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Persistent character traits


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Could soldiers develop persistent personality traits over time? I don't like naming examples because it easily turns into a discussion on whatever game I use as an example, :p ,  or like I'm just stealing ideas, but I'm thinking of Crusader Kings II or Darkest Dungeons-style traits that develop over time based on what happens around the characters.

I'm using CK2 as an example because it has such a large selection of personality and physical traits. Both things such as "Slow", "Quick, "Genius", and "Hunchback", and personality traits such as "Trickster", "Arbitrary", and "Organiser", some of which are acquired over time.

For Xenonauts 2, I think it would add a lot both to depth and immersion to have appropriate traits for your soldiers, both traits that are present at start, and ones that develop over time. You could even have temporary buffs and penalties such as fevers, high morale or pride following a successful battle, cowardice, disillusionment, complacency, and so on. You could also have injuries like losing an eye or getting a lasting hand or foot injury.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I like the idea that soldiers who engage in missions against the aliens can come down with diseases (as well as wounds).  The idea of research in the bio-sciences makes my brain all tingly.

Other traits (off the top of my head):

- Survivor's Guilt from high-casualty missions.

- Walking Dead for troops that have just been revived too many times.

- Strong Heart and Weak Heart that affect the chance to be revived.

- Jaded:  Too many high casualty missions, the soldier no longer suffers morale penalties from other soldiers dying.

- Psychic:  The soldier is a conduit for mental energy, and thus easier to affect with Psionics.

- Civilian:  The soldier has an X% chance each round to be doing "other stuff", and not able to act (or Suppresses themselves).

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One of the problems is that there's not really that many variables you can actually control with a soldier - they've got a few stats, but a bonus that gives them +5 Accuracy or +10 HP isn't really very exciting because it doesn't really change the way they play. It's possible to code unique rules (e.g. a soldier can only fire a single shot per turn) but it seems a bit weird when compared to how the rest of the game works, although it would be less out of place in the Firaxis XCOM games where the soldiers have activated "superhero" powers.

I guess a game like Jagged Alliance 2 gets it working in a few situations - e.g. certain crazy mercs will autofire their weapons when you've given them an order to take an aimed shot - but there's not that many situations where you can do that sort of thing. It also makes more sense when the unit is a developed character rather than a (metaphorically) faceless soldier like they are in Xenonauts.

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  • 9 months later...

Hope it's OK that I'm necroing this thread.

CK2 has pretty basic stats, too, and they manage to increase immersion quite a bit by creatively naming their stats and writing fluff texts for each one, see for example child traits, even though they do simple things like "+1 intrigue" or "+10% movement speed". It's not neccessarily about how much they change gameplay as much as that their set of traits helps you connect with your troops and makes them feel more real to you.

For example, if Ragnhildr of House Yngling just has a +1 bonus to martial skills, you think little of it, but when the stat says "Rowdy" and the fluff text says "This child is loud and lively and usually prefers rough physical activities over calmer pursuits", suddenly Ragnhildr feels more like a real person to you. She's a little tomboy and you can just picture her pretend-fighting with the boys and running through the woods, perhaps with a wooden sword in hand. The same would apply to James Cunningham the fresh Xenonaut recruit. You can put in all sorts of traits here, from slightly generic stuff like "this character is just naturally cool-headed" to character backstory and action film character tropes. For example, you could say he grew up on a farm and spent countless days and nights out in the woods hunting with his dad. +10% to firearm accuracy. He is a young parent and thinking of his lover and his daughter gives him extra determination; +5% bravery.

Also, players would start interpreting unrelated things as being part of the character's personality because that's just how humans work, see Extra Credits' video on this, and this would further increase immersion. You could have a character have a Marksman trait giving them a slight accuracy bonus, and then when they land an improbable headshot, you will feel it is thanks to this awesome trait, regardless of whether the soldier would have hit the target anyway.

Darkest Dungeon, too, did a great job simulating what would realistically happen to adventurers who had to take on dungeons full of horrible creatures, even though it of course pretty much built its gameplay around it and the effects thus of course were far more severe.

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I for my part doesn't like the "trait" system when it's literal. I'd rather have randomness or a hidden trait system emulating a consistent randomness. I mean that nobody gets a label on his back with his child trait written on it.

However, I'd question the ability of multiple-severally wounded soldiers to still be fit to combat, given the technology level we'll have at the beginning of the campaign and then through research. Should he lose stats points or endure combat penalties (load capacity, movement, accuracy, reaction, physical or psychic resistance)? Even a minimal loss would stack to sizeable amounts for veterans, and that would just be realistic (given the nowadays technology).

This could be somewhat balanced by a better (Survivor's) morale, and interesting effects for high ranking soldiers (better team morale (better than now), better research (?), better recruitment (?)), so that you wouldn't dismiss them when they become less potent through battlefield hazard. Think about aged officers too, and the Russian hero in the Crimson Dagger novel.

Also, veterans, how impaired they get, could have further benefit their team: small bonuses in movement points and accuracy (on top of the morale boost), reflecting their tactical knowledge. This could also be a taught skill if this system is implemented. Let's say +5% per skill, and +1% per veteran level (linked to the number of effective battles). All of these would be capped, of course.

 

 

Edited by Rodmar18
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