WARNING: I want to work on this post for a day or two so it will be lengthy with a lot of detail. I don’t want people to think everything I put in this post is something I expect to be added to U2 because of the detail but more the overall theme they represent.I would like to refer to other games mechanics and meta’s ,mostly rust and DayZ, to explore the possible skeleton and philosophy of a good rewarding survival game that U2 could adopt.
P.S Also I am making assumptions on an U2 that isn’t established, I am going to make assumptions on game mechanics I have seen teased from posts, trellos, and interviews. I am going to base these game mechanics of the idea that
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- Survival is harsher than 3.0.
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- Temperatures are a survival feature, making shleter and fires useful. (https://trello.com/c/vXZF1Ays/115-temperature)
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- Clothes have more utility than space, they offer different warmth and rain protection.
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- Crafting tables and things like anvils and lathes are needed to craft certain things with crafting ques(https://trello.com/c/ckfaz009/104-crafting)
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- Food decays making a meta for preserving food and farming.
I want to to divide this post into two major sections of progression through survival: Player Home Progression and Player Kit Progression.
The main concept behind this post and these two topics will be the progression seen by the player in his/her survival kit/home and how the tools and items allows for a smoother survival experience. Why and how these upgrades will make for a enjoyable rewarding progression system.
(Picture provided by “The Monkey-Man”)
I think a key factor in a rewarding survival game is to make the player work in the beginning for basic needs. Setting the tone for what is expected to survive. Offer the ability to advance through gear or items,something to strive for. Creating value in an item like an axe or shovel as it will be a valuable asset to working towards a wooden cabin or a concrete compound with lights and power.
If there was an example to sum up the just of the post it would: Having purification tablets makes the task of clean water easier, quick and on the go. Opposed to making a fire and waiting for the water to boil. But at the same time if purification tablets are not at hand, a survivor could still drink water with a alternative more primitive process.
Another good example of an upgrade is in rust. In Rust making a fire isn’t hard but the trade off for an upgrade is time saved. A player can build a campfire on the go or in there base for the ability to cook meat or be a heat source for warmth. The campfire has limited spaces and takes a decent amount of time to cook food. But when the player has advanced and is able to smelt metal they can create a Barbeque, which can cook faster and store more meat. The BBQ offers the player saved time, the player can look back and say, I have made visible progression, this is easier now.
One thing I can think of in 3.0 is the fire and the metal stove. The fire is instant and costs only 5 logs. On the other hand the stove costs metal and a power source but does the same thing. There is no progression in the fires, it ends with the campfire. Seeing a tiered system for survival gear would be a driving reason to upgrade your base or gear, it makes surviving easier.
(Upgrade to fire that allows for purifying salt water, you get about 10% clean water and the other 90% evaporates)
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Player Kit Progession
I want to start off talking about a feature I like in Day Z. Day Z is a very survival based game with tools being the pillar of survival. Completing your survival load-out doesn’t just mean having weapons to defend your self but carrying on you your survival essentials like Axe, Knife, Can opener, Fire starter, Cook Pot, and the list goes on. Having the option to hand craft tools with low durability is something I love so much. The ability to be self-sufficient and survive is all crammed into your backpack. Having a little tool or gadget for every situation.
- Personal Survival Loadout.
One thing I enjoy most and I believe a lot of other people find satisfaction in is the load out of your gear and things you have amassed to make surviving easier. I believe finding an essential tool like an axe should be a major milestone in your survival trek. This axe will allow for me to make fire and build a home, stepping out of the nomad life and into the next age. Maybe after your home is built you can leave it there and look for a mobile and compact option like a hatchet.
- Cooking on the go.
In DayZ making a fire is a menial task, I will leave a link to a tutorial for those who haven’t played Day Z (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uiRKtDodQM). You need a axe, knife, and a fire starter. In the video he uses a hand made fire drill instead of a box of matches, I love how Day Z offers the ability to make a fire with more elbow grease applied, the firedrill is a one time use and takes up more space in the inventory, but gets the job done and lights your fire. A box of matches has 100 matches and makes fire making easier. If you stumble upon a cook pot, gas stove, and gas canister making food is as easy as a click of a button. You can see how much time you save using a stove over a primitive method.
