Things you'd like to see in PE that haven't been done before in a cRPG

[Terror K]

I'm just curious, are there any features and gameplay elements people would like to see in Project Eternity that they haven't seen done in a cRPG before? Whether they are things seen in other genres, or P&P RPGs, or just completely new.

 

This could also include things that maybe have been in other cRPG games, but in only very rare instances, or in cases where they weren't done very well and you have ideas on how they could work better.

[Gyges]

Dinosaurs

 

Im not very creative.

[Galdegir]

Well it would be a nice addition if the characters had to eat to survive. No food your health and mana deacreases and finally you die. So the player would have to be weary of that, take proper supplies to dungeonsa and so on.

[Pofski]

http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/60728-break-time-suggestion/

 

Shameless plug

[evdk]

Well it would be a nice addition if the characters had to eat to survive. No food your health and mana deacreases and finally you die. So the player would have to be weary of that, take proper supplies to dungeonsa and so on.

I think Sawyer has been talking about that and about wilderness survival skills in general.

[Shades]

Hm, I guess it would be kinda interesting if you could buy backpacks/extra pouches and the like. And no, I don't mean Dragon Age style *shudder*. For one a simple bag shouldn't cost a huge amount of gold.

 

What if you could see the backpack on your character (and it gives you say 20 inventory spaces, but you can only have one), and you could add some belt pouches which might only be able to take a certain number of small items each. Of course you'd want a weight limit on top of that, but it could be an alternative/work with the possibility of carrying bags inside your backpack. It probably wouldn't make much sense combat-wise however for your character to be covered in bags and pouches

 

I don't really care if I see something like this in PE or not, I was mainly trying to think of something that I hadn't seen much that might work.

[norolim]

I always wanted to play an RPG that would be characterised by hardcore realism. I don't think Project Eternity is going to be that game, but the OP's question is what I would like, not what I expect. This super realism could be reflected in many ways:

• hunger and thirst mechanics: it's necessary to eat & drink to survive (recenty done in Eschalon series very well); of course the game would have to provide ways of acquiring food, e.g. hunting; also cooking mechanics (more below);
  
• sleep/rest mechanics: every hero has to rest and sleep, they are not machines (unless they are); therefore, sleeping every X hours should be obligatory -> staying in action for too long without sleep would result in significantly reduced effectivness (negative modifiers); again the game would have to provide suitable funcionalities, like the ability to set up camps; it would also need to make resting less of a drag; there are many ways to make it interesting...you just need to be inventive (I have lots of ideas, but it would take to much space to describe them all );
  
• setting up camps: this is associated with the above; it would allow the party to rest, eat and also cook their food over fire for additional bonuses; in camp characters could repair equipment/make simple equipment (e.g. arrows), heal wounds, gather herbs for alchemical mixtures etc;
  
• wounds don't heal themselves; magical healing potions are a rarity and are extremely expensive and/or can only help up to a certain degree; healing would be done by using special non-combat abilities, healing kits and spells when camping; healing serious wounds would take a reasonable amount of time; you could also go to a specialist to be healed quicker for a price; minor wounds would heal quickly, as usual;
  
• the party should consist of more characters than the maximum allowed in combat; if e.g. your PC walks around with a maximum of 5 characters, the whole party should have 10 members, so that if some of them are too seriously injured (and remember: healing takes time), you can substitute them with others (the old X-Com games anyone?);
  
• combat less frequent but more substantial; short skirmishes with weaker opponents, just for the fun of it, could be more frequent;
  
• day-night cycle and dynamic weather affecting NPCs' behaviour: at night they sleep, shops are closed; when raining they seek shelter and complain etc. (recently done very well in The Witcher games)
  
• weather affecting combat and characters: rain makes fire spells less effective and lightning spells more risky; wind makes ranged weapon more difficult to use; plus characters have to mind weather conditions: if they travel in snowy mountains, where temperatures are rather low, a shirt and a chain mail is not enough to protect them; wearing a full plate on a desert might not be a great idea either; if they don't have suitable equipment they suffer penalties, perhaps wounds as well;
  
• I've got more ideas, but I don't want to make this post too long...
  

I'm aware only a limited number of gamers would find such a game interesting, that's why I don't really believe it will ever be made...unless I do it myself ;P

Edited September 27, 2012 by norolim

[Treantsin]

The dyeing of clothing?

 

pfft -- Or a new game plus?

With expanded dialogue therein?

That totally has a place in Role-Playing Games.

[TrashMan]

Dinosaurs

 

You silly man. Dragons are dinosaurs...except with wings..and breathing fire.

 

What we need are ponies.

Cute rainbow-colored ponies.

...

And a meat grinder machine next to them.

