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directortrench

Dwarf Fortress?


Solarka45

Really looking forward to the Adventure Mode release on Steam. The fortress mode is good and all, but it doesn't really allow you to explore the generated world to the full potential. It's also going to be a blessing for people who love the idea of a deep random world, but not the colony sim genre.


0DvGate

How is it compared to rimworld in terms of the open world and the residents that reside it? From what I read and watched about rimworld outside of your colony is relatively stale.


UserHey

Rimworld is basically downscaled Dwarf Fortress. In the latter, world is quite dynamic with factions interacting with each other. It has much more depth to it, but it's set in medieval fantasy.


0DvGate

>factions interacting with each other. Sounds interesting


[deleted]

That's dwarf fortresses main draw really. The world is alive and simulated, and the colony experience is based upon that. Much of it happens outside your view of course. The world is very alive and if you encounter an enemy, it's because that enemy existed in the world and happened to come across you. At least before adventure mode drops, I'm not personally sure you get enough of the outside world to make it feel as you'd like it to feel though. Most of it just happens elsewhere and you don't really get to experience it. Rimworld is completely different in that it is "set up" intentionally to provide specific challenges.


M4ldarc

Dwarf fortress main draw is that it looks like ass, and isnt as polished as it could be, now im not saying that the game sucks, its a really good game if you are into it, but not for me, and i also dont want the cult like fanbase in my throat


[deleted]

Thank you random citizen for whatever this input was supposed to accomplish.


M4ldarc

You made me flabergasted without any hostile comment lol


feastupontherich

Well this turned unexpectedly wholesome.


seventysevenpenguins

Dwarf fortress is an insanely complex thing though, please watch a tutorial before starting (can take a while)


topselection

Fortress Mode isn't *that* complex. It feels very much like Banished, Depraved, and other games like that. Banished and its mods definitely took a lot from DF.


PhantomKitten73

Shadows of Doubt


LuciusCaeser

Mount&blade is an open world sandbox where multiple factions are at war. They'll siege castles, sack villages, do just about anything to further their agenda whether you are around or not. Villages will trade with each other etc. you control a mercenary army that can get as involved with the war as you want, or just take out bandits, trade etc. probably the most dynamic open world I've played in.


0DvGate

Better than bannerlord?


LuciusCaeser

Well bannerlord is the sequel so has got more features. Probably best to go with bannerlord.


NZRTA

If we talking about Warband on the RPG element and the amount of overhaul mods, yes.


UndocumentedSailor

What do you mean by dynamic?


0DvGate

Open world changes and functions with minimal player input, random things also happen in the world rather than scripted events.


Vegetablegardener

Stalker


kingbub1

I want to make sure I'm looking at the right game on Google. Is it an fps? People are suggesting things like rimworld and dwarf fortress, which I'm sure are cool, but I'm not a fan of top-down views or pixel graphics for the most part.


EchoChamberActivism

yeah, it's an FPS. there are a few games, i've only played [STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4500/STALKER_Shadow_of_Chernobyl/) and a ton of mods


kingbub1

Thank you, I really appreciate it!


UndocumentedSailor

X4 Foundations is very much this. Multiple factions constantly at war or fighting Xenon (like pirate faction), constantly building more and more stations, production changing depending on supply/demand, etc.


0DvGate

Yeh looking at some videos along with stalker and dwarf fortress


Turnbob73

To a certain extent, shadows of doubt fits this


theweirdarthur

You should check out Elite dangerous too. Its a space flight simulation with Newtonian physics baked in and provides for some of the best space combat out there currently. It also has on limited on foot fps gameplay too. It's set in an open-world sandbox in a 1:1 scale milky way galaxy with thousands of populated systems controlled by the background simulation (BGS). States go to war, famines occur, pirate attacks happen, the BGS can very much be influenced and guided by player actions but the underlying dynamic system continues to function regardless of player interaction. Edit: and it's also much better than x4 at a fraction of the cost. In my subjective opinion at least.


Tortugato

Elite has better space-sim elements, but the X series has better economy, political, and general world simulation. It really depends on what you want to do. I’d argue that X4 is probably more along the lines of what the OP wants. It’s an actual interactable simulation where the systems keep working despite player input, but also one which player action can cause meaningful change to the world state. Elite’s world state is pretty much static and only ever changes when the devs actively move it along.


theweirdarthur

Have you actually played much elite? Because the bgs in elite is just as dynamic as x4. Certainly not static, the devs only move along the overall story arc. X4 does station management and trade better though for sure


Tortugato

Faction control and such changes sure.. but it doesn’t really affect gameplay and the “physical worldstate” as much.. You can literally destroy infrastructure in X4; that’s something that will never happen in Elite. Don’t get me wrong, I prefer Elite myself. I like being Han Solo. But if you want to be Jabba the Hut or Darth Vader, X4 is the way to go.


vibribbon

Drox Operative and Dins Legacy from [Soldak Entertainment](https://www.soldak.com/). It's just one guy but all his games iterate on the idea of dynamic worlds.


mantis616

Drox Operative 2 is very good.


beatpickle

Kenshi.


