suggestion New game mechanic: De-Feats

[Ghurcb]

I don't like the way feats work right now. By the time you can use them you don't need them. And you can get access to them by simply grinding. If you play TLD for long enough, you will obtain all the feats. The only exception is the Darkwalker feat, but not many people use it.

I don't like feats, but a lot of people do. After all, it's a whole new level of strategy and a way to add some meta progression to the long dark. At the same time though, they make the game easier for the players who are quite experienced already.

 

So here's my idea. Defeats!

As the name implies, they are the opposite of feats. Instead of making the game easier, they would make it harder. You would unlock new defeats by completing some difficult tasks.

 

Here are a few examples I came up with.

UNFLINCHING FOE - The immortal bear is constantly following you in every region you visit. (Obtained by surviving for 30 days in "Hunted, Part 1")

DREADFUL HORDE - Timberwolves spawn in every location. (Obtained by reaching the top of Timberwolf Mountain)

UNEAGER WANDERER - It is as cold inside the buildings as it is outside. (Obtained by surviving outside for 15 consecutive days)

 

If you have any other ideas, be sure to leave them in the comments.

Edited February 8, 2022 by Ghurcb

[UpUpAway95]

I like it... not sure if such changes in spawning patterns through addition of a feat are easily programmed (but that's for HL to sort out).

[JackTrysGames]

Here's my 10 cents.

 

LEPER'S SOLACE - You are constantly losing 0.5% condition per hour. (Obtained by surviving with Blood Loss for 24 hours.)

SPOTTER'S NIGHTMARE - The fog follows you, even outside of the Far Territory. (Obtained by spending 12 hours total in the Glimmer Fog.)

BLOOD-SOAKED SHROUD - Injuries are more debilitating and require occasional re-treatment. (Obtained by treating 100 injuries total.)

HYPERALGESIA - You suffer from a permanent, incurable Pain status affliction. (Obtained by being awake and in Pain for 6 hours total.)

TRAUMATIC STRESS - Due to a stressful situation in your past, you are incapable of Struggling against Wolves. (Obtained by losing a Wolf struggle 3 times in a single life.)

DARKWALKER INSTINCTS - You suffer from a permanent, incurable Insomnia status affliction. (Obtained by surviving against the Darkwalker for a full 3 days total.)

PACIFISM - Your hands shake while aiming a weapon, and you start below Level 1 for each weapon stat. (Obtained by completing the Pacifist achievement.)

SCHIZOPHRENIA - You will occasionally hear and see things that are not there, and may occasionally become Anxious. (Obtained by getting the Cabin Fever affliction 3 times in a single life.)

Edited December 18, 2022 by JackTrysGames
Forgot to mention that Blood-Soaked Shroud's requirement can be done over multiple saves. You don't have to treat 100 injuries in a single life, that'd be absurd.

[codyh]

I really like these. Feats operate in long dark similarly to traits in other games. Some of them use a system whereby negative traits allow the addition of positive traits.

In long dark, this could mean each negative feat added adds an extra feat slot, allowing you to use multiple positive feats with a cost.

[JackTrysGames]

Bump.

[conanjaguar]

Thanks for bumping this @JackTrysGames!

Debuffs like this make much more sense when applied to feats rather than food.

[Willy Pete]

This is something I'd had in the back of my mind along with additional Feats. It would be cool if for every "Fault" that you took you could choose another Feat (provided they added more Feats to take). My ideas for "Faults" would be the following:

PICKY EATER - Food takes 20% longer to cook (Obtained by burning 100 food items)

PREY SCENT - Your scent meter always has at least one bar OR the smell range of animals is increased by 20% (Obtained by having at least one bar of scent for 72 hours)

CLUMSY - Your sprain chance is increased by 20% (Obtained by receiving 250 sprains)

MIGRAINES - You have a random chance of getting a headache every few hours (Obtained by drinking 100 energy drinks)

SLOW WORKER - The time it takes to complete tasks such as crafting or breaking down wood is increased by 20% (Obtained by breaking down 300 items)

[Valuable Hunting Knife]

Left-handed.

50% chance that using a tin opener will result in food spillage, and unable to zoom in when using the rifle due to the bolt being on the wrong side of the gun.

