Role Playing Game

[Triggerhappy]

Who here has ever played the game Baldur's Gate?

I would like to make something that would work in the same way.

*A "quest" style gameplay (one large objective loaded with smaller missions)

*Have a public rating, which would determine your side (ex. Rating of.. 10=west, 5=police, 0=civilian, -5=resistance, -10=east)(also have perhaps a selectable starting side, if not it would be 0 - civilian)

*your side determines actions you can use (stealing things if you're east,west will have lower priced items or something, different mission choices based on side)

*Need to purchase weapons/items (start with nothing,you can sell items)

*Unit type (would aslo give different kinds of actions, ex. covert ops can have a stealth option(hiding or something) and abilities)

*Form a party over time (group of characters, all different types, findable in specific places on the map(not known by player, of course))



ADDITIONAL FEATURES
-----------------------------
*small, randomized attacks by neutral side while not in towns
*Can buy services (additional training, medicinal treatment, rest(lodging), etc.)

(will add to this list as i think of things)

This will obviously take lots of really good scripting and editing skills (anyone interested?)

also, post any thoughts, ideas, comments, etc
THANKS

EDIT: hmm... this may work better if it were an addon rather than a heavily scripted mission... oh well. anyway i guess i'll leave that up to what everyone else thinks.. assuming my idea is possible, which i think it is, and people would want to do it...

[General Barron]

I tend to think that an RPG in a FPS type game just... wouldn't be the best. There are some good examples of RPG-like missions (meaning, story-driven) in OFP, of course, such as Fairy Island and Operation Firelord. But those missions still play basically like Flashpoint, for the most part. I think that any RPG-style mission made in OFP would be better off sticking mostly with the current Flashpoint gameplay and engine... Meaning guns, outdoors, and vehicles.

However, with that said, I have toyed with the idea of trying to put something like a turn-based RPG level together. It would take a heck of a lot of scripting though. A while ago, I started trying to make a "Shadowrun" mission/campaign for OFP. Shadowrun is a great cyberpunk RPG by FASA, if you don't know.

[Triggerhappy]

(meaning, story-driven)

Well thats what this would be... with all sorts of scripted features you can't get with regular ofp gameplay (because they wouldn't work for something like, well, just about any mission you could make  

and it would involve basically regular ofp engine, guns, outdoors, vehicles, once again just story-driven.

if everyone has your same opinion then i won't even attempt this...but i think i'll wait to hear what some other people think before throwing this out

[General Barron]

No, I'm not saying it is a bad idea at all. I was just saying that the more you depart from the "regular" ofp style of mission, the more work you make for yourself, in terms of scripting, and the less you get out of it (it gets to the point where, you may as well play a different game). However, looking at the popularity of the very non-traditional style mission "Operation Firelord", such missions are obviously appreciated by many, including myself.

[Triggerhappy]

alright, I find this to be worth the work, i just hope people volunteer to help out, because otherwise it would take me way too long and i would lose interest...
 :joystick: :joystick: :joystick: becomes...
 :cheers: :toocool: :gunman:

[nominesine]

Suggestion for RPG-style missions:

Try to include voice acted cutscenes that gives your player the option to respond. At the end of the cutscene you use addAction commands and give the player different lines to say.

Since every response will be triggering a script itÂ's fairly easy to change variables that affect the rest of the mission, depending on what the player says.

I think you recognise the idea from BaldurÂ's gate and similar games.

[Triggerhappy]

hmm...
question: does removeaction work for every action including the ones that are naturally there (added by the game, not the editor)?

[General Barron]

It only works on actions added via scripting.

[gambla]

very nice idea, i played Baldurs Gate I + II, i would say only topped by the Fallout Series that i loved to play too -  
but after creating one little mission myself, without any big scripting,
i just would say - yes, this will be sh*tload of work....  
maybe you start with a little demo first and get feedback ?

[Triggerhappy]

good idea, that would also be a good way to make/test scripts i would need...

It'll take a while, though, so for now i'll see what everyone says about it.

[Ade]

I'm working on the story for a highly plot-driven campaign and I had the idea of including some branched conversations exactly how nominesine suggests.

As for changing sides mid-mission, you could createUnit a Colonel-ranked loon (or just make sure he's higher than the player's rank) of the appropriate side (east, west, resistance) and launch a script from its init field along the lines of:

_colonel = _this select 0
_playerNewSide = group _colonel
[player] join _playerNewSide
deleteVehicle _colonel

I do agree with General Barron that trying to stray too far from the core of what OFP is all about is a mistake, but the reason why Firelord and other such missions work is that the core gameplay is still the kind of thing that OFP was designed for.

But ideas like this can add a lot of depth to a campaign story and make the player feel much more involved, and it expands the range of stories beyond the basic 'the enemy are storming the beach / taking the village / holding the mayor's wife's cat hostage'* and make the plot feel more integral rather than bolted on.

I guess the trick is to know when to draw the line, but if it's done well it would be very cool.
 

Ade

*Hmm, I wonder if there's a cat addon....  

[Lean Bear]

Would you use a top-down camera angle like in the Baldur's Gate games (and all other games which used that engine)?

That could look really cool (although at some points, unpractical for using), so perhaps there could be (like in OFP currently -- 1st person/ 3rd Person toggle "Enter") a switch from top-down to FPS.

[Triggerhappy]

i wasn't going to do that.
the way i would do it is just using the regular angles or even getting rid of third person because you are playing as that person, who will order everyone around, whereas in baldurs gate you are "observing" and giving orders
also the person will have to actually fight, not like baldurs gate where you tell them to fight and they go do it for you
so probably not  

*Hmm, I wonder if there's a cat addon....  

actually i think someone has made a pet or animal addon or something like that  ;D
hopefully this won't go offtopic about cats now...

[CrashDome]

I've seen alot of RPG type requests in this area.

I'd just like to mention Sinews of War mod is back up and a demo is due out by 'Rune' soon.

Anyway, I am working on a campaign that involves a style similar to Jagged Alliance series. This campaign is MP co-op and certain things 'save' allowing you to stop and continue on at a later time if you'd like. Check my site for more info on SOW.
There is also the SOW Dynamic Dialogs I made which allows for conversations similar to BG, NWN, and other rpgs styles. (You get a text from AI and choose a response which causes actions)
 The demo will show you everything we have so far when it is officially posted. (Figure about Dec 1st)

[Triggerhappy]

  cool