Crazy Idea! REAL TIME/SLOW-MO

[Aoha]

I was just reading interview with Brian Fargo about Numenera game that they are working on and this interesting idea struck me

 

 

What if real time pause system was switched to real time/slow motion one instead? When you hit then space button game slows to lets say 1/5 of its speed instead of totally being frozen in time

 

Characters still keep swinging their swords or running while fireballs fly just but instead of having this unrealistic looking frozen screen every few seconds, this new system allows combat to go on. If this would work as I imagined it then we would end up with system that would improve overall fluidity of game by giving it more realistic feel due to fact that time is still flowing while giving you all the chance you need to cast your spells and order your party around.

 

If any of you played games with slow motion you know how cool they feel!!!

 

So what do you say do you like the idea?

Edited January 9, 2013 by Aoha

[WorstUsernameEver]

Explain to me how this improves on the Real Time with Pause paradigm because I don't see it. In fact, the fact that combat *always* goes on no matter what and you can't queue orders while in pause means that the flow of the combat would move to something more RTS/MOBA-like and away from the Infinity Engine experience. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's clearly not what was promised to the backers and not the experience they handed out money for.

[Aoha]

You can still order just the same nothing changes, just instead of pause you have slow motion. Gameplay stays exactly the same.

 

It improves feeling of the game, I recently watched some Icewind dale 2 vid and reinstalled the game for I dont know which time after that, but in that video seeing this old game it became clear to me that constant play for few seconds ->freeze everything, play for few seconds -> freeze everything system looks unappealing. This would just visually improve the game since by giving feeling of real time due to slow-mo while keeping same control mechanism for party in place.

 

 

 

P.S. moba/rts games are nothing like this, they are real time based and even take good reflexes for some games like HoN.

 

P.S.S and we can still keep pause button or open menu button in game in case that you wish to pause game for toilet visit or something.

Edited January 9, 2013 by Aoha

[J.E. Sawyer]

In our current build, we already allow the game to either be paused or dramatically slowed. A while back, a number of people requested the "slo-mo" option because (among other reasons) some are micromanagers who wind up in a constant pause-start-pause-start-pause pattern every few seconds. The slo-mo toggle required virtually no effort on our end and seems to play reasonably well so far.

[Aoha]

Awesome:D

[Sylvius the Mad]

I would support slow-mo as an option, but the ability to actually pause needs always to be there. Any game I can't pause is a game I won't play.

[J.E. Sawyer]

Pausing will always be available.

[Sylvius the Mad]

I never doubted that.

[ShadowTiger]

I personally don't like slomo at all but its great to have more options while you play!

[Osvir]

This sounds awesome!! :D

 

On slow-motion and similar... I finished Dishonored (twice in a row in fact, Very Easy High Chaos and Very Hard Low Chaos) and I absolutely love the teleport spell and the slow time spell.

 

5 enemies hm -> Slowtime -> Shoot three sleep darts -> Teleport to the 4th guy -> take him out non-lethal style -> Slow time ends -> take out the last guy as he gets alerted -> everyone falls down around you -> no one saw you -> dump the unconscious bodies in a nearby trash bin

 

Dishonored has the best slow motion effects. But it might be because of the abilities and first person of course, might not feel as epic in an isometric perspective but it might still be something to consider

Edited January 10, 2013 by Osvir

[obsidiansquid]

Great idea and I'm glad it's included.

[Lephys]

I just read this, heh. I was thinking "That would be really cool, in a way, but you'd either have to still include pausing (in which case lots of people would still just use that to make sure they had plenty of command-issuing time) OR provide slo-mo ONLY and piss everyone off when they needed to use the restroom."

 

But then, not only did someone already bring this up and address it, but it was Josh Sawyer himself. . So, awesome possum.

[Infinitron]

This isn't such a crazy idea. Slow motion has actually been a staple of certain real-time strategy titles for a very long time.

[AGX-17]

This isn't such a crazy idea. Slow motion has actually been a staple of certain real-time strategy titles for a very long time.

 

P:E was not billed as a RTS on kickstarter. I feel quite secure in saying 99% (margin of error: 1%,) of the people donating were not donating to see a RTS game result.

