How do you make the non-combat parts of your games interesting...

How do you make the non-combat parts of your games interesting? I'm thinking of running a game that will be fairly low direct conflict and meant to focus mostly on exploration and survival in either small quests or player driven adventure, but is there a good way to make the aspects of the game that aren't combat feel better like the day to day survival, hiking, crafting and professions etc

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Give your players an opportunity to shine -- that is, if they're playing a scoundrel, give them a scene a scoundrel would operate in in order to
>gain information "Hey, I don't have the money to see your raise in this game, but I have an interesting tidbit about an upcoming ambush that might interest you...?"
>pick up a character story hook "hey, Jabba is looking for you!"

For a low-conflict type game, you may consider the ways to present the players with obstacles that are low-or no-conflict, like
>intimidation - "Go talk to such-and-such at the tavern and find out when his boss is making his move. You may need to lean on him to get an answer."
>charisma challenges "go talk with such-and-such and see who he's working for. You may need to sweet talk him."
>roleplaying puzzles - three individuals, each with something one of the other needs. Use leadership to bring them together to achieve a goal "Find out why the local boars are acting strangely." -- "poison fungus" -- "specific creature that causes fungal growth at night."

One technique is to DM in a "big picture" sense -- the players are all familiar with the town, they just need to draw a "big picture" for you in order to solve a problem -- "There is a goblin invasion within 48hrs. how do you prepare the town?"

That's honestly a really good question. I tend to play with rules systems that don't use skill rolls, so I'd leave most of that stuff up to player choice and simple referee fiat.

I think a lot about it is thinking what is going to make each day in game something worth telling the story, like setting up encounters with wild life, setting up a challenge like scaling a cliff to get to a nest, or crossing a river. Also, you got the players, so think of ways to turn times when they aren't performing tests into an opportunity to encourage their interaction. If they are out in the wilderness, there won't be NPC's to drive the story. The other thing you could do is add in some mystery or intrigue - ala Lost, Blair Witch Project, or Fire Watch - where players uncover sketchy stuff or just clues to some overarching reveal, like why some monster is stalking them or something. A way to put a more structured element to stories.

Counter-question though mate, how do you make combat interesting? Honestly, I always think the most important thing is giving players a chance to interact with the world and change it, and combat always seems like a more a means to an end.

Take away all the money from killing. Every creature they murder suddenly becomes poor or un-lootable. Dungeons they delve into were visited before, heists become elaborate ruses, and all the quest givers die at some point leaving no reward.

See how long it takes for the players to catch on and see if they can invent new ways to make money.

Oh, also introduce hunger mechanics.

And shelter.

Look up Ryuutama. It has neat travelling mechanic and it's easy to kludge something like that together in [your system of choice].

Does GURPS include hunger?

>ake away all the money from killing. Every creature they murder suddenly becomes poor or un-lootable. Dungeons they delve into were visited before, heists become elaborate ruses, and all the quest givers die at some point leaving no reward.
Nah, I don't want the game to be just anti-D&D it's that the setting I've chosen is a lot different from the typical dungeon fantasy, since it's post-apocalyptic sci-fi. It's just that it's made to pretty peaceful, in the starting area at least, but I don't want that to be boring, while still staying in line with the spirit of the setting.

They're going to have dungeons to crawl and all that but I want there to be more than that.

Get your players invested in the world, that should be your main goal in any game anyway. Create memorable characters based on things they like or can relate to, have them navigate noteworthy and remarkable locations, let them discover objects of no direct use, but of narrative or personal interest.

It's all about letting them explore whatever situation you put them in and having it yield results, though not neccisarily the results they were looking for. Take the threads your players latch onto and use them to make players want to converse with npcs or search areas.

If you're looking for hooks or encounters, try having players investigate a crime. Give them a cast of characters, a set of scenes, and objects of note. If they pick up on any of these elements, tie them in. You can also have them adjudicate a dispute or prepare for a natural disaster. All of these allow for drama without direct violence.

And added plus is ending such a series of events with a combat that the players handily overcome thanks to the information they picked up over the course of their labors. This allows the players to have that sense of overcoming what appears to be an insurmountable obstacle, but without dm fiat or hours of combat.