Mercurio and the Golem

[Javokis]

Now I've been thinking about this awhile and have actually wondered if the two missions (Retreave the Fragment) and (Destroy the Golem) should be combined into one related mission with Destroying the Golem being a final puzzle mission related to what Mendel said.

"The Word Truth and the Word Death are but a single letter apart. Destroy that one letter and the Golem will fall to peices."

Skipping back a step or two... I'm still considering the changes that could be made to relate Mercurio's theft of the fragment that led to the defilement of the golem into one fluint mission. Instead of moving into the Cappa haven to slaughter people, the main objective is to INVESTIGATE. This means speak to members of the clan, find clues to who among the clan stole the fragment, and where the fragment is hiding. Unlike the original Redemption, storming into the monastary with swords swinging will NOT LEAD TO THE FRAGMENT. The player will be responsible for not only returning the fragment, but retaining political relations with the Cappadocians. Since the idea is to turn the mission into a who-done-it mystery then the original Mercurio character may need to be changed to preserve that mystery for players familiar with the original game though perhaps his name could be changed in a clever manner to where players of the original game may have a chance to figure out the relation. A name similar to Mercurio, but different. Perhaps a translated meaning of the name since names usually have meanings that can then be translated into another language that sounds different.

[Azraelthe7th]

I like the idea, and it was something I proposed off hand (the not killing the Cappadocians part) in another thread, but I have one question: would it be something of an overkill to program right? It's a good thing to think of things like this (mission-wise) but how easy/difficult would it be to implement?

[Javokis]

Unknown, but the main purpose of planning is to give direction. Not all plans go as planned. I'm thinking the mere basics of coding this would be nothing more than triggering voices in clicked on actors along with setting event flags. The hard part is creating dialog options or a dialog system that is different from a simple one click one response.

[Azraelthe7th]

Good point.

[Javokis]

On the other hand, this could be easier to do in Redemption. I can soooo do this in Redemption. Unfortunately, super high-depth models and new animations would not be in such a mod. Damnit! I'm starting to miss modding for Redemption. I haven't touched code in a long while. I barely passed C++ due to being rather apathetic towards coding this past month and a half. Ugh...

[Azraelthe7th]

We could probably reuse the models, but they'd have to be rigged for Redemption, and I'm barely even able to use Milkshape as it is.

If Blender could import/export into Redemption, or if a copy of Maya 3 was available somehow, I wouldn't mind using the models in there as a sort of preview, but as it stands, there's no such luck.

[Javokis]

You might want to talk to Dark Lobo or Zeke about that Milkshape problem. Otherwise, I could just play with modding as is. Besides, I'm not really bothered by aged graphics - especially Redemption's graphics.

[Azraelthe7th]

I'm not as bothered by aged graphics as I am with the polygon seams in the models.

Quick jump back on the original topic: if we're to rename Mercurio, I suggest we use Turms, from Etruscan mythology.  We could use Hermes too, but it could cause more confusion than anything else.

[ORI]

IF you really want to go with a riddle adventure how about programing random alternatives so players wont get some cheap answer from a walkthrough.

as in the clues are variables each with a random value and the solution to that investigation(equation) change accordingly so each time you play the game a different monk would be the answer to slightly different clues in the who-done-it story.
That is if you really really want players to "INVESTIGATE".

Personally I think the greatst thing about the mercurio situation was the story and the characters(voice overs and animation) because simple H&S gets old.

[Azraelthe7th]

Agreed.  I think we should look at any areas we can change to make them as different as possible from the original game, while giving run & gun players the opportunity to lash out randomly (and miss more interesting parts).

We'll have to find some voice actors too.