What does sandbox mode look like to you?

[RyanX]

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.

 

[Rotor]

Sandbox to me is:

Give me a world to play in.
Give me the tools to survive, create without traders/quests.

The backdrop can be anything, whether it is space, Zombies, middle earth, etc.

Dont put rails on me.

Well that the purest sense IMO.

 

[Samcharles]

Why remove things? Why not make it optional?
Trader quests are already currently optional. I usually don't do them but sometimes I like to mix things up.

 

[8_Hussars]

I would not remove anything. Having said that, I am also of the opinion that the Trader Quest treadmill, is the single biggest detractor from Sandbox Play.

Have an option for "No Traders", and just replace with ruined compounds. Biome Progression, loot caps, and "monster" zombies are already on their way out. Linear dungeons don't mean anything in a no quest play through... For sure some QOL info stuff could go, but it doesn't bother me I know the POIs enough at this point not to get into trouble.

LBD is a tough call to do correctly.

If you run mods, check out "Survival, No Trader (SRT)" mod. A hybrid LBR/LBD system, no traders, and custom random quests...

 

[theFlu]

Why remove things? Why not make it optional?

The question is about a "sandbox mode"; an optional set of settings, I suppose. You could make All the "removed parts" into separate settings, but at I least I prefer a thought-out game mode instead of a gazillion options to tailor my own. If they're all optional, the complexity to test all combos becomes overwhelming, and then there's no "game" to play; if it doesn't work, you just "chose the wrong settings".

For the question itself, basically what Rotor said there. Drop me into a world blind, make it worth exploring; survivable in the wild, punishing to go into a POI, logically random (tool shops have tools, but not simply predictable by a level-locked GS). With some zones you can't really live in, with the best chance for great things (like the central city of old).

Heck, I'd accept smoothies to survive a radiated horde-infested city long enough to get to a "good box" (tm). Dynamic and real, not predictable arcade.

 

[RyanX]

Having said that, I am also of the opinion that the Trader Quest treadmill, is the single biggest detractor from Sandbox Play.

This. So much this. I actually liked traders when they were in the world but didn't have quests.

 

[RyanX]

I would not remove anything. Having said that, I am also of the opinion that the Trader Quest treadmill, is the single biggest detractor from Sandbox Play.

Have an option for "No Traders", and just replace with ruined compounds. Biome Progression, loot caps, and "monster" zombies are already on their way out. Linear dungeons don't mean anything in a no quest play through... For sure some QOL info stuff could go, but it doesn't bother me I know the POIs enough at this point not to get into trouble.

LBD is a tough call to do correctly.

If you run mods, check out "Survival, No Trader (SRT)" mod. A hybrid LBR/LBD system, no traders, and custom random quests...

I thought the system around A16 was pretty great. You looted schematics to craft certain things (shotguns for example), some things you learned by doing (Athletics for example), and you also had points to spend that helped your quality. It was really nice.