Creative player ideas for in-game items, zones, etc.

[TheK3vin]

There aren't enough Kevins in the game. There should be an NPC named Kevin.

[MagiNinjA]

A City of Heroes like system to choosing your heroes.

[TheK3vin]

How about a "Manglerer" item (yes there's supposed to be to "ers") that would mangle normal data plates into mangled ones. Like the unrolling pin.

[Olaf]

It sounds like a use for the sanatarium, as that place is due for a quest some day.

[Olaf]

How about a consumable "Fiend repellant" which would alter your chances in the pit for some period of time

Chances of what, exactly?

[TheK3vin]

And you could interrogate a vampire there, too. Or just interview him. And if that fails, you could just inter him.

[MagiNinjA]

Or just not use blatantly referenced KoL adventures because Ryme doesn't want to use those at all.

Consider this a warning. Stop adding in needless comments.

[TheK3vin]

...Or you could just ignore the vampire entirely and pretend you never saw him...

[MagiNinjA]

More Earthbound references for the Gadgeteer class. If the Gadgeteer doesn't scream "JEFF" when you think of Earthbound, I don't know what.

Also, maybe a combat mechanic so that Gadgeteers fight with items like in Earthbound? It's not exactly favorable to attack like a Naturalist.

[MagiNinjA]

If you don't mind, MrAndersonMan, I'm gonna stick what you said in here in the PvP design thread. PvP should be itself cause it's too big to deal with in a thread like this. X_x

EDIT

Yeah, I meant using items as a primary way of combat instead of hitting with weapons. Jeff from Earthbound essentially fights with items, such as a slime generator, HP sucker, bottle rocket, etc.

[MagiNinjA]

To compare to something else, would this be like Rikku and her 'use' command in Final Fantasy X?

Yes, I believe so (haven't played FFX, but read the wikipedia article on Rikku).

Naturalists? Shapeshifting. I've always wanted shapeshifting. And weather control. Perhaps.

MrAndersonMan-The potential to get a sidekick could really add gameplay depth. Kinda like a familiar, but you could only get one per [not-ascension-but-ascension-style-thing?]
This would also prevent the problem that the KoL dev team has now, in that familiars are so plentiful that new ideas are harder and harder to come up with. Ryme would only need to come up with as many allies as he had bosses. And maybe Rand could be a super hard one to get? Then again, that would mess up the narrative...

I think Ryme doesn't want sidekicks. Too much like a familiar.

[Cristiona]

Shapeshifting would be neat. Seems like that should be a skill more than an item-induced thing though.

Naturalist power, perhaps?

[TheK3vin]

That would be more interesting, not as much a sidekick as an Alfred the Butler character. It opens up interesting possibilities, being able to chose which one you get in a quest or something; each could have it's own unique traits and abilities that would help you.

[Ryme]

I thought about this as I was getting started, but it felt really unrealistic/contrived. What sense would it make that you can't find/drive to an industrial district on the north side of town? Why should a difficult area simply not exist just because you'd get yourself in trouble if you went there?

Also, it's not like the penalty for being beaten up is that severe. You're not "dead". You don't have to start over. You just lose a couple of minutes. (Or a handful if you try it a few times.)

Further, if I do pick a level or stats or something as a time when the zone opens, it's sort of arbitrary. For some people it will still be too hard if they don't have the right combination of items/skills, while for other people by the time the zone opens it'll be too easy, and they'll be bored with their existing options.

I do try to address this a little, in general having the difficulty increase as your distance from Somerset Square increases. It's not perfect, but it's a decent rough rule of thumb--certainly through the first several levels where you're getting the hang of things. After that, learning the lay of the land should be part of what you're trying to do. Always knowing that you'll be able to win before you go into an area seems kinda boring to me.