An upgradeable home base is a location in a game (usually a game where you control a protagonist or a party able to travel through a consistent world)that serves as the protagonist's base of operations in some capacity, can be accessed multiple times throughout the game and can be upgraded via core gameplay. It's always nice to have these in games, and the bigger upgrades you can do, the better.
Of what I've seen in games so far, NWN2's Crossroad Keep is probably my favorite. It's a castle with multiple expansion options: you can build a library, a smithy, a mage tower and much more (what important is that NWN2 is not a game about building castles, it's a CRPG). Most of those projects unlock actual gameplay features and you can actually visit them in-game just like in regular game locations. (Peculiarly enough, Pillars of Eternity tried to do something similar lately and ultimately failed: its castle is just not very interesting).
These often tend to be disappointing. For example, the villa in Assassin's Creed 2 looks pretty cool at first, but you quickly realize that most upgrades do not really change anything gameplay-wise, simply increasing your income (which is sort of arbitrary). It's nice to watch it get back into shape, but you don't really have any incentive to keep on doing it (the puzzle pieces and the armor thing is pretty cool though).
I think that in order for an upgradeable home base to be good, it needs to adhere to three core principles:
a) Being something you can visit in-game just like any other location and get some hands-on experience with. No mini-game bullshit like the fleet in ACIV.
b) Bringing something new into your gameplay experience: even if you can see a shiny new house you built, it's no fun if all it gives is just some extra income or whatever. You should be able to go inside, talk to people who live there, maybe get a new quest or something like that. It should preferably be somehow distinct from the rest of the game, but still use the same mechanics. I like how NWN2 handles it, with its quest-giving featuring unique dialogue (PoE, on the other hand, just offers you a couple of buttons to click, completely separate from the main game).
c) Your main game progress should be reflected on your home base. Bully is a good example: each mission adds a neat little memento to your dorm room.
I'd like to hear everybody else's thoughts on the matter. Do you agree with the points I made? What makes an upgradeable homebase good in your opinion? Let's try to make a comprehensive list of games with this feature while we're at it (but if you mention something please please please describe how it works, what's good and what's bad about it, etc).
Of what I've seen in games so far, NWN2's Crossroad Keep is probably my favorite. It's a castle with multiple expansion options: you can build a library, a smithy, a mage tower and much more (what important is that NWN2 is not a game about building castles, it's a CRPG). Most of those projects unlock actual gameplay features and you can actually visit them in-game just like in regular game locations. (Peculiarly enough, Pillars of Eternity tried to do something similar lately and ultimately failed: its castle is just not very interesting).
These often tend to be disappointing. For example, the villa in Assassin's Creed 2 looks pretty cool at first, but you quickly realize that most upgrades do not really change anything gameplay-wise, simply increasing your income (which is sort of arbitrary). It's nice to watch it get back into shape, but you don't really have any incentive to keep on doing it (the puzzle pieces and the armor thing is pretty cool though).
I think that in order for an upgradeable home base to be good, it needs to adhere to three core principles:
a) Being something you can visit in-game just like any other location and get some hands-on experience with. No mini-game bullshit like the fleet in ACIV.
b) Bringing something new into your gameplay experience: even if you can see a shiny new house you built, it's no fun if all it gives is just some extra income or whatever. You should be able to go inside, talk to people who live there, maybe get a new quest or something like that. It should preferably be somehow distinct from the rest of the game, but still use the same mechanics. I like how NWN2 handles it, with its quest-giving featuring unique dialogue (PoE, on the other hand, just offers you a couple of buttons to click, completely separate from the main game).
c) Your main game progress should be reflected on your home base. Bully is a good example: each mission adds a neat little memento to your dorm room.
I'd like to hear everybody else's thoughts on the matter. Do you agree with the points I made? What makes an upgradeable homebase good in your opinion? Let's try to make a comprehensive list of games with this feature while we're at it (but if you mention something please please please describe how it works, what's good and what's bad about it, etc).
W / MGSV TPP
