tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post5785151866708667064..comments2024-03-28T04:50:52.945+00:00Comments on Inventory Full: Brand New Friends.Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-76321797793168971922017-05-02T16:53:06.434+01:002017-05-02T16:53:06.434+01:00It's true I haven't played a BioWare rpg s...It's true I haven't played a BioWare rpg since Dragon Age so I don't know what refinements they may have made. I thought the changes they'd made between Baldur's Gate and DA had taken things in the wrong direction for my tastes though.<br /><br />The underlying problem for me is this: I really don't like any NPCs not to like my character (unless I'm supposed to be killing them and looting their corpse, of course) and I have enormous difficulty playing any character that isn't basically nice, polite and friendly. That causes a lot of issues for me in any game that offers emotional options because I can only bring myself to choose the one that's best-behaved and least offensive.<br /><br />Consequently, no game that expects me to make emotional choices that fall far outside what would be acceptable on Scooby Doo works well for me. The Secret World, which is like Scooby Doo as scripted by The Manson Family, did work for me precisely because my character was almost never asked to make any choices at all.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-59754240462040787022017-05-02T00:54:56.540+01:002017-05-02T00:54:56.540+01:00A lot of this is probably just differing tastes, b...A lot of this is probably just differing tastes, but I do wonder if you're not laboring under some misconceptions of how Bioware companions actually work.<br /><br />I don't know how things were in the Baldur's Gate days, but nowadays it's tremendously difficult to piss off a character so much they actually leave your party. I've almost never had it happen, despite often playing very contentious characters. Even if it does happen, they always give you enough spares of any class that it won't harm your gameplay. Isabela abandoned me in DA2, but I still had Varric for all my rogue needs. Inquisition gives you three of every class for extra redundancy. In general companion approval usually only affects how many conversations you get with someone -- it's just a story thing.<br /><br />This is even more true in SW:TOR, where approval is virtually irrelevant. If a companion "disapproves," then you get less influence, but you still get influence. And influence is pretty trivial anyway. None of my companions have ever gotten close to max influence, and they're still so OP I could complete most quests just by letting them do their thing and going to make a sandwich. Plus they generally don't interact with each other, so you don't have to manage the disparate personalities, and it's all but impossible to lose them permanently (to my regret, in some cases).<br /><br />As for in-game romances, I initially found the idea a bit strange too, but I eventually came to the conclusion it's no different than a romantic subplot in any other fiction. It mainly appeals to me as a way to get further insight into whichever character I find most interesting. Whether it works out that way in practice depends. The quality varies wildly from game to game and character to character. <br /><br />Regardless, it's all totally optional. Just don't hit the flirt button if you don't want a virtual sweetheart.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-6447950369445408642017-05-01T21:29:04.381+01:002017-05-01T21:29:04.381+01:00The romantic element of these things (to dignify i...The romantic element of these things (to dignify it in a way it probably doesn't deserve) is something I find slightly disturbing even to read about on someone's blog. I can scarcely imagine how uncomfortable it must be to click through it. Guess I'll find out if/when I ever download the thing.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-16364412597377857212017-05-01T19:58:22.792+01:002017-05-01T19:58:22.792+01:00I found that the strength of SW:ToR's illusion...I found that the strength of SW:ToR's illusion of choice, if it can be said to have one, is the experience of the first "reading" and the fractal-blossoming daydreams it inspires. The over-arching set pieces do not change no matter what you do; if you ignore the whole "sexing up your crewmates" aspect, the novel reads reasonably well.<br /><br />I ended up doing so in part because my characters were given an excessively restrictive range of eligible partners - in contrast to a game like Dragon Age: Inquisition - but I suppose that's another topic altogether.Karinshasthahttps://lightfallsgracefully.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-64539165734434031422017-05-01T16:40:35.050+01:002017-05-01T16:40:35.050+01:00The way BioWare NPCs take a position on the positi...The way BioWare NPCs take a position on the position you yourself have taken is interesting. I remember it well from Baldur's Gate. I had issues with it there because a time always seems to come when you would prefer to have NPC A in your team for practical reasons but you also want NPC B because you "like" them (assuming you're becoming immersed in the story), but A and B have very opposed viewpoints and you can't keep both of them happy. It used to drive me nuts. I just wanted them to sort themselves out and get on with it.<br /><br />I know lots of people really like having to make those kind of "meaningful" choices: BioWare's audience expects it. If I could have removed the entire mechanic in Baldur's Gate and just had a whole load of NPCs who co-operated me and with each other without argument I'd have done it in a heartbeat.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-46075679568861311512017-05-01T14:45:47.759+01:002017-05-01T14:45:47.759+01:00What SWTOR does do well when you make a choice (ve...What SWTOR does do well when you make a choice (verbal or action) and depending which companion you had with you, would "approve" or "disapprove" of that action. So if you have Kira and let a Sith live (for whatever reason) it pisses her off. That part makes sense. And if you play a certain way that you know someone doesn't like, don't bring them with you. It's pretty fair and a nice game within a game.<br /><br />I don't hate the gifting (I don't seek it out) as much as I look at it as if I am walking down the street and go into a book store and see a nice signed book of a favourite author of a friend of mine, I might buy it and give it to them because I like them already and know they would appreciate it.Iseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09489936780809266112noreply@blogger.com