Choose your traits

[RedVanGhoul]

Part of the issue I have with classes is that there aren't enough, or rather there aren't any that I would actually want to play. There is a hunter, but no miner. There is a tinkerer but no blacksmith. I understand that there are class mods out there, but sometimes they don't play nice with other mods.

What would be neat to see instead is a system to choose your own traits at character creation, similar to Project Zomboid or Abiotic Factor. Negative traits give you points that can then be spent on Positive traits. That way you wouldn't need to add extra classes, but instead have the players design their own to fit what they want to do.

Adding some sort of growing skill system like xSkills would also benefit this a lot, as you could make traits that affect those skills.

[StCatharines]

That could be quite interesting, as long as certain traits are very high cost. Perhaps an additional class alongside commoner: custom.

[LadyWYT]

I was thinking about this the other day after tinkering with Morrowind and Oblivion. I do like the class system, as it does give a nice, balanced variety and sometimes you just want to jump right in and play. On the other hand, it could be interesting to have a "custom class" option that lets you pick a handful of traits from a list before dumping you into the world. Would it be balanced? Absolutely not! You'd probably have to disable it when setting up a server. But I could see some players having fun by picking the worst trait combinations and trying to survive. Likewise, there are times when you want to set everything to easy mode and just unwind after a hard day at work, so making a custom class and picking all the best traits could also be a viable option.

The main drawback I see though is that if you can choose your class traits at the start, it takes away some of the specialness of having specific classes. I think a better option might be to keep the classes as they are now(and possibly add a few more later on), and instead have some traits be unlocked by doing various things in the game. Perhaps you could pay NPCs to learn new skills, or complete some quests to pick up a new trait. You could probably also have some traits hinge upon which story choices you make or how you treat NPCs, which would help bring more replay value to the main story. Some of the traits(like those affected by story choices) might be permanent, while others(like paying trainers or acquiring a criminal bounty) might be more negotiable...for a price.

1 hour ago, RedVanGhoul said:

Adding some sort of growing skill system like xSkills would also benefit this a lot, as you could make traits that affect those skills.

Having just flat skill perks like XSkills would also be an option. That mod is probably the backbone of my modlist, as it gives a nice method of shaping a character further, but still makes you earn those skill points! I'd like to see a more robust system than what XSkills does in the main game, but I think some of that hinges on how far into RPG territory the devs want to take Vintage Story.

[Thorfinn]

Welcome, @RedVanGhoul. 

Agreed. Something like Empire Earth's custom civilizations, where you could save it for next time, or load it and tweak it as you figure out what you liked/disliked. So many of the current classes only make sense in a multi-player world, and even then, only if everyone talks things through so you don't all end up as Clockmakers or something.

Though personally, I always prefer games that randomize that. Just like you do the best you can with the mapgen you were dealt, you do the best you can with the traits that were rolled. I blame that trend on the release of the 1st edition AD&D Unearthed Arcana's Method V where you decided what class you wanted to play, and the system basically guaranteed you a Superman character of that class.

[ArgentLuna]

personally feel that the "classes" don't give you good enough to outweigh the negatives for them. The best part of them is the assorted crafting things which you can happily make separate from the classes.

Can see a use for classes if your playing on a server with several people being active together but I mostly play alone or with one or two friends and its not worth it (previous server we did have them and it was a right struggle for along time to get enough food for a Blackguard)

 

Edited June 25 by ArgentLuna

[Steel General]

I'd like to see 'kit bags' to set class.  We all start as Commoner with new, empty inventory slot for the kit bag.  The hunter's kit would be based on a knapping toolkit - a piece of hard stone, an antler, a pelt, a hunter's bag (maybe).  Collect the parts, craft the kit, drop it in the kit bag slot, and now you're a Hunter.  Perhaps the Blackguard kit requires a Blackguard pin - find it or buy it to complete the kit and be a Blackguard.  The Clockmaker's kit probably includes some forged items - it's a high-level kit, not something you can do in the early game.

This would also provide a vehicle for game progression.  When we have to use the glider to catch the Time Being's leg and begin our debug/assault, that might call for an as-yet unimagined class which would be inappropriate to the game's start.

[Thorfinn]

@Steel General, interesting. At least part of that could be modded in -- you would just have to base the character traits from the first item in your inventory. But in such a case, why wouldn't one just equip the Tailor bag whenever he wanted the tailored gambeson, so for pretty much the entire game, that kit sits in a chest somewhere. The clockmaker kit comes out when you want to repair translocators and whenever you wanted some useless pet who is always in the way of your attacks.

[Steel General]

I imagine that's exactly what one does with those classes.  They can just be useful when they're needed - no need to be so useless the rest of the time.  Perhaps kit bags are more appropriate to single-player, which is mostly what I do (and I always play Commoner, because none of the class bonuses seem worth the minuses). 

Insofar as a class is intended to fill a role in a group, kit bags would undermine that function.  Not completely - I could imagine a group running around as Blackguards, one of whom also carries a Tailor kit, one of whom also carries a Clockmaker kit, etc., for those occasions when they could be useful but without burdening everyone with the panoply of kits.

If the sum of a class's utility could reasonably sit on a shelf for most of the game, I question the utility of that class.  Maybe the 'Tailor' should just be a fancy workstation that anyone can eventually build.  The Clockmaker will surely see its utility grow in future development.

[Doctor Antiquarium]

I like this suggestion, as it would be very convenient in single player mode, where usually the most useful classes are hunter, blackguard and malefactor, and the least useful classes are commoner and clockmaker. And where having exclusive recipes for "x" classes may not be liked.

However, I also understand that these classes are more focused on collaborative and community (multiplayer) gameplay.

Perhaps both systems could be applied.
The "customize traits for your character" and "release all recipes" options would be disabled by default but could be enabled with commands or when customizing the world.

Classes would be enabled by default, and would be disabled by activating the "customize character traits" option, or perhaps, trait customization could be limited and made applicable to each class in the game.