Needful things (simple additions to improve the game)

[kuros]

How about just adding more responses to “What should we do now?” when talking to an NPC, to give ideas to new players about the variety of things that can be done in the game. Some examples:

NPC checks your skills/recipes list, and says, “We could probably use an X.” Possible values include: makeshift welder, folding cart, long bow, etc.

NPC asks for better armor or weapons, again based on your skills to produce.

NPC suggests looking for locations likely to have certain items.

Stuff like that.

Also:

DVDs and players. The ability to build a functional TV set that you can watch entertainment/training videos on. Tutorial videos you can watch on a tablet.

[druidniam]

The ability to build a functional TV set that you can watch entertainment/training videos on. Tutorial videos you can watch on a tablet.

Thats capable via modding.

[psyxypher]

An Electric Combat Chainsaw. Because my rampages must be UPS fueled.

[Dante]

Clumsy should be reworked some so the character actually seems clumsy. Some suggestions would be having a chance to drop items when picked up, a higher chance to fail crafting recipes with a unique message, a chance to spill food when eating, and maybe tripping every so often when running.

The current perk could be renamed heavy Step, since the character has more heft in their step.

Also a perk idea, Encumbrance Trained(or another name that fits better).

It would allow the player to experience less penalties for being encumbered, and most Military professions would get it since realistically they would be trained to wear their gear like a second skin.

[NEANDERTHAL]

Rename the “Filthy” in filthy clothing to “contaminated” or something similar. As it stands, it creates the impression that clothing gets dirty like it does in real life, which it should not. Besides, it seems that “filthy” clothing is just clothing that a zombie has worn.

[NEANDERTHAL]

Also, unify the “activate” “wield” “wear” and “eat” functions into one “use” button. Have items that would normally just be “activated” be “wielded” and then “activated” (with the exception of objects above a certain weight/volume; these you would not pick up and hold while using.)
For example, to play a game on their rechargable game watch, the player would press the “Use” key and select the watch. This would automatically equip the watch, and then play the game, in one keystroke. Say the player then wants to disassemble the watch with a screwdriver. The player presses the “Use” key again, which automatically wields the screwdriver (since it cannot be worn, and is not edible) and then dissasebles the watch. The player is then left with a screwdriver in their hand and a pile of watch parts.
The reason for all this is that
A) it doesn’t make sense for the player to be doing things like picking locks and eating roasts all while holding an axe or pistol in their hands, and
B) unifying the keys makes the game less tedious while still keeping the majority of the complexity.
The only “downsides” is that the player will be unable to wield shirts and socks as weapons, but who does that, anyways? Also, the furnace power CBM presents a conflict, but if you don’t want to eat your wooden hammer, just turn off the CBM.

[NEANDERTHAL]

Also, mutations should change the number of bionic slots availible, “popping out” bionics that do not habe enough space, with a great deal of pain/bleeding. Maybe bionics would also have a chance to turn into itchy metal things or other malfunctioning bionics when mutating.

[druidniam]

Rename the “Filthy” in filthy clothing to “contaminated” or something similar. As it stands, it creates the impression that clothing gets dirty like it does in real life, which it should not. Besides, it seems that “filthy” clothing is just clothing that a zombie has worn.

Filthy Clothing + Detergent + Washboard = Clean Clothing
Contaminated Clothing would imply you’d have to use disinfectant or something caustic to turn it into clean clothing which isn’t what the point is. The Zombie virus doesn’t survive outside the host, but dirty clothing is more likely to cause a bite wound to become infected and fester. The Tag is perfectly accurate in both function and description.

[NEANDERTHAL]

Then regular, uninfected corpses should be wearing filthy clothing as well.

[druidniam]

The randon scientists, drug dealers, survivors, military group corpses you find? Those are called “recently deceased NPCs”. Remember, when you gen a character, you are literally at T+3 Days since the end of the world. The uninfected were survivors just like you that ran a foul, usually from kreks or mi-gos, which aren’t plague carriers anyway. They’re bi-products of the teleportation research that brought the mother slime that caused the zombie outbreak and the mycus to appear. Craters in game are presumed to actually be tactical nuked portals rather than global apocalypse (but there is that too).

Edit: should be noted, undead started appearing at T - 7 days if I remember the design doc.

[proxiehunter]

We really don’t need to be making either bionics or mutations worse at this point. Bionics has already been nerfed somewhere between enough and too far and beyond a few specific mutation lines mutation seems to largely already make your character worse not better because they can no longer use most of the clothing and armor items in the game.

[psyxypher]

Have Hydrogen Cells and Fusion Packs either be mixed together as one item or have their number of uses be expanded. Currently, Fusion Packs are only used in one item that isn’t exactly that good on account of being a 2 shot, limited ammo weapon that will kill you if you use it too close to yourself. The Fusion Blaster Rifle also does the job of the Fusion Gun much better because of being solely UPS powered.

Hydrogen Cells are used in one weapon (that I’ve never seen, so I assume it only spawns in the Necropolis Armory), and even then they’d be wasted on that weapon because you could instead use them with a CVD machine to make ultra-powerful cutting weapons.

Feels like a lot of wasted potential here. Surely the lore can be changed so more research was done with these kinds of weapons before the Cataclysm, right?

[kuros]

Real world logic is trumped by the game needs. There has to be enough clothing in the game that doesn’t need to be washed before wearing for the game to be fun. Not to mention that Filthy Clothing is a “mod” anyway.

I agree that a more streamlined interface would be pleasing, but I thought this was a thread for Simple Things? A lot of the suggestions posted here are quite complex.

[Marduk]

This is a really bad idea.

First off, there are many tools, like halligan bars, some saws and such, that have one or more different uses while also being passable weapons, especially when you have no actually good weapons.

Also the use time to wield/unwield random items being used already should act as a viable simulation of player not holding a pistol or axe while doing so, which is an issue that is a good example of unnecessary tedious detail that is currently being handled automatically.
Why cut an actually useful piece of complexity for the sake of an insignificant, annoying detail?

[psyxypher]

When using the Monomolecular Blade or the Bionic Claws, give the player the option to deactivate the claws/blade when picking something up instead of manually having to turn the Bionic off.

[DeWolf]

Can’t you pick stuff up while having those cbms on. I know I was able to.

[kuros]

Idea from the thread Neanderthal shifted his suggestion to:

Expand the “repeat last crafting” key to repeat all previous actions.

[BorkBorkGoesTheCode]

Here’s something that might be doable now that NPC classes can have mutations: give the refugee center arsonist elfa ears.

[Aggregate]

It’d be nice to be able to activate items without picking them up.

[psyxypher]

When a mutant has Hyper Metabolism, they shouldn’t get yes/no prompts for forcing themselves to eat, considering excess food gets converted into HP and they can’t vomit anyway.