120 réponses à ce sujet

[dutch_gamer]

But having them do nothing while not in your just so you can imagine them doing whatever it is they do in their free time serves no real purpose, does nothing in terms of gameplay and does not further the story in any way. If we are to take your assertion that it would be possible for the narrative to give them priorities while not personally accompanying the protagonist what happens when they are always accompanying the protagonist? Do these goals not get accomplished meaning you unlock content for NOT using these companions or are they just head cannon priorities that again serve no real purpose in terms of story or gameplay?

I see no need for the companions to serve any type of purpose when you don't take them with you on a mission.

 

The goals of a companion get solved by the player character taking them on a specific companion mission.

 

I absolutely don't want to see the companions having a purpose by us sending them on a mission in the same way as in the AC series. It would just be a bit of text telling you where you can send a companion to and not much else. It serves no real purpose other than giving you the idea the companion is doing something "important". You can do this with proper roleplaying as well without the hassle of sending your companion on pointless "missions".

 

Another way to make your companions have a purpose is to have them around you even if you don't take them with you in a party. You could do this as mentioned by another while taking over some fort. I don't really like this either because in the example given you would then be "forced" to babysit the companions you didn't take with you in your party. I find four characters more than enough to manage. I don't mind one mission or two with all of your companions but beyond that I think it is just a bit much for no real gain other than the feeling your companions are always doing something useful. Not to mention having your companions with you at more than just two major events (when you don't directly control them because they aren't in your party) is, in my opinion, a waste of resources. I much rather have Bioware spend their budget on giving us enough content instead of spending too much money on giving us the feeling the companions outside of your party matter in still a good amount of missions.

 

My preferred "solution" is to just go the DA 2 route. I felt my companions actually did have a life of their own without me having to manage every single companion all of the time (the AC way) or by managing all of them in more than major events (usually the game's final).

[Maria Caliban]

So we can only take 3 companions with us? What are the other 6 doing?

 

Chilling in their jammies, watching the TV, and pigging out on junk food.

[thats1evildude]

Playing Dungeons and Dragons back at the keep. Varric's the main GM, but when he steps out, Leliana takes over the campaign.

[Battlebloodmage]

On Glee singing Don't Stop Believin'.

[naddaya]

My preferred "solution" is to just go the DA 2 route. I felt my companions actually did have a life of their own without me having to manage every single companion all of the time (the AC way) or by managing all of them in more than major events (usually the game's final).

 

This

 

They were either getting drunk, patrolling, getting laid, playing diamondback or giving broody looks to random people.

[DragonRacer]

Blackjack and hookers back at the Main Keep. 

 

No wonder my Inquisitor can't get 3 volunteers to join her on missions.

 

[Allan Schumacher]

Can you think of any challenges/opportunity costs that may exist in order to implement something like this?

[Maria Caliban]

Can you think of any challenges/opportunity costs that may exist in order to implement something like this?

 

Nope. This is something BioWare could easily implement but doesn't because it's mean and you don't love us.

[Beerfish]

Seems the op is totally oblivious to a few of the recent BioWare games in which you either see for yourself what they are up to or they talk about what they are up to.  Once again another game mechanic that BioWare is miles ahead of some other popular games and yet gets taken to task for it.

[Maiden Crowe]

Can you think of any challenges/opportunity costs that may exist in order to implement something like this?

 

Hard to say without seeing exactly what you have already done and what you have in place and whether or not it would be conducive to such a system. Everything costs something but I am sure the costs would be somewhat mitigated if the game was built with such features in mind, I am sure it would be more expensive to add something like this later in the development cycle especially if you need to change the work you have already done in order to accommodate it. Of course you could always half arse it and tack something on with little thought as to how well it fits with the rest of the game but then would the cost be worth it?

 

There is plenty I could suggest however even if you were willing to listen unfortunately such suggestions would probably be too late this far into the development cycle, I am not so much asking you to drop everything and implement such a feature but more asking out of curiosity if it was something you had in mind when developing Inquisition and if we can hope to see something of the sort and if not is it something you might consider in future games?

[Maiden Crowe]

Seems the op is totally oblivious to a few of the recent BioWare games in which you either see for yourself what they are up to or they talk about what they are up to.  Once again another game mechanic that BioWare is miles ahead of some other popular games and yet gets taken to task for it.

 

I must be, please by all means enlighten me.

[DragonRacer]

Can you think of any challenges/opportunity costs that may exist in order to implement something like this?

 

Not even taking into account the challenge I imagine to be involved in logistically having your companions "do their own thing", I can just envision the forum rage when so-and-so's Inquisitor returns to the Main Keep to, say, grab anoher teammate for the next mission and said teammate is nowhere to be found because he's/she's off doing Inquisition-related stuff and is "currently inaccessible".

 

Sort of makes me think of ME3 where either Kaidan or Ashley is in your party, then they get injured and are out-of-commission for several large story plots before you get the opportunity of welcoming them back to the party. On one hand, I thought it was neat story-wise to do that and see it play out; but there was also the other part of me that itched about not being able to bring them to, say, the whole Menae mission or the massive Tuchanka arc (mostly to hear/wonder what their banter might have been had they been available for those missions, personally).

