JFSOCC

I'm reading the Great Gatsby, just started really. It's refreshing after reading something dry.

Morrowind's soundtrack song was repeated indefinitely while playing the game, eventually I just couldn't hear it anymore. I mean, I can still hum it in my nightmares. Aside from good music, you need variety, and you need for the tone to fit the setting. Justin posted something before about how he took inspiration from Bastion's concept of designing the game around the music (I paraphrase) and I think that's an excellent way to do it. I am very curious to see what it'll be. Btw, Games you should play for the music working nicely in conjunction with the setting. (because EVERYONE and their DOG will now share their personal favourites) Beyond Good and Evil (Christophe Héral) Quest for Glory V(Chance Thomas) Myst and Riven (oh, Riven!)(Robyn Miller) And yeah, I thought Time's scar was an excellent piece. If terribly bombastic.

based on the "what should female breastplate look like" thread, I would like at least one skimpy outfit, with no defensive stats, but which get some banter in the form of catcalls and the like.

Would be cool in combination with the night-blindness idea. you quickly see all the enemies in the surrounding, and then you need time for your eyes to adjust from just the tiniest vision cone into what's normal. Can be really scary for you to see you're surrounded by enemies and then not see any of them anymore. Combine this with drugs which cause hallucinations (seeing enemies that aren't there) you could have rogues become interesting tactical utility characters for both your and the enemy side.

Some NPC's might change their behaviour based on the time of day. If you shop 5 minutes before close you get a "Yes!? what do you want!?" Or perhaps an apothecary might sell poison during the night, but not during the day when the respectable folk frequent her store. A day night cycle also allows for some quests which you have until dawn to finish. But if you fail them there's another attempt the next day. all in all, it's an idea which could greatly boost content and gameplay. How could I be against that?

I think that'd make for a cool quest, finding out one of your party members hasn't been who you thought, all along. Rjshae had a pretty cool idea: I imagine that combat tactics would play out something like this: a swarm of them, each party member would be attacked by no more and no less than 3 of these at the same time, whenever one of them drops below 25% health, they flee and let another member of their flock take their spot. Whenever a party member drops below 20% health, all of them converge on that member (including those of low health in the swarm) that would make for a fairly powerful opponent as you'd be in a battle of attrition with those who have greater numbers, but also because it allows for tactical choices: You can use a high-defence/low health party member as a lure, you can have reach party members pick off fleeing enemies (of the swarm) while they aren't fighting. Or you can try to tough it out and just get every enemy below 25%, at which stage it becomes a game of gotta catch em all.

this is cool, but maybe you should post it here? That is rich in possibilities. Would be cool.

that might work if everyone checked against several different reputation markers. So say, eacg faction checks against 5 out of 20 markers, and you need 3 to be positive and no more than 1 negative to get certain dialogue. At this point you have a lot of freedom in creating reactivity.

The ability to deny people to join your party. Screw you G0-T0. A pre-cognisant ability which allows you to retry any dialogue response 1/charge. or any combat encounter 1/5 charges. (as if the first time didn't happen) Charges slowly load up based on success in gameplay. Maybe a Cipher ability, seems this is kind of in their ballpark.

They could do numerics for "Known for" which get turned on based on which quests you completed and how. So if you're always discrete, you wouldn't be known for it, except to those who know these sorts of things Then you have certain NPC's who have dialogue trigger based on a small list of things you've done which they could know. so, a Crime lord NPC would check Thieves guild reputation 45 Thieves plot quest done loudly 0 Thieves plot quest done discretely 1 Police plot quest done loudly 0 Police plot quest done discretely 1 Major game event one done 1 Major game event two done 0 etc. So he could comment on your discretion, and wouldn't know you've also worked for those coppers, known you've done something of significance in the game world. and that you've helped them out for 45 points worth. Then you could have certain dialogue options trigger based on these prerequisites. Maybe I'm overthinking it.

I'll probably get crucified, but I'm digging this idea a lot. It might be a lot of effort to fill in, I think it's likely even. But having a nuanced daily cycle would be cool. especially if that influenced gameplay. More than just what stores are open, it'd be nice for instance if you have an assassins quest (as per your example) where you can study your target and strike when he's least defended. (during transit, for instance, or when he's in the brothel, you can lie in wait) Different enemies during different times of the day a lá "They only come out at night". It's just an idea which is rich in possibilities, which is something I like.

