Pets in Project Eternity, can they be done better and what would you like to see?

[Jasede]

Pets are a waste of time, who the hell asks for this crap?

[Jasede]

That was just me trolling, serious reply:

They should come with a romance. That way we can form a deep, emotional bond. This is knot a joke.

[Osvir]

^I agree. Pets is a waste of time, but abilities (Summon Monster/Demon/Spirit/Soul whatever) is not. Likewise, I don't see a Ranger taming a wild animal being a waste either. It would serve the same function (pet), it might not be a dog or a cat, but a wolf or a bear. Maybe even a bird.

 

No dialogue but there could be instances where the tamed animal narratively interact in the party and things that happen. "(IF [Animal] Present at X) = Y". Maybe a tamed wolf could smell the "evil" on an enemy who is trying to be sneaky, someone who says he is someone he isn't. "Smelling the agenda" or whatever. If there are wild animals in the game it is a matter of just giving "control" (in code) to the Player party, making the Wolf "Friendly".

 

The red ring indicating that it is an enemy is switched out with a green ring.

 

In this way, I don't see it as a waste of time. As something mindless that just runs around with you and is pretty much worthless, then no. Personally, if you can become some sort of Beastmaster, then I would like if the animals you tame stick around, and not something you summon. Would also be part of "Mortality" so if you get a Wolf, get some Beastmaster buffs on it (making it stronger than your standard wolf) and you manage to keep it alive for a long time, but when it dies it dies and you'll have to get a new animal to tame.

 

P.S. I was never too fond of "Charm Animal". It was temporary, and you couldn't bring the Charmed Animals with you to another area.. or did I do something wrong?

Edited December 22, 2012 by Osvir

[jivex5k]

LOL pets are a waste a time?

And playing video games isn't?

[rjshae]

That was just me trolling, serious reply:

They should come with a romance. That way we can form a deep, emotional bond. This is knot a joke.

Suddenly the sheep start to look nervous...

[Jasede]

Yep, pets in video games are a waste of time since games are about playing them. Effort should be spent on improving the writing, the combat and so on before you do any of these peripheral and cosmetic things interesting only to a small group of players.

 

And nope, playing video games or having pets in real life isn't a waste of time; it's a hobby like every other.

Edited December 22, 2012 by Jasede

[JFSOCC]

LOL pets are a waste a time?

And playing video games isn't?

I watching an engaging movie a waste of time? or reading a good book? Me, I don't think so.

Now I was thinking with the topic, and I think there are positives to pets, but

but why else would you bring them along, you're an adventurer after all.

I didn't post that without reason. I too am a little ambiguous about pets in the game. If they are added, they have to add something to the experience.

[ogrezilla]

what if Mage Familiars or Druid/Ranger pets could be strong enough characters that they actually took up one of the 6 companion slots. They could function like a character just with the restriction that they can't be in the party if their "master" isn't in the party. Since the game is being designed with a fairly limited number of companions, I doubt the pets would be fully fleshed out as far as adding to much of the story. But they could have a few interactions and then spend more time than most companions simply staying out of the story. The game is supposedly being designed to be able to be played solo anyway, so having some companions without much story interaction isn't really an issue.

[AGX-17]

I've got a parrot in TF2. What does it do? Sits on my shoulder leering at me. The dog in DAO wasn't much use. The dog in Fallout was slightly less useful due to the fact that dogs have no armor. The dog in Fallout 3 was not much use until lolbethesda turned it immortal because the Bethesda fanbase. Just the Bethesda fanbase. That's all the explanation you need. The only effective pet (of an earlier, weaker boss,) I've ever seen in a game was a three-legged crow final boss who throws stars (as in those big hydrogen fusion reactions in space, not five-pointed shapes,) at the player character (and the PC will die in one hit, obviously.)

Edited December 23, 2012 by AGX-17

[Atreides]

I want to train my pet to throw shuriken.

[rjshae]

One of the best ever pets in a video game was in Torchlight (and its ancestor: rogue-likes such as Nethack). Totally unrealistic, of course.

[Shattered_One]

Great ideas for both a generic pet and specifics for the Ranger/Druid classes. I think that maybe they should implement some kind of training quest for your pet that only a ranger in your group can complete.

[Osvir]

What should the Ranger be able to tame? Neutral Creeps as well? I know there is a cat or two in Candlekeep when you start, some rats too. There are squirrels in the world as well.

 

I think if "Animals" whether they are enemies (Wolf, Bear) or neutral creeps, they should be able to be tamed. This way you leave it up to the Player to choose what kind of "Pet" they want by playing the game. Perhaps there could be some rare~Ranger animals that someone else has that you can steal from them.