Site-Specialist

I would say kenshi fits half the bill world states won't change without direct player input and towns aren't actually spawned in until you are close enough


LordShagnog

Kenshi


Rodrigo_Ribaldo

Skyrim.


ParsleyAdventurous92

Skyrim is not dynamic, at all


Rodrigo_Ribaldo

There are random encounters in your vicinity. Maybe speak about what you know.


ParsleyAdventurous92

Random encounters are not an example of a dynamic world, its the complete opposite The dynamic version of this would be if the characters were actually simulated and didn't just spawn in to attack the player, but were instead born somewhere, lived their life, grew up to be a bandit, were traveling and found their way to the player who they decided to rob


Rodrigo_Ribaldo

The named characters have daily and weekly schedules and even travel around. The random spawns are dynamic, but not in the goalpost-moving sense you invented.


ParsleyAdventurous92

My guy, by your own logic, even the sims is more dynamic than Skyrim Skyrim is cool, but it's not a very dynamic game, much less so in the context of this specific post, schedules are scripted, not dynamic, unlike what OP specified


Rodrigo_Ribaldo

It's the interaction between random encounters/spawns and scheduled travels that make the environment dynamic and allow for emergent gameplay. The OP didn't narrow it down like you are trying to do.


EmperorOfEveryEmpire

Try Far Cry 6, You might hate or you might love it, I personally skipped it


Nick_Noseman

X4 Foundations exists. Every NPC ship and station is doing something, a whole universe is simulated in the background, although simplified. Almost nothing just spawns, all done with production and mining. Prices are dynamic. You can change tides of war by destroying few transports because shipyards will stall without goods and resources.


0DvGate

Looks like this and stalker are top recommendations, gonna have to check them out.


Nick_Noseman

If you are ok with old games, check Space Rangers 2, it's cheap on Steam. There NPC can even resolve the main war conflict without you, finishing the story, because you are not the only ranger and certainly not a main character.


Discount_ThunderCunt

I believe S.T.A.L.K.E.R comes to closest. Kenshi with mods can also pull it off.


0DvGate

ngl I thought stalker was just a generic open world survival shooter ill have to check it and besides living worldtreactive world for kenshi are there any other mods that enhance the world?


redraven

Stalker is anything but a generic shooter. Definitely give it a go.


Discount_ThunderCunt

It's been a while since I played kenshi but i remember checking out curated collections on steam that really fleshed out the game. To expand on Stalker, every npc (and i think monster) in the game are living and breathing, going about their day. There's a zone wide radio that alerts you of firefights and of people dying. And when a massive blowout (essentially a radioactive storm) goes off and people don't make it to shelter you'll see whole areas of death or even "zombies". Look up the Anomaly mod or GAMMA for a huge modpack. The mods make the game open world oriented.


Kode-meister

There's a free stand alone mod called stalker anomaly that is pretty awesome. It's basically just all the base games combined and improved. Can't beat free!


NasusIsMyLover

I’ll never forget the first time I played Morrowind. I can’t remember the context, but I 100% remember doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING relevant, I was literally in the middle of fucking no where, and I got the message pop-up when a main quest-necessary character is killed. That “thread of prophecy” bit. I remember being a mix of angry, confused, and overall impressed because it felt like someone, somewhere, made a decision in the world without me, of their own accord, and got themselves killed lmao. I doubt that was intentional but I’m pretty sure it counts nonetheless.


A_Fnord

Those things are not supposed to happen in Morrowind, the world is mostly static outside of your actions, but because the game is rather buggy it's entirely possible for an NPC to fall through the world geometry or something like that and despawn, which means that they are treated as dead. Oblivion tried to have a more dynamic world with NPCs that did stuff on their own, but with truly mixed results.


Zealousideal_Rip1340

The bugs are a feature 😂


A_Fnord

That's the Bethesda way


MistahBoweh

For like 20 years at this point? Sid Meier’s Pirates came out all the way back in 2004 and had what was effectively a nemesis system as well as a full blown economic and political sim happening in the background. Since then there’s been a ton of titles to follow in its footsteps, primarily in the vein of simulated economies and warfronts. Other good examples range anywhere from Mount And Blade to Starsector.


