What's the deal with strongholds and player houses?

[eXalted]

Seriously, why players want such mechanic?

It always feels so unrelated and disconnected to the whole game. If you want to build a castle, play Stronghold, or if you want a house - Sims (Medieval).

Can someone enlighten me what is so glamorous about the whole player settlements/palaces/mansions thing? You are an adventurer right, why all this stuff with furnishing, house decoration, etc? For LARP-ing purposes? For a place for the player and his waifu in Skyrim? Moneysink?

Currently playing Twitcher 3: Blood & Wine and just received my own house and vineyard... I just can't be bothered with such stuff.

 

[oscar]

A bizarre larper moneysink.

 

[Severian Silk]

Some of us can't have houses IRL.

 

[Jazz_]

Yeah I've never understood housing in single player rpgs. Unless it's tied to the story/gameplay somehow, but I have never played a rpg where it was.

 

[Kalin]

Just like little girls playing with their doll houses. Pretty pathetic if you ask me!

Healthy boys, of course, play with monocled stuff like the Technodrome and the Sandcrawler, but that's obv. totally different.

 

[octavius]

It's a way for grown women to play with dollhouses and playing virtual interior decorators.

 

[Trash]

When done right a base of sorts grounds the player and provides a hook for more storylines/quests. Unfortunately it rarely gets done right. BG2 is probably one of the better examples.

 

[Night Goat]

Strongholds and player houses are great, why would you want to go out on dangerous adventures when you could be safe and cozy at home? Real roleplayers do what their characters would do.

 

[Kahr]

At least it's content that can easily be ignored most times.

 

[eXalted]

There are Skyrim mods that make your followers dress properly when in the player house because it seems it's really immersion breaking for some players.

Are there people who really "play" the game to relax with their companion on a cup of tea? How does this work? You stare at the screen and imagine how they talk about their adventures?

And if you are alone, then? Watch your character smoke a cigarette like a pulp/noir hero?

Real roleplayers do what their characters would do.

From that page:

If you have a family, keep in touch with them, or create a scenario that discourages contact.

Aside from the fact that, you know, there is a real family somewhere out there in the real world, how does keeping contact work in games? Clicking a couple of times "I have a few questions." dialogue option ...

 

[Keye_]

It's easy filler content that requires no creative effort. What's not to love?

 

[purpleblob]

It's a way for grown women to play with dollhouses and playing virtual interior decorators.

Can't deny that... probably the reason I enjoy Stardew Valley so much and wish like crazy things won't go flying in Skyrim...

 

[Night Goat]

r u a gurl

 

[purpleblob]

...Yes

 

[Severian Silk]

Any 4realz gurls who come to the Codex are automatically made staff members. Please get in contact with DarkUnderlord .

 

[Brancaleone]

Seriously, why players want such mechanic?

Cargo cult.

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

When done right a base of sorts grounds the player and provides a hook for more storylines/quests. Unfortunately it rarely gets done right. BG2 is probably one of the better examples.

Not sure about BG2. While the fact that there were many different strongholds is cool in itself, some of them were pretty pointless. Mage, cleric and paladin did provide some unique and interesting rewards, bard didn't, but the quest line in itself was pretty nice and really, uh, bardic. The rest were meh, for example fighter stronghold was pretty much a money sink that provided a few ~15k xp (so basically nothing on a BG2 scale) "quests" in exchange.

 

[purpleblob]

Any 4realz gurls who come to the Codex are automatically made staff members. Please get in contact with DarkUnderlord .

Yeah, ok, whatever.

I thought BG2 stronghold quests were handled well. Yes, some were more bland than others but overall well done. Most pointless one was ranger cabin. De'Arnise Keep was much better reward than that.

 

[Infinitron]

It's partly a modern Sims/Minecraft-inspired thing, but it's also worth noting that getting your own castle was an expected part of a high level Fighter's career in oldschool D&D.

 

[laclongquan]

Because a stronghold reflect my wealth and my achievement in a concrete example?

If the game can make the fortress of solitude connect with the world's events in some way it's even more awesome. Ditto with Main quest events.

And Baldur's Gate2 example is stale and out of date. The best stronghold design is the Crossroad Keep of NWN2 OC.

You can pour a fortune into building that Keep.
You can build it up with various type of events and activities.
You can reap massive profit in term of GAMEPLAY, not just money back. Example? You can sell items to your Keep merchants at 100% price (up to money cap) and buy it back when you need. As you know, big wallet merchants in that game is rare, and you can have three of them right next to each other in your keep. A very good source to dispose off your loots.
You can have your Keep active in certain Main Quest event. The siege of Crossroad Keep at the final stage is one big example.

I'd like Obsidian to repeat that in Fallout New Vegas but damn the luck~ Fallout 4 is, bahhumbug. Maybe if Obsidian is allowed to do a F4 side-game then.

 

[MrMarbles]

Theory time! It may be (partially) due to the increased occurrence of narcissism.

If people think they are special and unique, why not pander to it and let them put their mark on the game world? It's a virtual monument tool for people who are so driven by their fear of death that they have to chisel their initials into everything.

 

[markec]

I like strongholds like for fighter class from BG2, keep from NWN2 or town from Bloodmoon.

I wish to play a RPG where the player gets control of a small village and with its decisions exapands it into a city, get quests depending on your decisions and npcs on the streets behaving differently based on your actions. This should not be the main focus of the game but a optional side mission that plays out while you explore the world, but at the same time ties up with the rest on the world and main quest.

 

[mixer]

Same goes for crafting systems, i'm here on an adventure, not getting a 2nd job.

 

[Skittles]

It's partly a modern Sims/Minecraft-inspired thing, but it's also worth noting that getting your own castle was an expected part of a high level Fighter's career in oldschool D&D.

Yeah, I'm still waiting for a game where you transition from hiresword to warlord convincingly instead of all this apotheosis/destiny/wankery crap.

 

[Sacred82]

It's disconnected because it's designed that way.

The shitload of time you spend travelling between your stronghold and adventure locations in PoE, especially in those game versions where fatigue was a thing, are an example of how not to do it.

Make the stronghold the center of the game or leave it alone, don't tag it on like something optional for the crybabies (that's you faggets who cry for everything to have on/ off switches)