Objective Driven Map Progression and Survival Book Skill Tre

[bbennett2]

I think the biggest challenge with this game is trying to find a balance between the real world difficulties of surviving in a winter environment and the fun of playing a video game. I think most of us have had fun playing the game, but like everyone else, I think it can be better. I believe that the main issues with the game stem from a lack of variety and a lack of difficulty. While these are probably to be expected in the alpha version of the game, I feel that the concepts of an objective drive map progression and a survival book skill tree would go a long way towards eliminating the issues stated above and toe the line between fun experience and realistic survival experience.

First let’s take a look at the flaws in its current state. The game lacks a lot of difficulty. You basically start out scavenging cabins until you find a knife or rifle where you move on to gathering your own food. Once you obtain the knife/rifle you move on from scavenging to sleeping and repairing/hunting. I think these 2 problems are intertwined. In a survival setting you have to worry about 3 key things: Water, food, shelter. In the game, water is basically unlimited. The maps also contain many cabins complete with fireplaces…talk about a survivalists dream! The only thing left to consider is food. The game ultimately becomes a focus on food and quickly spirals into the monotony of sleeping until you need to collect food again (for those who are trying to climb the leaderboard). At this point the only goal is to see how long you can stand the monotony in order to climb the leaderboard

The two things that I suggest work together to postpone the leaderboard climbing monotony until long after you’ve already had a really fun experience. The first thing that I would like to see implemented is a survival book skill tree. Just like finding a knife greatly improves what you can do, finding a survival book in one of the cabins would allow you to work on a myriad of skills during the down time in the game. Basically once you found the book, you would be able to work on different skills in order to increase your proficiency at them. For example: Fire. You learn how to make a tinder bundle (already in game) from there you work on making a bow drill and gain proficiency in that. Then hand drill etc. Do this for Traps, water collecting/filtration and shelters (please, please add shelters!!) There could even be a miscellaneous category with things like navigating by the stars. This would give your character the ability to evolve into a more complete survivalist and do it in a way that would make the game more compelling. Waiting out a blizzard in a cabin? Why not work on your bow drilling skills? Maybe you could sit by the fire and work on perfecting your deadfall trap. More skills to hone = less monotony.

The second suggestion I have that would tie into the survival book is the concept of objective driven map progression. Just because it is a sandbox concept, does not mean that there cannot be an overall objective. My idea would be that there is a general objective to the sandbox. For example: Meet up with John at his cabin (because john is a crazy survivalist with a lot of stuff stored up). The issue is that his cabin is in the middle of nowhere so in order to get there you have to venture out into the wilderness where there is a general lack of “human luxuries”. As you start out in the game, you do not have the skillset to make it to the cabin. You spend your days at the lake, and along the coastal highway learning the basics to survival. Once you learn some skills you can try and venture out towards his cabin. The next maps would be strictly wilderness and would get progressively harder. Thinking of the 3 things for survival, you could have a map where there are no cabins. Shelter building skills are now a necessity in order to survive. Another map could be in the mountains above the tree line or somewhere where fire is out of the question. Shelter and water purification are now tantamount to surviving. At any time you can go back to an easier section to work on your skills, but you have a general goal that you are working towards. In terms of gameplay you now have a tiered leaderboard (who has survived the longest in each of the progressively harder maps). When you finally progress to John’s cabin, you could either have some sort of reward there (4 season tent, rifle, etc.) or you could have it burnt down. At that point it wouldn’t matter because you have evolved into John the crazy survivalist. You have now learned how to survive in the harshest of conditions. At this point you can spend your time avoiding wolves, waiting out storms, exploring the insanely gorgeous world you guys have created (the sky is frickin unreal!!) and working on other skills in the survival book like what to eat, or whatever else you guys have time to add…because I’m sure you have nothing but time to add stuff like this The point is that by the time you get to where you are just going to see how high you can climb the leaderboard, you have already had a very compelling experience in a sandbox survival world…. Hell you may have even learned a few survival tips.

So that’s my 2 cents. I really hope the sandbox mode evolves into something like this. Either way I’m so glad that there is finally a strictly survival game out there… so tired of zombies, or cannibals, or crazy ass wolves…. Oh well, I guess I can live with crazy ass wolves 

[bbennett2]

TL:DR - I'd like to see a survival book that once obtained opens up a skill tree of survival skills to learn.

I would also like to see maps that are more difficult which require the above skills to survive in.

