Party NPC's in storyline?

[Franz Schubert]

I know it might be kind of pointless posting this, in light of what's been going on at BIS lately (nothing at all), but I thought it might be an interesting discussion anyway. What do you guys think of the idea of having the party NPC's (like Sulik, Cassidy, etc.) integrated into the story line, in terms of the main quest. FO1/2 didn't do this, but I wonder if it could be done for FO3. I think it would be cool, but there exists the possibility that it might infringe on the open-endedness of gameplay. For instance, when playing FO2, I almost never have the same combination of NPCs in my party, but if I was forced to pick up an NPC to complete the game, it might be annoying.

[atoga]

Oh yes, I'm all for it. NPCs need to be more dynamic, or at least given a very interesting personality. Of course that doesn't mean each NPC is on an epic quests, or is good for any sidequests at all. However, it should mean something to actually have a party rather than a bunch of extra guns and pack animals lying around at your disposal. Simply, NPCs need to be more believable.

A good example of this is Virgil in Arcanum, or any of the NPCs in Torment (unfortunately, the Torment NPCs were only conceptually good, and were impossible to customize or make more interesting.)

Edit - of course, not all NPCs need to have a detailed background or motivation. Some really just are hired guns and wanderers, and while they might take interest in your quest or somehow make themselves a part of it, that doesn't mean they need to lead you off in a complete other direction.

[Kashluk]

It sounds good - in theory. But the thing is, that I doubt it'll be good... It's tough to make and if they screw up, we'll just end up with a less linear Fallout.

[Franz Schubert]

You mean "more linear" or "less non-linear" right?

[jetbaby]

How could it be anything but good? Having NPCs that tie into the main plot would be an excellent idea! NPC A. will join your party and through his ties to X faction you will gain easier acess to Facility X. However, NPC B, a known standout hater of the people running Facility X would likely be noticed and cause a wee bit of commotion at the gate. And of course, just your basic hired goons and thungs, but that doesnt mean they cant be fleshed out well thought out characters as well.

[Canis Lupus]

If it was sorta like the Baldur's Gate II sort of thing - they're part of the story, though they don't alter the outcome of the game in any major way, it'd be pretty good.

[CloudNineGT]

NPC's should always tie into the story, but never be necissary for completion.

[danferry]

Well, all I ask is that they complete all the quests. In FO2, I really hated all the uncompletable quests (I guess that that is because I have finished the game, and want new stuff). :eek: