Jason Moyer on 26/1/2014 at 18:48
If my only experience with Torment were reading a novelization of it, I'd probably hate it too. Then again, I can't see that a novelization of Alpha Protocol, Kotor2, NWN2, or FONV would be good either. The reason Obsidian's writing is good is because of the way the player character affects the story and influences relationships with NPC's. Without that, there's nothing special there.
june gloom on 26/1/2014 at 19:30
Yeah, see, I actually played the game? Or tried to? It's terrible. The gameplay sucks. So I read what amounted to a text dump. That sucked too.
Don't tell me I didn't actually play the game because I made like half a dozen attempts and it just. Wasn't. Fucking. Happening.
Yakoob on 27/1/2014 at 00:44
The problem with Torment's text isn't so much that it's bad, but just overly drawn out and lengthy. It could've used being cut down... by like 3/4s :p
june gloom on 27/1/2014 at 00:46
It's also a load of po-faced overwrought wash.
driver on 27/1/2014 at 01:11
So yeah, Kingdom Come, looks interesting. My main concern has already been raised in that the combat looks rate floaty, though first-person melee combat is tricky to pull off. Dark Messiah managed it, but it looks like KC: D is trying to make something much more complicated than the simple three moves you had in DM (quick attack/power attack/block). Hopefully it won't end up like Die By The Sword: Well intended, but fucking horrible to control.
A Skyrim with more depth would suit me down to the ground, and I wouldn't miss magic if they manage to get the combat right. Though I wonder how they're tackling wounds and healing if there's no handy clerics about. Realism is all well and good, but if you have to stomp back to a hospital to get treated after each fight or die of gangrene, it will be somewhat tiresome. I also can't see regenerating health working in this context, if realism is the key then a quick breather isn't going to help with that jagged gash across a major artery. I'm getting visions of your character walking round with a roll of bandages the size of a truck tire and wrapping himself up like a mummy after each fight, having a quick kip, then waking up an hour later feeling all better.
nicked on 27/1/2014 at 07:50
I'd say bandages and healing items are the way to go with this. There's only so far into realism you can go before it starts negatively affecting gameplay.
Maybe there could be some system of long term (max) health and short term health. Attacks remove points from both. Bandages can heal short-term health so you can keep fighting, but your maximum health would drop, so after sustaining multiple wounds, you don't recover as far. Then you go to a hospital location and get some herbs and bed rest, and recover the lot.
Seems like the handling of combat as a whole is either going to make or break this one.
Jason Moyer on 27/1/2014 at 11:10
I'd assume they're going to use all of the staples of a third person action RPG, like stamina and hit points and whatnot. From what I'm gathering they're not going for brutal realism so much as a D&D style RPG without the fantasy elements.
DDL on 27/1/2014 at 12:13
Brutal realism would be a fun mechanic to try, though. Not really 'long game' material, because it'd be fucking awful, but it'd be funny if they included a mode where you accumulate niggling injuries in a realistic fashion (severed nerve in arm due to getting nicked by a lucky thrust: permanent loss of dexterity, etc).
I bet you there'd be people out there hardcore enough to try whole playthroughs like that, too.
"I now needed to storm the keep, which would be difficult because I had only one leg and eye remaining, so half my monitor faded to black and I couldn't strafe left. Also I had acquired double incontinence due to crippling bowel injuries from a nasty arrow hit I didn't block, so guards would be likely to smell me from some distance. A degree of deception was therefore necessary...."
Tomi on 27/1/2014 at 14:04
Quote Posted by DDL
Brutal realism would be a fun mechanic to try, though. Not really 'long game' material, because it'd be fucking awful, but it'd be funny if they included a mode where you accumulate niggling injuries in a realistic fashion (severed nerve in arm due to getting nicked by a lucky thrust: permanent loss of dexterity, etc).
Funny indeed. "It's just a flesh wound!" :p
[video=youtube;zKhEw7nD9C4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKhEw7nD9C4[/video]
Shadowcat on 27/1/2014 at 14:13
Quote Posted by nicked
Maybe there could be some system of long term (max) health and short term health. Attacks remove points from both. Bandages can heal short-term health so you can keep fighting, but your maximum health would drop, so after sustaining multiple wounds, you don't recover as far. Then you go to a hospital location and get some herbs and bed rest, and recover the lot.
You've just described the health system of Vietcong, which I've always admired greatly. It's still game-like, but it's an excellent compromise between realistic wounds and typical game healing, and it means there are often consequences to getting into combat that other games don't provide. It worked really well, so I'd love to see more games adopt such a system.