggestion, while still being concise. Try to avoid fluff in the title, as a longer title can drive people away.
2. Introduction to issue - In a sentence, what are you trying to address or add to? How is X less enjoyable without your Y? Don't bring up your suggestion during this, as you're only trying to present what you want to improve on or fix in this section.
3. Suggestion overview - This is where you introduce your suggestion and how it interacts with the game to solve the issue. You may discuss the suggestion itself and how it solves the issue separately or piecewise(depending on the scope of the suggestion).
4. Suggestion description - A more in-depth look at your suggestion. You may opt to merge this with the overview.
Here's an example suggestion, annotated with the numbers above:
1. Blade Damage Types
2. When comparing a bronze sword with a steel sword, the steel weapon is ostensibly better. It's made of a harder material and can hold an edge better, right? Well, in Mythruna, yes. bronze weapons don't hold an edge as long as steel weapons, and can be heavily damaged when pitted against a steel sword without a shield. The material is practically useless even against an iron sword.
3. In reality, bronze isn't worse than iron or steel outright. Where iron and steel blades often chip and lose material in combat, or even fracture, bronze blades curl, bend, and indent due to their malleability and the fact that they're less brittle. Ease of repair would be a great way to balance weapon choice in favor of a softer material.
4. My suggestion is that blades should take different kinds of damage more often depending on the material used and the kind of stress on the blade. A steel or titanite blade would be more brittle and take on more permanent damage due to chipping(and therefore requiring more frequent sharpening), while bronze would dent and curl, requiring only minor reforging that could be done on the move most often, and rarely needing a grindstone.
