1 PC plus companions, or create multiple characters (plus companions?)

[Tlantl]

I'm all for it.

 

It's nice to have pre-made characters for the first run through, but it's a game and for me much of the fun in playing games comes from playing them my way. If I want an all fighter group why can't I have six fighters. If I want to avoid npc complications without ignoring dialogue and situations that trigger inane responses or dramatic cut scenes, then making npcs of my own would do that.

 

One of the things I hated about the throne of Baal was Jahera and the crap she brought to the game. There were others but she stands out as the poster child for this.

[Dorateen]

It'll get done. This is Obsidian the people who gave us Icewind Dale and Storm of Zehir. They know their roots. They are not bioware.

 

It's only a question of do we do this the easy way or the hard way.

 

Harumph!

[metiman]

Keep both options available, like it was in BG. Most people would probably prefer to play with pre-determined companions the first playthrough, and make their own party for later playthroughs.

 

I agree with this. On the first playthroughs you use and get to know all of the lovingly created NPCs, but eventually that will get boring and, if the combat system is good, I will want to experiment with different combinations of characters like all mages or all fighters or all thieves or various optimal combinations. In BG2 you had to use a kind of work around (starting a multiplayer game and saving it to the single player save folder) but it was possible. Most of my playthroughs of BG2 nowadays are with characters that I have mostly rolled myself. Any time there is a relatively easy way to increase replayability it should at least be considered.

[Creslyn]

Keep both options available, like it was in BG. Most people would probably prefer to play with pre-determined companions the first playthrough, and make their own party for later playthroughs.

 

What he said.

 

In BG2 I loved having the ability to create 2 or 3 of my own characters so I'd have a well rounded party regardless of which NPC's I took, because it meant I could pick and choose my companions based on their personality, not their skillset, without leaving any gaping holes in the skills and abilities that might be needed.

[Gibbscape_Torment]

One very large reason i enjoy RPGs is because of the characters you meet and interact with. Finding out more about them, becoming friends or rivals. Having to imagine all of them would be completely off putting for me. I for one hope Obsidian stay far away from such a mechanic. But this is just my opinion.

[Clammo]

Whilst I prefer the way Obsidian seems to be leaning for my personal tastes, ie one player created character, and the rest of the party constituting pre-made NPC's with their own unique pre-created personalities, which we can choose from, I do think the option to create your whole party would be nice if it's actually feasible to do. Coming from a totally non-developmental background I don't know how viable it would be, but I can see it being a popular idea and I'd be very supportive of it's inclusion if possible.

[Dorateen]

I for one hope Obsidian stay far away from such a mechanic.

 

I love how this poster feels so threatened.

 

None of the joinable NPCs are ever forced upon the Player, which already diminishes their importance to the story. And this is what allows the possibility of fitting in a party of multiple custom characters.

 

Heh.

[Veca]

It seems like most people in this thread, dont know that in BG 1 and 2, you had the choice between using the companions you stumple upon in the wilderness OR (notice the or) use a party completely made by yourself, or even mix the 2 ways.

 

I dont see how it cant be done the same way on PE

[Vin]

I would enjoy having the option of making my own party -- in fact, I would enjoy it a lot. Even if the group of companions Obsidian cooks up are the best, most well-rounded and fleshed-out characters in the world of roleplaying games, I still want to be able to make my own characters. Not just craft my own team for the purposes of combat balance and kicking butt, but to build up a dynamic group with differing personalities, opinions, and alignments. And I would roleplay as ALL of them.

That's what multiple playthroughs are for, yes? Picking different options?

[Lady Evenstar]

I'll

why play in a party with other 5 characters you made, that are just mindless drones, there's gotta have some personality to them imo

 

I always use pre-made companions when available, but I can imagine folks wanting to optimize their party, particularly if they're experimenting with different group sizes.

[Blablachar]

Keep both options available, like it was in BG. Most people would probably prefer to play with pre-determined companions the first playthrough, and make their own party for later playthroughs.

 

This.

 

Both options seems the most reasonable.

[SirthOsiris]

I for one actually preferred the IWD way, because I just liked having more control over my group. Plus one can make their own stories involving them.

 

Hell, make it a feature where you can designate the main character, and allow the creation of his own companions for a no-NPC game.

[Shevek]

I made the mistake of making my own thread when this thread already existed. This is what I wrote:

 

Thus far, devs have stated that you can make one character and then get joinable NPCs. They have also stated that NPCs will NOT be required. If this is so, I would like to put forward this question:

 

Since NPCs are not required, why not allow us to craft the entire party?

 

I know I really enjoyed doing this in BG2. I would go into multi-mode, make a party, save and then drag the save file to the single player save folder.

