Turrets guarding POIs (while other NPCs aren't implemented)

[apostrophe]

Thinking of POIs one thinks of the resistance present there. Someone told me that NPCs will be added later on. Okay. While they don't arrive, I suggest: active turrets guarding POIs, configured to shoot players and zombies on sight.

Some points:

- their design wouldn't be high tech but instead be the same like the turrets craftable by the player, as to give the idea their were built by previous survivors;

- a POI turret would be short sighted, positioned as to guard a hallway or a door, and maybe could emit some sort of sound, to alert the player;

- I think most importantly, a turret should be circunvented and avoided, rather than confronted; eg a player sees that a turret guards the bedroom on the second floor of a house, entrance through the door will be fatal, he then can backtrack outside and climb through the window with a ad hoc ladder, or axe his way up to the rooftop and then axe down into the bedroom;

- of course, if so inclined, destruction of a turret would offer good reward;

- finally, when the player creeps behind or up a turret he could turn it off by activating it, or disable it for say a minute, proper time to loot the premises and leave. or maybe the player can configure him as an "allied" and the turret won't shoot him, but I don't know, that may be overpowered early game.

Well?

 

[bdubyah]

I like the idea.

As for "hacking" the turret so it won't shoot at you: just have a Hacking style perk. That way someone can't take over a POI day one and have turrets. And maybe make them have a small amount of ammo to begin with.

Also make the POIs they are in very rare.

And maybe another way to deal with them is to cut power to the building? Or maybe at least have a breaker box in each POI that can be found and disabled/broken, therefore shutting down the turrets. Could make it so the only way to can loot them is to cut power. So if you just destroy them you get nothing(or not as much).

 

[apostrophe]

And maybe another way to deal with them is to cut power to the building? Or maybe at least have a breaker box in each POI that can be found and disabled/broken, therefore shutting down the turrets. Could make it so the only way to can loot them is to cut power. So if you just destroy them you get nothing(or not as much).

That would be an elegant option for dealing with them.

Player notices the turret, and also notices the wiring coming out of it. Then follows it back to its fusebox. Which I think should be as discreet as possible, as to prevent savvy players from rushing to it before even entering the POI.

 

[Dimpy]

I think that turrets(and other things like blade traps and electric fence posts) they should start out with the power out, and it's up to you to turn them back on if you want help fighting the zombies. In the Apocalypse the main power grid is going to be out, so the turrets need to be powered by a backup generator, and there's no way one of those could power a couple turrets 24/7 for months on end.

 

[apostrophe]

I think that turrets(and other things like blade traps and electric fence posts) they should start out with the power out, and it's up to you to turn them back on if you want help fighting the zombies. In the Apocalypse the main power grid is going to be out, so the turrets need to be powered by a backup generator, and there's no way one of those could power a couple turrets 24/7 for months on end.

Like I said, they wouldn't be pre-apocalypse turrets, and would answer the same logic as a player build turret. Think of them like a guarded safehouse, made by survivors just like you that inhabited the POI until they left it... or died inside. Well, there could be a survivor corpse around the building to reinforce this idea.

 

[Dimpy]

Why don't they just use LCBs?

 

[apostrophe]

Use what?

 

[Dimpy]

Land claim blocks, like what the traders and players use.

 

[apostrophe]

Why don't they just use LCBs?

Personally I think the LCB per se is awful looking.

Besides there's no need for it. Have the POI turret connected to a fuse or generator somewhere and that's that. No need to include other elements to it.

 

[Dimpy]

The issue is, either the generators are going to run out of power very quickly, or they act as an infinite source of power to the player. Anyway, we are supposedly getting bandit NPCs in the next update.

Why don't you build a prefab like how you're suggesting? I bet some modders would be happy to use it.

 

[apostrophe]

I prefer to suggest things to the base game. I know everything's possible in mods but that's inconsequential.

 

[Dimpy]

From what I know prefabs are really easy to build and modify. All you have to do is load an existing POI, place the turrets and generator, and share it.

 

[bdubyah]

They could just make it so the generators aren't accessible by the players. You can disable them or wrench them for parts, but can't use them yourself, other than maybe turning them on and off(which would of course turn the turrets back on if you didn't deal with them).

 

[Pille]

From what I know prefabs are really easy to build and modify. All you have to do is load an existing POI, place the turrets and generator, and share it.

No, this doesn't work. You cannot build prefabs that have wiring or active electrical devices. The information needed for electrical networks is stored in the map data/in the save game. Would be really cool to put this kind of stuff into the prefab format. Ofc some balancing tweaks would be required ... (see bdubyah's comment).

 

[apostrophe]

They could just make it so the generators aren't accessible by the players. You can disable them or wrench them for parts, but can't use them yourself, other than maybe turning them on and off(which would of course turn the turrets back on if you didn't deal with them).

Cool as well.