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Post by Walter Black on Jun 15, 2018 21:20:57 GMT
Back in the day, older CRPGs like Icewind Dale, Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights would allow players create an entire party, not just their Player Character. New games like Wastelands 2 and Pillars of Eternity continue the trend, with W2 letting players add written backstories to their Companion profiles. Pillars even lets you select Personality Types (Aggressive, Benevolent, Clever, Cruel, Deceptive, Diplomatic, Honest, Passionate, Rational, and/or Stoic) whose actions they can Approve or Disapprove of. If Dragon Age 4 could allow us to create our own party members*, would you want to use such a feature? Why or why not?
*Obviously, such options would be in addition to full story Companion, not instead of .
Pros:
-Gives players a party for our own specific roleplaying desires and play styles.
- Allows us to create Companion types we would have liked but didn't get, and/or alternatives to canon ones way might not care for.
- Supports greater player freedom and personal headcanon. It's practically one step removed from modding your own fanfiction.
-If the player made Companions could be programmed with Approval or Disapproval to certain action types like in PoE, all the better.
Cons:
- Seems like a huge drain on time and resources for a niche mechanic. Also, unless Bioware decides to bring back story Companions with unique abilities/Specializations, Player made Companions would be redundant from a gameplay perspetive.
- Since you can't really interact with them beyond personal headcanon, Player made Companions would be immersion breaking.
- Headcanon aside, Player made Companions have no story relevance or effect on the world beyond combat.
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Post by UutIVvdPw7END0Ef on Jun 15, 2018 22:14:43 GMT
It could be a useful option for a no-companions playthrough for those interested, so that you won't have to engage in combat alone, otherwise who would choose it when you can have a properly written companion with dialogue and companion quest.
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Post by phoray on Jun 15, 2018 23:46:18 GMT
It could be a useful option for a no-companions playthrough for those interested, so that you won't have to engage in combat alone, otherwise who would choose it when you can have a properly written companion with dialogue and companion quest. ditto. The resources used to make these Pop-Up companions could probably be used to make an entire new companion. besides, I spend enough time in the CC as it is without obsessing over my companions face too.
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Sumerian Physics
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3/26/17: Pathfound something
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Post by Sumerian Physics on Jun 16, 2018 0:20:46 GMT
I wouldn't mind it as an option but not as the entrée. Dragon Age's strength is the characters and writing for me so ultimately if I want to play a game where I can dictate my companions I would just play a different game
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Post by Nightscrawl on Jun 16, 2018 7:43:35 GMT
This doesn't seem at all doable in games with fully voiced dialogue. Such offerings would only be a pale imitation of the full companions.
Aside from that, no, I want my followers/companions to be fully-formed people that are independent of my own desires. Having them exist at the whims of the player eliminates that.
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LogicGunn
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I'll relinquish one bullet. Where do you want it?
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
Origin: LogicGunn
PSN: LogicGunn
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Post by LogicGunn on Jun 16, 2018 9:55:58 GMT
The less defined a character is the less story they can be given, and that works for the likes of the PC of a Fallout game, but for a companion in a Dragon Age game it would be a disaster. They would become a mannequin with emotes rather than a complex character with a realistic backstory.
On a purely cosmetic level it might work, but that's a waste of time and effort on the part of the devs, and also a massive loss of creativity.
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romice
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Post by romice on Jun 16, 2018 11:04:43 GMT
I never used it in the games that offered it. I play these kind of games exactly because I want to get to know my protags companions, and not have their personality summarized in a single word. I want backstories, moral greyishness and dilemmas that they talk about with the protagonist. Party based combat is just a bonus, the real involvement comes from agreeing and disagreeing with the companions.
If I create my own companions, then I have a party comprised of blank slates, that are completely flat and one dimensional. And Bioware's biggest strength is, by far, creating amazing characters who you want to get to know.
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Heimdall
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∯ Interjector in Chief
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Heimdall
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by Heimdall on Jun 16, 2018 14:37:28 GMT
Well, such combat use only companions could be potentially interesting.
I wouldn’t be opposed, as long as it didn’t result in less content of full companions.
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Heimdall
N6
∯ Interjector in Chief
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Heimdall
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by Heimdall on Jun 16, 2018 14:40:50 GMT
I never used it in the games that offered it. I play these kind of games exactly because I want to get to know my protags companions, and not have their personality summarized in a single word. I want backstories, moral greyishness and dilemmas that they talk about with the protagonist. Party based combat is just a bonus, the real involvement comes from agreeing and disagreeing with the companions. If I create my own companions, then I have a party comprised of blank slates, that are completely flat and one dimensional. And Bioware's biggest strength is, by far, creating amazing characters who you want to get to know. I’ve experimented with it in Pillars of Eternity. I used it to fill a gap in my party lineup. I had only one dedicated healer, and I didn’t want to use this one character all the time, so I made another with different specs. It’s a potentially interesting tool if you want to mix things up a bit.
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Post by Gilli on Jun 16, 2018 15:58:13 GMT
So basically like in Dragon's Dogma, where you create your own Pawn? It's fun there, but I wouldn't want it in a Dragon Age game.
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Post by vertigomez on Jun 16, 2018 16:09:57 GMT
Nah. It was annoying in Storm of Zehir and I feel like it'd take away resources that I'd rather they spend on real companions.
