NPCs Behavior ? (Dev) Replied

Aside from "NPCs schedules", what features would you like to see about the NPCs?

As it was mentioned on the KS comment section, it's quite silly when Players' Characters run around the town with full plate on, shield, mace, throwing fireballs, swearing around and nobody reacts, guards just stand still, and a stallkeeper talk to you as if you were his best friend.. not a weirdo or a criminal.

I think some reactions to unusual, unpredictable players' avatars behavior would be welcome(d).

Maybe also a sth bigger like "karma system" + "players fame, gossips" connected with their behaviors?

 

Quite true! In UO's beginnings, at least, if a player was in town, one could cry out, "Guards!" and gain assistance. It would be really nice to see NPCs scream or shout, point, throw a bucket of water (or something), and the like when deadly actions were happening with the players. I'd like to see players get stern warnings, and clapped in irons for misbehaving, go on trial, and spend some cell time if they were so sentenced. Immersion: yes!

 

One of the things I think made UO so different and rich was the fact that you had to speak (write) some special words in order for the NPCs to aknowledge you. Some of those word were part of quests and sometimes, someone had told you to go see the (exemple) blacksmith in come town and ask him about his missing wife, for exemple.

I think that the fact that in modern RPGs, the fact that you go see any NPCs and click on them, and then have a choice of sentences that you can use, makes the game smaller.

What I really would like to see in this game would be to bring back the RP experience where you really had to interact with the world in a more personal way than pre-written sentences. I would like to go to a merchant and ask him myself "Hello Bernard, could you please tell me if you have new items to <b>sell</b>" or if my character is a ***** and the NPC is for some reason facing a wall because he wandered "<b>You're daydreaming again? Bernard! Can't you bring yourself to work properly for once and show your poor customers some respect and just show me some respect ! If you don't want to aknowledge my presence and show me what you have to <b>sell</b> now, I'll go see your competitor!"

By interacting with NPCs like that, you get some really cool chances to interact with other players, who can think I should not have talked to Bernard like that.

I think it also forces players to really immerge and become their character. One thing I am very afraid of is modern playrs used to the normal experience in a recent MMORPG and who have never played UO. I'm afraid that they will make it one of those games. Cause a game like the one you are building will become what the players want it to become, or what they make of it and with it. To make sure that everybody will have a different experience with the game, let us talk as we want to, let our character have some good and bad days, have some special words or be some wise guy. Let us interact with the world and the NPCs for real. And NPCs can answer differently and be unique, but we still have to find the way to connect with the person.

THAT's something I would be so happy to play! I would love you forever for it !

 

NPC schedules should be affected by the game world, so a "smart" schedule that can react to events or the weather, etc. In some games, you could watch the NPC behavior just cycle through itself, without being affected by anything. It could be a hailstorm outside or the town is on fire all of a sudden, or a dragon attacking, etc, and they're all still just standing around, doing their thing, going about their business, having fake conversations with each other, oblivious to the world they're in. (e.g. Oblivion's not-so-"radiant"-AI system).

Even if it's just rudimentary, where the NPCs just go to a 'safe' spot, wait until whatever event is over, and then resume the schedule or start over.

Probably too much to ask, but it would great to further deepen the immersion.

 

NPC schedules and interactions in Ultima games... That is something near and dear to my heart! I've spent quite a bit of time exploring what we'll be able to do on that front, and what I've found is that we will be able to do just about anything we want. I have great confidence (and so should you) that the many things I'm hearing talked about will indeed be in our game.

 

Chaox, thank for the reply! - Do you see the amount of depth for npc scheduling to be on the level of Skyrim? Do you see the schedules becoming more complex after launch?

 

Chaox.

Thanks for the feedback. It's great to know the production team is actively reading these posts and responding (positively or negatively) in kind.

Regards,
Sir Bruce

 

I liked the aspect of Ultima VII where NPCs would close windows that you opened and "bark" out their displeasure. Kicking you out of their beds. etc.

I would also like them to respond to strange behavior by players .. like get mad if you start undressing in the middle of their homes.

 

While I fully realize that this is "code" intensive, especially if there is a fairly large NPC population, please make is such that the "clone effect" in NPC behaviors is kept to a minimum.

There is nothing more distracting than to encounter the same "clone" over and over in each house, village, city or anywhere.

Routines (and schedules), if used, should have some variation in their patterns; even for the same NPC. Heck, folks are not robots who get up at 5 am, have a meal, dwaddle to work in a bee line, pound the same "sword" for the entire day, then leave, have a meal and go to sleep only to reboot same same the next day.

Make the routines vary for the day, the weather, the occasion(s).

Or at least make it so that the clones are not near each other.

 

maybe thats why they are giving all the Dev level and above an NPC, because if we each design one then that should keep the number of clones down

 

I've always found it strange when NPCs don't react to players wearing.. shall we say unusual attire (or lack there of) whie running around in public. Which for whatever reason always seems to happen in online games.

 

Idea:

I think it would be really awesome if you guys can add an element where we can give NPCs our gear and they can choose whether to use it or not. Something like a gear check and if it's something good, they can choose to wear it. I just think it will be pretty cool and the NPCs wont be so static and always looking exactly the same. And then maybe a couple days later they can revert back to whatever they were wearing.

It's always in my dream that in a game I can find some weak villager from town or something and then deck him out in fullplate and watch him defend himself against a monster.

 

I don't know I think that's too easily abused.. you know how many people will try to play dress up with NPCs just to see how rediculous they can make them look?

I'd like to be able to outfit companions but there should be a limit on that sort of thing for NPCs.. especially if it's not appropriate for them to wear.. a farmer isn't going to just start wearing full plate.

 

^

Yes I agree, thats why I thought it be an idea if the NPC has a check for what type of items are "acceptable". Or a set time limit on how long an NPC would keep certain items on before discarding them.

 

I like that idea franciskf01.

 

Interaction is for me one of the most immersive things. It would also be great if NPCs from particular areas or groups share common attitudes, folklore, speech habits. I like the orc villages in Skyrim, for example, which you only access once you have earned the trust of one orc.

 

I'm excited to see how the AI will be handled. Chris said that AI is really resource intensive so most mobs and NPCs are fairly boring and predictable to keep the load on the server lower in most online games. Since the load is on our computers, I hope we can see some more complexities with the way NPCs perform and the way mobs attack us.

 

I am expecting that the rewards for some of the KS levels are going to be put to good use here. I for one an looking forward to having input to the NPC which will bear my name. At least I hope there will be more input other than name and look.

 

I liked how people went to sleep in Ultima 5, and you had to wait till the morning to interact with them. If there are certain NPCs that you can only find during the night or during the day that might be interesting. It may cause you to come back to a particular town more than once to look for that specific NPC.

 

I used to love waking people up in the elder scrolls games, but was always disappointed that it never pissed them off. Which I always punished by letting them go back to bed and waking them up again.