2.0 million, Player House!

[Dxmc4]

I kind of like the idea of having a fireplace where above I displayed the heads of unique and legendary beasts I vanquished.

 

I'm not crazy about fireplaces. Nice idea but makes me think my character should be sitting in an overstuffed chair reading the "History of the Last Six Ages In Sonnets".

[Metabot]

Next Stretch Goal - Player House at 2.0M adding quests, NPCs, companion hang out and more dialog, and a new store with new unique weapons, clothing and armor.

 

No actual details on the house itself but quests are mentioned. A store. Wonder if it will be player owned and produce some income.

 

Yes, I'd love to see it have some more functionality. A store would be awesome, but I'd like it if it required a bit more input from the player than just initially buying it.

[Death Saved]

i would love an upgradable ship that we can use to cross the sea.

 

fully upgraded it will be like something between an ironclad and a dreadnought, that can battle its way through those sea monsters that they were talking about.

 

off course that final upgrade might only be available if crossing the sea is an ingame option, if not it will be made available as a stretch goal/expansion.

[Metabot]

i would love an upgradable ship that we can use to cross the sea.

 

fully upgraded it will be like something between an ironclad and a dreadnought, that can battle its way through those sea monsters that they were talking about.

 

off course that final upgrade might only be available if crossing the sea is an ingame option, if not it will be made available as a stretch goal/expansion.

 

If there's an island civilization, I'd love to see a ship that you can use to travel in between islands. Maybe that's outside the scope of this game though.

[Raithe]

Although that does add another element to ponder on.. The Trophy Room!

 

So at various points, significant enemies might leave something behind you can loot/hack off their dismembered corpses and have stuffed and mounted in your trophy room for you to look back on fondly and show to guests..

 

That, and to take groovy screen shots of the collection to boast out of game..

[Branimir]

Aedlric & PsychoBlonde: I've read that the game will not force NPC party members and will be multiplayer.

 

Anti-Sim people: For starters have you even played the sims 3? I'm asking so I know if you even have any idea what I could be talking about, since you clearly either didn't read or don't understand what I was saying about it. Sims features = realistic world environment and AI operating around the world simultaneously. Games like Baldur's Gate were good, but you were basically immortal, you never had to eat, you barely had to sleep, and the quests were linear so there was no way you could play the game a million times and get a unique outcome. Every single time I play the sims 3 it is very different.

 

Diablo 2 had a lot of brilliant innovations that made it do what I'm talking about here, it just didn't have every feature I like from the sims 3. For starters battle.net so you can't cheat, and the hardcore mode was brilliant, the first time you die there is no redo, and you can't use save files to cheat and go back in time if you screw up either. In D2 they used randomly generated maps, in the sims 3 it was randomly generated events and NPC actions. Of course in D2 you use premade characters so it doesn't have as much of a personal touch like TS3 and games like this one do. In a game like this, it sucks even more if you die and lose your character forever, which is why procreation is brilliant. IWD was also nice in that you could make your entire party (I disliked that there weren't also characters to join your party throughout the game.) If you could make a group of characters and one of them dies its less of a big deal because you still have some, and you can procreate to replace the fallen.

 

If the NPCs are constantly moving around and doing stuff, it makes every game unique, and if quests are being generated by randomly selecting from a list of 1000s of possibilities that leads to a lot of quest variety and a unique play through every time. It would be cool if instead of party members you kick out or don't add right away just being exactly as they were years of game time later when you add them again, the whole time they were following an AI and adventuring on their own so they might be stronger and have different/better equipment. TS3 also had much more PC customization. Aside from that TS3 wasn't that different from a game like this, you had to build skills, you had a job to do (it was just set in modern instead of medieval times) TS3+all the expansions for it makes for an extremely detailed game where you can do almost anything you could do in real life. And with every version it gets better. That is what I would like to see in any game, regardless of what year or planet it is set in or the story plot. The only thing games like this really have over TS3 is a plot, since TS3 basically has none. (its create the story as you go only)

 

These kind of games are rarely realistic, focusing more on story. Story is important, but I'd watch a movie if all I wanted was a story. Damage is also rarely realistic, in Fallout 3 you could take limb damage at least and get crippled limbs, that is one step closer to realistic but not all the way there yet. I know Forgotten Realms uses Dungeons and Dragons, which uses the (lame in my opinion) HP system where you're basically invulnerable under the condition that your HP counter goes down and when it hits 0 you just die (or fall unconscious) realistically, a bullet to the head or a slit throat kills a person, not does nothing but reduces a few points on a magic floating HP bar that only the omnipotent player can see. And if someone gets a sword deep enough into their arm they can't use it anymore. But this is NOT a FR game, therefore why does it have to conform to the D&D style of gameplay. Some D&D functions are nice but some of it I always thought was dumb too.

 

Also, for starters, angry birds was a rip off of crush the castle, a flash game. That game model has been around and used in multiple flash games for over a decade. Secondly it is not a full length video game like the sims, it is not an rpg like the sims, so I don't see how it is comparable. TS3 has the highest amount of play time (infinite) that I have ever seen in any game especially an rpg.

 

I like Incubus9's idea about the trophies, just another cool thing you could use to decorate the house with. Although that was included in my mention of "TS3 features" since you can catch fish and mount them on your wall in TS3. Of course you can also keep them as pets, or have any other kind of pet and you have to take care of them or they die. Or you can use them as ingredients in recipes when cooking food, you can also buy or grow fruits and vegetables, learn new recipes, increase cooking skill. In a game like FO3 where food = health recovery, if it had a cooking skill, then higher skill could mean more health recovery. In TS3, low skill meant higher chance of burning the food which gave negative moodlets (decreased productivity when in a bad mood, and terrible moods lead to refusing to cooperate) and also even catching the house on fire. Which would mean the house and your possessions being burnt, or completely burnt to ash, if you don't try to put it out with a fire extinguisher, risking being caught on fire yourself which could mean death if someone doesn't put you out, or calling the fire department and hoping they hurry. While high skill meant positive moodlets, which lead to increased productivity. In a game like this moodlets could increase or decrease chance at an action success, while crafting or fighting. Just another cool extra feature.

 

PCs actually aging, gaining the benefits and detriments to age, and dying of old age, would be nice too.

Edited September 23, 2012 by Branimir

[Aedelric]

Aedlric & PsychoBlonde: I've read that the game will not force NPC party members and will be multiplayer.

 

You misunderstand me, I like companions, I just do not want them cluttering up my home.

 

As for multiplayer, I never mentioned that.

[TCJ]

Although that does add another element to ponder on.. The Trophy Room!

 

So at various points, significant enemies might leave something behind you can loot/hack off their dismembered corpses and have stuffed and mounted in your trophy room for you to look back on fondly and show to guests..

 

That, and to take groovy screen shots of the collection to boast out of game..

 

Drakensang 2 did something like this. Your "home base" was a boat and every now and then you'd keep a trophy from a battle and it's appear on the boat for the rest of the game. It didn't actually add anything to the game, but I thought it was an interesting touch. Sort of a "This is what I accomplished" reminder, if nothing else.

[Branimir]

I also like games like FF2 where you gain skill by using the skill. Like the more you use a certain type of weapon the better you get at it, the more you use magic the stronger your magic gets, the more you talk to people the better your diplomacy becomes, et cetera. Rather than just killing stuff with no tangible gain in exchange for some points added to a magical floating experience bar that only the omnipotent player can see, and then suddenly "Level Up" and you can get more skills and such all at once.

Edited September 23, 2012 by Branimir

[NerdBoner]

I also like games like FF2 where you gain skill by using the skill. Like the more you use a certain type of weapon the better you get at it, the more you use magic the stronger your magic gets, the more you talk to people the better your diplomacy becomes, et cetera. Rather than just killing stuff with no tangible gain in exchange for some points added to a magical floating experience bar that only the omnipotent player can see, and then suddenly "Level Up" and you can get more skills and such all at once.

shh...keep it down.

 

you're liable to loose your head if you keep talking all this heretical claptrap.

 

I mentioned something similar in another thread and it was none to popular a suggestion.

 

 

edit: judging by the things you want i don't think this game will appeal to you friend-o.

Edited September 23, 2012 by NerdBoner

[Gorth]

Meh, I loved how it was done in VMBL. Of course, you didn't have companions to deal with, so send those squatters down to the inn and tell them to get a room.

[Dragoonlordz]

I want it to be a castle or maybe a small shack that over time becomes a castle the more you put into it whether funding additional construction or such elements, I want to leave some companions there to defend it while I am away doing other things. I would love it if could add on to it, maybe customise it. Use it for picking up quests, talking to companions and storage of course. Thats my ideal situation but I have no idea what Obsidian will do in the end. Whatever it may be though I doubt very much that I would be disappointed. Oh and would be nice if did produce income by means of hiring staff or even tax from residents of your lands.

