Mini-Devblog: Lancer 3 and Systematic Interactivity

[ Optional ambient background music to listen to while reading. ]​

"Systemic Interactivity describes the interconnected, reciprocal relationships and feedback loops between components of a complex system (like nature, society, or technology), showing how actions in one part ripple through and affect others, creating emergent behaviors not predictable from parts alone. It's about the dynamic interplay, data sharing, and coordinated actions (or automated processes) between different work systems, agents, or even biological functions, emphasizing connectivity, adaptation, and unexpected outcomes, crucial for understanding everything from climate change impacts to organizational dynamics."​

You may be wondering, "Aspect, what the fuck are you talking about? Why did you make me read through the AI definition of Systematic Interactivity?".
Allow me to explain.​

[ Example of Max Payne's interactive environments. ]​

I have always enjoyed seeing small details in games. Details that generally do not really move the story forward in any meaningful way, but serve to immerse you in the world that you find yourself in. Details that will make you pause for a moment and appreciate that they are there. Details that make the world feel real, and alive. Deus Ex and Max Payne 1 & 2 are really good at this. This sort of thing seems to be an art that is slowly going extinct in digital media, as the love put into projects of this caliber is replaced with cheap cash grabs and soulless releases.


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[ Functional, interactive TVs from Lancer 2. ]​

Lancer 2 featured a lot of small details that fit this category and definition. Things that some people found silly, things that some people did not even realize existed. Anything ranging from flushable toilets, functional lamps and lights, humming AC units, working TVs, and the like. Even though they did little in regards to the gameplay or the server's narrative aside from offering some minor functionality, sound effect, or flavor text in the chatbox, they helped outline the world around you and immerse you in it in a way that is more often than not overlooked and neglected.


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[ Gabe Newell on an interview from Half-Life's 25th Anniversary Documentary. ]​

In Half-Life's 25th Anniversary Documentary that came out back in 2023, Gabe Newell stated the following in regards to 'reactivity' and the thought process that went into developing Valve's 'debut' game:​

"...we had to come up with some notion of what 'fun' was. We knew it was an ad hoc definition, and it was the degrees to which the game recognizes and responds to the player's choices and actions. [...] The point I would make is, if I go up to a wall and shoot it, to me it feels like the wall is ignoring me. I'm getting a narcissistic injury when the world is ignoring me. So, to me, I was trying to convey to the user a sense of, 'yes, you are making choices, yes you are progressing', which meant the game had to acknowledge that back to you. If you shoot at a wall, there have to be decals. [...] You have to have this sense of the game acknowledging and responding to the choices and actions [...] that you've made, otherwise it loses any sort of impact."​

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[ A can holding a carbonated beverage spewing its contents when shot, the item dynamically turning to an empty can thereafter. ]​

For Lancer 3, I'm taking that statement to heart more than ever. Now, you may of course pause for a moment and wonder, "Is it really worth the time and effort required to make this desk fan spin and make sound, in a roleplaying game where an evil, intergalactic empire took over our planet and humanity is putting up a seemingly hopeless fight for survival?" ...and that is a very valid question. It is a question that I've asked myself a couple times while making all this, not only now, but also back in Lancer 2. And, while the prospect of it seems almost comedic in a sense, I feel like it is worth it. In a server where PassiveRP is meant to be in the spotlight in a near constant basis - rather than act as a temporary downtime between action - player immersion is of paramount importance. Of course, it is possible to roleplay everything and require little to no gameplay intervention, but there is a certain magic moment that you can experience when you suddenly snap out of the game for a moment and realize that you forgot you were actually playing a game. That is precisely what I am trying to accomplish, here.

