[Mod Request | Idea] Storyline with decisions and consequences.

[ambivalence]

I know, it sounds a bit hard to ask, but here's what I mean.

For example, some outsider wants us to help him – seems like an ordinary rimworld event – but we turn him away. The decision is saved, some timer is set and one year passed – surprise, now we know him as a faction leader that wants revenge (-X to faction relationships and series of hard raids). It's just the first example that crossed my mind – these sequences could be longer, but the framework, however, would be the same: question, answer, timer, random/hardcoded consequence. More complex variation is: trigger, question, answer, if/then/else-consequence. Is it possible to create trigger-based incidents which ask player for a decision to make? Ideally, some kind of framework, so modders could use it for their stories.

When you've set numbers of these timers, game would become like TV-series with all the cross-references and wow-effects, especially if the time gaps are long enough.

[AngleWyrm]

I've had the incident where a refugee is running from attackers:

• Saving them results in a new colonist
• Letting them die and it turns out they were the faction leader and the mob killed them

[ambivalence]

Another thing possible to implement here: updating backstories according to these decisions.

[Raccoon]

I realy like this idea. Sounds awesome.

This shoud even give us more possibility's like

- After rescuing an Space Engineer after some months they are sending some Cargo Pods as gift.
- When a "Trader" comes around and his crew get shot down they are sending some Raider packs as consequences.

[AngleWyrm]

If there's a valid story down multiple paths it could be fun to travel them. If it's just Door number three has a boogie man behind it that might better be described as a dead end rather than part of a path.

The motivation to create hardship is strong, and how to do it correctly isn't usually taught, so I'd like to offer some suggestions on the matter:

• The purpose of grief is to define a course of action as undesirable when compared to other things that could have been done.
• Creating branching stories where one of the possible choices is painful is the same thing as defining the morals/ethics of the game universe. It is 'bad' to take that path and 'good' to take a different path.
• plan a spread that includes 'bad', 'good' and some in-betweeny grey areas.

[ambivalence]

up?

[ambivalence]

haven't played for 2 years. desperately want something like what was described in this topic. we all love rimworld for its stories, for gods sake! :3

[CruelBanana]

I love this idea. In my opinion, the events shall be random for more replayability, and more "wow" effect. For example, let's say you turned the colonist away. An "evil" decision, but sometimes it would result in him becoming a vigilante and destroying raider posts around the world.
Or, on the other hand, you saved a refugee and in a few weeks, he turns on you during a raid, since he was an infiltrator.
Rimworld would be much more interesting with such things indeed, and would make stories much better.

[ambivalence]

CurelBanana, probably you'd like to spread the word in your signature:

Code Select Expand

mod request: [b][url=https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=30782]storylines[/url][/b]

I agree that some decisions should have a probability of a backfire, but in a reasonable way. If you decide to be evil in your deeds, in 90% you should be punished in some way. However, it would be even better if that 90% or whatsoever number could be calculated first (depending on the number of people in your colony, your colony's wealth etc). I also like the idea of gray areas, but it's always easier to say rather than implement in code, actually doing something.

The main need is to have some kind of framework which could allow creating the stories:

• creating pawns/guests/traders/permanent dwellers with special backstories
• manipulating backstories of the current colony dwellers (ideally, not overwriting, but adding)
• allowing to add them traits as a consequence
• calling global events like eclipse or toxic rain
• calling for raid (optionally: with a specific/story-mentioned pawn)
• checking for an available technology (giving a «free» technology)
• checking for prisoners (optionally: with positive or negative loyalty)
• changing global relations (with a story-mentioned faction/with every but a story-mentioned one)
• remembering every answer to make use of it in further quests
• allowing to start a specific story only when specific story is finished or finished with a specific result (allowing really good storytelling opportunities)
• last but not least, pausing the game with popups

etc.

Probably, a user should have the ability to pick a specific pawn for a decision, so if the consequences are negative, your group will: dislike him, kill him, throw him out of a colony (in some scenarios it could alleviate negative consequences because your colony could ask for mercy this way). Ideally, it should be an easy xml-pattern for a story creator like what is the trigger (or if it occurs randomly), what's next, so what, check for trait, another pop-up, that's it.

By saying «story-mentioned» I mean, for example:

• a pawn defined specifically in the final xml (optionally: with poor/good/great armor and weapons)
• player-chosen pawn (one of the current dwellers, the one who is responsible for the decision)
• game-defined pawn: current leader of X faction
• random: tribal, bandit, prisoner, faction-defined pawn
• random/specific faction

etc

I'd donate for the proper realisation.