@PretzleMe wrote:
@EgoMania
"....What I do wonder about though is this: As soon as you get a guaranteed option that ensures that the base is blown up AND you get to save all the Angara, why would anyone even consider the other two choices anymore? That's what I mean with invalidating other choices..."
And that is a great question to have. I feel like I answered it in my first post though and someone else answered this with a ore detailed idea I believe it was @CasperTheLich.
But let's be real, with everything that's been said, it is easy to miss and or forget something, lol.
Anyway, my solution to this would be to make it to where it would impact a later situation negatively. The other person had an idea where I believe they said maybe we would have been able to negotiate our way out of something, but the Kett know you didn't keep your word so that's no longer on the table.
As far as already existing things, I believe there is a part where a Kett offers to help you out in some way to take down the Archon, but if you didn't keep your word, perhaps they do not provide that help.
So in short, you just make another key decision be affected by not keeping your word. Another reason might be because they could have it negatively impact your relationship with others, I guess since this game doesn't handle relationships like Inquisition, it would matter much. In that game you could lose someone.
But yeah, SAM is crazy powerful and I think our race is too, but that's all that typical we're the player type stuff in my opinion. And because of that, even if SAM turned on us, SAM would suddenly be limited in a way that he wasn't before.
And despite him being so powerful, there are times where that ability seems to fluctuate when they want it to. Meaning, for an AI that can figure out how to disable a shield, there are times where he seems to struggle with doing something I'd think would be easier for him to do. Nothing specific comes to mind right now, but yeah.
Yeah you mentioned choices negatively affecting companions as an idea in your first post but as you astutely mention here, that wouldn't necessarily mean much in this game. I was rather surprised to find out that loyalty missions only unlocked their top level of skills and is therefore insignificant in Normal Mode. In NG+ after that it ignores that cause I am doing that now and they all have their level 6 skills filled without doing their loyalty missions in this playthrough.
But yeah something would have to be there that would make either choice A or B worth choosing that you wouldn't get with choice C as I named them.
I remember years ago I played this Collectible card game for Babylon 5. There were basically 3 main directions that you could choose for conflicts (not counting psi powers)...they were diplomacy, intrigue and military. That could've been a much more interesting mechanic here in stead of P/R you'd have 3 choices to work towards: diplomatic being cooperative, intrigue being deceptive/subterfuge and well, soldier style with lots of guns. This could affect all kinds of things particularly in a new universe where you're building up a certain name and different people would have different ways of reacting to you. Nevfra might like the gun toting style and the Moshae more the Diplomatic style and you could've gone for different allies depending on your style.
Just an idea of course but it would make choices more meaningful and it would give options to deceive and rather than having some system that gives you conversation options with x points, it would determine who your allies will be and who won't. Kadara could've been Sloane (gun toting), Reyes (intrigue) and if you went for diplomacy you could get them to work together. Not based on what you've done so far but based on the interactions you choose while speaking to them.
To me that would feel like choices would make a difference and it would allow being deceptive.