Too Much Powergaming - better RP on excursions

Joebri · Post by **Joebri** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 4:19 pm

The RP in town is pretty good. And don't get me wrong, here. I like action. I always play a fighter type who is looking for the next battle, not unlike some of my IRL people I serve with.

However, think of the things you do in the context of fantasy, mixed in with reality for the actual GAME TIME passing. I have seen people doing 4 or more missions in a day!! Then going out at night for more! After 18 years in the military, 1-2 missions per day (during war time) is a heftier than normal schedule. And if you are making an excursion into "deep country" it should take at least an early morning start, with strong efforts to barely get home before darkness falls. Don't get me wrong, sometimes an excursion can lead into a lot of combat scattered across the countryside, but this is not so common.

SUGGESTION: When you go on a missoin, RP the whole way. Draw out the adventure and build the plot. Even if the final objective is a scrawny Kobold under the bridge. Scouts should be scouting ahead. Members should be trying to stay in formation with usual banter of a cobled together infantry. A leader of the party should be issuing commands (*eyes the ridge and motions for the scout to take a look*) or trying to keep the untrained group quiet. Most of the time people are just walking to the spot, kill the thing, RP for a second then cruise back to town in less than an hour of gametime.

If you make it back to town, and there is unfinished business, perhaps it is only mid-day, then the group should at least spend time resupplying, checking equipment, eating, etc. Remember, the distances on the map are much farther than we actually travel. After all orcs would not be regularly hanging out 200 yards from an Argent Legion outpost.

Don't back off on the action, just make it last longer and more intense.

Just some thoughts and suggestions. It can be more fun that way and it brings the content of the game more to life.

Rick7475 · Post by **Rick7475** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 4:47 pm

Excellent point.

I'm wondering if we could even script in some sort of timing value where once you complete a quest you cannot choose another for a specific period of time.

That is one of the issues of CRPG vs PnP. In PnP, you can say "we cleaned our weapons for 3 hours, then went to sleep" over the course of 5 mins.

In CRPG, well, time is something that few players want to waste, esp when they can only play for 1 - 2 hours after the kids are in bed or when the SO is watching CSI!

But for the players who can play 24/7 and run missions all that time, we can inspect logs and privately chat with then, which is being done.

Making non-combat quests so superman can do less exhaustive missions is being worked on. Takes a bit of time.

Wynna · Post by **Wynna** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 5:03 pm

Thank you, brianjoescott,

I agree with you. I'm also pulling people aside and talking to them in game. If I haven't gotten to you yet and you think you might be overdoing it, why don't you slow down before I catch up with you? Powergaming is not acceptable in ALFA. Taking mission after mission because your PC "can" or "would" (both reasons I've heard), is powergaming. There will be IC and OOC consequences.

(This has been your threat of the day! Tear off the next calendar page for a classic quote from the Marquis de Sade. )

darrenhfx · Post by **darrenhfx** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 5:12 pm

We're also in that 'tween phase where we are nearing having another type of static available to give players a different type of option than currently exists in the Rivermoot area. It's great that players are organizing themselves and making the most of the low level area that is Rivermoot, and while we all like a little action every now and then (ahem) be mindful to keep roleplaying your main focus and you won't make Wynna mad at you.

From my observations, I'm seeing some excellent roleplaying from the vast majority of players. It's hard to tear myself away sometimes.

maxcell · Post by **maxcell** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 7:57 pm

Great point. A huge hinderance to good RP on an excursion IMHO is the twofold fault of the NWN2 map function and tracking feature. People turn on Tracking Mode so that they can click and walk OR they just have it on because they are actually tracking. Creatures ahead show up as little brown dots...and I have actually heard RPed "I hear 4 orcs ahead"...

PE-U! Now come on, you "hear orcs" perhaps, but how many?

Also when the map is accessed, you see the entire area, and it is very hard to ignore knowing what is coming up. "that door is locked? Let's try the one around the corner then."

I really wish something could be scripted soon that will get control of these huge Meta-Leaks within the game client. Anyone got an ear at Atari?

Mulu · Post by **Mulu** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 9:12 pm

I am obviously playing with the wrong people, I need more adventuring!

Mulu · Post by **Mulu** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 2:56 pm

darrenhfx · Post by **darrenhfx** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 3:36 pm

Nice image

Demson · Post by **Demson** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 4:43 pm

maxcell wrote:Great point. A huge hinderance to good RP on an excursion IMHO is the twofold fault of the NWN2 map function and tracking feature. People turn on Tracking Mode so that they can click and walk OR they just have it on because they are actually tracking. Creatures ahead show up as little brown dots...and I have actually heard RPed "I hear 4 orcs ahead"...

PE-U! Now come on, you "hear orcs" perhaps, but how many?

Also when the map is accessed, you see the entire area, and it is very hard to ignore knowing what is coming up. "that door is locked? Let's try the one around the corner then."

I really wish something could be scripted soon that will get control of these huge Meta-Leaks within the game client. Anyone got an ear at Atari?

And all fairness it's rather silly we can't see anything farther than a 100 paces away.

Anything I spot on my radar I play out as "I saw movement over there".

mr duncan · Post by **mr duncan** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 5:06 pm

Demson wrote:
And all fairness it's rather silly we can't see anything farther than a 100 paces away.

Anything I spot on my radar I play out as "I saw movement over there".

agreed, there has to be a middle ground. The players that know names and numbers of the foes is just as wrong as not getting all the sensory input our PCs would be getting.

When i can target a gnoll on the far side of some rocks... "I smell gnoll" is an OK warning, while "theres 5 gnolls on the other side of this rock" is not.

Its not a matter of something needing to be scripted out, its a matter of people being expected to RP something instead of treating it like a video game. (like running, wich i see ALL the time when im sneaking down roads)

J

Munmun · Post by **Munmun** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 6:23 pm

The way I see it, tracking mode represents your character's perception. In a game it is impossible to accurately simulate a character's senses of sight, smell and hearing so instead we have track.

Think about it. In real life you can see a great distance. This is a much greater distance than your character in NWN2 could ever see and even greater than the distance of a 32x32 map if it were flat. Unfortunately this game isn't played in the first-person view, so to make up for this we can see blips on the map.

I recognize the problem with seeing things through walls or on the other side of some sort of barrier but we have had this since NWN1 and I do not really see the difference. You could see creatures and people through walls forever and the 'fix' for this is to not metagame.

Rion of Erb · Post by **Rion of Erb** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 7:36 pm

Tracking and scouting is one of my favorite parts of the game, and it does wonders to slow down the game pace, if RPed out.

Sadly my current PC is not a tracker... but he will have detect spirit soon, which I hope will be fun to RP.

Mulu · Post by **Mulu** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 9:35 pm

darrenhfx wrote:Nice image

I like it too, I think I'll sig it!

Veilan · Post by **Veilan** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 8:51 am

How did TT eloquently put it in game?

POWER OF THE METAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Hehe... regardless, I think we're currently in a new omg starting catchup adventuar rat race phase, much exacerbated by our failure to implement the soft cap formula (remember, ALFAns, before NWN 2 went live, suggested in a rather significant majority that a good levelling speed for ALFA would be 1-3 first month, +1 level per month thereafter barring death; or a simpler 1000xp/week), and I hope once it dies down, that roleplaying and story-driven plots will become viable, even outside of town

.

Dragoness · Post by **Dragoness** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 5:58 pm

Well I just completed two of those level 1 quests in the span of 1 month, and I probably won't really complete any more since the third one involves treading to the wyvern's nest, which Kai has enough sense NOT to go.