I've always considered familiars to be like animals having a "wit" relationship with their humanoid counterpart as described by Robin Hobb in the farseer trilogy. (A symbiotic supernatural mental connection)

As I think will everyone here

The Adrathi The Adrathi are a band of Humans and Orlans living in an encampment near the ruins of an ancient Glanfathan settlement. They consist of those who have seen the plunder of Glanfathan artefacts by the newcomers to the area, and have vowed not to protect them, but to take them for themselves, catalogue and study them, and keep them in Dyr. But that's not all they're up too. The Adrathi or "seekers of Adra" mine the shell-like substance and trade the unusual material for profit. They stockpile some of the resource, not just for study and use, but also to keep an even supply of it. The Adrathi scout out other Glanfathan ruins to 'protect' them as well. Lastly, the Adrathi have a single ruin which they have advertised to the world. They've subtly let rumours of an incredibly rich ruin enter the world. While the ruin has been completely emptied by the Adrathi themselves, they've filled it with just enough to entice bold looters to enter ever deeper into the maze, which they have filled with traps. The Adrathi patrol the surrounding area, are friendly to those who visit, but kill any who attempt to leave after visiting their ruin. Once a month, they send their patrols into the ruins to clear out the corpses, reset and improve the traps, and loot the dead. The gear they loot is then sold to adventurers who are following up on this rumour of a rich forgotten Glanfathan ruin, ripe for the picking. It's a good living, the Adrathi are xenophobic, tend to make fun of their victims behind their back, but maintain a friendly outward appearance while trading with any victim not yet succumbed to their traps or patrols. Once every so often, they send out one of their own to Big Big City 1 with a rich haul, to sell and tell stories of this fantastic ruin he's only just begun to loot. Recently the Hakawati have gotten wind of this story, and subsequently the Adrathi have had to step up to keep up with the increased influx of adventurers. Victims of their own success, so to speak. Adrathi will be suspicious of anyone they don't know, though they'll be careful not to show it. However, anyone demonstrating that they're respectful of the Glanfathan artefacts and ruins might earn their trust. Anyone wishing to study some interesting artefacts might be able to find them in the Hands of the Adrathi, so befriending them might give you access. Should a player manage to befriend the Adrathi, they will be asked to help deal with the Hakawati telling too many tales; Be required to help trap ruins which have just been pilfered by the Adrathi, so they have another fake El Dorado to share with the world; Trade on behalf of the Adrathi, and help spread word. The player will also be brought along on trips to newly uncovered ruins yet unknown to the world, and who knows what they might find there. Furthermore, the Adrathi have studied artefacts for a while now, and will likely be able to help the player identify what they've found, and teach them about the hidden qualities some items might have. Recently the Adrathi have stumbled upon a new ruin which is so big, they haven't been able to fully map it yet, and it's in excellent condition, unlike ALL the other ruins. ----- Living in the Encampment is Alèsix Dechamp, a Rich Horticulturist He's managed to get the help of the Adrathi as soon as they found out he has absolutely no interest in anything but plantlife. He's incredibly enthusiastic about his findings, however, as the ruins appear to be supporting all manner of unique plant and wildlife. And these all seem to be found only near where there are Galfathan ruins. More interestingly they are found wherever there are these ruins, but nowhere else. Instead of Reporting back home, he's decided to do more research, but OH BOY! when they hear about it back home! The Adrathi have no intention of letting Alèsix go, but see no harm in letting him stay and study. Alèxis has been gone long enough to be missed, or to be presumed dead. He doesn't care, he's got a thesis to work on.

NO! nonononono! not subdued! nooooooh! Why can't it be vibrant?! Why would you ever choose "subdued" over beaitiful and colourful? Have you seen nature? Nature is not subdued!

As long as it doesn't take up too much screen real estate. Maybe make them transparent?

Maybe not a "fight" monster, but I still hope you might like it. Madova Parasite This parasite can easily be killed, but that is not necessarily wise to do. The Parasite is found on the corpses of recently deceased magicians. It's got a tubular body and when it sees a strong magic user it will attempt to launch itself at his or her neck, latching on. Should it manage to successfully latch on, removing it will inject the host's brain with a deadly toxin which kills its host immediately. As long as the Madova Parasite is latched on, the Magic user will suffer from hallucinations and delusions and will have trouble sleeping. Casting times decrease, but so does the power and range of the spells. Since the Madova Parasite survives on the energies released in magic, it is constantly inducing a magician to produce more. This means that spells can be cast more often as well as quicker, even as they degrade in power. Eventually the Parasite will glut and kill the host in a location likely to attract other magic users. It dies and produces 3-8 offspring, based on the magical power of the last host. They will cling to the body until they die or another caster approaches. Removing a Parasite is possible, but very dangerous and needs to be done under controlled circumstances. It involves starving the parasite, which will be hard for the magic user since he or she will be constantly compelled to cast. (if not by the parasite then by the situation an adventurer might find him or herself in.)

