What's Everyone Looking For In Strongholds?

[C2B]

I was really confused by the whole strong hold idea, is it meant to be something like an uber-playerhouse?

 

Did you ever play Suikoden or NWN2? (Just two examples)

[Pope]

I had just thought of something similar. Essentially the expansion kicks off/is centred around the stronghold and the need to regain it from enemy forces at least as part of a larger campaign or because you've earned the title of 'x' by developing the stronghold you now have responsibility over region 'y' from a distance which can mean just sending troops or resources until bled dry or getting out there yourself to save the little troopses for your own stronghold and more mundane menaces. That or a big bad beastie lays an egg in your dining room and you have to vacate it for a lil while.

The only thing I dislike about this is that it would make the stronghold mandatory in the main campaign, as opposed to an optional sidequest.

[Kennyrules]

Suikoden. Best Stronghold experience ever.

[xLegionx]

I would like my stronghold to be really complicated to handle just because I am like that. Make it feel like running a business where you have to direct each important person in your stronghold and they direct the people in their category. Like say for example you have an advisor whom directs an assassin, smuggler, and a few robbers. YOUR job is to find out how good these guys are in they're perspective jobs and decide the difficulty of whatever assignment as well as what they are allowed to do and not to do so as it would not be connected to you.

 

For example, in bg 2 if you play as a rogue you get the chance to run a thieves guild. You have to do as I said above which is to evaluate each individual and judge for yourself what they are most capable of. If you fail to do this they end up being forced to handle difficult tasks that leave a greater chance of them getting jailed, resulting you in having to bail them out or they may end up leaving your service because you push their abilities to the limit which can also result in your guild getting shut down which of course no one wants obviously.

 

This imo was a very genius idea to put in as a rogue stronghold for bg2 and I personally would love to do this x10. Like I have to organize the guardsman, patrols, my small army for my stronghold, my wall fortifications, my servants, etc. I hope they implement something like this in this game. As a matter of fact Nwn2 is a great example of what I am talking about.

 

Obsidian, if you do plan on making great strongholds I highly advise to look into this as there are some very genius ideas available to implement that would bring project eternity into an even greater game, stronghold wise.

[KKAtan]

Do you know that feel when you come home from a journey and have 20 full plate armors and 20 two-handed swords +1 from some unfortunate enemies who were in your path?

 

Would be nice if the player character could upgrade his guards with those plate armors and weapons.

Edited October 20, 2012 by KKAtan

[Sykid]

I liked how in BG2 your stronghold had NPCs to interact with and decisions that had to be made, which affected how your empire grew.

[metacontent]

I was really confused by the whole strong hold idea, is it meant to be something like an uber-playerhouse?

 

Did you ever play Suikoden or NWN2? (Just two examples)

 

No, I played the original NWN for a couple years, but then moved onto WOW for a few years, then I got into lotro for about 4 years, but lately I've been into a combination of Skyrim and random indie crap.

[Hormalakh]

The one thing with a class-less stronghold, is that when I want to replay the game, I am much less likely to go through the hassle of building up my stronghold EACH time I start a new game. Imagine if it was part of the main plot - that would be a boring boring time.

 

If the stronghold is class-based and/or skill-based (at least 40-50%) then replayability when it comes to the stronghold will occur. Otherwise, it will lose its appeal after the first time through. A replayable stronghold needs several different "good" outcomes that depend on different character attributes.

 

That's why BG2 strongholds were fun, even if you replayed the game.

[Margaretha]

I'd like the stronghold to be a secondary questline. Something about an invasion in a reclusive place, with weak but numerous creatures to protect from. Developing the stronghold would slowly turn the tide, allowing access to "something" new.. (new power, new place, whatever).

[Hesperion]

here's an Idea. you get a quest from the ruler of one of the BB cities, to investigate one of three villages that hasn't sent in taxes or something. obviously, you save them and the ruler has you help secure resources to build a fort to protect the village. and when it's done, he's so tickled at how you handled the situation that he lets you rule over the area.

