I want to walk into a bank, pull out a sonic disrupter, and yell "Everybody on the floor!" (Obviously I have problems... but that''s not the point ) Combat situations in games are typically pretty one dimensional. You see enemy, you shoot enemy. Boring. How would you implement a bank job in gameplay? For that matter, how do you do siege / hostage situations when AI and communications in games is already a pretty tough problem for pure combat games? Here''s a thought (in the style of X-Com / Jagged Alliance): You can walk in and wave your weapon around, so what if, every time it was armed, the NPCs acted as if it was a robbery / siege situation. This means that noncombatant NPCs would flee, or freeze, or cower, depending on distance and personality. Combat NPCs like security or police would draw their weapons. If behind you, they''d order you not to move or shoot you. If in front, depending on some factor like skill / personality, they''d either freeze too, or try to draw their weapons as well (necessitating a firefight or standoff). Think of this like an overhead RTS: Once "frozen" any NPC under your power could be used like a unit. So the bank manager could be used to open the vault, or the poor hapless secretary could be used as a human shield. Your goal would be to get the money or whatever you were after, and get out of the situation. But if you couldn''t, then you''d have to deal with negotiators and SWAT / elite forces. In this case, you could use hostages and bargaining chips (even shooting them if you didn''t get your way?) The value of the hostages and the police force''s policy would determine if you get that jet your demanding, or a bullet in the head once out the door. You might even have to repel a SWAT entry attempt! BTW, I know this is a bit depraved, but I''m brainstorming on how to be the bad guy. What do you think? (And those of you in the U.S., don''t tell Lieberman, okay? ) -------------------- Just waiting for the mothership...

No replies? C''mon, are all you folks law abiding citizens? I thought video games were supposed to make you violent.

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Just waiting for the mothership...

You seem to have better notions on AI then I do,
especially on practical application.
I wanted to present some thoughts on your senario, ignore them
of course if they are not helpful.
As you know the key to a bank job is time. Most bank robbers
though are foolish enough to not pay attention to the factor. OR
"practise" meaning time their actions beforehand
Also the silent alarm. the alarm goes off probably as soon as the "baddie" walks through the door. Or in a more suburban area
as soon as he takes any dangerous actions.
Probably everything goes very well in the bank the "baddie" is given bags of money with no sign of trouble. At this point unless
she hangs around "baddie" leaves with the money.
Then what -how are you going to get away ie. your car will be found and you will probably be tailed as you leave. How are you going to "get rid" of the money especially with the potential for magnetic identification.
I would suggest a "parinoia" resource that goes up .
For example what if a cop tries to pull you over- but not for a bank job but because he wants to make his ticket quota.
If your Paranoia resource is maxed out the "baddie" takes of on a mad chase. then the player finds himself in a car chase
sub game.

anyway didnt want you to go postless

quote: Original post by lupine

You seem to have better notions on AI then I do,
especially on practical application.

Not really. Just some thoughts on UI. I''m thinking mainly of using existing RTS conventions in a more RPG environment is all. So things like "Guard" could apply not just to a friendly character, inwhich case the AI protects a friend, but to a hostile (meaning, "don''t move")

quote:
As you know the key to a bank job is time. Most bank robbers
though are foolish enough to not pay attention to the factor. OR
"practise" meaning time their actions beforehand

Great point! Yeah, I''m thinking maybe the bigger the payoff, the shorter the time in addition to how tough the police response is. So robbing Fort Knox will get you a QUICK response time.

quote:
Also the silent alarm. the alarm goes off probably as soon as the "baddie" walks through the door. Or in a more suburban area
as soon as he takes any dangerous actions.

So, then, I wonder if disguise should be an option (i.e., hidden weapons, long overcoat, gun in pocket, etc.)

quote:
Probably everything goes very well in the bank the "baddie" is given bags of money with no sign of trouble. At this point unless
she hangs around "baddie" leaves with the money.

Yeah, I guess this would depend on the complications the badguy runs into. Maverick guards, armed or hysterical hostages...

quote:
Then what -how are you going to get away ie. your car will be found and you will probably be tailed as you leave. How are you going to "get rid" of the money especially with the potential for magnetic identification.

This could be a skill thing.

quote:
I would suggest a "parinoia" resource that goes up .
For example what if a cop tries to pull you over- but not for a bank job but because he wants to make his ticket quota.
If your Paranoia resource is maxed out the "baddie" takes of on a mad chase. then the player finds himself in a car chase
sub game.

I could see this breaking into a getaway / driving game, ala Grand Theft Auto. Could be cool to try to get to the hideout w/o being tailed!!!

quote:
anyway didnt want you to go postless

Thx!!!!


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Just waiting for the mothership...