I have noticed on the latest experimental there are multiple professions that are technically the same job. Example: Martial-artists, Military classes, even the druggies could be grouped.
What this made me think was, maybe we should make a way to play the low rank profession like military recruit and in game do achievements or reach skill levels (whatever really) to unlock the next profession like special ops. I dont think we should get into a big list of rank for each profession, but it would add a little beginning goal other than pillage and plunder.
I like concept of achevements and unlockable features. TOME 4, for example, gave me pleasure if I’ve managed to unlock something (and expand the gameplay doing that).
Profession “levels” are good, especialy if we take into account recent bionic expansion and related professions like bionic soldier and so on. One thing is to start the game with pre-boosted char, other is when you earn that possibility via in-game achievemnts.
So +1 to idea, hope it would get attention from devs.
I don’t think it’s a good idea for the base game, but it might make a fun mod.
The devs have suggested something like being able to play as a clone spawned from a lab once your first character finds a lab and some cloning tanks, though. Perhaps something like being able to spawn as a Netherrealm special ops team once you find the remains of one might be a good take on the idea.
If it really does get added, I just don’t see it being worth any of the time or effort. 90% of the player base would probably just go into the JSON and activate whatever profession they wanted. I also don’t see the point in it, if people want to play a high-cost profession they should, this is the closest the game has to a difficulty slider, and it would be kinda of silly to make new players play on hard mode to unlock slightly easier mode, also run on sentences are fun.
[ul][li]Sense of achievement from unlocking something[/li]
[li]Making players try new game styles[/li]
[li]Making some professions harder to unlock might help balance[/li]
[li]could help newer players get the hang of the game quicker.[/li]
[li]Limiting freedom of choice.[/li][/ul]
How to consider starting it though? one profession from each category? Just unlock new special professions?
Additionally how about making unlocked professions cost a point or two less.
Or perhaps just start with one initial profession, but make unlocking new ones easy enough that you’ll get some each playthrough.
E,g, cook 20 chunks of meat to unlock the fast food chef. Kill 20 Zombies for military recruit.
Obviously, better professions deserve harder requirements; say, reach 10 unarmed skill to unlock blackbelt, or survive ten days to unlock survivalist. (I’m thinking about ten days would just about right as a milestone for newer players.)
[size=1pt]Yes mil recruit is better than fast food chef, but it’s still a basic profession and would be a nice reward/start for newbies.[/size]
I don’t really see this as adding anything to the game, to be honest. Most of the professions seem more for RP purposes than any practical use, limiting them doesn’t help balance the game. If you listen to the top players, most of them will say they spend all their points on stats, then take bad professions like hobo or addict to afford those stats. Spoilery stuff I can see being gated, but for generic professions like fast food chef there’s really no point in limiting it. It just encourages people to look up the requirements to unlock everything, then make a starting character that blitzes through all the job unlocks, which breaks the game immersion and encourages metagaming.
“Heritage” - some attributes of you previous char can be transferred to new one. Or Factional standings. Or some items.
Clones of your previos selves as starting character.
Access to other word after instant death due to attempt to get there through portal for the first time.
Family tree. You could “finish” life of your previous character, create another one and make it son of the first one. First one will appear as NPC in the shelter, able to teach skills he knew in past gamesession, to help with some stuff (Better then hirelings, since YOU made his skill/attributes/name).
Appearing of the new character somewhere near old one had base (Or died?).
I mean, achievements should ADD something to a sandbox game, not LIMIT freedom in it.
The reason why this isn’t such a great idea (YET) is because professions suck and nobody uses them anyways.
People would rather have increased permanent stats rather than start with a wrench.
[size=7pt](Professions should be free. Unlocking them through magnificent stunts would be cool if they were.)[/size]
IMO, achievements in this game would kinda break immersion too.
Achievements work in ToME 4 since there is an IRC chat that can let you communicate with people in-game, but a single-player game would seem unfitting to give you achievement messages.