 

A Wizard has a monkey, you can tame the monkey (if your skill is strong enough) and steal it from the Wizard. However, it would make the Wizard an enemy if you don't do it sneakily behind his back or whatnot. A Bird could perhaps be thrown into the backpack, because it is small enough. Obviously a Wolf or a Bear would not.

 

ALL I really want to say is~I don't want to summon the animals I tame/capture. This isn't Pokemon, and a tamed animal isn't a creature from some "Void" that the Wizard summons. There should be a limit (per level/skill choice progression/growth) to how many tamed animals you can have in either your group or for the character that is taming them.

 

Ranger

Level 3 = 1 Tamed Animal

Level 6 = 2 Tamed Animals

Level 9 = 3 Tamed~Or stops here.

Level 12 = 4 Tamed~Or boost the 3 you already have somehow.

Edited December 23, 2012 by Osvir

[Gatt9]

Yep, pets in video games are a waste of time since games are about playing them. Effort should be spent on improving the writing, the combat and so on before you do any of these peripheral and cosmetic things interesting only to a small group of players.

 

And nope, playing video games or having pets in real life isn't a waste of time; it's a hobby like every other.

 

Just because they've never been fully implemented doesn't make them a waste of time.

 

Ideally, a pet should mimic their use in a PnP RPG. A Mage's familiar should be able to act as a scout, or the mage should be able to cast spells through it allowing him to sneak attack an unsuspecting group with a crow or cat. He should be able to use it to eavesdrop on a conversation, or send it to trigger an unreachable area, or obtain a hidden or unreachable item.

 

A Ranger's pet should be able to sneak around an enemy and flank them when combat starts, the Ranger should be able to have his pet hide in the shadows or behind some smallish object and sneak attack the enemy. His pet should warn him of impending danger, and perhaps even be able to communicate the type of danger through body language and animal verablizations. His pet should reduce or eliminate his odds of being surprised. His pet should open dialogue paths along the lines of "Oh my, is that...A Wolf?".

 

Pets are many faceted and have enourmous potential in all aspects of an RPG. Just because they've never been done right, doesn't make them a "Waste of time". Honestly, I find it extremely depressing that these last few years of gaming have been so creatively bankrupt that people no longer bother thinking of the many things that could be done with RPG elements and just assume that everything will be Bethesda style streamlined weak design.

[Alexjh]

Yep, pets in video games are a waste of time since games are about playing them. Effort should be spent on improving the writing, the combat and so on before you do any of these peripheral and cosmetic things interesting only to a small group of players.

 

And nope, playing video games or having pets in real life isn't a waste of time; it's a hobby like every other.

 

Just because they've never been fully implemented doesn't make them a waste of time.

 

Ideally, a pet should mimic their use in a PnP RPG. A Mage's familiar should be able to act as a scout, or the mage should be able to cast spells through it allowing him to sneak attack an unsuspecting group with a crow or cat. He should be able to use it to eavesdrop on a conversation, or send it to trigger an unreachable area, or obtain a hidden or unreachable item.

 

A Ranger's pet should be able to sneak around an enemy and flank them when combat starts, the Ranger should be able to have his pet hide in the shadows or behind some smallish object and sneak attack the enemy. His pet should warn him of impending danger, and perhaps even be able to communicate the type of danger through body language and animal verablizations. His pet should reduce or eliminate his odds of being surprised. His pet should open dialogue paths along the lines of "Oh my, is that...A Wolf?".

 

Pets are many faceted and have enourmous potential in all aspects of an RPG. Just because they've never been done right, doesn't make them a "Waste of time". Honestly, I find it extremely depressing that these last few years of gaming have been so creatively bankrupt that people no longer bother thinking of the many things that could be done with RPG elements and just assume that everything will be Bethesda style streamlined weak design.

 

PnP D&D has the possibility of some very fun/ridicolous things in it: one campaign I played I was a sorcerer, and along with the rogue and fighter in the party none of us was more intelligent than average. My companion was a Jay (using the raven stats), and what essentially happened was that because of the way familiars develop, it because by far the most intelligent member of the party to the point where because it had the special ability to learn languages at a certain rate, by the time we got stranded in this place with a language none of us knew, the bird had a free language or two in hand to learn, so learnt the native language on our behalf and acted as translator for the party.

 

It was slightly embarrassing that we were all outsmarted by something that presumably spent most of the journey looking for acorns to eat...

[Geldridge]

What about the pet/familiar being the soul of some other person that can get transferred to and from other animal bodies?

 

That way you get some quests, a relationship with your pet and can do the mmo tame-and-claim thing to upgrade the physical body of your soul pet...