Someone explain nomad gear and cowl to me?

Game Talk The Bunker
1

I like the concept a lot but honestly can’t find any reason to wear this.

At first glance it looked like a poor man’s survivor suit. Same encumbrance, similar protection, but requires only basic materials while offering far better storage. Could be useful for some scavenging early and mid game, but by the time you get to level 8 in tailoring (and to level 3+ in melee to offset the encumbrance), you’re probably having access to better stuff. Also, scavengers won’t want to encumber their legs, I’d rather wear an extra backpack instead.

Cowl doesn’t give enough env protection for its prohibitive encumbrance, meaning you’re going to wear it with some more mouthgear. Does not protect you from getting wet in the rain either.

So unless you have the skills but no fancy components such as kevlar, there’s just too many better options than either suit or cowl. Maybe this could be addressed? Make them rainproof? Easier to wear? Or fancy? Or sturdy? Or give better env protection?

2

I would assume (as the name implies) it’s made for players that constantly move around and never make a base of operations

3

I don’t think the reasoning behind it is in question, I think the issue is the stats seem to be a bit bad for 8 tailoring skill.

so lets look at the stats.

{ "type" : "ARMOR", "id" : "helmet_nomad", "name" : "nomad cowl", "weight" : 470, "color" : "white", "covers" : ["HEAD", "EYES", "MOUTH"], "to_hit" : -3, "storage" : 0, "symbol" : "[", "description" : "A makeshift cowl with protection for the eyes and a peak or visor, designed for long travels.", "price" : 25000, "material" : ["cotton", "leather"], "volume" : 10, "cutting" : 0, "warmth" : 35, "phase" : "solid", "environmental_protection" : 4, "encumbrance" : 3, "bashing" : 0, "flags" : ["VARSIZE", "WATERPROOF"], "coverage" : 95, "material_thickness" : 4 }, { "type" : "ARMOR", "id" : "armor_nomad", "name" : "nomad gear", "weight" : 5830, "color" : "light_red", "covers" : ["TORSO", "ARMS", "LEGS"], "to_hit" : -3, "storage" : 80, "symbol" : "[", "description" : "A makeshift outfit made from pre-cataclysm clothing designed for long travels. It has a lot of storage space.", "price" : 35000, "material" : ["cotton", "leather"], "volume" : 30, "cutting" : 0, "warmth" : 40, "phase" : "solid", "environmental_protection" : 1, "encumbrance" : 3, "bashing" : -5, "flags" : ["VARSIZE", "POCKETS", "WATERPROOF"], "coverage" : 95, "material_thickness" : 8 },

Now the key thing is when looking at it, it has 80 storage on a “normal” slot, so you dont get stacking penalties for using this and a backpack, it has the same encumbrance as the xl or heavy survivor suit and exchanges the enviromental protection for storage space. Now for the wierd thing, in game it shows up as 12 bash and 12 cut protection where plate armor is 13 bash and 13 cut protection. Being able to use rags to repair vs using Kevlar can be a boon since this takes up the normal slot, you can still put on something on the outer slot like a trenchcoat, and a survivor runner’s pack to get 129 storage with 2 encumbrance. Enviromental protection only really protects against radiation and possibly acid pools…wait, I guess fungal spores are a thing, but if your assaulting a spire or something like that, storage isn’t really something you would be worrying about.

4

I think at issue is the fact that at high levels, you’ll generally already have enough storage volume even without nomad gear that your real limitation will be weight and not volume. And the nomad gear itself is a good solid thirteen pounds, which doesn’t help.

5

That might sound nice on the surface, but unlike plate armor, nomad gear has no sturdy tag, meaning you’ll have to stop and repair it over and over again, plus you risk losing it entirely if you take just a few strong hits.

Also, 129 storage with 2 encumbrance on torso, arms and legs is quite ineffective. Swap out the nomad gear for a hoodie and cargo pants but swap the runner pack for heavy rucksack and you have more storage yet less encumbrance (same 2 but only on torso).

6

Nomad gear was made by Darkyhard, who isn’t exactly paragon of sense (or responsibility). You’re welcome to adjust its stats and recipe to how you envision it should be and submit a PR.

7

Alright, once I figure git out I may get to it.

8

That might sound nice on the surface, but unlike plate armor, nomad gear has no sturdy tag, meaning you’ll have to stop and repair it over and over again, plus you risk losing it entirely if you take just a few strong hits.

Also, 129 storage with 2 encumbrance on torso, arms and legs is quite ineffective. Swap out the nomad gear for a hoodie and cargo pants but swap the runner pack for heavy rucksack and you have more storage yet less encumbrance (same 2 but only on torso).[/quote]

At the point where you have 8 tailoring, you can probably afford the encumbrance of a duffle bag.

9

Ok, I made a pull request with nomad gear tweak.
Kinda fun.

10

I do enjoy quirky extra gear like this, it’s just yeah, sometimes there’s not much sense to it. I’d totally wear this if the 8 thing got fixed, but until then, full light survivor suit [fits] for 0 encumbrance FTW

11

I think the plate armor having 13/13 is fixed in the latest experimental that I play. It’s up to like 18/18 or 22/22 or something before being re-enforced now I believe.

Also, if you like 12/12, leather armor have that for only 1 point of encumbrance on the parts it protects and is only 4 tailoring.

12

PR has been merged, so the nomad gear is now 1 encumbrance and takes 5 tailoring to make.
It was fun :slight_smile:

13

I think the point of most of the miscellaneous gear in the game is just that it exists. Like in the real world. Maybe you only have the materials to make X, but Y is more efficient? Or maybe you just happen to stumble across an X when a Y is really a better option. I wouldn’t over think it. It’s good to have a variety of options, whether everything is perfectly balanced or not. Especially in a single player game where balance is a moot point anyway.