More side quests?

[Avadon]

Can we have more side quests in Avadon 2? That is the next Spiderweb release right?

 

Maybe I am spoilt, coming from Oblivion and Fallout 3, but there was always something to do in those RPGs and in fact so much to do that it felt like it would be impossible to complete or even to discover all their sidequests.

 

Could we have such an expansive system of sidequests in future Spiderweb games? For the record, I spent so many hours on those Bethesda side quests that I never completed both Oblivion and Fallout 3's main quests, if you see what I am getting at.

[Kelandon]

Sidequests are a distraction in a primarily linear plot-oriented game. Avernum is generally exploration-oriented and sidequest-heavy. To me, at least, it seems like excessive sidequests would be annoying in Avadon. (Though there were a number of shorter — and sometimes very hard — ones.)

[Student of Trinity]

Making his games more rather than less linear has been Jeff's deliberate strategy recently. To put in the time needed to give a really open feel to his game worlds, he would have to cut back to releasing only one game per year. Up until recently, at least, his business has depended on maintaining double that tempo.

 

Maybe nowadays Jeff is bringing in more money from Steam and App Store and what not, and so he could afford to spread his games out more. I wouldn't be surprised if he did that one year just for a change.

 

But I doubt he'll take it up as a regular pattern. As a company with just one main coder, Spiderweb is never going to be able to make an Oblivion. So I think Jeff is going to aim at the people who won't even finish games like Skyrim, and who will be happy to get through one of his games without following any sidequests.

[Necris Omega]

While I love side quests, they really are more appropriate for an Avernum styled game, and can get muddled in an Avadon.

 

Avadon's good, mind you, and I liked the side quests there too, but a freerange game like the original Avernums is really where it's at.

 

Thing is, not having to completely retrofit a game to an untested engine might make more sidequests a greater possibility in A2:CS - there's less fussing around with a sequel (or at least a sequel as direct as A2 is, A3:RW will likely be a lot more of an issue) so there's more room to expand.

 

Sure, there's changes to be made, adjustments to be put down from lessons learned after the first game is out, but it's still a lot less than having to adapt from scratch.

 

Theoretically, anyways.

[Jerakeen]

Originally Posted By: Avadon

Could we have such an expansive system of sidequests in future Spiderweb games? For the record, I spent so many hours on those Bethesda side quests that I never completed both Oblivion and Fallout 3's main quests, if you see what I am getting at.

See, I'm pretty sure this is what Jeff would want to avoid: gumming up the plot with so many distractions that players get bored and don't finish the game.

[Randomizer]

The side quest limit was also due to the level cap. Avadon 2 will have a higher level cap.

[Micawber]

Hmm, higher level cap. I'm sure Jeff will still want to ensure players have to make a choice of abilities and don't have enough skill points to train in everything. I wonder if that will be done through adding a new tier to the skill tree, or allowing extra levels of the existing abilities (adding a new upgrade level at 9/10?).

[Jerakeen]

I hope we can at least max out the top tier on one side without foregoing the first-tier upgrade on the opposite side. And without using a specialization. It would only require a couple more levels.

[Alorael at Large]

Large studios can afford to fill their games with sidequests not only because they have years of development time in which to write them but also because they have enough staff to devote people to making more sidequests. Jeff just has himself, and maybe his two loyal sidekicks. Every hour spent on sidequests isn't going into balancing the game, or writing the main plot, or something else. Frankly, I'd rather see a strong main plot, if he's running games on plots.

 

—Alorael, who has suspicions that the next Avadon skill tree will also learn lessons from the Avernum tree. A little more flexibility is a good thing, especially with more levels to be flexible with.

[Avadon]

@Jerakeen

 

I didn't get bored with Fallout 3 and Oblivion. My XBox 360 RRoDed twice, my original and the replacement refurb which Microsoft fobbed off on me. After that MS refused to repair their replacement 360 for free and so I stopped gaming over there.

 

In other words, those games were so awesome that the XBox couldn't take it and died, twice, literally. I would probably still be playing them if my 360 worked...