What would you prefer?

Ok, so this is my first post (hooray!). I've been lurking for some time now though. But anyway, these are some questions I have for the more hardcore RPG players out there. Casual players can post their opinions too. But here's what I'm wondering.

Which would you prefer?

Voice acting with not a lot of variety in the dialog or topics to choose (think Oblivion here), or a text-based dialog system where you never read the same text twice and has a ton of topics to talk about (think Morrowind on steroids).

How about loot that is hand-placed in the game world and accessible at all levels with no restrictions, meaning if I find the Sword of Awesomeness at level 3 I can use it (again, think Morrowind), or loot that has some sort of restriction on it (level based or skill based) and drops based on your current level?

Would you prefer a game that holds your hand so you won't get lost in any aspect of the gameplay (think Oblivion with it's quest markers and compass), or a game that gives you directions (like Morrowind) and only provides you with a map that occasionally has important locations marked on it, and there's a chance you will get lost along the way?

"Point and click" fast travel? (Oblivion style), or system-based fast travel (Morrowind)?

Skill mini-games (lockpicking, dispelling, etc), or entirely based on a dice roll (Morrowind's lockpicking system).

Here's an important one. Combat. Would you prefer the combat of Morrowind (dice-roll combat, missing alot, etc), or the action combat of Oblivion or Skyrim (user is in control, player skill is more important than dice roll mechanics)?

Another important one. Loot systems. Do you prefer a random drop system like Diablo, in which not every enemy will drop loot, and when they do drop the items they drop are random? Or do you like a Morrowind/Oblivion style, where every character has a certain set of loot on them that you can take after defeating them?

Would you play a modern RPG that modeled itself after dice-roll mechanics rather than player skill?

That's it for now. Let me know your thoughts on these. You don't have to answer them all, just pick something you're passionate about. I look forward to reading the responses. Thanks!

Voice acting with not a lot of variety in the dialog or topics to choose (think Oblivion here), or a text-based dialog system where you never read the same text twice and has a ton of topics to talk about (think Morrowind on steroids).
Text-based. Voice acting with a lot of dialog would of course be even better (imagine Planescape fully voiced, by great voice actors), but the way dialog was handled in Oblivion just pulled me right out of the game. The more recent fallout games handled it a lot better than oblivion though, so if voice acting is handled that way, I don't really mind.

How about loot that is hand-placed in the game world and accessible at all levels with no restrictions, meaning if I find the Sword of Awesomeness at level 3 I can use it (again, think Morrowind), or loot that has some sort of restriction on it (level based or skill based) and drops based on your current level?
Hand placed loot that in theory can be accessed at any time, but in reality won't.

Would you prefer a game that holds your hand so you won't get lost in any aspect of the gameplay (think Oblivion with it's quest markers and compass), or a game that gives you directions (like Morrowind) and only provides you with a map that occasionally has important locations marked on it, and there's a chance you will get lost along the way?
As long as the directions are clear enough, I prefer if its done that way. If the people writing the directions can't write proper directions, then I prefer it if they give you markers on the map. It all comes down to the skill of the developers here.

"Point and click" fast travel? (Oblivion style), or system-based fast travel (Morrowind)?
An inbetween. Fast travel to locations that you have previously visited through a map system, with an in game transit system that helps you get around without having to walk all over the world to find certain locations. I liked the way Arcanum handled it.

Skill mini-games (lockpicking, dispelling, etc), or entirely based on a dice roll (Morrowind's lockpicking system).
Well handled mini-games that don't overstay their welcome (which is hard to do). If they can't pull that off, then dice based.

Here's an important one. Combat. Would you prefer the combat of Morrowind (dice-roll combat, missing alot, etc), or the action combat of Oblivion or Skyrim (user is in control, player skill is more important than dice roll mechanics)?
Dice rolls with in game ways to influence them. I actually enjoyed the combat in Alpha Protocol.

Would you play a modern RPG that modeled itself after dice-roll mechanics rather than player skill?
Yes.

Except for the last two points, I agree with Fnord. I prefer more complex, text-based dialogue. In general, complexity over surface shininess, etc., but also some player comforts like fast travel after a place has been visited can be nice if it is realistically implemented, like the teleport stones in Gothic.

