Severian
10-23-2008, 02:40 AM
I am absolutely loving this game. Kudos to the developers for creating a fantastic single-player, hybrid RPG in an era of boring RTS's, MMORPG's, and console trash. This game is so deep and interesting, I don't mind at all that it really comes down to 1) fight monsters, 2) increase stats , 3) repeat. This is damn entertaining stuff.
I would love to see an expansion, and a sequel for that matter. This game is too full of good ideas to just pass into the Hinterland. Sorry if any of these ideas have popped up in other threads.
1. More of everything:
- continents & quests
- units
- items
- bosses
- wives & children
2. At least one more hero type. The Warrior/Paladin/Mage trichotomy works well as a balance between Army Strength vs. Magic, but I suspect there's room for another archetype here. Druid? Monk? This would involve, of course, the addition of another skill tree ("Spirit"? "Nature"? "Technology?").
3. On this note, I really like how the Dwarves introduce some "steampunk" aspects to the game. This could possibly be turned into a whole new dimension: technology and weapons. Heroes could acquire gunpowder weapons, possibly, and a "Technology" skill tree might allow you to have some interesting mechanical skills ("Repair", "Thermal energy", etc.). Some might disagree that this would violate the fantasy ethos of the game, but it could be interesting.
4. Children age and develop. As babies, the skill bonuses they offer are minimal, but as they age, the bonuses increase. At some point, perhaps your children can even join your armies as battlefield "generals", with very high stats or buffing capacities. They could, of course, die at this point (which would be tragic).
5. Morality/Alignment. In addition to "Rage" and "Mana", have another pool that increases or decreases depending on your actions. Basically, a good/evil meter that changes depending on how you accomplish certain quests. With good "morality", you can summon angels to your aid, recruit knights easier, get free units at churches, etc., etc.. With bad "morality", you can summon demons, steal gold from taverns, divorce your wife without having to pay alimony, etc., etc. Neutral gets you nothing, so heroes are encouraged to role-play in one direction consistently.
6. Three-way battles? Kind of crazy, but it just might work. Elves vs. Undead vs. Your Army. Free-for-all. The battlefield might need to be bigger for these battles, with the armies placed at 3 equidistant locations.
That's it for now. I'll add to this list if I think of anything else. I'm not really into the idea of multiplayer, as I just don't think it would work with this game, but I understand that some players are finding combos that make beating the AI a little too easy. I'm not sure how that could be resolved, except perhaps to have a sliding "difficulty" meter that adjusts how much damage your attacks do to enemies (a la Oblivion). Not perfect, but maybe better than nothing.
I would love to see an expansion, and a sequel for that matter. This game is too full of good ideas to just pass into the Hinterland. Sorry if any of these ideas have popped up in other threads.
1. More of everything:
- continents & quests
- units
- items
- bosses
- wives & children
2. At least one more hero type. The Warrior/Paladin/Mage trichotomy works well as a balance between Army Strength vs. Magic, but I suspect there's room for another archetype here. Druid? Monk? This would involve, of course, the addition of another skill tree ("Spirit"? "Nature"? "Technology?").
3. On this note, I really like how the Dwarves introduce some "steampunk" aspects to the game. This could possibly be turned into a whole new dimension: technology and weapons. Heroes could acquire gunpowder weapons, possibly, and a "Technology" skill tree might allow you to have some interesting mechanical skills ("Repair", "Thermal energy", etc.). Some might disagree that this would violate the fantasy ethos of the game, but it could be interesting.
4. Children age and develop. As babies, the skill bonuses they offer are minimal, but as they age, the bonuses increase. At some point, perhaps your children can even join your armies as battlefield "generals", with very high stats or buffing capacities. They could, of course, die at this point (which would be tragic).
5. Morality/Alignment. In addition to "Rage" and "Mana", have another pool that increases or decreases depending on your actions. Basically, a good/evil meter that changes depending on how you accomplish certain quests. With good "morality", you can summon angels to your aid, recruit knights easier, get free units at churches, etc., etc.. With bad "morality", you can summon demons, steal gold from taverns, divorce your wife without having to pay alimony, etc., etc. Neutral gets you nothing, so heroes are encouraged to role-play in one direction consistently.
6. Three-way battles? Kind of crazy, but it just might work. Elves vs. Undead vs. Your Army. Free-for-all. The battlefield might need to be bigger for these battles, with the armies placed at 3 equidistant locations.
That's it for now. I'll add to this list if I think of anything else. I'm not really into the idea of multiplayer, as I just don't think it would work with this game, but I understand that some players are finding combos that make beating the AI a little too easy. I'm not sure how that could be resolved, except perhaps to have a sliding "difficulty" meter that adjusts how much damage your attacks do to enemies (a la Oblivion). Not perfect, but maybe better than nothing.