Some nags with the realism

[Kraxis]

Just a few minor details that I found odd while trying to immerse myself into the game world (which I love so far.) Some of these may be impractical to fix for PoE at this point, but maybe you can take them into consideration for your next game

 

Names Prescience

Hovering the mouse over NPCs shows their name before our character even knows who they are. Maybe Expert Mode can include an option to disable that and show names as "???" until the character has introduced themselves? Not all conversations begin with an introduction though, so this may require changing some of the dialogue to include them. Right now I'm working around it by assuming it's because of our special powers

 

Permanently Unsheathed Weapons

Does anybody else feel awkward walking* around in public places with your flaming swords and shotguns out at all times? An option to sheathe them would be easy to implement and make us feel more civil.

 

Always running everywhere

Speaking of walking, how come we can't ever take it slow and just stroll at a leisurely pace? A middle ground between the constant running and sneaky scouting. While we're at it can we get an option to disable pausing when we open the journal? It'd be nice to read stuff while the party continues to its destination. 

 

Stronghold

Right now the whole stronghold mechanic feels kinda tacked on, especially the very first construction that gets completed in an instant. Maybe have a narrative vignette introduce the event as a part of the story, instead of having it just happen like that through the UI? And where are the people that carry out the constructions, our "patrols" and stuff?

 

[illathid]

Realism/simulationism needs to die in a fire. This is a game.

[TMZuk]

I'd like an option to sheathe weapons. Like NWN had.

 

And I'd like an option to walk.

 

And I'd like an option to disable names.

 

If people do not like the word realism, then call it suspension of disbelief. In any case, I concur with OP.

Edited April 3, 2015 by TMZuk

[lucid1222]

But he's ok with the wizard slinging fireballs all over the place....  Yup this game is supposed to be real.

[sparklecat]

We see names because very few people want to click on 20 Villagers in some tavern before they find the one person they were sent to find.

[Gallenger]

This reminds me of the time when we were all sitting around the table playing some good ol' fashioned D&D.  The DM and the player got into an argument about some turn of events, and as so often happens, the player realized he was losing, so to save himself he uttered the words "that wouldn't happen in real life" and the entire room erupted in raucous laughter. 

 

1.  If you don't want to see NPC names before you know who they are, don't hold down tab.  

 

2.  Walk/Run serves no purpose what so ever - would you honestly *walk* places without x2 speed on? 

 

3.  Sheathing/unsheathing is a staple of games were you aren't so zoomed out - but in this case it doesn't really matter because you spend the majority of your time very far away, visually, from the character.   It makes sense to put time and effort into the animations in KOTOR, NWN, Mass Effect, and etc, because you see your character so closely, not as much here - although I will note that you *could* use a system like Fallout 1-2, that is, keep your second weapon slot empty  and switch back and forth. 

 

That's how we sheathed our weapons in 1998!

Edited April 3, 2015 by Gallenger

[Kraxis]

Realism/simulationism needs to die in a fire. This is a game.

 

Realism isn't the exact same thing as being Realistic.

 

Not to straw man this, but why have things like the need to rest, or the time it takes to travel between locations, or cooking food, or spells like fireball affecting your own party members, and so on? 

 

The things listed in the OP would all be optional, there for people who prefer to play that way, just like Expert Mode already is.

[Nukenin]

If you want to "sheathe" weapons, simply click the weapon toggle for a character until they have unarmed (fists) equipped.  This works even if you have all your weapon sets filled (you won't see an unarmed weapon set in that case, but can still select it by clicking the current weapon set toggle to cycle through all sets).

 

The displayed "sheathed" weapon will reflect your first weapon set.

 

When you enter combat you will want to ensure that you've reselected (unsheathed) the appropriate weapon set, or else you'll be playing at monk (which of course might not work out so well unless you are, in fact, a monk).

[Kveldulf]

I think the stronghold idea is sort of meh too. Maybe if there were some more interesting visuals, or generally, more stuff going on (decisions) with it, then okay.

 

The amount of time and energy it took for them develop strongholds, they could have extended other areas of the game - which I would rather have.