Actually one had this to some extent in Morrowind as well, just btw. You have the guild transports, the propylon indexes, the "mark" and "recall" spells, the silt striders, the boats, all of which is more realistic than clicking a dot on a map. ( …and if you really want fast travel the unrealistic way, there is always the COC console command. )

I prefer directions and having to find a place myself, except if, like Fnord mentioned, there are not clear enough instructions to find the place relatively easily.

I'd also prefer a bit of a mini-game when lock-picking, etc. but these can become tedious like the Mass Effect games have proved. An option to override the mini-game for a small penalty can work for me.

However, as far as combat goes, it depends on the combat system. If it's a simple one, like that of the TES games, then dice roll. If it has anything rather more complex than just mashing a single button, like the timed sequences and "styles" of The Witcher 1 or the "styles" of Jade Empire, then player skill.

Essentially you ask if we want to go back to Morrowind.

Voice-acted limited dialogue vs Extensive text dialogue (not that MWs implementation was all that great). Depends. If the dialogue adds something then it is nice to have more of it, but irrelevant dialogue can be quite a time sink.

Levelled vs Handplaced loot: I'm fine with the compromise struck by Morrowind or Fallout 3, with some handplaced loots padded by tonnes of levelled "fluff" (ever wondered why the good soul gems/better ammo mostly showed up after level 10?). Level restrictions on items suck, but I am fine with attribute/skill limits.

"Compass vs directions". Directions hands down. It feels like some devs more or less have dropped the idea of giving in-game hints

Point n click vs system based fast travel: Here I prefer the Oblivion/Fallout method of allowing fast-travel to locations that I've already visited. Walking along already charted routes is a time-sink that the old RPGs could have done better without. Walking to the strongholds in MW sucked.

Mini-games vs character skill dice rolls: Dice roll. I absolutely hate minigames of the lockpicking variety.

Player skill vs dice roll combat. Depends. I want the combat to be reasonably fluid and interesting. Both games had terrible combat even if I disliked Morrowind's slightly less. Dice roll combat with tactical options (should I hit the head/leg/whatever?) is nice, but hard to implement well in a real time game. IMHO it works best in a Realtime with Pause game such as NWN, Baldurs Gate or Kotor.

I think games like Risen or Mount & Blade strike a decent compromise between dice roll and player skill in real-time combat.

And I would play a modern RPG modelled after dice roll mechanics. Heck, I am playing Dragon Age 2 now and for all the flaws it IS a dice roll game

I think I'll quote Fnord then stick my own responses in.

Voice acting with not a lot of variety in the dialog or topics to choose (think Oblivion here), or a text-based dialog system where you never read the same text twice and has a ton of topics to talk about (think Morrowind on steroids).
I want to say the text but I'm not real sure if it's true or not. Hearing good actors voice lines really adds a lot to them that I don't get from reading. So really, assuming the extra topics are just as good as the rest, you're basically asking if I want higher quality or more quantity. If I'm short on games, I want the text version. If I've got a backlog, give me the voice acting.

How about loot that is hand-placed in the game world and accessible at all levels with no restrictions, meaning if I find the Sword of Awesomeness at level 3 I can use it (again, think Morrowind), or loot that has some sort of restriction on it (level based or skill based) and drops based on your current level?
Either. If I end up with loot that is ruining the game then I'm going to get mad about that whether it came from a hand placed item or a random item.

Would you prefer a game that holds your hand so you won't get lost in any aspect of the gameplay (think Oblivion with it's quest markers and compass), or a game that gives you directions (like Morrowind) and only provides you with a map that occasionally has important locations marked on it, and there's a chance you will get lost along the way?
That depends on the quest. If it's located someplace that my character should know then give me a marker. If it's located someplace mysterious but not especially tricky or dangerous (i.e. if it isn't going to be fun to look for) then give me a marker. If it's out in the great unknown that I'm going to be wanting to explore anyway, then lose the marker.

"Point and click" fast travel? (Oblivion style), or system-based fast travel (Morrowind)?
Fast travel. If I don't want to use it, I won't use it. Morrowind's travel system was pretty cool but what happens if all games start using systems like that? I don't want to see every game trying to come up with it's own, unique fantasy taxi service.

Skill mini-games (lockpicking, dispelling, etc), or entirely based on a dice roll (Morrowind's lockpicking system).
Mini-games are good for a quick change up every now and again but 'now and again' should never be more than once an hour. Die rolls for what you are talking about. (If you can actually make an enjoyable minigame then I might change my mind but, if you can do that, then you probably want to sell the minigame as a phone app. You'll make a lot more money.)

