KickStarter Guido Henkel's Deathfire: Ruins of Nethermore - CANCELLED

[Zed]

new blog post:
http://guidohenkel.com/2013/05/items-and-weapons-key-ingredients-in-a-good-role-playing-game/

 

[CappenVarra]

"Item binds when equipped"?!

 

[Lady_Error]

All things said, in the end, I would estimate that we will have somewhere between 300 and 400 weapons. Just to give you a comparison, Shadows over Riva, the third of the Realms of Arkania games had less that 100 weapons. In fact, looking over the game’s source code showed me that the entire game contained a mere 480 items. So, in essence, it looks as if we will have nearly as many weapons as Shadows over Riva had items. Nice!

 

[Rhuantavan]

I'd much prefer fewer more fleshed-out weapons (and other items) than a sea of bland ones. Betrayal at Krondor did it spectacularly well with its, what, 100 items total?

 

[Overboard]

It's not binary ffs.

 

[cvv]

I'd much prefer fewer more fleshed-out weapons (and other items) than a sea of bland ones. Betrayal at Krondor did it spectacularly well with its, what, 100 items total?

Yeah, although tbh BaK is prolly the opposite extreme. As a lootfag I prefer not to be stuck with one sword for half the game.
But granted, to go through four nerdy daggers (broken - badly rusty - slightly rusty - non-rusty with a dent on it) in five minutes is retarded too.

 

[Rhuantavan]

I'd much prefer fewer more fleshed-out weapons (and other items) than a sea of bland ones. Betrayal at Krondor did it spectacularly well with its, what, 100 items total?

Yeah, although tbh BaK is prolly the opposite extreme. As a lootfag I prefer not to be stuck with one sword for half the game.
But granted, to go through four nerdy daggers (broken - badly rusty - slightly rusty - non-rusty with a dent on it) in five minutes is retarded too.

I agree, Krondor was another thing altogether. Still when you equipped a better sword you could actually tell the difference in combat, unlike most other games... plus those item descriptions added so much to the depth of the world.

 

[Jaesun]

Guido Henkel ‏@GuidoHenkel4m
"Why would you have bind-on-equip items in a single-player RPG? " - the rationale behind the decision in #DEATHFIRE — http://ow.ly/l1Nca

http://guidohenkel.com/2013/05/why-would-you-have-bind-on-equip-items-in-a-single-player-rpg/

 

[Infinitron]

That's kind of silly.

 

[Lady_Error]

That doesn't make sense at all. So if you find something better you cannot remove the other item?

 

[HobGoblin42]

So, I can equip a weapon that has been used by my enemies before, but not the previous weapon of my party members.
Decisions are not a bad thing, but this one seems a little bit obsessive and artificial for me.

 

[Infinitron]

So, I can equip a weapon that has been used by my enemies before, but not the previous weapon of my party members.
Decisions are not a bad thing, but this one seems a little bit obsessive and artificial for me.

It forces you to make permanent, long-term decisions about your equipment loadout. The thing is, in CRPGs, players usually make such decisions on the level up screen - their stats and skills. Stats are permanent, equipment is transient. I don't see that there's much benefit in disturbing that equilibrium, although if it's only for a small amount of items it's not so bad.

That doesn't make sense at all. So if you find something better you cannot remove the other item?

No, but only the PC who used that item can use it again in the future.

 

[Rhuantavan]

This will probably only end up annoying the player. At least I would be annoyed if each time I get such an item the temptation to save the game, test it out on my character(s) and restore the game if unsatisfied creeps up on me.

 

[tuluse]

So, I can equip a weapon that has been used by my enemies before, but not the previous weapon of my party members.
Decisions are not a bad thing, but this one seems a little bit obsessive and artificial for me.

It forces you to make permanent, long-term decisions about your equipment loadout. The thing is, in CRPGs, players usually make such decisions on the level up screen - their stats and skills. Stats are permanent, equipment is transient. I don't see that there's much benefit in disturbing that equilibrium, although if it's only for a small amount of items it's not so bad.

There is a huge difference. Stats build upon one another. When you add a point to strength, next level you can add another point or add a point to charisma and you don't lose the strength point. With equipment you replace it, so the binded item is essentially gone if you replace it.

 

[Infinitron]

So, I can equip a weapon that has been used by my enemies before, but not the previous weapon of my party members.
Decisions are not a bad thing, but this one seems a little bit obsessive and artificial for me.

It forces you to make permanent, long-term decisions about your equipment loadout. The thing is, in CRPGs, players usually make such decisions on the level up screen - their stats and skills. Stats are permanent, equipment is transient. I don't see that there's much benefit in disturbing that equilibrium, although if it's only for a small amount of items it's not so bad.

There is a huge difference. Stats build upon one another. When you add a point to strength, next level you can add another point or add a point to charisma and you don't lose the strength point. With equipment you replace it, so the binded item is essentially gone if you replace it.

Of course, but in a high level sense these are both long-term, irrevocable, "character building" decisions. If you improve one stat, you can't later transfer the point you added to another stat. It's stuck with that stat for good.

 

[theSavant]

Can't wait to see a prototype of an ingame screenshot...

 

[stony3k]

Guido Henkel said:
I should probably also point out that this is not a feature you will find on every corner. It will be used very sparingly and deliberately on select items only. The screenshots may create a bit of a wrong impression there.
The thing is that even if we use the feature only once in the entire game, I need to have a field for it in the editor reserve and create the respective variable in the items to hold that information.

It looks like this may only apply to very specific and special equipment, in which case it works better.

 

[stony3k]

This will probably only end up annoying the player. At least I would be annoyed if each time I get such an item the temptation to save the game, test it out on my character(s) and restore the game if unsatisfied creeps up on me.

It looks like the consequences of such weapons will not be obvious at once, hence you may only find out much later that the weapon was meant for another.

If we lay it out so that the advantage/disadvantage is not immediately obvious, it will hopefully help carry the effect a little further for those who want to try and enjoy the game without having a virtual butler by their side who instantly tells them that this item might be best suited for that character, or that the answer to the riddle he just read is “Fire.”

 

[Excidium]

That is fucking terrible.

 

[Lady_Error]

I should probably also point out that this is not a feature you will find on every corner. It will be used very sparingly and deliberately on select items only. The screenshots may create a bit of a wrong impression there.

Okay.

 

[Jaesun]

Guido Henkel ‏@GuidoHenkel2m
Obviously, the list of attuned weapons in popular entertainment is long, so I wonder why people don't like my idea of adding them to an #RPG

 

[stony3k]

Probably because it looked like most weapons would be attuned instead of a very few (which he clarified later)

 

[Gord]

People fear new/different things and like bitching. News at 11.

Instead of just letting the guys do their thing and start bitching IF it turns out to actually be shit in the end, they have to bitch about every little detail that deviates from their narrow definition of the genre.
A lot of good games have been good because they did non-standard things and brought new ideas. Some turned out to be shit because of it.

But for once it would be nice to see how it actually works out before the whining starts...

 

[Excidium]

It's bind on equip gear, hardly a new idea.

What is there to explain?

 

[Lady_Error]

Not everyone cares enough about MMO's to know that kind of stuff.

Besides, it has never been done in single-player RPG's. Don't know if it makes sense to implement it even in a very limited way.

I guess it is sort of a cursed item thing that is extended to not being able to give the item away.