Post by catcher on Feb 10, 2021 22:20:30 GMT
First, a little introduction. Modest Proposal is intended to bounce ideas to improve/change certain parts of the CRPG game experience in reference to DA4. I call it 'modest' because the ideas ideally should target less radical changes to the base of DA:I that would be reasonable for Bioware to execute as opposed to say, rewriting the dialogue system or doing the game in 2D graphics or using the Inquisitor as protagonist. There's nothing necessarily wrong with big ideas or talking about them but there's already plenty of that around. The focus here is on smaller changes that could have big payoffs. I'll kick one off and hopefully you will see what I mean.
To be honest, I have no idea if there will even be a Mission Table (what I will be calling a War Table) in DA4. The purpose of the structure in DA:I seemed to be twofold: to allow the Player to pace and control direction of the story and simulate the actions of a largish organization doing things even when it wasn't specifically the Protagonist. These aren't bad goals but I'm not sure how well the second part will apply since we are definitely not a member of a large organization. Assuming the Player will still have more control over the pacing of the Plot (not a given) there are a few tweaks I would suggest to the mechanic that I think would improve it's contribution to roleplay.
1: You can do anything you want, but not everything you want. One of the weaknesses of the War table in DA:I was that most of the missions you sent Inquisition resources on had no cost other than game time and almost always ended in positive outcomes. Several of these missions were wither personal for the Inquisitor or one of the Companions which should be a kind of risky thing when you are an organization either hanging by a thread or still growing. The Power mechanic provides a way out from this and can also be used to limit what areas you open up to better focus attention on whatever critical path you choose. Have more missions (if not all) cost some Power just like opening new areas or building structures in DA:I. If you want to help Varric chase down another bad copycat, pay the cost and watch the chance to help Vivianne out go away. Also boost the Power cost of opening a new area possibly in concert to plot decisions that make some areas more favorable to visit. At the end of most of my playthroughs, I had oodles of Power and really nothing to spend it on. Waste not, want not should be a watchword in DA4.
2: Make missions more personal. This is a container for a lot of little suggestions but they are not cheap and one could wander into Immodest Proposal territory but here goes. Someone commented (and I'm afraid I can't remember who, step up for your credit and I will make amends) that the Advisors in DA:I were too chummy and showed little rivalry. That's quite possibly because of personal relationships and the immediacy of the threat but that probably won't be present in DA4. If the Protagonist keeps choosing the same Advisor for missions, let there be more sniping and rivalry. Let the Advisors be a bit more Human in the Mission Table as well as outside it. The jokes are fine but changeup the dynamic some and this section will be more dynamic. In the report, let an unused Companion (or two) at the 'camp' participate. One of the great missed storytelling opportunities to enhance Companions and interactions is letting them have more stories that are just off the page. Now for the biggie, get rid of reports and voice act the returns. With fewer missions due to the power requirements, this may not break the bank but I know VA and animations for a discussion can be expensive so this may be wandering into the (Im)Modest proposal territory but it would greatly enhance the experience and allow the Player to 'take the temperature' of her/his advisors.
What do you think? Are there other ways to improve this mechanic? Or should it just be trashed altogether?
To be honest, I have no idea if there will even be a Mission Table (what I will be calling a War Table) in DA4. The purpose of the structure in DA:I seemed to be twofold: to allow the Player to pace and control direction of the story and simulate the actions of a largish organization doing things even when it wasn't specifically the Protagonist. These aren't bad goals but I'm not sure how well the second part will apply since we are definitely not a member of a large organization. Assuming the Player will still have more control over the pacing of the Plot (not a given) there are a few tweaks I would suggest to the mechanic that I think would improve it's contribution to roleplay.
1: You can do anything you want, but not everything you want. One of the weaknesses of the War table in DA:I was that most of the missions you sent Inquisition resources on had no cost other than game time and almost always ended in positive outcomes. Several of these missions were wither personal for the Inquisitor or one of the Companions which should be a kind of risky thing when you are an organization either hanging by a thread or still growing. The Power mechanic provides a way out from this and can also be used to limit what areas you open up to better focus attention on whatever critical path you choose. Have more missions (if not all) cost some Power just like opening new areas or building structures in DA:I. If you want to help Varric chase down another bad copycat, pay the cost and watch the chance to help Vivianne out go away. Also boost the Power cost of opening a new area possibly in concert to plot decisions that make some areas more favorable to visit. At the end of most of my playthroughs, I had oodles of Power and really nothing to spend it on. Waste not, want not should be a watchword in DA4.
2: Make missions more personal. This is a container for a lot of little suggestions but they are not cheap and one could wander into Immodest Proposal territory but here goes. Someone commented (and I'm afraid I can't remember who, step up for your credit and I will make amends) that the Advisors in DA:I were too chummy and showed little rivalry. That's quite possibly because of personal relationships and the immediacy of the threat but that probably won't be present in DA4. If the Protagonist keeps choosing the same Advisor for missions, let there be more sniping and rivalry. Let the Advisors be a bit more Human in the Mission Table as well as outside it. The jokes are fine but changeup the dynamic some and this section will be more dynamic. In the report, let an unused Companion (or two) at the 'camp' participate. One of the great missed storytelling opportunities to enhance Companions and interactions is letting them have more stories that are just off the page. Now for the biggie, get rid of reports and voice act the returns. With fewer missions due to the power requirements, this may not break the bank but I know VA and animations for a discussion can be expensive so this may be wandering into the (Im)Modest proposal territory but it would greatly enhance the experience and allow the Player to 'take the temperature' of her/his advisors.
What do you think? Are there other ways to improve this mechanic? Or should it just be trashed altogether?