 

I mean, sure, the first couple times you play the game, its fun to get the NPCs, do their quests, etc. You see them fight eachother, hit on you, you learn about their past, talk to them, etc. That's all quite engrossing, no doubt. However, once in a while, its munchkin time. Sometimes, I wanna craft the ultimate band of heroes myself in order to achieve the best orc village killing time.

 

ToEE let you do this right off the bat. You could make a whole bunch of party members AND get NPCs. Can't Obsidian do something similar here? Maybe the first guy you make is the "main" PC for story purposes and the others are just his friends or something.

[molarBear]

create 1 PC that you dearly care then let other companions join. pretty much PST style.

[alphyna]

Definitely 1 PC + NPCs. I want more interaction, more stories and more companion quests.

[Shevek]

You should be able to make as much of the party as you want. That was a big part of the fun in BG 2, IWD and ToEE. In all those games, there was a way to make the entire party.

[Bobby Null]

The one thing I can guarantee, is this game will have deep companions and that will be the default way you fill the party ranks. I worked on Storm of Zehir and I remember the #1 complaint about the title. Cohorts felt lifeless. Now, this doesn't mean I don't support the idea of being able to make your own party. What's important in an RPG to someone, is not always the same. That's what makes RPGs great.

 

For the record, I'm totally in favor of allowing players to create their own parties. It does create pacing issues early in the game though. In an ideal world (with a large budget), I would probably solve this with a recruitment system. In the most generic of terms, think Adventurer's Guild. Recruiting (creating) new party members would probably have a monetary cost associated with it depending on the level of the character recruited (created). Creating additional characters would happen during the course of your adventures, not all at once before the game begins.

 

This would solve quite a few issues including companion death, something I liked in BG2. I still remember Anomen loosing it and killing Aerie after listening to her whine for days on end. From a mechanics standpoint, it hurt. She was one of my healers and I liked her role in the group. If I could have hit the Adventurer's Guild and created a similar replacement, I would have.

 

Like any other feature, we are looking at everything closely and weighing the costs. That is the development process, and you never get all the features you want on any given title. With a smaller budget, the choice to include a feature is magnified greatly. Bottom line - the more funds we can raise, the more cool features we can get in.

 

My advice, if this is something you guys really want... make some noise.

[Merin]

My advice, if this is something you guys really want... make some noise.

 

I thought this was a done-deal already, as in 1 PC and recruit NPCS.

 

There's a chance for creating your whole party?

 

*faints*

 

For the record, I've not played Storm of Zehir yet, but am greatly anticipating it. I just have a REAL problem with the NWN game system, and especially 3E D&D ruleset. Getting through NWN 1 OC and NWN 2 OC was like pulling teeth, even though there was much in 2 that I loved.

 

SoZ probably did poorly considering it was "3rd / 6th" in a series that was all about recruiting NPCS to work with you... it broke from the mold of a series. All you have to do is look at DA2 from DA:O to see that, for many customers, this is not desirable.

[Umberlin]

One player character plus companions.

[Inertia]

I would rather have 1 pc + npcs i ended up playing a solo sorc in iwd and a solo druid/monk/sf/dc in soz.

[lordgizka]

I would rather see PC+companion only in the game. Someone will mod it to allow custom parties later anyway. Roleplaying an entire party is kind of pointless, it's best to just play pen and paper.

[Bos_hybrid]

With a smaller budget, the choice to include a feature is magnified greatly. Bottom line - the more funds we can raise, the more cool features we can get in.

 

My advice, if this is something you guys really want... make some noise.

 

Stretch goal perhaps?

 

Make it happen people. We want this.

[Avantre]

If I sit down in a paper-and-pen rpg, I'm not controlling my teammates - the people sitting either side of me do that. I like it when a team member does or says something unexpected (so long as it doesn't result in a party wipe ala Leeroy Jenkins), and that's not going to happen if I'm the one in control of everyone.

[priest865]

I agree with lordgizka. I liked creating the companions in Zehyr but thats it. After creating the NPCs I realised they just have no personality. Thats why I prefer precreated NPCs.

[Shevek]

I don't understand why some folks are against people being able to craft their own party. This does not seem to be a very development intensive feature to me. Sure, if you go that Adventuring Guild way, that does sound very involved and perhaps a bit costly. However, just allowing the player to make more characters on creation should not cause PE to go over budget or slow development to a crawl.

 

Also, being allowed to make more than one does not force you to make more than one. If you just want PCs + NPCs, you should be able to do that too. This game should be about options. Being able to craft the entire party was a significant option in several previous titles and it should be an option in PE.

Edited September 22, 2012 by Shevek