I don't really know yet. I have a lot of plans but I don't know what's feasible yet.
NPCs will remember who you are to a certain limit... ie: if they see you once and then meet 100 more people then they may not remember you but if they see you every day or see people rarely then they will. Part of that is realism, part of that is resource management. Otherwise, on a multiplayer server every NPC in spawn town will be carrying so much data around that I wouldn't be able to store it.
Other than keeping track of some "impression" scores and using them to influence encounters, I don't know how deep I'll be able to make things. Lots of plans, no prototypes.
Ah, I see. So they will possibly forget people who don't really influence them at all. Like people who join a server and talk to one NPC then leave after talking. That NPC will forget completely about him.
Yep. Just like in real life. I doubt the clerk at the store you visited that one time really remembers you or would recognize you if they saw you again... unless you really made an impression.
The relationship tracking will have a few attributes associated with it... but somehow an overall impression is calculated. If it's completely neutral then time will wipe it away. If it's bad or good then they might be more likely to remember you. And so on.
I'd imagine it really sad if you like a certain NPC and do business with it and that he kinda just... dies. I would be sad.
Yeah. I'd really like to have this sort of thing. If can implement some kind of a gossip system then it might be possible you hear about it a few towns over before you actually get a chance to go back. It would be cool if I can get to the point where there are funerals and stuff.
This stuff is so far off, it makes it hard to focus.