 

here's the real shocking concept: you don't want it. your house is already great, you don't need some stronghold, and all the stress of running a town. so why not have the option to sell it off to some noble for a nice sum of gold? nothing says "OPTIONAL!" like the ability to sell the damn thing.

[morrow1nd]

What I'm looking for in a stronghold is several things.

1. I want a project that I can call completely mine. I want to customize *MY* stronghold to fit MY aesthetic preferences and my strategic preferences.

2. The stronghold should flatter my Ego. as such it should be hard enough to get that it feels like an accomplishment. it should also mean that I can do powerful things here.

in order not to break the game, perhaps they should only be possible here, or come at a significant enough cost that while worthwhile, it's a tactical decision.

3. My stronghold should matter in the game world, I would enjoy some quests that open up upon completion of certain upgrades of the stronghold. different strongholds get different quests. So I could mix in politics, become the benevolent (or not so benevolent) dictator of my fiefdom, build a centre of learning or a successful business mini city (with whorehouses, or warehouses, whatever I choose)

4. going back to #1, I want a project, that means that I don't mind that it requires some quests to add or alter and grow the power of my stronghold.

5. I want my stronghold to remain relevant to me throughout my game, not a thing to do and then cast away after it is finished.

I'd have some suggestions on how to do it, but I trust the team is capable enough to figure out good ways themselves.

 

6. Stronghold shouldnt feel like empty. Some people and guards or some kind of milita should stay there too.

[TheFrozenRaven]

Ok, haven't read all the other post but here i go...

I really liked how the pocket plane from BGII was something entirely unique for your character with it's own mysterious functions and I fantasied how you could put stuff there, build stuff and put people there.

As I see it the stronghold should have meaning for the overall story. What if it was build on top of some mysterious energy source the main character had found and needed to protect (or wanted to abuse)? This energy source could have it's own mystical impact on the stronghold for good and bad.

It could also be something else put I like it to be more than just a place where you build stuff and put people (even though that's still awesome).

I know this idea is vague but it really depends on the story the game designer have in mind whether it's actually meaningful.

Edited October 21, 2012 by TheFrozenRaven

[JFSOCC]

I just like to say that while I am a big stronghold fan, I agree that it should be optional. As much as I know *I* will enjoy building, upgrading and roleplaying around my Stronghold, not everyone cares for it, and the game doesn't need a stronghold in Everyone's campaign. I enjoyed the suggestion I read earlier that you could sell your Stronghold. (maybe if you tire of it.) Perhaps the price you command for it depends on how much you put into it, I don't know...

I do hope that a lot of love will go into the feature, but optional is fine with me.

[Metabot]

Having a bunch of crafting facilities is pretty lackluster and can be handled by a simple player home. A stronghold implies other, more interesting ganeplay possibilities.

[Labadal]

We have companions that we'll recruit, and they will be great to have around in combat, but what if we could recruit unique non-fighting NPCs to our stronghold.

 

Chefs, librarians, inventors, etc. That is something I like about the Suikoden games. Not all recruited characters are suited for combat. Some of them have other functions, like improving your armour, teleporting you around the world, setting up shops and much more.

[HangedMan]

here's an Idea. you get a quest from the ruler of one of the BB cities, to investigate one of three villages that hasn't sent in taxes or something. obviously, you save them and the ruler has you help secure resources to build a fort to protect the village. and when it's done, he's so tickled at how you handled the situation that he lets you rule over the area.

 

here's the real shocking concept: you don't want it. your house is already great, you don't need some stronghold, and all the stress of running a town. so why not have the option to sell it off to some noble for a nice sum of gold? nothing says "OPTIONAL!" like the ability to sell the damn thing.

We have companions that we'll recruit, and they will be great to have around in combat, but what if we could recruit unique non-fighting NPCs to our stronghold.

 

Chefs, librarians, inventors, etc. That is something I like about the Suikoden games. Not all recruited characters are suited for combat. Some of them have other functions, like improving your armour, teleporting you around the world, setting up shops and much more.

I absolutely love these ideas, especially when it comes to making the Stronghold more Suikoden-esque.

 

And, having the manor/fort/what-have-you be something you can pawn off to someone else would be awesome, because you can go through the quest, and not get shafted by being given a reward you don't want (Instead, you'll get the money, with just a bit more work).

