My Suggestions for Game Play Changes

[ThresholdSeven]

Hello,

After 500 hours of game play, I have compiled quiet an extensive list of things I would like to see changed or improved. Don't get me wrong, TLD has become my favorite game and if it never changed from where it is now, I would be fine (if not completely content). However, I know this game will grow a lot and it will become even better than it is now. I can't wait for the future of TLD.

Here are the 7 current most significant changes I would like to see, some of which may affect each other.

1. Blizzard/Wind effect on clothing.

I like that the wind deteriorates clothing, but I think the balance is off. It's extremely off. It's off to the point where more often than not, it makes more sense to go naked in a blizzard to keep your clothing from getting ruined. That's not just a theory but a practice that I have verified and do very often. There are dangers going naked in a blizzard (wolves do more damage and you freeze faster) but usually it makes more sense to go naked during a blizzard to save condition damage on clothing.

There are two ways this could be balanced.

a. drastically reduce the damage that wind does to clothing (easy fix, but not recommended)

b. drastically increase the damage that wind does to YOUR condition when naked. I vote for this. Make the wind bring you to freezing much faster and make your condition loss while naked and freezing much faster. This would keep the same clothing-deterioration-mechanic, while forcing the character to keep his clothes on (much more logical). There could be a balance of a and b. Possibly the change would only be for Stalker mode or an advance hardcore mode that is more difficult than stalker. (An idea I will propose at a later time that would help to satiate the complaints of the never ending debate of "it's too easy, it's too hard". Basically, Stalker is not hard enough in my opinion. But there is no reason not to make a forth super difficult mode. There will always be pilgrim and voyageur for really casual players.)

2. Loading zones. I think this is almost so obvious that it should go without even mentioning. It would be awesome and the game would be much better if everything was seamless (area and shelter transitions). I understand that loading zones make the game easier to develop and optimize during alpha, but I assume everyone would agree that a seamless game would be a better game. Seamlessness is a huge thing that gamers look for, especially in today's games where it is almost a necessity for a game to be taken seriously and standard in games much larger in scope. I hope that seamlessness is in the plan for future development. Loading into every shelter almost turned me off from this game from the start. I'm glad I kept going, but I think it remains a major issue that should be addressed.

3.Hibernation. I've been known to hibernate. It's the best mechanic to push your day count higher faster while conserving materials. It's even partially logical. A survivor would ration his food and starve himself and remain indoors for extended periods of time to increase his longevity (In hopes of rescue that is. Trying to escape and rescue himself would be a different story, but as the sandbox mode is now, there is no escape, only survival). However, the mechanic is too easy to exploit and this is bad for 2 main reasons. It's so extreme that it is illogical and it is kinda boring and a grind. No one forces anyone to hibernate, yet there it is staring you in the face. It's so hard not to because it's so efficient yet it's so tedious. Like the clothing deterioration mechanic, I see two ways to fix this. An easy way and a difficult way.

a. Make starving while sleeping decrease condition dramatically. Easy, but not logical and not recommended. No one dies from hunger in 12 hours, but that WOULD fix it. No one dies from hunger in 4 days either, so it wouldn't really make the current mechanic any more illogical. Extending starvation times to realistic levels (months) is a matter for another debate. What I would like to see is plan b.

b. Incorporate a body weight management system. You can starve yourself and go for even more than 4 days with only water in this theoretical system. However, you will lose body mass. The consequences? Decreased carrying capacity, the inability to sprint, longer crafting times, increased susceptibility to sickness, drastically increased cold/freeze rate. Basically, you get too skinny and you pay for it. This would come in handy and be worth the risk when food is scarce, BUT you would eventually have to stockpile food and gorge yourself to gain body weight/strength back. If the system was implemented correctly, it would be completely balanced and any food saved while hibernating would have to be spent in recovering, so it would be a wash. It would be the same as simply eating before ever becoming starving, more realistic, beneficial in times when rationing is necessary and it would completely get rid of the current hibernation exploit. I don't hibernate that much (relatively and a matter of perspective and opinion), but on my current run, my character should be emaciated)

