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RPGs that make you crave for resources

Grimwulf

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Help me out, Codex. I'm looking for something very specific right now.

Do you know that feeling, when you just begin to make first steps in random fantasy rpg world, count yer coins, try to save healing potions for later, curse those unbelivable market prices? Then one hour later you turn into uber-rich wizard in full plate enchanted armor, overloaded with loot and ready to face anything. And then midgame begins.

Well, I'm pretty sick of that shit. Give me some starving experience for a change. I want to feel myself in need - that makes my brain work, and micromanagment becomes FUN, not just tedious. All those RPGs I play lately are faceroll sims. Maybe some examples would speak better for me:

1. Wasteland 2, until midgame (somewhere near Damonta the magic is lost). Ok, so this one needs to be played on max difficulty and without savescumming in order to Grab Dat Feel. But those "home rules" are so natural for me that I don't even consider them home rules. This game got it right in every aspect. You have to count your bullets, medicine, scrap (money) and explosives. It really made me feel like Mel fucking Gibson in "Mad Max", coz I never had enough. If I get lucky and find a shitton of resources, I burn them pretty fast on high-level mobs, like 500+ hp robots or just roll into more dangerous optional locations. If I try to grind, I will slowly lose my savings (either bullets or medkits), because usually loot from random encounters isn't worth the effort, making profitable grinding almost impossible (or at least hard to figure out). It becomes more or less easy, once you get the idea and dive into some metagaming, but first blind playthrough is something to remember.

2. Brytenwalda, mod for M&B: Warband (of course, you have to play in "no-saves" mode). This one is masterpiece in terms of harsh environment. You want a sword? A chainmail? A HORSE? Well, fuck you - those are extremely rare and expensive, and you can lose them any moment. If you lose a battle and find yourself imprisoned, say goodbye to some of yer equipment. Your horse can get crippled (=useless if not healed, which takes a lot of time) and/or die too. But the main thing is the army. I can't begin to describe the costs of upgrading your troops to elites, and arming them with swords, armor and horses. Not only it's expensive to equip them, but to maintain them too. Your troops need to be paid, to eat, to rest and to feast. Larger armies demand more of that stuff, and there is little time left for actual fighting and looting (besides, the larger your army, the lesser your personal share of loot). Constant balancing with quality/quantity and managing your money/food/time is hard as fuck, and it never gets easy. Every mistake is punishing. No faceroll for you.

3. Strife, until obtaining heavy weaponry. Good old FPS/RPG creates a very immersive rebel experience. You don't get nearly enough ammunition to go around gunz blazin', and have to make it careful and plan your shopping ahead. Besides, first weapons you get (knife, crossbow, gun) suck so bad, adding to "underpowered" feeling. Playing a game based on Doom engine, and acting careful/stealthy/avoiding stuff - that's just mindbreaking for me. Good old Strife.

Maybe I'll remember some more later on, but meanwhile some examples of not-exactly-bullseye.

1. Survival Horror games. I love early Resident Evil games (1, 2 and 3, to be exact), for you constantly feel like "God fucking DAMMIT, I've got 14 handgun bullets, 2 shotgun shells, and my last green herb mix. Besides, I'm wounded and limping. This way zombies, that way dogs, and there's gonna be boss encounter soon. I'm so fucked right now". There is somewhat similiar stuff in other games of the genre, like Silent Hill, Call of Chtulhu, Nocturne and whatnot. But I want a full-time RPG, with more or less freedom of actions, freedom of choices, etc.

2. Any Fallout game. I think that being inspired by "Mad Max", they actually wanted to make Fallout a "scarce resource" experience. But every time they failed miserably. Fallout 1, 2, 3, NV and even Fallout: Tactics - they all make you feel fucking ABUNDANT. You just don't know what to do with all that ammo and meds and explosives and moneh. The merchants don't help either. "Everything you desire for nearly-giveaway prices". I guess I can mod the fuck out of NV, but it won't make it interesting for me either way.

