Random Starting Location

[Sean_Mirrsen]

It wouldn’t be for all professions, and it wouldn’t be necessarily guaranteed. But if a system like that is made, it’s worth generalizing it into a system that can allow a profession to spawn inside not a general house with a basement, but a specific house, i.e. specific structure. For instance, a woodsman of some kind could have had a reinforced forest shack of some kind. It will default to houses, but I think it’s not unreasonable to say that at least for some professions, it could be possible to start elsewhere.

[Binky]

It wouldn’t be for all professions, and it wouldn’t be necessarily guaranteed. But if a system like that is made, it’s worth generalizing it into a system that can allow a profession to spawn inside not a general house with a basement, but a specific house, i.e. specific structure. For instance, a woodsman of some kind could have had a reinforced forest shack of some kind. It will default to houses, but I think it’s not unreasonable to say that at least for some professions, it could be possible to start elsewhere.

Definitely, but it’s the quantity of work that would need to be done to sort that out that makes me not so keen. I’m sure it’s possible, but I’d rather just have a fully working ‘house’ model before going on to different structures/placement.

I know DDA isn’t all about balance, but I also feel that a random house gives you more of a plain start, whereas some professions may start in much more advantageous places than others. Again, I don’t think that’s a problem or that we shouldn’t at some point aim for that, but I think houses first would be fine.

[KA101]

Hey, just for baseline: what Kevin had working was an option on the last page of chargen: start in an evac shelter, or a house?

That sort of option works fine, IMO. Rigging professions to add locations to that list (so a cop or a soldier might start at a police station, FEMA camp, etc) might work, or we could just leave the list open. For me at least, it’s important to not force professions to start at a particular location. Default 'em wherever, sure, but if someone wants to change it, let 'em.

(Firefighter could’ve taken smoke inhalation, fainted, and been left at an evac shelter–with the rest of the evacuees, who then abandoned the shelter per standard DDA protocol --to recover, for example.)

[Goombah]

I am always amused when my shower victim characters wind up starting in the middle of a wilderness with no towns in view.

[Sanarr]

I’ve experienced random start option with transferring my chatacter sav. file to new world version (not the whole world folder, but only char file), so it made me start in the mddle of road (near nuclear silo ), in army camp, near some swamp… (I’ve re made new world a few times to give myself interesting place to start continue journey of my char).

Not sure if it helps, especially if Kevin works on proper implementation of that otion.

[Zireael]

KA101: I like that option A LOT!

Sanarr: Yeah, I know

[Dominae]

I was hoping we’d get to the point where the more custom, per-profession start locations could be put in. Medical professions spawn in Hospitals; or inside a broken/crashed ambulance. Priests in church, etc etc. It’d just add another layer and difference to picking certain professions. A new level of varied difficulty.

If we go a more “choose your own adventure” system where you pick your location, that’d be cool too/instead.
Anyone ever play Skyrim with “Alternative Start - Live Another Life”? It’d just ask you a “who are you” or “what were you doing” type question and plop you in the world based on it. That’d work really well for Cata, I’d imagine.

If we just another page at character creation with a list of choices and maybe rank their general difficulty/challenge level too (these are obviously just examples, discuss the merit of the system not my arbitrary assignment of words ) ->

• I was evacuated with everyone else. (Starts in shelter like always. Default start.)
• I was working/helping out in the local hospital. (Hospital. Challenging Start.)
• I was camping/hunting in the wild. (Tent or cabin in woods. Less Challenging Start.)
• I was huddled in prayer. (Church/Cathedral start.)
• I woke up in a ditch. (Side of road, etc. Difficulty Varies.)
• My car broke down. (Side of road, but next to busted vehicle.)
• I was unconscious and taken to a FEMA Camp. (OMG you masochist don’t pick this.)
• Surprise Me. (Randomness ensues.)