Whenever I start a new game, oftentimes lucky things will happen, like one of the first zombies I kill drops a go bag, or my basement is full of stuff that makes some elements of survival a breeze. I feel as though this takes out some of the fun for me. Like, I’ll never get to experience a real need to make my own tools and weapons, or need to purify water the hard way, or need to work my way up to better gear. I feel the same way with mapgen, when I find interesting sites that I’d rather have to look for.
Of course, I can just go and chuck the legitimate loot out the window and continue doing it the hard way, or start a new game, but that’s a bit pointless, you know?
I am caught between enjoying a substantial advantage early-game, or forgoing it until I am presented with a suitable challenge of my own imposition.
Does anyone agree with me on this, or do you think I’m going about Cataclysm the wrong way?
Set initial view range to either minimum or something reasonable say, 5 and play no matter what. Ignore your normal playstyle and try a harder challenge. No initial points for example, only chargen points from bad traits or something. Hell, maybe even the soon-to-be-renamed black road option.
I’m a bit of a survalist min/maxer (read, a max/maxer)… but then some times I just decide to say screw it.
Average stats. Some good traits. Bad traits? Albino, fragile, glass jaw, near sighted, slow healer, maid. etc. Stuff like this generally forces a different playstyle, usually. Nothing quite like besting a few tough zombies and zombie brutes with a makeshift crowbar, 0 melee/bash/dodge skill. Nearly lost both arms, one was onto the red colon before I filched a first aid kit.
Forces me in particular to actually use stuff like first aid kits instead of hording them. That run in particular was strangely short of bandages, which are usually enough to fully heal low-hp characters.
It ended with me finishing my dash into the nearest gunstore, praising the RNGods for actually having a weapon with compatible ammo inside the same gunstore-- and cursing because ammunition drops have been nerfed, though for good reason.
TEC-9, Trigger happy and 10 rounds 9mm ammuntion. Managed to eliminate the most dangerous nearby threats but I had to end it there to test some other stuff. the store held some shotgun shells (more than the 9mm ammo at least) too, but no shotguns. I need to test this more but if this is indicative of current ammunition drops I’m happy. Ammunition actually feels precious now-- in the older versions a few gun basements, gunstores or corpse spawns and you’d be rolling in the stuff, which really detracted from play imho.
The only real excuse for SHIFT+Q/Y is because the RNG decides to give you a really messed up spawn and even then those can be a fun challenge for a while. e.g black road, swamp spawn with no cities in sight and a fungal spire nearby.
I didn’t even think about initial view range, thank you for the suggestion.
I’d tried black road before, but I keep getting torn to bits before I can even run away, due to enemies I can’t outrun (starting as shower victim, no shoes, no coke, no service). Maybe I’m just not trying hard enough, because black road would force me to keep moving around until I’m good enough to clear a home base out, or lucky enough to find a place with little resistance, and that’d make it a lot more fun, I reckon.
I already feel like I’m limited enough in chargen, so maybe I’ll keep those other suggestions for when I can find the inspiration.
One time I looked out the window of the shelter to see a functioning semi. All it needed was gas, and I lived out of that thing for a long time. That was on of my more successful characters.
I quite enjoy making characters that I name “Average Joe” and give them 8 across the stat board, no starting skills, unemployed, and no good or bad traits. Literally average in every way. It’s a minor thing you can do that makes it a little bit harder.