We all need a Batou in our lives..

[animalfather]

We all need a Batou in our lives..

Something that i noticed with companions is how they follow you around like drones and often seem out of place usually blocking the doorway and just has that mannequin feeling to it. Another thing is that in combat they often do little do no damage and they are mere bullet sponges at best if the game is well produced unlike some games where all the enemies shoot you and only you.
Something that i liked in Bioshock Infinite (masterpiece btw) is how Elizabeth blended into the environment. For instance you went into a room and she would sit on the desk, or lean on the wall. or look through cupboards and actually give something to you, that was amazing. Something i would like to see in CB2077. Maybe you walk into a night club and the companion isnt just shadowing you but goes to the bar and has a drink while you are there, or goes on the dancefloor and blend into the environment.
Another thing in combat is that you are always the person doing the most damage, how about a game where if you play a netrunner for instance its your companion that does the most damage is the driving force in the combat and all you have to do tactically is guide him. I would like to see videogames move away from these cliches of having companions just follow you like zombie drones and helping very little in combat. something to think about..

 

[Calistarius]

And what they do might be based on what companion you have with you as well!

So while one might be more inclined to sit at the bar drinking, another one might be more inclined dancing, and yet another one more inclined to talking up chicks/guys in the bar... or what ever.


At locations where maybe combat and such can happen their demeanor might also come through:

With some more acting like a gunturret sentry somewhere defenseble in the room keeping an eye out for enemies that might walk in. And as such have some kind of "ambush bonus" against those enemies, and give your character a little bit of time to get into cover your selves by essentually pulling all the aggro from the enemies for a few seconds befor they finally also go for your character.

Where as others might look through various shelves or tables or what ever in the room. Which might give you some extra credits, or possibly some random item or something... things which you would not get if you did not have that companion with you. Nothing given should be "importent" though, as in some kind of item that you would have to need to finish a mission... at most and "importent" it could be something like a key or keycard that would open up an alternativ route to where you need to go for your current mission, but not something you would have to have to get to where you need to go (just open up yet another alternative). With a risk of potentual opponents being a bit more likely to go "I think I heard something... better check it out".

Another kind of companion could maybe constantly stay close to the door into the room your in, or potentually go back and forth between doors if there are more then one, and give your character a warning of "Someone is coming!"... which would give your character a few seconds to react to it. Maybe even give you a few options or something how to deal with it... where one would be "Try and hide" where both you and your companion would try and find a hiding spot and wait it out... another would maybe be to set up defensivly for a fight (but would not give anywher near the kinds of bonus that the "gunturret sentry" companion would, and have the highest risk that the opponents hear you becase you move around)... and a 3rd might be "stay put and quiet", where you and your companion would stop doing what your doing and just wait and hope that the opponents are not going to go into the room your on (this would give the least chance of the opponent to "I think I heard something" and change what they where doing to go into the room... but would do almost nothing for you if the opponents original aim was to go into the room).

Etc.

 

[tropit9]

first of all, the bioshock trilogy is fantastic! but remeber that elizabeth is programed from the get go to be the way she behaves in the game. to do so for 5-10 different companions, with different attitude would be one hell of a taking. of course cdpr seems to like challanges so this might be happaning, but don't count on it. but this idea, to be implamented in an highly interactive open world is so epic

 

[animalfather]

first of all, the bioshock trilogy is fantastic! but remeber that elizabeth is programed from the get go to be the way she behaves in the game. to do so for 5-10 different companions, with different attitude would be one hell of a taking. of course cdpr seems to like challanges so this might be happaning, but don't count on it. but this idea, to be implamented in an highly interactive open world is so epic

i feel like the could run the same ai script for all companions with only minor changes. the point is make the companion part of the world. blend him into the environment. instead of him being this dead zombie following you around.

 

[Suhiira]

I REALLY liked Dragon Age: Origins method of being able to custom "program" NPC (and PC) AI behavior.
Tho why you had to be higher level and/or use skill perks to unlock more tactics slots never made the slightest sense to me.
http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Tactics_(Origins)

 

[Calistarius]

I REALLY liked Dragon Age: Origins method of being able to custom "program" NPC (and PC) AI behavior.
Tho why you had to be higher level and/or use skill perks to unlock more tactics slots never made the slightest sense to me.
http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Tactics_(Origins)

This is also something I really liked... with "programing" your companions how to handle combat.

I also really liked it in the game which Bioware have (I seem to recall) partly credited the system from, Final Fantasy XII's "Gambits" system (I think I saw or read some interview with Bioware where FFXII's Gambits system was mentioned). The Gambits system essentually works almost the exact same way as the one you have in DAO (it may or may not be more or less complex then the one in DAO... it might be more complex actually, with a lot more available options). It had the same downside as well, with the number of slots you had to program was limited by your progress in the game, and/or having to buy additional slots (I am uncertain which of the ones I mentioned was the main factor on how to obtain more slots)... and I also think at max you could have 12 slots available to you (which is less then in DAO). And then the added downside that you did not have all actions available from the start either (you had to find most of it through out playing the game, buying them, winning them, loot, unlocking, etc)... neither could you set up multiple versions and change between them, so if you tended to always try and have the right setup for each kind of enemy then you would have to constantly go in and change it.

The way I used it was to set up a pretty general "Stay alive, and use some various defensive powers, and a few attack oriented stuff", so that they stayed alive and would also attack something when not needing to heal/buff them selves etc... where I then my self handled the more complex stuff of how to handle the different kinds of foes... so which attacks and powers to use, when to use them, etc. I think the general "ratio" i had was that atleast 2/3rds of the slots where dedicated to healing and buffs, and at most 1/3rd was dedicated to some various attacks I wanted them to do... it might have been a 50/50 though on it though, not compleatly sure, it was about a year or two ago I last played FFXII on my PS2 after all.

The video below is a beginners guide to the FFXII's Gambits system. (about 10 minuts long).

 

[kofeiiniturpa]

I REALLY liked Dragon Age: Origins method of being able to custom "program" NPC (and PC) AI behavior.

Fallout 2 had that too; though apart for the PC lest the game end up just playing itself when combat would occur.