The development team has spent numerous hours artfully crafting beautiful scenes for players to walk around in and explore, but beyond this surface level beauty we find that it is merely a hollow shell, a mask to hide the shallow depths of it's immersive potential.
A few, very simple, additions could be added to the game that would enhance the players immersion and their enjoyment of these scenes:
1. Hidden loot cache - A quest would be given to the player by a notable in a settlement, the quest would detail the location this hidden cache of supplies, this cache would be a physical chest located in a random or predetermined place hidden within a scene, such as a town, or a castle, or a village. Once you traveled to this location you would enter the scene and begin exploring the nearby area, searching through every nook and cranny of the scene as you seek to find the chest full of loot. You find the chest and a bunch of small valuables such as jewelry or trade goods, or perhaps even weapons or armor can be obtained from this hidden chest. At this point the player would be given two options: A. Return to the quest giver for your share of reward money. or B. Keep the loot you found in the chest, losing reputation.
2. Player owned homes - In large Town settlements, or potentially small Villages: A pre-determined piece of property (an apartment, a cottage, a manor) would be available to purchase by the player. When a player purchases one of these homes, the empty building then will automatically generate the basic necessary furniture and decorations. (More optional decorations could be added later as the player could have options to customize his/her home.) A chest would be available for the player to store their loot, (similar to a Stash), and the player could also access the item menu from within the scene itself using this chest, allowing you to change clothes if you wanted. A bed would also be available to the player, where he/she could access the "wait for some time" function from inside the scene itself, but it would be "sleep for some time" where it just makes your screen turn black then automatically fast forwards time by 12-24 hours. If a group of bandits is attacking the Village that I have my home in, I will be more incentivized to go help that Village, as that's where my family lives and I must protect. If an army is besieging the settlement that I have my home in, I will also want to defend my property.
3. Raid in progress - Some quests allow you to fight off Bandits that are raiding a nearby village, however the villagers are always safely locked away in their houses and it's just your army and the bandits in the scene. What if in some instances, we arrive too late to warn the villagers to hide in their homes, and we arrive into the scene during a raid in progress, bandits chasing down innocent people and trying to kill them. The player would have the option to flee the settlement, or fight to save and protect as many innocent villagers as they try to rush into their houses.
These were just a few quick ideas I had that I thought would be worth sharing and getting your feedback on, as I believe adding some of these features would greatly improve immersion and make bannerlord scenes feel more alive.
A few, very simple, additions could be added to the game that would enhance the players immersion and their enjoyment of these scenes:
1. Hidden loot cache - A quest would be given to the player by a notable in a settlement, the quest would detail the location this hidden cache of supplies, this cache would be a physical chest located in a random or predetermined place hidden within a scene, such as a town, or a castle, or a village. Once you traveled to this location you would enter the scene and begin exploring the nearby area, searching through every nook and cranny of the scene as you seek to find the chest full of loot. You find the chest and a bunch of small valuables such as jewelry or trade goods, or perhaps even weapons or armor can be obtained from this hidden chest. At this point the player would be given two options: A. Return to the quest giver for your share of reward money. or B. Keep the loot you found in the chest, losing reputation.
2. Player owned homes - In large Town settlements, or potentially small Villages: A pre-determined piece of property (an apartment, a cottage, a manor) would be available to purchase by the player. When a player purchases one of these homes, the empty building then will automatically generate the basic necessary furniture and decorations. (More optional decorations could be added later as the player could have options to customize his/her home.) A chest would be available for the player to store their loot, (similar to a Stash), and the player could also access the item menu from within the scene itself using this chest, allowing you to change clothes if you wanted. A bed would also be available to the player, where he/she could access the "wait for some time" function from inside the scene itself, but it would be "sleep for some time" where it just makes your screen turn black then automatically fast forwards time by 12-24 hours. If a group of bandits is attacking the Village that I have my home in, I will be more incentivized to go help that Village, as that's where my family lives and I must protect. If an army is besieging the settlement that I have my home in, I will also want to defend my property.
3. Raid in progress - Some quests allow you to fight off Bandits that are raiding a nearby village, however the villagers are always safely locked away in their houses and it's just your army and the bandits in the scene. What if in some instances, we arrive too late to warn the villagers to hide in their homes, and we arrive into the scene during a raid in progress, bandits chasing down innocent people and trying to kill them. The player would have the option to flee the settlement, or fight to save and protect as many innocent villagers as they try to rush into their houses.
These were just a few quick ideas I had that I thought would be worth sharing and getting your feedback on, as I believe adding some of these features would greatly improve immersion and make bannerlord scenes feel more alive.
