What is the most satisfying lockpicking mechanic you ever encountered? Are mini games a good idea or just key jangling for retards?Are simple skill checks better or are they too simple? Should lockpicks be an expandable item?
>>4016162Gothic Remake unironically
>>4016162I don't like lockpicking minigames because it takes away from the gameplay. RNG is even worse because it means there is a random chance your game is ruined until you reload. Best way to solve the lock problem is to hide the key. You could even get creative and make the key an elaborate puzzle. Not everything has to be a minigame or dice roll. If you insist on lockpicking, then make it time based. The better your tools or skill, the faster it gets picked (like Payday).
>falling tumbler shit hate it>skyrim/fallout style sweet spot should be the norm>Starfield shape seekingyou get used to it, but not great>Gothic 1-2 Simon says LEFT, RIGHT, RIGHT...it's alright, might need pen and paper if said chest has like 20 steps>tap continuously to win shitwhy even bother>rotating locks puzzleusually overdone and not fun>lay a pipe for water to pass (Bioshock) cool, but not really fitting
>>4016162>Are mini games a good ideaYes, genuinely.
>>4016162>What is the most satisfying lockpicking mechanic you ever encountered?Morrowind, obviously.
Anyone got a lock mini game they always wanted to expand on? I think bioshock could be epic, if done right.
>>4016162i think the latter TES games do it fine enough desu. being able to git gud at the minigame and break into any lock you want, even at low skill lvl, feels the most rewarding.the only major problem imo is that it pauses in-game time. you shouldnt be able to pick a lock while a zombie or whatever is midway through a swing at you. its just retarded. it also kinda ruins half the tension for stealth-based characters. you can just wait until the moment a guard looks away, go into the minigame, unlock it, and even if he looks back and notices you immediately, it no longer matters
>>4016211that one at least has the advantage of not pausing in-game time. you actually have to have higher skills/LCK otherwise youre gonna have to be there for a bit, defenseless, hoping no one sees you
>>4016162Core or secondary mechanics in RPGs should not have any sort of mini-game or QTE aspects. They should be pure in-game skill checks. save the action shit of optional and miscellanous stuff.
>>4016235>pauses in-game timeA good idea for a mod or setting (also for inventory use) but I can see why pause is the default.
>>4016304yea i get it, esp with oblivion, as many ppl just couldnt into that minigame, at all. nvm under pressurebut i also think that, having lockpicking be a skill you can choose, kinda means you should be thinking about how itll work in-game for those characters whod take it as a major skill. that added tension, trying to lockpick quickly before a guard comes back, is absolutely crucial for making a stealth character fun to play imoas it is now, its basically just free, so long as you can press F on the door quick enough
>>4016310I'd be willing to try a mod, but it could turn out to not be fun in practice. I don't think "lockpick before a guard notices" situations were that common either.
>>4016162The minigame is ok, I prefer just a skill roll because skills represent opportunity costs you didn't put into other things like combat perhaps or at least barter, persuasion, etc. To differentiate RPG character A from B.These things all work to give the character more dimensions than combat monster and thus bring an RPG world more fully to life.Where they keep lacking is what is going on OUTSIDE of the lockpicking itself, generally it should be harder and riskier to bring a more Thief like metagame to the typical 80-90 percent combat simulator that is the usual RPG. Same for innovative things that got dumped like facial reading or lawyer insight/clue detectoring.For lockpicking there should be more guard patrol or nosy civilian timing, more noise and enemy attention if lockpicks break, lockpicks more scarce, this type of thing.Some childish twitch minigame just wiggling the mouse for finding the space between the "tumblers" was simple enough my 95 year old grandmother could do it, but if you were to layer in all the other strategies on top of it, perhaps force the pc to do it in a trap filled room with rapidly rising water, snakes falling out of the gratings etc for example you'd have a much more satisfying game all around and the fighters could feel like they didn't waste a party slot on the typical "fighter lite" that is a thief/rogue build. Perhaps enough serious traps/counter assassinations/espionage things needed to where you could no longer just put two more points in the mage's dex and give him all the lockpicks to succeed also.
>>4016235>i think the latter TES games do it fine enough desu. being able to git gud at the minigame and break into any lock you want, even at low skill lvl, feels the most rewarding.but that invalidates the whole point of skill levels in rpgs...
>>4016162>What is the most satisfying lockpicking mechanic you ever encountered?The one that wasn't there. The key is locked, I got the required lockpicking skill, the key is unlocked. Fuck all minigames. Fuck lockpicking minigames, fuck hacking minigames, fuck haggling minigames.
>>4016162Skyrim's lockpicking feels like second nature by now, as easy as breathing. ESO's was pretty neat.
>>4016639This.Make it either sheet based or skill based but make it actually skill based and not shitty simon says minigames that are just tiring or purely luck based bullshit like gothic. But first and foremost let me skill that shit because its a fucking rpg and be done with it.Also funfact: Actual practical lockpicking is not a "Skill" but simply brute forcing the lock with the right tools or destroying it. No burglar spends ten minutes fiddling around a door like in the movies. You either violently shove the pins up and down as fast as possible and usually open it in about ~10 sec that way, break the chain with boltcutters, unhinge a window/door, smash a window, kick the door in or drill the lock. No one fucking ever is doing the RPG "thief".
