About the Golden Goblins

Deimos · Post by **Deimos** » Mon Feb 16, 2004 3:06 am

They're fast, annoying, and they all need to die gruesome, horrible, and painful deaths as soon as possible. I think most of us can agree on that one. There's something I've been wondering about the Golden Goblins, though. Are they just NPCs like the shopkeepers in the Root Towns, or are they special PCs? While most people probably wouldn't touch that job with a ten foot pole, the goblins say and do things that lead me to believe that they are being controlled by people.

First of all, they post on the in-game message board. Yes, some AIs can do things like that too, but the goblins post things that simple AIs would not. For example, Martina talks about being very busy, while Albert insults the other goblins and sets a specific time for challengers to come meet him.

Then there's Martina's offer. Each time she gets killed, she asks Kite if he wants to become a goblin. Why would she offer if it wasn't possible? I imagine that a similar choice was given to other normal characters, and they accepted, becoming the current set of goblins. They could also be CC employees, who handle the tag event in addition to whatever else they do.

So, what do you guys think? Who are the goblins really, AIs or people?

Tsukaru · Post by **Tsukaru** » Mon Feb 16, 2004 3:14 am

Well at first, I thought that they were NPCs, then I begain to think that they are PCs. Because they can write on the message board, and thats really how they show they are PCs

Cyral · Post by **Cyral** » Mon Feb 16, 2004 4:23 pm

No, there NPC. But were talking about an online game.. (technically it's not) but, there events, they probably have some codes, to a pre-set talking and the running is probably set at low, medium or high, and CC corps(ahem Lios who love those things ahem) intention is to make those events hard.

CRtwenty · Post by **CRtwenty** » Mon Feb 16, 2004 4:36 pm

I personally think that it's more of a flag type of thing. Say, after you've played The World for X amount of time you are flagged to see the first Goblin message, beating it allows you to access the next one, and so on.

The same thing probably applies to the Grunty, even though Kite can see the Grunties he has raised in the root towns, a new player walking into the server probably would not, as (s)he hasn't raised any Grunties yet.

Deimos · Post by **Deimos** » Mon Feb 16, 2004 5:13 pm

Cyral wrote:No, there NPC. But were talking about an online game.. (technically it's not) but, there events, they probably have some codes, to a pre-set talking and the running is probably set at low, medium or high, and CC corps(ahem Lios who love those things ahem) intention is to make those events hard.

If their statements are pre-set, why aren't they more in character? For primitive goblins running around fields all day, they know a lot about modern stuff.

CRtwenty wrote:I personally think that it's more of a flag type of thing. Say, after you've played The World for X amount of time you are flagged to see the first Goblin message, beating it allows you to access the next one, and so on.

I don't think that's it. The later goblins address multiple players at once, and I doubt that CC would have a slightly different message board for each individual player. Remember what the second goblin posted? He said that the first goblin was defeated by a no-name, and that the person who knows what he's talking about should come meet him. So their messages are probably just like all the others, since only the winner would know what they mean.

Cyral · Post by **Cyral** » Mon Feb 16, 2004 7:41 pm

Cyral wrote:
No, there NPC. But were talking about an online game.. (technically it's not) but, there events, they probably have some codes, to a pre-set talking and the running is probably set at low, medium or high, and CC corps(ahem Lios who love those things ahem) intention is to make those events hard.

If their statements are pre-set, why aren't they more in character? For primitive goblins running around fields all day, they know a lot about modern stuff.

By code, there designed to run around and make our worlds miserable.

And probably, Lios and the other programmers designed them to be more up-to-date.

Like a certain time you beat them, another code comes in goes on and on and on.

Deimos · Post by **Deimos** » Mon Feb 16, 2004 9:04 pm

Cyral wrote:And probably, Lios and the other programmers designed them to be more up-to-date.

If they are NPCs, why make them different in that respect? The other Event NPCs stay in character and aren't up to date. Like the shopkeepers, or the guys at the ranches who talk about Grunties.

Cyral · Post by **Cyral** » Mon Feb 16, 2004 10:12 pm

The shop keepers are never updated... (Your making me feel like an Admin of the World! I love it!)

But the Goblins are, like for example, if a player character beats one of them, a link after that follows and sends yet another board message, pretty much sending an unrepliable message... and gives you the message.. kinda like an event monster in which all u do is chase it around.. and at the end, it gives an pre-set saying after that.. then dies.

Deimos · Post by **Deimos** » Mon Feb 16, 2004 11:04 pm

You didn't really give a reason why, though. The goblins are the only "NPCs" that have some knowledge of modern things and sayings (except special ones like Aura, of course). I don't think there's a good reason for the goblins to have modern "minds" while most NPCs are much less advanced. That's why I believe they're being controlled by people.

