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General discussion (archive)Amour Breakage in RPGs and other things(76 posts)(76 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted October 30, 2012
I don't have an issue with armor and weapon degradation in principle, but it's invariably implemented horribly and adds nothing to the game, just acting as pointless busywork. The most common problem is that it occurs far too fast, typically meaning that after every few fights you have to stop and get your equipment back into good shape. The other major problem is that it doesn't add anything- it just means you either need to run to a vendor a plunk down gold on a regular basis, or you need to carry around a stack of some repair item to use every few battles.

It could potentially be interesting, especially if combined with a good crafting system. For instance, having weapons and armor composed of various discrete components, each of which degrades independently (and determined by the strength of the blow that struck you and where it struck you), and which can also be disassembled and mixed-and-matched into new armors. Meaning that as parts of your armor wear out you could either repair those pieces, or swap in new pieces that you found or scavenged from other pieces of armor, thus both repairing and upgrading your armor at the same time. Add in various advantages and disadvantages to each component and you could simultaneously have both an in-depth crafting system and an armor degradation system that actually adds something to the game all rolled into a single game mechanic. Not that I every expect to see something like this.
Posted October 30, 2012
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N0x0ss: What about weight of the equipment ? Pro or con ???
I can't remember which games have done this (maybe it was mods as well), but I liked it when love (armour) was very heavy to carry and much lighter to wear.
Posted October 30, 2012
Don't recall ever having armor fall off... but to me, having weapons degrade and armor wear down just seems to make sense.
Posted October 30, 2012
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N0x0ss: What about weight of the equipment ? Pro or con ???
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Dzsono: I can't remember which games have done this (maybe it was mods as well), but I liked it when love (armour) was very heavy to carry and much lighter to wear.
I know that there was something like this in Oblivion. One of the advantages of increasing your Heavy Armor skill was that it reduced the weight of worn armor. I don't remember exactly by how much or when as I haven't played unmodded Oblivion in years.

I like the idea of items having weight but this is another area where almost every game gets it wrong. If you can carry 200 pounds of gear with ease then 201 pounds either makes it so you can't move or makes it so you can't run or jump. In the latter there is no difference between carrying 201 pounds and carrying 20001 pounds. I would rather see a weight limit that negatively influences stats like Speed, Agility and Endurance with ever increasing modifiers until you gradually come to a complete stop. By the same token there should be bonuses for being significantly under your weight limit. Like being able to perform more acrobatic maneuvers for carrying less than 50% of your max capacity. And crazy parkour style moves only if you are at less than 20% capacity.

I also think that size and shape should come into play as well. Something similar to the Inventory Tetris system from Diablo, but one that takes into consideration the clothing and armor you are wearing. A scantly clad barbarian warrior has fewer pockets after all.
Posted October 30, 2012
One of my pet peeves thends to be with old RPG games where you don't see the enemies, and have the "random" encounters.

I hate it when it seems that every step you fight enemies, or when a game becomes an experience point grind to the point of taking away your enjoyment of the story.

I know there are games out there that people love that aspect in them, but I'm a story driven guy. I'd rather have a fairly easy game with a great story rather than an overly challenging game where I don't care what happens to anyone.
Posted October 30, 2012
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DarrkPhoenix: I don't have an issue with armor and weapon degradation in principle, but it's invariably implemented horribly and adds nothing to the game, just acting as pointless busywork. The most common problem is that it occurs far too fast, typically meaning that after every few fights you have to stop and get your equipment back into good shape. The other major problem is that it doesn't add anything- it just means you either need to run to a vendor a plunk down gold on a regular basis, or you need to carry around a stack of some repair item to use every few battles.

It could potentially be interesting, especially if combined with a good crafting system. For instance, having weapons and armor composed of various discrete components, each of which degrades independently (and determined by the strength of the blow that struck you and where it struck you), and which can also be disassembled and mixed-and-matched into new armors. Meaning that as parts of your armor wear out you could either repair those pieces, or swap in new pieces that you found or scavenged from other pieces of armor, thus both repairing and upgrading your armor at the same time. Add in various advantages and disadvantages to each component and you could simultaneously have both an in-depth crafting system and an armor degradation system that actually adds something to the game all rolled into a single game mechanic. Not that I every expect to see something like this.
I like how Far Cry 2 handles weapon degredation. Each gun has a different level of reliability. The AK-47 may not be that accurate, but its is extremely reliable it rarely jams, and last longer until it breaks.I wish all games do that.


