First, I know there's an "official" feedback thread, and several other threads with wishlists, but as I usually tend to write quite a lot, I chose to make my own, so I don't clog-up other people's threads. This here will also differ somewhat in the suggestions, as the suggestions would pertain to FC4, but will be more along the way of what I, personally, would've enjoyed more in FC3.
I picked up FC3 on Xbox 360 at the recent sale, and I was positively surprised.
The Islands, the Story, the Characters were a lot more... well, a lot more fun that I had expected. It wasn't as dark and serious and broody as FC2 - even the sinister opening of FC3 had a certain macabre humor I greatly appreciated. Some of the aspects felt somewhat "arcade-ish" in their implementation, but they worked quite well and didn`t detract from my experience. It was almost as if FC3 admits to itself that it's a video-game, and, from there, went on to have some fun. If you liked, you could even see that as a very clever social criticism, as our hero does seem to treat the disturbing and horrible events he and his friends experience almost like as if he were in a video-game himself.
There are really not a lot of direct complaints or issues I had so far, but if anything, the arcade-like nature of Skill-Upgrades and the rather under-utilized Crafting System seem to me the only "disappointing" (and I use that term very lightly and favorably) features.
As such I would like to try and explain how, for lack of a better phrasing, I would`ve done it. It's presumptuous, I know, but that's me.
Skill-Upgrades
Rather than having a list ready with all available skills, and gaining certain abilities and techniques simply by applying a Skill Point, I would've preferred a system that makes learning those techniques a process of discovery, practice, trial and error, and ultimately a reward.
You don't know what skills there are, there's no list, no "character-planning". You simply get rewarded for doing certain things in a certain way, preferably with the game only giving you limited information/hints on how to do it.
Which sounds rather vague, so here are a few examples:
Chain Takedown
Somewhat reminiscent of the despicable "Marathon-Lightweight-Commando" Class of Modern Warfare 2 MP, it is still a great ability to have, and there's quite a lot of fun to be had, trying to "line-up" your enemies for a few consecutive stabbings (I enjoy playing with AI in games, so I might appreciate that more than others). The way you "learn" it though, is not really learning, but "unlocking", as if the "Ancient Knowledge of the Chain Takedown" was already there, buried in your genes, and all it would need to be uncovered are a few very special tattoos.
A different way of "learning" the Chain Takedown might have been this:
You have become comfortable with the game controls (gauged by XP and finished missions) and have been shown the Takedown ability by Dennis, so the game starts to introduce new techniques for you to learn.
You get into a situation with two enemies in front of you, standing not too far apart, both having their backs turned (a situation the game will present you with, so you can learn the skill, but will not blatantly announce it).
Jason says "Damn, there's two... maybe, if I'm fast enough, I can take both of them down. Start with the one in the back, then quickly do the other.... and then I might puke for a while..."
You manage to do two Takedowns on the two enemies in under five seconds. You do them the regular way, pressing the melee-button/key when prompted.
Jason says "Huh. That... that was easier than expected. Maybe I could... I dunno, train doing that to make it even... easier. Faster. Oh, God, I am talking about killing people for `training´, I am so going to Hell..."
By that, you unlock a "Skill-Quest", a mini-quest that basically requires you to "Use 10 takedowns to dispatch 2 or more enemies with no more that five seconds between kills". If you finish that Quest, you have "learned" the Chain Takedown Skill (by practicing), which boils down to a "Shortcut". Because you are so practiced in chaining together takedowns, you don't need to press the melee-button anymore, you just move in the direction of the next enemy.
Knife Throw Takedown
I love that move. Nothing like taking out three people with a chain and then a knife takedown. But again, just "unlocking" the uncanny ability to accurately kill with a knife-throw is a bit... underwhelming in its approach.
A different way of learning the Knife-Throw Takedown might have been this:
You are experienced enough to learn the Knife Throw Takedown, so the game will, regularly but not always, present you with an opportunity to learn this technique.
You have one enemy in front of you, another a few meters away, too far to use a Chain Takedown.
You take down the first, then a semi-scripted event happens:
The other enemy turns around, sees you.
Jason says "F***!"
Time slows down.
You look down towards the knife on the enemy you just killed - a "Grab" prompt appears with the usual "interact" button/key.
If you are quick enough to react, you take the knife, then have to manually aim at the second enemy (still in slo-mo), then throw the knife with the usual "fire" button/key. The aiming reticule moves around quite a bit, so it`s not that easy (but also not really hard).
(If you don't hit him, you need to kill him the usual way, then wait for another opportunity to learn the Knife Throw Takedown - which should happen quickly)
You get lucky and kill him.
Jason says "Oh, f***! Oh, sh*t, oh f***! That... puh, that was AWESOME! YEAH! Yeah... wow. ... Puh... Sh*t, I got real lucky, there..."
