Again, I know I'll never see this realized, but the plethora of powerful magical items littering the game (literally) in BG2 is a big, big turnoff to me. I mean, honestly, to point that it starts to feel silly. I know it's heresy for me to say, but BG2 has become un-fun for me to play because of this.
Making so many hugely powerful magical items readily available is also completely counter to canon for Amn. Canon Amn is a land steeped in intrigue, with many secret organizations vying against one another, in a greedy society where status is determined by wealth, run by a very corrupt government. And open use of arcane magic can get you expelled from the land! I would much prefer to see that played up as a mechanism to obtain precious spells and items.
Anyway, I would love to see powerful magical items and, yes, even spell scrolls, in BG2 become precious and hard to come by.
I could back the option to magic missile/punch Iranicus in the face when meeting him for the final battle. Sure, you'd miss the speech, but this is the guy who's tortured you and your friends, killing two of them in the process, put you and your sister through hell (literally in a minute), and STOLE YOUR FUCKING SOLE. Great orator or not, how many people do you really think are going to listen to anything he has to say at this point? Good, neutral, or evil, pretty much any CHARNAME is going to be done talking.
I want Skie back, she and Nalia would be so adorable together! Yes, this is mostly because I have a crush on Grey DeLisle, but they would have some interesting conversations.
Or at least an idea of what happened to all the other characters? ;___;
I want Skie back, she and Nalia would be so adorable together! Yes, this is mostly because I have a crush on Grey DeLisle, but they would have some interesting conversations.
Or at least an idea of what happened to all the other characters? ;___;
I can't be the only one who ever wondered as to why not a single tavern, or bar, in either Baldur's Gate games serve locale Faerunian cuisines, right? Gulping down the various existing alcoholic beaverages is a sure way to see CHARNAME & Co. starve to death. At least add official D&D light snacks, such as Waterdhavian, Silver dragon sauces or Sjorl to the menues of the Sword Coast.
I can't be the only one who ever wondered as to why not a single tavern, or bar, in either Baldur's Gate games serve locale Faerunian cuisines, right? Gulping down the various existing alcoholic beaverages is a sure way to see CHARNAME & Co. starve to death. At least add official D&D light snacks, such as Waterdhavian, Silver dragon sauces or Sjorl to the menues of the Sword Coast.
This post made me hungry
Back when the NWN community that was brainstorming what the Neverwinter Nights persistent world A Land Far Away would be (in its first iteration), I can tell you this was not a popular idea!
The idea was floated as to whether or not starvation and dehydration would be scripted if players failed to eat or drink. (Con, Str, and at a certain point Dex, would undergo gradual degradation, resulting eventually in death after several weeks.) In this design concept characters would be able to hunt their food, and the proper tools to cook the food (i.e., a cooking fire, spit, and pot) would also be available. Certain monstrous creatures could be consumed to avoid starvation; but some would be poisonous to eat, or cause disease.
Otherwise meals would be available at inns in a wide variety across the Realms. There would be drinking wells in villages, towns, and on farms or villas. Characters would carry canteens (larger bladder-type containers would also be available, but they would be heavy). Natural sources of drinking water in the wild would matter. Travel across the great deserts of Faerun would require enough water to make it.
(On a side note, we also considered adding weight to gold, and making pack mules available.)
Most players were vehemently opposed to all this, however, usually with the rejoinder that would the characters be forced to poop as well?
I think it would have added a lot of extra flavor to the game, and it certainly would have added a major strategic component as well. It would also have added a prominent roleplay dimension. (ALFA is a RP-intensive PW.) Not that I felt that strongly about it one way of the other. But anyway the vast majority of players were opposed.
At the end of the day, the scripts required to make all this happen, plus all the others things we wanted, would have lagged the servers something terrible. So it was only a pipe dream anyway.
I can't be the only one who ever wondered as to why not a single tavern, or bar, in either Baldur's Gate games serve locale Faerunian cuisines, right? Gulping down the various existing alcoholic beaverages is a sure way to see CHARNAME & Co. starve to death. At least add official D&D light snacks, such as Waterdhavian, Silver dragon sauces or Sjorl to the menues of the Sword Coast.
This post made me hungry
Back when the NWN community that was brainstorming what the Neverwinter Nights persistent world A Land Far Away would be (in its first iteration), I can tell you this was not a popular idea!
The idea was floated as to whether or not starvation and dehydration would be scripted if players failed to eat or drink. (Con, Str, and at a certain point Dex, would undergo gradual degradation, resulting eventually in death after several weeks.) In this design concept characters would be able to hunt their food, and the proper tools to cook the food (i.e., a cooking fire, spit, and pot) would also be available. Certain monstrous creatures could be consumed to avoid starvation; but some would be poisonous to eat, or cause disease.
Otherwise meals would be available at inns in a wide variety across the Realms. There would be drinking wells in villages, towns, and on farms or villas. Characters would carry canteens (larger bladder-type containers would also be available, but they would be heavy). Natural sources of drinking water in the wild would matter. Travel across the great deserts of Faerun would require enough water to make it.
(On a side note, we also considered adding weight to gold, and making pack mules available.)
Most players were vehemently opposed to all this, however, usually with the rejoinder that would the characters be forced to poop as well?
I think it would have added a lot of extra flavor to the game, and it certainly would have added a major strategic component as well. It would also have added a prominent roleplay dimension. (ALFA is a RP-intensive PW.) Not that I felt that strongly about it one way of the other. But anyway the vast majority of players were opposed.
