Why Are Video Game NPCs ALWAYS SLOWER Than The Player

[@Ki_Late]

Skyrim NPCs not only slow, but they can get lost on a straight road.

[@roadhouse6999]

Click the NPC with the command console open and use "setav speedmult 200". It'll make them go twice as fast. Unless you bought Skyrim on console for whatever reason (it'll run great on pretty much any computer made after 2011).

[@codeninja1832]

roadhouse699 I always hated that they got rid of speed. Acrobatics as well. and spell making. And all the other attributes. Spears were fun too. And separate clothing pieces (chest, pants, boots, etc). Levitation was fun as well. Here's hoping they don't replace all skills with perks in TES 6.

[@TemptationsEnd]

I hate NPC's that you can't recruit in Skyrim, though I love followers, as a lot of them after you get x distance away from them. They teleport to you

[@niceemployee]

You guys answer the questions I would not think I needed answers for.

[@619Datninja]

Benjamin Lopez Pretty much! I'm usually like YEAH! WHY IS THAT!?

[@JOHLumLums]

Benjamin Lopez ikr? I would like the guys from gameranx to be my professors

[@Smokez360]

619Datninja hahaha that's my reaction every time one of these goes up

[@Blank55600]

Need to put a video out

[@Desdemona-XI]

Benjamin Lopez I was just thinking the same thing

[@ron8162]

When you have to wait 1 hour for your companion to catch up in skyrim

[@TheReZisTLust]

Ron Yuma i rest

[@justiceforjoggers2897]

irritates the living hell out of me when followers just randomly run off, never to be seen until many, many hours later

[@graveborn6975]

Ron Yuma lol I just try to make a game out of ditching em

[@nashdiy8570]

That was a companion? All this time I thought I had a stalker.

[@mariesummers.]

Graveborn 91 - Haha. If only the game had a higher difficulty setting.

[@blazbohinc5735]

AC Origins NPCs have a predetermined path, but WAIT. There's more to it. They have a whole day scheduled ahead of them. Each NPC has a routine, a function. A sleep cycle, a job. You can follow them around and see for yourself. That game demands CPU cores like no other. W3 has dynamic character, but they just walk around endlessly. I've played both games, and AC Origins NPCs seem better in the long run. Idk. Both games do it great nevertheless.

[@hispanicbaljeet4076]

Blaž Bohinc but they still are annoying to walk with. That mission where you trail the merchants is painful because they take like 5 to get somewhere you would in 30 seconds.

[@Desdemona-XI]

Not just resource intensive. Regardless of your cpu it simply takes npcs longer to "think" whenever they have to course correct. This can also slow them down. Also you cant really be surprised. Merchants arent exactly on assassin level fitness

[@triangularfish6487]

AI That has a schedule for the entire day is not that intensive. Fucking legend of Zelda: Majora’s mask on the NINTENDO 64 did it!

[@sirjoey3137]

Kingdom Come Deliverance has that same exact thing too and that's from an indie game studio I think.

[@thehasbullaofalltime]

TriangularFish this is different on legend of Zelda they just walk around a bit then go to sleep AC origins on the other hand well they have a specific path to take first go to the market then gather water for the household and get some food too and they can also break this path if something happens for example if the player sets something on fire then they will gather water to put the fire out

[@kazumakiryu0]

Bless the Witcher 3

[@王子乌龟]

Sseccanya Bricknell I safe some elf in the forest... Took it forever to get him to his friends to earn rewards...

[@shiehjohan7881]

The goat escort is super annoying

[@H.E.M.]

shieh Johan I remember that lol

[@weeabootrash329]

Shieh Johan - A bit but still Neck Snappingly easy.

