Forum Overview :: Might & Magic X: Legacy :: Re: I don't think you should be taking RPG advice

[quote name="jeep"][quote name="Jerry Whorebach"]Here's my test to decide if I need to see a number: if the game didn't tell me I had a 16 instead of a 15 in Strength, would I be able to tell the difference just by playing for a little while? If the answer is yes, then I don't need to see the number. If the answer is no, then I <i>really</i> don't need to see the fucking number. The only point I can see to making it visible is so I can do the designer's job for him, by ~IMAGINING~ all the neat effects it could have on gameplay, if he actually bothered to implement any of them.[/quote] I'm convinced this is a low-hanging fruit deal from the 80s that just hasn't died out yet. If you look at that old Fallout game, it's a pseudo-conversion of gurps, where it's hugely narrowed from those encyclopedic rules. the pnp rpgs were themselves abstractions of doing stuff (I don't like to do stuff, so let's sit at a table and talk about it) and because they were paper-bound and systematic they were basically repurposed into design docs for computer programs, and so the games are an abstraction of an abstraction. It was lazy but computers didn't do much effectively besides multiplication then. The residual parts of the paper character sheet that show up in like skyrim or w/e are really holding bethesda's games back, they held alpha protocol back a little, they have weirdly little impact on mount and blade (and that sweet gekokujo mod). I think it's because there's so much other shit going on in that game, the character sheet only comes up every couple battles when you add 4 numbers and go back to slaughtering ronin from horseback or w/e. I think the fix for someone who is stuck on pnp rpg thinking (like at bethesda) is to trace back each of the skills like lockpicking and just skip the number and go right to crafting a better in-engine non-minigame experience for "lockpicking." they're shitty minigames tacked on late in development now, and it would be better if it was a priority. just use the old engine and focus on that for one sequel, eliminate the character sheet altogether. of course then they'd have to design each dungeon and encounter so it could be dealt with using 3+ different skills and that seems like a lot of effort, or "deus ex hr". basically this kind of work is limited to companies that have massive resources, and most of them seem like they're busy doing other shit. maybe this unreal 4 deal will help? icj seems like he's making a crpg, at which point I'd say just clone final fantasy tactics in all respects [quote]If a game gives me the option, I will <i>always</i> choose to create my own characters.[/quote] same hey I hope you played the hell out of "dragon's dogma dark arisen" on ps3, the first time you take on a cyclops or get fucked up by a baby dragon the whole rpgness of it just kind of goes away[/quote]