At the end of the day, the scripts required to make all this happen, plus all the others things we wanted, would have lagged the servers something terrible. So it was only a pipe dream anyway.
I use to play on a online text based MMO (Aka a MUD) that required you to eat or drink. Some people liked it, and it wasn't hard to go and buy food if you needed it.
They eventually got rid of it. It was annoying receiving constant "You are slightly hungry" messages if you didn't eat for an half hour, and people often hard to pause intense RP to go get food.
The problem was it became less of a immersive element and more of a annoying game mechanic that kept constantly pestering you and interupting roleplay. Nothing quite like having your character stop in an epic fight or a tragic confession to eat a chicken wing.
I use to play on a online text based MMO (Aka a MUD) that required you to eat or drink. Some people liked it, and it wasn't hard to go and buy food if you needed it.
They eventually got rid of it. It was annoying receiving constant "You are slightly hungry" messages if you didn't eat for an half hour, and people often hard to pause intense RP to go get food.
The problem was it became less of a immersive element and more of a annoying game mechanic that kept constantly pestering you and interupting roleplay. Nothing quite like having your character stop in an epic fight or a tragic confession to eat a chicken wing.
Yep, the naive implementation sounds like it would do nothing but annoy me.
The way we play it in table top might inform a better design. Basically, food never matters unless it's dramatically appropriate.
So, if you're in town? You eat well. No micromanagement necessary.
Are you in the wilderness with a Ranger, Druid or Barbarian? Great, you eat well. No micro needed. -> Wilderness without a designated hunter? You should bring some rations.
Dungeons = yeah, you should bring some rations.
Eat one ration per PC per 8-hour rest. Do it automatically when you rest. Again, less micro is better.
Implications: -> If you have a hunter (Barbarian, Druid, or Ranger) then the Wilderness is a delicious place. -> If you lack a hunter, you will tend to make more trips to town to resupply.
@Nifft Thats a pretty good way of doing it, though I don't think this could be applied well to a non-Pen and paper game. Games have to be automated and the way you describe it food is needed if the context of the story/campaign demands it. Not an easy thing to do in video games.
Comments
Making so many hugely powerful magical items readily available is also completely counter to canon for Amn. Canon Amn is a land steeped in intrigue, with many secret organizations vying against one another, in a greedy society where status is determined by wealth, run by a very corrupt government. And open use of arcane magic can get you expelled from the land! I would much prefer to see that played up as a mechanism to obtain precious spells and items.
Anyway, I would love to see powerful magical items and, yes, even spell scrolls, in BG2 become precious and hard to come by.
(or why not - pick 2 characters to start with?)
Well there's "Listening to Hitler giving a great speech" And there's "Listening to Hitler ranting about killing you."
Or at least an idea of what happened to all the other characters? ;___;
He had one, but it got scrapped due to time constraints. :x Check Unfinished Business on Pocket Plane Group for more informations.
"Leave the wand. Take the turnip cannoli."
But still - I want it there and not in "unfinished business".
The idea was floated as to whether or not starvation and dehydration would be scripted if players failed to eat or drink. (Con, Str, and at a certain point Dex, would undergo gradual degradation, resulting eventually in death after several weeks.) In this design concept characters would be able to hunt their food, and the proper tools to cook the food (i.e., a cooking fire, spit, and pot) would also be available. Certain monstrous creatures could be consumed to avoid starvation; but some would be poisonous to eat, or cause disease.
Otherwise meals would be available at inns in a wide variety across the Realms. There would be drinking wells in villages, towns, and on farms or villas. Characters would carry canteens (larger bladder-type containers would also be available, but they would be heavy). Natural sources of drinking water in the wild would matter. Travel across the great deserts of Faerun would require enough water to make it.
(On a side note, we also considered adding weight to gold, and making pack mules available.)
Most players were vehemently opposed to all this, however, usually with the rejoinder that would the characters be forced to poop as well?
I think it would have added a lot of extra flavor to the game, and it certainly would have added a major strategic component as well. It would also have added a prominent roleplay dimension. (ALFA is a RP-intensive PW.) Not that I felt that strongly about it one way of the other. But anyway the vast majority of players were opposed.
At the end of the day, the scripts required to make all this happen, plus all the others things we wanted, would have lagged the servers something terrible. So it was only a pipe dream anyway.
They eventually got rid of it. It was annoying receiving constant "You are slightly hungry" messages if you didn't eat for an half hour, and people often hard to pause intense RP to go get food.
The problem was it became less of a immersive element and more of a annoying game mechanic that kept constantly pestering you and interupting roleplay. Nothing quite like having your character stop in an epic fight or a tragic confession to eat a chicken wing.
The way we play it in table top might inform a better design. Basically, food never matters unless it's dramatically appropriate.
So, if you're in town? You eat well. No micromanagement necessary.
Are you in the wilderness with a Ranger, Druid or Barbarian? Great, you eat well. No micro needed.
-> Wilderness without a designated hunter? You should bring some rations.
Dungeons = yeah, you should bring some rations.
Eat one ration per PC per 8-hour rest. Do it automatically when you rest. Again, less micro is better.
Implications:
-> If you have a hunter (Barbarian, Druid, or Ranger) then the Wilderness is a delicious place.
-> If you lack a hunter, you will tend to make more trips to town to resupply.
Was it not clear?