Balancing the game

hazerddex · 2014-01-31T02:36:35.000Z

Binky:

Full on sci-fi apocalypse or not, there needs to be some sort of rules or it’s just (as it is now) chaos. It started (at the very beginning of DDA) very differently from where it is now in terms of tone and theme, and it’s fine if it’s changed, I just think it’s impossible to get any balancing or coherence down without an actual statement of what the game is actually supposed to be.

it’s plenty clear to me a sandbox sci-fi apocalypse survival game… also 10 years, from some of the in game book this takes place during or at least after 2040 or 2041, that is at least 27 years from now! If you can think, or know (I have no idea what your age is), what 27 years in the past was like then you have to realize that thing could most certainly be VERY different from right now. I mean look at what we have NOW, you do realize we already have prototype powered armor, lasers, rail-guns, we even have pig mutants that glow in the dark.

Zireael · 2014-01-31T09:07:25.000Z

[quote=“KA101, post:116, topic:4901”]Sad part is that ZombieTermite’s right. It is a full-on SF apocalypse.

We’ve had a googledoc under construction for some time now. Unfortunately, GlyphGryph’s not had the time to participate as much as he ideally would; he’s the central lorekeeper, IIRC.[/quote]

KA101, Glyph, any chances to get a link to said Google Doc?

Nopkar · 2014-01-31T12:45:13.000Z

[quote=“gtaguy, post:120, topic:4901”]Here is how I see this thread playing out with eachother:

[/quote]

yeah, waiting for this to stop being like the above, a general beat down of the devs and more of a ‘How can we get involved and start helping’

until then:

Binky · 2014-01-31T13:08:39.000Z

No one (well, I’m not) is beating down the devs or suggesting that cataclysmDDA should be completely realistic (zombies, flesh angels and whatever prove otherwise). However, regardless of how weird and wacky it wants to be, it needs some universe-boundaries or it’s just not fun.

Think of it this way, we could just make ‘the killing gun’ which kills everything in one shot. Obviously we don’t want that because it’s not fun (for most people), yet some of the things that are getting pulled in are like that. Similarly, we could a magical staff that shoots ice bolts and summons ghosts, but we don’t want that, because it’s too DnD (for most people). Yeah, these are extreme examples, but at the moment it seems very similar to that in a lot of ways.

Although I sincerely want to help, I don’t think the community can help in a positive way until some coherent vision is put forward - it’ll just stay as it is now, with people adding their own vanity additions and shoehorning in their own particular fantasies.

John_Candlebury · 2014-01-31T13:13:11.000Z

[quote=“Nopkar, post:123, topic:4901”][quote=“gtaguy, post:120, topic:4901”]Here is how I see this thread playing out with eachother:

funny image[/quote]

yeah, waiting for this to stop being like the above, a general beat down of the devs and more of a ‘How can we get involved and start helping’

until then:

funny image[/quote]

But hey that thread already exists, or at least those were my intentions when i made this thread but this one is aparently way more active and illustrative of the attempts to balance the game for some reason or another.

You know perhaps you could make a reasonable point by posting in there, perhaps something is not really unbalanced or perhaps i missed something and you could argue for its exlusion/inclusion, also, it would save me a lot of trouble if my ideas are shot down while they are on paper instead of when I have already made the prs.

So why don’t you let your opinion be heard in the other thread , but do read the first post, its goals are very different from the goals in this thread, first of it doesn’t include removing items from game, only tweaking of stats and spawn rates.

hazerddex · 2014-01-31T21:50:11.000Z

[quote=“Binky, post:124, topic:4901”]No one (well, I’m not) is beating down the devs or suggesting that cataclysmDDA should be completely realistic (zombies, flesh angels and whatever prove otherwise). However, regardless of how weird and wacky it wants to be, it needs some universe-boundaries or it’s just not fun.

Think of it this way, we could just make ‘the killing gun’ which kills everything in one shot. Obviously we don’t want that because it’s not fun (for most people), yet some of the things that are getting pulled in are like that. Similarly, we could a magical staff that shoots ice bolts and summons ghosts, but we don’t want that, because it’s too DnD (for most people). Yeah, these are extreme examples, but at the moment it seems very similar to that in a lot of ways.

Although I sincerely want to help, I don’t think the community can help in a positive way until some coherent vision is put forward - it’ll just stay as it is now, with people adding their own vanity additions and shoehorning in their own particular fantasies.[/quote]

not to be rude or anything but after reading this your reminding me of this

DG123 · 2014-01-31T21:54:11.000Z

I already have the killing gun. It’s called the railgun.

hazerddex · 2014-01-31T21:56:17.000Z

DG123:

I already have the killing gun. It’s called the railgun.

i have a killing weapon to its called my characters fist in a zombies face

DG123 · 2014-01-31T22:01:11.000Z

Does your fist do about 350 damage per shot? The railgun seems to.

