Ships, and why we never get to play with them

[MoldyCheese]

I'd really like to see something done with ships in a fantasy game for once. We often see them or board them to get to the next destination, but we never really get to do anything on them. You have a big quest to book passage on one, and it ends up being a loadscreen or chapter transition. I'd love to see you get into a ship battle for once. Waves crashing over the hull, cannons firing, and boarding other ships.

 

Magic makes it even more interesting. What does ship combat look like when wizards are involved?

 

It would be great to have characters interacting with components of the ship too. Be it, firing cannons, raising sails, or trying to make critical repairs in the heat of battle.

 

I think this type of thing would be a blast. What do you guys think?

[rjshae]

Ultima IV.

 

[AlphaShard]

You get to use ships in Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy games. Also Suikoden Iv and V.

[Hassat Hunter]

Didn't Baldur's Gate II sorta have this?

 

I don't think full-on pirating fits a RPG though, not even as mini-game. Maybe just me though.

[Malavinious]

Lots of airships come to mind when thinking of the Final Fantasy series but I would love to see some combat on the high seas in this game if possible.

[Umberlin]

Didn't Baldur's Gate II sorta have this?

 

I don't think full-on pirating fits a RPG though, not even as mini-game. Maybe just me though.

 

Um . . . I'd agree that full on pirating doesn't fit 'every' RPG, but an RPG can cover any subject matter. Including pirating.

[mstark]

You might want to try out some of the Pirates of the Caribbean games? I think there are a few "medieval naval sims" out there newer than that game, though.

 

Seriously though, it'd be great, but what you're describing sounds like an entirely different game of its own, how would it integrate with the original idea of the game? If you think of it as a top-down, tactical combat cRPG, in the vein of the original IE games? If there's a solution good enough, I'm sure Obsidian will consider integrating it.

 

BG2 had some naval action, but it was part of the storyline, rather than a game mechanic of its own. You were taken along, as opposed to controlling it. I liked this, if only because it brought you to a very different environment. I don't think this should be taken as literally as a "naval component" being vital to the game, though!

[MoldyCheese]

Most western rpg's seem to avoid them as far as gameplay goes. However, they are used all the time in the lore as well as the npc's. We always see them in ports and cities but we rarely interact with them in anyway other then a location transition. I think that it's about time that changed.

[Tamerlane]

[Umberlin]

I always thought an RPG set in the Pirates of Darkwater world would have been a breath of fresh air back before pirate movies and games exploded back into popularity.

[Razsius]

I always thought an RPG set in the Pirates of Darkwater world would have been a breath of fresh air back before pirate movies and games exploded back into popularity.

 

Oh hell yea the Pirates of Darkwater was a great cartoon as a kid. I always wondered why there was no game for it either. Ship battling would certainly be an interesting take on RPGing. I haven't the slightest clue why it's not done either.

 

Best you can do is buy FTL which is an epic win game (not an RPG though).

[MoldyCheese]

You might want to try out some of the Pirates of the Caribbean games? I think there are a few "medieval naval sims" out there newer than that game, though.

 

Seriously though, it'd be great, but what you're describing sounds like an entirely different game of its own, how would it integrate with the original idea of the game? If you think of it as a top-down, tactical combat cRPG, in the vein of the original IE games? If there's a solution good enough, I'm sure Obsidian will consider integrating it.

 

BG2 had some naval action, but it was part of the storyline, rather than a game mechanic of its own. You were taken along, as opposed to controlling it. I liked this, if only because it brought you to a very different environment. I don't think this should be taken as literally as a "naval component" being vital to the game, though!

 

I was thinking of integrating it kind of like the siege mechanics of NWN2. You would view everything the same way as the rest of the game. You'd be on the ship deck, perhaps taking orders from a captain. He could tell you to fire cannons, heave on ropes and fire at targets with spells. Have lots of interactable objects on the deck to turn the tides in your favor. If someone tries to board you'r ship, you kill them. And you could send your own characters over to the other ship via ropes/grappling hooks.

 

It would be cool to have various classes fit into diffent roles as well. Where your ranged characters could directly engage the other ship with spells/arrows etc. And, your melee characters fire cannons and take care of boarding actions.

[Hassat Hunter]

I suppose they could do it like Curse of Monkey Island (but replacing Insult Sword Fighting with RPG-battles).

It will be extremely simplistic, but I doubt it should get any bigger though... you could maybe update your ship if you want (cannons for firepower, masts updates for speed), but that's about it.

[MoldyCheese]

I suppose they could do it like Curse of Monkey Island (but replacing Insult Sword Fighting with RPG-battles).

