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Do Static NPC’s Bother You?
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
Do Static NPC’s Bother You?
“Hasn’t he been standing here since the game launched?” My brother asked. It turns out this particular NPC had and I then had to explain that as a starting area, many of the non-player characters were static or had fixed routes around set locations.
Comments
There is an 'allowable' amount of behaviors in a game that while not realistic, are not sufficient in destroying immersion. I've ruminated on the topic for a very long time and decided that ultimately games need these exemptions in order to still remain games instead of becoming simulations.
One of the examples that have messed with me recently is in some games, particularly mobas, when a character has a projectile skill-shot. Usually the animation has the attack fly out and then when it reaches it's ultimate distance, it immediately and unceremoniously disappears. This really gets me. Or in Paragon where physical ranged attacks like Sparrow's arrows can only travel X distance before poofing into the aether.
I meant to add one last point. NPC's repeating a task day in and out isn't completely unrealistic. Our culture is largely one where people who have jobs are generally required to perform the same tasks most days of the week. That being said it's not the same as these NPC's literally doing nothing else. But most of them do break to go to "sleep" in the evenings, which is a part of their routine I appreciate and helps to cultivate a since of believability. For example, when it's the middle of the night and you have to turn in a quest or stow your horsey but the NPC is missing and where his person stood instead stands a sign saying "Sleeping BBL".
So yes it would be nice to add some life to NPC's, but not at the expense of logistics. If I have to run around to find a basic General Good vendor I would get annoyed quickly.
I used to imagine NPC's being designed to have basic functions worked out by now such as working out where to sleep, where to eat, where to pass free time, who they know. Forget the more advances stuff like knowing friend from foe, hunting patterns, migration from town to town, improving their home and town, births & deaths, inter rivalries....
The fact that it is 35 years since I started gaming and we still don't have games with NPC's that even move let alone do anything else....yeah very disappointing.
Since this article is within the context of BDO I think we all know that NPC.
"Do it BETTER!"
"AUGH, you suck!"
Now you know it.
If an NPC is going to be static then it probably shouldn't be vocal. And if it's vocal it shouldn't be on a 3 minute loop with some of the most aggrivating vocal work ever. And if it is, don't put it next to the fracking BANK! >.<
Not just another pretty color.
Keeping with the context of BDO, I've also seen people complaining because certain npcs go away during the night and they had to wait until morning to talk to them.
If some people are "bothered" by static npc's you can bet there are going to be more people bothered by npc's they can't find. Unless of course there is some sort of gps on them.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I self identify as a monkey.
That's not to say that NPC AI is not the #1 most neglected issue in MMORPGs. Long overdue for creative solutions.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Dah well.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
They're all,"Yo bro, you got that #checklist?" and the other guy pulls it out like its the F-ing golden ticket from Charlie but it's just really a crayon craplist that reads? PVE=check, PVP=check, Crafting=sorta?
Launch time!
I would love to see an mmo where npc's had full anonymity but unfortunately I dont think we'll see that happen any time soon. That feature seems more fitting for a sandbox mmo and well, whatever happened to sandboxes anyways?
And why stop with regular npc's when it comes to anonymity? Wouldn't it something if faction leaders had it too? Forming peace treaties, alliances, waging war, capturing territories, etc. with players contributing all the way whether it be directly on the battlefields, diplomatically or via crafting supplies for the war effort, etc.
But at this point I would honestly be happy with scripted behavior that at least resembled anonymity. Something like Bethesda does with the Elder Scrolls and Fallout games.
If you have one world, were everything is possible and everything can be changed, you will have that guy who rides into Lowbietown and Noobville on his max level, decked out black knight and kill all the NPCs. Coz he can. No, actually, coz he knows he's griefing dozens of other players who needed those NPCs.
Ok, so then how about we give everyone their own "phase". Yea, go, ask ESO how THAT one worked out. Hint: *points at the smoking ruin that is ESO*.
So, either you limit how much people can interact with the world, or you give everyone their own world..., in a single player game.
Anything else will blow up in your face, unless your brand of immersion is sitting by yourself in a burning village, surrounded by NPC corpses, stuck in your progress, because everyone is dead.
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I play MMOs for the Forum PVP
I have always hated the idea of static NPCs, even more so questing where all the players will do the same quests from the same static NPC. To me, these game studios cared more about creating an RPG with online elements, than developing a living breathing world. GW2 tried to address this partly, and failed. I've not played BDO but I based on this article it seems that they've at least tried to make some NPCs more alive, which to be fair can be pretty difficult to do, but at least they tried.
I'm not sure its ever going to happen in MMOs though...at least not for another 10 years.