The current implementation has a problem. I find your solution satisfactory. I consider mine preferable because it eliminates a minor gameplay complexity that I doubt will add to the experience: The need ensure that you do not prematurely lock yourself out from the dragon. It is true that your solution would eliminate most cases where this is a problem, but I'd prefer to eliminate it completely. And really, both changes are of trivial complexity on the coding side unless they have tied more than numeric value to these "persons". (Or if the exact number 0 has been assigned special significance, probably at AI level if so, but I don't see why that would happen.)
I would "burden" the player with this need for caution only if that necessity in itself improved the player's experience. In my own case, that has not happened. (But then, I have only experienced the obviously flawed/hindering implementation.)
Larian will probably do something to improve their new feature, and I'm sure they'll do well enough. Beyond that I also wanted to present them with the solution I consider best, and my reasons for it.
One question (answer if you will, I fear I may be going on too long about this matter of slight import): If the code complexity of either solution were negligible or otherwise irrelevant, would there still be a problem with my suggestion? (I assume that we both do not know the actual complexity of the task, although I share the impression that your approach would be utterly trivial to code.)
Last edited by Sinister; 24/07/13 01:55 PM.
