The Veteran (S6) - Every time you start the mission the target would have basically the same destinations they would eventually go to however it was always muddled up so that players couldn’t just pre plan for him to go to that location straight away
The Fugitive (ET) - Has three different unique NPC’s and each time you load in it will randomise the target and you have to find out which ones the target. However for this particular outcome I can see it more being used for the route only not the target so maybe closer to the Revolutionary
In that case I feel like it might be a Fugitive situation, or Ghost Mode situation. A whole bunch of possible developer-made target routes, but with some random changes in each of them (some targets deviate on their own for a drink, some lean over railings, etc.)
Unless, IOI has figured out a way to make fully procedurally generated NPC routes (and maybe some procedural Prop spawn points) to really diversify the level and the targets that are possible.
Thereby offering an immense catalog of routes, destinations, and layouts for levels that can be mixed and matched for a bunch of replay value.
But that seems like a lot of work to get right.
The exact way of generating targets has been one of my main questions regarding Freelancer since it was announced.
One of my theories on how it could potientially work was the idea that each map would have different points of interest/activities the target could possibly pass through, and then the game would try to arrange them into a coherent and sensible route (aka have them close together so you don’t get a target that walks through half of the map just to take a sip from a bottle and then walk all the way back). It’s also interesting to think if IOI found a way to add some sort of mission stories/scripted interactions to those procedurally generated missions without feeling too copy pasted. Making all those components would be also be another thing that needs to be done on a per-location basis, so that could be another reason why Freelancer had to be delayed in order to have all maps available at launch. Of course everything that I’ve just wrote is just baseless speculation that will likely deviate from reality, but it’s fun to theorise.
Another question of mine is how would targets be generated from the visual side. Would there be a bunch of preset models, or a system that bashes together different hairstyles/faces/clothes/etc? Would they blend with regular NPCs or have a lot of diverse clothing and facial details to pop from the crowd like most ETs? Is voice acting planned or is the plan to just have everyone be silent like Holiday Hoarders so we don’t get tired of hearing the same monologue from 3 different human traffickers in a row?
Guess we will wind out in a month or four depending on how strict are the public tests in regards to not leaking stuff.
My thoughts exactly, on what would be ideal for Random NPC generation.
I guess we’ll find out in the coming months in their blog posts how all of it works. The missions, the targets, the customization, the roguelite elements…
It’s all so very exciting (again)!
While I am sad that it’s not releasing this year, but very pleasantly surprised that it’s free. As someone who had a bitter taste in their mouth due to Sins DLCs being very overpriced for what they were, this year has been a very nice turnaround with both a free great new location and freelancer announced to be completely free!
I think there is a problem with the closed technical test. Can those testers share their real feelings and experiences in the forum? And will IOI cheat the testers? For example, some places that cannot be played in the test are actually pretty rough and unfinished in the final release.
I don’t see why testers wouldn’t be able to share their feelings and constructive criticism on how the mode can be improved, would kinda defeat the point of a beta if they couldn’t do so.
If there are areas that aren’t finished in the first wave of demos, IO wouldn’t show them to testers not because they aren’t “the best side” of the mode, but rather because it simply isn’t finished or lacks important components. I don’t really see the issue here, not to mention they now have multiple months of testing they can do to tweak things, it doesn’t make sense to rush testers into playing any kind of unfinished or some of the super rough draft sections because it would be a waste of time.
Well, I’m uncertain about the mode because it need so much work. Like according to the timeline, what will IO do to show the map? Who will own the houses of Janus and Cassidy? And what does the Delgado Cartel look like when it’s under Hecktor’s control? There are so many things to change in Freelancer and IO just decided to add all locations to the mode. If they just add some NPCs like ET, that will be boring. I think they have finished the safe house part, but what will they do to make the playing part worth such a long wait.
I think this is expecting a tad too much. There will probably be minor changes to the maps, yes. A few extra NPCs and some removed… but it will be more like ETs probably, where the original level is still pretty much taking place as it is. It won’t make perfect sense in relation to the WOA-story. It’ll be a different timeline in the multiverse, I think!
Just saying, no need to be setting yourself up for disappointment.
My bad. I changed the title but didn’t change the body of the OP (I think I have powers for that?)
Anyway, the body of the OP is pulled straight from the original Blog Post, so I think it’s fair to leave it up as “spring 2022” since that’s where this whole discussion started. (Well, maybe we could add in a “January 2023” on the side to clarify the update… )
