Little details in RPGs that please you

[Darboven]

NPCs stealing from each other in Oblivion

 

[ShaggyMoose]

My absolute favourite little detail in a CRPG though was how in the Eye of the Beholder series you could throw a rock or spear down a corridor and chase after it and have it hit you the back of the head.

That's not a nice little detail, that is a technical limitation of the engine (or potentially a bug), amusing as it might be.

 

[Serus]

I enjoy when a game makes at the very least symbolic effort to pretend that what I see in-game is not the whole world. Makes it easier to immerse myself.

This is why I prefer when cities in RPGs are just small sections of a larger city rather than scaling an entire "city" down to a couple roads and a dozen buildings.

So much this, I hate when supposedly major cities cities (even in quasi-medieval setting they are supposed to be 10s of thousands) are reduced to a couple of buildings not even suggesting that there are more in a convincing manner. The only exception I think are ok, are in settings where cities are supposed to be just glorified villages - like in some postapo like Fallout 1. In the latter case making it ridiculously small can sometimes enhance the "correct" feeling that the word has been reduced to almost nothing. Otherwise, give me an illusion of size. This can be only really achieved through abstraction.



I might be in minority or simply I'm above average autistic but i like when a crpg has interesting and/or realistic currency system. Not the party carrying a trillion "gold coins" which is dull and retarded on more than one level. I especially liked Darklands when you had an almost-historical system AND low amounts overall AND ability to use credit letters from bankers.

 

[luj1]

- Meeting a projection of a god on a random overhang in a cave

Where was that?

Boots of the Apostle, you meet a projection of Mara IIRC

 

[luj1]

- Meeting a projection of a god on a random overhang in a cave

Where was that?

Ama Nin, found underneath Berandas, is an avatar of Mara; rescuing her can be accomplished during the Imperial Cult quest to obtain the Boots of the Apostle.
Jon Hawker, found in Nammu, is an avatar of Zenithar; rescuing him can be accomplished during the Imperial Cult quest to obtain the Ring of the Wind.

Also, a possible avatar of Tiber Septim named Wulf can be met at Ghostgate during a stretch of the main quest.

Wulf gives you a mysterious coin, I still don't know what it does

 

[thesheeep]

So much this, I hate when supposedly major cities cities (even in quasi-medieval setting they are supposed to be 10s of thousands) are reduced to a couple of buildings not even suggesting that there are more in a convincing manner.

Remember how Fable ... 3 (?) tried to show you the horrors of war or whatever, and did so by showing you nothing but a popup telling you about the number of people who died.
And that number was ludicrously high compared to the number of people you actually see in that world (which is supposedly all of it).
Like, you meet maybe a thousand people (probably much less) in the entire game without any indication that that's just a fraction, and the popup tries to tell you that somehow millions of those died

One other thing I personally very much enjoy in RPGs (and other games) is if NPCs actually acknowledge you bothering them instead of everyone just being best buddies from second one.

 

[JarlFrank]

Succubi have their tits out.

On the other hand, details that displease me: subbubi having weird demon feet instead of sexy human feet, or wearing footwear that completely covers their feet.

 

[Marat]

On the other hand, details that displease me: subbubi having weird demon feet instead of sexy human feet, or wearing footwear that completely covers their feet.

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/little-details-in-rpgs-that-annoy-you.142443/

 

[JarlFrank]

Ornaments and good art like this. Fuck minimalism.

Skeumorphic UIs are an absolute treasure, and pretty much every game tried to have them as soon as the visual fidelity of computer graphics was good enough for it, i.e. the late 80s to early 90s.

Only nowadays do we get ugly interfaces that look like they belong to Windows 10 rather than a fucking game.

 

[Üstad]

Only nowadays do we get ugly interfaces that look like they belong to Windows 10 rather than a fucking game.

You summed it up perfectly. I really wish indie companies start to ditch minimalism as an attempt to get more attention and revivalism. But new playerbase are zoomers and they have shit taste especially in art design.

Even the site design has downgraded

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Ornaments and good art like this. Fuck minimalism.

Skeumorphic UIs are an absolute treasure, and pretty much every game tried to have them as soon as the visual fidelity of computer graphics was good enough for it, i.e. the late 80s to early 90s.

Only nowadays do we get ugly interfaces that look like they belong to Windows 10 rather than a fucking game.

