Similarities with M&B: Suggestions
Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 3:21 pm
Mount and Blade, Kenshi, and to a lesser extent The Last Remnant - are all squad-based RPGs. It's kind of a new genre - I don't know of any other games that fit this mold, where you start as a single man and build armies, roaming about while you build your character's epic story of power.
Mount and Blade, originally created by a husband&wife team, has found massive critical and financial susccess. I love Mount and Blade, and Kenshi looks like it could surpass that game in every respect. However, I just wanted to point out some features that M&B has that would improve this game, if they were considered for implementation in the future:
First Person Mode -- I have no idea what plans you have for the camera system, but even if you don't intend to support First Person Perspective (with the way buildings work, it may be a bit weird), you should at least provide limited support for it, so it can perhaps be improved upon by modders. Certainly, Kenshi lends itself to more of a third person view with its massive environments and RTS-like battles, but I think it should be acknowledged that many people love first person. It really helps immerse you in the game world.
Style of AI -- M&B's AI is what really holds back the game. It's easy to exploit. I think when the game is closer to completion, you should give it your all to create AI that is at least difficult to exploit (by that, I mean kiting, which will be possible when you add ranged weapons). But some advanced things to consider are multiple AI strategies that can be chosen by the AI in a given situation, like using terrain for cover, or turtling in their hideout/buildings for cover when they're outnumbered, using focus-fire tactics, and possibly more creative strategies (like segmenting their army into two and using different tactics with each segment).
You should also endeavor to give player squad AI. Players can have free-form control over their units, or, they could let the squad use default AI. Player-squad AI should be slightly different from regular enemy AI. Player-squad AI should not think for itself, only attacking what's close by if they're hostile, but outside of combat, Player-squads should be smart and form neat groups to follow behind their leader. You should consider implementing default formations for the player to tell his troops to walk in. You should also consider implementing various orders he can give to troops at once, like "stand your groud and fight" or "fall back X paces while attacking", or "take cover in this building" or even "retreat". Basic staples of older or more traditional RTS games.
Food - I don't know if this is planned, but with a desert like environment, food should become important for the player to manage for his army.
Mounted Combat - I'm not sure if this is going to be considered, but what makes M&B quite successful is how nice mounted combat works, with the ability to trample troops and charge with your weapon, adding bonus damage on your attacks depending upon how fast you're travelling. Mounts could be camels, alien or robotic? Mounts would speed up travel time and make the game a little faster paced if players choose to forsake walking everywhere, making the game more appealing to more casual players. Of course though, you can still have people who walk or roam the desert on foot.
Caravans - I think this should be implemented, to add that extra "real" element to it. Carvans travel between cities with trade goods, with humans or pack animals carrying goods on their backs. You can start your own caravan, use pack animals to transport mass goods to your settlements, or rob caravans.
Weapons alter your playstyle -- The plethora of different swords is good, I would like to see a few spears, staves, axes and maces though. These weapons would have different attack animations and "weight" behind their attack, making them more unique and altering how you fight with them. Crossbows will be good when you add them, though it might be fun to add other missile weapons (if there are going to be robotic implants, perhaps some creative non-gun weapons could be added, that have various effects), throwing weapons would be great too, though perhaps a luxury.
Mount and Blade, originally created by a husband&wife team, has found massive critical and financial susccess. I love Mount and Blade, and Kenshi looks like it could surpass that game in every respect. However, I just wanted to point out some features that M&B has that would improve this game, if they were considered for implementation in the future:
First Person Mode -- I have no idea what plans you have for the camera system, but even if you don't intend to support First Person Perspective (with the way buildings work, it may be a bit weird), you should at least provide limited support for it, so it can perhaps be improved upon by modders. Certainly, Kenshi lends itself to more of a third person view with its massive environments and RTS-like battles, but I think it should be acknowledged that many people love first person. It really helps immerse you in the game world.
Style of AI -- M&B's AI is what really holds back the game. It's easy to exploit. I think when the game is closer to completion, you should give it your all to create AI that is at least difficult to exploit (by that, I mean kiting, which will be possible when you add ranged weapons). But some advanced things to consider are multiple AI strategies that can be chosen by the AI in a given situation, like using terrain for cover, or turtling in their hideout/buildings for cover when they're outnumbered, using focus-fire tactics, and possibly more creative strategies (like segmenting their army into two and using different tactics with each segment).
You should also endeavor to give player squad AI. Players can have free-form control over their units, or, they could let the squad use default AI. Player-squad AI should be slightly different from regular enemy AI. Player-squad AI should not think for itself, only attacking what's close by if they're hostile, but outside of combat, Player-squads should be smart and form neat groups to follow behind their leader. You should consider implementing default formations for the player to tell his troops to walk in. You should also consider implementing various orders he can give to troops at once, like "stand your groud and fight" or "fall back X paces while attacking", or "take cover in this building" or even "retreat". Basic staples of older or more traditional RTS games.
Food - I don't know if this is planned, but with a desert like environment, food should become important for the player to manage for his army.
Mounted Combat - I'm not sure if this is going to be considered, but what makes M&B quite successful is how nice mounted combat works, with the ability to trample troops and charge with your weapon, adding bonus damage on your attacks depending upon how fast you're travelling. Mounts could be camels, alien or robotic? Mounts would speed up travel time and make the game a little faster paced if players choose to forsake walking everywhere, making the game more appealing to more casual players. Of course though, you can still have people who walk or roam the desert on foot.
Caravans - I think this should be implemented, to add that extra "real" element to it. Carvans travel between cities with trade goods, with humans or pack animals carrying goods on their backs. You can start your own caravan, use pack animals to transport mass goods to your settlements, or rob caravans.
Weapons alter your playstyle -- The plethora of different swords is good, I would like to see a few spears, staves, axes and maces though. These weapons would have different attack animations and "weight" behind their attack, making them more unique and altering how you fight with them. Crossbows will be good when you add them, though it might be fun to add other missile weapons (if there are going to be robotic implants, perhaps some creative non-gun weapons could be added, that have various effects), throwing weapons would be great too, though perhaps a luxury.
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