Make NPCs react to PC differently depending on his appearance

[Chrząszczyrzewoszyczanin]

In Fallout 2 NPCs would be much more polite towards PC if he was using Power armor, and I think it would be nice if PE had something similiar. I mean random thugs attacking 6 guys armed to teeth with ancient artifacts or peasants acting in condescending way to such groups always look weird.

[Dawn_]

That, i am for it. I definitely want to be looked as a weirdo if i hang out naked lol

[jivex5k]

OP...that's one hell of a name there.

Everyone wants this in the game, it's a safe bet to assume that anyways.

[Thangorodrim]

I think reaction should best be a function of several things

 

Charisma (or equivalent) - a character attribute that indicates personality and outgoingness (the natural born politicians at the high levels)

Alignment - if you are good then you would be less inclined to interact with an evil person and vice versa

Reputation - as the game progresses news of your actions would spread and people might actually be aware of you (this could help or hurt you depending on which side the person identifies with)

Appearance - good clothes or armor might bump your charisma up a bit

Companions - you might have people in your party that make NPCs like or dislike you due to their own preferences or prejudices

 

That would work better than just using appearance, in my opinion. You might also have options like intimidate or flatter that could help or hurt your interaction when it starts.

[Grand_Commander13]

This is something I want, except also in reverse: in most games your character will run through town in full battle gear, wearing full plate and carrying a sword and shield without anyone even batting an eyelash. Try running around town in a bulletproof vest (where legal; people in authority "back in the day" were just concerned as we are now about the ability to prevent people from being stronger than their officers, so legality would be more of a city problem than a village problem) and see how many funny comments you get.

 

Just like Alpha Protocol would force Mike into civilian clothes when running around in armor would be silly, and wearing armor in the wrong situation was recognized by the game. I must say I'd like them to do a little more with the choice though, as in AP it was just a single line in the two missions where you got a choice.

[Thangorodrim]

This is something I want, except also in reverse: in most games your character will run through town in full battle gear, wearing full plate and carrying a sword and shield without anyone even batting an eyelash. Try running around town in a bulletproof vest (where legal; people in authority "back in the day" were just concerned as we are now about the ability to prevent people from being stronger than their officers, so legality would be more of a city problem than a village problem) and see how many funny comments you get.

 

Just like Alpha Protocol would force Mike into civilian clothes when running around in armor would be silly, and wearing armor in the wrong situation was recognized by the game. I must say I'd like them to do a little more with the choice though, as in AP it was just a single line in the two missions where you got a choice.

 

This would be good. I think if you have the option to have a weapon ready and drawn or in its sheath or put away then speaking to people with drawn weapons might impact how they view and talk to you ... I know my reaction would be different if someone was pointing a longsword at me while we talked

[Chrząszczyrzewoszyczanin]

 

Alignment - if you are good then you would be less inclined to interact with an evil person and vice versa

 

Unless you can magically detect people alignment this shouldn't be part of how people react to protagonist, as reputation already cover PC actions.

[JFSOCC]

not a big fan of alignments, but that's a different thread. Yes. the more responses can be added to different forms of input, the more real and alive the world will feel in their response to you.

 

that said, I reckon it's a lot of work to do all that.

Edited October 26, 2012 by JFSOCC

[Thangorodrim]

Alignment - if you are good then you would be less inclined to interact with an evil person and vice versa

 

Unless you can magically detect people alignment this shouldn't be part of how people react to protagonist, as reputation already cover PC actions.

 

If they have alignment in the game it should be used, if it isn't there then it wouldn't matter ... I think the premise of alignment affecting your interactions in D&D was that body language or bearing might give you away ... and it was only your diametric opposite that really affected your interactions (Chaotic Good and Lawful Evil were not good bedfellows ) ... but it was just a suggestion

[Thangorodrim]

Well if you went with the famous study that says 55% of communication is non-verbal (body language, appearance, etc), 38% is vocal (how you sound, tone, etc), and 7% is what you actually say then you could easily turn it into some form of weighted formula (good for programming) that uses your appearance as an element of the non-verbal (along with other factors) and maybe something like a combo of charisma, intelligence, and wisdom for the words portion ... I'm sure they could figure something out that isn't too hard to program in

[Naesh]

So, in theory, i could dress up as a beggar in a crowded city, leave the laptop running for the night and the next day i will find that i am filthy rich?