[@DexLuther]

@gameranx, I'm a game tester and have to deal with this all the time. Problem is you're making it sound a lot harder than it actually is. Various navmeshing makes NPC movement and actions through AI nodes a lot easier. Basically you draw an invisible box around an area and tell your NPC characters that they can walk anywhere in this box. Then you place invisible nodes around the area where you want NPCs to perform certain actions. The NPC will sometimes wander around the navmesh area, and sometimes target a node and walk to it to perform an action. You could spawn thousands of NPCs programmed to be allowed on that Navmesh and they should all wander around it. If you program the NPCs to also use nodes every once in a while, most will wander around and some will walk to nodes that aren't being used and perform whatever actions those nodes instruct and then go back to wandering around while others walk up to the nodes. For example you might have a chair and a table with food on it. You'd place a Node on the chair, and when an NPC walks to that node, it plays the animation to sit making it sit on the chair. You could get a little more complicated by putting more than one animation in a node, so when an NPC walks to it a random animation is played for the list (ex: Sit, sit and eat, etc). One NPC might walk up to the node and sit and eat and then get up and walk away, and then moments later another NPC walks up to the same node and just sits. You even could also have a bunch nodes that only certain types of NPCs can use such as only guard NPCs can use the node in the Guard tower, which might have animations to use weapons or be on lookout for hostiles. The speed an NPC takes during follow or escort missions often changes a lot while the game is being QA tested. Sometimes the NPC is too fast, which could cause the player to lose track of it or get to a certain point before they've finished their bit of dialogue, and of course for atmospheric reasons or because the story calls for it (the NPC is injured and can't move very fast).

[@muizzkhan2426]

Skyrim....the npc just vanishes for a while.....damn faendal.....

[@GothiQhaQer]

Wait. But when you have to chase someone in Assassin's Creed they're running fast af. You either have to cut them off or wait until they think they've lost you and stop running.

[@birdiemcchicken1471]

Yup! Now imagine that happening when it's an NPC you're supposed to be escorting, rather than trying to kill. That's why they go slower than you.

[@Desdemona-XI]

Birdie McChicken yeah exactly. You need an npc to move slower so you can catch up to them or navigate around them covering them. Ofcourse when your escort section is basically cinematic and nothing happens during the entire walk the "faster than a walk but slower then a run" is highly irritating.

[@Libertee109]

Lol, for some reason comment section answers the video’s question better than the video itself, thank you

[@birdiemcchicken1471]

I hate escort segments that are just people walking and talking down a street or corridor. They only do it because they don't want the autistic neckbeard kiddies to complain about the game "Taking control away from them" during cut-scenes. I would rather it just be an actual cinematic.

[@Bestgameplayer10]

I hate tailing missions in games. Especially GTA games. It’s so tedious to have to move slowly through a nearly absolutely static environment. It’s nice though when games make you tail someone and you have to traverse obstacles quickly like in Assassin’s Creed games, that makes it fun.

[@jayfrmbrklyn4543]

Then explain ants in Skyrim.

[@ricobreadwinner5401]

He did. Sorta. He says developers send tons of hours on one single thing p

[@Desdemona-XI]

Ants in skyrim are basically just a flat texture loop spinning on the few tree stumps that have them. They arent even individual entities

[@elablackcat3567]

I play Skyrim but WHERE THE HELL ARE ANTS IN THIS GAME ?? Is my resolution too bad to find them or what is going on ??

[@graveborn6975]

Ela BlackCat I agree I have never seen them on the ps3 version

[@Desdemona-XI]

Ela BlackCat there are only like a handful of tree stumps in skyrim that have ants. The easiest to find is right by the door to half moon mill in falkreath

[@thereddeath2534]

Witcher 3 actually did it right the NPCs u follow, go at your speed so if u sprint they go faster than you still, most of the time: always found it soo much refreshing, its one of the greatest aspects of the game lol sad but true

[@CptVein]

One of the most underrated features of the game.

[@Laserkitten]

Akeldema Archon I would always forget about that feature and jog behind them instead of sprint.

[@H.E.M.]

Hey, I'm your life I'm the one who takes you there Hey, I'm your life I'm the one who cares They, they betray I'm your only true friend now They, they'll betray I'm forever there [Chorus: James Hetfield] I'm your dream, make you real I'm your eyes when you must steal I'm your pain when you can't feel Sad but true I'm your dream, mind astray I'm your eyes while you're away I'm your pain while you repay You know it's sad but true Sad but true [Verse 2: James Hetfield] You, you're my mask You're my cover my shelter You, you're my mask You're the one who's blamed Do, do my work Do my dirty work scapegoat Do, do my deeds For you're the one who's shamed [Chorus: James Hetfield] I'm your dream, make you real I'm your eyes when you must steal I'm your pain when you can't feel Sad but true I'm your dream, mind astray I'm your eyes while you're away I'm your pain while you repay You know it's sad but true Sad but true [Guitar Solo: Kirk Hammett] [Bridge: James Hetfield] I'm your dream I'm your eyes I'm your pain I'm your dream I'm your eyes I'm your pain You know it's sad but true [Guitar Solo: Kirk Hammett] [Verse 3: James Hetfield] Hate, I'm your hate I'm your hate when you want love Pay, pay the price Pay for nothing's fair Hey, I'm your life I'm the one who took you there Hey, I'm your life And I no longer care [Chorus: James Hetfield] I'm your dream, make you real I'm your eyes when you must steal I'm your pain when you can't feel Sad but true I'm your truth, telling lies I'm your recent alibis I'm inside, open your eyes I'm you Sad but true

