NPC Functions?

[Rhiannon]

What functions will town NPCs have? Will they move around, change positions so you can't find them so easily....Change expressions so they aren't so lifeless :/ Talk maybe? Sing a tune, do a jig?

One thing that has always annoyed me is how lifeless NPC have always been. They give you a quest great...
Maybe some voice over and the NPC can recite the given quest....

Another thing is I would like to see random NPCs in towns that you can just talk to and they mumor random
crap :P Like a drunken hobo in the slums, a lady beggar that follows you around for some money :P Kind of
like what is in Assassins Creed ^.^...yet maybe what is more appropriate for this game, hehe.

[reddo]

Let's not forget the crazy people who push you if you get within a 2m radius of them. I really hate those guys >__>
NPC is pretty nice. Set them to a bunch of emotes that repeat once done, or just let them walk around.

[amz181]

i like the idea of moving NPCs but its a bit impractical.

[Rhiannon]

I like theatrics I assume ;] I mean it would be hard to do, but not impossible. Most games are lacking incredible stories, Kaos has potential. Yet to also incorporate theatrics...it would amplify the games story by tenfold. Not only would it get the players more interested in the background of the game, but it would make it that much more involving and believable. Giving more of feel for the environment in which they are playing in. I think it is essential to have these little extras and push that much farther to create a master piece ^.^

[Mister Matt]

Story definitely makes a game better. It really puts what you are doing into perspective and it gives it a purpose. But it is damn near impossible to make a story powerful if it is completely text. There must be cutscenes and voice acting to make a story good in a videogame.

[amz181]

I have never witnessed a good story in a MMO apart from once which was a small MMO which was my fave of all time but ironically it is now closed. That was the only time, and that resulted heavily because of the massive power players were given (it was faction based with massive wars dictated by a player councils, alliances and the such) and the tightly-knit community. Stories were told by all factions and shared, and intergrated into the official story.

I really doubt that kaos war will be able to achieve that level of story telling in the MMO. I have only seen it once, and that was only a brief glimmer of sheer genius, i doubt that kaos war, aiming for a massive gaming population, will be able to get a good story included thats constant and engrossing.

I would be happily surprised if they did manage it, but i doubt it.

[Rhiannon]

Carpe Diem aka Cardinal Saga had a good story line. There was kidnappings :P They made official events that went along with the storyline. The chapter one was to be concluded when the players themselves beat the great Uzziel and his minions. Nobody was able to do it to bring the first chapter to a close...The 2nd chapter that would follow would have been race versus race. I mean, if there is some way without theatrics to have a great story it would have to be involving all of the players impacting the outcome of the actual story in itself ^.^ I agree ^^ lol :)

[Lost]

Its depends on the engine they got, and the PC requirements. CoH has NPCs that move around but despawn when alot of people are on the same map and they need more monsters.

If the NPCs are connected to the mob server/network , then it might be too draining on resources. Then there is the cost of making animations , if youre not going to use them with the player models.

Moving , spamming animation NPCs doesnt sound like a fun idea. But if they could give each a "personality script" based on your character skills/attributes/bloodline , then you could make a pretty decent story and use of the NPCs.

Like makiing the town bully/tough guy , want to pick on mage users , or certain bloodline. Or a flower girl asking you to be her bodyguard because of your fame or something.

It would be interesting to see if they did something like that.

[a chewy rock]

I don't think that NPCs within town limits really need all that much life. It'd be nice to see the chats differ depending on your characters fame/race/class and maybe even your character's appearance but they don't need to constantly be moving around or anything like that. They need to be relatively stationary so they're easy to find and point out for those looking for them.

If there are going to be NPCs similar to the mercenaries in Guild Wars where they come out and fight along side the player I'd expect them to be pretty smart. At least to the point where they know when to use which skills and things like that.

[reddo]

I liked Rubies of Eventide, because there wasn't much need for NPC's to have RP characteristics because the players did that anyway, and real humans role play a lot better than NPC's, hands down. The problem is, how would a game go about influencing a player to role play, rather than the usual "ROFL OMG NOOBZ0RZ" blasphemy.

[Moloch]

On the other side of the coin to the opinions above, cut scenes and role playing interfere with me playing the game.

There has to be a way to escape out of them when you're levelling your sixth alt. Or simply not interested in non-core environmental clutter.

[reddo]

There's always having more than one storyline, thus allowing for different branches going in to the main aspect, the part that one really wants to get to. Like an upside down tree, start at the top and go down.

[Mister Matt]

On the other side of the coin to the opinions above, cut scenes and role playing interfere with me playing the game.

There has to be a way to escape out of them when you're levelling your sixth alt. Or simply not interested in non-core environmental clutter.

There could be an option to turn cutscenes off or you just hit escape.