Small suggestions. Easily implemented ideas, quickfire thoughts.

[rjshae]

Lookout points -- places where a pop-up viewer appears allowing you to see a 360-degree first-person panorama of your surroundings.

 

Mmm, okay... maybe not so easy to implement.

[Giantevilhead]

If you're doing a quest for someone who doesn't trust you fully, like you've worked with a faction that they oppose, then that person should try to monitor your progress, maybe even send spies to watch you, to make sure that you don't betray them.

[oneda]

Though I undertstand the advantages of sharing all those little ideas concerning art styles or weapon designs, or how some spells could work in conjuction with other classes, etc. etc. I'm not sure I would want the developers to spend so much time listening to thousands of those little ideas of what could be implemented.  Not even a few hundred.

 

Implementing all of that is a huge task.

 

I would rather have them focus on what made games like bg2 epic. The story, atmosphere, interaction and combat. What if every single one of those suggestions was implemented, but the story was dull or the combat too buggy or what not. Then the game would suck. With or without all those suggested little suggestions. Ultimatley they do not decide whether a game is fun or not.

 

It seems much more important to focus on those major pillars instead. 1 hour spent on a feature that allows us to name our swords is 1 hour less spent on the story. And so on. As those minor ideas don't contribute to the overall qualtiy of the game I would simply trust those experienced developers like Obsidian to do a decent job with them. 

 

But thats just my opinion.

[JFSOCC]

Lookout points -- places where a pop-up viewer appears allowing you to see a 360-degree first-person panorama of your surroundings.

 

Mmm, okay... maybe not so easy to implement.

Well, lookout points which clear up part of the FOW which you can't clear up otherwise (because you might not be able to reach) would be nice. Though if I recall someone posted that idea somewhere earlier in this thread.

[Kalderas]

Cantrips and metamagic ilke things.

[rjshae]

Soul Scholars -- a group of individuals who investigate the heritage of intact souls, seeking a legacy of their interactions and the prophesying the direction of their influence. They may have developed certain elaborate magical tools that aid them in their craft, and their efforts may be funded by wealthy patrons seeking to justify their potential noble stature by demonstrating a royal status in their past lives. The scholars also maintain elaborate histories to trace the heritage of families far back in time.

 

Some swindlers will pose as Soul Scholars in order to profit from the trade. Indeed, true Soul Scholars may offer tempting rewards for those who expose such parasites to their trade.

[gertiyolem]

Personalized weapons

[spudud]

I quite enjoyed the companion influence system in NWN2; especially the impact it had on way the companions and the PC interacted. Although, I wouldn't really be bummed out if they choose not to do anything similar.

 

Also, maybe an option for AoE friendly fire.

[JFSOCC]

Soul Scholars -- a group of individuals who investigate the heritage of intact souls, seeking a legacy of their interactions and the prophesying the direction of their influence. They may have developed certain elaborate magical tools that aid them in their craft, and their efforts may be funded by wealthy patrons seeking to justify their potential noble stature by demonstrating a royal status in their past lives. The scholars also maintain elaborate histories to trace the heritage of families far back in time.

 

Some swindlers will pose as Soul Scholars in order to profit from the trade. Indeed, true Soul Scholars may offer tempting rewards for those who expose such parasites to their trade.

Something like this?

[Tsuga C]

I quite enjoyed the companion influence system in NWN2...

The concept of an influence system isn't necessarily a bad one, but the companions in NWN2 were a flock of loons. If you were honest with them, you lost influence. If we have to keep track of "influence points", I'd hope for a more rational and stable set of companions with which to work.

[Lephys]

 

 

I quite enjoyed the companion influence system in NWN2...

The concept of an influence system isn't necessarily a bad one, but the companions in NWN2 were a flock of loons. If you were honest with them, you lost influence. If we have to keep track of "influence points", I'd hope for a more rational and stable set of companions with which to work.

 

 

Instead of all-purpose points on a meter, what if we had direct effects? You know, "In this particular situation, you went out of your way to stay true to your word to this person and/or have their back, specifically, so now they have increased Trust in you."

