Hello Everybody!
Recently I’ve been playing a lot of fantastic Zeus missions on our server. They have had great variety which makes each one a unique and fun experience. However, I have noticed a common theme in Zeus missions as of late that I think needs some discussion. There seems to have been a large uptick in the amount of Zeus missions where ambiance has been a major part of a mission. Specifically through use of the music module and fog modules. Both of these on their own are great things to add to your Zeus mission to make them feel more dramatic or more immersive which can improve Zeus missions. The problem I think arises where people start to emphasize these additions to the detriment of the mission. Be that adding tons of fog so that players struggle to see to blaring music in peoples’ ears. Overuse is one main problem with this as by everyone using the tool it makes it less impactful. Along with that is a problem with Zeuses point out the effect. It takes away from the experience to some extent if after you start playing dramatic music you then ask us if we can hear it or explicitly point out that we should have our music on. Fog can have much the same problem if you overly point it out.
Again these two tools are both great ways to add to a Zeus mission however I suggest you make sure to use them in moderation as by overusing them you risk-taking people out of the experience rather than further immersing them. Think of it this way, a Zeus mission is like a cake with these modules being a frosting on it. If you cover the cake with a ton of frosting it detracts from the cake itself as the frosting will overwhelm the rest of the cake.
I’d like to hear other perspectives on the topic to see if we can all think of good ways to use these tools in moderation.