So, there's some issues trying to determine what kind of effect rumours have and why NPCs might not like it when you deal with a bandit or the like.
1. Add whether the NPC knew about this rumour. Right now, when telling a rumour, you don't know if the NPC heard it from someone else already until they tell you before you get the chance to tell them. So, for example, if an NPC is told about an army marching, and they didn't know about it: "Oh, I didn't know about this, it is terrifying!", and the opposite, "Yes, I've heard, it is terrifying!". This'll give feedback to the player of how the rumours system works in the background and how much they need to spread a rumour in a given area.
2. Add whether the NPC has a relationship to any of the histfigs in the rumour. This can simplify determining whether you're currently telling a bandit ring leader that you beat up his lieutenant and that this is why he is horrified. "Dastot is a luitenant of mine, it is terrifying.", similarly, "Dastot is my lover, etc.", "Dastot is my child, etc", "Dastot is a fearsome bandit, it is terrific", "Dastot is an upstanding citizen, it is terrifying", or, most likely, "I do not know who Dastot is, it was inevitable". This also gives the player a mechanism to check whether disguises for themselves work, so they can tell a rumour about their alternate identity, and then the NPC can reply 'oh, you did that?!', showing the disguise doesn't work.
3. Add what ethic the NPC bases their reaction on: "Murder is unthinkable, it is terrifying", "War is a good cause, it is terrific". This one will get especially important as the law and customs framework gets more detailed.
4. Indicate a reputation change. You tell an NPC you slayed a dragon: "You are a dragon slayer." Or you tell an NPC you did some singing: "Are you a bard.", "You must be a bard." This one just smoothes over having to constantly ask NPCs what they think of you.
That said, it might be that these need to be separate questions a player can ask afterwards. Consider, Dastot Crownblazes the lieutenant harasses Dawntraded, you beat him up and then proceed to tell his boss:
This is new to me, beating up people is acceptable, but Dastot Crownblazes was my lieutenant and close friend. It is terrifying. You are a bully.
It might end up making all NPCs seem super honest and straightforward
Anyway, this doesn't resolve that a lot of NPCs probably don't care much about anything, but it does help conveying this to the player, so we are less poking in the dark.
A side suggestion, for future considerations: Make it really super easy for the player to find a reference on the laws of a given entity. Like, customs and etiquette doesn't necessarily need to be written down, but having law books, or slabs/engravings with the local laws written down, or just people who are willing to put up with your questions would be really useful. Similarly, it'd be really nice if the quest log could record some of this information, because while common sense should allow the player to be able to avoid most issues, having the current trouble with the rumours and reputation system compounded by difficult to determine laws might make adventure mode downright cryptic. I am not sure how complicated the laws are envisioned to be, but even a list would do, I think?
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Topic: Some ideas to improve rumour feedback. (Read 606 times)