Retischal on 4/8/2001 at 11:23

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Chapter... well I was going to add a signature with a warning about that... :).

But seriously, what part of the ideas put forward (by me) do you think would "destroy" your beloved game? Is it the BIG MOUNTED GUNS part? -- If so, may I guess that you are a big fan of playing Deus Ex in a stealthy / minimal violence way?

Hey that is okay! I played through Deus Ex 2 that way first time I played it.. didn't enjoy it as much as the shoot the evil soldiers way of playing it though.

Would BIG MOUNTED GUNS (like the machine-guns in Half-Life: Uplink / HL: Opposing Force), really wreck the game?

1. They would add further to the choice of playing styles.
2. They would (unfortunately?) alert the nearby enemy to the presence of JC. -- But he could still run away, or swim into a conveniently placed tunnel ;).

Cyborg on 24/1/2002 at 18:05

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Yes... More conversations in DX2 and in nicer places like: airplane that mentioned above. In DX there is a nice conversation with icarus , when he calls to the phone in Paris.

wilderik on 31/1/2002 at 02:31

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Vehicles would be good.

Weirdgnome on 18/2/2002 at 19:19

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Vehicles: Use them but sparingly. NOT like the Red Faction shitty, shitty vehicles.
Just cause thay wanted to say they had them! Shitty, shitty game.

So include a warehouse truck at one place. To rip through a door. Move grates. Bust a bot. U decide...
A robocab in some level(s) like The Hong Kong one. Or a metro.
A car at one place. U can use it to bust the gates of a compound, if u like gung ho.
A, hostile, remote-controlled, camera-tooting gyrocopter patroling over a enemy base. Avoid the bugger. Or get in the controllroom and "shut down" its operator.
A rubber-raft somewhere. Bicycle. Shoppin cart. Skateboard. Hangglider.
Whatever if motivated and adding to versatility.

No big, armed and armoured vehicles or copter gunships. If they are not hostile of course. Used well that might work. Occasionally.

Level design: There were too many bunker-complexes in DX1, to my taste.
I liked Hong-Kong and Hells Kitchen alot. U got to move around pretty freely and explore, yet there were things to do, in ur time! More of that. Bigger ones. More NPC's, more subplots. Like little RPG's in themselves.

The Gas-station was also good. Partly cause it was a small one-off thing. A little interlude, so to speak. Clear objective. No concrete-maze. Also it was nice to be outside.
At least once id like to see action in a non-urban wasteland in DX2.

On choises:

How about this for affecting ur gaming experience?
Basically u will have to plug emenies or stay out of their sight, so just let ur choices show.
The game keeps track of ur kills and how often u are sighted. This will give u a profile, either as invisible or invincible. This in turn will effect enemy behaviour.

Looka here, example: Between u and completing the missions goal are x number of enemies, K?
When u have completed the mission each and every enemy can be divided into 2 "stealth" categories:

1. Those who saw u.
2. Those who didnt.

They will also fall into one of 2 "violence" categories:

A. Neutralised. Killed, unconscious or wounded to the point of retreating.

B. Lucky bastads. U just bypassed these and went along ur bussiness.

For ur stealth-count simply add the number of enemies who never spotted u(=all 2's).

For ur killer-count add all neutralised ones and subtract any who didnt spot u before u put theit lights out(=all A1's)

Compare these to get a balance, and record this during the whole game. Not much more advanced than the thief-stats.
The balance decides enemy reaction.

If u are a massmurderer they will become reluctant to attack(karkians excluded, theyll just stay away from ur odour;)
Enemies will take up defensive positions and call the bots when sighting u. This will be a greater challenge for the action-oriented player, since the good old "shoot-one-and-then-cap-the-rest-as-they-come-filing-down-the-corridor" tactic wont be as easy. Thus inducing u to wary ur style, or giving u a greater challenge if u choose not to.

If ur known as a good sneaker guards will be more agressive, investigate disturbances, turn occasionally on shifts and dare rushing u when seen. This will induce u to snipe, set up ambushes, kill off difficult sentrys and do other mean things or, again, it will make ur fave sport more challenging.

More than behaviour, the game can actually vary the opposition according to style.
Some extra bots, commandos, MIB's put in for the Terminator types. More patrools(with dogs(with smell?)?), LAM's in the ducts, faster cameras.
If u go Hitman on them and killemall - silently - u get to enjoy both;)

Another thing to concider is wheter u kill or stun most opponents. If u kill alot, and especially enemies who have cooporated for some reason, enemies will be reluctant to surrender/cooperate. And vice versa.
Same goes for killin civilians. Get a rep for it and loose potential friends up ahead.
In fact, see them running frantically for the cops....

This is a simple way to upp the interaction-level with the world. Add that guard-gossip about u follow the same lines, thus indicating ur rep, and itll be even more yummy.

And thats without having to construct extra levels u moight not play. Works more like having extra objectives for higher difficulty in thief.

Great for replay value, no?

faetal on 11/4/2002 at 18:58

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I really think that DX is a whole lot more fun and more involving if you don't just shoot everything that moves. By taking that whole 'gonzo' ultra-gung-ho approach, you are immediately doing away with the elements that place it apart from the rest of the gun-happy shooter crowd. My favourite run-through of Deus Ex involved not even ONE killing of NSF (all stunned or tranq darted), a 'too-soft' result from AN regarding the Castle Clinton assault and probably the best atmosphere I have ever gotten from a game. If shooting is your thing, may I recommend Serious Sam 2 as this comes unrivalled for pure blasting fun.
Regards,
fætal