Morloc
Arch Necromancer
Every year or so I trot out this suggestion. At this point in the game, it'd have to be implemented in a DLC, but it's worth mentioning I believe.
7D2D is incredible. The one aspect of the game that fits awkwardly (imo, and from a single-player perspective) has always been horde night. In a typical playthrough I tend to skip the first 4-6 bloodmoons. I get myself holed up in a durable POI and (hopefully) destroy any way the zombies can reach me. It feels exactly like what a survivor with limited skills and gear would do. No guilt, but it gets a little boring.
What I'm suggesting is that at some point in the game you can place a "Settlement" block. When you do this, you create a base/settlement/village which attracts NPCs (you'd receive a couple to start). They will always stay within a certain radius of the Settlement block, but most of them would be non-combatants, only able to flee within their radius.
When horde night comes, the zombies no longer have magic radar for the player, but they attack the settlement ultimately trying to destroy the Settlement block and kill your fellow NPC survivors. You MUST defend this settlement. You must build walls and defenses!!
No more hiding on rooftops or taking the death. If you die, your community dies.
Why bother? The larger your Settlement, the more special buildings you can build and allocate settlers to run.
Examples:
2 Settlers - A well. Similar to a dew collector, the well will provide some water daily.
3 Settlers - Small farm plot (Chose a crop to automatically be planted and harvested).
5+ Settlers - Hot oil "turret" Weapon that drops burning oil on the zombies outside your walls. You can at maximum build as many of these as you have free settlers.
At any point you may get lucky and have a unique settler join with special abilities....think healing, combat skills, limited local vendors, or bonuses to various skills the player has. They might come with the ability to build and man unique buildings (e.g. catapults, ballistae, etc.). Securing some of these exceptional people might be the object of quests from the vendors. Some of them might even be detrimental to your community. People who join and can't be assigned (too lazy or ill to work) must be protected too. They do count toward your population at least.
Finally a reason to stand and fight! Protect your loved ones...mourn their losses. Heart-pumping excitement!
It's important to note that you never NEED to place a Settlement block. If you prefer isolation or a nomadic style of play, you're still good!
(I believe) this could be done by TFP without a ton of core changes. How elaborate the NPC implementation and special buildings/bonuses would be is flexible. Go with the basics, or full on horse barding!
As a purchased DLC I think this could be quite successful.
-Arch Necromancer Morloc
7D2D is incredible. The one aspect of the game that fits awkwardly (imo, and from a single-player perspective) has always been horde night. In a typical playthrough I tend to skip the first 4-6 bloodmoons. I get myself holed up in a durable POI and (hopefully) destroy any way the zombies can reach me. It feels exactly like what a survivor with limited skills and gear would do. No guilt, but it gets a little boring.
What I'm suggesting is that at some point in the game you can place a "Settlement" block. When you do this, you create a base/settlement/village which attracts NPCs (you'd receive a couple to start). They will always stay within a certain radius of the Settlement block, but most of them would be non-combatants, only able to flee within their radius.
When horde night comes, the zombies no longer have magic radar for the player, but they attack the settlement ultimately trying to destroy the Settlement block and kill your fellow NPC survivors. You MUST defend this settlement. You must build walls and defenses!!
No more hiding on rooftops or taking the death. If you die, your community dies.
Why bother? The larger your Settlement, the more special buildings you can build and allocate settlers to run.
Examples:
2 Settlers - A well. Similar to a dew collector, the well will provide some water daily.
3 Settlers - Small farm plot (Chose a crop to automatically be planted and harvested).
5+ Settlers - Hot oil "turret" Weapon that drops burning oil on the zombies outside your walls. You can at maximum build as many of these as you have free settlers.
At any point you may get lucky and have a unique settler join with special abilities....think healing, combat skills, limited local vendors, or bonuses to various skills the player has. They might come with the ability to build and man unique buildings (e.g. catapults, ballistae, etc.). Securing some of these exceptional people might be the object of quests from the vendors. Some of them might even be detrimental to your community. People who join and can't be assigned (too lazy or ill to work) must be protected too. They do count toward your population at least.
Finally a reason to stand and fight! Protect your loved ones...mourn their losses. Heart-pumping excitement!
It's important to note that you never NEED to place a Settlement block. If you prefer isolation or a nomadic style of play, you're still good!
(I believe) this could be done by TFP without a ton of core changes. How elaborate the NPC implementation and special buildings/bonuses would be is flexible. Go with the basics, or full on horse barding!
As a purchased DLC I think this could be quite successful.
-Arch Necromancer Morloc