PigLick on 16/11/2021 at 12:09
Mass Effect 3 always irritated me with the whole "Earth is being invaded NEED URGENT HELP, but also take as much time flying around the galaxy as you like"
nicked on 16/11/2021 at 14:14
It's a classic problem in a lot of RPGs - this game needs a threat significant enough to be worth ploughing 300 hours into, but also on a loose enough timescale that it doesn't matter if saving the universe falls off the bottom of your To-do list.
faetal on 16/11/2021 at 16:11
For added urgency, the game should count the time you spend between sessions towards The Bad Event too.
Starker on 16/11/2021 at 16:29
People don't respond well to time limits, though. Especially in RPGs where they like to explore every nook and cranny and do all the side quests.
faetal on 16/11/2021 at 17:51
That's my preferred playstyle. The the extent that I reflexively change direction to look for unexplored optional areas whenever a game tries to make me go a certain direction.
WingedKagouti on 16/11/2021 at 18:01
I prefer if a game with lots of sidequests and random stuff to do don't also have a main quest where a time limit is implied (or real).
Pyrian on 16/11/2021 at 19:02
I really kinda love the way FTL did it. You're encouraged to explore as much as you can, which isn't that much because the big fleet chasing after you actually is a big fleet chasing after you. It's not a hard limit because you can engage the fleet and push through as needed. But the urgency is no joke.
Tomi on 16/11/2021 at 19:44
That works in FTL though, because it's a roguelike (unless there's a better genre for it) and the games are rather short. Imagine spending three hundred hours playing your generic RPG, and then having an army of orcs wipe down the entire kingdom or an evil dragon that has been chasing you burning you to a crisp, if you fiddle around with the side quests for too long. :D Kingdom Come: Deliverance had some timed quests, but I kinda hated those because you didn't always know which quests would really fail if you were too slow.
Pyrian on 16/11/2021 at 20:14
First off, you've gotta UX it at least as well as FTL; no surprises. Then, also like FTL, it should be a soft limit, things get harder and less useful rather than "oops fail lol".
With those caveats, yeah, I think it would work fine in a 300 hour RPG epic. ...More, I think it would improve it for many players. "Okay, it's time to stop f'ing around with sidequests and get on with things..."
That leaves completionists, and I kinda wonder. For the most part, those people were going to replay the game anyway. So I'm not sure adding another incentive to do so would actually bother them so much? I dunno.
WingedKagouti on 16/11/2021 at 20:25
Quote Posted by Pyrian
More, I think it would
improve it for many players. "Okay, it's time to stop f'ing around with sidequests and get on with things..."
I honestly don't think it would improve things for those who do like to mess around with random stuff in a lengthy RPG. Especially since some types of long RPGs are known for having special stuff locked behind series of sidequests and random faffing about. So you'll just end up with a bunch of "Do step A, B and C asap or you'll end up locked out of upgrade X for character Y" guides that people slavishly follow instead of discovering their own path.
