How Would You Fix Fable

[Netrigan]

Just got finished playing Fable II & III and while I had a whole lot of fun with the Sims style RPG, I can't help but feel that the game play has some serious issues. Basically it's a sandbox box game with a totally different style of fapping about. The quest/combat part of the game is solid enough (although III needed some tougher baddies), so I would focus on making the fapping about a lot more interesting, such as:

1) Make pubs mini-game central. Drinking games, sing-a-longs, women/men of ill-repute, gambling, dice games, card games, etc. And don't make all of them the same damn mini-game with slightly different rules. II had the QTE, while III had Guitar Hero button pushing. Variety is the key. Drinking games should play differently from sing-alongs.

2) The Relationship quests are a good idea, but need to be expanded a *lot*. Fable III pretty much gave us to boring ass missions. There should be at least half a dozen missions and preferably more. And since they're low yield missions, I'd cut out the Return part of the quest. Deliver messages, find items, clear enemies from their home, collect gambling debts through intimidation, etc. And we should have to perform like a trained monkey to get to them either. Interacting with them should give us the option to perform a friendship mission. Different personality types would obviously want different things, so play up to those differences.

3) Add more personality types for the sexual part of the game. Chubby chasers, swingers, gold diggers, danger seekers, etc. Dates with characters shouldn't just be walking slowly with them to some secluded spot, it should be tied in with their personality. A bar fly would want you to go to the pubs with them. Danger seekers would want you to go beat up bad guys. The town nympho might want your help in arranging a gang bang. The swinger couple just wants a threesome.

4) While I like the simplified interface in the third game, I would like the option to pull up a larger menu. And I'd also like to see more than one animation per expression. Don't limit my fapping ability.

5) The money situation in the game is beyond ridiculous. For all practical purposes, you can spend half an hour playing at one of the job mini-games, buy some decent weapons, then never worry about money again (yes, I know III wants you to raise a ton money for the final battle, but you don't have to if you don't mind people making rude comments to you). Either tie the the money aspect in with the fapping about or de-emphasize it. Perhaps the ability to build mini-games.

6) Expand customization to the Albion population. If I pick a wife, I would like her to not look like eight other people in her village.

 

[Chairman Miaow]

Bring back more magic. There are less spells in 3 than there were in 2, and even less in that than there were in 1. 1 was the Best of them.

 

[Netrigan]

Bring back more magic. There are less spells in 3 than there were in 2, and even less in that than there were in 1. 1 was the Best of them.

What did they take out?

Two of the spells became potions (slow time and reanimate), which meant I actually used them, since shock was my default magic spell. I did enjoy the spell weaving with the gauntlets, although I ended up using shock & fire most of the game.

Over-all, I thought the combat mechanics were much better this time out, even if it is too damn easy.

It would be cool to see more magic gauntlets added to the mix though... and make it easier to swap them out without going to the Sanctuary to do it.

 

[IamSofaKingRaw]

Remake Fable: TLC. WAYYY better than the most recent Fables

 

[Chairman Miaow]

Bring back more magic. There are less spells in 3 than there were in 2, and even less in that than there were in 1. 1 was the Best of them.

What did they take out?

Two of the spells became potions (slow time and reanimate), which meant I actually used them, since shock was my default magic spell. I did enjoy the spell weaving with the gauntlets, although I ended up using shock & fire most of the game.

Over-all, I thought the combat mechanics were much better this time out, even if it is too damn easy.

It would be cool to see more magic gauntlets added to the mix though... and make it easier to swap them out without going to the Sanctuary to do it.

Battle charge, Multi strike, Enflame, Drain life, Physical shield, Summon, Beserk, Assassin rush, Heal life, Ghost sword, Multi arrow, Divine fury, Infernal wrath.

 

[IamSofaKingRaw]

Bring back more magic. There are less spells in 3 than there were in 2, and even less in that than there were in 1. 1 was the Best of them.

See? He knows the truth. A lot of magic was taken out because Lionhead decided that having a mana bar made the game too difficult and took it out. Causing all the magic that have to rely on it to go along with it. Like the mana shield and teleportation, and others that would of been to cheap to have without a mana bar like the hulk magic thing, Divine Fury & Infernal Wrath and the one that heals you.

 

[Mouldy Oldy]

I would take 10% of what was claimed in the PR and actually put it in the game.

You can play a meta-game, and do this for every single Lionhead studio release since Black and White.


Guess what?

With that 10%, the games get 190% better - because they're not very good at the moment (as games, rather than exercises in PR sales techniques).

 

[Netrigan]

Bring back more magic. There are less spells in 3 than there were in 2, and even less in that than there were in 1. 1 was the Best of them.

