I’m just gonna shove a handful of suggestions here, relating to cash cards and more common use of the computer skill as well as general hacking.
Purchasing Gasoline: The pumps at most (if not all) gas stations should be locked unless the player uses a console behind the gas station counter to purchase some gasoline with a cash card. The player can then walk outside to the pumps and obtain the amount of gasoline they specified. Of course, the console could just be hacked to just unlock all the pumps as well.
Guns n’ Ammo Vending Machines: Considering how easily the average citizen can get their hands on weaponry in the Pre-Cataclysm, I wouldn’t see why there wouldn’t be vending machines that dispense low-caliber ammunition and perhaps some smaller firearms. These would obviously be located in gun stores, and constructed with stronger materials so it could withstand a grenade blast. Really persistent characters could go at the thing with a pickaxe for a few hours, and characters with high computer skills could just use an electrohack to unlock the machine for ‘restocking’.
Cracking ATMs: ATMs already exist inside banks, so why not give players the ability to crack ATMs with their hacking abilities and highly inflate the balance of their bank account? This would obviously have to require very high computer skill in order to access millions of dollars, of course the use of said money is rather limited.
Gas dispensers all have a manual pump inside them for security/emergency purposes. (For example if electricity goes out and you need gasoline to run a generator) often hidden behind a panel in the bottom, its safe to assume that the player is operating that manual pump while refueling.
Gas dispensers all have a manual pump inside them for security/emergency purposes. (For example if electricity goes out and you need gasoline to run a generator) often hidden behind a panel in the bottom, its safe to assume that the player is operating that manual pump while refueling.[/quote]
I’ve noticed some houses in-game that still have power. (They are lit inside)
Why not have a chance of a powered gas station spawning, but with more gasoline? I get at the most 50,000 or so units of gasoline from all the pumps at gas stations. A gas station where the pumps are still locked could have an upwards of 300,000 units of gas. More difficulty but for more reward.
It’s already way to easy to get your hands on firearms and ammunition.
Making a vending machine that supplies the player with even more isn’t going to be beneficial for balance in the early-game.
[quote=“Adrian, post:4, topic:5521”]It’s already way to easy to get your hands on firearms and ammunition.
Making a vending machine that supplies the player with even more isn’t going to be beneficial for balance in the early-game.[/quote]
A reinforced vending machine that sells ammunition sounds like it would actually make things harder to me, but eh, that shows what I know about videogame difficulty.
Besides, getting cash cards often requires killing zombies for them, and the ammunition and guns inside would obviously be much more expensive than the snacks you snag from regular vending machines. Methods other than using the cards would require resources that are beyond early-game, or would be counter-productive. Think about what would happen if you tried to open a vending machine FULL OF AMMUNITION with explosives.
But consider how much value the player has to trade in to get to that ammunition.
With a melee skill of 1 we can already reliably 1-on-1 tough zombies in bushes and windows. And i regularly find cash cards carrying over $500 on them.
To justify a vending machine that spits out ammunition the prices would need to be either crazy inflated or the machine needs to be nearly empty. (Both of which seem probable, if you consider the survivors of the chaos making a mad dash for the machines between the start of the Cataclysm and the start of the game.)
When following the former, i’m thinking about prices ranging in the hundreds of dollars for a couple of cartridges.
And when the latter’s the case, i only expecting low power handgun ammunition to be left.
Also i’ve been reading some books on game design, and most of them say it’s useful to consider how much value the player has to sacrifice in any transaction. If the player doesn’t gain value, or actually has to sacrifice value, progression (A.K.A. “Fun”) grinds to a halt. But if the player gains value too quickly, he quickly becomes a god and the game loses any challenge it had (A.K.A. “Fun”).
Suggestions 1 & 3 (gasoline pump changes and ATM hacking) are planned, they just weren’t added with the original cash card PR to allow it to get out in time to be part of the .A release. 2 is currently possible through the JSONs, but probably won’t happen except maybe under fairly rare circumstances (maybe have a rare chance of popping up in a gun store, for example).
Having Vending machines that stock guns and ammo is a good idea. Why? Because if they were in gun stores, how does that make things easier?
Having the guns and ammo in a super alloy vending machine is in fact gonna make weapons and ammo tougher to get then having all the stuff just scattered about the easy to access shelves.
Sure it won’t change much due to these cards being all over the place but when enemy loot gets nerfed (As I keep hearing it will, which is good) cash cards will become much rarer.
I actually like the idea of cash cards becoming hard to get, and making them more important, by having vending machines stocking weapons and ammo rather then just having all our loot in easy access.
Also, machines need to be tougher, currently, cash cards are pointless due to these machines being easy to smash. I think vending machines should be made of strong, (if not super alloy) materials.
I would just really like to see it being possible to transfer money between cash cards; I have a whole pile of 7 cent cards and such; it would be convenient to be able to consolidate them.
But in 0.A, they’re pretty much just kindling anyway :3
[quote=“Sir Scarfalot, post:9, topic:5521”]I would just really like to see it being possible to transfer money between cash cards; I have a whole pile of 7 cent cards and such; it would be convenient to be able to consolidate them.
But in 0.A, they’re pretty much just kindling anyway :3[/quote]
Use an ATM at banks and shit, they’ll allow you to transfer balances.