4. Forage to Bleed out animal exploit

Guilty as charged. I do it all the time to save my arrow when an animal runs off into the forest with it sticking out of its hide. I used to sleep for this exploit but that no longer works. Now I just forage wood quickly and the retreating, bleeding animal stops dead in its tracks, literally. This is probably a known issue, of course it is, and will most likely be fixed like the "sleeping to bleed out an animal where it stands" exploit was fixed. It's worth a mention. Please fix this exploit, I can't stop myself from doing it.

5. Reduced loot/increased deterioration.

This suggestion may be best saved for only Stalker Mode or a new Hardcore mode even more difficult. Many players want more matches, longer lasting matches and other means of starting fires. I say no, make it even harder at least for hard mode. Currently, even stalker mode has way too much loot and it lasts way too long, yes even the matches. Remember, I like the current mechanics of the different difficulty levels, there should be easy modes for beginners and casuals, but the hardest mode should be harder. The main concern is the time it takes to get to end game for the current amount of content. As of now, there is enough loot in the game to easily get over 3000 days if you are efficient with current mechanics. The entire map can be explored and looted within 100 days if you are stalwart. This is not a guess, it's math based on the amount of supplies I've used and have stored. There is a LOT to do in this game, but it still drags on during the long midgame and taxes the imagination. I would like to actually get to the theoretical end game that pretty much no one has ever reached unless they were super inefficient with their supplies. I want to know what it is like to actually run out of matches, break my last knife, use my last sewing kit. Practicing these outcomes is just not the same.

6. Movable or craftable containers.

I have to admit I never even thought of this until recently. I decided to set up shop in the ML lookout tower for various reasons. While storing materials and bear meat in it I quickly realized there was not enough room, only 2 storage containers. I had to start storing stuff on the corpse below the tower and the backpack halfway down the path. It would be really nice if I could pick up that back pack and loot the back pack off the corpse and bring them to the tower to use as containers. It would also be cool if I could bring other containers from other buildings to other places that don't have enough storage space. It's logical. Crafting a container would be nice too. It's nice that pretty much everything except food and matches can just be stored on the open ground, but there isn't even enough containers in the lookout tower to hold the meat from one bear. Two fixes: let me move or craft containers OR get rid of the difference in deterioration rate of items depending on where they are stored. You know which one I would rather have.

7. The disappearing arrow trick

This might be more of a bug than a game change recommendation. Ever shot an animal and find that your arrow disappeared? What's up with that? Then it magically appears when you enter and exit a "loading" shelter.

Makes me grumpy. It's nice that loading makes these invisible and irretrievable arrows come back, but that is no excuse to keep the "loading houses" mechanic and not make the game seamless. That is treating the symptom rather than the cause. Why do the arrows disappear in the first place? I know the bow and arrow are relatively new. Nevertheless, it is a major issue that is definitely worth mentioning since the bow and arrow have become the definitive means of survival. I am glad that the "invisible knocked" arrow bug was fixed. I hope this is next on the list. I love everything else about the bow and arrow (except the crafting bug where you have to take current arrows out of your inventory before you craft new ones or they will match the condition of your old ones)

There are more where those came from, but those are the most important and the rest of the games changes I have in mind are either comparatively trivial, will most likely be added anyway or are bugs more than suggestions. I must reiterate that I love this game and I think the devs are doing an awesome job. I just want to see this game be the best that it can be.

Your friendly Canadian hermit,

ThresholdSeven

TLDR

1.Wind effect on clothing vs naked isn't right.

2.Make the game seamless, no loading screens.

3.Change the Hibernation mechanic by implementing body weight management.

4.Fix foraging wood to bleed out animal exploit.

5.Reduce loot, increase deterioration, add a more difficult mode.

6.Movable and/or craftable containers.

7.Fix arrows (bug rather than suggestions, but has suggestions in it)