Here's an important one. Combat. Would you prefer the combat of Morrowind (dice-roll combat, missing alot, etc), or the action combat of Oblivion or Skyrim (user is in control, player skill is more important than dice roll mechanics)?
I've enjoyed both kinds a ton. I think it depends a lot on the kind of combat. With guns and particularlly with bows (assuming you have to arch your shots), the action style is really very fun. With sword combat, though, you're just pointing in the general direction and swinging. In that case, you might as well give me simple die rolls. (Well, Die by the Sword wasn't a simple turn-and-click, but that game actually went a bit too far, IMHO.)

Would you play a modern RPG that modeled itself after dice-roll mechanics rather than player skill?
I *am* playing one with random rolls (Drakensang: River of Time).

(Thanks to Fnord for formatting my post!)

P.S. Desslock has an article in PC Gamer on die rolls in RPGs this month.

I forgot an important one.

Loot systems. Do you prefer a random drop system like Diablo, in which not every enemy will drop loot, and when they do drop the items they drop are random? Or do you like a Morrowind/Oblivion style, where every character has a certain set of loot on them that you can take after defeating them?

Thanks for all the responses so far!

I've got no real preference there, either. As long as the loot is coming in at a reasonble rate then I'm happy with whatever system is being used.

I hate mini-games, I prefer TB combat to anything else and I much preferred MW to Ob. Better still, I think Daggerfall once the bugs were removed was far superior to the later games.

Fluent said:

Voice acting with not a lot of variety in the dialog or topics to choose (think Oblivion here), or a text-based dialog system where you never read the same text twice and has a ton of topics to talk about (think Morrowind on steroids).

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I think I prefer voice acting - but I think it needs to be more "middle-of-the-road" to work well. I get tired of reading text very quickly, unless I'm fully engaged - which is very hard for any writer to achieve.

Oblivion didn't do it very well - and clearly we need more variety and we need actors to perform within the context of the given situation.

Writing is one area where I'm almost never fully happy - and it gets worse as I grow older. I find the vast majority of writing subpar or too derivative. However, I can still be moved or engaged - it just takes a more emotional approach. Voice acting and plausible characters work best for that.

How about loot that is hand-placed in the game world and accessible at all levels with no restrictions, meaning if I find the Sword of Awesomeness at level 3 I can use it (again, think Morrowind), or loot that has some sort of restriction on it (level based or skill based) and drops based on your current level?

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Depends on the game. For an exploration game - clearly handplaced loot is preferable, but if it's a BIG exploration game - you can spice it up with some randomly generated or scaled loot. The key is to develop a system that doesn't FEEL random and which rewards appropriately for the investment. So, if a player has to go out of his way to find some secret area and solve some elaborate puzzle - you don't want to place a boring scaled potion at the end. You have to work on a system for a while, which is something most developers apparently don't want to do.

Would you prefer a game that holds your hand so you won't get lost in any aspect of the gameplay (think Oblivion with it's quest markers and compass), or a game that gives you directions (like Morrowind) and only provides you with a map that occasionally has important locations marked on it, and there's a chance you will get lost along the way?

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I prefer directions and I definitely prefer having to explore and investigate myself. It doesn't mean they have to go crazy and force you spend an eternity to simply get to a quest objective - but they should balance it for the audience. The best way is to give directions that are precise, but which also require the player to read and take note of landmarks, etc. Having NPCs giving directions along the way - if you ask them, would excuse a more opaque guidance. I believe in rewarding the player willing to invest.

If you can do that without punishing the casual player - great, but I think it's almost impossible to accomplish. So you have to make a brave choice as a developer.

"Point and click" fast travel? (Oblivion style), or system-based fast travel (Morrowind)?

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Neither, really. I like an open world with forced travelling. However, I do think it's appropriate to introduce magic or items that can circumvent such things to an extent. The teleport-stone system in Gothic is ok, if a bit too convenient. I really like the idea of having to "live" in the world, and that includes having to make journeys. You get a more intimate experience with the land in that way - but it also means that journeys should be interesting.

Skill mini-games (lockpicking, dispelling, etc), or entirely based on a dice roll (Morrowind's lockpicking system).

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Competent mini-games, definitely. I like to "feel" I'm the one doing the deed, even if my skills matter a lot. A happy compromise, I suppose. Oblivion's lockpicking sucked, though. Hmmm, IIRC - I liked the system in Thief 3.

Here's an important one. Combat. Would you prefer the combat of Morrowind (dice-roll combat, missing alot, etc), or the action combat of Oblivion or Skyrim (user is in control, player skill is more important than dice roll mechanics)?

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Again, a happy medium. But I most definitely want an immersive combat system with a good feeling. Oblivion was "ok" - but the skill system was overly simplistic and boring. With the mod "Deadly Combat" - it was much better.

Another important one. Loot systems. Do you prefer a random drop system like Diablo, in which not every enemy will drop loot, and when they do drop the items they drop are random? Or do you like a Morrowind/Oblivion style, where every character has a certain set of loot on them that you can take after defeating them?

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I prefer "designed/placed" loot - but I understand it's not feasible once the game gets to be too big. So, a relatively plausible and rewarding system would work better. Not sure I can remember any game where this was handled particularly well. Perhaps Baldur's Gate.

Would you play a modern RPG that modeled itself after dice-roll mechanics rather than player skill?

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Once again, a happy medium. My "twitch" skill as a player should count during appropriate situations - but so should my character's skill.

Loot systems. Do you prefer a random drop system like Diablo, in which not every enemy will drop loot, and when they do drop the items they drop are random? Or do you like a Morrowind/Oblivion style, where every character has a certain set of loot on them that you can take after defeating them?
I prefer themed loot, along the line of how Ultima Online handled it before age of shadows. The loot was random, but only random to a degree, you would for an example not find a 2handed warhammer on an eagle, but you did have a chance of finding one on a creature that actually used one/could have taken one (unlike after Age of Shadows, the first creature I killed was an eagle, and it gave me a 2handed warhammer…). Every creature type had its own random loot table that made sense.

Corwin said:

I hate mini-games, I prefer TB combat to anything else and I much preferred MW to Ob. Better still, I think Daggerfall once the bugs were removed was far superior to the later games.

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They removed the bugs? Has there been a serious fan patch for DF that I missed? I remember that, even with the latest official patch, daggerfall was still an incredibly buggy game.

I prefer the Gothic approach over both Morrowind and Oblivion.

In other words:
- Fully voiced, but with a smaller scope than MW/Oblivion. That allows them more details per NPC.
- Hand crafted terrain with hand placed loot.
- Teleportation system instead of instant travel.
- Not too much hand holding, but instead good descriptions from NPCs.
- Not too much emphasis on minigames.

1) Obviously, text-based game with enough variety is much more immersive(because everyone can tell differently about same thing etc.), and there can be much more text if there is no need to record audio and/or video for it.
2) About items it would be better to have a combination of both - so cool/epic items should be hand placed, so you can read in some book about a legendary sword and try to go down and get it(no need for it to be really possible for everyone). And generic items can be generated.
3) Game should not have pointers and markers like "Go here, look there, kill that monster". Player should figure out as much as possible by himself(of course basic guidelines should be)Example of good work with that is Wizardry 8, where you get only information about everything, and it's up to you how will you use it.
4) Fast-travel should be implemented by in-game means - Airship tickets, going with caravans, teleporters, boats, rail-roads, etc.
5) Minigames for lockpicking and trap disarming is great, if it's made right. There should not be overweight in the side of arcade. Good examples are Wizardry series, Wizards & Warriors, Dungeon Lords
6) Combat should be skill-based. But not like Morrowind, but more like older tactical games.
7) Loot can be random-based, but no gold from rats(You know what I mean)
8) I would play any RPG, that seems interesting to me, no matter whether it's dice-based, or playerskill-based. So, yes

I see ideal RPG close to Wizardry 8. It's great for me in terms of storytelling, graphics, sound, NPCs, location design(hm... Locations could be bigger)

- Definitely voice acting. This make the NPC more "alive".
- Hand placed loot like Gothic and Morrowind. Not a big fan of random loot from chest.
- I think hand holding needs to be tied to "difficulty" setting. In easy mode, it should be live Oblivion, with quest markers. In normal mode, it should be direction and limited quets markers etc.
- if possible, Travel should be like Morrowind. Boats, animals, mages guild etc. This adds depth and flavour to world.
- I am not sure what I want for min games. I don't mind morrowind lock pick mini games. I really liked it but not fan of Witcher 2 type fist fight!
- I am indifferent to combat. I can enjoy good dice-roll combat like D&D and good action combat from Gothic games as well.