Thoughts and Ideas General

[UltraDelux]

Get off the treadmill; then you won't feel this way.

i knew i shouldn't have phrased that is such a self deprecating way... i'm not even talking about grinding levels here, but you've got a game, a role playing game, where you play as a character who is learning and discovering new things. it's part of the experience. a game "that will captivate me with it's depth and complexity", and then... oh jeez i've learned too much i gotta forget something real quick. you know? doesn't that feel wrong? i've never been the type to go murder goblins for an hour to gain levels, or even sit and think about how my attributes will determine my characters effectiveness. so it's not even the dopamine i get from reaching lvl 15 i'm talking about here (though don't tell me lvl 15 isn't great)... it's the concern that there will be a limit where this is no business being one. how about instead of just being unable to learn something new, because let's face it that doesn't happen, it's just impractical to suddenly decide "hey even though i'm on this crazy journey of magic and discovery, and i'm getting old so i don't learn new tricks so easy, i'm going to spend a few months learning how to do whatever instead of pursuing the world shattering events that are happening around me". unless that's what they want to do i guess. you know what i'm getting at? and full disclaimer i have no idea how they plan to structure that aspect of the final product, or even if their plan is fully structured... no idea about techniques or secondary skills. i just want to say that if their solution to limiting a characters power in the game, or deterring players from grinding levels, is a hard skill cap, i think a serious look into an alternate solution is worthwhile.

 

[Opheos]

Hi! I was wondering if mind sense is going to look like it is now in Exanima — seeing the precise location of minds behind closed doors and even their realtime movements? Because i thought it would be cool to have only a vague reading of a mood in the room when you don't know where the characters are exactly. Maybe it would be clearer if characters are closer to you behind the wall and with progression of this skill it would become more precise like it is now in the game. Or these powers are suppose to be this precise from the get go. What do you all think?

 

[Gaming For Allah]

I have two ideas that are far from necessary (and kinda dumb).
-Being able to make your own sword at some point, like that one section in Dark Messiah.
Dumb idea, but I think the whole process would be funny.
Having to actually hit the red-hot metal with a hammer, dragging it around trying to get it from the forge to the anvil; it seems like fun to me.
Not a serious suggestion but I'm still putting it here.

-Custom map maker/editor:
Something like what's seen in most of the Far Cry games would be neat, in my opinion.
If proper mod support was added- this could be possible, but I think having it be its own feature within the game would work fairly well.

IDK I'm stupid
don't take my suggestions

 

[Midcal9]

I have two ideas that are far from necessary (and kinda dumb).
-Being able to make your own sword at some point, like that one section in Dark Messiah.
Dumb idea, but I think the whole process would be funny.
Having to actually hit the red-hot metal with a hammer, dragging it around trying to get it from the forge to the anvil; it seems like fun to me.
Not a serious suggestion but I'm still putting it here.

-Custom map maker/editor:
Something like what's seen in most of the Far Cry games would be neat, in my opinion.
If proper mod support was added- this could be possible, but I think having it be its own feature within the game would work fairly well.

IDK I'm stupid
don't take my suggestions

Love the sword idea, Dark Messiah was awesome, one of my fav games! The manner in which the sword would have to constructed would have to be very different though.

 

[Steve Pine]

One thing i think would be nice is the option to recruit higher skilled fighters in arena, like an option to start at aspirant or adept for a higher cost than the normal 1 silver for inept, i wouldnt even be mad if i couldnt pick the skills either id just like to save some time of possible

 

[Roryn]

One thing i think would be nice is the option to recruit higher skilled fighters in arena, like an option to start at aspirant or adept for a higher cost than the normal 1 silver for inept, i wouldnt even be mad if i couldnt pick the skills either id just like to save some time of possible

While I'm not sure if that will be a feature, they're planning to implement a trainer so you can save some time either way.

 

[Steve Pine]

While I'm not sure if that will be a feature, they're planning to implement a trainer so you can save some time either way.

Thats good to hear thanks for the info

 

[Stokk]

After messing about in practice mode I noticed that there is no real feedback for when your shield endurance is up. Sure, there is the bar, but this leaves us having to guess for enemies. My eyes are also more often than not on the enemy, not the ui.

Conclusion: an audio cue would be nice.

Perhaps adding a sigh or other sound effect from the character when they recieve a blow to a tired shield arm, and consequently take damage, would help clear this up.

 

[Snoopbear]

After messing about in practice mode I noticed that there is no real feedback for when your shield endurance is up. Sure, there is the bar, but this leaves us having to guess for enemies. My eyes are also more often than not on the enemy, not the ui.

Conclusion: an audio cue would be nice.

Perhaps adding a sigh or other sound effect from the character when they recieve a blow to a tired shield arm, and consequently take damage, would help clear this up.

Yes, Like a really struggling breathing sound effect.
.

 

[Exanime]

Why can't I chop sir's leg off?

 

[Midcal9]

Why can't I chop sir's leg off?

Because in order to enable you to do so Exanima devs would have to spend weeks/month worth of labor on it.

 

[BLURF]

It would be cool to see a two-handed flail/two-handed pole flail added at some point.

 

[Arson]

landsknecht inspired medieval flamboyant clothing.

 

[UltraDelux]

I just have to say... that ^^^ looks like an awesome time. From left to right you've got some tree-elf looking old guy with a huge sword, kind of glaring at something. Beautiful music man playing a flute. Also is that a bunch of swords on his hip? The next guy has shot his gun and is going to do it again. The last guy is watching all this and is wicked drunk. Flushed. AF. They all dress up in the morning, codpieces and all, and go meet up and this is what they do. Wearing all that. I like it.

 

[Tügagon]

I'd love to be able to inspect items close up and rotate them in a nice big window, especially now that there's a lot more possible designs to weapons.

 

[Ganthor]

I'd love to be able to inspect items close up and rotate them in a nice big window, especially now that there's a lot more possible designs to weapons.

In this same vein, I'd like the ability to zoom in further and bring the camera lower to get a better view of the character. If it's too hard to implement with the fighting mechanics, maybe it only goes that low and close in adventure mode and not attack mode

 

[arisian]

I've been greatly enjoying the new Arena features introduced in v8.3, but I've noticed that the new item system has exacerbated the long-standing issue of "waiting forever for Merchant RNG to give me what I want". While I understand some of the reasons for not wanting players to get "optimal" gear too quickly/easily, it can still be very frustrating. This is particularly true given that there's so much more variety out there now, but in many cases it's difficult to even *see* the full scope of what's possible.

As a player, I'd really like to play around with the item system and see what's possible! Also, from a Watsonian perspective, I can't see any reason why a sufficiently successful company wouldn't be able to commission custom items from a craftsman (rather than just relying on whatever passing merchants happened to have). This probably shouldn't be *too* easily accessible, but there are ways to gate such a mechanic so it's only really something you get to play with in the "endgame" (i.e. when you've already proven that you're fully capable of reliably winning with the "randomized" gear and all that's left is messing around).

Given that we've already got the Tournament mechanic as a way of gating high-end stuff (individual tournaments reward you with exceptional/flawless weapons, seasons reward you with exceptional/flawless armor), one option would be to allow a "custom crafted item" to be a reward for a tournament victory. E.g. instead of the reward being "you get a *random* exceptional/flawless weapon," the reward could be "you get to use the item creator to design *your choice* of exceptional/flawless weapon".

Alternatively, you could just have custom items cost way more than an equivalent item would otherwise (e.g. if a "randomly generated" exceptional/flawless short-sword cost 10G, then a "customized" exceptional/flawless short-sword might cost 50G). In this case, it might be better to make the Tournament reward be a large pile of money rather than the current item-based reward.

Of course, this all hinges on there being an "item design tool" that can be included in the game. Obviously, the devs have such tools for their own use, but those may or may not be things that can easily be made accessible to players. Still, if it's not *too* much work I think it would be a fun "endgame" mechanic for the arena, and I don't think it would impinge significantly on the "realism" of the game so long as it's gated properly (the real world is full of bespoke craftsmanship for those who are sufficiently well off).

 

[OneAndOnlyPoop]

A Mediocre Train of Thoughts in Somewhat Worn Condition
on Future Arena Updates


I have to say I don't know if these ideas are any good, whether or not these are apparently interesting or just the stupidest shit you've ever heard is totally up to you. So here goes:




Forlorn Hope:
A high risk high reward mode where the player's choice of armour is limited to inept tier clothing (similar to how tournaments limits weapons) and fast paced, sharp weapons such as single handed blades, spears of both kinds, longswords, grand falchions, greatswords, etc. Judging by how the tournament mechanics plays, maybe it'll be the easiest to implement it there, but then perhaps it'd be all risks and little reward. Then again perhaps Exanima doesn't really like to hold player's hands, as the Latin name suggests. I got the inspiration from looking at scenes in some medieval fencing manuals.