Edited September 23, 2012 by Dragoonlordz

[Branimir]

I like your ideas Dragoonlordz. Dragon Age: Origins had an add on to get your own keep, but you had to fight your way through a legion of demons and undead and banish the demon back to hell (or release it to run wild around the world) in order to claim it. Afterwards some merchants started settling in the courtyard too which was nice. I didn't even think of it like a Player House at the time but it is along those lines, and I thought it was an awesome feature.

 

NerdBoner, everything I've mentioned I meant as in improvements upon what they already have intended. Obsidian already said that this game was inspired by baldur's gate, iwd, et cetera, and BG then BG2 was my favorite game (until I got really into D2X) I'm just not an old die hard D&D nerd afraid of change. If they made this game identical to Baldur's Gate or NWN2 then that would be boring. The whole point of making new lines of games is to make something new, incorporate new cool ideas, while keeping the favorites from the old stuff. I'm not saying they have to use all of my suggestions but I'm listing the features I'd like to see in the game to at least give them something to think about. Either way I know I'll love the game, that's why I donated on kickstarter to get my own copy when it comes out. Also, a lot of my ideas are actually not that far off from what Obsidian is already planning if you read the updates.

 

Edit: Well also they couldn't because they'd get sued for making a FR game without Atari and WotC.

Edited September 23, 2012 by Branimir

[Bos_hybrid]

I've read that the game will be multiplayer.

 

That has not been said by the devs.

 

I'm just not an old die hard D&D nerd afraid of change.

 

No one is afraid of change for the better. But I don't think your suggestion are for the better.

[Erollisi Marr]

I want an abode that ingame seems like it was worth a 200'000$ investment. Aka that 200'000 space bux were invested into this feature. There are kickstarter games out there that work off far less then even "this".

 

Just saying... off of that statement alone... ehh, Maybe something a bit class dependant? Or that is filled with features unique for each class. The wizard would perhaps adore a lab and library, while the Fighter would sure find a forge/blacksmith and perhaps sparring partners useful(an army or keep mayhaps?). Furthermore, I would like some quests given by the abode in question perhaps...?

 

Or maybe we'll just get a small questless house, that you pay 2000 gold for. It stores your items, is made of wood, and all the companions you dismissed are there. After that, there is no further content to the house.

Edited September 23, 2012 by Erollisi Marr

[Branimir]

I don't think your suggestion are for the better.

 

Well I do. That was the point of this thread, to discuss why I think the player house is cool, what would make it really cool, and what would make the game cooler. Feel free to add to what I've said, but I fail to see the productiveness of comments like "I can't believe I heard mention of the sims" and "you're likely to lose your head for making suggestions not in line with D&D" and "I don't like your suggestions." Furthermore, as I said a lot of the suggestions I made were based on what I read already about the game from the developers updates. This is not a D&D game as far as I know, and it's definitely not a FR game.

 

Read the #7 update, they even specifically state you can go through the game without hardly fighting at all and gaining the same amount of experience through other actions, that non-combat skills play a large roll, that improving non-combat skills is separate from improving combat skills, and that they use a different source of energy. By making the game have multiple ways of getting through it it opens up the game to a wider audience. These are all similar things to what I was suggesting. So I suggest perhaps it is not I that is far off base here. I'd also like to point out that some of the things I said were not intended suggestions for this game, but were put in to explain further the type of game TS3 is, since clearly few of you have much experience with it.

 

Honestly I can't understand how anyone could prefer a game with a preset linear story line over a constantly changing game environment that makes it so you can have a newish interesting adventure every time through. That's why I assumed "fear of change" and I suppose that's exactly why D2 had a single play and battle.net mode before dropping single play altogether in D3.

 

I agree that 2.0 million seems a bit steep of a goal just to add the player house, since in all likely hood it will be a plain premade house used for storing stuff, but either way I think its a cool idea and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Its not like you have to get the house. Just like its not like you have to use non-combat skills in game.

 

I could have sworn I read somewhere that it will be multiplayer. I still expect it will be multiplayer, seeing as their last game like this (NWN2) was multiplayer and the game engine they're using (Unity) supports multiplayer.

Edited September 23, 2012 by Branimir

[Darth Trethon]

Oooooooooooook op.....you start of reasonable, great to own a house in game, want some customization and such all fine....then you go into crazy land and start ranting about all games being like the sims 3 nonsense. I play RPGs to enjoy the story NOT to spend 99.99% of the in game time doing garbage like taking my character to the bathroom, making sure he brushes his teeth, petting the dog and on and on and on and on. If you want that go play the sims....seriously. I am still amazed at how and why people would pay for and play a game where all you ever do is mundane garbage.

