Please Lock....

[Menoch 335]

Snip

[Warlord2150 14]

I approve of this. Would make my worlds much more pleasant.

[Zandorum 59]

FARMS and FOOD STORAGE:

I liked it until I saw Town Stone and MineColony.

NPCs and their ARRIVAL:

I see my self Killing them because its "MY FOOD BITCH".

TOWNSTONE FEATURES:

So basically they are Bots that sell your crap in exchange for food?

STARVATION:

I like it. I think the Sadist in me that liked drowning all of those Sims will like this.

NPC's and XP:

I saw the words "Level" and "Up" and went NONONONONONONONONONONONONONO!

HOSTILE NPC's:

NONONONONONONONONO we have players for that.

NPC’s and FLAGS:

Hmm... I feel like this takes from players having fun with friends doing the same thing. This also leads me to the though of 3 people making towns, Allying and making a huge army that Steamrolls everyone.

edit: AGH I GOT NINJA'D I WAS WRITING BEFORE YOU YOU KNOW >: O

[Menoch 335]

Snippage

[Guest Blue_Beluga]

I personally am not a fan of NPC's . I like the loneliness of TerraFirma.

HOWEVER, if they were added I think you should be vaguely human, but not quite, speak in an odd language, and can only do simple tasks, like carrying items from chest to chest, or attacking mobs. I think this would still keep the detached survivor feel as best possible.

[Pakislav 120]

These are good ideas.

Here are mine:

TL;DR: NPCs are other stranded cavemen/survivors. You find them in wilderness, have to care for them. They might proove usefull, or just fun to manage like an RTS settlement. But don't substitute the player in anything. (Player needs to do most/almost all the work.)

1.) The NPCs should be a very rare find in the wilderness, with no skills, no items, no nothing.

2.) The NPCs should have different personallities.

When you find them, some will try to run away, some will be hostile, some will start following you, asking if they can join you.

3.)You can convince, bribe or threaten them into joining you.

4.)They will then follow you, and do basic functions that you tell them to do.

(They do everything slower and worse then the player, and can't do some things at all.)

5.)They need resources: Food, water, shelter.

If you fail to provide them, they will leave or die. If you provide enough, they will breed.

(Being unlikelly to find more in the wilderness and taking years to breed.)

6.)They can be trained to perform basic duties: Attending animals. Chopping trees in selected zones. Farming crops. Being Guards.

(They might be able to build certain buildings, especially tedious-work grade buildings such as: Roads. Having NPCs build a road would be especially necessary with horses and carts, that require roads.)

7.)They can't smith tools, or craft items (Maye except for a baker?) or are just very, very bad at it, and require more resources then the player.

8.)The goal: Is to add an RTS theme (Optional, for thoes who wish) to the game, and widelly expand playability of the game.

9.) Having NPC around can attract evil creatures in a siege-like events, just to spice things up.

PS Also: Strong NPC guards can follow you, and (possibly) be necessary to fight against soon to come mobs/bosses underground. Or just be usefull. (And FUN!)

Scenario to put it in perspective:

Part 1:

You start a new world. Manage to build your first shelter that isn't a dirt hole, but still use stone tools.

Looking for resources, so needed to survive in this harsh world, you go for a trip, to scout your surroundings. After a few days of traveling you hear a scream to the north. It osunded like... a human! But you are the last human alive! In rush of excitement you spring forth in the direction from which the screams came. Just behind a hilltop you see a woman, running for her life from a bear chasing its easy prey. You jump, blindly, not minding the dangers of the slippery slope or the sharp teeth of the beast. You've charged in between the girl and the bear, screaming and roaring, swinging your javelin in order to intimidate the predator. The girl starts throwing stones form behind you, and the confused bear decides to withdraw from an un-even fight.

The girls jumps on you from behind, her arms around your chests and her cheek agains your back. You turn around and without thinking put your arms around her, letting her silently sob.

- Hush, girl. You aren't alone anymore. We... aren't alone.

