I couldn't find anything dedicated to this subject on this forum. Does anyone know whether the designers are intending to implement randomization mechanics into the game?
So far I've observed that all loot found on bodies and in containers is static. Would it be possible to mix things up a bit? Spawning a special item in a dungeon out of an even limited pool of random treasure would provide the gameplay with a lot of replay value, also maintaining player excitement with each playthrough. This was always an issue for me with many CRPGs I've played - after a time you know where to look for certain items and it all becomes a retread of previous experiences.
Since this is a state-of-the-art CRPG I believe it would also be possible to implement simple solutions to distribute NPCs and companions all over a given area to make things even more interesting. This would obviously require some effort on the part of the writers' department, but imagine not finding the fighter lady with a silly name at the door to the ruins and instead having to save her from a burning building. Perhaps you can help her open her pod on the ship and have her accompany you from then on instead of the gith lady, who'd be found unconscious near the shipwreck or perhaps already in the city of Neverwinter, or whatever big city they're planning for this Forgotten Realms game. Maybe the pale elf is locked in a room in a dungeon somewhere and not standing at the same spot on the road everytime you start the game over.
I have made a simple mod for Baldur's Gate which randomly picked a companion spawn file each time you started the game. This way, you wouldn't have to wait till the final chapter of the game to meet some of the joinable NPCs available there - if you were in luck you could find them in the very first town you visited. You wouldn't believe how fresh the game felt with one simple alteration like that. BG companions weren't as complex as the ones found in this new game (which I believe made them much more fun, paradoxically, but that's not the point here), but I think it could still work.
Also, would it be possible to randomize enemies in dungeon/overworld encounters? Setting a pool of, say, 5 random yet planned out encounters that you find in a given location? A room filled with enemies in one playthrough would be empty, and there would be a monster where you expect a party of adventurers. DMs do this all the time, and there's good reason for it.
What do you think?
