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RPG(s) with different paths resulting in vastly different endings.

MrBuzzKill

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Aug 31, 2013
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I'm not talking Mass Effect "pick your color" endings. Nor pretty much any RPG I know, including BG1-2, Arcanum, KotoR, Dragon Age, Underrail, etc.

I'm talking RPGs where ending A is as different from ending B as taking place in a different city/planet/dimension, concerns different people, and takes a different chain of events to get there. So no "only your choices in the last quest count".

Yes, I realize that such an RPG is incredibly difficult to make, as it essentially means implementing multiple main quests within a single game.

Also I don't mean early arguably "bad" endings, such as Fallout 1 and Planescape: Torment (although the latter does have a somewhat satisfying, somewhat good, and somewhat original early "alternate" ending, a rare surprise in the genre, at least to me)
Actual spoiler for PS:T:
I'm talking about perma-killing yourself early with the special blade

So, does the Codex know of such nigh-impossible RPGs?
 

Lord_Potato

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Witcher 2.

Ok, every ending plays out in Loc Muinne, but depending on you choices in act 1 and 2 you get there via different route, with completely different allies, knowing only half of the full story and its secrets. And still in act 3 you make several choices that seriously influence the ending.
 

MrBuzzKill

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Age of Decadence?
Why the question mark?
Witcher 2.
Ok, every ending plays out in Loc Muinne, but depending on you choices in act 1 and 2 you get there via different route, with completely different allies, knowing only half of the full story and its secrets. And still in act 3 you make several choices that seriously influence the ending.
That's actually a fairly good one. You have two factions > paths to ally with. Unfortunately both paths do tie together in the end.
I played every game in the Witcher series and beat 1 and 2, unfortunately their high quality production pretty much precludes the kind of wildly branching storyline that I meant. It's simply too unrealistically expensive.

The kind of game I imagine having something like this would probably be on the level of Jeff Vogel games graphically. Tilesets, etc.
 
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RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In
You should try Way of the Samurai. I'm currently playing WoTS and different decisions can lead to vastly different endings and endgames. Including fighting against different bosses at the end of the game (in completely different sequences) or killing characters early game and preventing them from appearing furtheron. The downside is that it's a console game so RPG elements are extremely light.
Also the game is meant to be replayed many times and the way the game approaches it is very gimmicky. Basically every time you beat the game you restart preserving everything you found in the gameplay, this includes all techniques you've learned, all items and cash. This might be a bit polarizing. I've enjoyed killing a boss and then fighting him again in different route using the swords I've previously looted from his body, but for many it will be too immersion breaking.
 

CappenVarra

phase-based phantasmist
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Why the question mark?
I've only beaten it once but that's from what I've read :M
Age of Decadence is the answer to all the question marks your life dares to raise :hug:

it's one of the games worth replaying 7+ times, on a scale Skyway could not imagine when he first mentioned such a concept to his cat

just do it, beats posting silly threads like this
 

CryptRat

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I have finished the game only once but I think that Legend of Mana has different ending maps. The main quest maps in Unlimited Saga are also different depending on your main character.
 

AdolfSatan

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Jarl beat me to my best two examples, so I'll chime in with PtD and Teudogar. Final length will vary depending on the path tho; it's not equally balanced in that regard but I consider it a plus.
 

DalekFlay

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Witcher 2.

Ok, every ending plays out in Loc Muinne, but depending on you choices in act 1 and 2 you get there via different route, with completely different allies, knowing only half of the full story and its secrets. And still in act 3 you make several choices that seriously influence the ending.

Witcher 2 is the best example I can think of where a large amount of the actual game world and story content depends on your decisions. I'm not sure I'm actually a super fan of it though, as I really felt like the story didn't make complete sense until I played both paths. I think ideally you should get a complete experience either way, but a different experience, if that makes sense.

Anyway, I can't think of another game where the devs were dumb enough to restrict such a huge amount of content. Best they usually offer is a "remix" of the same area (New Vegas and Outer Worlds do this) or just dramatically different story beats in the same areas (KotOR maybe?).
 

MrBuzzKill

Arcane
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Messages
651
?
I would appreciate you guys using spoiler tags when talking about heavy end-game spoilers. Luckily I was able to erase the stuff you said from memory, but I can't keep doing that if you keep discussing it here.

I've tried Age of Decadence, didn't find it to be too much to my liking due to the setting and the early 2000s 3D graphics. Maybe I should give it another try.
 

Ol' Willy

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I would appreciate you guys using spoiler tags when talking about heavy end-game spoilers. Luckily I was able to erase the stuff you said from memory, but I can't keep doing that if you keep discussing it here.

I've tried Age of Decadence, didn't find it to be too much to my liking due to the setting and the early 2000s 3D graphics. Maybe I should give it another try.
Some endings are hard to achieve without the foreknowledge. Ascension endings requires a lot of determined decisions, where even stat allocation at chargen can block you from reaching it.
 