Edited January 10, 2013 by AGX-17

[Juneau]

I really like the idea of slow motion instead of a pause option BUT at the same time I don't want it when i'm controlling more then 1 person.

 

I hit pause I got to the first guy provide orders.

second provide oreders

thrid provide orders

four providers orders

go back to third and revise orders due to four

five tell him to move the heck out of the way

 

and all of a sudden the first person is dead because slow motion saw him eat 3 or 4 attacks because I was trying to manage more then the time could allow for.

 

Single player game though this would be awesome

[Tychoxi]

Awesome:D

 

lucky you!

[Somna]

This isn't such a crazy idea. Slow motion has actually been a staple of certain real-time strategy titles for a very long time.

 

P:E was not billed as a RTS on kickstarter. I feel quite secure in saying 99% (margin of error: 1%,) of the people donating were not donating to see a RTS game result.

 

I agree. ...However, that pause-start-pause-start-pause-start did annoy me on some fights at times--especially ones with lots of things on the screen--so I can see a point in the slow-motion option at times.

[Juneau]

This isn't such a crazy idea. Slow motion has actually been a staple of certain real-time strategy titles for a very long time.

 

P:E was not billed as a RTS on kickstarter. I feel quite secure in saying 99% (margin of error: 1%,) of the people donating were not donating to see a RTS game result.

 

I agree. ...However, that pause-start-pause-start-pause-start did annoy me on some fights at times--especially ones with lots of things on the screen--so I can see a point in the slow-motion option at times.

 

But this is the exact reason why you DONT want slow motion.

 

You have lots of stuff going on within the screen you don't want to be having to rush orders, potentially missing stuff because when you queued of your first cast and moved on to the second/third and then fourth member of your team to do something then you completely missed the fact that your first player has now cast said spell and/or died.

 

 

[Somna]

This isn't such a crazy idea. Slow motion has actually been a staple of certain real-time strategy titles for a very long time.

 

P:E was not billed as a RTS on kickstarter. I feel quite secure in saying 99% (margin of error: 1%,) of the people donating were not donating to see a RTS game result.

 

I agree. ...However, that pause-start-pause-start-pause-start did annoy me on some fights at times--especially ones with lots of things on the screen--so I can see a point in the slow-motion option at times.

 

But this is the exact reason why you DONT want slow motion.

 

You have lots of stuff going on within the screen you don't want to be having to rush orders, potentially missing stuff because when you queued of your first cast and moved on to the second/third and then fourth member of your team to do something then you completely missed the fact that your first player has now cast said spell and/or died.

 

It's going to depend on the lots of stuff too though. Also, pause-unpause ad nauseum waiting for stuff to get to the right distance can get very annoying.

[Infinitron]

This isn't such a crazy idea. Slow motion has actually been a staple of certain real-time strategy titles for a very long time.

 

P:E was not billed as a RTS on kickstarter. I feel quite secure in saying 99% (margin of error: 1%,) of the people donating were not donating to see a RTS game result.

 

The combat in real-time-with-pause RPGs is basically meant to be played like a very sophisticated real time strategy game.

 

Need I remind you that the Infinity Engine started out as a prototype for an RTS?

Edited January 12, 2013 by Infinitron

[Dermi]

In our current build, we already allow the game to either be paused or dramatically slowed. A while back, a number of people requested the "slo-mo" option because (among other reasons) some are micromanagers who wind up in a constant pause-start-pause-start-pause pattern every few seconds. The slo-mo toggle required virtually no effort on our end and seems to play reasonably well so far.

And how does it work right now? I mean is this a menu toggle, that sets whole game either to slow-mo or pause, or is it binded to two different buttons? Because I just thought it could be nice to have both modes available binded to different keys, so, for example, I set pause to space and use it as primary function, and yet I have slow-mo binded under different key and use it for less challenging fights, where micromanagement isn't essential. That way player could use both modes on "encounter-basis", instead of deciding it arbitrary for the whole game.

[Gnostic]

If there is a slow button, then will there be a speed up button? In case the game normal speed is too slow for me waiting party to move from location X to Y, attack / spell animation too slow etc.

[Jobby]

Slo-mo sounds awesome, it could easily add another playthrough for me if taken as an alternative gameplay choice, plus we might get some awesome death animations? :D

Edited December 26, 2013 by Jobby