NPC spawns should decrease gradually over time, as your fellow survivors meet their doom over the course of weeks and months. On day 1 running into other survivors should be a common occurrence, but as time goes by they become scarcer and scarcer, until the only NPCs left are in groups(bandits camps, refugee centers, etc. maybe add new types of groups such military, scientists protected by military, etc.).
Agree, but also include the weird/awesome/scary survivor who managed to thrive in his own through the months, by being resorceful, mutated, bionic or other ways of doing it so. Something as Marloss Man, or full post-threshold Slime, or Street Fighter Ryu, or a small group of survivors and it’s nightmarish mobile base, etc.
Having an abundance of NPCs might make the early game difficult (imagine a turret that moves as fast as you do), and having almost none in the endgame might make the endgame even easier (imagine NO turrets that move as fast as you).
I like your idea of making it so that, as time goes on, less unaffiliated NPCs appear, but more faction-affiliated NPCs appear.
[quote=“eatdembeanz, post:3, topic:7817”]Having an abundance of NPCs might make the early game difficult (imagine a turret that moves as fast as you do), and having almost none in the endgame might make the endgame even easier (imagine NO turrets that move as fast as you).
I like the idea of making it so that, as time goes on, less unaffiliated NPCs appear, but more faction-affiliated NPCs appear.[/quote]
This sounds reasonable.
One way to add new NPCs is to have them in closed shelters.
Of course over the shelters run out of food/water/drugs so they send out NPCs to look for them.
A shelter may randomly open after a set time (zombies get inside?/ Portal opens?/ radiation levels fall?) and a large number of normal survivors are spawned.
Closed shelter should be less than willing to let the player in, after all there probably a zombie/raider.
You can still force your way in but they have guns and strong walls.
[quote=“Funk, post:5, topic:7817”]One way to add new NPCs is to have them in closed shelters.
Of course over the shelters run out of food/water/drugs so they send out NPCs to look for them.
A shelter may randomly open after a set time (zombies get inside?/ Portal opens?/ radiation levels fall?) and a large number of normal survivors are spawned.
Closed shelter should be less than willing to let the player in, after all there probably a zombie/raider.
You can still force your way in but they have guns and strong walls.[/quote]
This idea is fantastic. Id love to knock on the door a LMOE shelter and talk to someone inside who refuses to open the door.
[quote=“eatdembeanz, post:3, topic:7817”]Having an abundance of NPCs might make the early game difficult (imagine a turret that moves as fast as you do), and having almost none in the endgame might make the endgame even easier (imagine NO turrets that move as fast as you).
I like your idea of making it so that, as time goes on, less unaffiliated NPCs appear, but more faction-affiliated NPCs appear.[/quote]There already IS an abundance of moving turrets NPCs at the start of the game, the idea is to make them become less and less common as time goes by. Plus, they might would start to have more and better loot as they become scarcer because fewer people to compete with.
[quote=“HunterAlpha1, post:7, topic:7817”][quote=“eatdembeanz, post:3, topic:7817”]Having an abundance of NPCs might make the early game difficult (imagine a turret that moves as fast as you do), and having almost none in the endgame might make the endgame even easier (imagine NO turrets that move as fast as you).
I like your idea of making it so that, as time goes on, less unaffiliated NPCs appear, but more faction-affiliated NPCs appear.[/quote]There already IS an abundance of moving turrets NPCs at the start of the game, the idea is to make them become less and less common as time goes by. Plus, they might would start to have more and better loot as they become scarcer because fewer people to compete with.[/quote]
I crunched some numbers a while ago:
[quote=“KA101, post:20, topic:3924”]Just a quick reference check: as of 2010, 1% of the most populous cities in New England came out to roughly 17,695 total survivors. Granted, cities might have been hit harder, but that’s only the most populous city in each state. So I’d call that a conservative estimate.
Probably easier than pulling the Census data directly
In other words, NPC presence is pretty believable. Don’t be afraid to enable Static NPCs, and if you’ve got thoughts for how NPC interactions might improve the game, Acidia’s work has made that far more manageable.[/quote]
I’m in favor of folks getting more factionalized as time goes on, not simply becoming tougher but jucier targets for psychopath cannibal PCs. Just Say No to PCPCs!
The idea is not to have any more NPC out and about then there are now, indeed by shunting a percentage away, there less over whelming numbers wise and the loot is lowered at the start.
Johnny who sat in the basement for the past two weeks, he does not have anything that the player will want by week two.
Why has he come out of hideing? probably a lack of food or water or maybe he was talked out.
But johnny can be usefull to help work on a lot of things, not forgetting that johnny wants what the player or a group has.
Adam been looting from day one, now has items that the PC wants, weapons, ammo, fuel, food, maybe even the start of a base?
But he’s stronger that johnny by now he’s got a good weapon and better clothes, maybe he’s got a friend or two.
By haveing them spawn in from shelters lets us build up to a peak of NPC after the start of the game.
And it gives them a starting point and a bit of back story.
Then as time goes on NPC numbers fall, probably rapidly at first but soon slowing as they learn to handle the Zombies.
[quote=“Funk, post:9, topic:7817”]The idea is not to have any more NPC out and about then there are now, indeed by shunting a percentage away, there less over whelming numbers wise and the loot is lowered at the start.
Johnny who sat in the basement for the past two weeks, he does not have anything that the player will want by week two.
Why has he come out of hideing? probably a lack of food or water or maybe he was talked out.
But johnny can be usefull to help work on a lot of things, not forgetting that johnny wants what the player or a group has.
Adam been looting from day one, now has items that the PC wants, weapons, ammo, fuel, food, maybe even the start of a base?
But he’s stronger that johnny by now he’s got a good weapon and better clothes, maybe he’s got a friend or two.
By haveing them spawn in from shelters lets us build up to a peak of NPC after the start of the game.
And it gives them a starting point and a bit of back story.
Then as time goes on NPC numbers fall, probably rapidly at first but soon slowing as they learn to handle the Zombies.[/quote]+1