3. Roguelikes. Any roguelike is either WAY too generous (Project Zomboid, URW, Elona) or total random (DC: Stone Soup, ADOM, Nethack). Do not want.

4. S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Witcher, Borderlands, etc. These games make you spend a LOT of time in your inventory screen, be it scavenging in S.T.A.L.K.E.R., alchemy-thingie in Withcer or gunporn in Borderlands. You don't actually NEED anything - you always got plenty and even more, but you still have to spend lots of time browsing thorugh your stuff. Not what I'm looking for.

Well, that's basically it. I'm also looking for something that's hard in vanilla (or in vanilla+mods), without making a shittion of home rules. I'm tired of home rules. "Aha, my first dungeon! Giant sewers, how fucking original! Take that, bat! Take that, rat! What's this? Rat has dropped Adamantinum Halberd of Awor +4? Err, I err never saw that. Yeah. Skip it. "No +2 weapons and above in first dungeon" rule. So, I continiue on and see my first chest. Open! What? 831 full healing potions? Hmm, good thing I got "no more than 2 potions on me" rule. Gods. So hard not to faceroll".

I'm comfy with playing without savescumming, it's not a "home rule" in my book. But as for other - I'm too old for this shit.

Any suggestions?
 

Crooked Bee

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From what I can think of off the top of my head, Shadow Tower probably comes the closest to a hardcore, resource-starved "survival" dungeon crawler.
 

DraQ

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System Shocks.
2 is even an RPG (on technicality) although RPG elements suck in it.
Don't expect C&C or proper RPG gameplay, though, they are still primarily survival horrors, so they don't exactly hit the spot. Still recommended, though.

Requiem for Skyrim is a bit like this, but YMMV and it does empower you in the end.
 

Pope Amole II

Nerd Commando Game Studios
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(was that toned down in the final version?)

From my vast experience, it's almost unnoticeable there. Especially if you're playing Divine Summonner with Golot's Herald (who's specialty is turning your foes into money).
 

tred

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I am very surprised you didn't mention Cataclysm DDA (roguelike).
It is almost exactly what you are searching for. Besides, you can config the item spawn modifiers to play the game with even less resources.
While the game isn't perfect, I have never found another game that can create this feeling of lack of resources so well.
 

Grimwulf

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From what I can think of off the top of my head, Shadow Tower probably comes the closest to a hardcore, resource-starved "survival" dungeon crawler.
Ouch. Now I feel embarassed again. This game has been on my list for too long. How can I call myself a Souls series fan if I never played teh first RPG from From Software? I kinda know about it, just need to put my balls together and start playing already.

No mention of this recently released game? http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=9560
I'm allergic to early access. But it seems like it's fully released now? Then I'll give it a shot too, thanks.

System Shocks.
2 is even an RPG (on technicality) although RPG elements suck in it.
Dammit, totally forgot about System Shock. You are right, of course. First one can't be called an RPG at all, but SS2 totally qualifies.

Requiem for Skyrim is a bit like this, but YMMV and it does empower you in the end.
No, my days of modding Skyrim and all of them TES games are over. They just never get hard, no matter how many mods and home rules you got.

I am very surprised you didn't mention Cataclysm DDA (roguelike).
I haven't played it in a while. I guess it fits, but Cataclysm has one major issue: despite of being most hardcore and realistic post-apocalypse experience among all existing games on my memory, it's simply not hard. The whole challege of Cataclysm is to get a grip of controls/concept, that's it. No hard enemies, no lethal threats (unless you make stupid mistakes). All of open-world roguelikes share the same problem: somewhat challenging to start, easy as fuck once you get going.
 

baturinsky

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Just finished Dead Money DLC for FNV. You have your stuff confiscated on entrance, and DLC is very stingy on everything.
 

DraQ

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Requiem for Skyrim is a bit like this, but YMMV and it does empower you in the end.
No, my days of modding Skyrim and all of them TES games are over. They just never get hard, no matter how many mods and home rules you got.
Well, Requiem kind of does, although you do become powerful later on.