[Few]

I would very much like my own woods and a herb garden for concocting potions etc. Basically I would like some features that aren't all about combat.

[Wighnut]

I would appreciate a lot of custom stuff here. Like expanding the castle (?) in various options. (also upgrading like stronger walls against possible attackevents etc.) It would also be cool to be able to invite/hire profs like a blacksmith, carpender, magic supply dude, etc.) These guys can, besides crafting special items, upgrade the armor of your guard/army or something like that. Envoys/Diplomats which you can send to the cites and other areas with various tasks would be nice as well. Just speaking my mind here

[el pinko grande]

Given the way they've been describing the setting, I'm gonna guess that a title of nobility goes along with having the stronghold. If so, I'd like it if the game acknowledged that, if people start addressing you as Count/Countess/Margrave/whatever the hell it is you're called, and showing you deference that they didn't before. Make it feel like your character's world has actually changed as a result of their elevation in status.

 

As for the stronghold itself, it would be awesome if the place were reactive to the sort of changes you made to it. So if you're a priest and you build a bunch of religious buildings to gain priest-related bonuses or items, subtle changes occur to the rest of the stronghold. Statues of saints start popping up, the dialog spouted by random peasants as you walk by changes, the sort of music you hear coming from the tavern changes, and so on. Hell, maybe even the textures of the walls change to something more cathedral-like.

 

That way, you could have a single stronghold without the gameplay surrounding it becoming stale playthrough to playthrough.

[V-El_Kadir]

1 - Definitely would like to see a room/house for each companion. I want to be able to store gear and other items for each companion separately. These would probably come as upgrades (since companions are not going to be forced on us). It'd be awesome if these rooms/houses could be used for companions recruited from the Adventurer's Hall. Our strongholds could become bases for mini-orders of all wizards or fighters.

 

2 - If the game will have a marriage option, I'd want to see separate chambers for the spouse. Wouldn't make sense for him/her to live in your bedchambers when there's an entire stronghold at your disposal.

 

3 - Customization options to loosely accomodate the different classes, as suggested many times before me. Doesn't matter too much whether it's different types of strongholds or different upgrades/buildings. So long as strongholds can vary fundamentally over different playthroughs.

 

Do you know that feel when you come home from a journey and have 20 full plate armors and 20 two-handed swords +1 from some unfortunate enemies who were in your path?

 

Would be nice if the player character could upgrade his guards with those plate armors and weapons.

 

4 - Couldn't agree with you more - being able to equip our guards would be great.

[rjshae]

What are the odds that your stronghold will be left in the dust with the sequel? After all, they have a big wide world for you to explore.

[VixRaine]

I'm seeing a lot of good ideas and Suikoden references. This to me says there is little that I could add to the discussion. Please continue. ^.^

[mokona]

Given the way they've been describing the setting, I'm gonna guess that a title of nobility goes along with having the stronghold. If so, I'd like it if the game acknowledged that, if people start addressing you as Count/Countess/Margrave/whatever the hell it is you're called, and showing you deference that they didn't before. Make it feel like your character's world has actually changed as a result of their elevation in status.

Gaining a stronghold in Saad and suddenly being addressed as Marquis de Saad instead of Frank the Fighter would, indeed, rock!

[Hesperion]

Given the way they've been describing the setting, I'm gonna guess that a title of nobility goes along with having the stronghold. If so, I'd like it if the game acknowledged that, if people start addressing you as Count/Countess/Margrave/whatever the hell it is you're called, and showing you deference that they didn't before. Make it feel like your character's world has actually changed as a result of their elevation in status.

Gaining a stronghold in Saad and suddenly being addressed as Marquis de Saad instead of Frank the Fighter would, indeed, rock!

DO. WANT. so much

[JFSOCC]

What are the odds that your stronghold will be left in the dust with the sequel? After all, they have a big wide world for you to explore.

My Stronghold is in a place of power on the world, I can tap the ethereal energies and... teleport!

 

just an idea.

 

Or a floating island which you can steer. (maybe I've played too much Bastion)