A few ideas (Ziduken's thread)

[ziduken]

A few words. (probably skip this paragraph) A big thanks to the people who make this game. I'm in love with it so far. Now, I haven't been lurking on these forums so sorry in advance if my suggestions have already been discussed, here are my thoughts about how to expand upon this project.

Map: the ability to draw / make notes on my map and the ability to toggle my doodles on and off so I can still see the underlying icons. Not game changing. Just interesting.

Stockpile list: A list of your gathered materials attached to your map to help you keep track of which camp has the chest with the rubies that you totally forgot all about.

Only one slot?: Armor and my backpack share a slot. I think that sucks. I crafted the log armor for the first time, equipped it, realized this, and immediately scrapped the armor for research. I have no desire to bother with armors at the time being. Extra inventory space is too valuable to me. I propose separate slots then tiers of backpacks to compensate. I'm not sure how large the scope of this game will be by the time it releases so it's kind of weird to say. I don't know if there are enough materials in the game to implement tiers of anything because I really haven't had any trouble obtaining any of the materials. So this needs more thought I guess.

Objective: as of what I can tell right now there is no overall objective for the game as far as something that would trigger the credits to roll. I'm not opposed to this. But it's hard to say what the team is up to and I doubt our suggestions would affect this aspect of the game since it's something likely story driven so let's talk about secondary objectives.

Achievements?: I don't want this. I always think of achievements as a silly gimmick console games use to feign replayability. Achievements feel so arcade-y to me. What magical game god is beaming this list into Wilson's head that compels him to kill exactly 500 spiders or craft 100 rabbit snares? I'm no hardcore RPer but it feels clunky to me. I'll come back to this to talk about an alternative.

More NPC's: I'm sure this one has been discussed already but here's my spin. Small settlements. Possibly nomadic tribe / caravan. Non-human. Very wary of Wilson. No rep meters please. Let's keep it strictly business with this lot.

NPC's + Achieves = quests?: So my solution is quests. Optional of course. Talk to an npc, he scans your stockpiles and gives you a fetch quest for something you don't already have (or an item that spawns just for the quest, idk, rare flower?). Or perhaps he asks you to scout an undiscovered portion of map for him. Chop down those trees that have grown to block the road to ease the caravans trip. Protect them from encroaching baddies while they fix a wagon wheel. Plenty of ideas for this.

Rewards: Let's keep it interesting and say not something you craft or materials.

Maybe the npc let's you borrow his dog, whom after given the scent of something, can find more for you. Maybe you for some reason just don't enjoy trapping crows for dart mats. Show dog a feather and he sniffs out some more that were buried just below the topsoil for you to dig up. He could have a duration or run home if he takes damage.

Nomad's hunting spear. Ranged, critter killer, low durability or chance to miss. I just really don't like catching crows I guess.

I feel like guns are kind of pushing it and I'm not sure it's something that would work or even something that I would want.(Might be too OP) But if so, flintlock pistol, 1 shot, very short range (barely out of melee) I don't have a good enough idea of higher end monster HP to discuss DMG output.

Flare gun. One shot. Summons a scout from the caravan to assist you in combat for a short duration or until all visible threats or the scout himself is defeated.

Combat traps: The combat in this game is not spectacular but I don't think it needs changed. Even though I employ hit and run tactics every fight it's still entertaining. Especially vs. fast or a larger number of enemies. Stupid dogs got me twice before I figured them out. Now Wilson isn't a warrior. We shouldn't implement swords. He's a scientist, a thinker, he overcomes by being prepared. Bee mines were a good start. How about some variety? Punji sticks, immolation traps, etc. Then we can set em up, hit the baddies for aggro and lure them into the mine field.

Houses: No. this is a survival game. Let's not turn it into animal crossing. If anything, in it's current state, I feel the difficulty needs turned up a notch and permanent housing will only make things easier. Also, I don't know where the story is going yet, but I assume we are trying to escape these lands, not settle down.

So no house?: Yea, that's what I said. Besides, you already have...

The Tent: The grass mat is nice but it's a one shot resource drain in my opinion. So change the functionality of the tent to that of the grass mat in a permanent fixture. Wilson is still quite the insomniac though and may be startled awake if the fire starts to wane or he hears approaching beasts.

Closing words. These are my ideas so far. I've actually only spent 2 days with the game so far so hopefully I'll get a few more ideas in the future and come back to update this. Please post in this thread and help me get some attention because I would absolutely love a project member to see this and respond, even if he just stops in to tell me I suck and these are all stupid haha. I'm really excited about this game and would love to see it expand.

Edit 1

Got a moment to look at some other threads I'm reading a lot about weather. Here we go.

Weather as events: seasons change and bring new challenges. Let's start with winter for examples. You're warned of the encroaching cold by flurries and Wilson's remarks about it being a bit chilly. The clock is counting now. You can hunker down, gather up a fair stock of grass and twigs before the foliage dies from the decline in temperature, go shave a few beefalo for warmer clothing. Or maybe you journey south for the winter.

What I'm suggesting is inclement weather affecting a few biomes at a time. So if you find yourself unprepared you can grab a torch and make a run for the border before you freeze to death.

This would also open up the possibility for other events. Let's say something like a stinging locust swarm. Better craft a few bee keeper hats to keep the swarm from overwhelming you. Get your crops harvested before the hive mind takes them from you. Or escape into a desert biome where the insects have no desire to follow. I might be going to far on this next step but maybe the hive mind is an actual being. Like a mini boss. Defeating it disperses the swarm for the time being and maybe drops some loot.

Edited December 9, 2012 by ziduken

[RadekBonk4ever]

I approve pretty much all of your ideas, especially the combat trap and the ability to draw on the map.