[Grand_Commander13]

Look at it this way: it would make more sense if your character dressed up as a weak target than if they dressed up as a strong one.

 

Though I'd question why there was such a large market for junky muggers' weapons in the first place...

[Atreides]

Somewhat related - I wonder if the engine's robust enough to do checks/trigger quests based on appearance.

 

Quest example, an anonymous contact agrees to meet at an inn and will only approach you if you're wearing a ruby ring and silk scarf; or recognition of a secretive guild.

[GhostofAnakin]

I do think it could add realism if NPCs reacted to how you and your party are dressed, but I hope it extends beyond just your character's attire. I hope his actions/deeds also have an effect on how people will react as well.

[Super_Cat]

This is something I want, except also in reverse: in most games your character will run through town in full battle gear, wearing full plate and carrying a sword and shield without anyone even batting an eyelash. Try running around town in a bulletproof vest (where legal; people in authority "back in the day" were just concerned as we are now about the ability to prevent people from being stronger than their officers, so legality would be more of a city problem than a village problem) and see how many funny comments you get.

 

Well in most fantasy games the world is pretty harsh and filled with bandits and hostile monsters, so of course no one would care if you are walking around fully armored. An armed traveler wouldn't be suspicious. It would only be suspicious if you were trying to pretend to be a villager dressed like that.

 

If the chances of getting into a gunfight in real life were the same as the chances of fighting bandits and monsters on the road in a fantasy game then no one would be surprised to see people walking around in bullet proof vests.

[cyberarmy]

Well, they kinda did this in Arcanum. But not just about the armor we are wearing. Most of the NPCs react our race, charisma, tech/magick apt. etc.

[diablo169]

So this is essentialy the beauty stat from Arcanum, I'm all for more stuff like that if it's actually implimented and used properly.

[.Leif.]

I love this idea. It helps reinforce whatever setting you're playing in. Adding NPC interaction linked to your PC's Race/Sex/Class helps tell more of the story. I want appearance to be it's own stat, but it certainly shouldn't be an essential stat. It should give reasonable buffs to diplomacy and subterfuge based skills. If your character has a large scar, or is missing an eye, the folks in the tavern should bring it up.

[Grand_Commander13]

This is something I want, except also in reverse: in most games your character will run through town in full battle gear, wearing full plate and carrying a sword and shield without anyone even batting an eyelash. Try running around town in a bulletproof vest (where legal; people in authority "back in the day" were just concerned as we are now about the ability to prevent people from being stronger than their officers, so legality would be more of a city problem than a village problem) and see how many funny comments you get.

 

Well in most fantasy games the world is pretty harsh and filled with bandits and hostile monsters, so of course no one would care if you are walking around fully armored. An armed traveler wouldn't be suspicious. It would only be suspicious if you were trying to pretend to be a villager dressed like that.

 

If the chances of getting into a gunfight in real life were the same as the chances of fighting bandits and monsters on the road in a fantasy game then no one would be surprised to see people walking around in bullet proof vests.

That's one of the reasons why I said it would be more of a city problem than a village problem: in a village there likely would be nobody to tell you to take 'em off at the gate (which they wouldn't have), except maybe a "sheriff" of sorts to tell you to keep 'em holstered. In a city though, the town watch is confident they can keep control and wants to make sure they don't let people with the capacity to cause trouble in.

 

Yes, the roads are dangerous which is why you're decked out like that. Now take 'em off.

