subversus said:
haha, you're a perfectionist. The next thing you demand is that NPCs should stop repeating the same greetings phrases every time you start dialogue with them.
Shouldn't this be the simpliest thing to implement?
I just need to write a dialogue tree, that leaves the player enough answers that make sense (and lead somewhere, be it success, a stall or absolute failure).
Supersimple version:
Player is talking to King Dickhead. Orcs attacked the village of Whocares, and he's sticking his troops to the capital cause he wants to fight a war of attritition and lure them into a siege. You want him to send some troops and rescue the village.
Generally speaking, what most dialogue trees do is giving you options like:
1. Help me, it's your duty - yes I know you still won't care.
2. Help me, it's your duty and I got insane superskills in speech so that Help me line is totally persuasive.
3. Help me, I'm really big and bad and high level and I yelled a lot at shopowners before, so my help me is particularly threatening.
4. Don't help me.
5. Fuck this, who cares. Bring me back to the previous dialogue option.
What I'm suggesting is something like:
1. Help me, it's your duty (he will still not care)
2. Help me, if you wait here you're eventually gonna get cut out of your own kingdom (he won't trust your plan over his and be offended by the idea you're suggesting he's stupid)
3. If you don't go rescue the village, the orcs will perceive it as a sign of weakness (you previously learned King Dickhead is horribly proud - going this line will lead to him not sending troops but leading you money to hire mercenaries and deal with it yourself, so he doesn't risk his face directly but can claim the honor if you succeed).
4. I've heard rumors that the neighbour king, LePenis, is sending troops along the borders, saving people and swooning them to his cause (Dickhead hates LePenis, as you've learned, and this will lead him to action).
Just a dumb example, but the concept should be in my opinion that dialogue isn't meant to be handled like a combat but as a riddle. It's not about stats or being eligible to pick iWin answers, it's about figuring out what makes sense.