Do you like being forced to use...

[LadyCrimson]

The first two times through the game, I didn't mind being forced to use certain party members since it was new and well, otherwise I wouldn't have played with many of the NPC's in a single game.

 

On replays however, I become more irritated with the concept. At least let me choose one of members of my party on my own at all times, when the party can have 3 in it.

If I want to use Bao-Dur or Atton or Mira or HK the entire time they're available to me , for every quest, I should be able to. I can't drag along HK on the Ravager for fun, if I want to later, and that's...well...a drag.

 

Another reason to have more than 3 in the party perhaps. I remember in BG1 there were a couple times when you needed a certain NPC but since you had six slots you didn't feel like all choice was taken away from you.

[GhostofAnakin]

I'm leaning towards liking the way of BG or Fallout, where you could choose to bring someone along if you wanted, but didn't have to. Also where you could take along different combinations of NPCs, rather than having a set party through each game.

[Nitron]

Well, in BG series, I tended to ignore or flat out kill those I wouldn't be taking in my party. Lawful Goods always had the most severe deaths. Ajantis went off to fight Ankhegs with his bare hands, Yeslick stayed in his clan's mines as they flooded, etc.

I dont like being forced into taking party members with me. In KotOR I, the only time I used Mission was until I freed Zaalbar. She's like a Twi'lek version of Aerie. Most of the time it was Bastila and Carth/Canderous. In part two, it was Handmaiden and Bao-Dur/Atton.

[SteveThaiBinh]

If you are required to have a certain character because something important is going to happen relevant to their backstory (Visas on the Ravager) it's OK, although having the freedom not to explore that story would be good too. And I really liked the short interludes where you played one character, such as T3 getting the codes to Goto's ship.

 

If there were only 2 NPCs in the whole game, but they were really well developed and had a lot to say, that would be OK, too. I guess I'd always choose depth over non-linearity.

[Von Manstein]

I really dislike it, actually. Especially when I'm forced. I like to play the character I created, not one the devs made then forced me into.

 

In K2 it got a bit much, especially on Nar Shaddaa.

[Darth_Radnor]

I hated it, and would have destroyed 1 NPC if I could

 

cough "GOTO" cough

[Ramira]

Personally, I do not like it. I do not like it at all. I found it frustrating and irritating. And while I admit to thinking it was interesting the first time through, even then I recognized that it would irritate me on subsequent playings (I always plan on at least two DS/LS). And it did.

 

Worse than being forced into another character was being forced on who could be in my party. Maybe I wanted Atton with me on Onderon. (And as an aside, why did I gain influence with him when he wasn't even there? Was he monitoring me? Did the PC forsee favorable influence? Why? Why?! ) It made me crazy. The bad kind of crazy. The not-fun kind.

[Neroyume]

It isn't so much that I resent being forced to use certain NPCs at specific times, it's that I resent being forced to take them into my party at all. If I don't want NPC XXXXXX in my party that should be my decision, not that of the developer. I don't like having the NPCs crammed down my throat.

[Osiris]

no, but I do admit they added challenge to an otherwise unchallenging game.

[iceman879]

Sometimes it was and is ok.

 

Mandalore first joins your party. #1 it's his shuttle you take to Onderon. #2 he knows the doc you need to contact and acts as a good advisor on the planet. It's not all that bad.

 

Taking over T3 for specific solo mission. Playing Atton solo on Nar Shardaa.

 

Playing Mira solo my first time through the game was horrible. I was pure DS on Nar Shardaa and had no clue I was going to be forced to take Hanharr instead of mira. I spent a good bit of time carefully choosing her abilities and skills to level her up and then I play her character briefly and then I'm forced to kill her. It was totally pointless to ever give me control of her.

 

Of course when you play LS/Neutral and do get Mira, then it's not so bad playing her solo. It was just a waste in my DS playthrough.

 

I disliked being forced to take Kreia with me to Onderon the second time. I just don't like her. And I have no clue why she revives Tobin after he's killed. He plays no useful role later on. It doesn't make sense.

 

On the Ravenger, being forced to take Mandalore and Visas with you was over the top. Again on my first play through I had just assembled HK at this point, and was ready to take him with me for some serious kick *** fighting, but nooooo, not allowed to keep him with me. I get it that Mandalore feels his has something to prove in regards to this ship, but it's pointless. Just as the conversation between him and Visas is pointless, especially if you set Revan to DS. It makes no sense why he'd have such hostility towards her being a "sith" and yet still seemed to have soem loyalty to Revan. Doesn't make sense.

 

I thought it was awesome to be able to choose a whole party of NPC on Dxun though. I wouldn't want to play through the whole game w/o my exile, but for one mission I thought it was pretty cool.

[dufflover]

I found it annoying when the character changes were unexpected (obviously it won't be after the first time), like Jekk Jekk Tar, swapping between you and Mira, etc.

because most of the changes involved people who weren't un-armed specialists, and because it was unexpected, your character (or a member in the current party) has hogged the weapons.

[kalimeeri]

Being forced to survive with a character whom you've ignored stat-wise is actually kind of humbling. I mean, Exile has all the best stuff, and the others get the leftovers. It's the way of things. But it was interesting all the same, even though Atton got creamed and didn't really know what hit him during my first game. In subsequent games, he was able to hold his own, because I tended to level-ups with a lot more care.

 

It does spice things up a bit to 'occasionally' play a party member for a short segment that contributes to the storyline. I don't mind. But longer segments lead you to believe that member (or what they're doing) is particularly important, above the others. If it isn't or they aren't--sorry, it feels like 'filler'.

