The end of the end of the world

[Martyn van Buren]

I feel like you'd have to make it very very clear that an optional doomsday device was optional --- you know, JRPGs very often have some machine that it obviously a bad idea for the character to use but you have to turn it on for some reason because that's the plot.  So I feel like players would wind up assuming they were supposed to use it and complaining after.

That said, I'm glad continent destruction is gone; it gives Arcen some more scope for things like epitaphs that will create memorable locations.  If there are going to be "fail states" I'd much rather they were burned and pillaged settlements than simply missing land --- you'd still have something to visit that reflected both what you'd accomplished and what you did wrong.

[Gallant Dragon]

That said, I'm glad continent destruction is gone; it gives Arcen some more scope for things like epitaphs that will create memorable locations.  If there are going to be "fail states" I'd much rather they were burned and pillaged settlements than simply missing land --- you'd still have something to visit that reflected both what you'd accomplished and what you did wrong.

You know, this idea is actually brilliant.  Overlord destroys settlement!  The Glyphbearer, overcome by grief, goes on a mad suicidal mission to make the Overlord atone for his crimes!  What happens next?!

[king_lem]

Maybe the effects of "End of the World" missions could be isolated to a specific region. If the players ignore the mission or fail it, then the chunk 'sinks into the ocean'. That result would be more forgiving instead of being a one-and-done kind of thing, but would still bring a sense of urgency to players. Granted, these would have to not be secret missions and result in significant rewards in order to not cause players to see them as annoying in a babysitting sort of way.

[Yurka_Maku]

Maybe (though a stray from the ideas here) once you defeat the Overlord of the continent you get a grey line added to the overlord randomly that shows that his/her defeat was just the catalyst in a even bigger incident? The whole shards of time thing could become unstable, and occasionally shift inward/outward, greatly changing the areas. Or even more so, the overlord being defeated, begrudging monologue, and a blight/infection/instability could be spread and maybe throw in a even more powerful boss to curtail the potential infection of the settlement?

[Regdren]

Hopefully this isn't thread necromancy. Since "no failure state" is one of the central ideas of the game, I'd like to suggest a consequence that's more for drama than in-game punishment. I like the idea that the overlord actually is a danger to the continent, and would destroy it if left unchecked. I think it would be fun to have an option available at the start of the game that gives it some teeth, adding a countdown to the lifetime of the continent. Killing a lieutenant would extend the deadline, and maybe there would be some kind of dispatch mission to delay the overlord's evil plan as well.

But the big sticking point seems to be the penalty, making it something you notice but not end the game completely. I suggest forcing you and the other survivors to move to the next continent. The second continent is the same level as the one you left, and the old survivors are at the new settlement in addition to the new ones (but with the usual penalty for having to leave their home.) And a new countdown begins. I think this idea would be better if killing an overlord gave you some unique kind of gift that couldn't be had any other way, but the general idea might have merit on its own too. What do you guys think?