NPCs with Day/Night Shifts

[Jaesun]

First, i think they add very much to the atmosphere! Otherwise the npcs would just be diablo-like buying/selling machines.
A neat little backstory here and there, interesting npcs which "live" (scripted, not ai-ed) in bigger towns going on with their lives.... i liked that in ultima. When you meet the shopkeeper you bought your sword from yesterday, in the tavern in the evening, drinking a beer with him. Or some npc have their own little secrets (what was the name of this little elf in the beginning of morrowind, who hid his treasure in a treestump?) and so on. I think you should really see this not as a chore, but as a possibility to create good quests, and a believable world.

I agree in certain cases, NPC schedules work well (Such as following certain NPC's that to amusing or other things) are neat and add a bit of life. A Great example of this was the Stable Master in Paws in Ultima V: Lazarus. He would every couple of hours, walk out of the stables and walk into an NPC's house. Since he was an Oppression Bastage, he was obviously spying on the local residents. Sadly you could not confront him on this, but the effect and feel was there.

Honestly in 1990, I though NPC schedules were awesome and cool. However now, I find them incredibly annoying, in that it stops the flow of the game for the player. I find this annoying, your mileage may vary.

I do agree, that merchants open 24 hours sitting in the same spot do give them the feel of 24 hour vending machines. I liked BW idea of closing shops at certain times, which I think is a good start. An improvement on this would be to spawn in a different NPC that runs the say the "Night Shift", thus the store is still open 24 hours, but has now 2 different NPC's that break the Vending Machine feel.

Further enhancements could include say the Night Shift NPC provides a certain quest that the Day Shift NPC does not.

[vid]

Honestly in 1990, I though NPC schedules were awesome and cool. However now, I find them incredibly annoying, in that it stops the flow of the game for the player. I find this annoying, your mileage may vary.

How exactly does this "stops the flow of the game", when it is a non-linear game without time restrictions?
Just because you can´t sell your stuff 24/7? How about some planning? How about some side-questing or just some living in the world thats provided by its makers. Thats game flow, not that "diablo action gaming" you speak of.

I do agree, that merchants open 24 hours sitting in the same spot do give them the feel of 24 hour vending machines. I liked BW idea of closing shops at certain times, which I think is a good start. An improvement on this would be to spawn in a different NPC that runs the say the "Night Shift", thus the store is still open 24 hours, but has now 2 different NPC's that break the Vending Machine feel.

Sorry but that wouldn´t change a thing.
Nightshift in a small village, just for this lonely adventure who stops by every week to sell his loot? I think the trick to a believable world is, that the player gets the impression, that the world lives on without him. There was a village long before the player, and it will be there when the player traveled on. It should have its own life.

[Sakar]

I do agree, that merchants open 24 hours sitting in the same spot do give them the feel of 24 hour vending machines. I liked BW idea of closing shops at certain times, which I think is a good start. An improvement on this would be to spawn in a different NPC that runs the say the "Night Shift", thus the store is still open 24 hours, but has now 2 different NPC's that break the Vending Machine feel.

You want a night shift? You want to be able to sell 24/7? No problem! Just have to look around in the shadows and seedy parts of town....

The "night shift" is the smuggler near port or the thief in the alley or the pawn broker in his cellar. These are the "shopkeepers" when the legit shops close down for the night.

[Janusz11]

You know what, I was missing just that when I was playing the Linux demo for a little longer today!

I came to the small town at night and was looking if maybe the blacksmith would go home so that I could have a, ehm, "closer look" on the things in his shop. But unfortunately he wasn't.

I'd really love to see some kind of day/night shifts and corresponding activities of the NPCs (no Hi-Fidelity AI stuff, but simple scripts). I mean, if I want to be a thief, the night would be my world. And thievery only works so good if you have the chance to break in someones shop or home and sneak around and grab all the stuff you desire.

Besides, it does add to the atmosphere of the game.

[Dragonlady]

You know what, I was missing just that when I was playing the Linux demo for a little longer today!

I came to the small town at night and was looking if maybe the blacksmith would go home so that I could have a, ehm, "closer look" on the things in his shop. But unfortunately he wasn't.
.

Sometimes, or at least I did once, stand near the blacksmiths door and he wandered outside. Shut the door and look around at the merchandice to your hearts content. In that game I never did see him get back inside. [/code]

[Claw]

I've mentioned in another thread that if Oblivion's team of AI programmers couldn't get it right, I don't think I even want to try.

Wow, Oblivion is truly one of the most influencial RPGs of all time. A pity it's a shitty hack by incompetent morons. There is no more (and rather less) AI in Oblivion than in comparable games, and the shedules are no less scripted than in Gothic or Ultima VII.
You know, Ultima VII? That's a game from 1992. I'm just saying that to spite contemporary RPGs. Oh, teh fancy pixel shaders. Great achievement, morons.

Oh, and you should be ashamed to mention Oblivion. Do you want to make oldschool RPGs or teh next-gen revolushun of roleplaying?


PS: I am annoyed that I have to reload when I die. It stops the flow of the game and I demand this be fixed for Book II.