Edited April 4, 2015 by Kveldulf

[pstone]

Names Prescience

Don't need it personally, but sounds reasonable & shouldn't be too hard (maybe ask the IE Mod Author if/how it can be done, he already changed how mouse over works)

 

Permanently Unsheathed Weapons

A script to globally change weapons to fist slot while in towns shouldn't be hard / much work & adds immersion -> i'd also like to see that happen.

 

Always running everywhere

Well, immersive but i already hate the running speed, walking would drive me crazy. Since there are walk animations in the game already (as seen in cutscences etc.), it shouldn't be too hard to implement or mod...

 

 

Stronghold

Good idea, but i think we'll have to wait for the expansion for such a major overhaul. Edited April 4, 2015 by pstone

[Hatred]

 If you are going to complain about the lack of realism then this is the list you should make.

1. Magic 

2. Wearing plate armour all the time.

3. Sleeping more than once a day or less than once a day.

4. Recovering from combat wounds in less than a few months and frequently at all.

5. Eating less than twice a day while doing strenuous activity repeatedly.

6. Carry so much loot around (as in having an inventory at all. Should be quickslots and equipment. Your backpack is for food and water)

7. Having a large bodycount.

8. Winning fights against large groups of trained soldiers in armour.

 

I could make this list 15 pages long. Please realise your complaints are arbitrary and based upon some random ideas that are totally personal to you. The game isn't in the slightest realistic or a simulation of anything.

[pstone]

If you are going to complain about the lack of realism then this is the list you should make.

1. Magic 

2. Wearing plate armour all the time.

3. Sleeping more than once a day or less than once a day.

4. Recovering from combat wounds in less than a few months and frequently at all.

5. Eating less than twice a day while doing strenuous activity repeatedly.

6. Carry so much loot around (as in having an inventory at all. Should be quickslots and equipment. Your backpack is for food and water)

7. Having a large bodycount.

8. Winning fights against large groups of trained soldiers in armour.

 

I could make this list 15 pages long. Please realise your complaints are arbitrary and based upon some random ideas that are totally personal to you. The game isn't in the slightest realistic or a simulation of anything.

I think realism in a fantasy game setting is more about immersion & what would make sense in this world - less about "it could/would happen like this in reality". His requests seem reasonable imo.

[PrimeJunta]

Since we're on this level of wants...

 

I want enchantable hats.

 

I want the Vailian outfit to be properly tintable. Purple just isn't my color you know?

 

I want powdered wigs. Enchantable, powdered wigs.

 

I want a buff on the rapier. I insist on using it due to my station and because of its elegance and style, but it kind of sucks for killing people. The +6 ACC doesn't make up for the really bad damage.

 

Did I mention enchantable hats?

[Katarack21]

I want to enchant capes. Not because I need to, but because I'm a backer, I have my super-special backer cape, and I feel entitled to both wear my special cape and not give up effects.

This is a game-breaking issue that needs to be fixed right now.

[MistarDurk]

Just make a post on Twitter and they'll change anything you want.

[Rostere]

Just a few minor details that I found odd while trying to immerse myself into the game world (which I love so far.) Some of these may be impractical to fix for PoE at this point, but maybe you can take them into consideration for your next game

 

Names Prescience

Hovering the mouse over NPCs shows their name before our character even knows who they are. Maybe Expert Mode can include an option to disable that and show names as "???" until the character has introduced themselves? Not all conversations begin with an introduction though, so this may require changing some of the dialogue to include them. Right now I'm working around it by assuming it's because of our special powers

 

Permanently Unsheathed Weapons

Does anybody else feel awkward walking* around in public places with your flaming swords and shotguns out at all times? An option to sheathe them would be easy to implement and make us feel more civil.

 

Always running everywhere

Speaking of walking, how come we can't ever take it slow and just stroll at a leisurely pace? A middle ground between the constant running and sneaky scouting. While we're at it can we get an option to disable pausing when we open the journal? It'd be nice to read stuff while the party continues to its destination. 

 

Stronghold

Right now the whole stronghold mechanic feels kinda tacked on, especially the very first construction that gets completed in an instant. Maybe have a narrative vignette introduce the event as a part of the story, instead of having it just happen like that through the UI? And where are the people that carry out the constructions, our "patrols" and stuff?

 

I like realism but I think all of these are really minor issues. Possibly with the exception of the Stronghold.

