You have been waylaid by enemies, and must defend yourself

[Reshy]

 

 

 

 

Random trash enemies work great in games like BG/BG2/IWD when you are allowed or even encouraged to generate as much XP/treasure as you like by spam-resting.  But in PoE you earn the right to rest (which eliminates the need to make it risky) and your xp path is supposed to be tightly controlled so the devs will know your likely level at any given point in the game (which admittedly didn't work out all that well but is still worth mentioning). 

 

I don't have anything against random encounters, personally, but some thinking would need to be done if they were to be brought back when resting. 

 

If you wanted, you could always allow the option to rest *without* the supplies, but you get a random encounter guaranteed.

 

The random encounters in the BG series always interrupted your rest. It was implemented to make it "dangerous" to rest in the wilds. If you'd get a random encounter guaranteed with this setup, you'd never be able to rest outside.

 

 

Well you can, but this gives incentives to use camping supplies since camping in the wilds is no longer an infinite use option, it's very limited.  On the flip side, you can easily just travel across the country without ever having to risk being waylaid by brigands or threats.  In PoE I've very rarely actually used the campaigning supplies, less than maybe a dozen times the entire game. 

 

 

Oh I see you meant optionally rest without supplies. So have both options available. I misunderstood. I don't see why you'd want to pick the option to rest without supplies if you're guaranteed to get interrupted though. 

 

Camping in PoE also gives bonuses. I've chosen to rest quite a few times before a battle just to have those bonuses. Also on PotD you lose health a lot faster because battles in the beginning take a long time because of the enemy stat boosts. Of course you could always save before a fight and if the fight doesn't go as you wanted reload so you don't need to use supplies, but yeah whatever. I think the system is fine.

 

The "waylaid by enemies" in BG was a random encounter when you travelled from point A to B. I don't think you should be interrupted while resting. If anything the number of areas where you're allowed to rest should be minimized.

 

I have two save files specifically for combat, called Fight Sav and Post-Fight Sav.  I use those slots constantly for each encounter.

[AeonsLegend]

I only use quick save.

[Riggs]

Making it a toggle for people that do not want it on seems like a good plan.

 

Having a risk of 'wandering monsters' feels more organic and the idea that travelling has some risks (interrupting resting would just be annoying given limited resting supplies - but then again if you are in a dungeon with enemies still around - it makes sense to have some risks no?)

 

The restriction on amount of camping supplies is meant to prevent spam resting I assume, but if there was a chance to interrupt resting then perhaps that restriction could be removed as well. However that seems like extra coding work for little real benefit other than a feeling of immersion, but being attacked while travelling seems easier to do.

[asnjas]

im not saying its a bad thing, but i do think ppl fall in love with replay value.

 

just because something will get old after multiple playthroughs shouldnt be the deciding factor on whether its gets added to the game.

[NatureWithoutMan]

Id like it if traveling caused random encounters (most with scripted interactions, some just a few creatures) and the use of survival skill could allow you to remain unseen or to leave the encounter or to position yourself better. Survival skill is always under utilized in games and I'd like it to feel more relevant.

 

Or just use skills to avoid. Anyone can pitch camp but if I have high stealth I can utilize camouflage or mechanics I could set up traps around the area or lore I know the safe locations in the area, or athletics you could outpace the approaching bandits, etc.

 

Let the crappy encounters that aren't scripted have outs that relate to your build, skills or class, so you don't have to fight them.

[PugPug]

The chief problem is that a weakened party can get into a no-win scenario. Can't travel to safety and can't rest and recover. Load an earlier save (which you can't count on the player having), spam quick load and hope for luck, or game over.

 

A secondary problem is that you could use up your camping supplies without actually resting through no fault of your own.

 

You should never consider reloading a save to be a normal part of designed play outside death.

[anameforobsidian]

I would be okay with traveling encounters as long as most were thematic or story-based. Per rest encounters were silly in BG. Normally they were just a slight experience and gold boost at best and annoyance at worst.

[PangaeaACDC]

I'm actually glad they dropped the random encounters on travel and rest. Particularly for how I always play these games, with resting only when we HAVE TO, and not every 5 meters of progress like some do, we could end up in a sleep or die situation pretty quickly if the random creatures happened to be rough bastards. If you were travelling in certain parts of the BG world, you could end up fighting basillisks (good luck surviving that unprepared) or a bunch of wyverns.

 

In Wasteland 2, all the random encounters were really annoying. You could have just fought off one lot, wander a small piece across the world map towards your destination, and then another lot surprises you. At least you could choose to avoid it if you invested points into a skill -- but the only reason to take that skill to begin with was to avoid the random encounters, so it was kind of silly. Also, there were very few maps of the random kind, so it got old very quickly. A massive time-sink too. (That said, in W2 there were a few truly unique ones too, so it can be done in a good way.)

 

Therefore I'm glad Obsidian dropped this for PoE. It may be less realistic, especially when you sleep next to a room of bad guys in a dungeon, but the game is more fun that way in my opinion.

[BrotherFerg]

I don't miss the random encounters especially if I have a limited number of camp supplies. I do like some of the encounters like assassins that may be quest related however. I just played through baldurs gate again and each time it happens I instantly reload.

[Sedrefilos]

The more back you go the more you find standard board game mechanics directly implemented in video games. Although board games and video games share common mechanics and are influencing one another, that dosen't mean one's mechanic will have the same effect on the other. Random encounters is one of those. The slower pace and higher encounter involvement that players experience in a board game does not exist in the same way in a video game. A random encounter, even if it is just a bunch of bandits ambushing the party is much more intense in a board game than in a fast-paced video game which will have, eventually, tens of similar encounters down the road in more meaningful paths.

[JerekKruger]

The more back you go the more you find standard board game mechanics directly implemented in video games. Although board games and video games share common mechanics and are influencing one another, that dosen't mean one's mechanic will have the same effect on the other. Random encounters is one of those. The slower pace and higher encounter involvement that players experience in a board game does not exist in the same way in a video game. A random encounter, even if it is just a bunch of bandits ambushing the party is much more intense in a board game than in a fast-paced video game which will have, eventually, tens of similar encounters down the road in more meaningful paths.

 

Another important difference is the existence of a GM. The GM can judge the flow of the game and the mood of the players and decide to ignore random encounter tables etc., making them less likely to annoy. A CRPG can't do this sadly.