Two options to the same goal?

nikoagonistes · June 2012

I'm working on my first mission for the Foundry, I wonder if I can do this:
Map 1 (Ground):
Go to leader
A. Talk to him
B. Attack him
After doing A or B, you hear from your ship that an enemy fleet has entered the system.
If you chose A, the enemy captain will say X.
If you chose B, the enemy captain will say Y.
You beam up the ship (without leaving the room.)

Map 2 (Space):
At the start of the battle, you have to choices:
A1. Choose this if you had chosen A
B1. Choose this if you had chosen B
You then defeat the enemy fleet (the main objective of the map)
You objective after that is to hail the fleet.
If you chose A1, you will get debriefing X1.
If you chose B1, you will get debriefing Y1.
The mission is then complete.

I know that you can't have two contradictory objectives, but can this be done. I know about the "mutually dissappearing bottles" trick (if you chose choice/object A, choice/object B will dissappear, and vise versa), but can the scenario I propose above be done (and without it appearing too unnatural or contrived?)

(Also, there will be more to this mission than the above-mentioned stuff. This is only the stuff I'm not sure can be done.)

backyardserenade · June 2012

You can do this more or less, as far as I know.

But the options A and B would need to be on the same map (map 2). They also need to be in the map as pop-up dialog (not in the story progression!).

You could also ask the player somehow at the beginning of map 2 what they choose in map 1. But that would feel very unnatural.

bazag · June 2012

I've done something like this in 2 of my missions.

What I did was to use hidden walls to make sure the npc group did not attack and then drop the walls if the player provokes them.

this would allow you to talk but also fight.

have the dialog continue if the player is suitably diplomatic and have another dialog appear triggered when the enemy mob 'completes'.

On the second map as a map dialog have an npc ask the status of the pot2ntiakky killed person as a map dialog object. Later you can use that to modify which through a later dialog they go down by hiding and showing buttons using 'Dialog Prompt Reached' as the trigger.

drogyn1701 · June 2012

This can definitely be done. I did something similar in "Over There." Essentially you have to do it with triggers and not objectives. You have to make the player make the same choice, usually by asking them what they chose in a map dialogue, and spawning different objects/enemies/friendlies based on what dialogue option they pick.

castsbugc · June 2012

Thats the main thing, you cannot do any of the choices inside the main storyboard itself, the only way to create an illusion of freedom is to do it 'off the grid' The downside to this is you WILL get people who will complain and rate your mission low because you give them freedom.

galactrix · June 2012

castsbugc wrote: »

Thats the main thing, you cannot do any of the choices inside the main storyboard itself, the only way to create an illusion of freedom is to do it 'off the grid' The downside to this is you WILL get people who will complain and rate your mission low because you give them freedom.

Freedom of choice?! 1 star!

Two options to the same goal?

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