What did they take out?

Two of the spells became potions (slow time and reanimate), which meant I actually used them, since shock was my default magic spell. I did enjoy the spell weaving with the gauntlets, although I ended up using shock & fire most of the game.

Over-all, I thought the combat mechanics were much better this time out, even if it is too damn easy.

It would be cool to see more magic gauntlets added to the mix though... and make it easier to swap them out without going to the Sanctuary to do it.

Battle charge, Multi strike, Enflame, Drain life, Physical shield, Summon, Beserk, Assassin rush, Heal life, Ghost sword, Multi arrow, Divine fury, Infernal wrath.

I think I missed the part where you talked about Fable I. I haven't gotten around to playing that one. The simplified spell system from 2 was ported over to 3 in what I believe was a superior way. But I can see your point if they dropped all those spells from the first.

 

[Netrigan]

Bring back more magic. There are less spells in 3 than there were in 2, and even less in that than there were in 1. 1 was the Best of them.

See? He knows the truth. A lot of magic was taken out because Lionhead decided that having a mana bar made the game too difficult and took it out. Causing all the magic that have to rely on it to go along with it. Like the mana shield and teleportation, and others that would of been to cheap to have without a mana bar like the hulk magic thing, Divine Fury & Infernal Wrath and the one that heals you.

I'm not really a fan of mana bars. I can see the rational for really powerful spells, but if I have a sword with unlimited hitting ability, a crossbow with unlimited arrows, why don't I have unlimited shock bolts? Seems the D-Pad could be used really effectively for more powerful spells. Shade them out when you don't have enough mana, while letting the player have unlimited mana on more combat oriented spells.

Of course, I usually sit out Fantasy RPGs because I'm not a huge fan of the setting. Fable II & III happen to be just far enough out of the fantasy Middle Ages to interest me, so I gave them a shot. This tendency means that my opinion on magic in video games should be taken with an enormous grain of salt.

 

[Nannernade]

The first thing I'd do, make it so you could die lol, who wants to play a game where you can't die where's the thrill of being on the verge of dying? Off having a pint in the Bar minigame, that's where. Oh yeah and I'd always make there be a use for the money.

 

[Jenova65]

How would I fix fable? Well for a start I would get working on a patch to fix the epic f*cking fail that is having a fully loaded female hero queen enter multiplayer and turning up in the other person's game as an oddly lost looking, mostly naked, bald guy who corrupts all your data (as well as making you look like a f*cking freak to the other player) you cannot retrieve anything - clothing, weapons, spells............... The only thing you have is a damn free Yule hat and your pants and Jasper congratulating you on becoming king, which is quite the achievement when you think about it. :/
Am I making this up? NO........... *very angry face*

 

[Silentsmoke1990]

I feel like the magic system was FAR too compressed in fable 3, spell weaving was a nice touch in the right direction but the large varity of spells in fable 1 where what kept the "playing with magic only." option from getting stale. Possibly adding a levelling function to your spells so that your most used spells gain increased effect or utility aspects of some sort.

 

[Crankafoo]

Oh dear god. I was waiting for this.
It's fixed in Fable 3 (praise all holy heavens above), but the running in Fable 2 just constantly aggravated me in the most unaddressable context of annoyance.
Not enough to make me not play it, but enough to make me have a thoroughly less enjoyable time in the Fable universe.

 

[manythings]

Travel back in time and stop Peter Molyneaux from making it. Problem fixed.

This solution would also work with Black and White.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

Nothing, Fable is nearly perfect.
The only thing to be improved of Fable 3 are buttons to repair and set the prices for all my houses and shops.

 

[killedinadream]

Fable one was a decent fantasy RPG, because it actually played like a game. I had an immense problem playing through Fable 2 due to the lack of difficulty. An exp penalty and the scar which can be removed later via sidequest as the punishment for death meant that the gameplay came across as lacking.

Games need some kind of penalty for death, even if it's just a load screen and a reboot into the area at the last checkpoint. A random and incredibly small exp penalty isn't enough to make gameplay feel challenging.

Spells in both Fable 1 and 2 came across as incredibly overpowered as well, but at least Fable 1 had some more variety, a penalty for death, and actual boss fights throughout the series.

Fable 2 just comes across as trimmed down instead of "streamlined" and some of the additions actually annoyed me with how pointless they were. The Dog companion comes to mind specifically.

I liked a lot of the RPG elements in the fable series, and the NPCs were certainly entertaining. The variety of choice left me with a lot of time wandering, but ultimately the game fell short due to the lack of reason to do anything and the absurd lack of difficulty after the first installment.

