This is my second “Deadzone Suggestion” post, third one will come tomorrow.
Today I will be focusing on the mechanisms that limit the time you can spend in a deadzone.
Deadzone Intensity:
The idea is basically that different parts of deadzones have different intensity of effect. The center of the deadzone has the highest intensity of radiation or concentration of chemicals, depending on the type of the deadzone, meaning that your filters degrade faster, or your allowed exposure time becomes shorter. Also, maybe the intensity scale is not entirely linear (e.g. higher intensity the closer are you to the center of the deadzone), but instead of it there exist “hotspots” that are spread around the deadzone.
Deadzone Time Limiting Mechanics:
In chemical deadzones, the time you’re allowed to stay in the deadzone is only set by your filter state. Filters slowly degrade over time when in contaminated areas exactly like they function in 3.0, but also have a degrade rate if you are wearing the gasmask outside of a deadzone, but it degrades far slower.
In radioactive deadzones the time you’re allowed to spend in them is determined by 2 factors. Filter state and “safe exposure time” affect the length of your stay in the deadzone. Safe exposure time is a timer present on a screen that slowly counts down to zero. How long you’re allowed to stay is determined by how intense is the radiation in the area (the time displayed changes depending on the radiation intensity). The timer cannot be refilled during the run, meaning that you have a certain limited amount of time to get in, loot and get out, no matter how many filters you take. The timer also doesn’t reset instantly the moment you leave the deadzone, there is a certain amount of time (e.g. one in-game day) that must pass before your timer resets to maximum again. This adds another layer of difficulty to the deadzones, potentially restricting access to late-game gear, and giving space to a meaningful loot progression, while still making the experience both challenging and IMHO, fun.