[kenup]

Having to fight a few strong enemies, instead of entire armies, at least when it comes to sentient beings. And more kills have an actual effect on your character's psyche. But that is not for PE.

[Pofski]

I have never seen any game in which the main character had to go to the bathroom.

Must be extremely painfull by the end of the campaign

[TrashMan]

I always wanted to play an RPG that would be characterised by hardcore realism. I don't think Project Eternity is going to be that game, but the OP's question is what I would like, not what I expect. This super realism could be reflected in many ways:

• hunger and thirst mechanics: it's necessary to eat & drink to survive (recenty done in Eschalon series very well); of course the game would have to provide ways of acquiring food, e.g. hunting; also cooking mechanics (more below);
  
• sleep/rest mechanics: every hero has to rest and sleep, they are not machines (unless they are); therefore, sleeping every X hours should be obligatory -> staying in action for too long without sleep would result in significantly reduced effectivness (negative modifiers); again the game would have to provide suitable funcionalities, like the ability to set up camps; it would also need to make resting less of a drag; there are many ways to make it interesting...you just need to be inventive (I have lots of ideas, but it would take to much space to describe them all );
  
• setting up camps: this is associated with the above; it would allow the party to rest, eat and also cook their food over fire for additional bonuses; in camp characters could repair equipment/make simple equipment (e.g. arrows), heal wounds, gather herbs for alchemical mixtures etc;
  
• wounds don't heal themselves; magical healing potions are a rarity and are extremely expensive and/or can only help up to a certain degree; healing would be done by using special non-combat abilities, healing kits and spells when camping; healing serious wounds would take a reasonable amount of time; you could also go to a specialist to be healed quicker for a price; minor wounds would heal quickly, as usual;
  
• the party should consist of more characters than the maximum allowed in combat; if e.g. your PC walks around with a maximum of 5 characters, the whole party should have 10 members, so that if some of them are too seriously injured (and remember: healing takes time), you can substitute them with others (the old X-Com games anyone?);
  
• combat less frequent but more substantial; short skirmishes with weaker opponents, just for the fun of it, could be more frequent;
  
• day-night cycle and dynamic weather affecting NPCs' behaviour: at night they sleep, shops are closed; when raining they seek shelter and complain etc. (recently done very well in The Witcher games)
  
• weather affecting combat and characters: rain makes fire spells less effective and lightning spells more risky; wind makes ranged weapon more difficult to use; plus characters have to mind weather conditions: if they travel in snowy mountains, where temperatures are rather low, a shirt and a chain mail is not enough to protect them; wearing a full plate on a desert might not be a great idea either; if they don't have suitable equipment they suffer penalties, perhaps wounds as well;
  
• I've got more ideas, but I don't want to make this post too long...
  

I'm aware only a limited number of gamers would find such a game interesting, that's why I don't really believe it will ever be made...unless I do it myself ;P

 

 

MARRY ME!

 

 

 

Great ideas. I've sooo wanted a game that handels injuries in battle more seriously. When you actually can't insta-heal back the lost HP and injured require days of rest. Even better if passing of time has actual effect on stuff.

It actually encourages you to value your party memebr more and cycle them more often.

[dlux]

MARRY ME!

Now that is true bromance made in heaven.

[Continuity]

I want to see NPC's using the speech/diplomacy skill on me, or my companions. Chaos would ensue.

[Terror K]

 

Great ideas. I've sooo wanted a game that handels injuries in battle more seriously. When you actually can't insta-heal back the lost HP and injured require days of rest. Even better if passing of time has actual effect on stuff.

It actually encourages you to value your party memebr more and cycle them more often.

 

Funny you should say that, because I mentioned in a topic about death an idea I felt had some merit and was a good mix of both old mechanics and new ones to find a happier medium that's still got some depth.

 

I thought a more interesting and better way to handle "deaths" in combat would be to have it so that instead of you or your companions simply dying when they reach 0HP like the more classic RPGs and instead of them just being incapacitated and then getting back up, instead they'd go into a "Critical Condition" that requires healing to get back on their feet, but that they could not heal any more than a quarter of their total HP. Then they'd be stuck in that condition until they had been either taken to a temple and healed by magic (which would cost a fair amount of gold) or taken to a hospital to recover, which would not cost as much, but have them out of commission for a certain period of time while they recuperated, in which case the player would need to use alternate companions until they had. However, the player would still have to get them to one of these healing locations, and while a companion is in "Critical Condition" they would be more vulnerable, and upon dying while in that condition they really would die, in which case only a resurrection spell of some kind could bring them back.

