NPCs fighting other NPCs

[oskarwiksten]

This is more of a brainstorming idea than something that is actually being considered for implementation.

At some time in the future, it would be sort of neat to be able to have NPCs attack other NPCs or monsters. Maybe some guard protects you from an evil monster, or maybe a scripted event makes two arguing people attack each other until one dies^Wfalls unconcious. Maybe a group of people from one faction wants to attack a group of people from another faction. (*nudge* *nudge* , see where we're going with this?)

How would we do that in Andor's Trail? Should we enter "combat mode" (stop time) and make the players "end turn"-action determine when the rounds end? Or should combat proceed while the players stands by watching it all happen?

How would we handle the case when the player exits the current map, should the combatants continue fighting on their own or should they only fight while the player is on the same map?

What if the players wants to join in on the fight - should the fighting monsters keep attacking each other or should one start attacking the player? Under what conditions should it start attacking the player instead of the other guy?

What's your opinion, how would NPCs-against-NPCs fighting work?

[Sarumar]

+1 intresting idea... please give me some time.. and i will post my thought about this

[Pyrizzle]

Ohh fun! This could also be a way of forcing a player to pick a side before time runs out (Before the NPC you side with runs out of HP).

1) You walk up to 2 NPCs (A) and (B)
2) When you start talking to them they just argue back and forth...
3) all of a sudden they start fighting eachother (You are also in combat now)
4) When it becomes your turn you must pick to either fight (A) or (B) (both would be low on HP now)
Who you attack:
(A) - Side with (B)
(B) - Side with (A)
None - Storyline ends when the players both die.

If you help neither they could both poison each other with their swings and die after the next round... (After swing their HP could be 1 and they could have Weak Poisoning or something similar)


Love this idea bossman!!!!!!

[Tomcat]

Anyone remember the Ring of Conflict in Nethack? If you wear it, every monster in the room attacks the nearest creature, whether it's you or each other. A great way to clear a tough area, though you do lose opportunity for xp.

[Zukero]

How would we do that in Andor's Trail? Should we enter "combat mode" (stop time) and make the players "end turn"-action determine when the rounds end? Or should combat proceed while the players stands by watching it all happen?

I think the player should receive a notice (like the "sign" spots on the maps) that a group of NPCs are starting to fight, then have the non-combat round count for a fight round for the NPCs until the player joins them : every 6 seconds, one full round is automatically resolved for the pure-NPC fight.

How would we handle the case when the player exits the current map, should the combatants continue fighting on their own or should they only fight while the player is on the same map?

I'd say pause the fight, unless the full 3 min counter ticked for full map respawn. In that case, compute the fight outcome right away (all rounds in a row, either at the end of the 3 min countdown, or when the player reentered).

It would allow for players inadvertendly leaving the map to not miss a piece of the action, while letting those who do not care just walk by and see the outcome.

What if the players wants to join in on the fight - should the fighting monsters keep attacking each other or should one start attacking the player? Under what conditions should it start attacking the player instead of the other guy?

I'd say each NPC has to know their foes. If the player attacks a member of a faction, he becomes part of all this faction's members' foe-list. A NPC keeps attacking its focused foe until that foe dies. When the foe dies, the next one is selected randomly in the foe-list. We could either have that foe list limited to touching foes (no movement), or allow the NPC to move toward the newly targetted foe (if he can flee the other touching foes). We could also limit the list to the closest foes (touching foes if any, else the foes that are one tile away max if any, else 2 tiles, etc...).

All of this thoughts are really combat oriented. If this get intricated with a quest, it could quickly get complicated to debug the quests ( player attacked both sides, winning side, losing side, none...), but anyway... that's what I have to offer so far !

Edit : I'd also add a HUGE condition to that kind of fights : ENHANCE THE FIGHT FOCUS ! Either help the player know there is the long-press to use, or present the list of in-range NPCs before the fight starts, allowing to select the first target (can be disabled by the existing "no confirmation" preference).

Edit bis : The player should also not autofocus a NPC that do not have the player in the foe list once the first target is killed by the player. Let the player free to move toward his next target (if needed) by automatically ending combat once all in-range enemies are dead. 6 seconds should be enough to rejoin the fight from somewhere else, and player-hating-NPCs could still reengage him in battle somehow.

Edit ter : Break the hit'n'run tactics, at least for those fights : AP count after a flee/kill should not be reseted until end of action turn (6 seconds timer, or battle rejoin and end of NPC turn). hit'n'run in this setup would make the player feel like Flash (DC comics), or Neo (matrix).....