 

[MostlyHarmless]

Basically, make the jobs more interesting. And maybe give a really badass final boss. Jack of Blades was so awesome. Then came Lucien. Also, add the Pentagram of Death spell from one. That was so amusing.

 

[Jazoni89]

Make a huge world, non linear, no gimmicky crap, no hold your hand gameplay, and have combat that isn't shallower than a baby's swimming pool, then you have a perfect fable game.

I wish Peter molyneux would take a hint that this is what we all want in our fable games.

 

[Netrigan]

Nothing, Fable is nearly perfect.
The only thing to be improved of Fable 3 are buttons to repair and set the prices for all my houses and shops.

I got a lot of minor issues with the game, but considering the game is doing something quite different from the usual RPG/sandbox type of game, this is pretty much expected. It's going to take them a while to iron out the kinks and find a formula that completely works.

And there's a whole lot to like about the game, although III lost me near the end when it became about listening to debates about fiscal responsibility, but I was thoroughly enchanted by most of the early game. And Fable II was almost entirely a delight.

But I think there's a whole lot of ways that they could make the Sims style interaction be a lot more fun. I see this huge ball of potential there, which is only slightly being realized. Most franchises I wish would stop around #3, because I think they've taken the game about as far as it's ever going to go. With Fables, I want to see them keep going, because I think they're developing a fairly new style of game play that has a whole lot of places it could go.

The only other major issue I have with III is that, as much as I enjoy The Sanctuary, I don't really need to be hopping back there every single time I want to do basic game play functions. And I'd also like to be able to set map markers, because there's been more than once where I just bought another house to sleep with a prostitute, because I couldn't find the one I owned.

 

[AngryLawnNinja]

Just got finished playing Fable II & III and while I had a whole lot of fun with the Sims style RPG, I can't help but feel that the game play has some serious issues. Basically it's a sandbox box game with a totally different style of fapping about. The quest/combat part of the game is solid enough (although III needed some tougher baddies), so I would focus on making the fapping about a lot more interesting, such as:

1) Make pubs mini-game central. Drinking games, sing-a-longs, women/men of ill-repute, gambling, dice games, card games, etc. And don't make all of them the same damn mini-game with slightly different rules. II had the QTE, while III had Guitar Hero button pushing. Variety is the key. Drinking games should play differently from sing-alongs.

2) The Relationship quests are a good idea, but need to be expanded a *lot*. Fable III pretty much gave us to boring ass missions. There should be at least half a dozen missions and preferably more. And since they're low yield missions, I'd cut out the Return part of the quest. Deliver messages, find items, clear enemies from their home, collect gambling debts through intimidation, etc. And we should have to perform like a trained monkey to get to them either. Interacting with them should give us the option to perform a friendship mission. Different personality types would obviously want different things, so play up to those differences.

3) Add more personality types for the sexual part of the game. Chubby chasers, swingers, gold diggers, danger seekers, etc. Dates with characters shouldn't just be walking slowly with them to some secluded spot, it should be tied in with their personality. A bar fly would want you to go to the pubs with them. Danger seekers would want you to go beat up bad guys. The town nympho might want your help in arranging a gang bang. The swinger couple just wants a threesome.

4) While I like the simplified interface in the third game, I would like the option to pull up a larger menu. And I'd also like to see more than one animation per expression. Don't limit my fapping ability.

5) The money situation in the game is beyond ridiculous. For all practical purposes, you can spend half an hour playing at one of the job mini-games, buy some decent weapons, then never worry about money again (yes, I know III wants you to raise a ton money for the final battle, but you don't have to if you don't mind people making rude comments to you). Either tie the the money aspect in with the fapping about or de-emphasize it. Perhaps the ability to build mini-games.

6) Expand customization to the Albion population. If I pick a wife, I would like her to not look like eight other people in her village.

1. Clothing and equipment I WANT to wear. (ugh) ( I wore the assassin outfit all through game 2, and the starting prince outfit dyed red all through game 3)
2. ARMOR.
3. I agree with the copy pasted bride argument (more attractive women in general would be nice), also the hand holding thing was a gimmick.
4. More interesting unique items and rewards behind demon doors.
5. A final boss that isn't a total pushover.
6. More of a grey area with important choices i.e. Why can't the aurorans get my protection AND mine for the defense of us all?
7. Evil/ Good morphs.
8. Less grinding minigames.
9. More enemy variety.
10. Bring back the old fable 1 magic system.
11. Re-enstate the old expression system from fable 2.

Hmm my fable bashing spree is over.

In all honesty though there's alot of things I like about the Fable games. I don't hate them, but I think Lionhead's made some weird choices. Further refining of Fable 1's core mechanics might have yielded better results.

Cheers guys.