Feud:
A mode perhaps available when you've filled your roster with characters where you would fight another company with the entire roster regardless of tier. Perhaps players may get some clues to the strength of the adversaries or perhaps they'd go in blind. Perhaps, the loser of the combat gets all their gear stripped by the winner instead of a more conventional reward. Perhaps player created characters, other than the one the player choose to control, would be controlled by AI. Or maybe the whole thing would be the usual skirmish except perhaps 5 or 6 fighters on one side, with the player leading NPCs. This was inspired by historical events like The Combat of the Thirty

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_of_the_Thirty



IKEA:
The ability to buy/sell or discard furniture, and other mundane cosmetic items via a third merchant, similar to the other merchants but with many categories of items instead of tiers. I would think a portion of the players perhaps would very much like to have more freedom in decorating their headquarters, for cosmetic, rp, video purposes, especially when they've perhaps played the arena mode for quite a while and had multiple playthroughs of the main storymode. Since the merchant mechanics and all the items are already in game, to my noob mind, perhaps it'd be relatively easy to implement?







Random Encounters:
These are probably some of the more crazier/dumber stuff I've thought of, but I've read about the dev's willingness to expand on NPC interactions in the arena hub. Perhaps these ideas could have some merit, and give players a taste of more interactions:


Assassination/Robbery attempts:
Occasionally, an armed NPC could sometimes spawn at the gate of the arena hub, or perhaps in any of the uninhabited rooms. If they see the player they'll perhaps attack immediately, if not then they'll wait until the player bump into them. Or perhaps sometimes there'd be a chance to defuse the situation peacefully, perhaps through dialogue. If the player succumbs to the attack, they could lose a chunk of their wealth and/or reputation (if the system in place), and perhaps they wouldn't actually die save deleting death (similar to being killed by the fireplace), particularly not the first ever encounter.


Volunteers:
Occasionally, a volunteer fighter would spawn at the gate and approach the player and there'd be an opportunity for some dialogue. They may propose to join you for free, at a discount, or even steep prices with a variety of reasons. Perhaps some inept NPC is desperate to feed their starving family, or if they want to taste the thrill of combat, or if they're drunk, etc. Perhaps some adept level NPC had fallen out with their previous company and is searching for a new job. Or perhaps they seek improvement to their craft and feel like you could provide the opportunity.
Perhaps an expert NPC would join you in search of greater fame (once the reputation system is in place, I suppose), perhaps they were the child of a recently deceased knight, left with no inheritance and little choice, or perhaps they consider themselves and/or their gear are of an exceptional sort (whether or not it's actually true), and thus demand an exceptional wage and treatment.


Traveling Merchants/Swindlers:
Occasionally a traveling merchant would spawn at the gate and approach the player in an attempt to sell their wares, but their true quality and conditions would be obscured, perhaps either by false descriptions or you'd have to convince them to reveal via dialogue. There'll be swindlers in the mix and will try to sell you shoddy items at exorbitant prices, and then proceed to walk towards the gate after transaction before despawning, leaving you with a small timeframe to check the actual quality of the goods and maybe try to "convince" them for a refund or just straight up finish them before they despawn. Or maybe go the punishing route where if you're fooled, there's no way to get your coins back, even if you kill the swindler.





Thank you for reading this wall of text!

 

[Baba]

Things I want included:

- Gore / broken limbs
- Modding tools (I'm sure I'm not alone in this)
- Since humans are the only playable race, a very large array of options in appearance customization
- Limitations in magic use ( mana or whichever resource is used to cast spells depletes in a way that you can't abuse spell casting to win all the time [problem like this is seen in Demon's Souls] )
- Others which I shall add after I have seen other ideas...

I want to be able to break things with my weapon, wooden boxes, plates, bottles and whatever breakable items. All with this particle physics engine

 

[Squirtward]

I was wondering if dismemberment is possible for Exanima? Funnily enough I found myself missing this mechanic as I was cleaving my way through the sewers, and every big bloody mushroom or egg is just begging to get cut in half. I think it would be really satisfying to cut through the creeping crimson corruption, but I know that must be a very difficult thing to implement, if it's even possible for this engine. What do you guys think about destructible scenery? Would bashing through urns and tables, or slicing vines and webs away be a good addition to the game? I love interacting with the background of the derelict structures, and I think more physics with items would encourage interaction! That's not to mention how cool it would be just to decapitate enemies, I mean hitting a headshot with a greatsword is already satisfying, but if I could send a monsters head flying? THAT would be too cool. If dismemberment isn't possible for all enemies it wouuld at least be cool for the more fragile ones like skeletons and undead, they're already falling apart, wouldn't be surprised if a good mallet hit to a skelly man would send his skull one way and his pelvis the other.