No dogs! filthily boring slobber-machines who want to be friends most with those who hate them most. They're dumber than pigs and no doubt more tasty. They also **** everywhere. But as much as I can't stand dogs, dog owners are the real problem. Maybe if everyone got Cesar Milan to help them out, I'd be OK with it. Not to say there are no dogs that I like, but gah, are they overrated! And us cat lovers are ridiculed and marginalized wherever we go! "Cat people" is considered a Pejorative. Screw dogs and their obedient slave nature. I'm sure that if you examine their skull you'll find three distinct dimples associated with the area of obedience. Oh and their incessant barking, yapping at anything that even slightly confuses them. excited mongrels. And the dominant jumping up and down your legs, if they're not trying to literally **** it. The reasons why some people like dogs are the same reasons why I don't like them. (as a pet). I'm cool with wild dogs. However those lapdogs, those overexcited rats pretending to be dogs, those are abominations suffering from the ill effects of being bred to fit an unnatural shape. I feel sorry for those shrill shaking creatures like chihuahuas, seen more as fashion accessory than as dog; Or the bulging eyes of a bulldog, which is in constant pain because his head is too small for its brain. Give me a German Shepherd then, those I'm cool with. Or Huskies. But I'd rather have cats. Cats are fantastic, they're independent. They don't serve us, we are their feeding and grooming stations. They're fastidious, curious, comfort loving and playful without tearing up the place.

Encounter scaling can be barely visible. At first you're accosted by robbers at lower levels in the cities back alley, as you get more powerful the robbers wise up and leave you alone, however, you've surely attracted the attention of a powerful antagonist by now, and he's sending assassins on his way to deal with you, or keep you busy as he progresses his evil plans. Or in the wilderness, you still come across those pesky enemies you did at first, but now their brood queen and soldiers are nearby as well. If you mix this up with "normal" unscaled encounters, you won't get the feeling that you're not making progress, because there's still those little creatures which you can now slaughter as an afterthought, it's just the world has adapted to your presence.

Indeed! Furthermore, one area where an oily shadowy darkness psuedo-Fog of War enemy (an enemy that is imitating "Fog of War") is ever-closing in on you, so you have to use a torch/light source or else the darkness will engulf you, and at the same time there's monsters/enemies that are attracted to light, so what do you do? EDIT: There could be some creative solutions to it as well (except the most obvious one "Bring out light source and fight everything that comes close enough"), Flash bombs and other light sources that attracts the enemies elsewhere, blind spells. Perhaps the enemies can only physically see light?

I had that impression as well. But using a particle-based mist generator might be too processor intensive. Perhaps they just need to blend it a little better? It's a WiP, after all. I think what would improve the waterfall spume/mist, is if they'd remove the gray taint and make it clean and white, so it looks like water not smoke: having the water itself not be still around the fall itself would also help. But as much as I could nitpick, I'm digging this demo.

I still like my idea of enemies in the dark attracted to light. Makes for interesting gameplay.

watched towerheist. Fairly formulaic heist movie. But I enjoyed it. good way to pass some time.

There's a cave, narrow and dark. It is filled with enemies which are attracted to light. Too many to fight. Yet, you'll need light to navigate. So, every few paces, as you bump into something soft and squishy again, you'll have to consider pulling out your torch and fighting the hordes of enemies which may be closer than you think. Hell it might be that thing you just bumped into. Or it might be moss. Or slime moulds. And there's traps triggered by light too, collapsing the ceilings above alcoves to deny you treasure and crush the unaware. Which seal the rooms you are in forcing you to find another exit, or be stuck. There's small visual cues to show you where it is safe to light your torch, glimmerworms which aren't dead on some floors, bioluminescent moss, which isn't dead. And other sources of light, like a magically burning candle on a table which confirms that this place has seen intelligent life, where it actually ISN'T safe. You should know the artificial light holds a trap. (Because of the research you did before entering this cave, unless you didn't do your due dilligence) And then finally, near the end of the cave, where the long lost treasure of Vertillian Metalsheen is, you pull out your torch because you NEED to see, except there is no light, because there is a Silent Night in the room, and it needs to be beaten first. Yeah, I can see how light and darkness can make for exciting gameplay.