Randomised Starting Locations

[cekivi]

Everyone always starts the game in Mystery Lake when they first get the game. You have to discover the new areas before you can begin a game there. As such, there is a certain progression that seems to occur that every player will go through. Everyone is getting roughly the same story in the same sequence.

Wouldn't it be cooler if the first map you have access to is random? How neat would it be to approach, for instance, the Carter Hydroelectric Dam from the river side and come across the poor bloodied survivor and have no idea what's on the other side of the door? New players would then have the chance to experience the game in a new way (or at least a new order) as opposed to always beginning in Mystery Lake and get a story completely different than most of us currently playing.

[Fuarian]

You mean like choose a random starting map to unlock at the beginning? Like say. "Choose Random Starting Map" Then it puts you in one of the 4 maps even if you haven't played any of them yet?

[cekivi]

You mean like choose a random starting map to unlock at the beginning? Like say. "Choose Random Starting Map" Then it puts you in one of the 4 maps even if you haven't played any of them yet?

Exactly. It'd be neat way to turn the game on it's head and allow for new players to experience areas they haven't seen yet.

[nicko]

sounds like a good idea as long as each map has sim resources you need to survive, I guess we start on MP map is because it may be easier to survive for beginners?

[elloco999]

I think your right nicko. There are many buildings in ML and they are not far apart for the most (unlike PV). There are not all that many wolves and there are a lot of deer and rabbits (unlike CH). This make it probably the easiest map to start on for new players.

[cekivi]

True. But you can still survive on the other maps and both have their own bonuses. The only difficulty I could see is since the other maps are larger it would take longer to learn them and it would be easier to get lost.

Also, when I proposed this idea, I made the assumption that a new player would begin the game as a pilgrim or voyager so they would have an easier time anyways.

[Killjoy]

Mystery Lake while boring to experienced players is pretty "newb friendly" compared to Coastal Highway or Pleasant Valley. Desolation Point makes for a challenging but not frustrating fresh start and has become the entrance zone for all my new games.

While choices are good I fear that CH & PV could taint a new player's experience of the game. CH has overabundant hostile wildlife that leads to 3+ critter encounters. And PV's sheer size means freezing to death within minutes of starting is a very real possibility.

[cekivi]

While choices are good I fear that CH & PV could taint a new player's experience of the game. CH has overabundant hostile wildlife that leads to 3+ critter encounters. And PV's sheer size means freezing to death within minutes of starting is a very real possibility.

A valid criticism. Maybe the spawn points would need to be closer to shelter or players start with slightly more gear for a random setup.