[ A bottle of beer shattering upon hard impact, turning into shards and spilling its contents onto the ground. ]​

If you throw a glass bottle on the ground, it should shatter and leave a stain if it is full. If you throw it at someone's head, it should hurt them. If you shoot a sealed sparkling can of a carbonated beverage, it should violently spew the liquid out as pressure is released from it. If you break a wooden crate, it should create wooden gibs and drop everything inside it in a realistic manner. If you flush a small item down the toilet, it should later appear in the sewers. Small, seemingly insignificant details like these are what I am putting an unexpected focus on, with the aim of delivering an unforgettably immersive experience for Lancer 3, regardless if they're gonna be on the foreground or not.​

[ A container breaking into pieces and revealing its contents in a natural, realistic fashion. ]​

Thank you for reading this Mini-Devblog. There are times like these when I really want to yap about something super specific, and I just have no one to do that to, so I figured I could write Mini-Devblogs like these, rather than forcing myself to wait until the end of the month and include it all in one giant post, at which point it's possible I had forgotten a lot of what I wanted to say.
If you have any thoughts or comments about all this, I encourage you to leave them here or on the Discord server. I'd love to hear what you have to say and have a discussion, or if you have any more ideas for this sort of thing.

Take care, and see you soon.​

 

[Ash]

The minor details are what pushes Half-Liife into people. These small things really scratch the autistic-hive-mind that we all share with our love for the genre. It's these details on why games such as Project Zomboid is such a hit.

Here are a few ideas of small details that could go a long way,

I'm not sure what limitations there are, though.

• Light switches for entity lights (Placeable entity lights within rooms or if linked in with the map)
• Chairs that can be picked up and moved by the player (Remains static upon being placed)
• Hot food items have a small smoke effect to replicate steam. (Hot drinks?)
• When a player is injured, blood droplets/trails behind them?
• Freezer / Fridge props generate a noise.
• Rat noises from garbage props/trash props (rat burger time)
• More random character noises (Coughing, sneezing, hacking) - After running, an out-of-breath wheeze could play.
• Additional decals on the base models for character damage (Bandages, burns, cuts)
• Cigarette decals/objects in people's mouths when used (An actual decent model and not a cringey one like a specific server I will not mention)
• More objects that can be held (Reuse the briefcase animation with other objects, such as paper bags)
• Mugs that, if tipped over, lose their contents
• Reintroduce the cooking system from old lancer (love)
• Eating too much food will make you sick. (Actual throw up)
• Eating BAD food will make you sick (Dog food cans, raw headcrab etc)
• Character dirtiness
• Interactable faucets (It is possible to create a water model that's static for on and off faucets on specific hl2 props)
• GTA 5 inspired gasoline tanks? - Pour a line, set it on fire with a match.
• Tokyo was in the era of VCRs - there is a VCR prop in the extended prop pack.
• Plug sockets?
• washing machine props make noise when interacted with
• noises when containers are opened
• PAC 3 is great for minor details at the player's discretion.

 

[Ash]

* Fly ambience (trash cans)
* More focus on cooking scripts - bring back Hunger.
* Connect the cooker up properly, otherwise there is a propane leak cause big boom.
* limit communication by lack of radios, not everyone should carry one, promote people talking to others to track the right person
* Phone landlines?
* Pagers?
* Cardboard boxes to act the same as crates.
* Spontanous fires?
* photo frames that allow custom images to be pasted

 

[Lynch]

Talking about hunger, I think it should be brought back as a mechanic instead of it being pure RP. Famine is the trend in the world of half life 2 all year round, so it makes sense people should worry about food IC. If a player ignores their character's needs long enough, it should even warrant a.... PK *gasp*. But of course, this shouldn't be a mechanic that a player should juggle around with 24/7. That's annoying, and drives everyone away from RP and making stories. The hunger and thirst bar would go down very, very slowly, to the point where you wouldn't give it much thought. A human won't die from starvation in a few hours. A character's needs should be at least somewhat easy to manage. That is, when the city is cohesive, and rations are given out daily, and stores have food to sell. But when the city's well-being goes south due to one reason or another; rations are suspended, supply-lines shattered, and food becomes scarce; that's when the hunger bar would start creeping on you. Your character would be forced to do things they normally wouldn't, and the desperation would bring out good roleplay, if you want your character to stay alive.

 

[Ash]

* The ability to portion food (eat 1/2 1/4)
* Limit ammo significantly, maybe a magazine or two per CP? - make it weigh a lot. Shootouts become more focused and roleplay driven.
* Shell casings as an item which you can pickup, after a shooting. (Hl2 have a shell casing prop I think)
* More environment props? / Static scenes, aftermath of rpleplay incidents.
* rat burger