You really boned yourself with the 0.25 items. I started playing with 0.5, and even I was hesitant about it, knowing fully well how quickly the item drop rate can screw you once you start lowering it.
I can’t really explain the phenomenon but it does feel odd. For example, I’ve searched through three FEMA camps, and one of them had fully stocked lockers of guns, while the lockers in other two were completely void of loot. I mean, it feels like the game first decides whether these is loot at all, and if there is, it goes full on, as opposed to distributing it more equally. But then again, I don’t feel the same holds true for all places. The loot in labs, for instance, seems appropriately sparse for my 0.5. I could be wrong though.
It could be that certain items are rare enough even for 1.0, so that they go from “rare” to “super rare” quickly. Could there be a bug that doesn’t reduce the loot rate proportionally but in absolutes? Or at least for some locations or for some items?
I can think of a way to explore this. First we generate a world with 1.0 items, and then again for, let’s say the 0.25. And then we compare the item counts in the world via savegame analysis. If the 1.0 creates 2000 bags of potato chips in certain size CITY area, then the 0.25 should create approx 500. But then again, if the 1.0 creates 8 gunsmith repair kits, the 0.25 comes with only 2. That’s a huge drop. And only devs can tell whether the amounts are rounded up or down if the amount results in less than 1 (or less than 0.5 rather). Or is the item spawning based on probability?
I’m just trying to pin if this is a problem with psychology (perception) or an actual flaw.
I have no idea if spray cans can be found in certain locations. But often welding goggles do have to be searched out aggressively (unless you start out in a lab), which means garages, labs, public works. Other locations?
