My view on A18 vol2

[Mc Draken]

- Advanced/Simple items: Everything needs repair kits now. And every high-tier stuff are made from parts. Got Similar reasons against it that i mentioned previously. While i love that i cant create proper firearms or motortools from scrap, its just doesent make sense that i cant create a steel axe or a baseball bat. Its just doesent makes sense, it looks awful in a proper survival RPG.

 

But my more important reason is, its just doesent have to be made from parts. Melee weapons are fckin primitive. They are the lowest form of weaponry. They are weak compared to ANY OTHER CLASS. But this is not a problem, its natural.

 

What i ask for is, pls give it back its actual advantages. As i mentioned, melee should have low, simple upkeep and be easily available. I advise, that give back its cheap repairability by its base materials, also make them easily craftable from scratch. Ofc, they should require technology(workbench f.ex.) and perks to craft, but can be made from scratch if the player met these. No matter how high tier it is, its just a stuff to hit ♥♥♥♥.

 

And i have the same argument for steel tools. While it doesent make any sense for them to require parts, and not be craftable from scratch, its just doesent help the game. They arent even endgame stuff. Motor tools ARE endgame stuff. They should be the candy of the category. Steel tools are... the highest form a player can craft from scratch in a forest. They are just ONE piece of metal on a handle. It just should not be that way. Steel tools are simple but trusty manual tools. Not some high tier technological miracles. Keep them that way.

 

After these changes, i advise to give back repair kits their prices. Oil and mech parts.

 

So just like before, simple stuff could be repaired by their base materials, while high tech, precious equipment and firearms should be repaired with these high tier repair kits.

 

That way, upkeeping stuff has real meaning. If i can repair an AK with some ducttape and cast iron, its not a good system. If i cant repair a scrap iron club, that i made with my bare hands, its not a good system. There are a clear technological and powerlvl difference between a baseball bat and an M60, the repair and crafting system should reflect that. Dont oversimplify it.

 

- Selling prices: pls reconsider the effect of durability damage on selling prices. Its quite annoying you have to repair all the sellable stuff, since all of them require kits. Durability SHOULD have effect on prices, its a good mechanic. But not this much. Only about 30% decrease for a damaged item. That way it keeps all of its advantages while wont make damaged stuff worthless.

 

- Poisonous high tier food: While i see the team's intentions about lowering the value of self-sustainity, this is just stupid. This approach is against everything that any proper survival rpg has as a value.

 

An Rpg should reward character progression(skills), technological progression(gathered tech), artifical infrastructural(stuff the player built investimg time and creativity) progression.. any fckin thing thats about developing an rpg. But thats my opinion as a designer.

 

My personal opinion -as a player- is, that this is a hilariously annoying mechanic. Getting disentery from proper, self made, cooked food made from freshly harvested ingredients is god damn annoying. 4% base chance every time i take a bite to ♥♥♥♥ my pants. Glorious.

 

While eating old, rotten, preapocalyptic sandwiches, found in zombies' ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥s has a better filling/disentery chance than half of the foodtree that's production line i had invested in, built up and cooked myself. Nice.

 

And i wont mention the canned food resisting nuclear annihilation and radiation that can turn even living stuff into ravaging zeds. But that sham-can that is already made out of trash is okay.

 

Seriously, the base problem isnt your approach, but your intention. Getting Food supply is a early-mid game problem. It should not affect players developed further than that. As a survival game, food is an important aspect that should affect the whole playtrough. But "affecting gameplay" doesnet necessary means players have to suffer from it. Just affecting it, being there meaningfully.

 

In early game, getting food is the problem itself. You have no infrastructure to produce, you can only loot and raid from limited places. Thats okay.

 

In mid game tho, the "problem" should be the question, how to invest, build and than tend an infrastructure that supplies my food. And its enough. No need for any additional suffering. But this system doesent necessary means tending a garden.

It could mean developong resistances to disentery as a nomad. But... you dont need this as a nomad becouse trash food is steril. See? Its a problem.

 

You guys want players to have the option to be nomads. Okay. But dont pushover this. Actually being nomad only had gameplay value becouse it was harder. It had rpg value, being the lonely adventurer always on its way. But now being nomad is quite easy, and for me it lost most of these values. Not that i can loot proper food and any required equipment on my way, but i can loot BETTER food and equipment, than i can get by investimg time, resources, creativity, perkpoints and what else not into producing it. Not a good job here. You killed most of the fun being a nomad while made basedwellers' time less worthwhile.

 

Heres the idea:

First, i advise to change the effect of disentery. Lower stamina regen and max stamina while lowering food level.

 

Low tier, remnant and raw food should be poisoneus. Anything that is boiled, grilled or othwrwise prepared are okay. Thats the main point of boiling stuff, to sterilize it.

 

That way, Early game sux. You have access mostly to old, low tier looted food. You need vitamins and tea to cure(not avoid) the occassional disentery. Nice.

 

Midgame you have a choice. You either develop a base and garden, so you can harvest and cook PROPER food. You know, something that wont make you ♥♥♥♥ your pants.

 

Or, you can develop resistances to disentery trough perks(iron gut?) that lets you consume these otherwise inconvenient foods.

 

Now that is a real, balanced choice fit for an rpg. Booth options have progression, availability and a cost, but different gameplay outcome. This is a lot better than forcing players to pop a vitamin before every bite they take from their meal prepared themselves trough investment.

 

- Farming rework: If you dont have a serious development barricade like an unsolveable bug or whatever else tied to hoeing farmland, i dont see why you changed this.

 

Hoing a farmland felt amazing, resembled reality perfectly and worked really good.

If you did implement farmplots for balance reasons... i dont see it either. The main balancing factor on building a farmland is seeds. Its damn hard to get seeds. You either found them (they are rare) and/or their blueprints or invest perkpoints and a lot of time cultivating the required seeds. So the balancimg factor that halts progression isnt the price of farmplots. This just wasnt neceasary.

 

The procedure of gettimg fertile land than hoing it, and planting the seeds just felt great. It was different from building anything else, it had its own mechanic. It felt unique, with its own little gimmicks. Crafting and placing farmplots is a lot less visually or methodically invested. But as a designer i just dont see why dismissing your work? You already developed a good system, dont trash it. Upgrade it.

 

I advise to keep booth the old farming, and have the new system as a more advanced method. So the players can tend gardens, build huge, good-looking farmlands with a lower grow-speed but lower cost. OR, you can build greenhouse-like structures from farmplots that requires additional materials, but has a higher yield, increasing the value of the few and rare seeds. Also that way the player has an additional step of progression he can work forward to. This would serve best an RPG.