Hi guys,
As I can't seem to find any feedback forms or similar features, I guess this is the place to suggest a few ideas.
Surely something similar har already been mentioned multiple times, but chanting wishes/feedback once more time can't hurt. Right?
__________________________________
Play the way you want:
Can't say that I've ever been a fan of the entire "Learn by reading"-system or the way that attributes kills build variety like there's no tomorrow. Either you choose one of the 5 pre-made builds or pay double/triple the attribute tax just to do something slightly different.
A quick example:
One person in the group enjoys base development and hanging out/gaming with his friends, but isn't really a big fan of POI-diving, thus his preferred playstyle would primarily be: Building, gathering, farming, cooking and silent bow hunting for a bit of preference / style fantasy.
Well... Perception for tracking prey, all chefs pump iron before adding salt, intellect to get a grip on trading/crafting, remember to warm up properly before planting seeds, and in order to use the weapon you find fun/stylistic instead of a meta option, pump agility.
Long story short, his playstyle is pretty much declared invalid with a 5x attribute tax compared to just sticking with one of the premade classes. Bonus points since he won't even learn anything from his efforts and must rely on the others to teach him how to build a forge by lugging back postcards and magazines found in a random newspaper dispenser.
Complaints done, suggestions follow.
Please bring back some sort of system that allows for personal playstyles. No matter if someone decides to chase the meta or to try gimmicky combinations, its all their own choice and innocent fun in a PvE-oriented game.
Examples could be:
• Learn by doing
Please skip the attributes and let us combine the weapons and skills we find interesting, preferably by actually using them and thus unlocking the higher skill levels by earning it. Adding meaningful choices along the way could also increase the sense of gaining experience. (Want to get improved stability/recoil or the ability to penetrate one target with your rifle shots?)
• Different costs for different perk levels.
The first ranks of a perk could cost a single point, while the final levels could cost a lot more (3-5 points?). This might not be as immersive as learn by doing, but allows you to sink perk points into freely chosen masteries instead of attribute tax. Also, I kinda like the thought of one player becoming a jack of all trades by picking low/mid level skills all across the board, while another player specifically refines his cardio and spear mastery at a similar cost.
Variable costs could also pave the way for adding in more unique, flavorful or impactful skills without breaking the balance.
____________________________________
Zombie AI
The last point I would like to address if how the "engineering degree"-zombies sort of kills immersive base building. Having a toggle to bring back a "dumber" or more primal zombie-AI would be great.
Long story short, I would love to fortify a building and create makeshift defences as we did in the early days of the game without looking at any guides or creating a wobbly meta-house on stilts, but it simply don't feel viable anymore. For some reason, the zombies won't even try to follow sounds, smells, sight or the most direct path from their position, swarming in from all sides cinema style.
Instead they will all form an orderly conga line, dig into the basement, maze through the offices after climbing a rope to the third floor and then they all arrive from behind because the combined durability of the walls blocking their complicated GPS-path (up to date with yesterday's refurbishments) has 500hp less than the makeshift barricade where they can actually see the player a few metres away.
Of course this is likely to make cheesing hordes easier, but to be fair those who decide that they want to just wait out the night in an AFK-stilt-base might as well just turn off blood moons in the first place. Please prioritize an engaging AI that allows for creative/immersive basebuilding rather than waging war on cheesers, as they will always find a way to break the AI.
Suggestion:
I would love to see an aggression-system based on senses instead of Google Maps. It would be cool if open blocks/doors/windows would let sight, sound and smell pass freely while closed blocks/doors/windows would reduce the sensory effects based on their quality/material)
Example priority for more primal zombies could be:
1. Got line of sight?
Charge straight on, no questions asked.
2. Hear something?
Head in the general direction and beat on obstacles that can't easily be pathed around. Stop if nothing has been heard in a reasonable while.
3. Smell something?
Similar to sound, but harder to pinpoint. Higher incentive to path and search rather than beating up stuff.
4. Blood moon and far away?
Run for player's general position and search frantically with heightened senses, no or very little destruction before getting some sort of sensory input. (Might sound boring, but fearfully hiding in silence with no fire/food/active machines can be immersive as well. One zombie managing to stumble inside or just moving around with an impatient stride could be enough to break your cover and let hell loose.)
To save resources and provide a sense of the zombie's gang mentality, the sense-checks could be done for one zombie and the outcome/decision could be applied to x zombies nearby.
___________________________
That was quite a long rant, but please don't get me wrong.
I've sincerely enjoyed the game since it's early days on both console and PC, even though a lot of updates has felt like downgrades. This game still has plenty of untapped potential and I hope to see it grow with new content and the freedom to tailor your experience.
Wish you all a great day and happy horde nights!
