Rothgar Blogs about User Written Books

[Silerua]

I absolutely loved this feature back in Ultima Online, not for any purpose, but for fun.  I believe that a lot of EQ2ers will have a lot of fun with this and for that, I'm glad.  I will not collect 'non-canon' books for my in-game library, but that doesn't mean I don't love the idea and won't find ways to utilize them.  d:

However, I agree that if you want people to read without you actively seeking them out and handing them a copy (anyone else having images of players standing on docks throwing books at random passerbys?), as someone suggested, the Traveller's Forum is good for that.  Server-wide, or even game-wide distribution seems risky and not entirely necessary.  Plus, I selfishly don't want it.  d:<

I, personally, will be using at least one book as a "card catalog" (except a "book catalog" or something like that) for my library.  I am really looking forward to that considering I've organized mine by subject matter and not title, and hope that there will be a tome style that will be an open-book style that I can set on the Librarian's desk.  It'd be wicked if it even had a little platform to tilt it (like how dictionaries or encyclopedias in libraries have their own little special platform) so it's not just sitting flat but looks distinct and 'important,' but that's wishful thinking.  (:  I have some other ideas for how I might use one, but I'm not entirely settled on them yet.

I am both happy and sad that these tome appearances will be different from real books.  On one hand, it sets them apart and keeps them distinct, which makes me happy.  On the other hand, and this makes me sad (if you couldn't guess), there are so many books that have the "stack o' books" or that same ol', same ol' greyish boring book appearance... it would be lovely to have more variety  (And not more of that weird ghostly Phylactery  book - it looks so funny sitting between regular books! *lol*).  But perhaps there are just only a few printing companies in Norrath, and they don't like to branch out their book styles.  (;

Thank you for listening to everyone's concerns and answering questions and not just bombshelling this on us and quietly sitting back.  It is really appreciated when devs are involved in the community.  (:  Good luck with it and trying to balance all the demands and requests of everyone about this new feature.

[feldon30]

Fendaria wrote:

What about adding in a guild specific secret code language so only your guildmembers can read the book?

Whoa, that would be AWESOME. Add a guild flag. They must be a member of that guild to read the book.

[Loxus]

Will you be able to read them before you buy them?  And what will be the process for reporting inapropriate material?

I can easily see "Selling Raid strats for Palace - 400 PP Pst... oh it contains random_Exploit_01 for X named."  Or on the flip side....nothing at all.

[Bratface]

While I am not a writer I really like this new idea, I might even get my daughter to write something for me to make books out of =)

Is there any possiblility of using this type of mechanic to have a guest book in a house or guild hall? I'd love to be able to add a few words to a guest book in houses or guild halls I see.

[Zhadowsee]

I have not read through the multitude of posts and pages, but how will these books be monitored should players wish to type something not appropriate for younger audiences? 

I'm sure some players may place a disclaimer, but others may just be vulgar for the sake of being vulgar.  Or they may make a book slandering another player.  (Or is it libel?  I forget.)

Will there be an option to report something that's inappropriate?  I'm assuming the petition command is the answer.

Another question I have, and again I'm sorry if this has been mentioned before, will there be an option to upload a screen shot?  I envision a page of the book discussing the raid against the Epic creature.  The next page shows a screen shot of the battle.  Will this be available? 

[Donilla]

This whole idea is exciting, I can't wait. I already keep a log for my characters and try to post them on my blog (I'm not much of a blogger so there isnt a lot, most are still in my head) and I've had the hardest time editing my profile to fit. I'm already thinking of what will go in my first books. Deliawyn's Elven Cookbook, Donilla's Greatest Adventures, Daladriel's Visit to the Assylum..... endless

[Dracythis]

Kiara wrote:

One of the upcoming features for GU52 is a new system that will allow players to write and distribute their own books in the world of Norrath. These books look and act just like the current books in the game. You can hold them in your inventory or place them in your house or guild hall for other players to read.

Read More!

One very important question I have.....  Will there be an option to import a Word document to "create" your book?  The reason I ask is because I would hate the idea of sitting in-game typing my story into a small confined window.

[feldon30]

I'm sure just like in-game e-mail, biography, etc. you will be able to Paste unformatted text. You may have to paste a page at a time though. I would use Wordpad so you don't get Word's gobbledygook formatting tags.

[VTOReality]

Great idea with tons of possibilities. Looking forward to seeing this available in world. In a blog post I was just writing, it occurred to me that it might open up the possibility for a new tradeskill someday: the author, printer and publisher.