[@4skintim962]

H. E. M. What

[@javenminella-farley7395]

Not in the Witcher 3

[@shiehjohan7881]

You're the one that actually follows them

[@fantanaut]

Exactly my thought

[@XenoflareBahamut]

searching for this comment

[@Metalprofile]

if you walk, they walk and if you run they run... it's beautiful

[@RaylaEclipse]

What about that goat?

[@habitsrabbit]

I just got Vietnam flashbacks of escorting Natalya on GoldenEye 64....

[@boonehamilton6720]

Every single WoW escort mission used to drive me insane.

[@cattibingo]

I’m having RE 4 flashbacks. That horrible sound. *”LEEOOOONN!”*

[@highswagaming]

Cattitbingo omg noooooo

[@HKVITA-wo2td]

Cattitbingo no *"HELLLLLLLENNNNNAAAA"*

[@dhillon7167]

Cattitbingo hahahah

[@Kono_Dio-Da]

*FRAAAAAAANK!*

[@TemptationsEnd]

Whenever someone mentions bad NPC AI or slow pathing on escort missions I inwardly cringe at those parts of it, thank god the escort parts weren't that long and didn't pop up often.

[@Aymannnnnnnn]

Two words that haunt me till this day : *LEON* *HELP*

[@Guardsmen4]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2TaoHWMhtxklZo mahahahahahahhahhhahhahaa

[@Mdeadline]

Nothing is worse than wow quests that have you protect the npc for like 20 mins

[@shauryalall]

deadline assassin creed always does that

[@CanadianBlaze137]

Especially if the ai is so bad they deliberately put themselves in harms way >:(

[@ameiru1]

Re 4 is worse

[@Gleobrew]

Exactly, they just keep on walking not giving 2 fucks

[@spencerhon4430]

Literally every NPC that makes you follow them in any Elder Scrolls/Fallout (3 and newer) game has this problem.

[@valiroime]

My experience in Elder Scrolls or Fallout 3 + games are that the NPCs are faster than the player. I end up doing a walk walk walk jog walk walk walk jog kind of thing.

[@Ibarakify]

It's fixable by changing a single variable, too. Plenty of mods that do it. It has nothing to do with NPC pathing, and everything to do with the fact that companies neglect these basic design elements.

[@roadhouse6999]

Click the NPC with the command console open and use "setav speedmult 200". It'll make them go twice as fast. Unless you bought Skyrim on console for whatever reason (it'll run great on pretty much any computer made after 2011).

[@nicklol8269]

As a teen i got into a little game called Warcraft 3 and a magical addition that made dreams come true called World Editor. With the trigger editor and enough time you could create anything you wanted, i never got into real coding but i'v never played a game without trying to imagine how it's coded to work. Observe and take advantage of npc pathing and paying attention to what Event triggers what Action with what Condition.

[@Goldensphinx]

I hate this so much, but there are games that don’t have this problem, but whenever it is a problem, it’s so annoying

[@Ali107]

When I make an NPC, I make the npc move to a random location. Then if the NPC saw the player then it tries to chase us down.

[@justinda1012]

The mission in Skyrim right after you exit the cave at the very beginning of the game...

[@gambello1195]

JustinDA101 I never followed him, just went my own way

[@Libertee109]

Gambello lol, same, if I’m not mistaken he doesn’t even say to follow him, he says where the village is and who you should talk to

[@nashdiy8570]

Yes but I'm always over encumbered at this point. Because if it's worth money I am NOT leaving it behind.