I sincerely apologize for writing such an off putting "wall of text"

[EternityTide]

"A wall of text is something that is frowned upon in most, actually virtually all Internet societies, including forums, chat boards, and Uncyclopedia. You should not make walls of text because it can get you banned anywhere unless it is a place that encourages walls of text. I highly doubt any place does support something so irritating and annoying, but anything can exist, but not really because unless you are in heaven then that can happen. But no one actually knows that was just a hypothesis, a lame one that is. Actually not really lame. You can create a wall of text supporting site, but you would be hated if you do that, so do not. But you can if you like, but I discourage that. Now on to the actual information of walls of texts. The wall of text was invented when the Internet was invented, but actually it was slow at that time. So whenever it became fast. But there would need to be some free or not free community for people, and that community would be able to have walls of text. 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You are actually not requesting a satisfactory answer, you just say that because you try to be funny or you feel like it or if you are pissed off. You must get a proper bitch-slapping to stop making walls of text, but if you are weird then that doesn't apply to you. Walls of text are defeated by deleting them or splitting them into paragraphs. Or some other things that would work but will take hours to think of. People are considered a nuisance if they create walls of text. This might be the end. If you hope this is the end, I am not sure. But if I was not sure then I wouldn't be talking. I should know. Or should I? The best way to make a better and good wall of text is to copy and paste what you previously typed or write. Hey, that reminds me. Walls of text aren't always on the internet! They could be anywhere that is able to produce symbols. D'oh. A wall of text is something that is frowned upon in most, actually virtually all Internet societies, including forums, chat boards, and Uncyclopedia. You should not make walls of text because it can get you banned anywhere unless it is a place that encourages walls of text. I highly doubt any place does support something so irritating and annoying, but anything can exist, but not really because unless you are in heaven then that can happen. But no one actually knows that was just a hypothesis, a lame one that is. Actually not really lame. You can created a wall of text supporting site, but you would be hated if you do that, so do not. But you can if you like, but I discourage that. Now on to the actual information of walls of texts. The wall of text was invented when the Internet was invented, but actually it was slow at that time. So whenever it became fast. But there would need to be some free or not free community for people, and that community would be able to have walls of text. But that community probably wouldn't have actually invented the wall of text. So basically, no one except God and Al Gore knows when or where or how the wall of text existed/was invented. Noobs probably invented, but probably not. Who knows. Walls of texts are usually filled with a lot of useless information and junk. Information and junk can be the same, but only if the information is junk or the junk is information. But who cares. The information/junk inside a wall of text are usually related to wherever the wall of text is located, but the best walls of text, which are actually the most irritating, most eye-bleeding ones, are completely random. Walls of text usually make the reader asplode or have their eyes bleed and fall out of their sockets. A number of people can stand it, but not read them. Actually some people can stand and read them. Those people do not have short attention spans. These are boring and patient people who have no life or have all the time in their hands, which are the same, but not really. The punishment of what making walls of text varies of the strictness of the community. But it doesn't really matter. Nobody cares. Walls of texts should be free of links, different font colors, strange characters, which are those other symbols used in society, and capital letters because it ruins the whole purpose of the infamy of walls of texts. It makes them look fucking dumb and weird and dumb. Walls of texts are obviously free of huge spaces and outstanding things like capital letters. Of course, paragraphs should never be in a wall of text. Walls of text are known to create nausea, confusion, head explosion, and others. The others being something I can not think of either because I am lazy or if I do not feel like it or I can not actually think of anything. Like what the fuck? That was a rhetorical question right there. What the fuck? You are actually not requesting a satisfactory answer, you just say that because you try to be funny or you feel like it or if you are pissed off. Now I just copied and pasted part of this huge wall of text, which is actually not. Wait what? Nice right? Ba boom a rhetorical question right there. Is this the end for the sanity of your eyes? What the fuck did you actually read up to here? Or did you skip to near the end and read this? Either way, you fail in life. Just kidding. Or was I? Oh well. Congratulations, or not, actually not. Get a life right now. I found a cheap life on eBay, but cheap lives are rare. Well, good luck in finding one. Not! Okay go kill yourself, but I wasn't meaning that. So go sit in the corner in your house. I do not care which, just stay there and rot. If you are not in a place with a corner, then lucky you. Find one if you can. There is no other option because I said so. 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Because they were software engineers, not writing engineers. Is there even such a thing a writing engineers? Probably. But anyway, please go back to the top of this article and read it over again. You'll get the point after you read it for approx. 10 to 15 times. OK have you done that now? Good. Now let's be honest - you're not reading down this far. Are you? Nobody would read down this far, unless they were a crazy person. Are you a crazy person? You might be. Now I'm afraid - it's just me alone with a crazy person. No one else has read down this far, just you, so it's just the two of us alone together here. Are you going to do something crazy? Maybe you will. Please don't hurt me. If you promise not to hurt me, I'll give a coupon good for a free Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny's. OK? Now just do this one thing for me, read the article over again, just one more time, and if you really truly don't agree with everything in it, then fine, I'll retire from my job with the railroad and we'll call the whole thing off and just go dancing, just the two of use, me (the writer) and you (a completely random crazy person who has actually read down this far), and boy won't we turn heads when we show up at Rockefeller Center with the entire Donner Party in tow! We'll dance all night to strains of the Lemon Pipers while the Italian 12th Armored Division prevents the Allies from thrusting into our rear! Ah, what memories we'll make, I'll never forget you, my completely insane random person. By the way this is magnificent example of wall of text. You have to be proud you read it all. Now please read article again, and this time pay attention."

~ the Uncyclopedia, 5th edition

[EternityTide]

Sorry, I thought it was funny. [coughs awkwardly]

Yes, a skill tree would be interesting.