Some suggestions about cities

[rrdrl12]

I have some suggestions that would make the game better:

• At night, cities should close their gates. this is logical because sincerely, who would come at night? bandits and assassins?
  If you arrived at a city at night, you could have two options: camp until day(sometimes you are ambushed by bandits at midnight) or attempt to climb the walls. Depending on your agility and athletics skill, it is succesful (and you get the city menu as normal) or you fail and you lose, idk, 50% of your health? or enough to qualify as "wounded"(unfit for battle)
• Doing anything in the city should last an hour, because how can you go to the marketplace, buy lots of goods and armour, go to a tournament and then to the tavern and when you go out it's still the same hour?
• Similar to #1, if you find yourself in the city at night, you can't go out. You can either wait (and also risk the bandit ambush) or try to convince the watch captain (based on persuasion skill) to let you go out on "official business" 
• Universities where you can buy books and learn skills for money and time, everytime you go to the university, it costs more and more. Also, if you have low intelligence, there should be something like "you try to ask for classes, but the students laugh at you in a fancy language you don't quite understand and you end up feeling like a country bumpkin". Universities should vary between nations (swadia: swadian academy of war, where you learn combat-based skills like power strike and weapon master, with one-handed weapons and two handed weapons, etc. Rhodoks: Rhodok university of the fine arts: learn persuasion, trade,  and CHA-based skills, also, polearms. Vaegirs: Vaegir royal institution of higher learning. learn defensive skills like shield and that one that raises your HP (ironskin?) Khergits: Khergit riding academy. learn riding, tracking, path-finding, archery,  etc. Nords and Sarranids: I don't know, i think i've covered every skill here.
• a specialized person for every city. like, a doctor from which you can learn healing skills using persuasion or an old warrior, maybe even a retired strategist.WHatever use you get for them depends on persuasion.

 

[Kaelranar]

Agreeing that the cities could be fleshed out with more functions. Approaching at night though should present you with a third choice though I think, approaching the gate guard and asking for entrance/shelter or something, and then you would be able to enter based on several factors (Relation to faction, town, town owner and persuasion) Going out at night should be completely up to you IMHO. But during sieges however, currently you are allowed to come and go as you please to a twon under siege (even if you're part of the faction opposing the siege force). I think that the siege commander should determine who passes or not, this would even up for a new quest "Smuggle supplies to town under siege"

Having time pass while you're in the city and doing stuff is also a great idea. Universities could also add some depth to the game, as long as it isn't overpowered.

 

[rrdrl12]

yeah, those are great ideas too. maybe some banking offices where you get high-paying but very hard jobs too, and also loans.

 

[killerunicorn5]

Or you could climb over the walls, kill the gate keeper, and then let your buds in.

Great idea though.

 

[rrdrl12]

This idea needs more views and more support!

 

[corrupted]

Towns* would benefit from more functions. Stuff like universities though should only be available in towns with good economies. I think an hour for actions is too long, since it would be too much for someone who wants to glance at the merchant's stand on his way to the tavern. Plus, it seems the Calradian way is to put all of a town's important places very near the entrance. So I'm not sure about time passing in towns because any amount of time that isn't so large it's unrealistic would be so small it wouldn't even matter, except for the tournament which should cause an hour to pass. The DOS game Darklands had a great system of time passing in towns, town curfew, and dealing with walls at nighttime. It was far more involved than M&B's towns, though.

The one thing that really bothered me about towns is fighting in them. Specifically, that you always do it alone. You'd think you would bring some companions along for just that sort of thing, especially when sneaking into an enemy town. If you can convince the guards that you're just a travelling peasant, it shouldn't be much harder to convince them to let you be accompanied to the market by Uncle Firentis, cousin Rolf, and brother Nord Huscarl—whose mother was so confident that he would be one someday that she named him after it, you explain to the guard. But what I question even more is that bandit attacks happen in towns after all. In villages it makes sense, but in all except the most underpopulated towns there should be enough guards and other people around that even the stupidest criminal would decide that attacking someone openly is a bad idea. And if they do attack you, there should be guards and maybe armed citizens coming to your help. I could say more about random bandit attacks in towns, but I suppose that would be more appropriate for another thread entirely.

 

[killerunicorn5]

I liked this idea so much, I feel that I should say great job again!

 

[rrdrl12]

Thanks! 

 

[Cyborg Eastern European]

Nice work on the ideas. I agree.
By the way, since I'm yet to try WB, is there any supply system included for cities?
It could be based of the wealth and it'd influence how much stuff the merchants would have and how long it could hold out in a siege and stuff like it. Could also add quests to increase the stocks of a depleted city.

 

[Askorti]

Excuse me, but climbing on walls of friendly town?
It sounds a little bit weird. Just like you can't approach to guard and say something like "hey dude, I'm here with 160 of my buddies, we came for a tavern brawl that's going on this night, can we enter?"
And if he disagree: "do you want to know how your teeth taste like? I can feed you with them if you won't let me in!"

Universities... This is not a bad idea as long, as possibility of learning skills there is limited. I'd not like situation, where a very good merchant becomes a good warrior as well just because he has a lot of money and time.
The same way as a warrior shouldn't be able to become a doctor.
But overall idea is good, it just have to be balanced.

 

[Cyborg Eastern European]

Excuse me, but climbing on walls of friendly town?
It sounds a little bit weird. Just like you can't approach to guard and say something like "hey dude, I'm here with 160 of my buddies, we came for a tavern brawl that's going on this night, can we enter?"
And if he disagree: "do you want to know how your teeth taste like? I can feed you with them if you won't let me in!"

Medieval towns had a tendency not to like folks creeping about at night much.
Especially armed ones.
Besides. Someone did mention that it'd depend on your stat with the city and it's faction.

 

[killerunicorn5]

Just like you can't approach to guard and say something like "hey dude, I'm here with 160 of my buddies, we came for a tavern brawl that's going on this night, can we enter?"

Me and my 900 men army can.

 

[Dark Horse]

I think towns need some definite improvements, but some of these particular ideas I'm not so keen on. Being barred entry simply because it's night?? There were often small side gates in walled towns to allow single travelers passage at such times. Obviously a massive army can't squeeze it's way through a hole large enough for 1 or 2 people to pass at a time, so such alternate passages were not uncommon. You also have to remember this is medieval times we're talking about... no cars to speed you to town while there's still daylight in the sky. Most peasants would arrive on foot after a somewhat long journey and thus arriving at night would be quite normal. I'm more for realism in games, and climbing a guarded wall without raising eyebrows seems much more far flung than getting into a settlement at night without trouble. Questioning from the guards about your purpose at the settlement would be a nice touch though I think.

And every little thing taking 1 hour? How the hell would it take an hour to buy some bread? I can see your point about time being unrealistic in the game, but your solution seems counter-productive, kind of taking things the wrong way, only in the opposite direction. Perhaps actions could take time, but not a standard 'hour' for everything (just doesn't make sense)... maybe being in the market should actually be measured as far as how long you are spending there, and if you take long enough, then an hour has passed. Things like tournaments (not properly represented at all in the game) would obviously be at least a day-long activity, and realistically they would take place over several days. (please fix tourneys and feasts TaleWorlds... they could be so much better)