Another good use of weapon degredation is in the new Silent Hill games that they break with overuse. What I did not like in Silent Hill 1 2 and 3 was that the Melee weapons were to overpowered imo against common enemies so they rarely fight back and it adds to the tension.
Posted October 30, 2012
How about giving the gamers the options to set these parameters themselves?

Item degradation, pet companion, the need to eat/drink/fuck/take a dump, save the game anytime anywhere or on certain points only or limit it altogether, etc., if games have these feature, it is just one more step to put them into options as well. Then everyone can play the game according to their style.

Oh, and is it just me or is the GOG forum software quality degrading all the time?
Posted October 31, 2012
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Elmofongo: I like how Far Cry 2 handles weapon degredation. Each gun has a different level of reliability. The AK-47 may not be that accurate, but its is extremely reliable it rarely jams, and last longer until it breaks.I wish all games do that.
This part is awful in FC2, guns don't jam after few hundred shots and all those mercs carrying unclean guns which work for them just fine, but when you get them... This was bad decision, they should go with crafting and making your signature weapon and repairing it, not making endless stream of bought weapons
Posted October 31, 2012
Armor/weapon degradation was irritating in Divine Divinity, irritating and ridiculous in Silent Hill Origins ("ridiculous" in that all your melee weapons are apparently made of glass) .... I guess I don't play a lot of games with that mechanic, but when it's there, I never feel that the game's better because of it.

I guess a pet peeve I have is JRPG's that are "challenging" not because they take any skill to play, but because you're supposed to grind for hours before every boss fight. I sometimes hear people complain that games today are easier than the games of yesteryear; they are, and good riddance.
Post edited October 31, 2012 by BadDecissions
Posted October 31, 2012
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tarangwydion: How about giving the gamers the options to set these parameters themselves?

Item degradation, pet companion, the need to eat/drink/fuck/take a dump, save the game anytime anywhere or on certain points only or limit it altogether, etc., if games have these feature, it is just one more step to put them into options as well. Then everyone can play the game according to their style.

Oh, and is it just me or is the GOG forum software quality degrading all the time?
That would be the smart thing to do. To bad most gaming companies are not about doing the smart thing :)
Posted October 31, 2012
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SCPM: Role-playing games? You must mean inventory management simulators.
+1 internets to you
Posted October 31, 2012
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Elmofongo: I like how Far Cry 2 handles weapon degredation. Each gun has a different level of reliability. The AK-47 may not be that accurate, but its is extremely reliable it rarely jams, and last longer until it breaks.I wish all games do that.
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Bodkin: This part is awful in FC2, guns don't jam after few hundred shots and all those mercs carrying unclean guns which work for them just fine, but when you get them... This was bad decision, they should go with crafting and making your signature weapon and repairing it, not making endless stream of bought weapons
Yeah there should be at a maintenance feature to fix your guns instead of getting a fresh out of the box one.

also what do you think about my Silent Hill statement?
Posted October 31, 2012
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BadDecissions: Armor/weapon degradation was irritating in Divine Divinity
Really? It is usually only an issue at the start of the game with crappy equipment. Learn level 1 of Repair (possibly from an equipment bonus) and you can fix your equipment quite easily without having to head back to and NPC to do so. Once you upgrade to even mediocre armour it hardly ever degrades, and weapons don't degrade much faster.
Posted October 31, 2012
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tarangwydion: Oh, and is it just me or is the GOG forum software quality degrading all the time?
What's acting up now?
Post edited October 31, 2012 by TheEnigmaticT
Posted October 31, 2012
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BadDecissions: Armor/weapon degradation was irritating in Divine Divinity
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Raze_Larian: Really? It is usually only an issue at the start of the game with crappy equipment. Learn level 1 of Repair (possibly from an equipment bonus) and you can fix your equipment quite easily without having to head back to and NPC to do so. Once you upgrade to even mediocre armour it hardly ever degrades, and weapons don't degrade much faster.
It wasn't a huge deal, I agree. Learn a few ranks of repair, wait until the little icon turned yellow, repair whatever. But it interrupted the flow of the combat without really adding anything to the game, so I'd call it irritating, albeit not a huge deal.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)Amour Breakage in RPGs and other things(76 posts)(76 posts)
(76 posts)