Still holding her, you gaze at the rising sun, greeting a new day, and a new hope.

You aren't alone.

Part 2:

It's been a few years since you found the little girl, about to become a supper of one hungry bear.

A lot of things have happened since.

You found another human. A man. He likes to keep to himself, so you decided to help him build his own house.

It will keep him happy, and will keep him away from her...

Her name is Anna, and you can't imagine a day living without her. Ever since you rescued her, she's been always there.

There's not much use out of her, best she can do is gather wheat on the farm, but you would gladly trade your best steel armor for her company.

Times have been hard. There were more of us, but food was scarce and the rest decided to leave. You tried to convince them to stay, that you needed each other to survive, there are dangers worse then bears afterall...

Dangers in the night.

Part 3:

They came right after the dusk. The moaning, the clatter of bones.

They bashed the doors. They have taken her.

You runned, throwing fire after them. They are afraid of fire.

The screams. Her screams. They echoed throught the forest. You wanted to run after her, to save her.

But Carl stopped you.

-We will go after them during the day. The night is not safe.

He was right. The next day you gathered your things, and prepared.

-Maybe she is still alive. And if not, they have to pay.

Carl only noded behind your back as you seathed your sword.

-You are not alone, and there is still meaning to go on.-Is what Carls sword sung when he sheathed it.

[Menoch 335]

Snippety doo da!

[dunkleosteus 2,425]

Why would you do this. You have that big "Developer" slapped on your title and Bioxx and I have explicitly stated that NPCs are not happening. People are going to think that it's ok now.

[warfighter67 124]

Why would you do this. You have that big "Developer" slapped on your title and Bioxx and I have explicitly stated that NPCs are not happening. People are going to think that it's ok now.

Well - he DID put it in the suggestions section, so only a naive bastard would be so unwise as to take this as an actual plan for development...

[Kimbblesrath 503]

That ^^ and he isn't an actual coder. Not that his title helps to understand that, but he doesn't code. Just make awesome music.

[mrpwase 66]

I'd like NPCs that can only provide for themselves and give you a very small surplus. That way there's no unbalancing free resources, but your building as a player has more meaning (building your villagers houses, churches, stockpiles etc.), and it'd give the game a lot of life.

[dunkleosteus 2,425]

The TFC definition of gamebreaking NPCs is any NPC pretty much.

[Menoch 335]

Aaaaaand snip

[Buczkowski 36]

The problem with NPCs is not that some people don't want to play with them, and thus want nobody to play with them. The problem is that somebody has to write the ai for the NPCs, taking time away from further development. The more complex the ai, (and everyone seems to extremely complex ai, even if they don't think it's complex), the more it distracts from more impotant things.

I also get the impression that neither Dunk nor Bioxx want anything to do with attempting to write a 'human like' ai.

This suggestion does nothing to alleviate the real problem with NPCs.

I don't really think anything is capabale of doing so.

[Pakislav 120]

--- This idea defeats the purpose of this thread. NPCs in this instance could be used to grief.

--- The non-game breaking point of this thread is that this game is about a player building, not NPCs.

--- That would break the game by making it an RTS, not a player survival game.

--- Read HOSTILE NPCS

--- This can be used by players to mount slaughter raids on other settlements. Npcs should not be able to help players in raids. Npcs should only be used to protect your home, since this will help protect against griefing, and in turn ensures

Right... not really, um, nope, no, and nope, but ok, fine. No NPC at all then.

[Kimbblesrath 503]

I hope this won't turn into another "Lock me Please..."

[Buczkowski 36]

NPCs arent a bad idea in general, but as I pointed out, they're too much hassle for what they're worth.

[dukejuke 47]

-snip ????

SNIP SNIP SNIP SNIP SNIP SNIP SNIPSNIP SNIP SNIP SNIP SNIP

SNIPSNIP SNIP SNIP SNIPSNIPSNIP SNIP SNIP SNIPSNIPSNIPSNIP

SNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNNIP

SNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIPSNIP