My Castle or World Map

[Calico]

So, thinking on how the newer games had different features between story chapters, with Awakening allowing you to free-roam the world map, and Fates letting you build a customizable fort, which one would you prefer(not which one you think will happen) for the new switch game? 

Personally, while the fort feature in Fates had a lot of potential, I ultimately felt that it was kind of pointless, and I would want some major changes in how it works if it came back. I much preferred zooming about on the world map in Awakening, especially since that gave me some idea of where all the different countries are.

So what about you guys? What would you prefer to happen? 

Edited April 30, 2017 by Calico

[Zapp Branniglenn]

I guess I would say both in order to have as much content and as many mechanics as possible considered for FE Switch. But more definitively, I like the idea of a Castle better for Fire Emblem. When taking the role of any sort of leader, having an established base of operations for checking in on units and managing equipment makes more narrative sense and affords you activities to de-stress after each map. A world map is just kind of silly and breaks up the intended pace of the game. For instance the Shepherds are escaping Plegia after chapter 9, but the player could walk to any part of the map and see as many unrelated support conversations and paralogues as they like.

[Interdimensional Observer]

The insistence of Awakening to access to the map all the time does immersion break as that one infamous situation Gustavos brought up makes particularly clear. (and Anna's Paralogue opens up after C8- virtually guaranteeing the immersion break). Sacred Stones had the world map, but forced you to do two chapters in a row at times (Phantom Backstabbing-Landing At Taizel, the Caer Pelyn duo, Erika's Jehanna chapters, Darkling Woods and the final chapter).

My Castle was interesting and I do like the customization element, but in its own way having a pocket dimension castle detracted from things. I think I prefer My Castle.

I've heard the idea thrown around before by someone of a moving base of sorts. Basically, you change your location based on the plot, but wherever you set up camp, you can alter and customize things like My Castle. For online interactions, just totally segregate things from the story, or maybe reduce the world experienced in online interactions to a spiritual plane of existence. Meaning you can have your online My Castle on a rocky cliff even when the plot puts you in a ragged tent in a swamp, because your My Castle for online is purely a reflection of the desires of your soul. Thus, online interactions are reduced to soul touching across a multiverse, with some physical element capable of being transferred through the spiritual (if you wanted the exchange of items via online interactions).

[Ivy Wife Supremacy]

100% definitely My Castle it was a MAJOR improvement of immersion with your character and other units  but instead of a dimensional pocket I can see it become a moving base kinda mechanic across the world maybe visiting other peoples castle/base reasoning is through the Dragons Gate in another reality from yours. The World Map was pretty weird especially Awakening with the story narrative Sacred Stones and Echoes was ok since it made more sense but My Castles reception was positive so I can see it staying and worked on some more especially for the Switch game!

[Slumber]

I'd like a My Castle modeled more after the castles of FE4. It'll have a forge to repair weapons, your weapon vendors set up shop, an arena, item vendors, supports/base convos and all that jazz. Basically the bases from FE9, My Castle, and FE4 castles rolled into one, maybe with the superfluous bullshit in My Castles like statues and lotteries taken out.

No world map. I don't think a single FE has benefited from being able to backtrack or grind.

Edited May 1, 2017 by Slumber

[a bear]

How about My Camp? All the fun of a customizable base without the immobility of a castle or the silliness of private dimensions. And tents! You guys like tents, right?

[MediocreLee]

I prefer My Castle for the customization and interaction, albeit very little and mundane, with the characters is really nice to see.  There could be some improvement of it, of course, but all in all it was a good feature.

The only way I can see a world map being used correctly in Fire Emblem is that after certain story moments, you're blocked from going to previous areas until you have beaten another chapter, similar to Final Fantasy Tactics.

7 hours ago, a bear said:

How about My Camp? All the fun of a customizable base without the immobility of a castle or the silliness of private dimensions. And tents! You guys like tents, right?

I agree with this man!

[De Geso]

I like My Castle a lot, partly for the customization and partly because World Maps feel tacky to me, especially in Awakening (it's fine in Sacred Stones and I can't speak about Echoes or Gaiden.)

7 hours ago, a bear said:

How about My Camp? All the fun of a customizable base without the immobility of a castle or the silliness of private dimensions. And tents! You guys like tents, right?

Leave it to a bear to want us in tents, exposed. I see your game!

it's a good idea

Edited May 1, 2017 by YouSquiddinMe

[maybe]

the castle thing was kind of fun at first but got pretty boring and repetitive fast

i kinda liked moving around the map in awakening but there wasn't really much to do there. i'd prefer if they just did it like usual and moved through the story as you finish each chapter. 

[a bear]

Oh right, maps. I think they make for a good interface. They're pleasant to look at, they give you a sense of the world, they remind you of places you've been, and they hint at what's to come. The obvious downside is that they kill any sense of urgency between chapters. There also usually isn't anything to do with them that you can't do with a regular menu.

What I'd suggest is that a travel map (as we usually see it) is only used in a game designed around non-linear progression. Imagine if Awakening was about Chrom reclaiming territories from the Risen as he searches for those magic orbs so he can use the Fire Emblem or pull 3* Bartres or whatever. Imagine he could go to any chapter as long as he cleared an adjacent level, and Endgame unlocks by gathering all them purdy jewels. Imagine that the story changes depending on when you go to certain places or which path you choose. Replace urgency with exploration, more or less.

Now, I do think it's important that Fire Emblem keeps the option to grind (without DLC) that we've had with most map games. I'm sure some people will disagree for the sake of the game's integrity, but I maintain that it's best for FE to be flexible. Also as an aside, you don't need the map itself for this, and I think it's best that the game insinuates you're always where the story says you are. So... just use some fancy Battle Log with art of all the places you've been to and pretend they're all playing Robin's little board game. Don't ask why the army gained 1000g because a couple of us were playing Flame Crest at 2 AM in the mess hall, it just is.

[Armagon]

My Castle because it was a fun feature. But it needs to be improved a whole lot. I mean, Fates' My Castle was a bit bare-bones. Also, some of the designs were too small, made more evident in Revelation, where sometimes your units would block paths. Make the Castle exploration in 3D like in Echoes' Dungeons (the developers actually intended for this btw). That being said, putting the My Castle in a pocket realm just kinda breaks the flow. The camp idea is much better.

I wouldn't mind a world map, as long as it's done good. Gaiden/Echoes and Sacred Stones had the best world maps, because they didn't really break the immersion like Awakening and Fates' world maps did.

[Lord_Grima]

I liked having the MyCastle in Fates, but it felt cut off from the rest of the game/ world. And after the prologue chapters, they made no reference to it at all. The rest of Fates' story flowed as if there was no alternate dimension that an entire army vanished to. It was nice having everything in one place, but if it makes no sense in the story, then it does not add much. 

The MyCamp idea sound cool. And paired with a world map to move around in, it sounds better. One flaw in Fates, is that we could not see the world of Nohr and Hoshido. It was just go to this point here, with no sense of where it is in the world. So, my idea is have the map like Awakening/SoV, and the MyCamp. You get to choose where to set up camp, could be story-based or player-chosen. Different resources or items could be available based on where you set up MyCamp. But when you leave the MyCamp, you appear on the World Map and can move around it to see the world, continue the story, and fight skirmish battles. At any point you can return to MyCamp by moving to it on the world map and enter it. 

Leave the MyCamp as a place to interact with your army and prepare things (cook food, rest if fatigue returns, etc.). Then the World Map can be used like in Awakening, or other games. And make the Camp add more to the story. Like have an actual story chapter where the enemy ambushes your camp!

For Example:

Spoiler

In Fates, the Defense chapters were not connected to the story in anyway. 

So, my idea. At one point in the story; your army takes a big loss, has been fighting all day and needs a rest, or the army needs time to prepare for the next stage of the war. The main lord tells everyone to regroup back at the camp. While there and resting, the nightwatchmen alert the camp that they are under attack. Then battle commences in your camp. Because everyone is waking up to fight, they can have lowered stats, or something to show they are not prepared for this ambush. At the end of the battle, maybe something could have been stolen; battle plans, the Fire Emblem, the Falchion, or a person. From there the army has to get it back.

 

This is just a little idea that incorporates the MyCamp into the story, and gives a reason to have a battle there. Thoughts?

 

Edited May 1, 2017 by Lord_Grima

[SavageVolug]

What I don't like about MY Castle is how it was implemented where essentially you were in an alternate but parallel dimension, basically cutting you off from the real world. What I don't like about this is you feel separated from the world. Also a lot of the things you did in the My Castle felt more like something you would expect out of a Farming or Life simulator game not a strategy game. I probably would have liked the My Castle better if it was supposed to be in the Capital of Nohr or Hoshido as the case may be. That and I didn't care like how smithing worked it was too grind heavy Awakening's system would have been better. Or Radiant Dawn's for that matter which is similar in some regards or maybe something in between the two systems.

In regards to the map I think they need to use a political map as the map Fates had did not make any sense to me. I had no idea where Norh's capital was in relation to Hoshido or the Ice tribe village.

[Ivy Wife Supremacy]

On 5/1/2017 at 0:57 AM, a bear said:

How about My Camp? All the fun of a customizable base without the immobility of a castle or the silliness of private dimensions. And tents! You guys like tents, right?

Not a bad idea as long as their is variety of buildings and more decor then neat otherwise I keep My Castle on the world map in a safe haven area that can usually get invaded.

Edited May 6, 2017 by Blade Lord Lyn

[SavageVolug]

I would like to see a base with conversations, shop and armory similar to Radiant Dawn. In addition I would like if there were scenes that showed the actual base rather than feeling like the base is cut off from the rest of the world. Also you need a world map of some kind perhaps what the Tellius games did with highlighting certain domains and showing a profile of the individuals they were talking about, or maybe what the GBA games did where they show how the characters got from point A to point B this could be done by pixels or maybe arrows showing what their route was. One thing I don't want done is implying additional battles have been fought but not allowing us to fight them (this is one of my gripes with Radiant Dawn as much as I like that game). A political map needs to be used as the world map, Fates' map did not make any sense I never knew where Hoshido was in relation to the Ice Tribe rebellion or Cheve either for that matter. Also wee need to know what the route is that our characters took to get to X location. I never understood how Corrin could be in the swamp lands one second and then he's in the freezing mountains the next. Lastly instead of the convoy being  connected to the protagonist I want a merchant character who has a tent or wagon on the battlefield being the convoy, basically we bring back the Merlinus idea.

[NekoKnight]

I'm going to say have both, but leaning more in the direction of My Castle. Rather than a singular castle that you customize, I'd rather have towns or camps that serve the purpose of your base for whatever you are doing in the story. Like, if you are fighting local battles, you might return to the same fort several times but if you're pressing into enemy territory, the base might be a forest in one chapter and a city in the next. A customizable castle can be reserved for multiplayer.

As for the content, I like them to cut out the fluff like the resource harvesting and lottery and just have the core facilities. An armory/item shop or traveling merchant and a training ground for BEXP. Perhaps instead of accessing supports/base conversations from a menu, you'd actually see those characters walking around the camp.

While there is no need for the player to walk around on a world map, I'd appreciate having a map that we can see countries, key locations, where we are and where we came from.

[tumut]

My Castle was kind of gimmicky and didn't I didn't feel connected to other battles or the overworld at all. World map was much better, I liked having different shops that sold different things. Also I thought the customization options in my castle were really lackluster. I think A camp setting could compromise between these two.

[Ivy Wife Supremacy]

I honestly believe My Castle will be another standard now since everything that you need is there plus not breaking immersion of progression via World Map also moving your character in 3D talking to other characters in the Castle will be awesome especially how amazing the visuals will be and new buildings they can add!

[Doof]

I like the idea of a base but My Castle was kind of blah. It was really immersion breaking for me because one moment you're mourning the loss of someone important in the story, and the next you're in your little pocket dimension playing lottery and playing dress-up. Granted, World Maps had the same issues too, but I at least felt like I was in the world of the story, instead of never seeing the world and chilling in a pocket dimension.

I'd like a combination of both concepts... or instead of your own base, make actual towns and settlements for the next FE. I'd take unique cities where you can do activities like buy weapons, participate in arenas and forge and talk with people and having your peeps relax and form bonds than a base that's disconnected from the world.

[SatsumaFSoysoy]

I want both. I want to be able to traverse on a world map (time-based objectives can be used to prevent/discourage backtracking) and go on detours and such, fighting encounters along the way to a big destination, kinda like Echoes. I hope they do away with just moving along dots on a map, and actually give us a line/lines that we traverse on, and we can choose to stop at any point to set up camp for a My Castle-esque experience.

Basically, I'd want more JRPG elements on the side for FE, but map design etc. should be prioritized, of course.

[FoxyGrandpa]

I think My Castle staying would be fine, but the developers need to expand upon it significantly from fates to make it more realistic.

For starters, make it so that the castle is placed in the kingdom your fighting for rather than some alternative dimension. The castle being placed in the Astral plains in Fates rather than hoshido or nohr just ruined most of the immersion in that game. I liked the idea of invasions, but again, invisible warriors rather than the enemy camp attacking your castle just ruined the immersion, so that should be fixed. I think shops should be run by generic characters rather than your own units for similar reasons

I also think that more minigames should be added for things like mining, farming, and cooking, but I know most people will find these things tedious so I wouldn't mind if they weren't present. Bathhouse fanservice can stay, but the developers need to use illustrations rather than 3d models.

I think the world map should stay as well. After playing Shadows of Valentia, I do think the developers should add villages and Dungeons to the world map, though the developers should expand what your characters are able to do in dungeons besides just slashing at things. Maybe add an item that can temporarily repel enemies as well, though special enemies like bosses shouldn't be able to be repeled.

Paralogues / Gaiden chapters should be kept on the world map like in awakening, but I do feel that the enemy's levels should scale with how far you are in the game like in Fates. I also don't think you should be able to buy weapons from the world map, but rather, examine the environment you just fought in for usable weapons and materials like in echoes.