tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20292755.post325991328430815759..comments2024-01-04T02:49:23.470-08:00Comments on Blessing of Kings: Companion AffectionRohanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09090769681887119989noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20292755.post-17092938849226770262012-03-05T08:59:56.892-08:002012-03-05T08:59:56.892-08:00A lot of my credits went into gathering these comp...A lot of my credits went into gathering these companion gifts via professions. My reasoning behind it was that more affection lead to quicker working and more XP from the quest lines which I was also eager to do. I never did the math behind it. Should I have sold them, I might have made more credits since I was short on them every time I could buy new mount I could not right away, for example.<br /><br />One thing I do know though: if you are on your ship intercomm there are some decisions you make (this is between the level 35 and 50 range from what I remember). The decisions made here affect some companions in the + affection and other in the - affection. Don't like the effect? Hit escape and start over. I rather get my fully capped companions a - affection and get some low affection companions up. Which is what I did. So, what you said is in-game in SWTOR, but not by default.<br /><br />My last companion, Nadia Grell, also gained insane amounts of affection (+102 or so) with almost every decision I made. There was little grind required, but I did that anyway (not smart in hindsight since I could've just sold the gifts instead, and she was my "tank" from now on so I wasn't sending her out to work anyway except when logging). I suppose they did this because you get her late in the game, as your last companion.Fn0noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20292755.post-16298027858450046782012-03-05T08:46:43.841-08:002012-03-05T08:46:43.841-08:00I love the idea of having all companions affected ...I love the idea of having all companions affected by all your dialog, but personally the negative affection mechanic has left a bad taste in my mouth. When I see "-1" pop up at the bottom I feel like it's negative feedback and that I picked the wrong dialog option.<br /><br />It goes along with the min-maxing of light/dark side and feeling like you have to stick to one side 100% of the time to min/max.Kadaanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11826029508824702882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20292755.post-75398330292731548292012-03-05T07:35:51.448-08:002012-03-05T07:35:51.448-08:00Mylady beat me to it, but I too really liked the w...Mylady beat me to it, but I too really liked the way Dragon Age 2 tackled this problem by taking basic attachment for granted but allowing the relationship to go into different directions depending on whether you and your companion got along or not.<br /><br />I don't really mind the "gamey-ness" of the system in SWTOR, but I do think it's a shame that negative affection with your companions only has disadvantages (slower crafting and missing out on their personal story).Shintarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20292755.post-21608796173155868322012-03-05T06:39:17.999-08:002012-03-05T06:39:17.999-08:00"Maybe the companion affection system is enti..."Maybe the companion affection system is entirely unnecessary, and the old way of unlocking stories as the game progresses was just better. "<br /><br />Unless they devise a better system that can take into account roleplaying as well as content accessibility, I guess that the best option would be to go back to previous models in which the affection was taken for granted unless you planned to crush the NPCs heart. <br /><br />In any case, what does affection really add to the player's experience? As you said, it is a matter of "realism", of implementing a feature that would take into account a concept that in games was non-existent until then, and which is determinant in real life. But did it add anything to the game? Did it even achieve its original purpose? No, the romances are as bit as unrealistic and "imposed" as ever, even more so if you stick on the gifts feature to the original decision/conversation-based affection. The only purpose I find in the current system is for romances to be evenly paced, and even in that case you have a pile of gifts to force six consecutive dialogues. <br /><br />If the affection would have a negative value and granted the player a different path, such as the Dragon Age 2 game did, the system would make more sense, and encourage true character roleplaying, instead of subjecting it to the mechanics of romance.Miladyhttp://hypercriticism.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20292755.post-91025699429525584772012-03-04T22:21:12.613-08:002012-03-04T22:21:12.613-08:00One of the major issues is the linking of companio...One of the major issues is the linking of companion affection with reduced crafting time.<br /><br />This is a gameplay incentive to grind companion affection rather than enjoy roleplaying.<br /><br />I am comfortable that Khem Vhal thinks I make sissy decisions as Light Side inquisitor. But the game disincentivises such roleplaying, which means I have to grind gifts...Bernardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08909382806966279602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20292755.post-83367900272073903492012-03-04T21:59:27.633-08:002012-03-04T21:59:27.633-08:00While I would prefer for my actions to give/penali...While I would prefer for my actions to give/penalize affection for all companions, even if they're not with me at the moment, I disagree with removing gifts. While it's a mechanic that fits a need, it's still something that happens, you know. People still give gifts to other folks to raise their affection, after all.<br /><br />But you basically hit the nail on the head in the middle; By locking out content from players, you are punishing them for actions they had not enough information about (there's been more then a few dialog choices I've made that gave me bonuses or penalties I was totally shocked about). And that's bad enough on it's own, without the unintended consequences.<br /><br />If you made the system have literally no way to "reverse" choices, then the system implicitly encourages players to never take any risks. Players will be unwilling to engage in things if they thought that they were going to screw themselves out of later content as a result, or they will get frustrated with the game because they think it wants them to play in a way it doesn't actually intend.<br /><br />For example, LotRO has a number of "achievements" for reaching certain levels without dying. It's not the full level range, though; it stops not too far out of the tutorial zones. Why? They were discovering that people were playing in very self-destructive ways, and were getting incredibly frustrated as a result. If companion conversations were similar, then you'd be finding players partaking in similar forms of self-destructive behaviour as they try to min-max.RJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10492971146589461692noreply@blogger.com