It will be extremely simplistic, but I doubt it should get any bigger though... you could maybe update your ship if you want (cannons for firepower, masts updates for speed), but that's about it.

 

I am really just talking about one good ship battle. I'm not really asking for multiple ones of the Monkey Island sort (Not that I wouldn't like to see another game like that). It seems like such an obvious setting for combat in an rpg.

 

And, come on! Who wouldn't want to take on a sea monster like that?! The whole thing screams RPG. We just never really see it.

[Tamerlane]

And, come on! Who wouldn't want to take on a sea monster like that?! The whole thing screams RPG. We just never really see it.

Thanks for bringing back repressed memories...

 

[rjshae]

Ship-to-ship encounters with pirates are something I'm hoping to do in the NWN2 Toolset. It seems quite do-able: a place couple of ships with walkable decks next to each other and join them with some walkable boarding planks. There's no reason they couldn't do a sea-based random encounter map like that in PE or its sequels, perhaps with a cut-screen video before hand.

[Osvir]

Pirate Expansions! "Project: Eternity's Pirates!" = title

 

Why ships should be included in any game (my opinion), Adventure or RPG, is because it unlocks the ability to travel to distant lands, or islands that you previously could not reach. It also enriches the experience so much more. Suikoden IV failed at this because they focused on the "ship" aspect entirely... but in games that have this feature, balanced with land travel and other transportations are truly classics (almost every Final Fantasy game, remember that the series of Final Fantasy began to degenerate with FFX, where the freedom of this traveling was taken away from us). Pirates is an awesome side-effect of this as well as natural disasters (getting caught in Hurricanes, Maelstroms, a Kragon attacks your ship as you travel etc. etc... what? Kragon's are totally a natural disaster >.>).

 

Same thing with fliers, be it a zeppelin, dragon, giant eagle or whatever you could use for "Flying" travels. Floating islands in the skies, minimize random encounters, you'd be challenging the very Gods of the game. Reach even further distant lands that you can't reach by boat.

 

I read somewhere something about "Teleporting" on the world map... I'm wondering if this is a "Waypoints" thing, but I can see even disadvantages here and "chance of failure", being thrown into a dimensional rift and you end up somewhere completely else. Perhaps one of the Gods choose to toy with you and throws you somewhere... remember that the Deity's (I don't remember which update it was...) are very engaged in the world and likes to toy with the races of the Eternal realm in various ways (I'm feeling lots n lots of Greek Mythology over that one)...

 

New Horizons that is badass I had forgotten all about it

 

EDIT: wording

Edited October 13, 2012 by Osvir

[Luridis]

Ships? I play with ships all the time... I like the Aabbadon, Harbinger and Myrmiddon. Oh, and there's the Xenon XL and Hyperion Vanguard.

 

[Kilroy_Was_Here]

The problem is that an idea like this would have to be designed separately as its own minigame. Art assets (for ships, naval weapons, sea creatures), animations, AI coding... all of these things would exist only in naval combat and nowhere else.

 

And since it wouldn't be part of the core gameplay it would probably be an optional sequence. And to put time into non-reusable code for a part of the game many people won't see... I just don't see it happening.

[Troller]

Boarding and cannon battles, sounds nice, you take up the pirate profession for a while, get some money and XP, explore some islands, maybe they will add this to the game

[Osvir]

The problem is that an idea like this would have to be designed separately as its own minigame. Art assets (for ships, naval weapons, sea creatures), animations, AI coding... all of these things would exist only in naval combat and nowhere else.

 

And since it wouldn't be part of the core gameplay it would probably be an optional sequence. And to put time into non-reusable code for a part of the game many people won't see... I just don't see it happening.

 

Depends how it's made, e.g., you could travel a la Fallout 2 on the map (by car... in this case a ship over water). The actual pirate battle could commence on top of the world map with 2 pixels duking it out and you can even control your little pixel a small amount and perhaps even board the enemy ship. Boarding could be "in-game" area stuff though.

[Hassat Hunter]

Well, with the CMI system there's not really a lot needed to make it work properly.

So while I first objected, I am starting to warm up to the idea more and more .

 

Heck, the final "captain" with the biggest treasure/gang/etc. could be Guybrush Freeptoad, a mighty pirtate. And his VO line when talking to him the "Your mother wears a toupe" from CMI.

Or too much humour for PE?

[teknoman2]

Ships? I play with ships all the time... I like the Aabbadon, Harbinger and Myrmiddon. Oh, and there's the Xenon XL and Hyperion Vanguard.

 

hyperion

[Moirnelithe]

I hate ships

[TrashMan]

http://spoonyexperiment.com/2012/09/02/counter-monkey-never-get-on-the-boat/ Edited October 13, 2012 by TrashMan