The testers talked at length about this issue so it is on their minds and it is something they will be working to balance. They very much want people to experience each progressive stage.
I like this idea. Maybe the leveling could be in stages, rather than skill trees. But the skill trees still exist, so you can still climb the trees independently to specialize.
So "stone age" is lvl 1 - 30? As you climb, the stone age stuff unlocks at the bottom of the trees. The forge is endgame for the "stone age," but you can climb the tree by dumping points to unlock it early, but you'll unlock nearly nothing else that isnt automatically unlocked by leveling. As you climb levels, certain perks at the bottom of the tree will unlock regardless, without using points.
So the bottom of the skill trees for stone age is stuff like basic cooking, leather tanning and armor. Stone arrows, (maybe xml tier different variations of stone arrows, making them gradually better with each tier. Maybe they do more damage and break less often?)
Mid tree is iron age (lvl 30 to 70?) Same concept that certain perks will unlock as you level. Others can be obtained early by dumping points to climb the tree early. Iron armor and arrows? Iron tools and traps. More exotic food recipes. Basic farming. I'd say bicycle and mini bike for sure. Iron is obviously superior to wood, but iron is easy to deform and bend. Durability is not great. You could xml tier tools and weapons for better versions as you level, but iron has naturally poor durability. (Maybe you can't even rivet wood blocks with iron until iron age?)
The riddle of steel (steel age lvl 70 - 150?)
Steel age. You can make steel tools/arrows. Steel arrows don't break, but can penetrate the zeds and stick in the ground. (Eww) You can plate your iron riveted blocks with steel plate. Advanced gardening. Steel is inheritantly strong, so it has good durability. You can build a motorcycle pretty early. 4x4 is steel age endgame. Requires basic electrical components.
Lvl 150 +
Electrical age. Advanced electronics. Sensors and turrets. Traps. Power tools. Concrete. (Helicopter?) Radios for communicating with crew long distances. Can call in airdrops at will, twice a week(almost exclusively ammo) Zeds are actively hunting you constantly. Lots of ferals and rad zeds. Maybe possible to make biological weapons that can drop zeds 10 to 20 at a time? Endgame is you make a cure for the zed virus that stops the spread?
Maybe when you make the cure with the chem station, you can shoot the zeds with darts that make them explode or something? You do a final mission where the zeds don't respawn as you shoot them. You fight a boss that renders your base toxic and uninhabitable. Endgame message:
You've managed to contain the virus here, but it is still active around the country. Time to move on to Cali, Canada, East Coast, or my preference, Colorado!
