Shopkeepers and wealth

Would you like the Shopkeepers respond to the buying behavior of the player?

  • Yes! It adds the right amount of liveliness to the game.

    Votes: 18 90.0%
  • No! Most people won't find those things. It would be a waste of good quests.

    Votes: 2 10.0%

  • Total voters
    20

MrChocodemon

Handsome Moderator
Most games update the Stores either from Region to region,
so the last town has the best items,
and some update the Stores with the progression of the story.

Dark Souls 2 had a concept i never saw in this exact way. When you spend a significant amount of money at the Shop, they merchants feature new stuff, which can happen up to 3 times,
their attitude changes, from being poor and humble to being rich pricks and you can get special gifts.
You get a rar ring when you spend 10000 at one Merchant while the other one gifts you a set of armor when you talk to him with no money in your pockets.

Could you add something like this? Not total Shopkeeper progression, but acknowledgement of the player buying stuff. Maybe the Hatter can afford an apprentice when you buy enough, who is present in the Shop later. Maybe the Smith(or his daughters) gives the player a quest for a fabled weapon, if you own all the suff they sell at least once.

Of course it adds the problem that some players won't find those events. I mean, who remembers to talk to all of them every time.
 

GarlicJelly

Friendly Moderator (Formerly known as GoodStuff)
This is a really nice idea! 5/5! I don't know but maybe there could be some crafting recipes that can only be unlocked by buying one of each thing the NPC has to offer.

To make it easy to understand there could be like 3-4 steps and each step gives the player one new thing.
1 = owning 1/4 of the items the NPC can craft and/or sell to you.
2 = owning ½ of the items the NPC can craft and/or sell to you.
and so on...

Different rewards could be like one new items that can be bought from the shop, a recipe for a new item, a quest and then maybe getting an items that resembles of the NPC (maybe a style hat?).
 

Aurophobia

Halloweed
I like that part of DS2 a lot.

Of course it adds the problem that some players won't find those events. I mean, who remembers to talk to all of them every time.

We could have NPC's give little hints about buying a certain amount of stuff, maybe a rumor board later on that hints back to things.
 

GarlicJelly

Friendly Moderator (Formerly known as GoodStuff)
Why just rumors? We could have NPCs asking for a certain amount of items, item hunting, (if you've played WoW then think something close to the Daily Quests), nothing big but they put a post up when you've progressed a certain amount in the game, this could be very usefull if the game later on allow Steam workshop as people could create their own side quests using the board as a starting point. The board also makes it easy for the player to know where to go if you want a side quest. :D
 

MrChocodemon

Handsome Moderator
Dark Souls 2 had a concept i never saw in this exact way.
you mean like animal crossing...
1) I never played Animal Crossing
2) It is different in the sense, that shopping is the progression of AC while the progression in SoG is a story (yes AC has a story, but it's not the focus of the game)
3) Then, yes, like AC. I mean what is good in AC could be good in SoG, right?
4) There is a difference. I don't want just mroe items or quests, but special occasions. I want that different things happen under different circumstances. Did you get something in AC when you talk to Tom Nook after you paid of your home and the had no money?
 

GarlicJelly

Friendly Moderator (Formerly known as GoodStuff)
1) I never played Animal Crossing
2) It is different in the sense, that shopping is the progression of AC while the progression in SoG is a story (yes AC has a story, but it's not the focus of the game)
3) Then, yes, like AC. I mean what is good in AC could be good in SoG, right?
4) There is a difference. I don't want just mroe items or quests, but special occasions. I want that different things happen under different circumstances. Did you get something in AC when you talk to Tom Nook after you paid of your home and the had no money?
4) Just the possibility to expand your house. There is money involved in the evolution of his shop, both buying from him and selling to him if I remember correctly. There was also the point system that gave members a discount. All of those are things that allows the player to interact with how the NPC/shop act/look. I think it fit in the description of something that alter the shop. Maybe not exactly what you where thinking but... :p

3) Getting a discount depending on how much you've spent at the shop in SoG seems a little bit wierd but I guess that could be some kind of "late game money sink". Buying a lot of the same item just to get that Trophy seems both fun and boring. I would definetly do it though. :p

As for changing the shop the more you spend there, if it's possible then I think that would be a great addition to SoG because visible progress is wonderful and is something I really like. Having shops expanding or changing signs that are hanging outside would be great!

