Author Topic: a suggestion and a few questions  (Read 3570 times)

JudgeJuryExecutioner

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a suggestion and a few questions
« on: June 24, 2017, 03:24:07 AM »
Do you think we could be able to make our own character, allowing us to name him and maybe have a choice of different portraits for him? we can keep the same in game model if the budget is tight.

Now for my questions, how many gangs will be in the full release?

And what are the background of the various gangs.
Can't find any info on what those cultists believe in and what those mercs want.




Nomad

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Re: a suggestion and a few questions
« Reply #1 on: June 24, 2017, 07:19:01 AM »
While we wait for an official response (Daithi is really good at responding to questions) I can give you an unofficial response.  =)

I like the suggestion... but you're right, it'll probably come down to resources.

Three gangs. Cult, Mafia, Survivalists.

I believe the cultists just want to watch the world burn.  =)
The survivalists, as far as I can tell, are just doing whatever they want because they've got the guns.
Daithi will go into more depth for you.  =)

ushas

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Re: a suggestion and a few questions
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2017, 11:58:48 AM »
Yeah, the background of gangs interests me too. Sometimes finding out who enemies are and what they are after can be part of the experience, though.

Well, they are of The Final Exodus, so may as well provide services of the final wish before exiting you. :)

I also got the feeling that Sam and allies are set in stone. However, recalling from discussions on rpgcodex, we might be able to choose some nuances, such as his motivations (perhaps the name too).

Additional suggestions:
1) Externalized portraits, loaded from some directory. Then you can use yours  if adjusted to proper dimensions and names. I think there are 3 for allies: portrait + its smaller version for battles, and a whole-body one on the char. screen. Not that anybody would want to replace Olga's images, mind you.

2) If we cannot choose our allies, let us choose our enemies. Might be wrong, but it seems names are randomly assigned. So what if we put a list into a text file, then the game loads this when populating enemies? Goes well with barks and fleeing. Could also circle through (adding II, III, IV at the end).

I've really only watched Meridian's openxcom let's play so far, but I think it's fun for some of them if they can recruit their viewers and then comment on how they are faring. Usually it's into the squad, but...

Daithi

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Re: a suggestion and a few questions
« Reply #3 on: June 24, 2017, 01:32:35 PM »
Hi JudgeJuryExecutioner - and welcome!

As Nomad observed, with a small budget and one coder + one artist, it pretty much all comes down to resources, and investing them in such as way as to bring the biggest improvement to the game.

It's unclear if making your own character will be an option yet, as the focus is mostly still on the "need to haves" rather than the "nice to haves". I suspect that naming the character would be as far as it could go. The main reason is that a lot of resources have been put into the illustrations, in which Sam is the most commonly appearing character, and it would be inconsistent if the portrait was different from the model, or the model from the illustration. One likely outcome is to allow you to choose who Sam is, by determining how he reacts to his enemies (i.e. does he kill them, or does he spare them) resulting in two different endings for the game.

It will be the 3 existing gangs for release. A lot of insight into the gangs, their activities, motivations, and mentality is provided through the in game encounters, which are text based encounters, often with choices. I'm a fan of the idea of providing little chunks of information along the way, and letting the reader fill in the blanks, but to give you a quick rundown of survivalists and churchers:

Survivalists: Unified by the belief that human civilization is corrupt, weak, and on the brink of collapse. Built around an ex military core, they are effectively on a resource grab before the lights go out.

Church Of Final Exodus: What the church represents depends one who you ask. A low level acolyte will tell you one thing, a fanatic will tell you something else, and leader will tell you something else. They are the most numerous gang and melee oriented, they produce and distribute a drug called elysium and tend towards low level opportunistic crime, like muggings, theft etc.

@Ushas: The idea of adding a list of criminals through a text file could be an option, will add to the list.