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I was curious about the style of games that you can create with coldstone...
Many many CRPGs are very linear... you do thing A, to be allowed to to thing B, to be allowed to do thing C.... etc...
I was a big fan of the Bethesda Software Elder Scroll titles.. because they allowed for the player to determine the course of the 'adventure'. The player could follow the overall storyline... or just wander and explorer. Character development became as important as 'finishing the game'.
This is very open ended question... but can anyone in the know give me a sense of how well Coldstone will be adaptable to creating a larger world that gives a player a lot of room to develop however they want?
I like the idea of being able to focus the game on providing the player the opportunity to reall develop their PC without trying to force them down the typical "destroy the darklord" plot line.
Will coldstone allow for a lot of character development? Can the PC create spells, gather herbs, work with tools, cut lumber, fish, or other kind of non-combat related skills that give the character a depth?
Just looking for some info on this type of thing.
Thanks much,
Zupa
I'd say pretty much any of the stuff you mentioned is possible, from what I've seen of the engine so far. as far as long as it isn't related to the combat/character systems, the sky is the limit (or, more acurately, RAM is the limit...). we've had a lot of discussions around here about just these sorts of things. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. welcome aboard.
(edited for spelling errors)
------------------ Do not follow me for I may not lead. Do not lead for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either. Just leave me the hell alone. -Jedi
(This message has been edited by jmitchell (edited 08-08-2001).)
One of the things The Elder Scroll titles is that they have an absolutely HUGE game world in terms of expanse; however, most of this is algorithmically generated, and therefore lacking in depth.
If my understanding of how character development in these games works (I haven't played them, but I've seen some friends who have), it is mostly through accomplishing various tasks for certain people; after you do enough to please the leader of the theives' guild, you are essentially a thief; on the wrong side of the law, have contacts that can get you otherwise unattainable equipment, etc.
If I am correct in my assumptions, part of the depth of character development in these games derives from the expanse of the world and therefore the algorithmic nature of the Elder Scrolls engine. All characters you talk to, buildings you enter, and even city layouts, are algorithmically derived.
Unless Dee has added this to CGE without telling anybody, CGE will not have algorithmic tools for generating your universe. While you can make large gaming worlds, you will need to do a lot of the setup by hand.
As for the ability to let the players gather herbs, cut lumber, etc., yes, most of this should be do-able, provided you implement them in your game. In Ambrosia's Cythera you can use items on other items to make new items, such as bread. I'm fairly certain you can do this sort of thing; When one item is used with another item, an event can be called that replaces one or both of those items with a new one. Of course, you'll have to set the properties for that new item up.
As for letting the player create spells, well, I think that the CGE would require some more powerful internal engine-specific scripting before something like that could be done. Spells, like items are tied into various event calls, which means that a spell is defined to do certain things; play an animation or sound, teleport the player, blow away thine foes, heal you, etc. I believe a more powerful implementation of scripting the internal parts of the engine would need to be implemented for such event handlers to be created on the fly by a player.
But... much has changed in the engine since the last time the beta team has gotten a chance to tinker with it. We shall see how it has grown.
------------------ People who claim the sky is falling obviously aren't aware the earth is falling, too.
Thanks for the thoughtful answers...
I agree with you that the Elder Scrolls approach, algorithm generation of locations and everything else... is not possible (and kind not that good)... and not what I was really curious about. I just used those as one of the better known RPGs where the plot is largely character improvement and not task accomplishing.
It is hard to get a sense of Coldstone's capacities in this sense... but I am encouraged by your reply that it has come up before.
Here is one more specific question in this general area of thought though.
Will randomized encounters be possible?
Let's say I have a town and it is surrounded by several forest map areas... can I set up 'zones' that have a certain likelihood of different types of creatures being generated when the PC enters... or will the creature either be there or not there in the game... and if it is just 'there' will some be able to regenerate in a certain amount of time?
That kinda thing would lend to what I'm thinking about.
thanks again,
Unfortunately, I cannot answer that with any certainty.
Quote
Originally posted by Zupa: **Thanks for the thoughtful answers...
Zupa**
I believe..yes. Playing POG, I noticed that whenever a new place loaded, the enemies were always in different areas. So, I guess that had to be randomized. Unless.. thats not what you meant.
------------------ .... So, two guys walk into a bar...... the third guy ducked.
I think what he means is; just walk around and at times goto anouther screen where you fight the enemy(ies). Like in the Dragon Warrior series, PoG is more looking of the "Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past" and the later Zeldas.