You start a "Skill-Quest": Pt. 1: "You need to work you your knife-throwing skills."
You go and practice knife throwing at the village until you manage to win the "Skilled" challenge.
Skill Quest Pt 2: "Put your new-found skill to the test".
You need to perform another "manual" Knife-Throw Takedown (Takedown, grab knife, aim, throw). You will see how your accuracy with the knife has increased, the reticule only barely moving.
You use your skill to knife that b*tch.
Jason says "Alright! Booyah, B*tches! Who's the man?! Who's the... the... Oh, God, is that... brain? I... ugh. I-" Jason pukes.
You have learned the Knife Throw Takedown by practicing, and now only need to do a takedown with another enemy in range and press the "fire" button/key to automatically and accurately kill the second enemy with the thrown knife.
Grenade Takedown
You are ready to learn the Grenade Takedown (determined by experience, missions completed and at least 1 grenade kill).
You encounter a group of enemies around a broken-down car. three stand around the car, looking at the engine, trying to fix it, one stands a bit aside next to some brush (like a present from the game for you to learn this skill).
Jason says "Sh*t. I need those guys gone. I could use a grenade on the three by the car, and then... oh, wait, that dude has his own grenade... maybe... God, this is crazy... If I take him down, then use his grenade..."
You take the enemy down.
Time slows down.
You look down to the grenade on his belt - a "Pull Pin" Prompt appears with the usual interact button/key.
You fumble with the pin, get stuck with your hand on the dead man's belt, tear your hand away (mash "interact").
You fall to the ground on your @ss, but while falling, you kick the dead enemy towards the others, who turn around, shocked.
You realize you still have the grenade in your hand, and it's ticking.
You use the usual grenade button/key (prompt) to throw the grenade at the car, and it immediately explodes.
Jason says "Ow."
You start a Skill Quest. Pt. 1 "You (obviously) need more practice with grenades. Kill 10 people with grenades / Get 5 Multikills with Grenades"
You throw grenades and kill people.
Skill Quest Pt. 2: "Put your new-found skill to the test".
You need to find another opportunity like the first one (there would be different versions, with cars, with animals etc), perform another Takedown, then interact to pull the pin, but this time you don't fumble, you pull the pin and kick the "Man-grenade" (Prompt: "Grenade" Button/Key) deftly towards the other group of enemies, and Boom!
You have learned through practice the Grenade Takedown, and now only need to do a takedown and press the "Grenade" button/key to turn your victim into an explosive surprise for his friends.
By now, I would it is obvious what kind of system I imagine for learning new techniques. Something where you intuitively learn new techniques by discovering them, practicing them and then get skilled enough that you can use them via a "Short-Cut". The game presents you with opportunities, gives you hints and a little guidance, but in no way advertises them.
A very rudimentary variant of this is already in place in the game, certain unlock requirements (1 Death from Above to unlock Dual Death from Above, 10 Mounted Gun kills to unlock Cool Gunner, etc), but it's not really as deep or involving as I think it could and should be.
Furthermore, once you learned a skill, you could go to Dennis to perform special Rakyat Challenges for each of your learned skills, to earn your Tattoo.
But what of those skills that gain you passive abilities? Well, you would have to earn those, too, by successfully performing actions that pertain to those passive abilities. As a few examples:
Expert/Combat Archery
Every time you hit a moving target with an arrow, your reticule sway is lessened / or once enough hits have been done, decreases significantly.
Every time you hit with two arrows in quick succession, your draw and fire speed increase / or once enough hits have been done, increases significantly.
Steady Aim / Breath Control:
Kill 100/500 enemies while holding your breath with a Sniper Rilfe to increase the time you can hold your breath.
Deep Breath:
Spend 15:00 minutes diving to increase the time you can spend underwater without air.
And so on, and so forth.
I can't think of a skill that you could not earn or improve in such a way ("learning by doing" or "earning by doing repeatedly") - although some might need you to get a bit creative (Evasive Driving, Aimed Reload), while Sliding and Cooking Grenades should be "learned" once you think of simply doing them (press "crouch" while running; keep the grenade button down). It would make for a more engaging and (possibly) realistic character and skill progression than simply "unlocking" them.
Similarly, some of those rewards would not have to be limited and thus limit character progression at a certain point. If you like playing sneaky, the more people you sneak up on, the more silent you will eventually move. If you like playing snipey, the more enemies you kill with your sniper rifle, the less scope-sway there will be eventually. And so on, and so forth.
It's, I guess, something of a mix between Skyrim's, or actually more Oblivion's system - with a bit of Crysis 2/3 module leveling in MP; and the discovery of something like Weapon-Combos in Dead Rising 1/2. But organic. Intuitive. Smart. Engaging.