[Hogfather]

Yeh you can sheath your weapons if its very important, but you'll need to do it manually by clicking on the weapon set button a couple times.

 

Which is realistic, right?

 

That said, I wouldn't mind it if the game auto-sheathed weapons out of combat, and the party bristled with pointy sharp things as soon as the target circles went red. Would be kinda cool yeh?

[Prime-Mover]

But he's ok with the wizard slinging fireballs all over the place....  Yup this game is supposed to be real.

That misses the point. The premise of the world is that it is a fantasy setting, and that magic exists. We accept that premise going in. But beyond that, certain things will affect our ability to suspend disbelief. Clearly you must agree with this since you're playing POE, and not Diablo. So a discussion is about where to feasibly draw the line, is entirely relevant.

 

I personally think the line should be drawn when realism makes the game unfun. 

[Prime-Mover]

Just make a post on Twitter and they'll change anything you want.

Give it a f*cking rest

[Posbi]

• A hotbutton for sheathing weapons would be a nice addition to help with immersion. It's a wee bit awkward if you run around a peaceful village with all your weapons drawn.
• You CAN walk. Hit "S".
• The Stronghold really is *THE* immersion breaker for me so far. Everything I wrote on it here still stands, and the execution has been even more underwhelming than what I originally feared. Given the entertainment I drew from Crossroads Keep in NWN 2 I'm seriously disappointed. Even the way you get the stronghold in the first place is... less than stellar.

  And it could have been so easy. Take a plausible reason to gain the stronghold in the first place: Kolsc (or Raedric, but why the **** would you even chose him?) grants you the place for your support in the preceeding affairs. Seeing how he is the lord over a destitute and depopulated realm, that's all he can give you: a ruined stronghold and your name to it. You could still have Maerwald dwelling there, maybe as a trespasser or simply as the former liege lord who has gone mad over the years as memories have swallowed him while his territory falls to ruin in the face of Waidwen's Legacy.

   

  As the stronghold sits on an old trade route across a river ford you even get a reason for it's existence in the first place. The Endless Paths should be something you discover later on while repairing the keep, not something presented to you on a silver platter. And by restoring the keep you draw back in the settlers/villagers that may have left before, and that entails a whole slew of scripted (mini-)quests, adventuring parties visiting you, etc. See, that wasn't hard to think of. Took me ten minutes. Should have been no more difficult for Obsidian. 

   

  I seriously hope you rework the mechanics and implementation with some future major patch, because right now all the Stronghold amounts to is an immersion breaking money sink!

• Any infor regarding the possibility to mod the game with a tool? The mix of 3D assets and 2D backgrounds should make it comparatively easier to mod than the old Infinity Engine games, and there are enough unused spaces to populate still.

[liniger4312]

 

Just make a post on Twitter and they'll change anything you want.

Give it a f*cking rest

 

Calm down.

Why even reply to it if you want the matter to dwindle, ignore it instead.

[Hatred]

Since we're on this level of wants...

 

I want enchantable hats.

 

I want the Vailian outfit to be properly tintable. Purple just isn't my color you know?

 

I want powdered wigs. Enchantable, powdered wigs.

 

I want a buff on the rapier. I insist on using it due to my station and because of its elegance and style, but it kind of sucks for killing people. The +6 ACC doesn't make up for the really bad damage.

 

Did I mention enchantable hats?

 Especially considering that Rapiers are literally the best 1v1 swords in the world. What really breaks my immersion is that spears are not hands down the best weapons for a 1v1 fight and that duel wielding works and that pikes arent the best weapons for formation fighting. Oh well.

[Irrevenant]

That said, I wouldn't mind it if the game auto-sheathed weapons out of combat, and the party bristled with pointy sharp things as soon as the target circles went red. Would be kinda cool yeh?

 

This is how it was in Arcanum. It was a nice touch.

[Maviarab]

Finally gives up...the amount of stupid and ridiculous on these forums has reached a new high.

[Kraxis]

But he's ok with the wizard slinging fireballs all over the place....  Yup this game is supposed to be real.

Wizards and fireballs make sense with the game's setting... Already knowing everybody's name doesn't, nor does walking around in bars and cities and the Sanitarium etc. with your weapons drawn without the guards getting uncomfortable.

Edited April 5, 2015 by Kraxis