Environmental Hazards

[clippedwolf]

A poll putting dangerous ground to the question.

 

A related topic.

http://forums.obsidi...errain-effects/

[Osvir]

Hi, it would be awesome with environmental hazards and I'm simply voting for imaginations sake, I don't expect it to be a part of the game even if this poll becomes popular.

 

Good poll +1.

 

I voted as such:

 

"Should there be environmental hazards?"

I look at this question like that^ because it to me feels as a pressing question "Should there be" as if I am demanding "Yes!" when I vote. I choose "Maybe in special areas" which could be a part of the normal game. A Swamp that has a poisonous mist that I can't get through without an experimental (for it's era) gas mask item/helmet. I could possibly go through it without the item in question, but I would be taking damage over time (DoT) as long as I stay in the area.

 

"Should there be hazardous weather?"

Maybe once or twice.

 

"If you voted yes..."

It is meant to be endured and overcome, from a roleplaying perspective. Items could make my journey simpler through it. If I don't have a cape when traveling through the stormy desert I'll get a penalty to "sight", whilst I get less of a penalty with a cape. A fur cape when I travel through the mountains will keep my party warmer but I'd still take a slight penalty to "movement speed". If anything like this is ever implemented (Hazardous weather) make sure that an item or an equipment or magical spell doesn't entirely remove all of the effects of the weather, but simply mitigates some of it's effects.

 

Old school classic adventure games that only let's you travel through certain areas if you have certain items, and it's all fun and games and when you get the item and can tread further into the game. Most of the games just "remove" the effects completely when you have that equipment/item. Walking with Mud Boots in the Swamp should allow me to walk through it, but it shouldn't necessarily make me be able to sprint across it. I should still be getting a movement speed penalty, the Swamp Serpents will still move faster than me and it'd be difficult to run away. Adding tactical aspects to the areas would be awesome

[gglorious]

It's not a big deal either way to me. So long as it's not to a degree where it is annoying, I'm fine with it. So, in NWN Hordes of the Underdark, Cania had the environmental hazard of being so cold that it would harm the party. There were two options: either special fires needed to be started, or it would just have to be endured. That's fine. It's not too bothersome. It's not desired per se, but it's not incredibly irritating, so it's fine. If it's fitting or desirable on the part of designers to include an environmental hazard in the area, then they can do so, just so long as this hazard isn't the hugest distraction to the party.

[JoseJalapenoOnAStick]

I don't mind weather anomalies (rain, snow, sand storm, blizzard, etc.) but not to any extreme of combat penalties.

[TMTVL]

So unenchanted cloaks are finally useful? Sign me up!

[Irx]

I'm ok with it unless its something annoying (like hp drain) and/or can't be avoided with clever mechanics (warm clothes to avoid blizzard, or magic etc.)

[Frenzy-kun]

Hello,

I think the enviromental hazards is something that I missed a lot in Baldur's gate. Specially in the first one where you walk all around almost empty forest. Actually Baldur's gate was one of my very first RPGs I ever played, and I came from the platforms genre, a genre where the level design was so focused on enviromental mechanics and where each location had their unique elements that made it totally different than each other. The jump to a game where your only real interactions were chests, enemies, traps and people was a bit shocking at the moment.

 

So I really wanted to see something like this in BG series. Something unique in each level that makes you want to keep exploring to see what new challenges are waiting, more than just more difficult enemies.

 

As far as I saw in the information released, you wanted to come back to the original BG's map formula, having vast locations that gives you an awesome feeling of being lost in a forest. Well, I think this hazards and weather mechanics can be awesome to compensate the emptyness of those forests in the original BG. There is no need then to make all the locations worthy (that you still can) because just going there to see what kind of mechanics and challenges you are going to offer in those locations can be a real motivation to explore those areas.

 

I can imagine for instance a desert so hot that you have to be protected under shadows because long exposition under the sun will reduce your health. This will change the way the player moves and explores the area without being a real constrain (like reducing your combat abilities or being continuously annoyed by residual damage). It also could be nice because the players may go at night to avoid heat and explore the unprotected areas. If you combine this with some gargantuan skeletons, bones and skulls to project shadows all around you could have an awesome location.

 

For extra ideas... I also Imagined when you said hazards to have some poison ponds that poisons creatures thats walks over them. Or also, your thief could go there with an empty bottle and get for free some deathly poison for his's weapons. Much more interesting that lava pools that, let's say, you have very few opportunities to get something good out of it. Another ida could be boats where the team (or maybe just one character, for extra challenge) can move through rivers and water pools. A nice reward (new areas to explore) for finding the boat (or building it). Splitting the team is something that requires almost no effort but makes you face the came in a completely different way, and every class has a different way of facing those situations (totally different from the mixed team where let's say, the strategies usually follows the same pattern : boosts -> break protections-> all out -> resist).

 

So, summary, I agree completely with the idea, and I also agree with the point that they should not be annoying. They just have to change your way of facing common situations or, if they are annoying, have some useful points.

Edited November 28, 2012 by Frenzy-kun

[AGX-17]

Generally speaking, unless you're willing to pursue the goal in full, no. If you're in a blizzard in an ice region and your characters have no cold weather clothing, it's not merely "something to endure" because they're going to die of hypothermia and lose body parts.

 

Skyrim's characters should all be dead from hypothermia, to be honest.

 

Being forced to fight in some kind of constant-damage zone in the environment isn't very fun unless there's some way to mitigate/avoid it or the enemies suffer the full effects as well. There's nothing fun about having to fight poison immune enemies in a poisonous swamp that is poisoning you.

 

It was just irritating to have to find special anti-radiation booties to cross green puddles even if you had power armor in Fallout 2.

Edited November 28, 2012 by AGX-17