Morale system - fleeing enemies

[Infinitron]

I loved it when a group of enemies would panic and rout in Baldur's Gate. You'd see those little blue circles gradually all turning yellow and then you could chase them and cut them down. Good times.

 

Bring this feature back, Obsidian.

 

(of course it should apply equally to your own party)

Edited September 26, 2012 by Infinitron

[Jarmo]

I pretty much disliked running after the last escapee, except in Fallout where I'd get sadistic pleasure from executing them.

 

What I'd like to see is (at least human/humanoid) opponents surrendering when their morale breaks.

Then you'd have to figure out what to do now. Let them go, hang them?

[Humanoid]

I remember the feature too - it was irritating. Not saying it inherently is, but fleeing isn't the same as running around like a decapitated chicken. I also vaguely remember Fallout having fleeing enemies making a break for the edge of the map, then staying there (recollection may be faulty). Now I don't mind foes running away out of reach for good - which is only reasonable unless you drop everything and give chase immediately - but I expect a lot of completionist types might get irritated at the lost loot and whatnot (fortunately it seems XP won't be an issue). Alternatively, combat can end up breaking down into trying to position your group into a ring to try to keep foes from fleeing as you whittle them down one by one.

 

It's one of those things that's superficially simple but implemented incorrectly can be a big drag on enjoyment.

[Crusty]

I think it could lead to some interesting situations.

 

Like what if you're sneaking around the castle of a known enemy. You encounter a bunch of guards, you see no alternative and you fight. Their morale breaks as the battle progresses and the last survivor(s) tries to flee, hoping to find reinforcements. Do you risk him going after him to stop him from alerting the castle, even though that may mean exposing your party to surprise attacks or other encounters, or do you allow him to go free to alert the rest of the castle and bunker down? Or do you use the opportunity to escape and try again another time?

 

Or, to take Jarmo's idea a bit further, you could have certain enemies attempt to surrender to you. The majority of enemies would either flee or fight to the death, but certain NPCs could yield to the party leading to some interesting interactions/options.

 

You could also implement the mechanic into formations, where certain formations give a boost to morale and having a formation break because you're getting overrun/flanked intensifies the rate of morale loss.

Edited September 26, 2012 by Crusty

[Karranthain]

Yes please.

 

While you're at it - have different reactions (and thresholds) for different companions (e.g. some would go berserk; some would actually fight with an even bigger conviction, like cornered animals; others would panic and just stand still or simply run away as far as possible).

 

Various things could influence morale - e.g. fatigue, fighting particularly frightening entities (undead, demons etc.), companions disliking/liking you, being fired at with firearms, being a victim of a critical strike. Some spells could induce panic outright.

[Malcador]

Should be a good feature, could have them just take off and try to flee the map preventing you from having to go and hunt them all down if they're shattered enough. Them surrendering is also a nice idea.

[eimatshya]

I pretty much disliked running after the last escapee, except in Fallout where I'd get sadistic pleasure from executing them.

 

What I'd like to see is (at least human/humanoid) opponents surrendering when their morale breaks.

Then you'd have to figure out what to do now. Let them go, hang them?

 

Surrendering enemies could be pretty neat, depending on how it was done. Might be a lot of work to implement, though (outside of scripted events that is).

 

OT: I'm not sure about fleeing enemies. Sometimes it would get annoying in the old IE games to have to chase them all down. Maybe if their movement speed was crippled due to serious injury it would be better. In the IE games, they would flit around so fast that it was frustrating to try to hit them with your unresponsive melee attacks. Then again, they are not using the clunky IE system of AD&D rounds, so maybe combatants will be more responsive in P:E.

[drgonzo]

I liked this in BG. It would also be nice if potential enemies reacted to your "level"/equipment/companions etc. It always breaks immersion for me when every enemy attacks my gang of heavily armed adventurers/mercenaries without second thought.

[Calocidia]

Moral systems are always fun but as stated it hasto be well thought thru to stop fleeing to become a horrible chase after the headless chickens. I dont know howmany games were every fear effect in the game is something you avoid so you dont spend half the game screaming "come back here you cowards" and running around. This is extra dangerous if a games melee dependent and theres a risk that a character can never overtake a character running away so they can flee eternal. less so in ranged weapon games were you shoot them after a few futile running steps away.

