I'm intending this thread to be for those who truly would like to see a sandbox mode. It's a "less is more" philosophy. Which features would you subtract, and what would you possibly add?
I would start by removing biome progression, loot caps, trader quests, "monster" zombies, linear POI "dungeons", the magazine system.
And add? Can't think of anything. I miss the Learn by doing/schematic hybrid.
Realistically, the POI's aren't going to change and that ship has sailed. But even so, the linear style doesn't necessarily break anything.
It used to be, you dropped into the world naked and you had to survive by looting nearby houses. You had to find traders by exploring the world. You didn't have "skulls" on the screen telling you about difficulty, you had to figure that out on your own. Now of course this all sounds like "these dang kids" or "get off my lawn". But that playstyle was the sweet spot that brought me and my friends to the game in the first place.
I would start by removing biome progression, loot caps, trader quests, "monster" zombies, linear POI "dungeons", the magazine system.
And add? Can't think of anything. I miss the Learn by doing/schematic hybrid.
Realistically, the POI's aren't going to change and that ship has sailed. But even so, the linear style doesn't necessarily break anything.
It used to be, you dropped into the world naked and you had to survive by looting nearby houses. You had to find traders by exploring the world. You didn't have "skulls" on the screen telling you about difficulty, you had to figure that out on your own. Now of course this all sounds like "these dang kids" or "get off my lawn". But that playstyle was the sweet spot that brought me and my friends to the game in the first place.