 

If a particular NPC has special interest in an area or a quest to complete, I don't mind being forced to take him/her along at all. It shows they have personal tale to tell and motive for being there, and it makes you pay attention to someone who might otherwise end up in cobwebs on the ship.

 

I don't care to be separated from my PC for a long time, though, or to play a game that routinely swaps multiple (more than 2) viewpoints with abandon. Invariably I identify with one character more than the others. An example, I guess, is Suikoden 3 (PS2), where there were three and sometimes four PC's in separate segments. I grew to hate some of them, and those parts of the game dragged horribly. On the other hand, Gabriel Knight 2 handled 2 PC's very well, even though each had a different approach.

 

Of course the scope of these stories is very different. But I don't believe it really necessary, even in a galaxy-wide conflict, to switch to controlling a lot of ancillary characters. If all that is needed is information, a cutscene can be just as effective (as K2 did several times), and it doesn't tend to fragment the game so much.

[LadyCrimson]

Intersting poll results so far, I think.

 

Mostly it damages the re-play value for me, because when you're beaten the game you're left with wanting to use/try things with the characters/party configuration in the way you wish, not because the choice is scripted by the developer.

[Von Manstein]

As someone already said, if there is anything worse than being forced to play as an NPC, then it is being forced to put certain NPCs in your party at the expense of others. I wanted Atton in my party throughout the game, but couldn't have him on Onderon or Dxun for no good reason. (Unless he went through the Tomb, but my PC wasn't even there for that!).

 

I want to be able to pick who I use and when I use them. Not be railroaded into certain parties that don't interest me.

 

Contrary to popular belief, I don't give a sh*t about Mira, and despised having to control her on Nar Shaddaa.

[Darth Kavar]

I didn't like the idea that in some areas you must have taken a certain NPC. Like Mandalore on Onderon (okay okay - he was the one who arranged me a meeting with Kavar), Visas and Mandalore on the Ravager (ok ok so it must be Mandalore who does the whole "place the proton core, prime it, then give the signal" and Visas for obvious reasons) but why the hell Kreia to the damn Sky Ramp?? (one of my favorite parts of the game and I was forced to take granny with me for no bigger reason). It causes decrease of replayability when every playthru you take the same persons to a place.

 

I liked the idea of the party-split on Dxun/Onderon because it kinda showed how really powerful I am

like I don't know about you but when I played it - without me the party was like 5 times weaker.

[Volourn]

I hated it. Hated, hated, hated, hated, hated it. This isn't FF.

[AlanC9]

I don't mind having mandatory party members when it makes sense. For instance, having Mandalore the first time on Dxun. It's his ship, and his contact. Or T3 solo on Nar Shaddaa.

 

But some of the forced choices didn't make any sense. Why lock out Atton on Dxun -- he's a pilot, not an engineer. Why would my character take Kreia to Onderon? And why am I playing as Mira, who just gassed and captured my PC?

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

Not really. But equally I dont like having people tag along whether or not I want them too either particularly. But having said that I understand why it's done which is all that matters at the end of the day.

 

I dont mind playing as other characters it's usually a nice change of pace.

[GhostofAnakin]

I didn't mind the playing as other character parts, but I still would have rather been able to pick my party, ala BG (sorry, it's the game I'm currenty playing so I'm referencing it a lot). It really does add to replayability.

 

Although I suppose games like KOTOR are much more reliant on story driven moments than BG, so there's a larger chance that the story would be broken or key moments passed over if you didn't have the exact members of your party around at a given time.

[FortranDragon]

I don't mind it when it is used to move an NPC's story arc along. Visas and Mandalore on the Ravager didn't bother me because it made sense story-wise and wasn't too long. Also, having my party split into two groups for a mission was fun for a single event. It adds to the immersive feeling that the NPCs exist outside of you.

 

The thing that I wished was that the solo-as-NPC was less used in Nar Shaddaa. Switching once per planet is ok (e.g., T3 on Peragus), but having three switches on Nar Shaddaa wasn't so enjoyable. I wished that I could select who would distract the bounty hunters (a la, the Leviathan escape in Kotor 1), or even have all my NPCs be distractions for the other bounty hunters.

 

The situation with the PC needing to be rescued on GOTO's yacht didn't sit well with me. Let my character be the prime mover of events. If it had been the case where the PC broke out and disabled the cloak so that the NPCs could find the yacht I would have been happier.

[Gorth]

It was a nice change.

 

Atton got his butt handed to him by the sisters the first time, but otherwise...

 

I prefer party based advanturing over the Kotor model, where you have a PC and his/her henchmen. Switching focus from the PC and giving you NPC's some screen time didn't quite make it party based, but it was an improvement. I especially liked the part on Dxun/Onderon where you selected two teams, the PC leading one on Onderon and an appointed "leader" to lead the other party on Dxun in what is supposed to be simultaneous events.

 

I wouldn't mind at all if you were to do that more often (the appoint a different leader and followers and send them on their own missions thing). Makes them useful as more than just mannequins for new armour/robe fashion or underwear models.

[Felix]

Well you know, in the HK Factory, you were supposed to go alone as HK-47 (Controlling ONLY HK-47 in there) and since most of you guys dont like being stripped away of the main character... I believe you wont like when modders give you back that excellent part of the game.

[Darth Kavar]

Isn't the Sub-level of the Military Base the HK factory? If so then how are you supposed to control HK-47 at that time if he's in the Ebon Hawk at the Polar Academy?

[chibajoe]

I didn't really mind having to play different characters, except when they made no sense what-so-ever. The biggest faux-pas was on Nar Shadda as a DS Exile; playing Mira makes NO sense at all. I guess that's what happens when you try to cram 24 months of work into 12... <_<