[Third Try]

I like this idea, I'll probably make a list of my own 'de-feats' on my topic with other ideas I've had for this game, but I'll make sure to give you the credit of the idea!  (Is it okay if I make the list there?).  I like the idea of calling them Faults.  That's a good idea.

To add more to Willy Pete's idea of the Clumsy fault:

Increased chance of sprains, chance of misfiring any weapon, chance of inflicting bleeding wound when harvesting with a hatchet or knife, chance of burning yourself when starting fires (increased when using accelerant), lower chance of clothing repairs (you can never level up sewing skill), always shivering when aiming.

  It would be mean, but fun for a challenge!

How would the faults be used?  We unlock them, but then is there a limited amount of slots or indefinite?  Just one?  Does it change with the difficulty?

 

[Ghurcb]

11 hours ago, Third Try said:

(Is it okay if I make the list there?)

Of course, no problem.

11 hours ago, Third Try said:

How would the faults be used?  We unlock them, but then is there a limited amount of slots or indefinite?  Just one?  Does it change with the difficulty?

The way I see it, there should be no need to limit the slots. Equip as many as you want. Equip all if you want the most challenging game possible.

On 10/4/2023 at 11:35 PM, Willy Pete said:

You have a random chance of getting a headache every few hours

To be honest, this is not the type of challenge I imagined this feature providing. It would probably be very annoying to randomly get headaches.

On 12/18/2022 at 8:29 AM, JackTrysGames said:

LEPER'S SOLACE - You are constantly losing 0.5% condition per hour. (Obtained by surviving with Blood Loss for 24 hours.)

This, on the other hand, is pretty spot-on.

I want it to be not just a bunch of de-buffs, but a few mechanical changes that completely alter the way you play the game. If you are being followed everywhere by an immortal bear, you probably won't stay in the same place for too long. If you're constantly losing health, you'll have to look for emergency stims and birch bark before your time runs out.
If your spain chance is increased by 20%... You'll get sprains more often? This isn't really anything new.
No offence, that's just my opinion. I don't feel like TLD would benefit from longer crafting times or cutting your fingers while using a hatchet.

Edited October 30, 2023 by Ghurcb

[Third Try]

"No offence, that's just my opinion. I don't feel like TLD would benefit from longer crafting times or cutting your fingers while using a hatchet."

  Fair enough.  I guess the main point would be to make a unique challenge, not just generally more annoying or harder.

  An immortal bear?  That sounds so cruel 😂

  But what about an immortal moose hunting you down?  Haha, you'd just always have broken ribs and a hundred bandages on you.

[Bearimpaler101]

On 2/8/2022 at 3:22 AM, Ghurcb said:

I don't like the way feats work right now. By the time you can use them you don't need them. And you can get access to them by simply grinding. If you play TLD for long enough, you will obtain all the feats. The only exception is the Darkwalker feat, but not many people use it.

I don't like feats, but a lot of people do. After all, it's a whole new level of strategy and a way to add some meta progression to the long dark. At the same time though, they make the game easier for the players who are quite experienced already.

 

So here's my idea. Defeats!

As the name implies, they are the opposite of feats. Instead of making the game easier, they would make it harder. You would unlock new defeats by completing some difficult tasks.

 

Here are a few examples I came up with.

UNFLINCHING FOE - The immortal bear is constantly following you in every region you visit. (Obtained by surviving for 30 days in "Hunted, Part 1")

DREADFUL HORDE - Timberwolves spawn in every location. (Obtained by reaching the top of Timberwolf Mountain)

UNEAGER WANDERER - It is as cold inside the buildings as it is outside. (Obtained by surviving outside for 15 consecutive days)

 

If you have any other ideas, be sure to leave them in the comments.

your just describing interloper.

[FlamingFuball]

I want this, but you have to add one de-feat every 30 days. I don’t like how quickly the game gets easier on a new save, starting hard then getting easier as you get more gear, games should get harder over time. I’m gonna slot this with my mod ideas.

[SirusFIN]

On 1/5/2024 at 3:40 AM, FlamingFuball said:

I want this, but you have to add one de-feat every 30 days. I don’t like how quickly the game gets easier on a new save, starting hard then getting easier as you get more gear, games should get harder over time. I’m gonna slot this with my mod ideas.

This should be a togleable setting when creating a run imo