I understand what you mean by mandatory, but I still don't like it. It should be a choice: give a combat option or a negotiation option, for example. Players who like combat can take that option, players who don't can take the other. I don't really see the point in forcing all players down a certain route whether they like it or not: play the game the way you like, and let me play the way I like, the latter of which means mostly avoiding combat. That IMHO is the essence of a true RPG, and the way I choose to play it shouldn't be anyone else's concern.
I'd also view the "fight the orcs or let everyone be slaughtered" as a false dichotomy: that isn't much of a choice.
As with life, in a true RPG sometimes a choice isn't always available.
For example: you're surrounded and attacked by assassins. They're going to try and kill you. You can try to talk your way out of it, buy them off, etc, but in the end they're still going to try and kill you. You can either defeat them or you'll die - that's the extent of your choice. If that's the scenario, then that's the scenario.
There are many combat encounters outside Cyseal (both prior to arriving and then upon departing) that can't be avoided (i.e. mandatory), I'm surprised anyone flinches at the concept of them. Did you, for example, really feel like your choices were being taken away when you ran into the hostile crabs shortly after starting the game? Because I can't recall seeing anyone complaining about any of those fights, so I really think some people in this thread were highly overreacting with the proposal of adding another battle during a particularly long dry spell.
It wasn't the end of the world, it was just more of what was already in the game - which everyone seemed to be fine with until "one or two more battles" was proposed, as if that was the tipping point that would somehow destroy all semblance of choice and role-playing in the game.
I can sum this entire thing up much better by saying "people on the internet overreacted".
Late to the party, but my 2 ct. are that I don't feel that mandatory combat in Cyseal is necessary.
As has been stated, there's always the possibility to leave the town, several quests point you to locations outside of town and there's plenty of combat to be had there.
Anyway, if there's a good reason for a combat encounter in Cyseal I'm not necessarily against it, I just don't think it's really necessary.
Heh. You're so late to the party that (with the latest patch, and as a result of player feedback) a few additional combat encounters were made available during our time in Cyseal. The developers work pretty fast.
Has it ruined the game for you in some way? Do you feel they can be improved? If so, how and why?
