Shopping Carts

Pageman · 2013-09-28T20:09:49.000Z

I love the shopping carts added in .8 but right now they are unbalanced as…

really i don’t need a backpack anymore, or a rucksack or any storage item that will encumbrance me. Spent hours raiding without the need to ‘‘unload’’. Living as a nomad Hobo with just your trusted cart and a stray dog…

Seriously though shopping carts should make more noise, like they do in real life, and cost more movements points to carry around.

Also just a minor concern, Towels shouldn’t get soaked? i found myself abusing the towels infinite powers.

UberZacht · 2013-09-28T22:10:48.000Z

They do make you slower as you push them, I believe it’s based on vehicle weight. I do agree they are unbalanced, although I don’t know if ‘rebalancing’ them will help. I don’t see anyone stealthing around with a shopping cart, but I could be wrong (stealth in Cata isn’t my strong suit).

If there is a sound added to it, make it a background one, I don’t want ‘Krshhhh’ in my log. And the towels, should indeed have some meter of dampness. Make em’ recharge like artifacts do.

Endovior · 2013-09-29T19:19:39.000Z

This is a realism factor… there IS a reason why hobos wander around with shopping carts, y’know. They really are a pretty nice bit of tech, for someone who wants to carry around a lot of stuff. And yeah, they do slow you down, so you don’t want to be using them IN COMBAT.

That said, shopping carts really aren’t any more unbalanced than, say, dropping your backpack before combat… with the exception that dropping your backpack may require you to drop a bunch of other stuff, wasting time, while releasing your cart is quick and easy.

Personally, I use carts and a rucksack, since I play swarm-of-locusts style.

Weyrling · 2013-09-29T19:54:12.000Z

They should definitely make more noise, currently riding a bicycle is louder than dragging a shopping cart, which is frankly ridiculous.

Pageman · 2013-09-29T22:46:10.000Z

That said, shopping carts really aren't any more unbalanced than, say, dropping your backpack before combat... with the exception that dropping your backpack may require you to drop a bunch of other stuff, wasting time, while releasing your cart is quick and easy.

Actually they are, you can use your shopping cart to slow down zombies and kill then with ease. They function just like a moving bush. Climbing a shopping cart isn’t a really good idea in real life…

ShinQuickMan · 2013-09-30T01:06:09.000Z

Shopping carts are a great convenience, but there are some limitations you’re not taking into account.

For one, you can’t drag one into underground places; you have to assemble and disassemble them between each trip to the stairway, wasting a lot of in-game time. Even then, their benefits there are questionable, since underground places like Science Labs tend to be too narrow and crowded to make effective use.

Moreover, if you already have a vehicle of your own, you’re really only going to use one if you chance upon one in places you want to get to and your vehicle has little access to; you can’t store one in cars, which means, like before, you’d have to waste time assembling/disassembling one to guarantee you have one in that situation.

system · 2013-09-30T01:27:55.000Z

I take out the box and put on turrets.

Mobile non-de spawning turret structures, great for towns!

An0n3 · 2013-09-30T14:25:33.000Z

They’re amazing for urban explorers near their safehouse or a stockpile. They’re also incredibly effective in combat as a mobile pit.

You aren’t dragging one off down the countryside (or if you are, you’re wasting a lot of time) though, and they can’t go up or down stairs. Potentially you stand to lose everything inside one if a well aimed spitter zombie lands a glob on the cart.

[quote=“gtaguy, post:7, topic:3278”]I take out the box and put on turrets.

Mobile non-de spawning turret structures, great for towns![/quote]

This guy has the right idea. The Casters make a great base for all sorts of vehicular wackyness. Build a tiny frame with a battery, solar collector, and vehicle welder. Throw turrets on them. Add a chair and a flamethrower.

ARISE, BATTLECARTS.

EDIT: They definitely should make noise, though. Maybe not in the log window but audible in the way that locals will be attracted. If you want to nerf it further, have the condition of the casters cause a random “the wheel got stuck!” proc that causes the cart to not budge. We’ve all had the experience of pushing a cart with a shitty wheel(s) around a grocery store IRL and know what a pain those can be.

kevin.granade · 2013-09-30T16:26:13.000Z

The slowing factor should probably be higher, and they should definitely make more noise, just haven’t gotten around to it >_<

Luissen · 2013-09-30T17:31:58.000Z

I hadn’t updated since a long time ago, maybe 0.5 or 0.6, so shopping carts were a pleasant surprise to me. They’re good for mobile obstacles and offer no apparent disadvantage to a newbie like me who welded two of them together, though I still dwell on the surface. Making the wheels get stuck or perhaps produce more noise as they get damaged would make them less of a nobrainer. I’m not sure if it gives any benefit, but I let go of my cart before engaging in combat, then grab it again afterwards.

kevin.granade · 2013-09-30T17:52:18.000Z

Luissen:

welded two of them together,

GENIUS! I hadn’t thought of this.

Luissen:

I let go of my cart before engaging in combat, then grab it again afterwards.

Any move you make while dragging one is slowed, so you’re going to want to let it go to fight in general.

Luissen · 2013-09-30T20:14:01.000Z

Kevin Granade:

[quote=“Luissen, post:10, topic:3278”]welded two of them together,

GENIUS! I hadn’t thought of this.[/quote]

Oddly enough, I never managed to fill the cart, except when deforesting an area for planks. Now I want to make a ring of shopping carts for when I go on my drunken nailboard sprees.

Killa_Croc · 2013-10-01T15:41:46.000Z

I find shopping carts lately have been on my list of things I need to get ASAP. What I would like to see is the potential to find shopping carts with a damaged wheel… I don’t know about anyone else’s experience with shopping carts but every time I end up with one with a busted wheel it always sounds like hell. Obviously switching/repairing the wheel wouldn’t be all that difficult but atleast it’ll add a minor/significant challenge depending on where the cart is and how secure the area was when you initially found it.

Luissen · 2013-10-01T16:34:02.000Z

while we’re on the subject, is it just me or do one “casters” seem to count for all 4 of the little wheels you would expect on a cart? I couldn’t drive a shopping cart that I removed the box and added an engine to, since it didnt have enough wheels.

College Catastrophe promo art with included lawnmower engine equiped shopping cart

kevin.granade · 2013-10-01T17:13:59.000Z

Yea should probably override the code that determines if a vehicle has “enough” wheels to allow one set of casters if it’s a single-tile vehicle.

Miloch · 2013-10-01T17:15:49.000Z

Single tile vehicle, Casters, Welding Rig, Storage Battery… Nuf Said. Haven’t done it yet.

An0n3 · 2013-10-01T18:13:45.000Z

Do you even need the casters currently?

If you just want to drag it around I think a simple steel frame is enough.

Not sure you can put the solar collector and the welder in the same tile, either.

EDIT: If you can build casters when starting vehicle construction I guess why not? I haven’t tried to build a cart from scratch.

kevin.granade · 2013-10-01T18:15:28.000Z

Actually you can just drag frames around, I’m planning on differentiating drag difficulty based on wheel type, but haven’t gotten around to it.

Miloch · 2013-10-02T01:32:59.000Z

Now we just need some jumper cables to power up my welding rig on casters.

Weyrling · 2013-10-02T02:57:50.000Z

You can use a frame instead of casters, but a frame+box weighs 26lbs more than casters+box.