Well, for one, the" Yes, I'll help you" option is no longer the default dialogue choice. The game isn't about being a yes man to everyone you meet.
Here's an example of how difficult it is to be "good," in a relatively short quest. You are hired as one of the caravan guards. You will only be rewarded if you travel with the caravan the entire trip and arrive at the destination together. One of the travelers' horse died. He continues to travel on foot. It is very hard for him to keep up. Eventually, he stumbles and falls. As the rest of the caravan leaves him behind, the chance of him surviving is grim. What would you do? Would you ignore him and carry on? Would you rob him? Would you be selfless and give your horse to him? Would you carry him on your horse and travel at half speed, putting your pay at jeopardy? Would you rather give him a swift death? By the way currency is limited in the game. Now think again.
Another thing to consider, is virtue. The moral tenets of ancient China. For instance, let's say, a person of power wants your services. If you accept, being aligned with him makes you a lot of unwanted enemies/allies. If you decline, you become an enemy of his. Why? Because you inadvertently insulted him. By declining, for whatever reason, you imply that his offer and insight are wrong. Especially to a person of high standing in the feudal system, it is absolutely humiliating. Some decisions in the game are forced upon you like this. At times, if you are too good, your superior might fear you and try to set you up to fail.
I also want the players to work with their skills. For example, you are stuck in the city with no money. You need to reach another city. Without the sufficient provisions, you will die very very quickly traveling alone. Unless you are a savage Mongol who can survive by drinking nothing but horse blood of course. Perhaps you work. Perhaps you travel with some caravan. Perhaps you sneak your way into the caravan cart, and steal food to survive. Perhaps you kill one of the guards and present yourself as the replacement, under a cheap price. Or perhaps you receive help from some selfless Buddhist monks. Perhaps you work as a translator. Perhaps you bluff. How you accomplish your mission can often determine the availability of future quests and alter your path.
Absolutely. I already have plans regarding this.
Money is a non issue for me. I love what I do. I do it, and will continue to do it, regardless of whether I getting paid or not. If I wanted money, I would be in Taiwan right now, working for Softstar or something. Everything I'm doing, is created at a budget of zero. Those $3000 programs don't interest me one bit, nor are they necessary to create good art. FOnline provides the groundwork engine so I don't have to write/buy one. Money will not magically make the game complete itself. If I start a Kickstarter, I would be lying through my teeth, because not a cent of the money will be spent directly on the game.After you finish the demo you should start a KS --- oh wait
Well, it's your call.
Iyou for being able to work diligently on a project of this quality for 2 years and still release for free.
A working prototype isn't too far off. Here's some conceptual information.
The game takes place during peace time, so the planned battles are small scale ones, mostly fought by regional warlords/officials and their mercenaries, and maybe some raiders and pirates. The number of battles depends on the player's play style. If the player character is very combat orientated, then he'll definitely face many more battles than a pacifist diplomat type character. As for the fights themselves, the idea is to emulate medieval battles in a miniature set up. Instead of 2000 vs 2000, we have -20+ vs -20+. Come to think of it, this aspect of the game resembles more of a role playing strategy game. The end product should probably be quite similar to something like Age of Wonders. Two major differences: 1.) The player character, the hero, won't be able to crush an entire army all by himself and break the game. 2.) The player won't assume direct control over the troops, and will instead rely on orders.
A lot of combat mechanics are drawn from history. Different enemies have different personalities, and will employ different tactics. For example, the Khitans would place their least armoured units in the very front, and the most heavily armoured elite in the back. On the other hand, the Jurchens would instead use heavy cavalry to shock charge their opponents, as soon as the engagement begins. In game terms, cavalry charge is similar to the swing of a super sledge. It will knock down and stun the attacked. Elite war horses deliver the most powerful charge attacks, capable of affecting more than one opponent at the same time. Whereas weak horses, are not as competent, and might even panic. Other weapons have pluses and minuses. Bows are good vs light to medium armoured units, but weak vs heavy infantry/cavalry. The Song heavy steel crossbow is extremely powerful, and can pierce even the mighty Jurchen double layered iron lamellar armour, but is very very slow. Polearms are great vs mounted opponents, but weak vs swords and other fast melee weapons. Et cetera.
Not every fight requires you to massacre your all enemies. Decisive victories can be achieved, by either forcing your enemies to retreat, or surrender. It is also possible for the player to do the same, depending on the situation. Sometimes, it is even possible to sway your enemies to join you. And yes, they can do the same to you. Although, as I've said before, the troops won't follow you as companions, it is possible to gain their trust and favor, should there be any need for their services in the future. The opposite can happen as well.
In some scenarios, especially in the late game, you have to fight a series of battles with the very same troops. This means preserving equipment(ammunition, landmines, grenades, horses...), maintaining morale(Loot), and properly using injuried troops(Crippled limbs, eye damage...) are very important things to consider when approaching fights. The skills and perks of your character and companions are put to a serious test.
I already did. They don't seem to care though.
Great.