Anyway, monitoring this space because I prefer gameplay pushing the player out of their comfort zone and have always liked the so called hobo-phase of RPGs/open world games the most.
 

Dorateen

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I think Realms of Arkania (the originals, not the HD remake) deserves mention here. Especially Star Trail, which does the whole party inventory strip in a couple of places. Not to mention, the hunting and gathering for resources, and proper clothing needed for expeditions into the wilderness.
 

Xathrodox86

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VtM: Bloodlines comes to my mind. Even at the end you won't be able to gather up all the delicious shit that you crave so much. For me it was either an auto-shotgun with full ammo or a flamethrower. Could not had both.
 

Karellen

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How about the Legend of Grimrock games? So they're very much dungeon crawling experiences instead of "proper" RPGs, but the absence maps, the absence of shops and the fact that grinding for loot doesn't really exist means that you're stuck with what consumable food and healing items that you find. Since the maps are all predetermined and "authored", the overall experience is a lot more tight than any roguelike I've played. Especially the first game might come across as a bit linear and "survival-horror"-y, but it does a good job building an atmosphere of lack and scarcity.
 

naossano

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I didn't tried those but there a rebalance mods for Fallout.
Phobos mod for Fo2
http://www.nma-fallout.com/showthread.php?193578-Economy-and-Combat-Rebalance-mod
Joshua Sawyer mod for FoNV + Hardcore

I don't think item are scarces in Wasteland 1, but you are limited to 30 items by characters, everything you drop is lost forever and the characters don't share money.

My memory of JA2 might be clouded but i think you have many needs of items and not necessary always the means to supply them. Beside that, all the mines/outcomes deplete over time. If you don't make new conquest quick, you might ended end up broke and unable to hire your merc longer, and get overwhelmed by infinite enemy patrols that try to take back your cities/mines/locations.

I am not the best FPS player and was pacifist agains't humans, but i recall ressources being scarce in the VANILLA Metro 2033. The Redux version has a mode for less ressources, but it is still more ressources than the original game.

I might be wrong, but i think you can change the quantity or ressources in Project Zomboid settings.

Otherwise, some upcoming games seems to advertize scarces ressources. I think of Pathologic, Dead State, amongs others.
 

Xathrodox86

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naossano made me remember JA2: Wildfire. It's like normal JA 2 but on steroids. Good luck grabbing that one assault rifle from a dead enemy mook. You won't have ammo for it anyway.
 

Applypoison

Numantian Games
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PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Serpent in the Staglands Codex USB, 2014 Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Do you know that feeling, when you just begin to make first steps in random fantasy rpg world, count yer coins, try to save healing potions for later, curse those unbelivable market prices? Then one hour later you turn into uber-rich wizard in full plate enchanted armor, overloaded with loot and ready to face anything. And then midgame begins.
No kidding. Something about RPGs being about number-increasing "power fantasies". I don't buy it, though. Power fantasy can be fun, sure, right up until the point where it trivializes both the game and every decision you have to make.

Try Odium (Gorky 17 if you live in Europia); it's an old, short and sweet experiment which borrows from tons of other genres (tactical party-based RPG, survival/horror, light puzzle/exploration, etc) and gets away with it. I wish it spawned a similar sequel or anything remotely close to it, but it was a one-time gem.

If you're talking about managing resources on a larger scale... I suggest King's Bounty: Armored Princess + Crossworlds (on Impossible difficulty; very important). If you don't mind the aesthetics, it's a very fun game. Mods can probably sweeten the deal, although I've never tried them.
 

Grimwulf

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Just finished Dead Money DLC for FNV. You have your stuff confiscated on entrance, and DLC is very stingy on everything.
Yeah, I played it. And other DLCs too. I have this fucking habit of playing Bethesda gaems even though I hate them. But still, can't say I ever felt concerned about any kind of shortage while playing Fallout.

Well, Requiem kind of does, although you do become powerful later on.
I played Requiem. With Frostfall, over 50 other mods and 1323864 home rules - all for the sake of harder gameplay. I ended up wearing just furs, steel weaponry and not using magic - just ignored all other stuff. The game. Is still. Faceroll. I get rich against my own will, even if I avoid dungeon raids. Fucking HUNTING makes you richer than Jarl in no-time. Skyrim's good for LARPing, not for challenge.

I prefer gameplay pushing the player out of their comfort zone and have always liked the so called hobo-phase of RPGs/open world games the most.
You and me both.

I think Realms of Arkania (the originals, not the HD remake) deserves mention here. Especially Star Trail, which does the whole party inventory strip in a couple of places. Not to mention, the hunting and gathering for resources, and proper clothing needed for expeditions into the wilderness.
Missed it somehow. Looks great, added to the list. Thanks.

VtM: Bloodlines comes to my mind. Even at the end you won't be able to gather up all the delicious shit that you crave so much. For me it was either an auto-shotgun with full ammo or a flamethrower. Could not had both.
Well, we speak of different stuff here. In VtM:B you can't get EVERYTHING, but it's not like you ever need everything. The game os pretty harsh on munchkins, coz you allways want more skillpoints and can't possibly do a single "perfect run", for there are a lot of options and choices. So I can't really qualify this game, but love it nevertheless.

How about the Legend of Grimrock games? So they're very much dungeon crawling experiences instead of "proper" RPGs, but the absence maps, the absence of shops and the fact that grinding for loot doesn't really exist means that you're stuck with what consumable food and healing items that you find. Since the maps are all predetermined and "authored", the overall experience is a lot more tight than any roguelike I've played. Especially the first game might come across as a bit linear and "survival-horror"-y, but it does a good job building an atmosphere of lack and scarcity.
Don't even make me start. Grimrock is eyecandy with next-to-non gameplay. The combat is a joke. "Punch and strafe, repeat". What do you mean "absence of maps"? Are you saying I'm gone nuts, coz I remember automap function working pretty damn well in this game. Not that I would need one, coz Grimrock is a CORRIDOR in dungeon crawl genre. Just try to play Eye of the Beholder - there you go with no maps and TRULY complicated dungeons. And this game is fucking ancient. But apart from that, what resources exactly are scarce in Grimrock? You just faceroll and sleep, then faceroll and sleep again. Last boss is a fucking joke too. Devs are just like "want smth cool? Well, FUCK YOU players, go punch a CUBE". As if the game didn't get annoying enough towards the end. I will never play Grimrock 2 and I hope the series will die as soon as possible.

I didn't tried those but there a rebalance mods for Fallout.
Phobos mod for Fo2
http://www.nma-fallout.com/showthread.php?193578-Economy-and-Combat-Rebalance-mod
Joshua Sawyer mod for FoNV + Hardcore
I did put them on my list, but I'm so sick of Fallouts after all those years. I'd rather play Wasteland 2 again.

I don't think item are scarces in Wasteland 1, but you are limited to 30 items by characters, everything you drop is lost forever and the characters don't share money.
Yes, I love those little thingies that made gameplay harder. The big issue is, combat in W1 is auto-resolving, and money are rarely an issue. So you basically stock up and faceroll, then repeat. Still love it tho.

My memory of JA2 might be clouded but i think you have many needs of items and not necessary always the means to supply them. Beside that, all the mines/outcomes deplete over time. If you don't make new conquest quick, you might ended end up broke and unable to hire your merc longer, and get overwhelmed by infinite enemy patrols that try to take back your cities/mines/locations.
Your memories are clouded indeed. Your onlt "need" in items in JA2 would be if you don't get control over Drassen airport and therefore won't be ably to stock up at Bobby Rays. Mines outcome will NOT deplete over time. It's a RANDOM event that may or may not happen ONCE per playthrough. You are always able to hire mercs if you buy life insurance for them (if they die, you get compenstion of their cost). Even if you don't, Tony pays pretty damn much for loot, although his assets are limited to 15k/day. Money in JA2 isn't an issue at all. BUT you can make them such if you get down and dirty with 1.13 mod configuration. That is quite pervert tho.

