DM possession would go a long way. Even in NWN2 if I have a big fight with a party, I’m usually giving them commands individually, but...
Why the half measure? Trent very clearly said they knew how to do it and it’s not a technical issue.
It seems like a strange place to draw the line on functionality. Maybe someone wants to build a highly tactical module where full FPC will be really useful.
And suppose you want everyone to attack a single opponent and ignore everyone else. You can do it by selecting the entire party, or pausing and individually possessing each member. The first way is just more efficient, but the result is the same.
It just seems strange to me that they’ve got this very, “this is the right way to play the game,” philosophy even if a significant chunk of the player base disagrees.
Make it like Temple of Elemental Evil where the henchmen pick up items from bodies by themselves (e.g. Wizard grabs the Great Axe encumbering herself while leaving the magic scrolls for the Barbarian to collect) and then never give them back, forcing you to kill them out of frustration.
Dat der was gud henchmen AI.
(Just kiddin', of course. NWN2 got the henching business just right. Anything close to it will work just fine.)
It can be made as BG/IWD-style or as DM-Possession-style, I don't care. What I want is to be able to trust that my henchman will not keep doing stupid things.
You guys may limit on which class a NPC can level up, but that's it. There is no amount of AI that will be better than an actual player.
Back when NWN first came out, my main complaint was that I couldn't control my henchman. I would at least like an option to have full party control. It could even be an option that is determined by the module you're playing. Multiplayer modules should probably be as it's currently implemented, but those that are single player should let you choose which option to use.
I'm just throwing this out: greater responsiveness and ease of henchmen commands? I've lost count of the times Nasir in PotSC just stood there like a piratey statue...
I sent TrentOster a PM asking if he'd allow me to implement henchmen inventory and some improved henchmen controls into the OC officially (purely as volunteer work, all rights owned by Beamdog, final approval by Beamdog, etc). We'll see what happens.
Comments
Why the half measure? Trent very clearly said they knew how to do it and it’s not a technical issue.
It seems like a strange place to draw the line on functionality. Maybe someone wants to build a highly tactical module where full FPC will be really useful.
And suppose you want everyone to attack a single opponent and ignore everyone else. You can do it by selecting the entire party, or pausing and individually possessing each member. The first way is just more efficient, but the result is the same.
It just seems strange to me that they’ve got this very, “this is the right way to play the game,” philosophy even if a significant chunk of the player base disagrees.
Dat der was gud henchmen AI.
(Just kiddin', of course. NWN2 got the henching business just right. Anything close to it will work just fine.)
Targeting, positioning, leveling up, gear, everything.
It can be made as BG/IWD-style or as DM-Possession-style, I don't care. What I want is to be able to trust that my henchman will not keep doing stupid things.
You guys may limit on which class a NPC can level up, but that's it. There is no amount of AI that will be better than an actual player.