[@wiggy009]

Gambello I used to

[@CanadianBlaze137]

@@nashdiy8570 i used to do that until i just minmaxed. Only carrying stuff that was worth the most knowing it would sell for 10% of its value unless you put perks into speech

[@mashaelalanzi9607]

I was thinking about this the other day, I love the questions that u guys ask as well as the presentation. Very unique and informative. Keep on tearing down these mirrors Falcon!

[@BARTMAN8603]

Don't know if I missed the answer to that question or not, but still why can't a developer match the walking speed of a NPC with the walking speed of my character. I mean literally walking, not sprinting or running, just normal walking. In so many games immersion is kinda destroyed, because a NPC is talking to me and I just want to wander alongside of him, but no my charakter is signifikant slower when walking than the freaking NPC and so I have to do little sprints to catch up to him. This is far more annoying than a NPC walking or running slower than me.

[@milowolfface9392]

BARTMAN GER I always figured it was because they had so much info to get out, thus they make them move slower to hide the info dump. Seriously, next time you play a game with somthing like you just described. Try to notice the conversation ends right before you get there or a handfull of seconds after you arrive.

[@Bestgameplayer10]

Milo WolfFace - I’ve noticed that too. Kinda silly in my opinion.

[@DobieMeltfire]

Maybe this could apply ever more so for racing games. Some AI in racing games have cars following their own unique driving lines (So the AI drive more human like) while other games have AI follow a lock path. (like when you see a "conga line" of AI cars while racing)

[@samventurer375]

*cough* Skyrim *cough*

[@roadhouse6999]

Click the NPC with the command console open and use "setav speedmult 200". It'll make them go twice as fast. Unless you bought Skyrim on console for whatever reason (it'll run great on pretty much any computer made after 2011).

[@charleschaney8730]

Itll run on an old system but look like complete shit. Even in 4k at 60fps skyrim still looks terrible. It hasn't aged well at all. Guess that happens when they're still using the same engine from morrowind...

[@fanjestic4294]

Or anything made by Bethesda ever ;P

[@joew.4073]

I think some of the best NPC centric missions are when you have to escort an injured person, maybe you're dragging them and they're shooting enemies, or they are hobbling around from cover to cover as you protect them from enemies, but that kinda stuff where there's a very good reason for them to be slow, and that's a big part of the situation you're in.

[@iaa1455]

falcon doing product placement for gameranx videos hhh

[@JoystickStereo]

I did NOT expect you to give as in-depth of an answer as you did

[@danshiba1498]

Witcher 3 and god of war ps4 have npcs that speed up to compensate for your speed Both games are world widely loved Coincidence..i think *NOT!*

[@Xeno_Bardock]

NPC AI need NPU (Neural Processing Unit) chip on motherboard to improve tremendously...and then skynet happens.

[@andrewn8002]

Skyrim suffers from this. Badly. 😧

[@InvictvsNox]

I'm impressed you guys were able to get 9 minutes out of this subject after editing. Well done! Lots of points to consider lol

[@realcatinside6499]

no,in my oblivion,npc walk faster than me

[@AHappyCub]

RealCat Inside let me guess, overburdened ?

[@realcatinside6499]

no,i have feather spell

[@mehashevra4804]

Heavy Armor?

[@dailyoverdose277]

I wear heavy and out run deer what you mean

[@mehashevra4804]

trenton mathers he could have a low heavy armor skill level slowing him down when he's in heavy armor and it'd be worsened if he used a TwoHanded Weapon

[@SeeASquaRE]

More intimidating is when you're doing a story mode and you have walk along with an NPC. They always seem to either walk faster than you or walk slower than you when you're at max walking speed.

[@jobanh7ify]

Escort missions in every GTA

[@Bestgameplayer10]

You never escort anyone in GTA games. Unless you meant tailing missions.

[@jobanh7ify]

I remembered misión with some in game character and they get kill a lot...GTA 3,Vice City to name a few...

[@nattymodding]

IT IS WORSE WHEN YOU CAN'T EVEN MATCH THEIR SPEED... EITHER TO FAST OR TO SLOW.

[@Consumstra]

I wish gameranx was with me instead of the NPC

[@ChrisKramer_]

your channel is pure gold

[@carlos321698]

Because that's how it was programmed.

[@TheGetreal4live]

Great topics and not clickbait. You get that answer with the explanation, love all the videos you all upload. Keep it going!

