Hi guys,
Sorry for not replying sooner, we’ve just had public holidays on Friday and Monday, so this is the first day back at work since I wrote this.
As always it’s been a great discussion you’ve had here, it’s good to read your thoughts and ideas. This really is an excellent forum for genuine debate by well informed gamers.
I would have replied to people individually, but given how long this thread has got I will just try and answer questions and points overall, much of this has been said in this thread, but I’ll collate the current thinking here:
- Wearables (i.e. purely cosmetic items) will not wear out. They will take some resources to make, and as such will demonstrate some kind of wealth, but it won’t be a huge investment so many players will choose to spend time and resources on them because they want to look good. If you are a min-maxer and will only put effort into things that have a direct purpose then you will run around naked. Some people will do that, but I would say many people will put some effort in to their appearance, as they will in decorating their house, because it’s fun to look good. But it’s up to you – you pays your money, you takes your choice.
- @Heurazio asked about storing progression, and that’s a very good question. Progression comes in a few flavours, some of which is stored permanently, and some of which will need to be maintained. You gain experience, and go up levels and select skills as you do so, and that progression is permanent. There is also the physical infrastructure that you own that will never go, i.e. your beacons and machines and buildings. The other side of progression is down to the equipment you have, the money you have, and the reputation you have, and that stuff will all have to be maintained. Having good equipment, and lots of money and being well known should enable you to get more resources, and earn more money, and further build your reputation, but it’s not guaranteed. There is obviously a balance to be struck there between these two types of progression, and we will make sure that the permanent base you build up is strong enough that you never feel like you’ve lost a huge amount by having some bad sessions.
- Amongst others @Vastar asked about how long the weapons and tools would last, and that is something we will need to balance very carefully. Generally we don’t want buying more items to be a chore, or something you constantly have to do, neither do we want people carrying stacks and stacks of them around, but we do want getting hold of new items as a key part of the game loop(s). If I had to put a number on it at this stage I would say each would last many days.
- Various people talked about grinding, and whilst there will obviously be times where people are doing something repetitively in order to gain resources, the idea is that this is a fun part of the game, and not a chore. Once again it comes down to balance, but the idea is that each player will choose the thing(s) that they enjoy doing and do those things, and they will be rewarded for it. It won’t be a case of needing to do a boring thing repetitively before I can go and do the fun thing I want to do. Many people may choose to have a couple of activities they do most, some people may want to be self sufficient and do everything, but most people will join or start a guild and work with other players to achieve what they want to achieve.