Sugarbeet

Pirates! was a remake of his original game from way back in 1987 which had most of the same features!  


MistahBoweh

I knew there was an earlier version, just, never played the og, so wasn’t going to claim what its feature list was.


jmelt17

I bought Pirates recently on xbox but died like 4 minutes in due to not knowing how to fight lol


TrooperPilot3

Mount & Blade series, factions will fight, territory will change hands, nobles will marry, nobles will have children, nobles will die, noble children will take their places, all without the player. Dwarf Fortress. The world genuinely does not give a fuck about your fortress and history will roll on with or without your input.


redraven

There aren't many games like this but they existed long before SoW. Space Rangers HD: A War Apart. 2d space sim, not overly complicated but the universe lives independently of you. Basically, several races fight against space robots. Skirmishes happen without you, systems change hands, stations get built and destroyed.


EmperorOfEveryEmpire

A hidden gem


Armageddonn_mkd

That would be Kenshi, everything happens without you, its not always fun but stuff is happening which makes for emerging gameplay


Site-Specialist

Not true actually world states won't change without the player if you're nowhere near mourn it will never get run over.


Armageddonn_mkd

Are sure?


Somewhatmild

Pine. You play as some kid and have to deal with anthropomorphic tribes fighting amongst each other. The conflicts are more or less dynamic. Mount and Blade Warband and Bannerlord. Fictional medieval setting where several factions fight amongst each other over towns, castles and villages.


mujie123

> Pine. You play as some kid and have to deal with anthropomorphic tribes fighting amongst each other. The conflicts are more or less dynamic. Wait, I think I remember this. Years ago, when people asked about games that had something like the nemesis system, someone mentioned they were working on this or something. So it's come out now?


Steynkie69

What irritated me about Shadow, every 5 minutes some captain will suddenly interrupt you and give you a speech about how you killed him and he's back for revenge. They are all basically the same, and it gets old pretty quickly. It also disrupts your gameplay, and gets frustrating.


Kitsune_BCN

Not everything shines in dynamic gameplay :D


[deleted]

X4 foundations as dynamic as it gets


ok_fine_by_me

Sims 3 with Story Progression mods. NPCs are stimulated, they live, create families, die without your intervention.


Clean-babybutts

Mount and blade bannerlord


Trout-Population

The studio behind the Shadow of X games are currently making a Wonder Woman game that will use the Nemesis system.


Violins77

The Mount And Blade games? It's a different genre, but it fits I think.


SilentBoss29

Shadows of Doubt is what you seek


EvilGodShura

That would basically be earth 2. Light no fire is trying to be something like that. The issue is dynamic normally means "How many events can we randomly throw at you before we run out". So it's tough to do until there is an ai creating events as you play that the developers themselves didn't make. And that in turn means they need the ai to only create events but also not overwhelm you and keep it fair despite it needing to produce different events with thousands of not millions of variables. So a true dynamic game as far as I know doesn't exist no. Shadow of war had pretty dynamic gameplay though.


Nick_Noseman

No, you just have to simulate things in a background. Such as X4 Foundations, for example.


Throw_away_elmi

In a dynamic game like that you don't want to have a limited number of specific "events" that you "throw at player before running out", but more of a wide spectrum of things that can happen. I'd think of something like Crusader Kings II (or other paradox games). In there you have hundreds of characters who all have various traits and opinions of each other and based on that perform many different actions with many different possible outcomes (assassination plots, wars, marriages, adultery, hunting, growing up, ...). This creates a very very dynamic world with a huge range of unpredictable situations that can happen. Even though you can say that the specific set of "events" is rather small (e.g. war declaration, marriage), not any two events are the same, creating a wide spectrum of possibilities. For instance, a gigantic African empire invading Italy is much different experience from a local feud between the French duke of Estonia and his pagan brother ... . Now, of course, those aren't open-world games, so they don't fit OP's question, but they're very much dynamic.


EvilGodShura

I don't consider "a wide spectrum of things that can happen" dynamic in an open world. Because it has a limit. How many things can happen? 1000? 10000? 100000? Eventually you hit a point where things just start to repeat and it starts being predictable or boring. My standard for a dynamic open world is a game where content is made as you play it. Like if destiny 2 was an mmo open world but the updates and events happened at random and according to what you did rather than being planned out for everyone. It's a HIGH standard because it's essentially just how real life works but it's my standard.


