What this game is missing most, imo

Likeable npc characters to interact with. That one wants to help for reasons other than getting gold or experience. Characters that one will want to check in on to see how they are doing. Characters like in the old Ultima games, like Dupre ( or whoever your favorite was ). Characters with rich story lines and engaging dialog.

Maybe this role is meant to be filled by other avatars in multiplayer mode? Maybe the single player game will be like this?

Every npc I have encountered so far is too hollow; part of throw-away quests.

 

The closest I've found to this is Khasi/Siranto in Ardoris, and maybe Myra/Myron in Owl's Head. And maybe that joker in Kingsport who thinks the world is his oyster, whatshisname. Anton?

 

Yes, Anton. Could've been good for story telling... get on good terms with him to uncover further layers; develop a working relationship; etc. etc.... but as it is one completes that particular quest and then he becomes just another forgettable character.

And on the ground floor of that warehouse is that woman who showed some promise... explained about her partners that I(the avatar) should look for etc., and asked that I return with news if I find out anything... but when I return to talk to her again she doesn't know what I am talking about, even when I use the names of the others I have found.

 

I think it's just that they need a bit more purpose and emotion. Think of characters like Cantra or Batlin or Torwin or Thoxa. When something happened with those characters, you felt something for them; it was impactful. Even just Cantra's character before anything happened, her disposition was very likeable.

I ran a quest in UO and used a quest character with a personality that was relatively similar to Cantra - she was young, fairly bratty, recruited a bit of help in Despise and when she went in the dungeon, she didn't just fight like a random NPC/PC trying to fight, but she'd actively put herself in terrible positioning near monsters and cornering herself, so that the players would have to bail her out of it. She'd whine and be a general pain and blame them. At the end of that quest, she'd be thankful and she'd reward them. And you would believe she was thankful and had turned a new leaf.

More NPCs need to that level of realism. My motto always used to be every NPC should have a history, personality, and destiny.