 

That companion wouldn't necessarily disagree with you less, or sit at your table in the cafeteria every day, but when poop hits the air-relocator, they'd be more likely to stick with you and believe that you won't abandon, trick, or take advantage of them.

 

Or, you know, if you tell someone "Don't worry... we're going to make sure the children are safe" then, later you just say "eff it... this seems way too tough of a fight to make sure the children are safe" and abandon "the children," that companion should hate you a great deal at that point. FAR more so than if you just say, up front, "Look, we don't have time to make sure everyone's safe." But, then, going back to the effect thing, maybe they trust your word less. Even though you could do everything they love from there on out, they'd be skeptical of your word regarding things and would lack trust in you.

 

This might result in their insistence on certain groupings if your group needs to split up, or their insistence on someone else doing the talking in some situation because they believe you'll botch it (even if you're a much better talker than they are, etc.). Obviously, extreme enough versions of it would probably result in their leaving you.

 

There should simply be several facets to how they view you, rather than "well" or "poorly" being all there is.

[balladur's gates]

1. the possibility to customize with more than two colours the clothes.

mules and donkeys to carry your stuffs and add an other inventory like in Dungeon Siege

Horses for human npc and eventually you in some occasions

[spudud]

 

1. Horses for human npc and eventually you in some occasions

 

I doubt horses or any other mounts would fit in with the combat system in this type of game. Maybe for NPCs in towns or something but definitely not for players.

[rjshae]

 

 

1. Horses for human npc and eventually you in some occasions

 

I doubt horses or any other mounts would fit in with the combat system in this type of game. Maybe for NPCs in towns or something but definitely not for players.

 

Yeah I tried to promote the idea early on... then got my keester handed to me by the angry mob. Still like the idea of facing mounted foes though. Nothing like a courser-mounted knight with a lance to provoke some pointed arguments...

[smithereen]

Mounts need to be in more PCRPGs.

[Tsuga C]

Instead of all-purpose points on a meter, what if we had direct effects?

Analog vs. digital? How our companions react to our choices boils down to the writers and their ideas for worthwhile companions. To me it's not the system so much as the nature of those companions operating within the influence system. Your suggestions are worthy ones.

 

If we have eight or nine potential companions, I can certainly accept the idea of one or two of them being to one degree or another unreasonable sorts to whom we must lie and blow sunshine up their rump to stay in their good graces. No more than that, though. Sorry to be so negative, but I don't want to deal with another influence mini-game that has the potential to torpedo my gaming experience. 

[JFSOCC]

I don't need companions judging my every move and being divided over EVERY SINGLE ****ING ISSUE. They're supposed to be my team, after all. And I expect them to behave like one. I'm currently playing NWN2, having purchased it from GOG, I've just arrived in Neverwinter, and it took me 2 weeks to get there. of those 2 weeks most time was spent playing games I enjoy better. I've been told the game gets better in the city, we'll see.

Edited April 2, 2013 by JFSOCC

[Chippy]

Dialogue/accent/tone/culture and lingo according to surroundings; maybe alot of work, but if your thief is entering a ball or fancy dress party with face masked, they should have the appropriate manner and dialogue to pass off as a guest, or getting caught in the slums without knowing the proper (jig?) and lingo used also being a problem.

[Tsuga C]

I've been told the game gets better in the city, we'll see.

I've made it as far as the beginning of Chapter Three and it does get better, though you'll still need to deal with the influence mini-game to ensure that the companions remain by your side at the end. There's a console command to set their loyalty to 100% and I'd recommend looking it up here so you don't have to worry about the companions being there when you need them.

[Lephys]

Analog vs. digital? How our companions react to our choices boils down to the writers and their ideas for worthwhile companions. To me it's not the system so much as the nature of those companions operating within the influence system. Your suggestions are worthy ones.

