A 'Carry NPC' option

(this gets a little long, so I've included a TL: DR part at the bottom)

We've all been there: you're on an escort type mission and the NPC gets stuck in the geometry, forcing you to either reset the mission, abandon or auto-complete. Bad pathing issues is the bane of any NPC that follows you, from pets/helper NPCs to the normal citizen that just wants to get out of there safely. The another annoyance with these guys is when they cannot see you when stealthed, which forces you to drop it (and any defense it provides, not to mention aa certain AT loose abilities).

So, while I was working on getting some nukes in Warburg, leading the techs to their bunkers and having to be be careful they don't get stuck somewhere, a thought came to me: it would be so much easier if I could just carry them.

We are (for the most part) super powered individuals, we should be able to pick up these guys and use whether travel power we want to get them to where they need to be (though whether or not you have their lunch on the back of your costume at the end is an issue....). I figured it could work like a temp power that pops up in that new temp power tray when you are near an NPC escort this could work with: toggle on to carry, toggle off to put down. Of course, carrying someone is likely to weigh you down, so travel speed may be slowed (maybe, not sure about this).

Granted, you wouldn't be able to use this on all escorts: just the non-superpowered/non-fighting ones. For instance...though she doesn't attack, I seriously doubt Ghost Widow in a certain Vigilante morality mission (The End Justifies the Means) would allow you carry her (in fact, I think she would likely kill you for it...then again...how could you carry a ghost to start with?). Certain other NPCs that would fit this wouldn't work either, like Coyote in the Night Ward arcs. So, admittedly this option would be limited in application, but could be used to some flavor to certain escort missions.

The other problem with it is that obviously you wouldn't really be able to fight while carrying someone, so you'd have to put the person down again (or you can just run by the mobs if that's an option). In team situations this wouldn't be as bad, since you'll have your teammates to protect you (provided they are not jerks of course). Of course, some arcs you don't have to worry about fighting anyone (Such as the one mission in Bad People, Good Intentions, where you have to lead the guy out of a burning building.), but there's very few of those (I think the one I linked may be the only one like it, actually).

Now, there are three possible of issues I can think off right off. One, is that pure Heroes naturally wouldn't be as likely to cart civilians around like a sack of flour, unless said civilian is hurt or otherwise incapacitated. Vigilantes I don’t see having as much of a problem with it (“I don’t care about your dignity! I am getting you out of here right now!”). Villains/Rogues, definitely wouldn't bat an eye at it: heck if you are kidnapping someone, why wouldn’t you sling them over your shoulder?

The other is possible griefing potential in team situations (like some jerk picking up the NPC and deliberately ‘not’ running for the exit). Restrict the option to leader only perhaps?

Teleporting. It don’t work on friendly NPCs no matter what type they are, currently. Unless there was some way to code it so that the NPC was considered a ‘part’ of the teleporting PC while carrying. Other than that, I don’t know.

TL: DR

- option to carry certain types of escort NPCs (most of the ones that have no health bar).
- temp power like system, using the temp power tray that pops up when next to an applicable NPC (on for carry, off to put down)
- cannot fight while carrying, but will still have any defense buffs/travel powers active/available. Possible speed debuff while carrying.
- can add a bit of flavor or variety to escort missions (if done right)
- alignments may be an issue for feasibility/realism (especially pure heroes)
- May have to restrict the option to leaders only in team situations prevent griefing
- Teleporters may need special coding to be able to use their travel powers without leaving the NPC behind.

I want a 'Stab-NPC-With-Mediporter-Dagger +5' ability.

I believe the "tech says why" answer is that the engine can't handle grappling and the like.

However,

See my Guides and Tutorials

I want to pick up a citizen who shoved me to the side, fly as high as possible and drop them!

But really I like this idea, so super speeder can pick them up and take them to the door fast in those missions!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azuwezia The other is possible griefing potential in team situations (like some jerk picking up the NPC and deliberately ‘not’ running for the exit). Restrict the option to leader only perhaps? .

He can fix that on our own with one click "Kick"

You're running into a couple of problems here. One is the interaction between different models. We're not ALL big burly men in this game, so size difference comes into play. A large Tanker might be able to swing a man on his shoulder and trod for the door. A four-foot-tall little girl just can't do that as she doesn't have a shoulder big enough to do this, hence why she'd need a different type of animation. I suppose using the "bride carry" animation might solve some of those problems, but you're still running into serious collision problems.

Secondly, the reason hostages can't see through stealth is an intentional balance mechanic. Non-combat hostages are not targetable by enemy NPCs, so they never aggro on them, meaning an invisible hostage-leader can lead the hostage right past all the enemy soldiers and they won't bat an eye. This is not good, you need to clear a path for the hostage out, not just rely on meta-game quirks, hence why you're forced to fight enemies instead of running past them. It's a disappointing side effect of the system.

Secondly, being able to grab a hostage and super-speed to the door defeats the purpose of having that hostage be escortable to begin with. If you're going to go that route, just axe hostage escorts altogether and go back to the Launch mechanic of having the hostages take off running and escape on their own, with the explanation that if you got to them already, you probably cleared a path for them to leave, or maybe they'll hide until either you do or the police come to mop up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

I remember one of the devs saying that the way characters are designed, there is a "bubble" around them that prevents things like hugging. That they can not physically interact with others. As much as I would like the same thing, I think its unlikely and probabaly impossible.

What I would like to see is "useful" emotes. Like slapping the hostage upside the head to run faster.

I like this idea, as I generally avoid escort missions like the plague.

To get around the graphical/coding issues with an idea like this, why not just have a power pop up whenever you're near an NPC as described in the OP, and have your character "collect" the NPC. The NPC would then disappear, and you would have to hit the power again to drop the person by the entrance (or wherever you're taking it). They could still be lead out if you don't think your character capable of picking up a person, but with no graphical change, you can make believe you're actually just leading them by the hand, if for whatever reason your character wouldn't throw em over the shoulder.