[Reapicheap]

Dracythis wrote:

Kiara wrote:

One of the upcoming features for GU52 is a new system that will allow players to write and distribute their own books in the world of Norrath. These books look and act just like the current books in the game. You can hold them in your inventory or place them in your house or guild hall for other players to read.

Read More!

One very important question I have.....  Will there be an option to import a Word document to "create" your book?  The reason I ask is because I would hate the idea of sitting in-game typing my story into a small confined window.

C&P is complicated?

[Jushara]

YAY! ^_^ loving the idea of this feature! and can't wait for it to go live. i do have a few suggestions, and questions though And of course now i want a Reading animation and want sitting in chairs even more!

1.Please implement racial languages. it would be fun

2.Are there any small, like single page. Notes? like maybe a low level version of books with say a 300 character limit? that are place able on walls and tables?

3.Will it be allowed for us to translate the old style books into the new style? i would really like a real copy of The history of the kerra rather than the old style one i have now.

4. Could we have a feature to (for an in game fee) turn mail into hard copys? and turn books into mail?

5. Is there a chance we could see some special properties on books? like making readable writable books that can be held in the off hand?

6. And just a crazy idea, is there any chance of us seeing an option to put our guild crest on the front page? or better yet, the cover?

I know, putting it on the cover would be almost possible. since it would just be something like making the cover respond like a cloak. i know, its probably more complicated than that, but i dont know how your engine works :p just how most 3D software works. i would love to see your engine heh, out of curiosity

7. and elaborating on the previous idea. and this is a wild one. will we have a chance to see rare. master crafter, like level 80 books, perhaps requiring a special rare, that allow us to create a cover from scratch? using the cloak creator?

8. And finally will we see any rare versions of the books. with special covers, or maybe even special printing? like glowing ink,or the book of the dead effect, for example?

i know the last few are crazy, but. i had to ask

Oh btw, i had an idea. for a relitivly easy way to impliment sitting in chairs. and maybe sitting anywhere. like on a balcony out in qeynos. simply add a sit command, that opens a context window. choose a pose. and then place one's self like a peice of furnature. within a certin range makes it a little easier on devs than implementing special code to detect chairs. like vanguards glitchy system. being able to sit on the wall of the bridge in qeynos harbor would be a wonderful adition to RP! and not to mention the massive improvement to taverns. To be honest, we dont mind if our feet clip through the ground a bit! we cant really sit down at all now ^_^  just an idea!   and it seems more doable than a coded sitting system. and more versitle. less work on devs, more on players is fine

[DreadPirate]

DreadPirate wrote:

What about pictures?

There are some books in the world of Norrath that have pictures.  The Frostfell books come to mind.

Will we be able to add images to pages, perhaps screenshots, along with the text?

Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?

It is a valid question... not everyone is an Erudite.... some just want to look at the pictures.

[Reapicheap]

Peter Parker: That's slanderous, Mr. Jameson.

J. Jonah Jameson:  No, it isn't! *pause*  When it's in print it's called 'Libel'.

I love that quote.

[Rexx Everythi]

DreadPirate wrote:

DreadPirate wrote:

What about pictures?

There are some books in the world of Norrath that have pictures.  The Frostfell books come to mind.

Will we be able to add images to pages, perhaps screenshots, along with the text?

Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?

It is a valid question... not everyone is an Erudite.... some just want to look at the pictures.

Sure we can add pictures! Below is an image of Lady Vox from my soon to be published coffee table book.

                                  //` `          _,-"%   // /```     ~^~ >__^  |% // /  } ``            )  )%// / }  } }``           /  (%/'/._/_/_/`/          (    '         `-._`              ,     (     _`-.__.-;%>          /_`       ` ." `-..-'`         ```/_/`"-=-'`/_/         ```       ```

[Noaani]

DreadPirate wrote:

What about pictures?

There are some books in the world of Norrath that have pictures.  The Frostfell books come to mind.

Will we be able to add images to pages, perhaps screenshots, along with the text?

The problem with adding pictures is the fact that when we take screenshots, they are stored on our hard drive. There are definatly players out there that would find a way to upload pornographic pictures in to books avalible to all players in this game, which would obviously cause issues with ratings and such.

In order to make pictures work, they would need to add in a specific function for screenshots to be stored serverside without having been stored on the client computer at all. This in itself is a large undertaking, and that is without taking in to account the extra storage that would need to be made avalible for all these pics.

It would take a lot of work, and cost a decient amount of overhead once it is implemented so I don't see it happening any time soon (they would do it if a serious competitor did it, but not otherwise). Its a shame though, as that is a feature I would love to see.

[Rothgar]

Loxus@Everfrost wrote:

Will you be able to read them before you buy them?  And what will be the process for reporting inapropriate material?

I can easily see "Selling Raid strats for Palace - 400 PP Pst... oh it contains random_Exploit_01 for X named."  Or on the flip side....nothing at all.

If we allowed you to read the book on the broker, it would discourage a lot of people from wanting to sell them since you could just read it without buying it.  If we displayed the first few lines, there's nothing keeping someone from making the first few lines look good, but the rest contain garbage.

If you buy a book on the broker, you're buying it at your own risk.  I would only purchase books that were cheap, or written by an author with a good reputation.

[Rothgar]

Bratface wrote:

Is there any possiblility of using this type of mechanic to have a guest book in a house or guild hall? I'd love to be able to add a few words to a guest book in houses or guild halls I see.

This is still something I'd like to add as an amenity or house item.  It would share a lot of the same 'technology' but needs to be a different type of item.

[Rothgar]

Dracythis wrote:

Kiara wrote:

One of the upcoming features for GU52 is a new system that will allow players to write and distribute their own books in the world of Norrath. These books look and act just like the current books in the game. You can hold them in your inventory or place them in your house or guild hall for other players to read.

Read More!

One very important question I have.....  Will there be an option to import a Word document to "create" your book?  The reason I ask is because I would hate the idea of sitting in-game typing my story into a small confined window.

Yes, you can copy/paste text into the book from any other program.

I would actually recommend writing in a full word-processor and pasting the text in at a later time if you are serious about writing a long story.  We put as much work as we could into making our input textboxes work well for this task, but it still much easier in my opinion to type and use the features of Wordpad or MS Word.

You won't have to paste a page at a time.  You could paste a large block of text and it'll automatically span across pages.

[Tibis_Heartseeker]

With people talking about creating rules posters / notices for guild halls, it makes me think that a handy future addition would be an option to 'Author for guild', along with a guild role of 'Author / Edit Guild Books'; the idea would be to allow guild members with the role set to be able to author and edit books on behalf of the guild.

I do like the idea.  How long until GU52?!

[Rheem]

Will the books be common only or will be able to set a launguage?

[circusgirl]

oooo...I like the idea of being able to set a language.

[Silerua]

Hmmm... okay, I do have a question after much thought.

Will you developers and SOE staff plan on writing books?  I would be DEFINITELY interested in reading books written by devs and staff.  I don't know how the word could be gotten out that you all were writing something.  Perhaps post stories on the forums, and we players can, if we want them, scribe them to books to keep for ourselves?

Thanks (:  I want to have that Death of a Dragon book, as well, Rothgar!

[EDIT]  Though it would be totally wicked to have a book in my house that says By: (dev name)    *drool*  They'd go nicely with my other red-name collected items.  I wish Kirstie's Babbling Bauble and Jindrack's Lucan D'Lere Action Figure were house items...  *sigh*  They'd be sooo cute!

[Loolee]

Brook wrote:

With this being one of the "better" ideas being added in quite a while, I have to wonder what the price we will pay is truly going to be.

You guys don't have a reputation for giving good things without something equally as suk around the corner to balance things out... or it would seem.

Aren't you just a happy little ray of sunshine!

[SilkenKidden]

Vinka@Antonia Bayle wrote:

oooo...I like the idea of being able to set a language.

How would that work?  I might be able to speak elvish in the game, but it doesn't come across written in elvish.  As a matter of fact, I see the words in my native language and I can understand what I'm seeing. 

Do you really want to see a book full of strange symbols and words? 

[Aganon]

Rothgar,

First let me say that this is a great idea!  I have several suggestions and as a developer, I know some may not be feasible or at the very least may take time.  I apologise in advance if any of these have been suggested or addressed.

1.  Add Book Types

Add a book type drop-down option to each book so that it will make searching for books easier.  For example, books could be types like Story, Guide, Song, etc.  Of course you could go deeper and offer extended options like Raid Guide, Class Guide, Zone Guide, etc. but that may be a slippery slope with neverending requests for additional book types.

2.  Add a Content Rating System

Since some roleplaying story lines are adult related, perhaps it would be a good idea to rate each book in some way such as Everyone or Adult.  You could also simply add a checkbox labeled, "This book contains adult content."

