Mind some romance in The Outer World 2?

[Everyone2]

Mind creating options for companions being romanceble?

Mind haven and option for cheating on them?

They cheating on us, unexspectectly and cold heartedly...?

Relationship dramas, breakups, envious other characters, coming togethers? Polygamy?

*ex scenes ala mass effect or dragon age? With lense flares and enemy combat encouters interrupting?

[uuuhhii]

hope there are romance like modwyr

[Wormerine]

I do mind. They are constanly awful. Leave dating to dating sims. Let murderhobo simulators be just that. 

[Clawdius_Talonious]

On 1/11/2022 at 8:07 AM, Wormerine said:

I do mind. They are constanly awful. Leave dating to dating sims. Let murderhobo simulators be just that. 

I feel like Obsidian has a good track record with these things, so I'm inclined to say "If Obsidian thinks they've got a reason to." I don't feel like they would accept a Bethesda/Skyrim route of effectively marry practically any unimportant NPC you want, so long as you've done their quest. But I don't expect them to make shallow companion characters you can pick up on the street for 500 gold, either. If they made content around a relationship, I don't think it would be reduced to "here's the money from our store, and if you ask I'll give you food once a day" (or "can I have an allowance" interactions for adopted children.) 

I wouldn't want them to have a whiteboard of features, checking off boxes on a list, but if the nature of the project lends itself to that... Hell, I could see an RPG with a Watcher love interest NPC (where the game asks you your preferences, and the PC/NPC both have male and female voice talent now that they've got Microsoft money) bound up in prophecy or some such nonsense. I don't feel like you'd hate such a thing if it was done well, especially if they didn't force you to develop any relationship (and why would they?) I felt like Enderal's Calia Sakaresh and Jespar Dal'Varek did a great job of being potential love interests, in a way that was so non-obtrusive the fact that romances are possible in the game could be missed.

Something like that, where it's not too much content considering the number of people that will see it, I think isn't a bad thing since some people enjoy it. It's a question of resource efficacy I think, if the NPC is vital and entertaining in their own right, their voice actor and mocap work is already being handled etc. So a bit of additional voice work to lead down those kind of paths isn't a big deal. It becomes a bigger deal the more NPCs you have as options. Options are great, but one well done potential romance is way better than having every NPC in Fallout 4 come around all the time to make sure I didn't want to initiate a relationship with them, ad infinitum. I've got games where I just started romancing them all to get them to stop walking up to me and talking to me when I went into a settlement. It doesn't help that the sexuality of all the companions is "The Sole Survivor" and once you start down that rabbit hole I agree that dating sims are a better avenue for exploration of that sort of thing.

I will admit that if Avowed has romance, I would definitely like to see it given more thought than dark Xoti still having "If you need me I'm just two whoops and a hollar away" as an exit line.

Edit: I was thinking I was in the Avowed part of the forums, but my point stands for TOW2 as well.

Edited January 14, 2022 by Clawdius_Talonious

[Wormerine]

10 hours ago, Clawdius_Talonious said:

I feel like Obsidian has a good track record with these things, so I'm inclined to say "If Obsidian thinks they've got a reason to." 

I don't think they do. Last (first?) time they tried to do it was PoE2 and I though it wasnt good. And while I am free to mostly ignore romances, it still simply limits what kind of characters our companions can be. Thinking of an interesting range of characters we get when Obsidian doesn't have to think first of what player might want to have sex with, it would be shame to sacrifice a great cast for characters for, what is ultimately, an underdeveloped "romance" feature. 

You "could" not think about romance from get go, and just write those with specific NPC when it feels appropriate. But being an RPG with custom character - who is to decode what is appropriate. And looking at BG3 there isn't an NPC that some player wouldn't want to have a sex scene with, as long as it'a vaguely humanoid and sometimes even if it isn't. 

So I just prefer Devs to not do it. Nothing to gain, much to loose. I know though, that some people care for romances in RPG, and I simply don't. And I find games without them to work better.

[ComradeYellow]

Sure why not? Some people may like them? I personally don't really care for them but I'm not gonna say 'no' just be a moronic edgelord.

[Theonlygarby]

The having them cheat in you would trigger a lot of people.  For that reason I like it.  One thing I did like about DA:I is that the characters actually had preferences... I always find it silly when everyone wants you regardless of race/gender.  Being 5'8 I'm too short for many girls... yet everyone falls in love with me as an orlan suuuure

[Chairchucker]

Sure if they wanna. I think one of the reasons for not doing it last time around was reduced budget, and now they've got that MS money.

 

Another stated reason was 'don't wanna', so I guess we'll see if that's changed.

[BHarger]

Not necessary. It's not likely to be a dating game.