Eye symbol covering some npc's?

[DnaCowboy]

Hey everyone, I've been away working for a while, anyhoots I'm back and having jumped onto the beta found that the game has updated quite considerably since last I played, one of the puzzling new aspects is that certain npc's have a 'eye' symbol hovering over them; when you click on the character concerned they all have a back story, so with this in mind any chance someone could tell me what they are all about?

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

 

 

[Sensuki]

It's a Backer NPC icon. 

 

When you click on the icon it displays something that the backer's wrote for their NPC.

 

Personally I think it's intrusive and think it should be able to be disabled in the options menu. Several other people have expressed their dislike of it.

 

Mutonizer showed me how to mod it out of the game, so I have the code saved in case they don't do that.

To be honest I'm a bit disappointed for the backers that backed NPCs that they are just blank state NPCs that stand around doing nothing. They don't seem to have any connection to quests, or any of their own dialogue.

[Starwars]

Yeah, I don't quite understand the implementation. Is it supposed to be like that where you click on them and read a story?

 

It feels pretty weird to me. It'd be nice if that could be an option also, toggle the backer-thingie on/off. It's a bit too "easter-egg" for my liking, though I could see myself playing through once with it on.

[Sensuki]

Bit like developer commentary.

 

I wonder if some backers requested their NPC be hostile to the party or something, or of a specific faction etc.

[DnaCowboy]

Thanks guys, I don't mind them at all 

Edited October 27, 2014 by DnaCowboy

[Matt516]

Oh God this. OE focuses so hard on building and writing a compelling world, then they toss it all out the door with this idiotic immersion-breaking. Let me turn the backer NPC extra UI off or so help me I will delete them from my game.

Edited October 27, 2014 by Matt516

[Skie Nightfall]

It's certainly out of place. I thought that backer designed characters would be part of the game in a more immersive way.

[wjbaird]

I kinda assumed that this was just a placeholder for this beta patch...   I certainly hope so...   if this is the final implementation, it certainly would make me glad I didn't bother to shell out for one of those tiers.

[Lychnidos]

There are at least 114 backers eligible for an NPC, it's almost impossible for them to be something more than vendors, townspeople, or random mooks. After all, you need to treat them all equally.

[Quadrone]

There are at least 114 backers eligible for an NPC, it's almost impossible for them to be something more than vendors, townspeople, or random mooks. After all, you need to treat them all equally.

 

If they actually were "vendors, townspeople, or random mooks" that would be preferable.

Instead they are those human signposts, only there so you can click on the eye button and read a bit of fanfiction.

Or rather, that is the only kind I met. Wouldn't be so bad if they had any other function but so far you can't even talk to them.

[aeonsim]

I wonder if they all belong to this settlement or obs has just been putting them in here so the people who backed them can see what they look like in game. The biggest issue with them at the moment is the text about them has nothing to do with the location and there density is crazy, if they're more spread out and in relevant places in the full game then it won't be so bad. Though the eye is still going to be intrusive.

Edited October 29, 2014 by aeonsim

[wanderon]

I didn't have any issue with the "eye" as people are calling it - I just treated it as if it were a shield they were holding - I doubt this is the final version in any event.