 

Now don't get me wrong, I'd love me a house/stronghold that I can customize in depth with useful features like blacksmiths, workbenches, healing stations and maybe even a bar or something you know but I am absolutely NOT going to start catering to the garden or something unless I get something useful out of it like alchemy ingredients or something like in the elder scrolls game and even then I never catered to the gardens anyway because for the most part alchemy isn't my thing so I simply contended myself with trampling it every time I didn't feel like taking the long way to the door via the paved walkway.

[molarBear]

excuse my ignorance but wtf is a player house? is it smth like the private room in upper ward in PS:T?

[Darth Trethon]

excuse my ignorance but wtf is a player house? is it smth like the private room in upper ward in PS:T?

 

It's an in game location(usually a house/apartment/camp/castle) marked as being the property of the player character where you can go and store loot you cannot or do not want to carry around, talk to companions, rest and heal and sometimes do other things like repair/create weapons at workbenches and so on.

Edited September 23, 2012 by Darth Trethon

[ddillon]

i would love an upgradable ship that we can use to cross the sea.

 

Duncan's houseboat from the Highlander TV series? haha

 

fully upgraded it will be like something between an ironclad and a dreadnought, that can battle its way through those sea monsters that they were talking about.

 

Ah... that kind of ship... :-P

[IcyDeadPeople]

Well I do. That was the point of this thread, to discuss why I think the player house is cool, what would make it really cool, and what would make the game cooler. Feel free to add to what I've said, but I fail to see the productiveness of comments like "I can't believe I heard mention of the sims" and "you're likely to lose your head for making suggestions not in line with D&D" and "I don't like your suggestions." Furthermore, as I said a lot of the suggestions I made were based on what I read already about the game from the developers updates. This is not a D&D game as far as I know, and it's definitely not a FR game.

 

I've been playing D&D for many years and you can certainly purchase a house, a tavern, a castle, even rent an apartment in a slum, a tent, any kind of dwelling you can imagine. The same is true in every other pen and paper roleplaying game I've played. You might play a homeless character, a traveler who goes from inn to inn, or perhaps you decide to play a character who rises up from humble beginnings to buy property in some fancy part of town, like the "Cloud District." It simply adds more RP choices, more ways to make choices and take actions you think your character would take, and something to aim for as your character seeks to accumulate wealth and become an important person in the game world.

 

I agree that 2.0 million seems a bit steep of a goal just to add the player house, since in all likely hood it will be a plain premade house used for storing stuff, but either way I think its a cool idea and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Its not like you have to get the house. Just like its not like you have to use non-combat skills in game.

 

I don't think these stretch goals really correlate to the budget costs to implement them. Rather, they serve as sort of milestones with nice bonuses, along the road to whatever the ultimate funding level will be. Glad to see it looks very likely we will meet this goal. The one I'm hoping for most is official mod tools to be supported by Obsidian. If we get that, I'm certain there will be all manner of player houses added by mod authors, not to mention new quests, dungeons, and probably some great gameplay tweaks.

 

Meh, I loved how it was done in VMBL. Of course, you didn't have companions to deal with, so send those squatters down to the inn and tell them to get a room.

 

Do you mean the apartment in Santa Monica?

Edited September 23, 2012 by IcyDeadPeople

[Gorth]

Do you mean the apartment in Santa Monica?

That, and how you got an abode that matched your class/status with the Camarilla (sp?). I played first as a Malkavian and a Toreadorian fop, getting the "nice", appartment. Then as a Tremere, getting something different and finally as a Nosferatu, not even getting a functional TV

 

Mind you, the Nosferatu playthrough was my favourite of the bunch.

[NerdBoner]

excuse my ignorance but wtf is a player house? is it smth like the private room in upper ward in PS:T?

you remember Hrothgar in chapter 1 of Icewind Dale?

 

its basically a place where adventurers who haven't been chosen by destiny go to die...

[WintermuteOmega]

I always loved the personal quest's of BG2 and the rewards of a player home, which could be practically anything. A mage tower, a home in another dimension, a castle, maybe a ship, a farm?

This is what i wish to see in PE. But maybe not depending on your class, but in terms of a massive quest, involving 5 or so fractions, all offering you a new home if you solve the quest in their way.

[Sabin Stargem]

I would like a playerhouse that is in the form of a caravan, ship, or even a airship. This would allow the player to take their home to quest hubs after getting rid of obstacles that prevent the home from getting there, and these portable houses would be a great way to have a all-in-one location for storing the loot, talking to the companions, and getting crafting done. As a kleptomaniac, no stone is left untaken, so having a house is invaluable.