What happened to the ghost mechanic from the alpha?

[Michi01]

So back when DST was really early in development, ghosts had a "life force" and "humanity" meter. The "life force" was like hunger and had to be kept up by haunting and if the ghost lost all "humanity", they would die for good (I'm guessing maybe they were planning on adding an expensive way of bringing back people who completely died). So when the closed beta started, this feature wasn't in it (maybe it was early on but removed but I'm pretty sure it was never in the closed beta or later versions). For a while I thought it was removed to make playtesting easier or because it was unfinished so I didn't bring it up and I didn't see anyone else bring it up. I forgot about it later on during the beta but I remembered it again recently and wanted to make a topic. I kinda wish this mechanic would've made it in because it seemed more challenging and closer to the death system in DS than the other game modes.
I added a poll so you can vote on what you think of this mechanic (I don't think it has a chance of being added at this point but whatever).
Also here's a video where you can see the mechanic:

 

[mochilo]

That ghost faster movement is also pretty cool.

[Zeklo]

Poll options would be better without the little catches at the end. Like, dislike, and don't care. Simple but accurate.

[Michi01]

5 minutes ago, Zeklo said:

Poll options would be better without the little catches at the end. Like, dislike, and don't care. Simple but accurate.

Yeah I just added it because I noticed that I didn't really bring up anything positive about removing the mechanic in my post.

[Michi01]

I feel like it would be kinda weird to just put it in the post though. Well if I change this I'm gonna do it tomorrow this was just checking the forums one last time before sleeping.

[Scoobie101]

tbh this system looks a lot more intuitive and definitely gives ghost players more to do/adds back the impending doom of death. The system we have now is probably set it stone though, but it'd nice to have something more along the lines of this.

[Ecu]

This should be posted in the suggestions forum.  I think this would be a great way to force ghosts to either get resurrected or eventually die off, so people could not sit in the game as a ghost and cause harm.  In addition, it encourages said user to actually use the haunt mechanic more and the haunt mechanic has so many interesting interactions.

[hkhm]

i would love a post-haunting perma-death option especially if it spawned a gravesite. i like looting graves. i need all the bent sporks.

i feel like ghosts need a purpose. one of the main reasons i play dst solo is too many people die and then hang around the base/camp demanding to be resurrected, doing nothing other than draining sanity. npc ghosts only get to bother us during full moons of when their graves are desecrated. player ghosts need the looming threat of perma-death to motivate them.

[Asparagus]

Frankly, I would love that mechanic to be added AS a GAME MODE... it WOULD fit the term "Survival" in Survival mode because even in death, you must survive (by haunting things to keep yourself tethered to this world)...

This would also be a good balance between Endless and Wilderness... Endless with its 'no sweat, just revive at the portal" and Wilderness with its "you died? kek, get reborn and start again, have fun!"

Or, we can keep the current "Survival Mode" and just add a new mode... (and all of the old ghost abilities as well, like spawning treeguards or burning down forests) and if people make and join a public server with this mode and someone "griefs" them, it wouldn't really make a new problem as we currently have people who refuse to make password-protected servers... so basically, we're adding a new game mode, without adding new problems (I mean, revival items would still function as they are... it's only the ghosts who get something new going on) plus, it would actually solve the problem with "Idling ghosts" that I've heard so much about... griefers who just end up dying and staying the servers to spite people from sanity loss wouldn't really have it easy as they'd have to actually still play the game or else they die and, well, have to select a new character (I would prefer they get back to the main menu or the server selection screen and have to re-enter the server just to deter them from dying at all, and it's "uncompromising", as DS policy states)...

So, I would like a new option... something like "add this to the game" please.

(Not everything is perfect though as this might have some downsides that I am not seeing as of yet as I am close to falling asleep) O__O

[DarkXero]

So, what happens when the ghost dies?

[Asparagus]

15 minutes ago, DarkXero said:

So, what happens when the ghost dies?

the game divides by zero... O__O

[Michi01]

4 hours ago, DarkXero said:

So, what happens when the ghost dies?

I guess the character died for good. As I said this was extremely early in the development of DST so I guess if this would've made it in there would've been some kind of way of bringing back people who completely died.

[Ressayez]

I can't say I like the idea of the random fires returning... Maybe for a madness server that'd be pretty fun?

[Neu7ral]

8 minutes ago, Ressayez said:

I can't say I like the idea of the random fires returning... Maybe for a madness server that'd be pretty fun?

That were previous Ghost Powers, on a previous patch they removed all the posible grief stuff.

[Mario384]

Here's what I propose to fix ghosts:

- Give ghosts a health bar

- Give ghosts a psuedo-hunger filled via haunting

- Ghosts can now be attacked and noticed by mobs

- Ghosts have double the max hp of it's human counterpart, on ripe death, slowly decreases to a cap.

- Ghosts gain a togglable damage aura, but it deals as much damage as Abigail in daytime, always.

- Ghosts slowly regen hp when psuedo-hunger is almost full

- Ghosts who die drop a skull, which when something dies near the skull, the ghost is brought back.

- Dead ghosts are stuck spectating their skull.

- Ghosts are still slow

[DarkXero]

3 hours ago, Michi01 said:

I guess the character died for good. As I said this was extremely early in the development of DST so I guess if this would've made it in there would've been some kind of way of bringing back people who completely died.

But what happens when the character dies for good?

The user is banned? This is not going to happen.

The user turns into a permanent ghost that can't be resurrected? Not likely either.

The user respawns as a new character? Then you have wilderness (with a fixed portal spawn point).

If you are going to resurrect the character in one way or another, giving it a timer is pointless. Map and recipes are already lost. The idea of giving draining humanity to ghosts is to put pressure on them to become human again. But to avoid what? And why not just skip the whole ghost process and go straight to the "you died, you get punished"?

[Neu7ral]

I always thought the system was going to be the "go resurrect now!" because if you don't, your character will drop his skull or soul on the ground, unable to move, but another player can take it to give a resurrect item (Like Webber was resurrected via tombstone mound) but instead of the mound just putting on something, like in the meat efiggy or the resurrection stone, or just leaving the skull with the life giving amulet on the top.

[Aquaterion]

13 hours ago, DarkXero said:

The user respawns as a new character? Then you have wilderness (with a fixed portal spawn point).

Isn't wilderness PVP tho? But I feel making you pick a new character is kinda OP, seeing how you're items would still be in the world. Some Characters are better early, and some characters are better late. Nothing really stops you from using the correct characters are the correct times.

[DarkXero]

1 hour ago, Aquaterion said:

Isn't wilderness PVP tho?

No, those are separate, different toggles.

1 hour ago, Aquaterion said:

I feel making you pick a new character is kinda OP, seeing how you're items would still be in the world. Some Characters are better early, and some characters are better late. Nothing really stops you from using the correct characters are the correct times.

And you don't lose your map, since you can make backups with the Cartographer's Desk.

Only things you really lose are the special recipes (e.g mushlights, funcaps).

 

You could make it so that you respawn with the same character.