After a long break I downloaded the latest experimental the other week and started a new game with the default scenario, as an evacuee. Smashed a locker for a pipe to wield, went out, started hitting zombies and got completely trashed in relatively short order. I wondered whether common-or-garden variety zombies had been given a boost. They hadn’t, the problem was that I had a torso encumbrance of 2 right out of the gate, because the game had saddled me with some abysmally bad equipment which basically made my character into this.
This is the situation most new players are going to be dropped into, and most of them will have no idea why they’re getting smacked around so badly, since they won’t realise that any number above 0 where that 2 is on their freshly made character means no melee for you. Maybe change the default starting gear into something more neutral, like a hoodie and sneakers/boots.
You mean Spring? If people want to change their starting season to Winter then they ought to expect to have to scrounge for gear. But in a default game, abandoning all the stuff you’re given shouldn’t be the first thing you need to do. The gear evacuees are given by the game means they end up with frozen hands and head, overheated feet, and too much torso encumbrance to fight.
The start of the game is too early to figure out encumbrance, when is the right time?
They’re going to have to figure it out eventually, better right at the start than days or weeks into the game.
What if we had a death review screen? “X and Y got you, do Z next time”. Somewhat crappy idea, but it could help figure out encumbrance, pain, cold, etc. Tbh, that’s just about where the list ends, so yeah, I guess no.
Hey, if you think handicapping default characters by equipping them with stuff they’re better off dropping as soon as they spawn is the way to go, far be it for me to argue. Already changed it in my game anyway, no longer my problem.
To be fair, an evacuee is just a regular joe stuck in a surprise apocalypse on a freezing cold winter day owning nothing more than what happened to be in his pockets when the authorities evacuated him suddenly. So it’s entirely reasonable that he may not be optimized for melee combat. I know I’m not when I leave the house. If a player wants to be someone that comes ready to kick butt right out of the gate, there are starts for that other than Evacuee. Almost every good zombie/survival game I’ve played recently requires you to avoid combat if at all possible at the start and only engage later when you have a clear advantage built up for you over time.
Part of the whole zombie survival theme that a lot of people like is taking a soft hopeless pile of manmeat that doesn’t stand a chance against natural wildlife let alone a zombie and honing him into an unflinching hardened diamond-edged killing machine. Without the bitter, it’s not as sweet in the end.