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Dialogues: try all or ignore some?

gurugeorge

Arcane
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Aug 3, 2019
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Strap Yourselves In
When you have a dialogue box or tree in a CRPG, do you obsessively click all the dialogue options to see where they go, or you do you click only on those that are relevant to your character/story/mood, thereby foregoing some of the other options?

I suppose it depends on how into the story character you are, but generally I used to be more interested in games from a meta perspective, so I'd often save before a dialogue, reload and try other options to see what the developers were offering, but as I've gotten older I tend more towards rp, picking and choosing and ignoring some of the options - just letting go of that obsessive feeling.

It's hard when some options remain un-greyed though sometimes, the temptation to click all the things and make them all grey still crops up now and then :)
 

Wunderbar

Arcane
Joined
Nov 15, 2015
Messages
8,809
There's really no point in leaving options un-greyed, unless the options contradict with your character's alignment. Why wouldn't a paladin ask some extra questions about their quest, or maybe about local rumours? Pretty sure game designers don't care about players who chose to larp like that, by leaving dialogue options unread you may just get stuck.
 

just

Liturgist
Joined
Feb 6, 2019
Messages
1,296
i always pick the first choice
dont even read i like surprises
 

Wunderbar

Arcane
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Nov 15, 2015
Messages
8,809
The smaller things that annoy you in RPGs:

Dialogue trees where NPCs do a long ass monologue that you have to mash 1 to get through.... and then when it does end, "1" makes you ask the question again restarting the entire monologue again.
 

Butter

Arcane
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Oct 1, 2018
Messages
7,522
Click the longest ones because those unlock new quests/give XP, then exit the dialogue tree as quickly as possible.
 

MpuMngwana

Arbiter
Joined
Sep 23, 2016
Messages
336
Click on everything that seems interesting, ignore everything else. I used to read everything but thankfully I got over that bad habit which was hampering my enjoyment.

“How do I get to Deadly Dungeon of Epic Loot?” - Yes, please.

“So your grandfather fought in 29th Dwarf-Elven war? Tell me more about it” - No, thanks
 

Lurker47

Savant
Joined
Jul 30, 2017
Messages
721
Location
Texas
Yes, but there are some weird incidents in say, Planescape, where certain dialogue options loop back into questions you've already asked forcing you to go through dialogue trees you've already seen in order to go back to the main question-asking prompts (or just stop talking and talk again) or weird incidents in like, Baldur's Gate, where accepting or completing a quest or something like that makes it so you can't ask any more questions despite that still logically making sense as something to do. There's also the issue of characters often having the exact same information to say on a topic with little insight or personality to their responses (TES.) I understand why it's like that to an extent- to make sure the player has multiple ways of learning something- but I still find it a little infuriating for someone as thorough as me when it comes to RPG's (at least, when starting them.)

It's almost like a game in itself. It's a meta element that I find as engaging as it is exhausting. It's also a big part in, as I alluded to, me getting burnt out and less attentive as my playthroughs drag on.
 

Ladonna

Arcane
Joined
Aug 27, 2006
Messages
10,636
I just click on the option that leads to less talk and more fight.

This reminds me of my first playthrough of Baldur's Gate. I met some idiot in Nashkel with a head wound that demanded I help him save a witch. I insulted him, he attacked me, I killed him and moved on. On web boards later on, everyone would go on about how awesome Minsc was as a companion. "who?"
 

0sacred

poop retainer
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MFGA (Make Fantasy Great Again)
Codex Year of the Donut
I used to click all, but now I just click the ones that are relevant to me because ain't nobody got time fo dat.

Choosing all dialogue options is a sign of serious retardation (after reading all that drivel you will be damaged even if you were fine before)
 

Maxie

Guest
i press 1 until the talking scene ends
i never talk to npcs out of my own volition
 

Generic-Giant-Spider

Guest
I go with the first option or the last option.

And only if they end in "<attack>". Cuz I'm a hard nigga like that and you know I don't dodge any fuckin' cocksucker in the land.
 

Raghar

Arcane
Vatnik
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
22,499
click only on those that are relevant to your character/story/mood, thereby foregoing some of the other options
Younger me.
obsessively click all the dialogue options to see where they go
Less younger me.

Don't give a fuck and click whichever line pleases your current mood
Present me.
I'm actually adding lines to dialogues myself. Proper story and what would character really say. It makes text in games not completely crap.
 

Faarbaute

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 2, 2017
Messages
760
Back in the day I used to exhaust every option a game had. That meant also trying all dialogue options if given the chance, sometimes through diffrent playthroughs if there were branching narratives, just to squeeze out some extra details of the story, the setting and its lore.

These days I rarely find a game interesting enough to really want to plumb their depths in that way. Worst case, you'll end up ruining the illusion if you dig too deep. Like talking to an otherwise beautiful woman and finding out she's completely shallow.
 
Joined
Jan 2, 2021
Messages
4
There are so few games whose writing rises above the tier of Kickstarter-backer fanfiction or that offer any meaningful C&C that I usually just click through until something happens and move on.
If I can tell that I'm only going to play a game once, I do sometimes reload to see whether I'm missing a combat encounter or anything though.
 
Joined
May 31, 2018
Messages
2,509
Location
The Present
I'm an unrepentant completionist. Unless a dialogue choice is contrary to my character or methods, I will select it and see where it goes. If I'm rushing through the dialogue, it's because I've play through it before.
 

Old Hans

Arcane
Joined
Oct 10, 2011
Messages
1,442
when I was playing disco elysium I was thinking how OCD I am because I had to grey out all the dialog lines & even if i'd seen it before, I have to read it all.
 
Joined
May 25, 2021
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The western road to Erromon.
Depends on the game and how invested I am in it, or in knowing shit about it. I like being able to dive into the nitty-gritty with other people on various forums and have in depth conversations, even if it's just to determine how shit a game is. Can't do that without taking it all in, and if it does happen to be shit I certainly won't be going back for round two.

Honestly though, if I decided to one day no longer bother exploring the options (excluding those that run contrary to my character) not much of value would be lost. I can count the number of RPGs with dialogue/lore worth investing in on one hand.
 
Joined
Jan 14, 2018
Messages
50,754
Codex Year of the Donut
this thread made me realize that more dialogue options should have choices that lock you out of other options just to fuck with people who click on everything without reading
 

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