E.X- Campfire>Tiny Gas Stove>Cobblestone Fireplace>Metal Furnace>Electric Stove.
- Warmth.
In the saftey of your home near your fire freezing isn’t much of a concern, but having to go out in the cold of winter or being caught out in the rain on a loot run requires a survivor to be prepared. Without proper equipment a survivor will have to seek shelter and make a fire, but having gear like warm jackets and rain coats/ponchos keep you out in the elements longer.
I was playing DayZ the other day and kept having to seek shelter and make a fire because of the cold and rain. I was getting tired of it and wanted to loot instead of playing campfire simulator. I threw out my coat which had more inventory space for a rain coat and and put some cooked meat in my coat (it keeps you warm, weird mechanic I know) and was able to stay out in the rain longer. I got a sense of accomplishment from defeating the elements.
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- Clothing
Would be cool to see stats for each clothing item. There ability against the rain/cold or protection stats. Players could loot small storage rain coats from civilian zones. Or larger capacity waterproof military jackets in respected high tier zones. Bushwookies could opt to making rainproof and cold weather gear from deer and bears.
(bushwookie using his surroundings to his advantage)
(gear stats, very obvious information to the player.)
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- Drinks and soups
I like to think warm drinks could play a part in keeping you warm out on the trail. Thermos could be used to keep warm drinks hot for cold weather. But if thermos where not available one could opt for making a warm drink like tea/coffee on the go, sacrificing inventory space but keeping warm.
This is something that goes into the whole progression aspect of tools and utilities. Higher tier gear in mili spawns will have thermos while lower tier spawns will have boiling cups and fire starting equipment. The higher tier loot offers a quicker solution to tasks and lower tier loot still offers the ability to accomplish survival tasks but at a cost of time or inventory space. As you progress through the tiers you will see these survival tasks become easier and easier.
(possilbe hand made tea cups?)
- Utility items, more than just inventory space.
Another factor that adds to feeling rewarded from items is if the item can be upgraded further once found. I think that is why people like customizing attachments on there guns so much. Because they can see the physical progress and the guns benefit from them. Everyone loves finding guns and then finding matching attachments. But what if more tools and utility items shared this same feature.
In Day Z you can find a tactical belt, the tactical belt has attachments that once found can be added to the belt. It can hold a sheath,holster, and canteen for holding your gun and knife, items other wise taking up inventory space.
(Look to the right you can see the tactical belt and the items attached to it underneath)
(I know Nelson had some early ideas of things like belts and slings)
I hope to see things like belts and slings act not just as a slot for space like every other clothing item but for specific utility item like in the Day Z example above. Makes room for your essential survival equipment like the water bottle and knife but keeps inventory open for loot. I also just like to see my equipment dangling of my gear. (Maybe a quiver?)
In conclusion for the Player kit progression I want the ability for players to survive but with different loot tiers comes faster outcomes. I don’t like how in 3.0 you can’t clean water without the tablets. Boiling should be an option its just a slower more inconvenient one. I know U 3.0 probably is designed for this but would love to see this in U2
- Player home Progression
As I think Day Z has a really good progression system for your personal survival load-out it has a terrible base system. It is more just high walls and tents. But Rust in my opinion has an amazing base progression system. Not just does the game have a good tier system for wall strength and raiding meta, but it has good tools and utility node progression. They have level 1,2,3 tier workbenches that unlock more gear as you go.
(basic base with water catcher outside) (P.S that water catcher is the first of two, the second takes a lot more ingredients but is larger and holds more/catches faster)
The goal for building a base in rust in to defend your loot and your utility nodes (workbenches and furnaces) along with your player body as it stays online when you are off. In the current meta of 3.0 a base is just a place to sort loot before logging off with it. And if any loot is left just disperse it in lockers spread out.
(I love this picture)
A base in U2 should be a place to hide from roaming zombies, horde your loot, shelter from the elements, grow your crops, raise animals, and keep your crafting tables/utility nodes safe.
This post won’t really go into the meta of base strength design but more on the utility for bases.