John_Candlebury · 2014-01-31T22:05:13.000Z

In the great words of ninja

LOL newbs.

I use a scarf, get on my level.

And the railgun ammo is so rare comparatively that it very well could do 9000+ damage a shot

DG123 · 2014-01-31T22:42:39.000Z

Rare?

I can get tonnes of railgun ammo. I just drive a car through a house. REBARS FOR EVERYONE!

hazerddex · 2014-01-31T22:45:14.000Z

[quote=“DG123, post:131, topic:4901”]Rare?

I can get tonnes of railgun ammo. I just drive a car through a house. REBARS FOR EVERYONE![/quote]

i gave up on guns after i killed a zombie hulk with my hands and did not get any damage

although driving car though houses to get ammo sounds awesome i might try it with a military bunker later

John_Candlebury · 2014-01-31T22:52:29.000Z

Ahh you meant the RAIL rifle gun, I thought you were speaking about the Heckler and Koch prototype rail gun which is pretty much very super rare. Never actually tried the rebar rifle

DG123 · 2014-01-31T22:53:39.000Z

I discovered the rebar pinata by accident by hitting a building at over 50mph with a heavily armoured RV. The RV took zero damage. Half of the house exploded.

It was glorious.

Now the rebars are being used to make zombie bears splatter into bloodstains.

Aaaand… now I’m wondering what to do in the game since I’m nearly impossible to kill and I have ridiculous firepower.

Which is quite relevant to the concept of balancing the game…

Personally I don’t want to see items removed or crafting made more limited. I think the focus should be on making the enemies more dangerous. Making them actively seek you out. Zombie dog packs, anyone?

DG123 · 2014-01-31T22:55:44.000Z

John Candlebury:

Ahh you meant the RAIL rifle gun, I thought you were speaking about the Heckler and Koch prototype rail gun which is pretty much very super rare. Never actually tried the rebar rifle

Oh I see, no I didn’t even know that existed.

The rebar rail gun is horrifying. One shot per reload, but it does something like 60 base damage with ridiculous criticals. And the forged version of the ammo has a super high armour pierce rating.

Binky · 2014-02-01T00:21:11.000Z

I’m not trying to stop people having fun or that there is a prescribed way in which people must have fun, I’m just saying that to me (and in terms of what is generally regarded as a good game) there needs to be some boundaries, progression and a sense of achievement.

This sort of proves it:

[quote]
Aaaand… now I’m wondering what to do in the game since I’m nearly impossible to kill and I have ridiculous firepower.

[quote]

Again, I’m just saying what I think would make a better game to me.

hazerddex · 2014-02-01T00:36:19.000Z

[quote=“Binky, post:136, topic:4901”]I’m not trying to stop people having fun or that there is a prescribed way in which people must have fun, I’m just saying that to me (and in terms of what is generally regarded as a good game) there needs to be some boundaries, progression and a sense of achievement.

This sort of proves it:

Aaaand.... now I'm wondering what to do in the game since I'm nearly impossible to kill and I have ridiculous firepower.

Again, I’m just saying what I think would make a better game to me.[/quote]
know what i think would make a better game is more enemies, Removing content IS NEVER A SOLUTION

FunsizeNinja123 · 2014-02-01T02:50:03.000Z

Someone mentioned me…?

KA101 · 2014-02-01T02:56:01.000Z

OK, merged the HP PR. Will sort out the melee skills and close that blocker, then look into more and nastier critters once 0.A lands. I have been planning fungal and underground upgrades for a while now.

Hopefully will take some time over the weekend and polish up that googledoc.

Zireael · 2014-02-01T08:02:20.000Z

[quote=“DG123, post:134, topic:4901”]I discovered the rebar pinata by accident by hitting a building at over 50mph with a heavily armoured RV. The RV took zero damage. Half of the house exploded.

It was glorious.

Now the rebars are being used to make zombie bears splatter into bloodstains.

Aaaand… now I’m wondering what to do in the game since I’m nearly impossible to kill and I have ridiculous firepower.

Which is quite relevant to the concept of balancing the game…

Personally I don’t want to see items removed or crafting made more limited. I think the focus should be on making the enemies more dangerous. Making them actively seek you out. Zombie dog packs, anyone?[/quote]

Hordes of enemies were suggested long ago and are planned.

My solution would be adding more mid-late-game enemies. I’m busy until the 7th, so I can’t actually add them, but here are my ideas:
zommoose, zombie spiders, zombie jabberwock, mutated animals of all sorts (giant rat, giant zombie rat)
wolf-moose (kudos to the guy on IRC who described a NPC trying to fight a moose with lupine serum)