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Revolver

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Posts posted by Revolver

    What view would you like in Project X?

    in Star Wars: General Discussion

    Posted

    I was thinking of camera angles over the weekend as I was playing NWN. At least on HotU, you can now page up/down the camera to get a horizon view. This is MUCH more immersive for the style of game. Iso works well in party based games (Dungeon Siege, BG1 and 2), but 3rd person is just much more about making the character the focus. Even in KotOR i find this works out well (despite the party based mechanics). You also have the luxury of adding ceilings to your corridors.

     

    So much of NWN is lost when you are stuck in iso view. The detail--especially on later tilesets--is completely wasted with the camera pulled out, yet it's the only way to see what's up ahead in the iso view. Now I realize you can switch to over the shoulder, and that's how I generally play NWN now. In DS, that really wasn't an option because of the frequent elevation changes, etc. The only problem with NWN and a close camera is that the older tilesets weren't designed necessarily with that in mind (compare the SoU and HotU tiles to the original game and note the detail differences).

     

    So in the end, I guess it depends on the game and what you are trying to emphasize. When the focus of the game is 'you', I think dropping the camera adds +1 to Immersion checks. I think you need the ability to 'free look' in 3rd person as well, especially if you have frequent height changes. When the focus is the 'party', iso allows you more management of your virtual minions.

    Yeah, that definitely was one of the key features that made HotU so much better than the original. And the best camera control has to be holding the mouse scrollwheel button, and scrolling to pan. (Also implemented in Soldiers of Anarchy which had the best camera control I've seen).

     

    In Silent Storm, one of the things that really bugged me was that you couldnt drop the camera to ground level, probably having to do w/ not intersecting walls and interiors. Maybe a solution would be to toggle between having everything between the camera and the player "disappear", and be visible.

    Bringing TB into the 21st Century

    in Obsidian General

    Posted

    Ok, I finally got the Silent Storm demo to work (at the lowest possible graphics setting) and have a couple observations. Yes, a lot of the features I suggested are in the game, but not completely- so I'll base it on my original post. And also, remember the topic is about RPGs rather than tactical games. Though this is the best squad based game I've played in a while.

     

    1) I liked the camera control, but I didn't like how you couldn't pan down to ground level like in HotU and Soldiers of Anarchy. Also, I think that during the enemy turn the player needs even more to occupy their time than moving the camera around- like some sort of limited action pr being able to shout orders to teammates (if its a single character focused RPG.)

    2) You could target body parts but not see the physical results of damage- not a big deal though, unless you want a really graphic game.

    3) The destructable landscape was one of the best parts in the game. I'm not sure exactly if cover made a difference, but it seemed to work

    4) As someone (Exitium?) mentioned, SS really needed a way to speed up the enemy moves

    5) There was dialogue (though it wasnt great) during combat, but it would have been much more fun if we got Fallout-like descriptive text combat feedback- laced w/ a little dark humor.

    6) it was a pretty good mix between simple and more advanced combat- though it maybe it should have defaulted on targetted shot instead of snap shot

    7) combat initiation was handled excellently

    8&9) These are things better left for RPGs so its understandable that SS didnt have them

     

    Overall, with a few added features and a few simplifications I think it'd be a great system to use with a pure RPG- either squad based or single character control. (more features would have to be added for single character control to make it more interesting though- eg giving vocal orders)

    Hi...and at the risk of sounding DUH!

    in Obsidian General

    Posted

    Obviously Gromnir, you have no understanding whatsoever of economics. The mechanics of supply and demand, in basic form basically goes to suggest that the lower the demand, the higher the cost. If less people bought cars for whatever reason, the cost of the cars would rise due to the lack of profit. Game publishers, the RIAA and your hypothetical car dealers could learn a thing or two from Walmart and decrease the cost of their products in order to increase sales instead of increasing the price during the heavy sales period to make an extra profit because they'll only be losing potential customers who refuse to pay the higher costs.

    Ugh, that was the worst economics explanation I've ever heard. The most basic idea in economics is that the lower demand the LOWER the cost and vice versa. If less people were willing to buy cars, then car dealerships would have to lower their prices in order to sell the same volume. You contradict yourself with your next line because you then correctly say that decreasing costs will result more buyers.

     

    However, volume by itself has no bearing on the pricing decision. The decision to raise and lower prices to maximize revenue has to do the price elasticity of the product. If the product is readily substitutable and becomes more price elastic (market is more sensitive to changes in price), then the producer should generally lower the price in order to maximize revenue. If the product becomes less price elastic, then the producer should then raise the price.

     

    Now if you gave evidence for why you might feel those markets (car dealerships, RIAA, and game publishers) are all highly price elastic, your arguments might have made sense.

    Bye, Pierce

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

    The Bond of the books is pretty cold-hearted, not really a nice guy at all. He is totally focused on achieving his goals, and will do anything to ensure that they are accomplished. He is much more a "real" operative than the Bond of the movies.

    Yup, I was just watching a Roger Moore bond movie the other day, and he was slapping around a scantily clad girl to get information out of her. They would never let Brosnan do anything close to that, unless the said girl was trying to kill him.

    Bringing TB into the 21st Century

    in Obsidian General

    Posted

    Well, you can do it in realtime, like Volourn mentioned in another thread, when you have several feedback windows for different types of feedback. However, it would still probably go too fast especially with multiple combatants (or even attacks), and it is evident it's not worth the effort as no developer I know of has tried it for a pure real-time game. (of course there could be). And pausing to read the feedback sorta ruins the whole effect. I'd also like to say that, if you don't have those messages, you're relying solely on graphics for the effect, and the graphics better be pretty damn good.