Unturned Base building just goes as far as wood to metal and maybe a farming plot to grow crops. I would like to see more upgrades go into things like farming and crafting tables to keep players invested in there base. Like I said above talking about fires. A campfire could be step one and cobblestone upgrade would make the fire last longer and cook food faster.
- Farms
Farms seems like something that can have the most upgradeable potential. A player starts to make a farm at base so he can spend less time looting towns for food. In 3.0 it goes as far as smashing seeds into a plot or planter and maybe using a magic fertilizer. But I feel with upgrades farms can be used to max potential in U2.
- 1.Fertilizer
Fertilizer can be homemade with dead plants and animal droppings (if that’s a thing) or found out in the world. Composting these items and creating fertilizer will increase yield and health of plants.
(Stats on crops, more sun+water+soil equals faster and more crops)
- 2.Tilled ground or raised beds
The ground could be tilled to increase soil health and that would affect the yield or raised beds for indoor growing or growing where soil isn’t present. This dirt could be dug up with a spade, hoe, or pickaxe. I know digging ground won’t be a thing so maybe the digging tools could make a tilled ground platform like the ye old 2.0 fertilizer plots.
(ye old times)
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- Sun and rain/water.
Would be cool to see plants need sun and water to “graduate” past growth stages. More sunlight/growth lamps + rain/water would stack with other buffs to produce more food. I heard nelson talking someone about automatic sprinklers, which would make watering automatic with correct gear and make power an end goal for your base.
- End Game Goal Power.
I think the end game goal of U2 should be to have access to advanced weapons to combat enemies and to have the most advanced base with sustainable power and food. With power comes the ability to preserve food the easiest in a fridge room, power your vehicles, water your plants, and cook food with ease. No longer do you have craft fires but just turn on stoves and open doors with switches.
Something I have always like about survival games is working yourself out of the stone age and into the space age.
Rust actually has a really really good power system with solar panels, windmills, generators, and wiring. But for the most part is just for show because rust is more pvp than survival, and doesn’t really focus on surviving against the elements. I could see a power system really being useful if food needed to be refrigerated or if the cold required warmth.
- Refrigerator power
In nelsons Trello wish list (https://trello.com/c/8MIprkYk/106-spoiling) he touches on spoiling food. would be nice to preserve food through refrigeration and other means. I hope refrigeration is not only the way to preserve food for the fact power is an end game feature some players may not reach during wipes. I hope to see jaring of vegetables or smoking of meats to let food preserve longer. Replaces primitive food preserving techniques.
- AC Units
Would be cool to see an AC Unit for end game players that would heat or cool there base for a comfort bonus. (Comfort bonus is just a boost given when in base or near a fire that slows calorie use making food and water last longer.) Replaces fires for warmth.
- Chainsaw
Chainsaws obliviously are faster at chopping trees and allow for faster wood collecting. But take gas to power so you will need a supply or extra gas can to keep it running.
- Machinery
Would be cool to see machinery like lathes and mills be added, like the ones on the France map. Perhaps they could manufacture certain guns or high end parts or just do what crafting tables do but make them super fast at crafting.
(The Drill press and Lathe on the France map)(Would be sick to see this in your base)
- Wagons.
So going off the Trello post of (https://trello.com/c/Fw7pDkpK/121-animals) Neslon touches on animals being more utility to player. Having animals for food or for pack mules comes to mind. Wagons pulled by animals comes to mind especially if a weight system comes to U2. Carrying heavy loads over long distance will be impossible without a car. Most players probably won’t get to cars and would be nice to see a alternative method.
Obviously the wagon comes at a disadvantage being wooden and hauled by an animal. The animal could be in danger from player and zombies, but would still give players the option if they found a horse and built a wagon.
(Roleplay servers would go nuts over these)
Conclusion
Over all I would like to see a progression system that has room for more upgrades in my base and my kit. A progression system that eases the load of surviving as you progress, giving you something to work for as you make yourself to the end game.
A system too that doesn’t keep players from surviving behind uncommon items or higher tier areas. Players have the ability to opt for primitive survival methods.
I think a more rigorousness survival system (changing seasons, temperatures, and food spoiling) will make for a meta where the player values his home and survival kit over all else. Bringing more utility to a base more than loot storage, but a place to house the machinery and tools you need to survive.