So, this is my first part of "What I would've done".
I will have to continue this later with my re-imagination of the crafting system, and all the great things that I could've seen done there to great effect.
I picked up FC3 on Xbox 360 at the recent sale, and I was positively surprised.
The Islands, the Story, the Characters were a lot more... well, a lot more fun that I had expected. It wasn't as dark and serious and broody as FC2 - even the sinister opening of FC3 had a certain macabre humor I greatly appreciated. Some of the aspects felt somewhat "arcade-ish" in their implementation, but they worked quite well and didn`t detract from my experience. It was almost as if FC3 admits to itself that it's a video-game, and, from there, went on to have some fun. If you liked, you could even see that as a very clever social criticism, as our hero does seem to treat the disturbing and horrible events he and his friends experience almost like as if he were in a video-game himself.
There are really not a lot of direct complaints or issues I had so far, but if anything, the arcade-like nature of Skill-Upgrades and the rather under-utilized Crafting System seem to me the only "disappointing" (and I use that term very lightly and favorably) features.
As such I would like to try and explain how, for lack of a better phrasing, I would`ve done it. It's presumptuous, I know, but that's me.
Skill-Upgrades
Rather than having a list ready with all available skills, and gaining certain abilities and techniques simply by applying a Skill Point, I would've preferred a system that makes learning those techniques a process of discovery, practice, trial and error, and ultimately a reward.
You don't know what skills there are, there's no list, no "character-planning". You simply get rewarded for doing certain things in a certain way, preferably with the game only giving you limited information/hints on how to do it.
Which sounds rather vague, so here are a few examples:
Chain Takedown
Somewhat reminiscent of the despicable "Marathon-Lightweight-Commando" Class of Modern Warfare 2 MP, it is still a great ability to have, and there's quite a lot of fun to be had, trying to "line-up" your enemies for a few consecutive stabbings (I enjoy playing with AI in games, so I might appreciate that more than others). The way you "learn" it though, is not really learning, but "unlocking", as if the "Ancient Knowledge of the Chain Takedown" was already there, buried in your genes, and all it would need to be uncovered are a few very special tattoos.
A different way of "learning" the Chain Takedown might have been this:
You have become comfortable with the game controls (gauged by XP and finished missions) and have been shown the Takedown ability by Dennis, so the game starts to introduce new techniques for you to learn.
You get into a situation with two enemies in front of you, standing not too far apart, both having their backs turned (a situation the game will present you with, so you can learn the skill, but will not blatantly announce it).
Jason says "Damn, there's two... maybe, if I'm fast enough, I can take both of them down. Start with the one in the back, then quickly do the other.... and then I might puke for a while..."
You manage to do two Takedowns on the two enemies in under five seconds. You do them the regular way, pressing the melee-button/key when prompted.
Jason says "Huh. That... that was easier than expected. Maybe I could... I dunno, train doing that to make it even... easier. Faster. Oh, God, I am talking about killing people for `training´, I am so going to Hell..."
By that, you unlock a "Skill-Quest", a mini-quest that basically requires you to "Use 10 takedowns to dispatch 2 or more enemies with no more that five seconds between kills". If you finish that Quest, you have "learned" the Chain Takedown Skill (by practicing), which boils down to a "Shortcut". Because you are so practiced in chaining together takedowns, you don't need to press the melee-button anymore, you just move in the direction of the next enemy.
Knife Throw Takedown
I love that move. Nothing like taking out three people with a chain and then a knife takedown. But again, just "unlocking" the uncanny ability to accurately kill with a knife-throw is a bit... underwhelming in its approach.
A different way of learning the Knife-Throw Takedown might have been this:
You are experienced enough to learn the Knife Throw Takedown, so the game will, regularly but not always, present you with an opportunity to learn this technique.
You have one enemy in front of you, another a few meters away, too far to use a Chain Takedown.
You take down the first, then a semi-scripted event happens:
The other enemy turns around, sees you.
Jason says "F***!"
Time slows down.
You look down towards the knife on the enemy you just killed - a "Grab" prompt appears with the usual "interact" button/key.
If you are quick enough to react, you take the knife, then have to manually aim at the second enemy (still in slo-mo), then throw the knife with the usual "fire" button/key. The aiming reticule moves around quite a bit, so it`s not that easy (but also not really hard).
(If you don't hit him, you need to kill him the usual way, then wait for another opportunity to learn the Knife Throw Takedown - which should happen quickly)
You get lucky and kill him.
Jason says "Oh, f***! Oh, sh*t, oh f***! That... puh, that was AWESOME! YEAH! Yeah... wow. ... Puh... Sh*t, I got real lucky, there..."
You start a "Skill-Quest": Pt. 1: "You need to work you your knife-throwing skills."
