Looting -- The official thread for discussing the loot system. Updated 18th March, 2013.

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Vandro wrote:

Another one is to feed parts of the level to the client only when the player is close.

I'm fairly certain that's not how this works. The server sends every client in a newly created instance a random seed. Then the client generates the entire level randomly based on this seed. Since the seed for each client is the same then randomly generated level will be the same across all clients. This technique significantly reduces server loads since you only need to send a single value to the client and not all the complex data of a competed level.

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Chris wrote:

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tpapp157 wrote:

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Vandro wrote:

Another one is to feed parts of the level to the client only when the player is close.

I'm fairly certain that's not how this works. The server sends every client in a newly created instance a random seed. Then the client generates the entire level randomly based on this seed. Since the seed for each client is the same then randomly generated level will be the same across all clients. This technique significantly reduces server loads since you only need to send a single value to the client and not all the complex data of a competed level.

You're right. We can't send just portions of the map to players as they approach. We do that with monsters and chests though - they aren't generated on the client for obvious reasons and have to be serialised as you approach.

Hmm... interresting... so, if I understood this right, this also applies to boss-like creatures? Bosses spawn random and dont have a fixed location for you to visit over and over to farm them? Gives you a reason to explore the map, you might run into a rare boss or a chest!

EDIT: This got me thinking though... if the bosses are random, will PoE have key-bosses? Bosses that unlock certain things like, killing this dude makes you granted to enter this dungeeon or cave or something. Or, killing this boss gives you access to the next Act?

If these "key-bosses" are totally random too (assuming there is these kind of bosses) will they maybe have a specific "zone" by themselves? Lets say one of these bosses are suppost to be in a abandoned village. Then the village is this boss's "zone". Maybe he will randomly spawn somewhere in that village, in a basement, blacksmith, tavern, or something like that. Making the player needed to explore the village each time he want to kill the boss, because he never knows where the boss is.

Or maybe, another idea here... Lets bring this boss in the village again, he have 4 general spawn location (spawnes random on one of these locations as the player enters) As he have spawned, there will be 3 places that is basicly empty. How about adding minibosses there, that will make it worth while exploring there even if you kill the boss.

This is ofc just speculations on my part :P nothing confirmed here people! move along...

I have another possible solution:

All players interested in acquiring a just droped non-white item have to click on it to loot it. These clicks have to be made within a short duration of, lets say 2-3 sec. After the game has registered all players showed theier interest in getting this item by clicking on it, it automatically generates a random digit 1-100 for each player. The player with the highest digit gets the item automatically put in his inventory.

Easy, fair and fast.

That would just lead to people clicking on every item that drops which would be no different than if you just randomly allocated the items.

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tpapp157 wrote:

That would just lead to people clicking on every item that drops which would be no different than if you just randomly allocated the items.

No, that would prevent (or at least hamper) the ninja-looting and the looting of the most items by players with the best ping-times.

I don't see how that would hamper them. They would go to get the item whomever gets there first with the best randomized loot would win. Besides with PoE instances i don't ninja looting will be a big problem simply kick them out of the instance or close it entirely. If you're talking about a league then it would be likely though.

It's an extension of the timer based method mentioned much earlier. There's nothing wrong with the idea really.. it simply changes the timered method that normalizes for ranged into a random roll for anyone that showed interest in the 2 seconds.

I was always a fan of the system Hellgate: London used, where each player got their own drops, and the other players couldn't even see them on the ground. And it still encouraged trading, because we would inevitably pick up an item that was better for our friend's class.

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thedarkwolf333 wrote:

I was always a fan of the system Hellgate: London used, where each player got their own drops, and the other players couldn't even see them on the ground. And it still encouraged trading, because we would inevitably pick up an item that was better for our friend's class.

Last I heard there was a similar system being used here where only you could see your own drops for a few seconds then everyone could see then after a certain amount of time.

This is used in all leagues instead of the cut-throat league where loot is free for all.