 

I do have to say that I LOVED ME3's mechanic where teammates might not always be where you'd expect them on the Normandy, because they would wander around, do stuff, interact with other teammates, etc. I spent countless gametime going back to the Normandy after every single minor side mission and exploring all the decks just to make sure I didn't miss any banter/humor/shenanigans.

 

I could see this happen with DA:I, where you return to the Main Keep and the "unused" party members are milling around either swapping stories, or maybe interviewing scouts on reports of the other minor Keeps, or other intelligence-gathering/organizing/etc.

[Fredvdp]

I like how they did it in Star Wars: The Old Republic. You can send your inactive companions on missions to find crafting resources or other items, or they could just stay on your ship to craft items.

[Realmzmaster]

I assume that the companions were engaged in activities before joining up with the Inquisitor. So unless they put all of those activities on hold I assume they would continue pursuing them. I gather Varric will still be running his various operations for example.

 

The other companions can also be making sure that the operations at the keep are running smoothly.

[happy_daiz]

Chilling in their jammies, watching the TV, and pigging out on junk food.

 

Yeah, I was thinking something like lounging around on the patio, drinks in-hand, painting each other's toenails, but that works, too.   

[sereture]

They are knitting. You need warm sweaters in the mountains!

[ziloe]

Can you think of any challenges/opportunity costs that may exist in order to implement something like this?

When I think of games like Final Fantasy Tactics, sending members out to do specialty missions could have them away for as long as 20 days, game time. Each new area counted as a day, and in that time you could have any number of encounters, causing you to maybe even have a weaker fighting unit until they return, since you're lacking someone integral to your fighting party.

If in Dragon Age terms, your party members had different skills/knowledge (think Garrus and his "calibrations" for instance) then maybe having specific members sent off to do those duties (or help aid agents with specific tasks) would seem more realistic, since I'm assuming every character has something to offer outside of combat. It would also present more opportunities to switch around your party at any given time, giving players a chance to see and experience everyone else.

As for costs, maybe they're needed elsewhere too, so the idea would be to choose what/where would be a more dire situation, like a character who is good at tracking, tracking either A: a kidnapped person, or B: a mole. Either could of course be done by agents too, but having a main character on hand would add a bonus to the result. This is of course assuming that even with enough Agents, you could still potentially fail.

[Ananka]

They're making camp. Building a fire, making dinner, putting up the tents, scrubbing the pots, washing the inquisitor's underwear, feeding the Mabari. Servant stuff.

[Allan Schumacher]

RE: Ziloe

 

You're referring to costs/benefits within the game, assuming the system was actively implemented.

 

I more meant my question to be "Can you think of any reasons why it might be a good idea to not implement this type of system?"

[Allan Schumacher]

Resources is always a cost.  It's more about exploring "Is the feature as straight forward as I may think it is?"

 

In the end, everything comes at the expense of something else, so what sort of content would be acceptable to be removed to add something like this?  Note that it can be tricky if "thing I don't care disappears" happens to be "that thing everyone else loves."

 

 

I'll give a more detailed answer (if I remember...) when I get home and have a bit more time.

[wright1978]

I like how they did it in Star Wars: The Old Republic. You can send your inactive companions on missions to find crafting resources or other items, or they could just stay on your ship to craft items.

I'm not a fan of turning companions into dogsbodies for the inquisitor.

[ziloe]

RE: Ziloe

 

You're referring to costs/benefits within the game, assuming the system was actively implemented.

 

I more meant my question to be "Can you think of any reasons why it might be a good idea to not implement this type of system?"

Ah, so if I'm understanding this correctly, you mean more so in relation to real life expenses, both with time and money, yes? And the added question of whether it is worth the investment, given how many players may miss it or not care for it, etc.

If that's the case, sure I can see it as a problem, because it may also mean having to cut back on other elements already being worked on, to make the deadline. And with another extension of the game, your investors may not take too kindly for something that overall, doesn't really have any benefit outside of immersion.

And I'm sure if you had to choose, you'd want this game out by fall, as do many of us too, haha.

[Realmzmaster]

There is always a cost and benefit to what goes in and is taken out of a game. Every game has a set budget. There is no magical large pot of money. If something new goes in something that was there may have to come out to keep the project within budget.

 

No project can sustain cost overruns and make a reasonable profit.

 

I can see the discussion.

 

Bioware Artist: I have been reading the forum. Let's put in more weapons and armor designs for all the character. Add more customization for each companions appearance.

 

Mike: What!?That means we have to take something out like voice acting.

 

Voice actor: I am still getting paid, right? I have a contract.

 

Mike: Right! And 50% of the fanbase likes the voice acting.

 

Mike: I guess we can take out eight quests. One from each possible companion. That way the gamers will not notice.

 

Mike: We can then pitch that to the EA as dlc that can be handed to a sub team in Austin or where ever.

 

Bioware Artist: That sounds like it will work.

 

Voice Actor: As long as I get paid!