60 réponses à ce sujet

[Estel Lavellan]

A really recurring problem with RPGs is that some characters happen to just exist for the benefit of talking with the playable protagonist, like an interactive lamppost or something. It's actually forgivable when we're playing pokemon on our gameboys, since everyone's just a mass of pixels anyway; but now that games have become terrifyingly realistic, it starts to put a serious damper on those people supposedly being real persons. With enough immersion, one eventually starts to question why Varric is engaged in a year-long staring contest with Gatsi across the aisle. Same goes for Fiona and Morrigan, who seem to relish being rooted on a spot and doing nothing in particular.

 

All the rest main characters seem to do fine. Solas has a work desk that he works on (though I'd appreciate him actually sitting down at the desk more), Dorian might just be reading a lot, Cassandra trains, Iron Bull drinks, Sera has her own room to hang out in, and all three advisors are working in their respective offices. Granted, they can still move around more outside of cutscenes, but well, it works for me. 

 

Two games that seemed to beautifully resolve the issue is Skyrim and GTA - Skyrim actually has an observable 24-hour schedule for all people in the game, which I'd say is actually a revolutionary idea for RPGs in general. GTA mostly have characters appear only inside of cutscenes or missions. The GTA method is not quite possible, since DA is one of those RPGs where you have to find those characters to engage in conversations, but I don't see why not with the Skyrim method. It can be made to work with the next game - let's say you have a castle as your home base again. Add a night/day cycle to it, Then have characters relocate to different parts of the castle, and going about different business, as part of their daily routine. They can be located on the minimap anyway, so there's no concern about Leliana or Cullen going missing. This could give a serious boost to game immersion, since DA specializes in characters anyway - it wouldn't quite do to spend the entire game fleshing out Varric with ambient dialogue and sidequests, then have players question why he's apparently engaged in a year-long staring contest with Gatsi across the aisle. Or why Fiona and Morrigan look like they've been given detention. Or why a lot of previously-significant characters suddenly taking up casually strolling around Skyhold as their new lifelong ambition.

 

There're a lot of little things that can make Thedas more immersing for all of us players. I hope Bioware considers it, or if not, at least open the game to more modding so we can help bring Thedas to life.

[Wulfram]

I've never felt 24 hour schedules add to the game. Its not like they add realistic behaviour, they just mean that the guy trundles off at the sound of an imaginary bell, ignoring the customer that was about to try and buy from them.. In fact the accelerated time needed to make this sort of thing meaningful I find detracts from my sense of immersion.

Also, the cutscenes tend to rely on people being in a specific place.

[Beren Von Ostwick]

I love the high graphics in these new games, don't get me wrong, but I think sometimes they are counter-productive.  It seems like they're destroying folks' ability to engage their imagination to flesh out their roleplaying experience, causing them to lean on the graphics as some sort of crutch or replacement for imagination.

 

I think it would do a lot of players a world of good to go find a good MUD to play (yes, they still exist) and just immerse themselves in that sort of an environment for an extended period of time.

[The_Prophet_of_Donk]

I love the high graphics in these new games, don't get me wrong, but I think sometimes they are counter-productive.  It seems like they're destroying folks' ability to engage their imagination to flesh out their roleplaying experience, causing them to lean on the graphics as some sort of crutch or replacement for imagination.

 

I think it would do a lot of players a world of good to go find a good MUD to play (yes, they still exist) and just immerse themselves in that sort of an environment for an extended period of time.

While I agree wholeheartedly, what is a MUD?

[Beren Von Ostwick]

Oh!  Yeah, sorry, guess I should have explained that.  Text based adventure games played over the internet via a telnet (or dedicated MUD client.)  Stands for multi user dungeon.  Yeah, WoW was most definitely not the beginning of the MMORPGs.

[The_Prophet_of_Donk]

Oh!  Yeah, sorry, guess I should have explained that.  Text based adventure games played over the internet via a telnet (or dedicated MUD client.)  Stands for multi user dungeon.  Yeah, WoW was most definitely not the beginning of the MMORPGs.

I've played a few Text based games and love D&D (or games like it), but honestly have never heard of Multiplayer text based games!

[caradoc2000]

I've played a few Text based games and love D&D (or games like it), but honestly have never heard of Multiplayer text based games!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MUD

[Estel Lavellan]

Oh!  Yeah, sorry, guess I should have explained that.  Text based adventure games played over the internet via a telnet (or dedicated MUD client.)  Stands for multi user dungeon.  Yeah, WoW was most definitely not the beginning of the MMORPGs.

 

Well Runescape was the start of MMORPGs for my generation...damn now I feel old.

[Poledo]

I like the idea of characters roaming, and day and night cycles are nice for the change of scenery but I wouldn't want it to determine their behaviour. I'd hate to be playing at 3 am game time and I need to talk to Dorian but he's sleeping!

[Estel Lavellan]

I've never felt 24 hour schedules add to the game. Its not like they add realistic behaviour, they just mean that the guy trundles off at the sound of an imaginary bell, ignoring the customer that was about to try and buy from them.. In fact the accelerated time needed to make this sort of thing meaningful I find detracts from my sense of immersion.

Also, the cutscenes tend to rely on people being in a specific place.

 

Well not the merchants I suppose? The merchants can pretty much stay put. But I really feel weird that Morrigan is standing in the garden in perpetual meditation rather than, say, working at the arcane library in Skyhold's basement.At least have her sit at a spot poring over scrolls! That way even if she doesn't move around I'd still be happy. Same thing for Fiona, Varric, etc.

[Estel Lavellan]

I like the idea of characters roaming, and day and night cycles are nice for the change of scenery but I wouldn't want it to determine their behaviour. I'd hate to be playing at 3 am game time and I need to talk to Dorian but he's sleeping!