Since I don't know anything about the housing system and the plans for that part of the game I can't say much right now but I really wish that I will have to buy upgrades for my house instead of getting the full house in one go. Also, I've said this before somewhere on the forum (think it was a dedicated housing thread), I really want to have a full on mansion where I can build bathrooms, livingrooms, bedrooms and all that other stuff you have in a bigass house. :D
 
I'm all about more interesting shops. Some slash and hack games have a randomized shop inventory that changes every period (day, week, whatever), but that works better when you have modular loot (i.e., prefix loot suffix) rather than custom made. I like the custom loot in SoG better anyway, it's old school and fun.

That said, I also like the idea of unlocking new stuff at certain thresholds, whether it's story progression, gold spent, items sold or found on quests, etc. And if some of it could be for your house or fluff items it would help avoid disappointments if you just don't get around to it until well after the stat items would be useful.
 

Quote

Rabby
It'd be cool for completion side quests.
I'd definitely be thrown for a loop when I buy every item and she tells me "WELL BUTTER MY BISCUITS YA'LL JUST BOUGHT EVERYTHIN I COULD MAKE I REKIN. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU SHOULD DO DARLIN? GET ME SOME STAR-ORE SO I CAN MAKE THE MOST ROOTIN'EST TOOTIN'EST ARMOR YA'LL EVER DID SEE?!"
 
I support this idea fully. In Skyrim the NPCs change up what they say a lot. They have their standard set of phrases based off what you have done, then they have stuff set up based off your skills, (If a skill is high enough they might make a remark about it.) and then they have a sort of friendship, if you do a quest or something to help them they address you with more friendliness or respect. It is a small feature but believe me the more different things the NPCs say the more interesting the game can get. For example; if one NPC just says "Hello." over and over again your not going to want to talk to them, but if another one remarks about a quest you complete and says some standard dialect as well your going to want to talk to them a bit more. This is small but it makes the game more interesting as a whole. :)
 

MrChocodemon

Handsome Moderator
I don't want to be offensive, but this might be a little, so excuse me for a moment.

Disclaimer: This is my opinion and not the single truth of the world. I will keep this opinion no matter what you may say. You are allowed to have and post your own opinion and i won't attack your opinion.

BUT
Skyrim has good voice actors... that's it. Nothing more.
The Dialogue is one of the worst in many RPGs i've played and the reaction they have on the player is always at a minimum.
You could be Archmage, Masterassassin, King of the Thief Guild and million things more and still NPCs would only recognize if you a)killed or stole smth b)are Thane c) did a quest just for that player....
This is poor.
90% of the NPCs in Skyrim are lifeless, boring and useless.
Skyrim is the prime example for making a game feel good without anything good.
Things that are good: Music, Graphics (when you config the .ini or have 20+ mods)
Combat is like nonexistant. You just hack, shoot or wizzard them without tactics until they're dead.
The world is empty and lifeless as well --> i think that is because they just designed the cities and the rest of the world is random generated.
The Menu is a pain. It looks nice but is awefull to use.

Some RPGs that are superior to Skyrim in relation to NPCs, Dialogues and credibility of response.
Gothic 1,2,3
Risen 1,2
Mass Effect 1,2,3
Dragon Age 1
Demon's Souls
Dark Souls 1,2
Deus Ex 1+HR
Witcher 1,2
On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 1,2,3,4
Breath of Death VII
Cthulhu Saves the World
System Shock 1,2 <-- had just one NPC and is still better in form of realistic response

Skyrim and Oblivion are bad RPGs in nearly every facet of design and gameplay. I could go into painfully precise detail, but i will not. This is a very bland overlook at the no no's of Skyrim and why you should never take Skyrim as an example of good things in games. That's like taking Call of Duty/ Battlefield for good shooter and so on. Just because something is popular or well liked by many people doesn't mean that it's good.
 

Momizi

Rabby
if you thought skyrims combat was bad you should try oblivion

were swords feel like cardboard tubes and arrows fly like paper planes
 

MrChocodemon

Handsome Moderator
if you thought skyrims combat was bad you should try oblivion

were swords feel like cardboard tubes and arrows fly like paper planes
I did and i know. It was just short and dialogue focused. I mean Gothic 1-3 and Risen and Mass Effect we're not good combat either and Witcher 1 had the worst i've seen in a long time.
But this is not the right Thread for this kind of discussion.
 
I was just using it as an example on how the dialogue can change some more. ;) Just an example I could think of that many people might know about.
 
Top