You go and practice knife throwing at the village until you manage to win the "Skilled" challenge.
Skill Quest Pt 2: "Put your new-found skill to the test".
You need to perform another "manual" Knife-Throw Takedown (Takedown, grab knife, aim, throw). You will see how your accuracy with the knife has increased, the reticule only barely moving.
You use your skill to knife that b*tch.
Jason says "Alright! Booyah, B*tches! Who's the man?! Who's the... the... Oh, God, is that... brain? I... ugh. I-" Jason pukes.
You have learned the Knife Throw Takedown by practicing, and now only need to do a takedown with another enemy in range and press the "fire" button/key to automatically and accurately kill the second enemy with the thrown knife.
Grenade Takedown
You are ready to learn the Grenade Takedown (determined by experience, missions completed and at least 1 grenade kill).
You encounter a group of enemies around a broken-down car. three stand around the car, looking at the engine, trying to fix it, one stands a bit aside next to some brush (like a present from the game for you to learn this skill).
Jason says "Sh*t. I need those guys gone. I could use a grenade on the three by the car, and then... oh, wait, that dude has his own grenade... maybe... God, this is crazy... If I take him down, then use his grenade..."
You take the enemy down.
Time slows down.
You look down to the grenade on his belt - a "Pull Pin" Prompt appears with the usual interact button/key.
You fumble with the pin, get stuck with your hand on the dead man's belt, tear your hand away (mash "interact").
You fall to the ground on your @ss, but while falling, you kick the dead enemy towards the others, who turn around, shocked.
You realize you still have the grenade in your hand, and it's ticking.
You use the usual grenade button/key (prompt) to throw the grenade at the car, and it immediately explodes.
Jason says "Ow."
You start a Skill Quest. Pt. 1 "You (obviously) need more practice with grenades. Kill 10 people with grenades / Get 5 Multikills with Grenades"
You throw grenades and kill people.
Skill Quest Pt. 2: "Put your new-found skill to the test".
You need to find another opportunity like the first one (there would be different versions, with cars, with animals etc), perform another Takedown, then interact to pull the pin, but this time you don't fumble, you pull the pin and kick the "Man-grenade" (Prompt: "Grenade" Button/Key) deftly towards the other group of enemies, and Boom!
You have learned through practice the Grenade Takedown, and now only need to do a takedown and press the "Grenade" button/key to turn your victim into an explosive surprise for his friends.
By now, I would it is obvious what kind of system I imagine for learning new techniques. Something where you intuitively learn new techniques by discovering them, practicing them and then get skilled enough that you can use them via a "Short-Cut". The game presents you with opportunities, gives you hints and a little guidance, but in no way advertises them.
A very rudimentary variant of this is already in place in the game, certain unlock requirements (1 Death from Above to unlock Dual Death from Above, 10 Mounted Gun kills to unlock Cool Gunner, etc), but it's not really as deep or involving as I think it could and should be.
Furthermore, once you learned a skill, you could go to Dennis to perform special Rakyat Challenges for each of your learned skills, to earn your Tattoo.
But what of those skills that gain you passive abilities? Well, you would have to earn those, too, by successfully performing actions that pertain to those passive abilities. As a few examples:
Expert/Combat Archery
Every time you hit a moving target with an arrow, your reticule sway is lessened / or once enough hits have been done, decreases significantly.
Every time you hit with two arrows in quick succession, your draw and fire speed increase / or once enough hits have been done, increases significantly.
Steady Aim / Breath Control:
Kill 100/500 enemies while holding your breath with a Sniper Rilfe to increase the time you can hold your breath.
Deep Breath:
Spend 15:00 minutes diving to increase the time you can spend underwater without air.
And so on, and so forth.
I can't think of a skill that you could not earn or improve in such a way ("learning by doing" or "earning by doing repeatedly") - although some might need you to get a bit creative (Evasive Driving, Aimed Reload), while Sliding and Cooking Grenades should be "learned" once you think of simply doing them (press "crouch" while running; keep the grenade button down). It would make for a more engaging and (possibly) realistic character and skill progression than simply "unlocking" them.
Similarly, some of those rewards would not have to be limited and thus limit character progression at a certain point. If you like playing sneaky, the more people you sneak up on, the more silent you will eventually move. If you like playing snipey, the more enemies you kill with your sniper rifle, the less scope-sway there will be eventually. And so on, and so forth.
It's, I guess, something of a mix between Skyrim's, or actually more Oblivion's system - with a bit of Crysis 2/3 module leveling in MP; and the discovery of something like Weapon-Combos in Dead Rising 1/2. But organic. Intuitive. Smart. Engaging.
So, this is my first part of "What I would've done".
I will have to continue this later with my re-imagination of the crafting system, and all the great things that I could've seen done there to great effect.