Language Usage Via dialogue mode (Or making dialogue modes NOT useless)

[hannafamilycomputer]

I know that I hate having to switch those modes constantly, and really appreciate being able to use "Interact" mode as the "yeah, do what I almost certainly wanted to do when I clicked there", and then have Steal/Info/Talk as overrides for unusual situations where I don't want to do the normal thing. But then I also have gotten used to the fact that newer games treat Crouch as Steal mode, which removes one of the reasons for a separate interaction mode.

I agree. Having a default action is great, and it is nice that there are different modes which give you more ways to interact with objects.

But I'd rather have the modes then a "crouch to steal", though I am used to it. In classic if you were using the "Arena" interface, you would have to crouch or use the pg up/ pg dwn keys to collect loot off the floor. Or you can crouch, then jump to get through those "window" structures in dungeons.

Crouching down dosen't always mean you are trying to sneak around and steal things. It doesn't make sense for realism. Otherwise, the Skyrim guards should just walk around and arrest anyone who crouhes down, even if it was just to pick up the sweetroll they dropped.

(Also, offtopic, but sort of related: when swimming underwater in dungeons in dfu, if you have too much weight you sink to the bottom. You don't sink, it makes you crouch. You can press the button to stand up and move faster.)

I've brought up the issues with the terrible "Interaction Modes" system in the past, and it is possible that optional changes may be considered in base DFU to bring this into the post-90s era of gaming (including, among many other RPGs, later TES titles) by ditching the modes altogether in favor of left-clicking (for talk/use/open/loot), right-clicking (for info), and crouching (for stealing). Not only is the frequent need to switch between modes extremely cumbersome and annoying, many of the existing modes' functions overlap/duplicate each other.

Yeah. Dialogue mode is 100% useless and does the exact same thing as grab/interact mode. That's why I suggested giving it a use for pacifying enimies. Left click already does all that stuff in grab mode. I think that it would be better to have the info pop-up if you hover the crosshair over stuff for a few seconds, maybe holding it there for 1 second gives you the item name, 3 seconds shows you it's quality, kind of like he suggested above.

I still would like a choice between the two though, but I like the current system now, it just needs to be better implemented.
(It is annoying to get arrested by guards because you clicked on something and forgot you were in steal mode.)

[Jeoshua]

I seem to remember Dialogue being used to pacify enemies in Classic. You're telling me that is not true in DFU?

[Lokkrin Zhataros]

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[hannafamilycomputer]

I changed the title of the opening post to make the rant more relevant.

Other suggestions to make modes more useful (for people who like the options):

A: When you click on a locked door, it should simply say "This door is locked". If you click on the door in info mode, it will give you the quality of the lock (what it does now).

Explanation: I think realizing the door is locked would come before realizing how poorly made the lock is would be more realistic, other than basically saying "this door has a high level lock".

B: You can use steal mode on flat npcs (like wizard's in mages guild)

Explanation: You can do this in Arena. If you go to the mages guild and are a theif, you can steal an item from the mage. The mage will disappear from the location, and guards will appear. Arena did not have a reputation system, so this was easy to exploit. (Rob mage, exit store, enter store, rob again) But daggerfall guards come after you after crimes you commit indoors, so there wouldn't be the easiest Arena exploit. Also, just the thought of attempting to pickpocket the king of worms would be interesting. (Guess it would just create a default lich inventory for you to loot.)

This would just make things more realistic and give the player more control of their actions with the game world.

[Lokkrin Zhataros]

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[Jeoshua]

It's out of the scope of this thread but I always wanted to be able to retry lockpicking. You could balance it by having a failed lockpicking attempt send out an alarm signal to (very) close by monsters and make sure that it's considered a crime to try. Pick a hard lock long enough an a mob or guard is sure to notice. Not entirely sure if lock picking is skill based or involves a roll, but it should involve a roll.

[Lokkrin Zhataros]

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[hannafamilycomputer]

New idea, based a bit on one of the previous suggestions on this thread:

C: Info mode on eniemes gives you how much damage they have taken. But not hp bars. They are dumb and immersion breaking. Instead use discriptions on how your eneimes are feeling:

What pops up.................... Hp %
Healthy.................................. 90%
Injured.................................. 60%
Wounded............................ 25%
Gravely injured................. 1%
Dead........................................ 0% (only activated if click on corpse)

(This is based on neverwinter nights, which uses a similar method)

[Lokkrin Zhataros]

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[jayhova]

While I think it is indeed immersion-breaking to have enemies you don't see and don't see you pacified. I disagree that this should be an active action on the player's part. The pacify action should require line-of-sight to operate but should be otherwise unchanged.