[Darkpriest]

I pretty much disliked running after the last escapee, except in Fallout where I'd get sadistic pleasure from executing them.

 

What I'd like to see is (at least human/humanoid) opponents surrendering when their morale breaks.

Then you'd have to figure out what to do now. Let them go, hang them?

 

This... I do not want to chase fleeing enemies in RLWP combat system...

[Shadenuat]

Enemies surrender and option of taking them prisoners, or get their stuff and leave them alone, or cut their heads would be cool.

Edited September 26, 2012 by Shadenuat

[Kissamies]

I'm reminded of Ultima IV where you got points in some virtues by allwing certain kinds of enemies flee.

[Karranthain]

How about an ability, say leadership, which would reduce the odds of your companions panicking?

[Dorateen]

The Gold Box games had enemies who would flee and surrender. Of course, those games had a separate battle map, switching from the first-person adventuring window. So the terrain featured defined boundries, allowing enemies (or party members) to find the edge of the map.

 

I would think if there is some kind of distance limitaion, allowing opponents to get away, this could work.

 

Harumph!

[Darkpriest]

The Gold Box games had enemies who would flee and surrender. Of course, those games had a separate battle map, switching from the first-person adventuring window. So the terrain featured defined boundries, allowing enemies (or party members) to find the edge of the map.

 

I would think if there is some kind of distance limitaion, allowing opponents to get away, this could work.

 

Harumph!

 

Well there could be two viable mechanics IMO, without need of the senseless chase across the map.

 

One which makes them panic and run for a distance (equivalent of 2 rounds) and then vanish, but you get XP for them

 

or

 

the text displays they surrender (falls on knees, etc.) and it lasts until the end of battle, after which you can decide their fate...

[septembervirgin]

I'd usually see red circles turn yellow, but that's just because I tried to play nice around non-combatants.

 

A morale system would be good to see -- especially if it could be influenced by leadership scores and prior success as well as by seeming toughness of the enemy.

[rjshae]

Yes, morale is a nice touch of realism, but it got a little frustrating when the enemy broke and started fleeing all over the map. It made a mess of the party discipline.

 

Then, of course, there's the good old, "Better part of valor! Better part of valor!"

[Leewelo]

It sure would be a nice touch. If the player party was allowed to run for it too (with penalties to group relationship)... especially given the hadcore mode Obsidian unveiled for the 2.3M$ stretch goals

[Amentep]

I like the idea, but I'd only agree to it if the player is not forced to chase panicked enemies down (like in Fallout - particularly annoying when you couldn't find the hostile on the map) or have the decimated force inexplicably decide to come back and attack you with even LESS than they started with just because their panic timers have timed out.

 

Ideally for something like this I'd like it so the player either has to actively try to pursue the characters (no mercy!) or else the panicked characters actually leave the area.

[Infinitron]

I'd usually see red circles turn yellow, but that's just because I tried to play nice around non-combatants.

 

 

Whoops! Yeah, it's been too long.

[metiman]

Of course. This is a an excellent game mechanic. Quite fun. And I agree that if you can't catch them either in melee or ranged before they leave the map they should be able to escape along with their belongings just as the pc hopefully could. This makes it important to have at least one character skilled in ranged combat adding to the strategy of the game as well.

[Lucas]

Yeah, I always liked this mechanic; after all, it was implemented in the old "gold box" SSI games too.

[Akratus]

I loved it when a group of enemies would panic and rout in Baldur's Gate. You'd see those little blue circles gradually all turning yellow and then you could chase them and cut them down. Good times.

 

Bring this feature back, Obsidian.

 

(of course it should apply equally to your own party)

 

Also! A wound system. Nobody with 1 hp should realistically be able to run. They should be slow in walking and fighting.

[leshy]

I love this idea. I don't the enemies to be just mindless sword fodder, waiting to be killed.

[Jarmo]

I'd usually see red circles turn yellow, but that's just because I tried to play nice around non-combatants.

 

 

Whoops! Yeah, it's been too long.

 

They turned yellow!

Never realized how clever the color choice was until now..