[@SkinInfection]

God dammed jess in far cry 5 runs slower than you can freaking walk

[@flamerom5845]

Me: walks Npc: slow Me: stops Me again: walks again And thus this repeats

[@JOHLumLums]

Oh bad Resident Evil 4 flasbacks...

[@andy101101vids]

I feel theres one exception to this rule haha. In Dying Light the npcs actually keep up with you

[@henrytibbetts-zesbaugh8290]

Star wars republic commando remastered by blackout studios Could you mention this please?

[@marky3609]

Is this happening?

[@henrytibbetts-zesbaugh8290]

Marky 360 Yeah, the team has been working for a while amd are planning to add more content and more multiplauer modes. They want to keep it free because it is made by fans for fans.

[@Steampunkzter]

Hmmmm did you say fan made Star Wars welp better go inform Disney so they can shut that shit down just like the Star Wars mod for arma and also battlefront 3 ......... feels bad man

[@marky3609]

Henry Tibbetts-Zesbaugh Oh shit that sounds awesome never played the original but always wanted to.

[@henrytibbetts-zesbaugh8290]

That could happen but I'm pretty sure they are using their own assets and making the game different enough, but I don't know a ton about how this all works so we'll see and hope!

[@nashdiy8570]

That was a companion? All this time I thought I had a stalker.

[@logicalfundy]

Was the question actually answered somewhere? Look, there is no *technical* reason why NPCs can't move faster. No, they don't use up more resources by moving faster, they just change coordinates faster, which is the same amount of math. Let's say I'm currently moving a character 4 pixels every frame, but later want to move the character 6 pixels. Adding 6 to a coordinate takes the same amount of CPU power as adding 4. In 3D, you do a vector transform which is a bit more math, but still the same result: Moving faster doesn't use more RAM or CPU. The only technical reason I can actually think of for slowing down an NPC is if you're using a pathfinding algorithm that can't keep up if you move AI characters too fast. But I think that point got lost in the middle of everything else, if it was even mentioned, and to be honest I'm not even sure that is true in most games as pathfinding is a well-studied problem and developers have a good grasp on how to make it fast enough to keep up with a running player. I'm pretty certain the decision to make NPCs generally slower than the character tends to be a game design decision rather than a technical limitation - the designers are just trying to set a slower pacing because yes players will just rush through the level not caring about things like the NPC's health, whether the NPC got lost, how much enemy attention the NPC has attracted, or the story driven reason for the escort. But I kinda think that got lost in the discussion of resources like RAM, which seemed way off topic.

[@milowolfface9392]

logicalfundy I personally view as, in a story heavy game at least, hey we need to get some info out. So we'll put in this time where you have to walk to make it less boring, that and to hide the fact that we're terrible writers who can't find a better way to present the required information to the player in an organinc way. Also it helps pad out the time. Thus info dump, alot of it, thus slower walk to get it all out. You ever notice how the conversation always ends right before or a few seconds after you get to your objectives. And I dont mean where they cut the dialogue off and force some new dialogue or even a cutscene.

[@jjassiem]

Im surprised youre the only person who's said this

[@Korn1holio]

Yeah, the whole video seems very misleading. Like, WTF? NPC walk slowly because of limited resources? This is some serious bullshit.

[@KeanuOR]

When walking speed is 50 and running is 70 and the in-between slightly tilt the analog to match the character is 60 and the npc is walking 62.74829i4672838272ud I'm going to be un-immersed.

[@InMaTeofDeath]

I know why I'm just here to give the view. :) I like how valve solved this with Alyx by making her faster than the Gordon's walk speed but slower than his run speed.

[@happyrat5230]

I love playing skyrim and all but whenever I'm on the first mission walking to riverwood, I just sprint there cause I'm so tired of the NPC.

[@Corazelli]

I’m getting a gaming pc soon and I have no idea about anything to do with pc gaming. My questions: What the hell is gtx 1080? What does a cpu actually do? What cpu cooler should I get? How much ram should I get? What is liquid cooling? That’s all.

[@AceInDaHand]

same question building a pc is a nightmare for new people

[@minime3132]

What's the budget?

