Durability is a mechanic that creates realism in a games combat, and it's purpose is immersive combat and an immersive world.
That mechanic is instantly defeated the moment a wizard can bash a chest open by just casting magic at it, or the moment a warrior uses a standard weapon to do the same while then switching to his preferred weapon during combat. How immersive is it to carry 6 weapons in your inventory just to use them to bash things so that your nifty 150-200 damage 2h mace won't degrade as much?
Hunger and thirst mechanics are sometimes used for balance of gameplay (such as in survival games, to stop the player from advancing too far without creating some stable form of sustenance first) and used to create realism in a games characters whether it is also being used for balance or not. It's purpose is an immersive world.
Half wrong. The purpose behind hunger and thirst mechanics is to force you to strategize your trek through dangerous areas by considering matters like weight of the food and water you carry, memorizing food and water sources, and the like. Games like STALKER: SoC and Fallout NV did it surprisingly right, and at least NW is an rpg just like D:OS is.
Time taken putting on armor and clothing is a mechanic that would create realism, with the purpose of immersing the player in the world. This is a deeper level of immersion, akin to needing the bathroom, and something I doubt you would ever see outside of a game made specifically for people to role play with each other, or possibly something hyper realistic like Mount & Blade. (although you can only change equipment out of combat in that game)
You'll never see such a feature in a game, and that's because it would be horrendously boring, yet it's can't be denied that it would still create "immersion". That was my point all along.
Weight is a mechanic used to create realism and it's purpose is an immersive world.
Said immersion instantly turns into a sinking submarine the moment you carry 10 barrels of oil in your inventory because your strength stat allows you to. Yet apparently, equipment degradation supporters seem more concerned with pointing out the absence of realism and immersion in having indestructible equipment rather than the absence of realism in being able to carry 10 oil barrels inside a bag.
I don't think I've ever seen something like blisters used as a mechanic in a game, although it might pop up in story driven Heavy Rain type games.
Yet, if "reality and immersion" are so much of a concern, why is nobody asking for blisters to be implemented?
The thing with Lohse is just good storytelling, and any good storytelling will of course immerse the player in the world. The purpose of immersion mechanics is to back that storytelling up.
That is correct. It is very good storytelling
which creates immersion to very deep levels, and without bothering anyone with a tedious micromanagement mechanic.
For that matter, how is seeing a small paperdoll screen with an area of your body painted yellow going to immerse yourself into the game any further? For that matter, how is carrying 10 prongs and pincers going to immerse yourself? And always for that matter, how is a hammer with repair charges going to immerse yourself further into the game? We're talking about a big hunk of iron, are you telling me that in real life it would break after 10 uses? And then what? You stock on other hammers, or maybe implement a feature to repair your own repair hammer?
Regardless, you still haven't answered my question: why do I see equipment degradation supporters campaign so much for maintaining degradation, while not campaigning for other things that, while "enhancing immersion", would also spoil any fun whatsoever or - in the case of all the barrels you can seemingly carry in your inventory despite it violating the laws of physics - completely break immersion? Double standards, maybe?
There is the good kind of immersion and the bad kind of immersion. Is degradation the former and not the latter? Just by looking at all the people currently complaining, I would say "no".
