NPCs Behavior ? (Dev) Replied

It would be nice if a NPC knew the last time a player walked past him.
So maybe I'm looking for someone in the game and can ask the NPC, "Have you seen Lord British?"
The NPC might say I saw him a month or maybe a week or day or hour or minute ago.

You may not want to do this for everyone, but would work great if the player is being tracked for one reason or another.
Or maybe your pet ran away and you can ask a NPC if they have seen it.

I'm guessing maybe you could even ask a NPC if they have seen a certain item.
I posted in another thread to have a way to place a Owners Mark on items you don't want to lose.
Say your sword got stolen and it has your Owners Mark on it.
The NPC sees the sword or the Owners Mark being on the wrong person.
Then you can ask the NPC have you seen my sword?
Do you know how has my sword?
When was the last time you saw him?
Was he with anyone?

 

There could be some quests that require the player to wake someone up, or make sure they don't wake up, just for example. There are unlimited ways to convey the immersion through night-phases. **The town is asleep and a horde of skeletons is laying waste to the villages of New Britannia. Why is everyone asleep? Will the amount of time the npc's are awake affect the amount of sales they are able to make the next day? or affect the amount of items they have as well? I am sure that anyone could come up with better examples than I, but this topic is quite interesting.

 

Nice idea.

A detail: it would be nice if we could knock on house doors. Most people would not appreciate a sudden intrusion into their home.

PS: and yes, old english should definitely be found in most npc's mouth.

 

Two things I want to talk about: Seasonal variance, and NPC to NPC interaction.

I would really like to see not just a day/night cycle this time around, but the seasons should progress. We'll have the moon phases I assume, so seasons is the next step in my book! This can allow personal/village-wide/region-wide groupings of changes in each NPC's day-to-day routines. Spring festivals, Harvest markets and festivals.. In the winter all the farms would be dead, and the usual outdoor routines of farming and fishing might switch to indoor hobbies, like basket weaving and mining caves for resources.

Also, I'd like to see NPCs that walk around much like you'd expect a player to, going from city to city, gathering local gossip and spreading rumors from the places they've been. Gypsies, merchant caravans, traveling bards and pilgrims would all travel quite frequently, especially during the pleasant seasons. But my point with this is that I'd like to see NPCs carrying on the same conversations with other NPCs that a player would have. You actually might be able to overhear these NPC-NPC conversations, which might be the same conversations he/she will have with you if you ask them those same questions. And those traveling NPCs should have their own high/low reputations which affect how the other interacts with him/her accordingly as well.

I guess part of my point is that this new conversation system will be new and different to players, and being able to watch NPCs holding the conversations, and then seeing that you can hold the exact same conversations will not only seem more realistic, but speed up the learning process as well.

 

A huge "Yes please!" to both suggestions. Asheron's Call had a seasons cycle that was great. I loved to log in on the first patch day of the winter to find it had snowed and the land was in the grips of winter. There is just something so fun about that kind of mechanic, and really makes you feel like you're part of a world. And I agree that NPCs should interact with each other. It's one of my favorite parts of games like Dragon Age and Skyrim. I like to hang out by NPCs and listen to their conversations.

 

I would like to see the NPC companions not running off to become dragon fodder, one thing i really hates with any NPC is that they weould run off and start fighting something next thing you know i had to run after him and heal him etc... i hope that that would be covered in the design for instance (check box for offensive, defensive, free)

 

I would like to see NPC awareness and interaction/conversation. One of the best instances I have seen was in Gothic. Speaking about that one of the features that I haven't really seen in any other RPG is the fact that you couldn't run around town brandishing a weapon. NPCs would tell the PC to put their weapon away and guards would warn you to put your weapon away or face the consequences. NPCs would get upset when PCs would wander into an area they shouldn't be in and would get hostile if stolen from. To sum up; NPC awareness, interaction and suitable AI can make or break an RPG....

 

Excuse me
As the Avatar, I've raised demons, battled on ethereal plains, and pretty much become an immortal deity.
When I shattered the crystal of immortality, I gave birth to all of you in every dimension of what was known as Sosaria.
Try putting me in jail for using vulgarity and I'll burn your worthless village to the ground.

As for npc's not reacting poorly to me running around in my underwear...
I just killed the lich in the dungeon with my powerful magic.
I want to sell you hundreds of weapons...
You are a merchant, so you clearly don't have the nerve to stand up to me.

Now as for the annoying drunk who has never left his barstool... Of course all the merchants would treat him poorly. They would tell him to put some pants on.

What would it take for a mighty warrior to get the guards called on him?
Knowing that the guards would most likely be sent to their deaths?

 

Ultima VII schedules were intricate, NPCs would repeat mundane daily
activities, opening shutter at certain times of the day, close shutters,
sleep, unlock, lock doors, open shop, close shop, etc.