Editorial Lucky Number 2 - RPG Codex Editorial on Matters Most Pressing

[Darth Roxor]

Tags: Deus Ex; Divinity: Original Sin 2; ELEX; Fallout 2; Fallout 4; Prey (Arkane Studios); Shadows over Loathing; South Park: The Fractured But Whole; South Park: The Stick of Truth; Space Wreck; Streets of Rogue; The Witcher 3; West of Loathing

RPGs rely on a variety of factors, some of which include combat, storytelling, exploration and simulationism, in combination or otherwise. Many of these aspects are based on design elements such as dice rolls and worldbuilding, and this is exactly what esteemed community member lukaszek decided to analyse in his latest editorial.

Or well, at least to some degree that's what he's discussing there. As the introduction puts it:

Rolling 19 feels bad – so close to critical success! This is probably the reason behind the introduction of weapons with critical ranges. Pick the right one and you’ll be graced with big numbers more often.

On the other side of the spectrum is number 2. I guess players are more relieved that they didn’t roll 1 – it’s so close after all. And while that’s true for several RNG implementations, it’s not how physical dice work: 7, 19 and 13 are where the close calls are at.

Still, it never received the treatment that 19 did, and I felt that it was time to appreciate it a bit more.

Obviously, I’m talking about functional toilets in RPGs, and through these pages we’ll be plunging into the depths of restroom interactions and hygiene.​

Go ahead and dive right in to find out why RPGs aren't actually going down the toilet as much as you'd expect them to be. Satisfaction guaranteed. Just remember to flush and wash your hands once you're done.

Read the full article: Lucky Number 2 - RPG Codex Editorial on Matters Most Pressing

 

[King Crispy]

 

[Cohesion]

Truly potato article.
And I thought at first it would be about determinism vs RNG.

 

[Lord_Potato]

Kudos to lukaszek for finally taking a break from playing Gorasul to take on one of the most important, yet often ignored topic!

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

How many threads initially posted to the front page ended up in retardoland? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Nortar]

I'm surprised to find no mentions of Dungeon of Naheulbeuk in the article.
Each floor of the dungeon not only has a WC, but toilets play an integal role in a number of battles, quests and jokes.
Yeah, the game has that kind of humor.

 

[Cyberarmy]

 

[lukaszek]

those reactions bring me joy

I'm surprised to find no mentions of Dungeon of Naheulbeuk in the article.
Each floor of the dungeon not only has a WC, but toilets play an integal role in a number of battles, quests and jokes.
Yeah, the game has that kind of humor.

you might find it surprising after reading my piece, but I couldnt stand that game and didnt reach toilet content. Nor it was brought to my attention before

 

[lukaszek]

Kamaz was toying with idea of writing review for your gaym but this came out instead. You were my inspiration

 

[Saint Scylla]

Could have done without the AI generated art...

 

[thesheeep]

I'm not entirely sure what I read, but it was very entertaining.

Well done, lukaszek .

 

[Kev Inkline]

Didn't read a single word, ban OP, lock the thread.

 

[Hag]

Missing one of the best :

 

[Tavernking]

This was a missed opportunity for an codexer to draw a picture but nooooo you had to go and use AI

 

[lukaszek]

Missing one

i tried hard to include underrail. Went deep into where 'pipeworker' came from but in the end decided that its not enough
restrooms are everywhere but they serve mostly as a place where one enters/change vent shaft. I dont recall a single instance where I would sneak stab patrolling enemy in the loo.

 

[Cyberarmy]

There are sewer levels in Path of Exile where we fight against literal piss elementals.
Wrath of the Righteous had Fulsome Queen, living shit monster who took the looks a succubus.

 

[thesheeep]

This was a missed opportunity for an codexer to draw a picture but nooooo you had to go and use AI

It was a taken opportunity to cause some butthurt by using AI.
Well done.

 

[Nortar]

those reactions bring me joy

I'm surprised to find no mentions of Dungeon of Naheulbeuk in the article.
Each floor of the dungeon not only has a WC, but toilets play an integal role in a number of battles, quests and jokes.
Yeah, the game has that kind of humor.

you might find it surprising after reading my piece, but I couldnt stand that game and didnt reach toilet content. Nor it was brought to my attention before

Yeah, it's a pity that the Dungeon's art-style filters players that otherwise could have enjoyed the tactical complexity of the mechanics and hand-crafted encounters.

But did not reach toilet content? The first compaion that joins you is the Elf, and you find her hiding in a toilet 2 minutes into the game.
So I'd say the the article while refreshing still lacks the plumbing depth it's topic deserves!

 

[HeatEXTEND]

First I was confused then got it after like the third game, Christ I'm dumb

 

[Darth Roxor]

This was a missed opportunity for an codexer to draw a picture but nooooo you had to go and use AI

we rolled 2 on the art procurement check

 

[BlackAdderBG]

Is this the peak game journalism we were waiting for or just the other side of Schlongs of Skyrim

 

[Hellraiser]

I had a rather nasty case of diarrhea yesterday, I blame this editorial and lukaszek dabbling in the occult. Clearly it was imbued with potent copromancy.

 

[deuxhero]

One of Fallout 4's understated flaws is, not even joking, how few toilet models there are. There is no standard toilet model that isn't broken, and given you'll see six+ toilets lined up in every public building and a few toilets in other builds, your eye very quickly notices they're all broken in exactly the same way. Every toilet in the Commonwealth (outside of vaults, the bunker in Salem, and for some reason the department store dungeon, all of whom have a single non-broken stainless steel toilet, and the Institute, who has special toilets you can actually sit on) has been smashed up and has exactly the same damage and is one of the many things about the game that says how


Anyone who has done interior work in the TES construction set or Geck knows they didn't even need to make more art assets to fix this. They just had to separate their lid, tank top, and base into multiple models and allow builders to place them independently.

It's even more blatant because the dungeon builders stand out as the only place in Fallout 4's team where anyone seems to have cared: The random level makers did a fantastic job at creating a large number of believable locations with a very limited asset pool, so it never feels like you're in "yet another X dungeon". Yes, most are crap as a dungeon (with all but one good one falling into the category of revolving around a central "courtyard" with a bunch of shallow branches) but they generally had unique ideas for how to use limited assets to the best of their ability.

 

[Gromlintroid]

Pure weaponised autism

 

[Kiste]

wat