I like that system a lot. It is like varying levels of skill.
GOOD EG:
You can''t go into a fully armoured space station with 10,000 bodyguards and kill the guy.
BAD EG:
You can go into a fully armoured space station with 10,000 bodyguards and kill the guy.


GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR GAME!!!

Along that same vein-
It would be interesting if there was some conotation to the name you give your character.
Snake- automatically start with 10 ruthless points
Radio Robert- stealth fame "He had a shot you could hear but not see."
Mr. Poopy Pants- Automatical start at -10 in every category.

I used to come up with the best names for characters in Secret of Mana type games. "Hi, nice to meet you, BITCH" "We meet again, DEJA VU!" Unfortunately the game never understood my humor. It would be neat to make one that does.

alnite, I like that two-rate system. It does make sense to at least give the player some credit of doing some missions, but when they do another one and fail it, then makes all what you did for nothing. Quite good.

It would be good to have an entire portfolio or rating card in the game.

That shows all your mercany stats.
Such as:
Missions Attempted:
Success Rate:
Failure Rate:
Resignation Rate:
Average Mission Performance:
Total Reputation Achived:
Current Reputation:
Hostiles Cancelled:
Civilians Cancelled:
Unessary Damage Rating:
Stealth Rating:
Information Gathering Rating:


You could use all that data when determining what missions are avilable to the player. IF the player has a repution of 100 the can get steal data missions, if the have repution of 100 and unessary Damage Rating of 50 they can also do arson missions.




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Writer, Programer, Cook, I''m a Jack of all Trades
Current Design project
Chaos Factor Design Document

I''d also like to see pre-requisites for missions, beyond just faction and reputation. You can''t get that "investigate alien crash site" mission until you have a strong portfolio for paranormal activities-related missions (a few psychics, some conspiracy stuff, and maybe the odd bigfoot capture), a good faction alignment with the government, and a record of keeping the details of missions to yourself.

Maybe they''d make you sign a non-disclosure agreement, and then later on another faction would offer you cash or a unique assignment in exchange for data on aliens, but if you give it to them and the gov''t finds out, your alignment with them goes from "reliable operative" to "shoot on sight".

This idea is neat. I hope something comes of it.

Hmm. If you failed a mission, perhaps you could try and spread some rumors to get back some fame.
For example, you could enter a bar and simply say to a drunken guy the company who hired you are stingy and refused to pay you. If he starts spreading the lie, you can soften the shock of the failed mission. (Possibly with some side effects, such as the person whose quest you failed gets attacked, and hires you as a bodyguard.)

Also, maybe it is possible to do things that remove rumors about you. If you get through a mission without being seen by _anything_, you might get the rumor of "invisible at will". Then, if _everybody_ spots you on your next mission, you lose that. But it works on negative rumors, too. (Killing everyone in a mission could despose of the "Pacifist" mark.)

quote:

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Original post by Dakar
... (Killing everyone in a mission could despose of the "Pacifist" mark.)

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[sarcasm]I doubt that anyone in a mercenary game would try to keep the pacifist mark. ("Hi, I am a Quaker. My religious beliefs make me a Pacifist. Would you like to learn more about being a Quaker? No!? Do you want to join this mercenary band I just met?")[/sarcasm]

On the serious side- I think missions in games that reward you for using stealth and not going in guns-a-blazing are fun and challenging when they are thrown in the mix. However when you do need to go in and aerorate some bodies it would be nice to have a fear factor.

ex. After mercilessly slaughtering every living soul on the last four missions (including-Dr. Enrico''s cat), you have been given the name JimBob "The Bloody Hand" Blakem. On your current mission you must enter the premisis(sp.?), take care of a couple of rent-a-cops, and then get down to business. However, your bloody fame is so intense that you have a fear factor surrounding you. As you stroll over the horizon, the rent-a-pigs notice you and begin to arm themselves. When they realize who you are they drop everything and run. Two down and no shots fired. Of course if you had killed them, your fear factor would have risen by that much more.

i don''t see why you couldn''t play a game and try to keep your "pacifist mark"... there are plenty of ways to accomplish things (assuming the game designer allows it) without killing anyone. offhand: you could spy, steal stuff, destroy things (not people), rescue someone, capture someone, search out some thing, um... well that''s all i can think of instantly

i''ll admit that i like to play through games the first time as the axe-wielding barbarian, or the Dark Side of the Force Jedi, or the big-gun toting guy... but after that it is a great experience to try it again without the killing-with-no-finesse. i''m sure some people would prefer to do it that way the first time

quote:

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Original post by krez
i''m sure some people would prefer to do it that way the first time

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I might - depends on how well designed the non-killing options are. In Deus Ex, for example, I generally take a non-lethal approach (stealth Xbow with tranks) but the sneaking just feels so clunky I tend not to bother being entirely evasive.

The definition of a pacifist is "someone opposed to violence as a means of settling disputes" according to google. This is the only reason I said that. Using a Xbow (even with trancs) ,destoying objects, capturing people (using force) and other actions would not qualify you for a pacifist. Humane, yes. But Pacifists are non-violent. The only option left is something such as recon, and/or theft. Now talking your way through Fallout without firing a single bullet (see end of save limit thread). That would definitely qualify for pacifist. Intriging too.