Vostok Games · @VostokGames
17th Oct 2012 from Twitlonger
Today we share with you yet more feedback from our development team to ideas that have been proposed by various community members! Enjoy the read!
Vesnin Alexander:
Communication via the microphone (voice chat without typing), including imitation of realistic distortions depending the in-game environment. For example, when someone is at a distance, it's harder to be heard, and if there’s rain, then accordingly he’s even harder to hear; when you have to lurk and sit in ambush, you’ll have to really talk in whisper for the enemy not to overhear you; if the player’s environment say, a destroyed theater or a cave, then the echo is added; and on top of that anomalies and anomalous zones imposing various acoustic bugs could be added… and so on.
FEEDBACK:
We do have such plans, but it needs to be understood that if various effects are applied onto the player’s voice, then first of all, the result will be bad, since the voice is transmitted on the net with heavy compression and only a narrow part of the spectrum is transmitted, approximately like in mobile connection. Applying complex effects onto such a voice would deliver a very unsatisfactory sounding result. Secondly, many players will then not be using the built-in voice chat as they won’t like to hear each other with noise and special effects and prefer side programs, such as ventrillo, teamspeak, raidcall to it.
We are still experimenting with this and will be able to finalize our strategy only after the series of playtests.
Vesnin Alexander:
Creation of individual quests, i.e. player A needs a certain object, while player B can find it, or for example, he needs to get to some location impossible to reach alone, so they make an agreement on mutually beneficial terms.
FEEDBACK:
This will automatically get the players who are used to and like to act on their own, without cooperation. So with such things we are going to be VERY careful.
Dmitriy Matey:
Would be good to see the following in the game:
- not only dangerous animals and mutants, but also mutated plants which are quite eager to eat you.
- wild people who are impossible to make deals with, who treat you as mere food.
- day & night change, including animals becoming more active at night.
FEEDBACK:
We do plan day & night cycles. It will considerably affect the gameplay. We’ll talk about the bestiary later.
Denis Pechenkin:
- Creation of stashes.
- Creation of neutral zones with traders, quests… where one could talk to people, take some rest.
FEEDBACK:
The limitation on weight carried is part of the plan. Given the current concept of the game, laying stashes makes no sense. But, possibly in future we’ll find a good use for them. There are no plans for neutral zones with traders and quests. We have a session-based game, so all the communication and trading goes in the game lobby.
Roman Malinkov:
Create a possibility to "assemble" weapons, as in Dead Island. I.e., you found a stick and nails, for example, then made a bat for yourself. There could be an infinite amount of options here.
FEEDBACK:
We do not have such plans.
Dima Kulik:
I propose to make the system of mentors, i.e. a newbie who comes to the game first time is looking for a Veteran teacher who he goes on raids with, and when the newbie becomes a Veteran, he'll be able to do it as well. It'll help the former to adapt to the game, while the latter – to get comrades-in-arms.
- System of limited weight carried by the player.
FEEDBACK:
We're thinking about a system like that, and carefully observe other games, where the system has already been implemented. In our opinion, it is extremely difficult to balance, that on one hand such a system wouldn't be abused, and on the other — there'd be interest for experienced players in it. If you have concrete proposals how to motivate experienced players to participate in it, we're ready to listen.
Timur Marsianin:
For the players to be able to create tasks for other players, (like deliver this amount of meat, and the task-giver would provide the due amount of game currency). And I think it needs to have everything done via NPCs and processed via the database.
FEEDBACK:
We do not have plans to provide for that.
Bogdan Kushnir:
Possibility to upgrade weapons (similarly to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat);
FEEDBACK:
We’ll provide for the system of upgrades, perhaps not from the start, but it will be there.
Bogdan Kushnir:
Weapon breakdowns, maintenance of the guns;
FEEDBACK:
We won’t be implementing the maintenance part as we are not after a hardcore survival simulator, so you won’t have to clean the barrel and oil it. Weapons will be breakable, yes.
Bogdan Kushnir:
If possible, spread the game via the Steam service (it’s not a must though);
FEEDBACK:
For the moment, we are in negotiations.
Bogdan Kushnir:
Various illnesses, for example, cold (the player coughs, gives away his location, runs slowly, bad to aim and so on).
FEEDBACK:
We thought about something like that, but decided to postpone this idea for now, because, from our point of view this would make the game too complicated and unfriendly to newbies. We have enough of hardcore elements planned for the game, so overloading it with extra challenges isn’t something we’d like to do.
Bogdan Kushnir:
Naturally, the weather conditions, temperature, maybe something like Blowouts in Stalker;
FEEDBACK:
We’ll have something to that extent
Bogdan Kushnir:
Various devices like binoculars, distance meter, night vision, torch, laser gun aims and so on.
FEEDBACK:
This is planned.
Bogdan Kushnir:
Various types of clothes, so that to have an armored vest and clothes on top of it;
FEEDBACK:
We will have various types of clothes, but they will not be put on top of each other, this would make the development very complicated.
Bogdan Kushnir:
To have the money not as paper, but something valuable at those times, for example, bullets (as in Metro 2033);
FEEDBACK:
We have a few ideas in that regard.
Bogdan Kushnir:
No kind of general chat whatsoever! Only the ‘distance-based’ chat (well , you understand, same as in Day Z) and the voice chat of course, but only for those who have a radio or something.
FEEDBACK:
The effective area of the chat strongly depends on whether you are in the lobby or in fight. And it’s also very dependent on the game mode.
Slava Budaev:
Provide more logical puzzles. For example, to reach the Northern part of a location you need to undertake something by applying objects etc. in the surrounding.
Will do our best
Dmitriy Oleynikov:
Provide various character skills leveling up. For example, the disguise skill: lowers the probability of your stash located by other stalkers, lowers the probability of player-set traps spotted. Additionally, such standard skills as strength, endurance, vigilance and more. For example, a certain strength level allows using heavy grenade launchers, machineguns and increases the weight carried; Endurance increases the sprint time, speed of cure when injured/trauma, lowers the probability of pain shock and so on. Vigilance (or attentiveness) increases the detection probability of stashes and traps, artifact, enables more accurate shooting etc.
FEEDBACK:
We have designed our own skills system, which from our point of view, is ideal to fit our project’s needs. We have already described it briefly in one of the dev. diaries. In future, we’ll disclose it in more detail.
Dmitriy Oleynikov:
Possibility for the player to receive traumas, for example, brain concussion, contusion, limb fracture, pain shock, blood loss, infection (for example, of mutant bite).
FEEDBACK:
We have plans something similar.
Dmitriy Oleynikov:
And it would also be good to complicate the application of medicines, i.e. for the player not to just ‘eat medikits’ to restore healthpoints, but to have certain time necessary to apply the medikit, with the corresponding animation played. So as the side effects from use of medical and anti-radiation means, so as alcohol: nausea, dizziness etc.
FEEDBACK:
Here we are looking for a balance between the realism and playability.
Dmitriy Oleynikov:
Various skills, like ‘Master of Melee combat’, ‘Sniper’, ‘Master of Disguise’ and so on.
FEEDBACK:
We have a system of perks planned.