Suhiira;n10024521 said:
I doubt (hope?) the controls will be clunky, but in CP2020 PnP death (or at least being incapacitation) in a couple solid hits is pretty much the norm.
The whole point is to avoid combat, or do it in such a way the opposition has no chance to respond. If you go into CP2077 (assuming it follows it CP2020 roots) with the idea of shooting your way thru the game you're going to be in for a shock ... and expect to reload a LOT.
What does "RPG combat as an option" mean to you? Because I don't know if it's going to have both third-person/shooter combat
on top of dice-rolling RPG combat. It's probably going to integrate both into
one combat system, not have two wildly different options. It might, but it would surprise me. Making an entirely different combat system would take a lot of extra time. It's the same deal with adding that "RTS" mode somebody else suggested, the problems are similar. It requires different design approaches and the game needs to be built from the start with the intent to provide two separate combat modes.
But, it all depends on what you mean, so I'll wait for your response before going any further.
Also, I'm not saying don't argue for its inclusion or don't discuss it - in a perfect world, I'd want it too - but maybe don't
expect it going into 2077. Gameplay could prove me wrong, but I think you'll be disappointed if you do. I think the game will have a blended combat system, that marries action and RPG more effectively than the Witcher 3 did, given the game's PnP roots and Mike Pondsmith's involvement as a co designer.
Suhiira;n10024521 said:
The whole point is to avoid combat , or do it in such a way the opposition has no chance to respond. If you go into CP2077 (assuming it follows it CP2020 roots) with the idea of shooting your way thru the game you're going to be in for a shock ... and expect to reload a LOT.
On a slightly separate note, I wanted to address this. In theory, you are correct. If we are playing strictly by the PnP rules, or at least drawing very, very heavily from them (Which we have no reason to think
won't be the case, necessarily) then you would be absolutely right. Ambushes, and just generally setting the odds in your favor, are key elements of the PnP from what I understand. The rulebook makes several mentions of this - finding an enemy's sleeping area and place a mine under his mattress, or waiting in a dark alley for 2 guys so you can easily take one out and even the odds, etc...
But how would this ultra-lethal combat translate to a video game?
I believe we will have
elements of it, but again, I think if you go into 2077 expecting it to play by the exact same (or very similar) combat rules as the PnP, you
will be disappointed. This is just my opinion, of course, but I don't think you're going to have a lot of happy players if the second they pop out of cover to shoot they get popped in the head and killed instantly, forced to reload or spawn at a nearby hospital. This may sound like a fantastic, realistic, gritty experience to you, but I don't believe it's realistic to expect most players to be on board with it.
This is where arguments like "it doesn't matter if they like it or not" sometimes come into play, and I can't really address those. All I can say is CDPR
will need to appeal to a wide audience with 2077 - period. Witcher 3 did, and it was a huge success. CDPR gains nothing by tightening their focus to a very passionate, very hardcore PnP fanbase. This is why you have hardcore RPGs with small, passionate fanbases (Like Serpent in the Staglands) that love the games to death, but they don't pick up massive success and widespread critical acclaim. They just don't. Part of this is due to smaller marketing budgets, of course, but part of it is that some of those elements just don't jive with the mainstream audience.
Even in Dark Souls death doesn't come that quickly. It's always because you didn't dodge at the right moment, or you didn't parry at the right moment - you can see and predict enemy attack patterns and prepare for them.
The random, almost chaotic, nature of 2020 just doesn't seem like a perfect fit for a third person or first person shooter. Would it be cool on paper? Sure, but in practice, I don't think so. Now, I could be wrong. Maybe CDPR will be a trendsetter, maybe the mainstream audience will love the hardcore PnP style combat so much that other companies try to copy it (As has happened with Dark Souls).
All of that said... CP2077 will
almost certainly draw heavy inspiration from the PnP, and be much more of an "RPG" than TW3 was - CDPR has said as much themselves. So I'm not saying you need to be happy with a boring, repetetive first person shooter action game. That's (probably) not what 2077 will be. Just saying that you probably won't get quite what you're hoping for in every way.
Note: Please don't take this as me arguing
against the PnP'S combat system, or as me being a "filthy casual" or something to that effect. I'm all for hard combat, it's why I play Witcher 3 on Death March since day 1, getting literally 1-shot by bandits in grandmaster Wolven armor.