How to make a proper exploration based crpg.

[Andhaira]

Currently, the best purely exploration based rpg is morrowind. Sure there areother such as Ultima 7, BG1, Eschalon, Star Trail, etc and they are very good, but morrowind is so far the only game that is basically without much ofa plot. You can just ignore the plot and play the game as long as you want.

However, the world does not feeel alive. It is static. Nothing really changes no matter what you do.

So I was thinkging, how to make an eploration based, stat heavy turnbased crpg where the world reacts to your actions yet there is no overarching plot, save the little stories you make for yourself. Basically a huge world where there are many, many mini plot triggers but you have to activate them yourself. There are no real 'quests' Sure in your wandering ppl may ask you favors, but rewards will not be xp based, but tangible things you can use in-game to ffect the game world (respect, prestige, notoriety, political power, money, etc)

So you travel from one place to another, exploring, maybe settling down in a small village for a while and running an inn or a blacksmits shop, or training the village militia. You do what you want and the world reacts. There is no real ending to the game. Its indefinite.

Is such a game possible today?

 

[Erzherzog]

Darklands?

 

[Callaxes]

Darklands!

 

[buccaroobonzai]

It sounds like you may be able to make a module like that for NWN...
I'd help work on it.

 

[Lemunde]

It sounds like you may be able to make a module like that for NWN...
I'd help work on it.

I tried. You have no idea the amount of scripting involved in trying to make that game open and free roaming. It's not impossible but it takes a hell of a lot of time and dedication. There's so many variables you have to deal with. You have to make chests respawn, you have to design a new loot table system for it if you want custom weapons and armor in it, you have to make enemies respawn, you have to design a system that lets NPCs and creatures roam around and do shit...the list goes on. All the while you're designing by hand the largest NWN world ever conceived. It's a year long project at the very least, which is obviously more time than I was willing to put into a NWN module. If I'm going to do that much work I might as well make a new game from scratch.

 

[Saxon1974]

There have been quite a few games like this released, granted not many recently.

What about Divine Divinity?

Going farther back....

Might and Magic II (fantastic game still today), pretty much all of them are freely explorable.

Im sure there are many others.

 

[Balor]

DF!.. once the global map and events get fleshed out enough.

 

[SCO]

You want a new Darklands - if you don't want to go insane programming that is. I've been itching to make a game like this ever since i replayed Darklands and its predecessor (Sword of the Samurai). Think - haven't played it yet - that King of the Dragon pass has a similar system, but more complex.

Basically the advantage of these kinds of games is that they are almost completely state machine based + randomness. You just have to be very attentive to make plenty of C&C making the quests.

Like Darklands, i've been thinking about a gimmick (the saints), but instead of being just more a way to win quests, it would be more story based.

Basically i want to take a limited setting, like for example a British galleon or a samurai castle or some such and make a story with various protagonists.
Like cabin boy, spotter, captain a few more, and interleave these stories (with C&C). So you could for example do quests as a cabin boy, and latter as a gunner you'd see the cabin boy doing things. ^Problem is this is not very conductive to interaction, unless i adopt a completely turn based event flow and that is not very immersive.

Maybe i should think this better.

*procrastination*

 

[Andhaira]

See thing is Darklands as ORIGINALLy concieved would have come very close; originally it was supposed to have an alive world where states invaded other states, etc. But as it is, darklands is totally static. After a while the rando events become the same.

Divine Divinity has an overarching plot AND you HAVE to do quests to advance.

In my idea you only do 'quests' or tasks if you NEED their reward, such as money or something else. Otherwise you are free to do as you will and can travel anywahere in the gaemworld you want.

And the world changes around you, people have jobs the economy moves around, etc etc.

 

[S_Verner]

MEGATRAVELLER:THE ZHODANI CONSPIRACY

MEGATRAVELLER2:THE QUEST FOR THE ANCIENTS

FUCK YOU ALL OTHER OPINIONS ARE WRONG

 

[DraQ]

You take Morrowind and Daggerfall (along with missing planned features), add some light to moderate survival elements, improved combat and AI, and better characters.

 

[S_Verner]

You take Morrowind and Daggerfall (along with missing planned features), add some light to moderate survival elements, improved combat and AI, and better characters.

Your opinion is wrong.

 

[NiM82]

You take Morrowind and Daggerfall (along with missing planned features), add some light to moderate survival elements, improved combat and AI, and better characters.

Your opinion is wrong.

No, he's pretty much right.

 

[Mogar]

Your going to need a couple of things for a good exploration RPG.

First, you're going to need an interesting setting. If your setting is a cutout generic fantasy setting, then there isn't much incentive or excitement in exploring it. Make your world exciting and make it a place that you'd want to immerse yourself in.

Second, you need unique locations within your world. If everything is copypasted, as in Oblivion, searching for new locations becomes tiresome.

Third, NPCs need to be interesting. Not all of them. Many of them can be filler NPCs, just like Fallout did, who really say nothing. But the ones who do have things to say need to have substance in their dialogue.

Fourth, if your world is threatened, try to keep it in the background, like Arcanum or Fallout did, unitl the end game, in which case it starts to really mess up your world. It is rather nonsensical to be running around exterminating rats for the fighter's guild when the world is being invaded by demons.

Fifth, atmosphere is highly important to exploration RPGs.

Sixth, avoid the roller coaster syndrome (when everything is happening in close proximity to each other, like Fallout 3). But then again, don't make your world to empty.

Seventh, a consistent world with consequences will do wonders.

 

[S_Verner]

Have any of you fags even played Traveller?

That is how you do some fucking exploration.

 

[rpgcodexusername]

i played it back in the day when i was 12 and dumb,

it seemed a bit copy/pasted and the combat was awful

 

[Azarkon]

Sounds good, now go make it.