Devs: A plea for a walk toggle

[oddrheia]

Can we please, please  have it? And I do not mean slow-down mode of the game. While that mode is useful in some combat scenarios it is still is a -running- animation playing out in slow motion. And sneak isn't it either. A lot of people want to have an option to  see their party walking in the cities like normal band of adventurers instead of dashing madly from place to place, or sneaking through broad daylight in the middle of town square.

 

Walking animation as is is already in game! NPCs do it in cutscenes.

 

Modders of IE mod has implemented the toggle  for the party to actually -walk- , so it can't be that hard for the developers to turn it on! (The issue with IE mod is it breaks on every single game update)

 

Plethora of other role-playing games have it. Dragon age III did not, but it was since implemented due to demand.  Even an arpg Diablo III have it!

 

It has been asked for since early beta.

 

The game has gone through numerous patches and polishes, maybe it's time to add another small thing that will make a portion of the player base very happy?

 

 

 

 

 

[Cerebro83]

I'm with you on this one, mate. Pillars is a great game, but I simply cannot play it without the walk toggle of IE mod anymore. Problem is, IE mod is not stable for me and crashed the game on several occasions.

 

I know, walking does not change the gameplay or anything. It doesn't make the game objectively better or worse - but I personally cannot stand the fact, that my merry band of adventurers run around like idiots when there's no hurry or need to be alarmed. It's simply an immersion thing. I don't min max my characters for the very same reason: Maybe I cannot be the perfect dps fighter, but I definitely won't be Sir Doofus with Int 3 or Lady Wallflower with Res 3. That's the whole purpose of role playing, isn't it!? Well, it is for me at least. Each to their own.

 

If you find this stupid or unimportant, please don't rant about it. Everyone has their own playstyle and prefers different things. A Walk toggle wouldn't destroy your gaming experience - if you don't want or need it, simply don't use it - but it certainly would improve the experience of many others. And to get the drop on this argument: Yes, spending dev time to fix bugs is more important. I don't deny that. But a walk toggle seems to be a very small thing to add. Everything needed is already in the game, it just needs to get a button assigned to it. Modders without access to the source files and proper tools managed to achieve it, too, so it cannot be that big of a deal.

 

 

Well, to stop my never-ending rambling: I would be REALLY happy to see this included.

 

 

Cheers.

[globalCooldown]

Actually, not a bad idea. I'd be down for a walk toggle. Lots of immersive bang for your technical buck.

[lukasm568]

I support the idea

[deveroth]

"Immersion"

lol

[Valsuelm]

I'm skeptical if this no-brainer feature request thread will go anywhere, as there's already been a few about this. But for what it's worth.

 

Yes please to this feature which should have been in from day one.

 

Also, add blue circles for neutral NPCs while you're at it please Obsidian. That way a lot of us won't have a reason to use to IE mod anymore. For two features that are simple to implement and should have been in the game since beta.

[Lychnidos]

If you want to walk just put boots of speed on everyone, and tada you are a party of walking penguins. Do it while you can, before the patch hits. 

[Ranes]

I would go further. I'd like walk mode to be meaningful, by making running have an impact on endurance. Let's have sheathing weapons while we're at it.* Running around with an unsheathed sword has got to cause RSI. I'm serious. A meaningful walk/sheathed weapons mode would have the benefit of maintaining high endurance levels and also make room for quests that were time-sensitive, such as hostage rescue scenarios. (An NPC says, "Hurry! The cultists are going to sacrifice my beloved at [$currentTime + 30 mins]." Imagine that: an RPG in which someone told you to hurry and it actually made a difference.)

 

* Oh, I know. That's  whole bunch of new anims that need to be created and then blended in with those already there. But seeing my party constantly waving their swords around, even while they're shopping, just gets to me. It's a niggle I have with most RPGs.

Edited March 21, 2016 by Ranes

[Grape_You_In_The_Mouth]

No walk toggle please.  Waste of money, and who would want to move slower through maps? I agree that it adds immersion but this is a C-priority item.

[Crucis]

Can we please, please  have it? And I do not mean slow-down mode of the game. While that mode is useful in some combat scenarios it is still is a -running- animation playing out in slow motion. And sneak isn't it either. A lot of people want to have an option to  see their party walking in the cities like normal band of adventurers instead of dashing madly from place to place, or sneaking through broad daylight in the middle of town square.

 

Walking animation as is is already in game! NPCs do it in cutscenes.

 

Modders of IE mod has implemented the toggle  for the party to actually -walk- , so it can't be that hard for the developers to turn it on! (The issue with IE mod is it breaks on every single game update)

 

Plethora of other role-playing games have it. Dragon age III did not, but it was since implemented due to demand.  Even an arpg Diablo III have it!

 

It has been asked for since early beta.

 

The game has gone through numerous patches and polishes, maybe it's time to add another small thing that will make a portion of the player base very happy?

 

Really?  REALLY?

 

Of all the things that could be done to improve this game, THIS is what you come up with, THIS is what matters to you? 

 

 

[Crucis]

I'm skeptical if this no-brainer feature request thread will go anywhere, as there's already been a few about this. But for what it's worth.

 

Yes please to this feature which should have been in from day one.

 

Also, add blue circles for neutral NPCs while you're at it please Obsidian. That way a lot of us won't have a reason to use to IE mod anymore. For two features that are simple to implement and should have been in the game since beta.

 

To me, the only "no brainer" aspect to this walking thing is how much of a waste of time and resources it would be.

 

OTOH, I think that your blue circles idea for neutral NPC's makes VASTLY more sense.