Kind regards
R
As I can't seem to find any feedback forms or similar features, I guess this is the place to suggest a few ideas.
Surely something similar har already been mentioned multiple times, but chanting wishes/feedback once more time can't hurt. Right?
__________________________________
Play the way you want:
Can't say that I've ever been a fan of the entire "Learn by reading"-system or the way that attributes kills build variety like there's no tomorrow. Either you choose one of the 5 pre-made builds or pay double/triple the attribute tax just to do something slightly different.
A quick example:
One person in the group enjoys base development and hanging out/gaming with his friends, but isn't really a big fan of POI-diving, thus his preferred playstyle would primarily be: Building, gathering, farming, cooking and silent bow hunting for a bit of preference / style fantasy.
Well... Perception for tracking prey, all chefs pump iron before adding salt, intellect to get a grip on trading/crafting, remember to warm up properly before planting seeds, and in order to use the weapon you find fun/stylistic instead of a meta option, pump agility.
Long story short, his playstyle is pretty much declared invalid with a 5x attribute tax compared to just sticking with one of the premade classes. Bonus points since he won't even learn anything from his efforts and must rely on the others to teach him how to build a forge by lugging back postcards and magazines found in a random newspaper dispenser.
Complaints done, suggestions follow.
Please bring back some sort of system that allows for personal playstyles. No matter if someone decides to chase the meta or to try gimmicky combinations, its all their own choice and innocent fun in a PvE-oriented game.
Examples could be:
• Learn by doing
Please skip the attributes and let us combine the weapons and skills we find interesting, preferably by actually using them and thus unlocking the higher skill levels by earning it. Adding meaningful choices along the way could also increase the sense of gaining experience. (Want to get improved stability/recoil or the ability to penetrate one target with your rifle shots?)
• Different costs for different perk levels.
The first ranks of a perk could cost a single point, while the final levels could cost a lot more (3-5 points?). This might not be as immersive as learn by doing, but allows you to sink perk points into freely chosen masteries instead of attribute tax. Also, I kinda like the thought of one player becoming a jack of all trades by picking low/mid level skills all across the board, while another player specifically refines his cardio and spear mastery at a similar cost.
Variable costs could also pave the way for adding in more unique, flavorful or impactful skills without breaking the balance.
____________________________________
Zombie AI
The last point I would like to address if how the "engineering degree"-zombies sort of kills immersive base building. Having a toggle to bring back a "dumber" or more primal zombie-AI would be great.
Long story short, I would love to fortify a building and create makeshift defences as we did in the early days of the game without looking at any guides or creating a wobbly meta-house on stilts, but it simply don't feel viable anymore. For some reason, the zombies won't even try to follow sounds, smells, sight or the most direct path from their position, swarming in from all sides cinema style.
Instead they will all form an orderly conga line, dig into the basement, maze through the offices after climbing a rope to the third floor and then they all arrive from behind because the combined durability of the walls blocking their complicated GPS-path (up to date with yesterday's refurbishments) has 500hp less than the makeshift barricade where they can actually see the player a few metres away.
Of course this is likely to make cheesing hordes easier, but to be fair those who decide that they want to just wait out the night in an AFK-stilt-base might as well just turn off blood moons in the first place. Please prioritize an engaging AI that allows for creative/immersive basebuilding rather than waging war on cheesers, as they will always find a way to break the AI.
Suggestion:
I would love to see an aggression-system based on senses instead of Google Maps. It would be cool if open blocks/doors/windows would let sight, sound and smell pass freely while closed blocks/doors/windows would reduce the sensory effects based on their quality/material)
Example priority for more primal zombies could be:
1. Got line of sight?
Charge straight on, no questions asked.
2. Hear something?
Head in the general direction and beat on obstacles that can't easily be pathed around. Stop if nothing has been heard in a reasonable while.
3. Smell something?
Similar to sound, but harder to pinpoint. Higher incentive to path and search rather than beating up stuff.
4. Blood moon and far away?
Run for player's general position and search frantically with heightened senses, no or very little destruction before getting some sort of sensory input. (Might sound boring, but fearfully hiding in silence with no fire/food/active machines can be immersive as well. One zombie managing to stumble inside or just moving around with an impatient stride could be enough to break your cover and let hell loose.)
To save resources and provide a sense of the zombie's gang mentality, the sense-checks could be done for one zombie and the outcome/decision could be applied to x zombies nearby.
___________________________
That was quite a long rant, but please don't get me wrong.
I've sincerely enjoyed the game since it's early days on both console and PC, even though a lot of updates has felt like downgrades. This game still has plenty of untapped potential and I hope to see it grow with new content and the freedom to tailor your experience.
Wish you all a great day and happy horde nights!
Kind regards
R