MrBuzzKill

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the devs were dumb enough to restrict such a huge amount of content
See, that's the kind of stuff I actually really LIKE. I don't think the devs are "dumb" for doing it. I'm pretty sure they're well aware that creating hard branching paths means not all players are going to be seeing major portions of the content. I see it as a good, if very rare, thing. It means the dev is going the extra-extra mile for a very dubious reward of the few players that will truly appreciate such a thing. It's kind of heroic, in my opinion. In fact I created a whole thread dedicated to this very practice some time ago - https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/major-content-you-can-easily-miss-in-rpgs.114400/
 

Ol' Willy

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See, that's the kind of stuff I actually really LIKE. I don't think the devs are "dumb" for doing it. I'm pretty sure they're well aware that creating hard branching paths means not all players are going to be seeing major portions of the content. I see it as a good, if very rare, thing. It means the dev is going the extra-extra mile for a very dubious reward of the few players that will truly appreciate such a thing. It's kind of heroic, in my opinion. In fact I created a whole thread dedicated to this very practice some time ago - https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/major-content-you-can-easily-miss-in-rpgs.114400/
Then you will surely like AoD. Underrail as well.


Although, this is the part of modern design philosophy. Modern """""RPGs""""" are often designed in a way that you can do and see everything in a one playthrough.

- all builds are valid
- all content is accessible
- no silent failstates for factions and questlines
 

MrBuzzKill

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Underrail as well.
Hmm, not sure what you're talking about here. I only finished the game once (even though I quite liked it), and I'm pretty sure I didn't miss any areas. Even more sure that it always ends in the same area and the same end boss. I'd be glad to be proven wrong here, since that will give me another excuse - apart from Expeditions - to replay the game.

Age of Decadence




Why are all these games set in Ancient Rome/Greece?! xD personally, not a huge fan of such a setting. But thank you for the suggestions, still.

Now that I think of it, it may be fairly easy to make a wildly branching game, as long as you make it very very short.
 

AdolfSatan

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I say give them a try, you might end up enjoying the setting nonetheless. They all have in common that a single run will be rather short. Theseus and Teudogar in particular, both can be beaten in one or two sittings.

Prelude to Darkness. Amazing game, but be ready to deal with bugs. There's a forum here in the archive section with all the info you could want if you decide to check it out.
 

Ol' Willy

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Hmm, not sure what you're talking about here. I only finished the game once (even though I quite liked it), and I'm pretty sure I didn't miss any areas. Even more sure that it always ends in the same area and the same end boss. I'd be glad to be proven wrong here, since that will give me another excuse - apart from Expeditions - to replay the game.
Did you get to the end of Oculus questline?
Did you chose Free Drones or Protectorate?
Did you chose JKK or Coretech or Praetorian?
In Expedition, you can stay loyal to Aegis or switch to pirates.

The ending does remain the same, though.
 

Lord_Potato

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Age of Decadence




Why are all these games set in Ancient Rome/Greece?! xD personally, not a huge fan of such a setting. But thank you for the suggestions, still.


Teudogar is set in ancient Germania. It's one of the most unique settings in rpgs ever. Don't like it? Your loss. Go play with your boring, cliched elves and orcs.

Age of Decadence world is loosely based on Roman empire, it's post apocalyptic fantasy, another fresh take on the setting.
 

MrBuzzKill

Arcane
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Aug 31, 2013
Messages
651
Did you get to the end of Oculus questline?
Did you chose Free Drones or Protectorate?
Did you chose JKK or Coretech or Praetorian?
It's been 4 years since I finished it, so I don't remember. But you're probably right, there are areas in the game only accessible to guild members, etc.
Teudogar is set in ancient Germania
It sounds interesting. I also tried to get into Darklands, but gave up early. Maybe I should try again.
 

deama

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Alpha protocol has a lot of different choices that change outcomes, but I think you still have to go to the same places? Though I'm pretty sure you get different bosses.
 

DalekFlay

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See, that's the kind of stuff I actually really LIKE. I don't think the devs are "dumb" for doing it. I'm pretty sure they're well aware that creating hard branching paths means not all players are going to be seeing major portions of the content. I see it as a good, if very rare, thing. It means the dev is going the extra-extra mile for a very dubious reward of the few players that will truly appreciate such a thing. It's kind of heroic, in my opinion. In fact I created a whole thread dedicated to this very practice some time ago - https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/major-content-you-can-easily-miss-in-rpgs.114400/

The "dumb" line was about putting so much work and money into something 90% of players will never see or care about, not about whether it's really good or not. Vast majority of people never finish a game once, let alone multiple playthroughs. I think it was a neat thing to do, game wise. However like I said above, I enjoy extensive reactivity in a game world more than I would say I enjoy locked off content. It's not the room you can only get into with a lockpick build that is exciting, it's how that room changes the quest or what your reward is. Similarly it would be much more interesting to me to have an elf aligned Geralt wander over to the king's camp and get much different story dialog and such, rather than to just have the entire area locked off. They took an easier route really, when you think about it.
 

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