MeultimaSama · Post by **MeultimaSama** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 12:18 am

They're most probably being controlled part-time by CC Corp employees. Given the massive ammount of people they have working for them, someone's bound to have the 'dirty jobs'. Remember 'Piros Appleseed'? XDXDXD

Xeno · Post by **Xeno** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 8:31 pm

i would say that they are NPCs... They can easily be programmed to do everything that they do in the game. Several people have already explained to you various ways in which this could be accomplished. And in the long run, I think a company like CC Corp, who was going to kill everyone in comas in order to save their own butts, would much rather have an NPCs do that job over having to pay an employee to play those characters.

Deimos · Post by **Deimos** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 9:28 pm

Xeno wrote:i would say that they are NPCs... They can easily be programmed to do everything that they do in the game. Several people have already explained to you various ways in which this could be accomplished.

I'm not disputing the fact that it would be possible. AIs could indeed be created to run the goblin event. However, the goblins talk about modern things that none of the NPCs do. There's no clear reason for one small group of NPCs to be so different from all the others. (I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record here, but nobody's answered that one yet.)

And in the long run, I think a company like CC Corp, who was going to kill everyone in comas in order to save their own butts, would much rather have an NPCs do that job over having to pay an employee to play those characters.

It's not exactly a long job. It would be more of a part-time thing, like Albedo said. All the employees would have to do is run the goblin around the field until they die or until the challenger gets frustrated and gives up. I doubt they'd get paid extra for something as small as that. Also, having humans controlling the goblins would increase the difficulty of the event. CC wouldn't want their special events to be too easy.

Xeno · Post by **Xeno** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 6:42 pm

However, the goblins talk about modern things that none of the NPCs do.

It's called "updating."

There's no clear reason for one small group of NPCs to be so different from all the others.

Yes there is... Its called a "Special Event."

It's not exactly a long job. It would be more of a part-time thing,

Umm... consider this, there are over 20 million people who have subscribed to "The World." At any given time of the day the servers are full of players. Some people may quit the game but they are quickly replaced by new players. The new players would go through the Goblin Events if they chose too just like everyone else. So in theory, there could be hundreds of players going throught the goblin events at any given time in the day. I a scenario like that... its best to have NPCs run the show.

Also, having humans controlling the goblins would increase the difficulty of the event.

Not necessarily... if the programming is good (and I'm sure it is, "the World" is very popular afterall) that issue can be easily addresses by turning up the AI. Look at it this way, you said yourself that the goblins are damn hard to beat in your first sentence... No human is controlling the goblins in .hack, its AI... an NPC. Now look at the fact that the setting for the story is around 2010. AI and programming would have increased quite dramatically by then I believe.

Deimos · Post by **Deimos** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 7:54 pm

Xeno wrote:It's called "updating."

Amazing how they are the only ones that were updated, while the NPCs that players interact with the most, like the ranchers and shopkeepers, are left in the dust.

Yes there is... Its called a "Special Event."

The Flag Races, the Hero of Zeit challenge, and the Item Quest are special events as well. The NPCs in charge of those don't babble about race cars, dieting, and having busy schedules.

Umm... consider this, there are over 20 million people who have subscribed to "The World." At any given time of the day the servers are full of players. Some people may quit the game but they are quickly replaced by new players. The new players would go through the Goblin Events if they chose too just like everyone else. So in theory, there could be hundreds of players going throught the goblin events at any given time in the day. I a scenario like that... its best to have NPCs run the show.

Is it ever stated anywhere that it's an event for everyone? The goblins seem to be aiming their messages at one person in particular. "If you know what I'm talking about, come to Delta blah blah blah gob!" "Knew you would make it this far gob." "I don't know if I can beat you gob..." Other events that give out rare items, like the special dungeons, are only available once. Why should this one be any different? Also, you'd think that other players would put up threads talking about the difficulty of the event if everyone could participate in it. They complain about normal monsters all the time.

Not necessarily... if the programming is good (and I'm sure it is, "the World" is very popular afterall) that issue can be easily addresses by turning up the AI. Look at it this way, you said yourself that the goblins are damn hard to beat in your first sentence... No human is controlling the goblins in .hack, its AI... an NPC. Now look at the fact that the setting for the story is around 2010. AI and programming would have increased quite dramatically by then I believe.

Good point. But it's the stats of the goblins that are really being increased, not so much the AI. The later goblins are tricky because they run faster, have higher evasion and hit points, and can use more skills. Not because they got a lot smarter and can do breathtakingly brilliant turning maneuvers. And hey, maybe a few of the administrators wanted an event that would give them a reason to play the game. We know that certain CC employees have plenty of spare time on their hands.