I am not the best FPS player and was pacifist agains't humans, but i recall ressources being scarce in the VANILLA Metro 2033. The Redux version has a mode for less ressources, but it is still more ressources than the original game.
The game is corridor FPS. Even so, it's pretty much completable in stealth mod.

I might be wrong, but i think you can change the quantity or ressources in Project Zomboid settings.
You are right, but they are still ABUNDANT. The game just gets boring as soon as you settle up. Nothing to do in it, but wait for bugs and save corrupts. Which will happen befor long, don't you worry.

Otherwise, some upcoming games seems to advertize scarces ressources. I think of Pathologic, Dead State, amongs others.
Pathologic? Upcoming game? Wasn't it released years ago?

Do you know that feeling, when you just begin to make first steps in random fantasy rpg world, count yer coins, try to save healing potions for later, curse those unbelivable market prices? Then one hour later you turn into uber-rich wizard in full plate enchanted armor, overloaded with loot and ready to face anything. And then midgame begins.
No kidding. Something about RPGs being about number-increasing "power fantasies". I don't buy it, though. Power fantasy can be fun, sure, right up until the point where it trivializes both the game and every decision you have to make.

Try Odium (Gorky 17 if you live in Europia); it's an old, short and sweet experiment which borrows from tons of other genres (tactical party-based RPG, survival/horror, light puzzle/exploration, etc) and gets away with it. I wish it spawned a similar sequel or anything remotely close to it, but it was a one-time gem.

If you're talking about managing resources on a larger scale... I suggest King's Bounty: Armored Princess + Crossworlds (on Impossible difficulty; very important). If you don't mind the aesthetics, it's a very fun game. Mods can probably sweeten the deal, although I've never tried them.
I played Gorky 17 countless times. Love the russian voice actors. Gods, how could I not remember this gem? Definetely qualifies!

I played Armoured Princess on impossible too. Can't say I didn't like it - the balance is very good indeed. But I hate every game with Warcraft3-like graphics. They are like cancer for me, I hate this style. If Kings Bounty was made on HoMM 1-2-3 engine or in Disciples 2 style, I would replay it right naw.
 

Cazzeris

Guest
Maybe NEO Scavenger is a recommendable game for you. It starts basically as a hobo simulator, and when you survive enough by eating human meat and drinking some swamp's water to get a decent shotgun and a shopping cart; you get murdered by a random melonhead.
 

baturinsky

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Dead Money had quite good illusion of difficulty, because you felt constant drain of resources. Your health, your limbs health, gear durability, ammo. And no reliable sources of replenishing all that.
In fact, it's still quite easy, but constant pressure and fear to run out of resources was real.

To get something close to this in Skyrim one have to completely remove health regen and healing spells. OR add some slowly building up permanent harm from wounds, that can be not removed by restoration or other similar means.
 

Baron Dupek

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Ctrl+F - found no results for...
Man of Prey.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/289600/

You play in post apocalyptic Russia, play as a scavenger that struggle for every day. Canned meat and condensed milk is fine meal and whiskey is treasure, real.
Bullets = currency, you can't return to old missions to grab rest of the loot. Buying anything in the shops in careless and waste of not-so-small fortune.

And Gorky17 have limited in first location, then it's not that much.

Karellen
Not much of resoursce scarce to worry, in both LoG and LoG2.
 
Last edited:

Volourn

Pretty Princess
Pretty Princess Glory to Ukraine
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99% of games: First 1/3 to 1/2 of games resoruces are usually reasonably tight. Second half things get to be ove rabundant. Though, that's kind of to be expected since when you get that far into a game you shouldn't need to be worrying about 'small' stuff like ammo.
 
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Strap Yourselves In Codex+ Now Streaming!
Don't know if that the best example but I thought Shadowrun Retruns Dragonfall does a good job of keeping the player tight on money for most of the game.
 
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underrail is pretty resource light early and merchants wont barter just anything; they tell you what they need and if you dont have it then tough, you have to buy in $$$

kinda tapers off mid game but well worth your time because its a brilliant game and my goty
 

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