>>4016162Lockpicking minigames is what made me switch security for alteration as a skill so i can just open that shit with magic in TES
>>4016668Did ya like Oblivion's auto attempt lockpicking? It's based on character skill and lock difficulty.
>>4016248i disagree since it is not tabletop, my only concession is that the minigames should either be easier or skippable at higher levels. low skills should penalize you in other ways (loud, sensitive, random movement, etc)no skill checks for arpgs
>>4016681I saw an auto attempt lock picking down by the market last week. Horrid creatures.Goodbye!
>>4016162For people interested in lockpicking as a game mechanic this is a really cool anthology - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1735110/Museum_of_Mechanics_Lockpicking/ . I wish they'd done more of a series or something because the concept is great, but it's pretty amateurish and the writing is far from neutral/academic.
>>4016162If I can't bash in the door or blast it apart with magic or climb up to an unlocked 2nd story window instead it's fake and gay gameplay.
>>4016162Lockpicking minigames should not be. Just let it be a % chance
>>4016162Geneforgebreak a deterministic (lock difficulty minus skill level) number of living tools to pick this lock? y/n
>>4016162I hate all kinds of lockpicking mechanics in games, they should just give the option to brute force locks.
>>4016162original gothic/2 is simple enough not to be that annoying and it's integrated decently with night prowler thief gameplay
>>4016177Lockpicking minigames are gay life sim bs. It would be more interesting if the mechanic affects the rest of the game. Lockpicking shouldn't be a free action. Take too long; people see you. Too loud; people hear you. The same goes for those gayass hacking minigames.
>>4016517>but that invalidates the whole point of skill levels in rpgs...TES games aren't RPGs.
I just hate the magically flimsy lockpicks that you keep a giant supply of. It doesn't suspend disbelief as much if it's just bobby pins being used that way, but even then it's still a stretch. I'd rather it just be a pass/fail check than see that. The actual mini game itself doesn't really bother me, but I don't know how to give it any really stakes without compromising on that
>>4017085Kotor did many things right and this was one of them. Fine, slashing a container with a lightsaber might damage the loot but you should be able to do so if you want. This should be the norm for every game with physical combat btw
>>4016162If I'm playing a Giga-Wigga is there a particular reason for 90% of this stuff I can't just smash the lock open or break down the door? Seriously.>strong enough to bust open a dragon's fucking skull>not strong enough to break down a wooden door or punch a hole in a crate
>>4016162>Tfw nothing will ever be as fun as irl lockpicking because there's no tensioning and counter rotation in the minigames
>>4025433Modern, professional lockpicks are hardened tool steel. That's a relatively recent technology (couple centuries), but there's so much metallurgy in TES that the tech argument against lockpick durability is invalid. But at 5g apiece, you run into the question of busted vidya economy almost immediately.No, it is better to do as Todd himself does, to approach Oblivion as some stupid fun and not sweat the small stuff.
>>4025733I basically have to headcanon that all locks have anti-lockpick enchantments that fuck them up if I want it to make sense
What is the most satisfying lockpicking mechanic you ever encountered?Most Bethesda Games (Elder scrolls / Fallout/ Etc)Are mini games a good idea or just key jangling for retards?It adds immersion. Are simple skill checks better or are they too simple?Not really , it doesn't feel like you are doing the action , your character is doing it and you are watching. Should lockpicks be an expandable item?Yes , but with exceptions . A artifact tier item like a skeleton key is a good end game reward , and ideally I would like to see different quality levels of lockpicks in the future that break more or less often depending on how good they are.
>>4016162>What is the most satisfying lockpicking mechanic you ever encountered?GEP gun.
>>4026442>your character is doing it and you are watching.I am fine with this, rpgs are not immersive sims. If the other option is tedious, repetitive minigames I'd much rather just see my character do an animation and text describing the action than go through the steering motions myself.
>>4016162Unironically i liked the one in Skyrim
>>4025144KCD does this>>4025551Fallout does this
>>4016177This. Have a key somewhere, and if you want to lockpick, your stats should decide how loud you are doing so/how fast you can break it off with blunt force depending on your approach.
>>4033055>your stats should decide how loud you are doing so/how fastWhat stealth RPGs are you guys playing where that is relevant?
>>4016177>Best way to solve the lock problem is to hide the keybut then it's not lock picking anymore. what a weird "solution">>4033055this is my favorite solution. don't make it an RNG blocker that will just lead to save scumming. just make it dangerous/interesting>>4033072yeah, the designers have to work a little harder to make it interesting. but considering you're often lock picking in someone else's territory, it shouldn't be that hard to work out
>>4033220>you're often lock picking in someone else's territoryIn what game?
>>4033055Skill and equipment should be all that matters. I don't like doing minigames every single time I open a door or unlock a terminal. Once you're maxed skill with the best lockpicks in the game, opening locks should take 2 seconds, just like IRL.
>>4033305all of them. you're not lock picking to get into your own housewhat I'm saying is that alerting guards, breaking stealth, losing faction alignment, whatever, is better than an RNG nuisance that will make you save scum to avoid missing out on "content"
Lock picking peaked with Betrayal at Krondor.