[JohanKris]

This is something I want, except also in reverse: in most games your character will run through town in full battle gear, wearing full plate and carrying a sword and shield without anyone even batting an eyelash. Try running around town in a bulletproof vest (where legal; people in authority "back in the day" were just concerned as we are now about the ability to prevent people from being stronger than their officers, so legality would be more of a city problem than a village problem) and see how many funny comments you get.

 

Well in most fantasy games the world is pretty harsh and filled with bandits and hostile monsters, so of course no one would care if you are walking around fully armored. An armed traveler wouldn't be suspicious. It would only be suspicious if you were trying to pretend to be a villager dressed like that.

 

If the chances of getting into a gunfight in real life were the same as the chances of fighting bandits and monsters on the road in a fantasy game then no one would be surprised to see people walking around in bullet proof vests.

 

As for fantasy yes. But the full plate kind of armour isn't exactly the adventurer kind of armour. Full plate was really an armour that was put on before battles or jousting. its not like the medieval times ever saw knights ride around town in it or go to the bakery full plated.

 

Not that full plate has ever been put in a game like it is IRL. And it is just tedious for players to take on and off it manually.

[Huinehtar]

I really liked how NPCs could react in Arcanum, and I will add, I'd appreciate if wearing faction armours could influence NPCs.

 

(Not an easy way like: -PC: "Uh there are some paladins over here, I will open my inventory and will wear a robe from the priest I killed some minutes ago" *zip* "Hi! Fellows! The sun is shinning, isn't it?" robe => automatic reaction: -NPCs: "Oh you're priest, you can pass.")

 

In fact, I was thinking about loots from bandits, a leather armour for instance. Wearing this armour could change townfolks' mind (if they were robbed by these bandits some days ago).

[Mikaw]

I think appearance should have an influence on NPCs' reactions.

beauty, race, clothes, armors and weapon, can intimidate or encourage a good attitude. Some NPCs can be racist or hate nobles. Maybe the player should have the choice for his clothes and not only the armor, if it can influence reactions.

It's off topic but clothes can be a part of the equipment not only for the appearance, but the choice can be important depending of climate or things like that...

[jezz555]

I think reaction should best be a function of several things

 

Charisma (or equivalent) - a character attribute that indicates personality and outgoingness (the natural born politicians at the high levels)

Alignment - if you are good then you would be less inclined to interact with an evil person and vice versa

Reputation - as the game progresses news of your actions would spread and people might actually be aware of you (this could help or hurt you depending on which side the person identifies with)

Appearance - good clothes or armor might bump your charisma up a bit

Companions - you might have people in your party that make NPCs like or dislike you due to their own preferences or prejudices

 

That would work better than just using appearance, in my opinion. You might also have options like intimidate or flatter that could help or hurt your interaction when it starts.

 

The one thing I object to here is alignment, people shouldn't be able to see your alignment when the look at you, that's what the "Know Alignment" is for, If I'm evil I want to be able to trick people into thinking I'm good and vice versa.

[Few]

There was an article on this subject on GameBanshee or RPS a while ago. A developer was saying that this would be something they would very much like to do and would be easy to code but voice overs made it difficult.

 

It would be so so good to see this in the game. Say if you approach random NPC villagers with your weapon drawn they react accordingly (i.e. scared), if you are slogging around in heavy armour NPCs should maybe not readily approach you and back away from you when you drew near. Have different types of clothing modify their reaction (smoking jacket and the nice dress from arcanum style). If you are wearing costumes that look expensive then have the peasants treat you deferentially. If you are wandering around the countryside and you say only have a three person party and you are wearing cloaks or normal clothes then bandits will try and rob you but if you are a collection of tanks covered in plate armour then they just stay clear.

 

Anything along those lines would make the game feel very deep and make you feel the world was really alive. Without voiceovers I'm sure this would be achievable but I suppose time constraints may rule it out.

[Sacred_Path]

Different reactions based on race and subrace, yes. Should be especially interesting for the godkin races. I'm just replaying Lionheart right now and there racial bias is so much fun.