 

I personally thought something like this would be the best of both worlds: not as punishing as the old "0HP = death" style, and not as hand-holding as "they just get up after combat, right as rain!" modern approach, and still adding some tactics and depth to the whole thing, as well as a little realism. Players would have to be more careful with Critical Condition companions if they wanted them alive, and would still have a price to pay (either monetary or time-based) to retain them.

[HangedMan]

In addition to Terror K's post: And resurrection spells should be risky. What if you don't get the soul back, but you raise the body anyways? What if their's an eldritch abomination in your favorite companion now, and they're just waiting for the right moment to kill you, because it's your fault that they have been confined to this weak and pathetic meat sack?

 

What if you pay the resurrection costs, and they come back, but they're pissed off about the whole thing, because the after life is a nice place, so they just run off and kill themselves?

 

Although, these are not things I would be overly fond of. I do approve of less hand holding, though. Or the game only holding my hand when I ask it to.

[Monte Carlo]

I always liked the BG2 Thief Guild quest. I would love to see an expanded storyline where the PC runs a mercenary company perhaps, a sort of minigame with income and stuff. It would be linked to the main story (loved Xroads Keep) in some way.

[Monte Carlo]

Oh and scars and battle damage on armour and clothing. After a fireball your character should look scorched. Graphics only, not a durability mechanic.

[curryinahurry]

Since the gods in Project Eternity are seemingly going to play a role in the story, it would be interesting to have a mechanic similar to Darklands where you could pray to saints to get temporary boons (here saints being replaced with gods). This should have consequences however; the more you pray to one the less likely his/her/its rivals are to be willing to grant you boons, possibly to the point of a rival sending a champion or creature to punish you, etc. A faction system of sorts for the deities. There could also be negatives to praying; pray to a god of war for increased prowess could lead to a berserk rage during or after a battle.

[Shardbearer]

Since the gods in Project Eternity are seemingly going to play a role in the story, it would be interesting to have a mechanic similar to Darklands where you could pray to saints to get temporary boons (here saints being replaced with gods). This should have consequences however; the more you pray to one the less likely his/her/its rivals are to be willing to grant you boons, possibly to the point of a rival sending a champion or creature to punish you, etc. A faction system of sorts for the deities. There could also be negatives to praying; pray to a god of war for increased prowess could lead to a berserk rage during or after a battle.

 

I really like this idea, not only are you using the factions/deities for boons, but in return they're trying to use you as pawns sort of thing, which goes well with the side-effects you mentioned.

[Terror K]

Since the gods in Project Eternity are seemingly going to play a role in the story, it would be interesting to have a mechanic similar to Darklands where you could pray to saints to get temporary boons (here saints being replaced with gods). This should have consequences however; the more you pray to one the less likely his/her/its rivals are to be willing to grant you boons, possibly to the point of a rival sending a champion or creature to punish you, etc. A faction system of sorts for the deities. There could also be negatives to praying; pray to a god of war for increased prowess could lead to a berserk rage during or after a battle.

 

I really like this idea, not only are you using the factions/deities for boons, but in return they're trying to use you as pawns sort of thing, which goes well with the side-effects you mentioned.

 

On top of this you could add something similar to ADOM, whereby the gods get angry and will refuse and maybe even give you a negative consequence (even death) if you pray too much for something without giving enough in return.

[phimseto]

Hey, it's Terror K. I see you've migrated over from the BSN! What would I like to see that I haven't seen in a cRPG before?

 

Have I ever had the chance to have a family/raise a kid in a cRPG? If not, I'd love to see something like that...maybe even raising the kid to become a new party member.

[curryinahurry]

Since the gods in Project Eternity are seemingly going to play a role in the story, it would be interesting to have a mechanic similar to Darklands where you could pray to saints to get temporary boons (here saints being replaced with gods). This should have consequences however; the more you pray to one the less likely his/her/its rivals are to be willing to grant you boons, possibly to the point of a rival sending a champion or creature to punish you, etc. A faction system of sorts for the deities. There could also be negatives to praying; pray to a god of war for increased prowess could lead to a berserk rage during or after a battle.

 

I really like this idea, not only are you using the factions/deities for boons, but in return they're trying to use you as pawns sort of thing, which goes well with the side-effects you mentioned.

 

On top of this you could add something similar to ADOM, whereby the gods get angry and will refuse and maybe even give you a negative consequence (even death) if you pray too much for something without giving enough in return.

 

There could be a ritual component to this, that if not done right could anger the deity and lead to something nasty showing up to teach you a lesson

[Luckmann]

I can't think of anything. Everything I want in Project Eternity has been done many times before.

[Terror K]

 

Have I ever had the chance to have a family/raise a kid in a cRPG?

 

Aside from Skyrim's latest DLC, the Fable games are the only one that comes to mind here. Not that either have that much depth to them or even feel that emotionally satisfying.