PC Downhill Biking

P

Psychodabble

Refugee
I'm having a good time with A18 so far. It seems like a good step in the right direction.

There's one feature that I think would be really great if it could make it into stable, but I haven't seen anybody talking about it: downhill biking.

The game adjusts player walking speed when going up or downhill, but the bike stays at a constant speed. I'd love it if the bicycle would pick up momentum to allow some downhill cruising or maybe more radical extreme downhill action.

Anybody else feel the same way?

 
Not only downhill biking, but i'm for anything with removing the top limit for movement. Imagine boarding a 4x4 and making a big ramp to jump from...

I do remember the majestic jumps on the minibike, although they hurt more than they were worth it ;)

 
The bike has always felt like it was designed by someone who never rode a bike. No coasting, no downhill acceleration, very slow in general. I suppose the speed has its balancing reasons (i.e. can't be as fast as a minibike), but the other two issues make it feel very weird to someone who rides a lot of bikes in real life.

 
Honestly with how much stam the bike uses, I don't think TFP has ever ridden a bicycle irl. Not to mention you cannot coast with it at all.

 
Just try to remember you're playing as a character that has barely any strength, just regular stamina and not much in the dexterity and endurance department.

If a newbie would sit on a bike and try riding at a considerably fast speed, he/she would tire themselves out fast. A person that has some endurance and does it regularly will tire themselves out at higher speeds. Just sayin...

 
Haven't built a bike yet, but I read somewhere that pressing either shift or crouch and releasing W lets you coast.

 
Are we assuming that our character never rode a bike before the apocalypse, and has terrible endurance to boot? Because where I'm from, anyone over the age of 5 can ride a bike better than our 7DtD avatar.

And stuff like coasting is just simple physics: unless you're actively breaking, your bike will slowly decelerate when you stop pedaling, instead of abruptly halving speed like it does now in 7DtD. You don't need special training to roll downhill either ;)

 
Ok, it looks like we all agree. What say you Pimps? Can we make this happen or is it too much work to get it in before the next Alpha?

 
I would love the bicycle to be based on STR, maybe even a separate STR skill that improves bike speed/features. Five points into it and you get "Tour-De-Navesgane" and can pedal almost non stop at full sprint uphill at beyond minibike speed.

 
Y'all just want to make a big ramp and ride it down with a bike... Admit it :D
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Guilty as charged. I also want to do some extreme BMXing...those giant mountains are just screaming for it.

If the physics allow it I would build a giant bicycle rollercoaster with full loops and stuff. Tell me that doesn't sound like a blast.

 
I'd personally pull up my cm/dm skills, hit godmode and start jumping off the biggest cliffs. It's no fun if you know you're gonna dig your own grave when landing or splatter into so many pieces you won't need one.

 
Y'all just want to make a big ramp and ride it down with a bike... Admit it :D
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That's not not true, I guess :) It could be a very convoluted alternative to the fabled zip lines!

 
I suspect it's just gameplay reasons. The bicycle can't be as fast as the minibike, can't be as fast as the motorcycle, can't be as fast as the 4x4 etc etc. So, given the limitations on just how fast the player can move (and not outpace the map draw), the bicycle has to lose out some.

Still, it'd be nice if it went downhill, at least, faster than it does.

 
I suspect it's just gameplay reasons. The bicycle can't be as fast as the minibike, can't be as fast as the motorcycle, can't be as fast as the 4x4 etc etc. So, given the limitations on just how fast the player can move (and not outpace the map draw), the bicycle has to lose out some.
Still, it'd be nice if it went downhill, at least, faster than it does.
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I'd be totally open to some gameplay balancing mechanisms. I wouldn't hate it if they added a slight stamina drain to uphill biking.

Also, all vehicles should theoretically benefit the same from a downhill momentum mechanic, so the balance would also be preserved that way. A bicycle is never going to have a higher average speed than any of those motorized vehicles, but I don't think it wrecks the balance if bikes are able to get up to a nice speed on the severe downhills.

It might also provide a nice balance incentive for the 4x4 if the two-wheelers had a chance to throw you off when traveling beyond certain speed/angle thresholds that would only be possible on extreme downhills.

 
I was into mountain biking the mid 90s so the downhill speed is disappointing, other than that I cheated with the XML and upped the speed and lowered the stamina cost. I also cheated on the motorcycle giving a little more natural power (without shift) to use a ramp to enter my base.

 
Honestly with how much stam the bike uses, I don't think TFP has ever ridden a bicycle irl. Not to mention you cannot coast with it at all.
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Hmmm they should make a friction variable dependent on the surface you are on. That should impact Stamina drain.

Roads - least

Forest/Grass - typical

Desert/Sand - most

Have the stamina drain based on surface influence momentum loss in a direct relationship.

 
If we had mechanics for choosing speed, it wouldn't be so bad, but i presume it's gonna be a bit hard to implement it into every vehicle, not to mention vary it among them.

Gas based vehicles (4x4, motorcycle and minibike) would work in a manner of increasing/decreasing speed. Additionally, a brake could allow fast braking to a stop. As you slow down (with down or "S"), you will have a second or something in changing gears before shifting into driving backwards (at 0 speed). The same as you accelerate (with up or "W") from driving backwards and want to move forward - at 0 speed it would need a second to shift gears and then start moving forward. Going down slopes speeds you up faster and allows for a temporary exceeding of top speed (to some higher max speed). On even ground having more than top speed would slowly diminish until you have top speed again.

The amount of gas used per minute would be counted taking into account the average speed, as well as that type of surface you're driving on. Worse surfaces could drain a bit more gas (driving on sand or grass), while using roads/brick/concrete would be beneficial.

In a similar manner the Bicycle should be remade, but the core would be accelerating using stamina. You increase speed up to your max, but the speed diminishes according to the surface you're travelling on. So when you achieve top speed, you'll only have to "speed up" regularly to maintain the speed, not necessarily holding the key for speeding up.

Gaining speed downhill would be varied on vehicles, just like how fast it would take going from max speed to top speed.

 
Are we assuming that our character never rode a bike before the apocalypse, and has terrible endurance to boot? Because where I'm from, anyone over the age of 5 can ride a bike better than our 7DtD avatar.
And stuff like coasting is just simple physics: unless you're actively breaking, your bike will slowly decelerate when you stop pedaling, instead of abruptly halving speed like it does now in 7DtD. You don't need special training to roll downhill either ;)
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AFAIK, this is no longer the case in 18 - at least the part where our avatar is pretty poor at riding a bike. Stamina seems to no longer effect top speed so you can ride indefinitely at top speed with the cycle, you just are not going to jump off and then run after.

This may be a bug though.

 
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