3.  Show Content Size on Examine

When players examine the book, show the number of characters contained in the content area of the book. 

4.  Show Date and Time Book Was Created

When players examine the book, show the date and time that the book was created.  Add a date range option to the broker search to make it easier to find newer or older books.

5.  Make Content Space Based on Book Size

Make the size of the content space based on the size of the book.  That would make each book size more relevant.  While this could be manipulated, most serious writers of guides, stories, etc. could let their readers know how much content is in the book.

6.  Track Number of Book Copies

Track the number of copies of each book that are owned by different players.  Not just created, but actually possessed by unique players.

7.  Add a Book or Author Rating system

I realise this may be hard to implement but it would seem that you could store the rating along with the author, title and contents since I would assume this information will be stored in a master database.  If a book-by-book rating system would be too hard to implement, consider adding an author rating system.

8.  Create a Best Seller List

It would be nice to see which books are selling best over the last week or month.  Even better would be offering a best sellers list by book type as mentioned above.  Something like this could be static and updated daily or weekly.

9.  Parental Block Option

I could see the need for parents to be able to block the ability for an account or character to read any player created books even if it is just a setting in the options panel.

-Aganon

[Snapdragyn]

What exactly is 'inappropriate'? I see troubled times ahead here.

What if a romance describes holding hands, perhaps even a kiss? What if the characters described are both of the same gender? Now we're into territory where someone somewhere would probably file a /petition if they came across a copy, yet I, as a [Removed for Content] man IRL, will object very strongly to the censorship of having an otherwise unobjectionable story removed simply because the characters were [Removed for Content].

[GrunEQ]

I love the suggestion for a reading animation and would like to suggest another.. a writing amination, for when you are composing or copying a book.

I also like the suggestion of using different fonts for the various languages to add more flavor, for when or if we can publish in languages.

[Baegia]

I have stories to put in books  !!!!!  yea  -- ty ty ty

The neatest thing SoE has done in a long time  -- congratz !

I've told my guild already  --- not much time to play anymore --- must write !

[Ssliasil1]

 O.O I dont mean to Toot my own horn but...i soooo thought up this Idea a few months back on the Lucan D'lere Server!

I brought it up in 1-9 chat a while back and we had a 2 hour Conversation about it lol.  I do remember someone saying, that sounds like a good idea i may have to tell that to a Dev friend i know blah blah blah...O.O

Dude...Thats...awesome.

Though its probably a huge cooincidence.

[DreadPirate]

Noaani wrote:

DreadPirate wrote:

What about pictures?

There are some books in the world of Norrath that have pictures.  The Frostfell books come to mind.

Will we be able to add images to pages, perhaps screenshots, along with the text?

The problem with adding pictures is the fact that when we take screenshots, they are stored on our hard drive. There are definatly players out there that would find a way to upload pornographic pictures in to books avalible to all players in this game, which would obviously cause issues with ratings and such.

In order to make pictures work, they would need to add in a specific function for screenshots to be stored serverside without having been stored on the client computer at all. This in itself is a large undertaking, and that is without taking in to account the extra storage that would need to be made avalible for all these pics.

It would take a lot of work, and cost a decient amount of overhead once it is implemented so I don't see it happening any time soon (they would do it if a serious competitor did it, but not otherwise). Its a shame though, as that is a feature I would love to see.

While I appreciate the reply, and I kinda figure you're right, I was hoping for an answer from someone more official, like Rothgar.   He seems to want to answer all the other questions, just not mine.  A simple "No" would suffice.  Passing over it not once, but twice is kinda rude.

No matter, while I do like to write, I doubt I'll make use of this.  Seems like just alot of fluff to me.  There are so many other things that would be much more worthwhile...  like Beast.Lords...  heck, put them on the SC, I'd buy one.

Rexx Everything wrote:

DreadPirate wrote:

DreadPirate wrote:

What about pictures?

There are some books in the world of Norrath that have pictures.  The Frostfell books come to mind.

Will we be able to add images to pages, perhaps screenshots, along with the text?

Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?

It is a valid question... not everyone is an Erudite.... some just want to look at the pictures.

Sure we can add pictures! Below is an image of Lady Vox from my soon to be published coffee table book.

                                  //` `          _,-"%   // /```     ~^~ >__^  |% // /  } ``            )  )%// / }  } }``           /  (%/'/._/_/_/`/          (    '         `-._`              ,     (     _`-.__.-;%>          /_`       ` ." `-..-'`         ```/_/`"-=-'`/_/         ```       ```

  That's awesome!