First things first: Tinkering.
A part of the mod will be various adjustments to many sub quests and some parts of the main quest.
Such as this example i will copy here, just as an example for everyone to see what and how im thinking about it:
Main quest path crucial items acquisition:
In Cysael, you have to get an amulet that will let you pass through the barrier for the Braccus Rex fight.
Now, the only way to get it is to defeat Evelyn.
Which forces the player to be pretty linear in how to go about it all.
1. Find Evelyns reveal scroll
2. Get the amulet from Jake after that fight with her
Which is not really right thing to do, in an RPG in general and especially one like this - and it actually does create some problems for various player, because it is so linear.
It forces all players to do the two exact things to move the story forward.
Which create various problems - precisely because it is so strict, limited and those are the only options about it all.
It creates the potential for big problems since - If any of these two things fail for any reason at all - the player is completely locked out from solving those quests. Or even moving main quest forward.
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But actually, according to the story and how it develops and is arranged and how it plays, he should not be the only one that has that amulet - anyway. Plus its a bit fishy that he even wants to give it to you - but we could suppose he wanted to trick you - thinking Braccus would surely kill your team.
In the church there are some cultists, so at least one of them should have the amulet too.
Additionally, one of them "escapes" by going beneath the altar - but we never see him again. When we go down after him, he is not there.
What happened to that guy, eh? - He just gets deleted when he goes down bellow, thats what.
Wouldn't it be better if that setup was changed so he stays above and fights you together with the rest of the cultists there?
Could he be the same one that you saw in front of the tutorial dungeon?
And he would have another amulet, which would remove the linear path that the player now currently has to complete:
1. Finding Evelyns reveal scroll
2. Getting the amulet from Jake specifically after that fight ends.
Additionally, I think it would also be much better if that cultists didnt move the altar and so - casually easy reveals the secret passage - but that it should remain unmoved and something the players need to figure out themselves.
That is pretty impossible to miss in that church since by that time probably all players know that paintings are good loot and there isnt much else to manipulate in the church anyway so ... it pretty hard to miss.
A cultist revealing the secret passage right in front of us is unnecessary and a bit too pandering of a move.
Which is also what causes the necessity of just removing - deleting him from the location bellow, which is a bit of a cheap trick in on itself.
So, the solution for all of this is to remove hand-holding script, remove linearity of two necessary steps - and improve the game in the process.
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I would also suggest adding another way to reveal Evelyns lair entrance.
Arhu is a wizard, right?
He is personally invested into the deal, right? He is personally searching for who did it and talks how they elude his best efforts...
He is supposed to be a powerful wizard, right?
Im sure he could cook up something, some spell, or a item or a contraption - something magical that would also reveal that entrance, once he knows whats the deal - once you tell him so.
And its NOT like that entrance doesnt have pools of blood in and even two burning torches right in front of it.
... if you see what i mean?
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There are other such adjustments i will make but wont post here because spoiling things is not that interesting.
But ive suggested this one openly in general section anyway so... let it serve as an example.