 

If we have eight or nine potential companions, I can certainly accept the idea of one or two of them being to one degree or another unreasonable sorts to whom we must lie and blow sunshine up their rump to stay in their good graces. No more than that, though. Sorry to be so negative, but I don't want to deal with another influence mini-game that has the potential to torpedo my gaming experience.

Perhaps I could've been clearer about my suggestion's intent, but I'd also rather like to avoid the "influence minigame," as you call it. The point being that different actions and decisions in different situations would produce different effects for the various companions, rather than ALWAYS producing the same effect (a change to a single influence/likey-ness meter).

 

In other words, getting my Thief to share her own personal spoils with me and getting her to want to go out of her way to cover me in battle shouldn't rely on the same points-o-meter. Essentially, this eliminates the idea of a points-o-meter, entirely. At least as far as I'm able to conceive. I don't exactly have a full, working system in mind, off the top of my head.

 

You can severely dislike someone, though, and still value their knowledge, wisdom, or skill. So, you may not care much for buying them some ale in the tavern or chatting with them a lot, or sharing spoils with them, but you'll proudly follow them in battle and watch them get things done that you, alone, are far less capable of handling. You don't go around shifting your view of someone based on all the things that go against your preferences.

 

"Every time you choose something that comes in a variety of colors, and you pick a color other than red, you shall lose 1 Likeyness point from me. If you choose enough non-red things, I will eventually leave your party and/or try to murder you or sabotage your efforts because I will hate you so ferociously."

 

A good example: A Priest character might not LOVE that you don't pray to their favored deity, but they shouldn't necessarily think LESS of you for it. However, if you go around pissing on their deity's statues and laughing while you do it, that should probably cause a bit of enmity between you two. It's one thing to say "My values differ from yours," and another entirely to say "Your values are worthless shyte."

[Lephys]

I thought of a much better example of my suggestion, as compared to the "influence minigame" seen in many a game:

 

Imagine the action of dropping a lit match.

 

- If you drop it above a puddle, it will land in the puddle and fizzle out.

- If you drop it above bare earth or damp foliage, it will burn until it is fully consumed, then extinguish.

- If you drop it above a field of dry grass, it will ignite the field, and fire will slowly spread until it hits a barrier and burns out. It will put lots of smoke in the air that the wind might carry to various locations, depending on where you are and how the wind is behaving at the time.

- If you drop it above a fuse leading to some powder kegs, it will ignite the fuse, slowly burning up it until it reaches the powder and causes an explosion.

 

Think of the different effects of the exact same action as the impact your action/choice has on various companions. They can't all even be divided into positive or negative effects. They are simply different. An explosion isn't any better or worse than an inferno. Yet, in a given situation, you may prefer one to the other. In another situation, you may wish for a puddle, so the match will simply fizzle out.

 

Or, of course, you may decide to do something that isn't the metaphorical dropping of a match, in which case you'd have entirely different criteria and factors to consider, with entirely different possible results.

[rjshae]

A significant percentage of the exceptional quality item drops could be heavily damaged items: goods of obvious value that were not being put to use by the opponent because of the defect. For example, a superb sword with a broken hilt; a fine mithral chain shirt that is rent from shoulder to waist; an elegant recurved bow that has a crack running along the grip; a magical elixir that has dried to a gummy mass, &c. The PC can then choose to locate a skilled craftsman and provide the necessary funds and material to see the object fully restored to normal operation.

 

This would add a little realism and provide another incentive for interactions with artisans.

[JFSOCC]

I like it, it also makes it easier for packrats to not hold on to stuff they're never going to use anyway.

[Chippy]

Swearing - when implemented appropriately - can be hillarious. Annah walking into the upper ward was totally unexpected with her "...also known as..." comment.  So was thinking of a range of swear words unique to PE, like 'Taffer' was in Thief.

[milczyciel]

Seeing day/night cycle presented in today's update, I'd love to see impairing effect of darkness on PC skills/stats. And maybe something quite opposite for supposedly nocturnal monsters/beasts. Seems almost obvious right? Still neither of IE games had it and atm I can only think of Fallout 1&2 and Arcanum pulling that off.