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Trouble-shooting Space Diva
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by melbella on Jun 16, 2018 20:27:00 GMT
Nah. It was annoying in Storm of Zehir and I feel like it'd take away resources that I'd rather they spend on real companions. Storm of Zehir is actually the only time I've done it, because starting that game at level 1 and using available companions made progress impossible. Instead, I used 4 of my level 20 Knight Captains to just get through the game once. Didn't like it enough to try again.
Even pre-made companions like those in Icewind Dale fell flat for me because they had so little personality. Only the NPC mods made those games enjoyable at all.
Bodies taking up party slots don't equal companions.
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Post by themikefest on Jun 17, 2018 1:55:19 GMT
I chose no, but if it were in the game, I wouldn't be surprised if some folks have the companions and main character look the same.
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Post by gervaise21 on Jun 17, 2018 7:45:47 GMT
Having played Baldur's Gate where I only ever used game characters and Icewind Dale where I created my own, there are merits to both approaches. However, those were the days when dialogue was more limited and with a silent PC, so having an entire party of silent characters wasn't so jarring. It would be odd if you had a voiced PC and yet other characters were mute or only made brief comments like "I don't approve". With the Baldur's Gate game the possibility to create your own party was contained in multi-player, so that is presumably how it could be made to work in the present. Icewind Dales was always only ever your own party of companions so it had been designed that way. Pillars of Eternity is far more like Baldur's Gate in the way the mechanics work than Dragon Age and once again there is a silent PC.
As other posters have pointed out, there is the danger that trying to introduce such a concept would only be a drain on resources in other areas and could reduce the number of fully fleshed out companions by the writers. Perhaps the compromise might be having a sibling character (or possibly a friend), as in DA2 and MEA, who has a part to play in the story and is fully scripted and voiced but you get much greater input in customising them, deciding on their gender, appearance and even possibly their class. That way you would have had a part in creating this companion but they would still be fully integrated into the story and thus interact properly with other companions and your PC.
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Everyone seem normal till you get to know them
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Post by Blaze on Jun 18, 2018 2:40:23 GMT
creating my own companion? why? bioware is doing a better job than me.
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coldsteelblue
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Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem
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Post by coldsteelblue on Jun 18, 2018 8:08:15 GMT
I recently played through PoE on the PS4 & enjoyed the game & while I did make a couple of my own companions to keep at my stronghold for events until I recruited more people I found that it was kind of redundant for a couple of reasons:
1: I do not like Durance & so made a priest to accompany me, only to find I needed to keep that sod in the party for the whole bloody game due to his personal mission, so a waste there for poor gameplay design.
2: As everyone else is saying here, you miss out on unique dialogue & content options.
So yes, while it was nice to go, hmm, I'd rather have 'this' instead it doesn't really work for companions.
If the war table was back then I would be behind creating our own agents for the text based missions therein.
Just my thoughts.
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Post by KaiserShep on Jun 18, 2018 17:59:54 GMT
No. I prefer that BioWare or any dev for that matter really try and put effort into any companion characters they create, and damn the personality clashes. So far they haven’t steered me wrong yet, and I enjoy having to deal with whatever comes.
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erikson
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Post by erikson on Jun 18, 2018 18:09:31 GMT
Terrible idea...if I wanted to play a game full of bland unengaging characters I'd buy a Bethesda game.
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Post by KaiserShep on Jun 19, 2018 15:44:20 GMT
Terrible idea...if I wanted to play a game full of bland unengaging characters I'd buy a Bethesda game. I'll defend my boy Nick Valentine to the death though. I love that synth.
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erikson
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Post by erikson on Jun 19, 2018 18:09:55 GMT
Terrible idea...if I wanted to play a game full of bland unengaging characters I'd buy a Bethesda game. I'll defend my boy Nick Valentine to the death though. I love that synth. Never played the game so I'll take your word for it that he's a good one.
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jediguardian
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I want to be gay in game. Romance is just option, Just let me be gay & stop force romance.
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
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Post by jediguardian on Jun 22, 2018 5:50:06 GMT
I always love the idea to create two character at the beginning of the game (Sibling or friend/lover) But choose only one as PC and the other walking around game world, do his/her thing (base on background/gender,race etc.) . And in some point of story PC have chance to reunion with him/her and travel together. This is another way to create perfect companion , friend and even lover.
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Post by smilesja on Jun 22, 2018 17:37:58 GMT
Like Pillars of Eternity? (I think they allow you to make companions but I haven't played the game in a while.) If that's the case no thanks, I prefer the depth of written characters.
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Post by Walter Black on Jun 23, 2018 13:20:38 GMT
Fair enough, but apparently most people here forgot this little caveat I added:
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Post by pessimistpanda on Jun 23, 2018 13:23:40 GMT
I'm already fully capable of writing my own stories with my own characters any time I feel like. That's literally the only purpose of my degree.
I play games because I want to enjoy other stories, and experience something I would not have thought of on my own.
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Sylvius the Mad
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Post by Sylvius the Mad on Jun 26, 2018 19:00:10 GMT
I would love to be able to create my own party members, because the devs can't possibly provide enough different types of characters (mechanically speaking) to allow that many different party designs.
We can't have an all-mage party, or an all-dwarf party, because the devs don't give us more than two companions of each type.
But if we could make our own, we could do just that.
BioWare hasn't given us enough pre-written companions since BG2 (when I ran with 6 casters).
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