But... In sci-fi games those UIs are skeumorphic.

 

[Lazing Dirk]

I like when doors aren't just a wall that you can lockpick. In The Magic Candle, you're expected to knock on someone's door, and then they won't let you in if you don't know who lives there. In The Dark Heart of Uukrul, you can listen at a door before deciding whether to go through.

In Underrail you can craft an endoscope that lets you peek under doors in case you're worried about blundering straight into an enemy patrolling around on the other side. Also in Underrail, I like that the player portrait background doesn't just reflect where you are, but how brightly lit the area is.

I also appreciate it when games not only let you do things in advance, but have the quest giver react accordingly, as opposed to just interacting with them twice in a row. Makes it more fun the second time around to see what their reaction will be.

 

[Sabotin]

My favourite would be connections between the game world and mechanics. For example how companion influence was explained in KOTOR2 or how you learn many of the spells in PS:T.

Creative ways of skirting around technical limitations (or unnecessary work) also make me smile and I appreciate when the world is partitioned with more effort than invisible walls/locked doors/high mountains.

 

[jackofshadows]

Only nowadays do we get ugly interfaces that look like they belong to Windows 10 rather than a fucking game.

You summed it up perfectly. I really wish indie companies start to ditch minimalism as an attempt to get more attention and revivalism.

Easy to say but not easy at all to make UI that works with like 10 different resolutions if not more if we're talking cross-platform.

I like if there's special dialogue branch in case you've done already the quest which you're about to get.

 

[Üstad]

Only nowadays do we get ugly interfaces that look like they belong to Windows 10 rather than a fucking game.

You summed it up perfectly. I really wish indie companies start to ditch minimalism as an attempt to get more attention and revivalism.

Easy to say but not easy at all to make UI that works with like 10 different resolutions if not more if we're talking cross-platform.

I like if there's special dialogue branch in case you've done already the quest which you're about to get.

Good things are never easy. I don't think the main reason is resolution it's the change of the taste and mentality.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

never really thought about it before, but resolution reasons seems entirely plausible
the "OS-like" UIs are much easier to make resolution independent than more complicated UIs

 

[Kabas]

Pieces of cloth/armor that serve no other purpose other than making your character look cooler. Drakensang games and the Temple of the Elemental Evil are the ones that come to mind at the top of my head.

Like, in both drakensang games one of the possible character options is a dwarf who starts with an awesome hat and a smokepipe.
In ToEE there is quite a few cosmetic equipment. You can put a very skimpy-looking dress on your female wizard, put certain robes on top of your armor for further cutomization and dress your ranger as a Robin Hood.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

- Meeting a projection of a god on a random overhang in a cave

Where was that?

Ama Nin, found underneath Berandas, is an avatar of Mara; rescuing her can be accomplished during the Imperial Cult quest to obtain the Boots of the Apostle.
Jon Hawker, found in Nammu, is an avatar of Zenithar; rescuing him can be accomplished during the Imperial Cult quest to obtain the Ring of the Wind.

Also, a possible avatar of Tiber Septim named Wulf can be met at Ghostgate during a stretch of the main quest.

Wulf gives you a mysterious coin, I still don't know what it does

Wulf giving the Old Man's Lucky Coin to the Nerevarine bestows the greater power "Luck of the Emperor", which fortifies luck 20 points for 2 minutes on self, although according to UESP this power is not connected to the coin itself in any way, so you would not lose anything by discarding or storing the coin.

 

[Zlaja]

I appreciated all the instances of racism in Arcanum. And no, I'm not trying to be an edge lord here. That stuff made the setting more beliveable. And it wasn't too preachy about it, either.

In Bloodlines I loved listening to the ads and that radio show. And I would totally vote for this guy:

 

[Arbiter]

Lack of romances.

 

[Modron]

Functional key rings.

 

[Nifft Batuff]

Fast loading and low CPU usage.

 

[luj1]

I appreciated all the instances of racism in Arcanum. And no, I'm not trying to be an edge lord here. That stuff made the setting more beliveable.

same as the xenophobia in Morrowind

 

[Lim-Dûl]

But... In sci-fi games those UIs are skeumorphic.

That would depend on the kind of sci-fi. Starcraft Terran UI would be an example of skeuomorphic sci-fi UI that is more elaborate.
edit:spelling

 

[Catacombs]

Tooltips that compare inventory items with equipped items.