The "defeated ally" problem - suggestions?
By
Decorum,
Posted on: 2009-04-28 14:14 in Mission Architect
I'm not sure that's a story that's doable with the current constraints. Even if you made the ally bone stupid and set a hard ambush of brutal maimers to trigger on them being freed, you can't guarantee they'll die.
I'm not even sure that's a good idea in the first place. Remember, we're here to play a game more than read a story. If I really can't save someone, then they should be a body bag when I enter.
@Mindshadow
A minion-level ally set to aggressive with a secondary that grants +perception would be pretty much guaranteed to get themselves killed, especially if you use enemies with AoEs.
Just in case though, you could have the captive animation indicate the ally is wounded, and even if they survive the mission they later die of their wounds? That could break immersion for a player with an ally heal though.
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This is one of the problems with the game as good as it is. Hard to have things that happen (or don't happen) in one mission carry of to the next.
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A minion-level ally set to aggressive with a secondary that grants +perception would be pretty much guaranteed to get themselves killed, especially if you use enemies with AoEs.
Just in case though, you could have the captive animation indicate the ally is wounded, and even if they survive the mission they later die of their wounds? That could break immersion for a player with an ally heal though.
[/ QUOTE ]Hmm, is this really possible? All I can think of that has +Perception reliably is Devices, but is Targeting Drone available to minions?
All that is planned fails. All that is born dies.
All that is built crumbles. This will always be true.
But memories remain, And that is beautiful.
[ QUOTE ]
I'm not even sure that's a good idea in the first place. Remember, we're here to play a game more than read a story. If I really can't save someone, then they should be a body bag when I enter.
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Doesn't it seem less dramatic to have them be defeated entirely off-screen? It's almost like dropping a bridge on them.
And for a while things were cold,
They were scared down in their holes
The forest that once was green
Was colored black by those killing machines
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Hmm, is this really possible? All I can think of that has +Perception reliably is Devices, but is Targeting Drone available to minions?
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Super-Reflexes has Focused Senses even on minions.
Dec out.
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Hmm, is this really possible? All I can think of that has +Perception reliably is Devices, but is Targeting Drone available to minions?
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Super-Reflexes has Focused Senses even on minions.
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As does Willpower (Heightened Senses).
Okay until they come up with a way for you to do it like you want why not use the same method the Dev's have used all along? Your Ally, whom you want to die and not be able to assist you, is already dead when you arrive. Use that body bag we find so frequently in Vahz missions and after defeating the guards around it simply have a note he managed to write before dying give the clue. It's a glowie so the player clicks on him and the text pops up! Not as dramatic as seeing him persih but it works and allows you to do the rest of the story as you wanted. Your potential players are some what devastated because they didn't arrive in time to save the other hero and use the clue provided to continue.
Just a thought 
�We�re always the good guys. In D&D, we�re lawful good. In City of Heroes we�re the heroes. In Grand Theft Auto we pay the prostitutes promptly and never hit them with a bat.� � Leonard
�Those women are prostitutes? You said they were raising money for stem cell research!� � Sheldon
Some of the other active threads reminded me of a problem I've been struggling with. In a story I'm developing, it's important for an ally to be defeated, and for the player to witness it.
At first I was going to try to make the ally paper-thin and the enemies very hard, but I quickly abandoned that idea since players can almost always find a way to win fights in clever ways. Even worse, if someone did find a way to save the ally against all odds, forcing the story to continue as if they had failed seems like it would be a frustrating slap in the face.
I think I could probably make it work by staging a Battle detail if Battles could contain named bosses instead of generic spawns - but they can't, so that's no good.
The best I can come up with right now is to have a Captive detail where the captive animation indicates they're in the middle of being defeated. The captive can then gasp out the clue with their last breath as the players take out the captor group. It's a little less interactive than I'd like, though.
Any other ideas?
And for a while things were cold,
They were scared down in their holes
The forest that once was green
Was colored black by those killing machines