[Cerebro83]

I don't see why this would be a waste. It's like leaving the break-button out of a racing game, because the pros drift around corners anyway. Maybe you - personally - don't need it, but that doesn't make it a waste for everyone else. I don't need colorblind mode, for example, but I'm glad it's there for the people who need it. Thing is: It's never a waste to add options. There just may be higher priorities. But we are several patches and two expansions in and Pillars is about to wrap up. Maybe 3.02 is the last patch we see - who knows...

 

There ARE people who want this and until a dev explains otherwise, I don't think it would be a big time sink - and certainly not a waste - for them to do.

[Crucis]

I don't see why this would be a waste. It's like leaving the break-button out of a racing game, because the pros drift around corners anyway. Maybe you - personally - don't need it, but that doesn't make it a waste for everyone else. I don't need colorblind mode, for example, but I'm glad it's there for the people who need it. Thing is: It's never a waste to add options. There just may be higher priorities. But we are several patches and two expansions in and Pillars is about to wrap up. Maybe 3.02 is the last patch we see - who knows...

 

There ARE people who want this and until a dev explains otherwise, I don't think it would be a big time sink - and certainly not a waste - for them to do.

 

It's a waste because it's utterly cosmetic.  It adds no new content.  I'd rather than their time, effort, and money were spent on developing additional CONTENT, not something that's so utterly cosmetic.

 

As for having neutral NPC's in blue, that's not a colorblind mode thing to me.  It's about indicating who is NEUTRAL, as in not an enemy and not a party member.  There is a function to it.  As for an actual colorblind mode, what I don't get is why don't developers just make a colorblind mode (assuming that colors are used and we're not talking some sort of gray scale) the normal mode, rather than always defaulting to red for enemies and green for the good guys.  But that's neither here nor there.  And since I'm not color blind either, it doesn't affect me.

[Cerebro83]

I was referring to the colorblind mode currently in the game, not the addition of a blue indication for neutral npcs.Those are two separate things, but we are both on the same page about the blue circles: I use them in IE mod and yes, this feature should be included, too. To be complete, I use IE mod for:

 

- Walk toggle

- Blue circles for neutral npcs

- Modded backer npc names (again: immersion)

- Non-clickable gravestone plates (yep, immersion again)

- Console commands for testing stuff

 

About new content: I think that's highly unlikely. My guess is they'll fix some more bugs, tweak balance a bit and that's it. Yeah, new content would be great, but it would also be a lot more time consuming than simply adding a key-binding for something already in the game. You cannot compare one with the other. It's like saying: I'd rather see them stop fixing bugs here and start with Pillars 2 already, because I'm done with Pillars 1 and further bug fixing doesn't affect me. And that's the gist I get out of this conversation. "It doesn't affect me, I don't care so it's a waste of time and useless."

 

Well, that's a valid opinion, but it's yours, not mine. I saw this thread as an opportunity to promote something I'd love to see added/changed and a place where supporters of the idea could gather. My hopes are not high, though, as I completely agree on what Valsuelm posted before. Still, there is no harm in trying.

 

 

Cheers

[gkathellar]

Since the animations already exist, and they could just nab the button UI from IEMod without real problems, I don't see why asking for this bothers everyone. It's a reasonable request, IMO.

[HippoJ]

The walk toggle thing is an issue I personally have no preference on, but have found that a ton of RPG players feel very strongly about, for purposes of uhh...roleplaying, I suspect. 

 

It would be nice, and I doubt it's anything Obsidian prioritizes over fixes and balancing, but not impossible to think of it being added, or at least maybe someone will pick up the mantle from the IE Mod. 

[Ineth]

time, effort, and money

 

For simply activating a feature that they already implemented?

 

That's right, walking mode is already in the game, because cut-scenes use it.

All that is needed, is to allow players to select a key-binding for it to toggle it on demand. We wouldn't even need a button in the UI.

 

something that's so utterly cosmetic.

 

RPGs thrive on "costemtic" things.

 

If presentation didn't matter, the game could simple show players a black screen, with a white dot representing each character, and lots of raw numbers representing (unnamed) stats.

Maybe some tactics-freaks would still play it, but for most it wouldn't be a very enjoyable game.

 

Lots and lots of development resources for a game like this necessarily go into "cosmetic" things such as graphics, sounds, music, scenic descriptions that don't advance the plot, etc.

 

Because atmosphere and "feels" is everything in an RPG.

 

A walking mode enhances this captivating atmosphere for many players.

And it would cost Obsidian virtually nothing to add it.

 

Why are you so hostile towards it?

[wanderon]

No tech expert here but it occurs to me that just because cut scenes utilize a walk it doesn't necessarily follow that it's "in the game" in such a manner that a developer could flip a switch to turn it on.

 

Aren't cut scenes usually just that - little movies constructed to act out a given scene that can just stand on their own? (separate from the gameplay itself) 

[gkathellar]

No tech expert here but it occurs to me that just because cut scenes utilize a walk it doesn't necessarily follow that it's "in the game" in such a manner that a developer could flip a switch to turn it on.

 

Aren't cut scenes usually just that - little movies constructed to act out a given scene that can just stand on their own? (separate from the gameplay itself)

Two things to bear in mind.

(a)PoE's cutscenes render in real-time. That means the game engine is having the models actively use a walk animation, rather than playing a movie.

(b) IEMod already figured out how to do a walk toggle, so it's clearly pretty easy to do.

[Nonek]

Planescape: Torment managed to implement a walk/run toggle sixteen plus years ago, surely now it should be par for the course?

[Rosveen]

They already spent time, effort and money on creating a dozen different types of hats and clothes serving no practical purpose whatsoever other than roleplaying and illustrating different cultures of Eora. They added little descriptions to random items in the world just to build atmosphere. I don't see why a walk toggle would suddenly be a waste of time when other cosmetic things weren't.

[Valorian]

I'd use the saunter button if they make it as effective as sneaking for the purpose of discovering hidden stuff.