    Bringing TB into the 21st Century

    in Obsidian General

    Posted

    Fallout and FO:Tactics did this but with text blurbs. While there was minimal dodging movement, the lines usually reflected the event (a taunt for player failure, a criticism/lashing out against a hit). As for movement, can't remember anything at this hour of the day :rolleyes:

    The movement was all I was talking about- and I meant before the shot.

     

    Of course I loved the combat feedback and taunts- all RPGs should have them... What? It's not practical in realtime? Thats just too bad :)

    Bye, Pierce

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

    (it's my fave, though that might be 'cause I have a thing for Teresa)

    Hey, I had a thing for her too! (But that wasn't why I thought it was the best one...)

     

    Brosnan wouldn't be bad if they wrote the damn character right. Bond's all soft now- and the new movies are like BMW Films, except with more advertising and ridiculous plots...

     

    About Dalton? I don't know... He always seemed a little sinister looking to be Bond. When I saw him in the Rocketeer, I didn't think, hey that's Bond! Of course I probably was too busy looking at Jennifer Connelly...

    Project X is BG3

    in Star Wars: General Discussion

    Posted

    *if* the agreement with vivendi was moot and interplay gave the jefferson works to atari, they could just release it named "Monkey Rabbit Waha Boo".

    Dammit, you took my game title idea!

     

    Anyway, I doubt BG3 would have had much to do with the first two. Or else it would have been kinda stupid.

    Bringing TB into the 21st Century

    in Obsidian General

    Posted

    Here's a couple more ideas- again, let me know if it's already in a game:

     

    When it's your turn in TB combat, have your character's weapon (lets say, gun) be aimed in the direction the targetting cursor is- so you see him pivoting and swinging the gun around. And when the cursor passes over an enemy, have them sorta try to duck ,wince, cover their face, or have a worried expression- which makes it all the more satisfying when you finally pull the trigger :rolleyes:

    Bringing TB into the 21st Century

    in Obsidian General

    Posted

    Alright, since I can't get the Silent Storm demo to run on my current comp, can anyone tell me how close the combat is to this description I posted a couple months back on another forum? (back when I was an excitable youngster)

    And unlike others, I think a 3D engine is a great innovation to be used for turn based combat. Imagine panning and zooming the camera right before you take a shot with your pistol. Imagine taking an aimed shot and having the camera lock onto the figure of your enemy and a HUD display appears, detailing the vital shots and percentage chance to hit. An aimed shot with a sniper rifle would actually zoom in on the enemy figure and maybe be easier to target, while aimed pistol shots would be limited by range. Imagine the sight of an enemy pointing his gun at you and preparing to squeeze the trigger.

    Bringing TB into the 21st Century

    in Obsidian General

    Posted

    Bringing TB into the 21st Century

     

    That almost makes it sound as if TB is old-fashioned.

    Yeah I've noticed I'm really bad at making titles :(

     

    I was thinking along the lines of theres only been 1 TB CRPG in recent times and that was TOEE. If you can think of other ones, by all means, point me towards them...

    Bye, Pierce

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

    Lazenby wasn't horrible... 'Her Majesty's Secret Service' was my favorite Bond movie. No one stands close to Connery as Bond though. Maybe if they generated him with a computer and had him do the voice, I'd watch another 007 movie...

    Bringing TB into the 21st Century

    in Obsidian General

    Posted

    I wish Silent Storm style combat would be implemented for a pure RPG- have there been any examples? Is it something that would take too much of the developer focus off roleplaying and story?

     

    Also do you guys think fog of war is a good thing or bad thing for a TB RPG? Usually the battles are up close and personal enough that it's not relevant though.

    Bringing TB into the 21st Century

    in Obsidian General

    Posted

    I tried to ask this on another thread, but it was buried in too many different discussions.

     

    I want to get people's ideas on how they would implement turn based combat in RPGs- both the existing features they like and new ones they would like (No "make it realtime" posts)

     

    Here are some random ones:

    1) Take advantage of a 3d engine- unlock the camera and make it controllable, preferably by holding down the mouse wheel button and scrolling the mouse. This is an extra thing that can occupy the player when it's not their turn. They could look at things from different angles, and look for things to hide behind. And when it's their turn, you could find the best visual angle to view the attack and resulting gore. The only problem would be to get the graphics good enough for such a thing. Maybe it could be isometric until combat.

    2) Body part targeting- of course. And visual results of the physical damage. Maybe make the weapons targetable too.

    3) Make the landscape part of combat- Have most things be able to be destroyed or used as cover. Allow random rocks to be picked up and thrown. Allow people to shoot around cover at a penalty. (like spraying and praying around a corner)

    4) Show special focus on improving combat AI. Make NPC combat speed adjustable.

    5) Show text feedback and have dialogue during combat like in Fallout. Like: "Mordino's man is too busy feeling the rush of air on his brain to notice death approaching" or "My eye!"

    6) Make it so you could still fight by simply pointing and clicking, but have the option to do more advanced complicated actions

    7) Be able to initiate combat at any time

    8) Be able to use non-combat skills to resolve combat. Holding the gun to someone's head and using your speech or charisma to deliver a "Make my day" line to make them surrender.

    9) Let the comp ai take over for quick combat resolutions- when people run away, you could have the game automatically calculate whether you can catch them or not, so you dont have to manually chase them all over the place.

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