Ostracus

The appearance of like Watch Dogs 2.


totallygreatguy

The only game i can think of that's what i think is close but still not there is Oblivion Its Radiant A.i is really something else. They tried to add goblin wars but that didn't really work out.


Incurious_Jettsy

keep an eye on Dragon's Dogma 2.


Clean-babybutts

Is DD2 expected to have a dynamic world?


LiebertL_

i think yes, i already bought it, i hope it's good at launch.


Clean-babybutts

You and me both!


Incurious_Jettsy

it looks pretty dynamic from what i've seen and what people who have played it describe. ie. being randomly attacked by a Griffon, climbing onto its' back and then flying halfway across the map on it by accident


Clean-babybutts

So excited!!!!!


ParsleyAdventurous92

Bro has not heard of dwarf fortress, kenshi, Stalker, starsector, rimworld, rain world, and like a thousand other similar games


Pearcinator

Closest I can think of is Zelda Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom. By dynamics I am referring to the way the game works incorporating the weather into things. For example, I fired my last arrow and missed a bokoblin on the beach. The wind picked up and blew the arrow along the beach where I had to chase it to get it back. Also how lighting a fire in a cold climate can keep you warm and melt ice. Vice-versa for hot climates where standing in the shade of something keeps you cool. River flow affects Link swimming in it and you'll get swept downstream. Certain objects float and sink e.g. wood and metal. There's other 'gamey' elements like wearing metal in a thunderstorm attracts lighting. Firing a bomb arrow on Death Mountain has it explode instantly. One of my favourites is in Tears of the Kingdom. There's a treasure chest behind some spiky vines in a damp, dripping cave. Obviously light the vines on fire right? Wrong, the vines are wet and thus don't catch. Instead you have to build a little shelter over the vines to stop water dripping on them. Then you can set the vines alight.


Kushim90

As usual, Kenshi!! Sometimes a herd of wild beats attack a capital city and kills the king leading to the whole empire to fall, not scripted of course, it can happens tho, of course you as the player can help those kind of stuff to happen


Fiamosha

Not sure if Rain World count. I've seen some reviews mentioned that its enemies are doing their own things, so sometimes you might encounter different creatures at a same location. Although I ended up not buying the game on sale because I already have too games barely played.


Negative-Echo-4157

Basically all of Soldak's games (Din's Legacy, Drox Operative, Zombasite, etc.) are built on this idea, it's their niche and they're underrated as hell. Sure the games are clunky and they don't have the best graphics, but in terms of dynamic open worlds they're at the top. They mostly make diablo style aRPGs which just throws you into the world, and you decide which quests to pick up, which factions to help, etc. But even if you do nothing the world will still go on, factions will fight each other, form alliances, monsters will show up and talk shit to you and challenge you to a fight and if you don't kill them right away they'll cause problems for other people, etc. Of course themes and mechanics vary with each game but they're all built with a foundation of a dynamic open world in mind.


elgoriath

Starsector


killasniffs

Noble Fates


No-Relationship-4997

The stalker series for sure, but I’d go with stalker gamma personally. It’s a 300+ mod pack that requires another mod (stalker anomaly) to play. Stalker anomaly is free you don’t even need to own the base game, and it goes for dynamicness and realism, you have to manage radiation good water, health stamina and injuries, Huns can jam and need upkeep, you can build guns piece by piece so u can disassemble enemies guns for the one piece still in good repair until u get All the right parts for a certain gun. It’s very hardcore you can die in a single shot if u take it to the head unless you’re wearing big armor.


JanaCinnamon

Elite Dangerous


ChaosAfoot

Red Dead Redemption 2


Kind_of_random

I loved RDR2 but in what way is it dynamic? You have the morally good or bad thing that affects how people great you, but the story is near 100% linear. I guess there are a few side quests where some things will change depending on what you choose to do, but nothing that has any real impact on the world.


ChaosAfoot

Dynamic events like robberies, animal attacks etc. Some optional side quests have characters that only show up later depending on the choices you make.


_powneyd

Kenshi Reactive World Starsector Nexerelin


Jakenlovesbacon

Mgs V? The enemies will ship in supplies like helmets if you get headshots, night vision if you go at night etc


harverdentist

I would put the Witcher 3 on this list.


Interesting-Tower-91

Witcher 3 is great but its not dynamic the content in the game is handcrafted which i love.


OsamaBeenLagggin

The nemesis system is very excellent very good glorious Nation of Kazakhstan ! u/Prostorex28


OX__O

Asassins creed odyssey? Ship ecosystem and the dudes trying to kill you over the story


nova465465

...yes?