I've kept my mouth shut about the block changes so far because I had mixed initial feelings and I wanted to sort through my thoughts and explore the new changes a bit before officially reacting.
Full disclosure I'm one of those people who does like to have the option to partially melee the horde, so I had been using a pole window to accomplish this in alpha 19. HOWEVER the fact that the block changes ruin my "standard base design" is not that big of a deal to me. I'm a creative person. I'll make a new one, using the blocks that aren't nerfed. I'll make a gap using half blocks, or I'll build a window out of bars with a hatch in it to open and hit stuff. Challenge accepted. It's fine. Actually, I've had some positive experience with the changes in one way: it makes smashing concrete trim on POIs when remodeling take far less long!
I also appreciate some element of realism, so my initial thought was that despite the shakeup this change might be a good thing, since on the surface, it makes SENSE. Except... on further reflection, it kind of doesn't.
I've decided I dislike this change, and think it needs reverting or reworking, and here is why:
A) The small amount of added "realism" actually makes the lack of realism MORE obvious. The changes apply to certain blocks arbitrarily, regardless of volume and structural integrity to one another. Why does a double pole have the same HP as a single pole? Why is a plate 50% hp of a block, when it is only 10% of the volume? Why does a plate have more hp than a pole, when in reality the compressed shape of the pole could probably withstand more of a beating than the large thin surface area of the plate could? Why does everything still have the same structural strength, even if less HP? Before everything was uniform in its unrealism, which allowed for a certain suspension of disbelief around the system. And trying to adjust for even further realism is only going to make the system even more complex.
B) Speaking of which, this change adds unnecessary complexity. Before everything was simple. Every shape was functionally the same in hitpoints and cost, and structural integrity too (despite certain shapes irl never would hold others up). A player could just craft their blocks, pick a shape, and build, no extra worries. Now it's complicated, for both the players and from a game design perspective. Systems need to be added to scale material cost by block hp, and give players a way of quickly telling what blocks have what HP before placing them. Players now need to worry about whether the blocks they chose will be strong enough for the base's purpose, and will have to constantly check block HP until they have it mostly memorized which ones are weaker. Before, we could decide what functionality we wanted our base to have, and then build to that functionality with the maximum aesthetic freedom. Now we have to CHOOSE in certain cases between aesthetics and maximum functionality.
C) I agree with others who say it is going to stunt aesthetic creativity due to this. Players are going to be creative in GETTING AROUND this change, and will still build bases with whatever exact functionality they had in mind before. But the aesthetics suffer because the players options are now further limited to an extent.
Edit: Ok, I will grant there are a FEW shapes that even on a total revert should be left at lower HP. These are shapes that feel like they are "barely there" to begin with. Sheets, and those bent sheets that loot hides behind, and flimsy glass windows, are the ones that immediately come to mind. If it looks like you could take a fist and punch a hole in it in real life, then it "feels" fine to be able to just haul off and smash it in one blow with a tool in game, too. For whatever reason, at least for me, the lower HP on these things has never bothered me, and I think there are few enough of this sort of thing it could easily be designed to separate or categorize them out in the shape menu in such a way that it was obvious which ones were the lower HP blocks.
Full disclosure I'm one of those people who does like to have the option to partially melee the horde, so I had been using a pole window to accomplish this in alpha 19. HOWEVER the fact that the block changes ruin my "standard base design" is not that big of a deal to me. I'm a creative person. I'll make a new one, using the blocks that aren't nerfed. I'll make a gap using half blocks, or I'll build a window out of bars with a hatch in it to open and hit stuff. Challenge accepted. It's fine. Actually, I've had some positive experience with the changes in one way: it makes smashing concrete trim on POIs when remodeling take far less long!
I also appreciate some element of realism, so my initial thought was that despite the shakeup this change might be a good thing, since on the surface, it makes SENSE. Except... on further reflection, it kind of doesn't.
I've decided I dislike this change, and think it needs reverting or reworking, and here is why:
A) The small amount of added "realism" actually makes the lack of realism MORE obvious. The changes apply to certain blocks arbitrarily, regardless of volume and structural integrity to one another. Why does a double pole have the same HP as a single pole? Why is a plate 50% hp of a block, when it is only 10% of the volume? Why does a plate have more hp than a pole, when in reality the compressed shape of the pole could probably withstand more of a beating than the large thin surface area of the plate could? Why does everything still have the same structural strength, even if less HP? Before everything was uniform in its unrealism, which allowed for a certain suspension of disbelief around the system. And trying to adjust for even further realism is only going to make the system even more complex.
B) Speaking of which, this change adds unnecessary complexity. Before everything was simple. Every shape was functionally the same in hitpoints and cost, and structural integrity too (despite certain shapes irl never would hold others up). A player could just craft their blocks, pick a shape, and build, no extra worries. Now it's complicated, for both the players and from a game design perspective. Systems need to be added to scale material cost by block hp, and give players a way of quickly telling what blocks have what HP before placing them. Players now need to worry about whether the blocks they chose will be strong enough for the base's purpose, and will have to constantly check block HP until they have it mostly memorized which ones are weaker. Before, we could decide what functionality we wanted our base to have, and then build to that functionality with the maximum aesthetic freedom. Now we have to CHOOSE in certain cases between aesthetics and maximum functionality.
C) I agree with others who say it is going to stunt aesthetic creativity due to this. Players are going to be creative in GETTING AROUND this change, and will still build bases with whatever exact functionality they had in mind before. But the aesthetics suffer because the players options are now further limited to an extent.
Edit: Ok, I will grant there are a FEW shapes that even on a total revert should be left at lower HP. These are shapes that feel like they are "barely there" to begin with. Sheets, and those bent sheets that loot hides behind, and flimsy glass windows, are the ones that immediately come to mind. If it looks like you could take a fist and punch a hole in it in real life, then it "feels" fine to be able to just haul off and smash it in one blow with a tool in game, too. For whatever reason, at least for me, the lower HP on these things has never bothered me, and I think there are few enough of this sort of thing it could easily be designed to separate or categorize them out in the shape menu in such a way that it was obvious which ones were the lower HP blocks.
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