 

Maybe they take up when you talk to them, just like in Skyrim? They can even say a few snarky comments regarding your lousy timing, but no actual approval hit.

[Kantr]

Well Runescape was the start of MMORPGs for my generation...damn now I feel old.

First one I ever played.

[Reznore57]

I liked the night/day cycle in Skyrim besides if a npc is sleeping you could wake them up , sleep yourself or just have the quick wait thing when hours pass in second.

Now I imagine it would be hard on memory , there's a lot of npc in Skyhold .Also not enough beds and resting quarters...

Granted you could have made some npc static those at the tavern , soldiers patroling etc.

[Serza]

[Estel Lavellan]

I liked the night/day cycle in Skyrim besides if a npc is sleeping you could wake them up , sleep yourself or just have the quick wait thing when hours pass in second.

Now I imagine it would be hard on memory , there's a lot of npc in Skyhold .Also not enough beds and resting quarters...

Granted you could have made some npc static those at the tavern , soldiers patroling etc.

 

Or maybe just do it like Dragon Age 2. Hightown (day) and hightown (night) allow access to different people and different sidequests. It could also make skyhold more alive - during the day everyone is working, and during the night you find many people in the tavern, in their quarters, dining in the great hall...it could make the whole game feel much more alive.

[correctamundo]

Do you get to the cloud district very often?

 

Even though these cycles seem (to me) somewhat more immersive at first glance they rather quickly get seriously repetitive.

[MisterJB]

 

This is going to be controversial but if you really want to see a game world brought to life, try the Witcher 3. It makes Skyrim's look like a joke.

For instance, the first time I entered Novigrad it was nigth, I encountered troupes singing and performing in the streets, some people dancing, others stumbling around in drunken stupor, some talking with prostitutes, decorations, etc.

During the day, you can find priests preaching, guard patrolling and everything else you'd expect.

 

As the game progresses, there are less festivals and more guards, more pyres burning non-humans. You really get the feeling the city is under matial law.

 

There are refugees camps, chekpoints, etc. I'm not one of those who will claim The Witch is God's gift to RPG fans but, as far as making a world come to life, it is what other games should aspire to.

[wicked cool]

It needs to take a lot from next gen rpgs as its clear thats the direction gaming is headed. The days of old gen are dead so if anything more can be accomplished (see w3 and f4 etc)

Examples
Mounts-really need an overhaul
Water-water based creatures swimming etc needs to be implemented
Climbing-getting to shards on rocks is a pia

How about npcs interacting with each other or any movement. Many backround npcs are in all reality talking statues and shop keepers are just cardboard cutouts

Me4 for me will be worth checking out to see how they better utilize frostbite

[Mr.House]

Majora's Mask did 24-hour schedules before Skyrim was even a idea.

[ArianaGBSA]

Majora's Mask did 24-hour schedules before Skyrim was even a idea.

The two worst RPG in a single post. That says a lot about schedules.
(On a side note, they are not RPG, they are action games)

[Mr.House]

The two worst RPG in a single post. That says a lot about schedules.

Majora's mask is not even a rpg, fail harder.

[Estel Lavellan]

 

 

This is going to be controversial but if you really want to see a game world brought to life, try the Witcher 3. It makes Skyrim's look like a joke.

For instance, the first time I entered Novigrad it was nigth, I encountered troupes singing and performing in the streets, some people dancing, others stumbling around in drunken stupor, some talking with prostitutes, decorations, etc.

During the day, you can find priests preaching, guard patrolling and everything else you'd expect.

 

As the game progresses, there are less festivals and more guards, more pyres burning non-humans. You really get the feeling the city is under matial law.

 

There are refugees camps, chekpoints, etc. I'm not one of those who will claim The Witch is God's gift to RPG fans but, as far as making a world come to life, it is what other games should aspire to.

 

 

Please don't ask me to play the Witcher 3. I've already lost a month and a half to Dragon Age...Best I can do is to get as much work done as possible before Fallout takes away my life again.

 

"I lay in dark and dreaming games as countless wars and ages passed...I woke still weak a year before I joined you."

[The_Prophet_of_Donk]

Well Runescape was the start of MMORPGs for my generation...damn now I feel old.

I was in 8th grade when that first started.... I had 2 characters... that thing is still going strong

[Estel Lavellan]

It needs to take a lot from next gen rpgs as its clear thats the direction gaming is headed. The days of old gen are dead so if anything more can be accomplished (see w3 and f4 etc)

Examples
Mounts-really need an overhaul
Water-water based creatures swimming etc needs to be implemented
Climbing-getting to shards on rocks is a pia

How about npcs interacting with each other or any movement. Many backround npcs are in all reality talking statues and shop keepers are just cardboard cutouts

Me4 for me will be worth checking out to see how they better utilize frostbite

 

Exactly. Dragon Age's strength is in its characters, storyline and setting (which is to me still miles ahead of other contemporary RPGS), but it rather lacks behind in being a next-gen RPG. In terms of gameplay, realism and attention to small details it's outdone by GTA, Skyrim, the Witcher...Which probably accounts for its relatively small fanbase. I hope bioware will rectify that. If there's a Dragon Age title which is as acclaimed as the Witcher 3, I'd be so proud.

[Estel Lavellan]

I was in 8th grade when that first started.... I had 2 characters... that thing is still going strong

 

It was the **** back in the day...Me and my girlfriend still hum Runescape music to each other just for the nostalgia factor. But I witnessed it gradually lag behind. RPGs and other MMORPGs have evolved and evolved, and Runescape has either stayed put or even regressed (the microtransaction thing, for example). Not modernizing and hoping that the old dedicated fanbase will sustain the game is a fatal mistake, one that I don't wish Dragon Age to repeat because it's a hell of a story.