[@AHappyCub]

Nvidia GTX 1080 is the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) CPU is the PC's Brain Get RAM as much as you need Liquid Cooling is the type of Cooling used to cool your CPU and/or GPU

[@cavemann_]

GTX 1080 is a graphics card CPU makes your pc go broom broom Quiet CPU cooler is a good CPU cooler 8-16GB why even bother

[@Steampunkzter]

Nigerian Scammer I mean I own a pc and I don’t understand a lick of a pc for instance why does my d key not pop back into the keyboard and stay there it’s like it’s threaded but I can’t find this answer and pc gaming is still great

[@anneyoder1157]

Top 10 questions scientists STILL can't answer

[@Myas662]

I miss jak and daxter😓😓

[@Fly0High]

In Mafia, City of Lost Heaven when you have to protect Paulie in the garage but he keeps running into the line of fire... "Damn you Paulie, get back here!!"

[@sooup1387]

Why not?

[@calsouth03]

In Fallout 4, dogmeat usually walks at the same speed as me...

[@diego7399]

Not in the witcher lel

[@jfs5873]

That moment when your NPC walks too slow for you to run and to fast for you to run

[@kyrieeleison9599]

everytime they're soooooooooo *slowww*

[@helloitsnicko]

Love these info vids. They’re always super interesting. Even the April fools one from last year(?) that was about detail in rocks. Hahaha. 😬

[@GothiQhaQer]

NPC's do what they're told. Likely they're told to walk at a constant pace

[@alberik666]

That's so annoying having to stop all the time or wait for the npc. I don't thin this is something hard to fix.

[@dark0nightz]

world of war craft npc

[@ispiritkami]

0:13 “Mr. Falcon um I don’t feel so good” also half the time I walk beside someone is because the npc will just stop and wait for me to comeback

[@tariqo16]

reall easy it's because i play better :)

[@Leubast]

We just want NPCs that move at the same pace as the PC and can perform the same movements as the PC. Jump over a fence, NPC spends 10mins running around it.

[@mickyuzi1622]

1 minute and 23 people saying they're first. thirsty blokes, should be ashamed of yourself lol.

[@alexsmith2910]

Naw, Never be ashamed to be early to game ranks video. :)

[@joebarbaro1545]

Are you English M Yuzi?

[@mickyuzi1622]

Joe Barbaro Naw I'm Canadian. A close second ✌

[@joebarbaro1545]

M Yuzi It's just the way you used "blokes" there... It was kinda disgusting, made yourself look french mate

[@mickyuzi1622]

i'm not even the french kind of Canadian either, sorry I offended ya lol

[@Azuris190]

It could be so easy = If Player runs = Companian runs If Player walks = Companian walks If Player stops = Companian stops ... and argues

[@Flowtactics]

I'm having PTSD flashbacks of the Sherlock Holmes game *NotLikeThis*

[@DefyyourGravity103]

"a complex virtual machine running on a complex physical machine" excellent way to put it thanks!

[@volo7]

gameranx always asks the questions i have about the games i play... you nailed it again.

[@DoctorDex]

Metro 2033 had me escort an NPC on the brink of death through a tunnel full of exploding enemies. I never finished the game because he kept dying on me. Escort quests can be a real pain in the ass.

[@reilandeubank]

For some reason, a part in COD Advanced Warfare sticks out to me after all these years. You were simply walking from one side of a building to another, AND THE NPC TAKING YOU THERE SEEMED TO BE EXACTLY BETWEEN THE SPEED OF WALKING AND RUNNING

[@Patrick_Engels]

as someone who is studying game design while also working on small scale games on the side and learning about the industry I can assure you that most of the "NPC fails" stem from either lazyness or deadlines ( npc's seem to be low priotity while complex to build properly).

[@47Mortuus]

*BEING* *OUT* *OF* *IDEAS* *INTENSIFIES*

[@fishfingers4548]

I was always fond of NPCs that push you off stuff, or the ones that carefully gaze down your gun barrel whilst you're firing. Remember kids, friendly fire isn't...

[@caden3ds]

1:15 What game is this? I have been looking for this game for a while.

[@TheWhiteMamba3000]

I hate some of the npcs in dead rising 2 (optional) that won't follow your path and you have to massacre zombies just to get them to the destination.

[@OmegaJazz]

best part in this video is when falcon pops out from the bottom of the screen.

[@bobo1million]

LOVE the Falcon "explaining things about stuff" videos!

