C:DDA Design Outline

[KA101]

Here’s the shared dev vision for Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead. It contains spoilers, for what that’s worth, as it’s kinda tough to discuss the world without them.

C:DDA Design Outline

[Zireael]

THANKS for sharing this!

[infectedmochi]

Thanks for putting your time into this! A very good read, IMHO it could be expanded to include further development plans and lore (perhaps copy-paste from the lore thread with some simplifications?) but it’s a good start.

[Binky]

Wow! I literally never thought that this would come into fruition and I am overwhelmingly pleased it has!!
Fantastic work and I completely agree with everything in there (as in, I think it makes coherent sense and fits with the initial vision as I knew it to be) and it’s glad to have it written down.

Very interesting about the ‘no items requiring precision machinery/advanced techniques’, this is something that I very much wanted to see and I think it gives a great level of balance. It may need further clarification of what is and isn’t allowed as I imagine many things will skirt the line - perhaps just adding a few more examples of things that are ok and things that aren’t would be useful.

Really, again, great work and I think this will strongly help development.

[Feckless]

Bloody fantastic. That was a great read and I am all the more excited for everything you guys have planned.
It has been a great ride so far, and i can’t wait to see what comes next.

[Bonevomit]

We neither need nor want competition for the “best” DDA player, and don’t even know how we’d define that.

No problem, obviously the best DDA player is me anyway. There's really no need for competition. After all, I don't want to humiliate any of you too badly.

[Samscale1]

So it says that they player can help the fungus in future, would this also apply to triffids? And would it grant any major perks to the player?

[Bonevomit]

So it says that they player can help the fungus in future, would this also apply to triffids? And would it grant any major perks to the player?

I like the sound of this.

Humans, triffids, and fungi all living in harmony.

[i2amroy]

[quote=“Samscale1, post:7, topic:5276”]So it says that they player can help the fungus in future, would this also apply to triffids? And would it grant any major perks to the player?

I like the sound of this.

Humans, triffids, and fungi all living in harmony.[/quote]
Well humans and triffids, or humans and fungi maybe, but triffids and fungi are natural deadly enemies of each other.

[GlyphGryph]

If you look at the lore linked in the doc, Triffids and fungus ALREADY live in harmony (under the complete domination of the Triffid Heart, which functionally suppresses the spread of the fungus and its natural inclinations but uses it as a symbiote in limited capacity), and the Triffid will be more than happy to live in harmony with the humans as well! (So long as it has complete control over them and can find a use for them within the collective, the same way the earth trees live in harmony with the Triffids! The Triffids are just so inclusive and welcoming, so long as those it is welcoming are completely subjugated and their free will entirely subsumed!)

It is NOT living in harmony with the wild uncontrolled feral barbarian-like fungus colonies, though.

But this probably belongs in the lore threads discussions in the Library, the official threads there are a good resource, although everything in them is, of course, susceptible to change should we decide it better fits the design goals of the above document to change things, especially things that aren’t actually implemented yet.

[Goombah]

… all of that sounds awesome. I look forward to the day NPCs and factions exist too. Insect Queen Mutation? YES PLEASE. Having my own hive would be awesome. xD

[Barzillai]

In future versions I think acid puddles in acid rain should be an option that can be toggled on or off (they were removed for this version).

While some players may not have liked having their items destroyed, I’m getting irritated at all the wildlife corpses scattered about after every acid rain.

Plus it just makes acid rain that much more dangerous!

[pulsefrequency]

first line in document: “We consider DDA … low-intensity” LMBO i see it is defined further down but man… that was a laugh and a half, cata is anything but low-intensity imho hahaha thanks for posting i finally have found time to read it cant wait

" It should be just as possible to lead a slow and careful life in harmony with nature outside the cities as it is to make crazy laser-slinging assaults on superscience labs."
just as possible, perhaps, though hopefully not as easy. as long as the lore and reality arent butchered for the sake of “balance.” real life is not “balanced.,” nor is the zombie apocalypse right

[kevin.granade]

low-intensity means that the player has the option to manage encounters, unlike games where you are trapped in encounters once you engage, ambushed, or otherwise prevented from engaging on your own terms*. if you dive into a town, yes you will be swarmed by Zs, but that’s your choice, you can also proceed carefully or avoid conflict entirely.
*other methods include agressive hunger clocks, doomsday clocks or other time-based mechanics requiring you to proceed rapidly.

[pulsefrequency]

yea after reading the whole thing i definitely get that, also a very interesting read, lots of stuff i didnt even know. looking forward to any improvement whatsoever to the NPC system and “Roving Hoardes”

i have always loved and preferred roguelikes for their strategic gameplay, as opposed to reflex or muscle-memory based. i also love the fact that with RLs, moreso than other genres, player skill, experience and knowledge, as well as general resourcefulness and intelligence play a huge role in gameplay experience

though i love me a good driver/racer or arcade shooter

[SpaceKing]

Nice to see your goals laid out. All I can say is please don’t get rid of the goofy stuff; it makes the game colourful, even if you are going for post-apocalypse.

I’d say that the Growth and Survival stages are in full effect right now, but the latter two I haven’t felt yet. Influence is a bit vaguely defined and seems more akin to Survival than its own stage the way you described it. With the term ‘influence’ I was expecting the beginnings of a community or following of NPCs. More than merely surviving, you begin to carve out your place in the new world; whether that be with the helping hand of a friendly band or the bloody berth of scorched earth. (I like alliteration). Somewhere between “I know how to survive” and “I am the mayor of Megaton”.

Trancendance seems pretty accurate though; established bases, advanced science, all good fun. The term is interesting too; I’d imagine this as a whole new tier of personal enhancement. Either through your loyal followers, advanced tech, formidable arsenal or nightmarish form, turning you into some huge level of legendary badass. It’d be cool to cap the endgame with fighting the big bads of the apocalypse, like the Blob or Fungal Hordes. Boss-style encounters once you’re kitted out enough.

Also I may be personally biased towards this, but being able to mutate your way to horrific perfection is always a fun prospect.

[i2amroy]

Nice to see your goals laid out. All I can say is please don’t get rid of the goofy stuff; it makes the game colourful, even if you are going for post-apocalypse.

Don’t worry about that. At most we will probably be moving most of those items to an in-game mod type of thing, so that they are easily toggle able on/off for those who don’t want them, but they will be remaining in the game.

[infectedmochi]

Ummm… okay then. Yeah. I’ll… think about that. …Yeah.

[Darkfirephoenix]

Hrmmm… I like the the Outline and I would really like a Faction system implemented as fast as it is possible (or am I reading it wrong?). And as far as I see my ideas aren’t against the Outline that hard, (for question plese look in my thread: http://smf.cataclysmdda.com/index.php?topic=6068.0 and ask there) I would have to make only minor adjustments as far as I can tell. MAN! I really want the finished game, NOW! (where is my time-Machine?! )

[Hague]

Okay, this is a thread revival, but I’m trying to be exactly clear on the theme here. The sense that I’m getting from the design outline is basically a cross of 28 Days Later, Transmetropolitan, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Am I missing anything else?