[@red_vibe9984]

It's annoying when in LEGO Marvel when doing the escort missions for gold bricks and the characters get lost, forget about you, or stuck on something or even go back to where they started. Especially when I don't realize that they aren't following me and I am already on the other side of New York.

[@ArchHippy]

Here's a tip: Try pushing the NPC in the direction they're supposed to go. It doesn't always work, but it can make those sections slightly faster.

[@glaciemdraco]

That's why I like how Trails of Cold Steel does it. Only one playable character on the screen at the time (in the map/overworld (?) not in battle) and any guest characters just move with the group (like with the group, but not on the screen? It's hard to explain...)

[@SuperBeardWill]

I wonder if she's still stood there in Riverrun sweeping the dirt?

[@murplesman]

I remember there was one game where the npc wasn't slower and I was actually surprised.

[@jose2226]

NPC's in The Witcher 3 weren't, which was one of my favorite features of the game 😂

[@Guitarfollower22]

Trying to follow those type of NPCs is even more agonizing on PC because of WASD. There should be a key bind that let’s you match the speed of an NPC.

[@RhadMusic]

If the npc was moving at your max speed, you could never catch up to him.

[@DeerestAshe]

Botw korok forest babysitting that damn little korok without being seen or heard

[@elibeachill]

òr just when u r walkin with them when they r explaining a mission and you have to stop and start, it takes away from immersion

[@deenanthekemoni9821]

Another good question: *Why dont NPC enemies ever actually get mutilated in games?* (limbs come off, decapitation, like actual gore). The NPCs in everygame I know of die and their bodies invincible in a ragdoll state, no REAL damage ever occurs.

[@lisahenton2020]

Mine was that part in AW where he looked like he was running but he wasn't and it made it stick out

[@iamshow6477]

During the first playthrough of Nier Automata and you're being led to Pascal's village for the first time, I tried to run past him at first and was pleasantly surprised that for the first time I didn't have to slow down for an NPC leading me somewhere. Thanks Yoko Taro.

[@kaslogan5597]

This is why i loved red dead redemption. You always stayed at the same speed as your NPC in the story

[@spazman8675309]

I've also heard that in follow missions, the npc being slower than your sprint is so if you get side tracked/get in a fight/ explore a bit, you can easily catch back up and wont get stuck out of range

[@lonerider5933]

Protecting Natalya in Goldeneye 007 was the worst escort mission I've played.

[@charmedrools1]

there's an escort quest in oblivion's fighters guild, you've gotta take some lass through a cave to a daedric shrine. she walks at about the same speed as a normal low level npc and if you've got a high speed/athletics stat/skill you'll probably outrun her since out of combat npcs almost always walk and by default you always run. and even if you push the joystick lightly to walk, because of your higher stats, your walking speed is likely the same as her running speed, so you've gotta tiptoe to keep close to her, but say you spo a chest and you go over to open it, guess what?! if she detects a deadra during that time off she'll run to fight a giant humanoid alligator with no armour and just an iron dagger. or a cannifear which will injure you if you stupidly try to use a melee weapon on it you share the injuries. i normally just cast a paralisis spell on her in the first fight so she thinks it's an accident, clear the cave out so she doesn't get herself killed and then double back to her where she's waiting because she wasn't in combat and i was too far away. it's so frustrating, this quest, along with a couple of glitchy ones, let down the best game in the elder scrolls game (pre summerset in case someone's here after the fifth core elder scrolls game comes out my opinion could change. and also no i didn't make a mistake, skyrim is an insult to elder scolls lore and continuity thus is undeserving of the ranks of the elder scrolls and eso isn't a core elder scrolls game)

[@fakebobbyhill296]

I like how Atreus teleports to you whenever necessary.

[@benjaminnelson5455]

Worst to date for me is an old one now, but it was that vehicle escort mission in Mech Warrior. I enjoyed the game as a whole, but that car seemed to have negative health points at the start of the level, if anything so much as brushed it it exploded. Since that meant you had to stay practically on top of it to have any chance of protecting it, you'd often end up failing the mission because you bumped into it or because it bumped into you.

[@Sortella]

On witcher 3 when you are tasked with following a NPC, they usually go the exact same speed as you and tend to stay in front of you even when in full sprint. (sometimes)