This entry is based off of my experience with Exploration mode - as of Late December 2019.
Short Version:
- Add harvesting vehicle attachments or individual vehicles such as "wheel Truck, Harvester, Combine, Excavator, lawnmower. Planting seeds takes Way too long and is fitting for early game yield. End game needs work with farming.
- Add a price to using the flying pack - asap
- Slow down how much you obtain from mining drill and mining in general - increasing value and allowing space for Endgame interests.
- Add conveyor system blocks such as push, pull, eject, storage and the tubing itself
- Allow construction mode to anchor a vehicle to a ship. (Transportation)
- Add respawn to grass and a few various plants and Wildlife. (Once everything is dead, there is literally nothing to do.)
- Increase Island Size, even if it means less islands. I shouldn't be able to cover the entire Island on foot in 3 - 4 minutes. If so, these should be cartilage islands that sit near larger ones.
- Invest in logic for the need for vehicles. They are extremely fun to drive, but I'm finding myself making up reasons to use them. They are basically useless outside of light sources.
- Add global events. Hurricane (Destroys Crop) , plague, Undead... something, anything. Random Encounters are good. Pvp can't be the only thing all the base defense is for.
- Why are we building storage unless we're playing on a server with thieves. Its so much easier to place things in stacks out in the open so you don't have to find them.
- Add tool belt for basic tools, Axe, Hammer, Screwdriver, Pick axe, small spade, etc. pouch for nails.
- Add backpack items. additional storage when wearing, reduces movement speed.
- Rivers through larger items would be really awesome.
I love this game, but it lacks win/loss logic and something is off about it when it comes to the items you make.
Long Version:
Before I go over all these ideas - I want to justify my inquiry. This is not a negative rant, or at least not intended to be. I sincerely enjoy this game.
Inventory is just flat out an issue in this game. Not as far as functionality, but as far as clutter, inconvenience and something is a miss about it, but I think we're on the right track. Having to have 12 to 15 tools and parts in your inventory to build simple things is difficult and awful sometimes, but I really like the idea of organization and process being a part of your gameplay. I GET IT. really. But, maybe if we are looking to make this a part of the game, it should give us some options in late game functionality, that prolong our endgame interest. While, I know the goal isn't to make "farm simulator", "Quarry Simulator" or "Landscaping Simulator", I just feel it's necessary to make the end game process a little different. Once I make a few Ylandium tools, the only friction is deciding what i want to make, and why. "Why" is usually the main one, because how many bases or ships do you need. My proposition is to make mass collection and consumption a late game option only. Allowing you to trade mass production for other goods from NPC's or even players. Harvesters, Seed Drill / Cultivator, Wheel Truck
I currently use corn to produce flour, then to dough to make bread. The issue i run into, is that I can only collect a few stacks of corn at a time, having to run back and forth. It would be great to have a large wheeled, slow chassis to attach a Harvester to. (Large Spindle to attach to the front with a energy receiver. Or, maybe implement the vehicle all by itself. (Combine Harvester) This could raise the question, how does it know what to harvest. well, this could work the same way blank keys work. add the same inventory as the "Creator menu" and select the items you want it to pickup. Obviously you can then separate this is into sub categories like Excavators for trees, Wheel Trucks for stone and similar nodes. These can be used to collect grass, rock, stone, sand, whatever. Just a cool way of getting material and slowing down how much you can do on foot, making this worth the time. (instead of the Mining drill ) - Bringing the yield down on the drill. It's pretty ridiculous. It's way too fast. If you are in a mine, you can literally just collect everything you want, then when you are done, just look up and walk out and you will surface in 10 seconds.
Conveyor System Blocks
Now, I understand that this is a lot all at once, but the harvesting items can open the door to other things like Conveyor systems. Much like the energy system that is currently operational, conveyors can be implemented as tubing, much like Space Engineers" system for collecting and distributing resources. Tubing, sending, Ejecting and a number of storage blocks that attach. These blocks can be powered by any energy sources that match the required amount. Engines, Generators, etc. I'm aware that several other games do this, and it's not to request this game be more like them... this is simply to add more End Game functionality. "Keep your enemies close"
Combat has come a long way, and I have very little issues with it currently. However, once everything has been killed, there is little reason to have weapons or armor on your base island. That's fine, but it didn't take long to kill the dangerous spawns on my island, meaning it would only take 5 to 10 minutes to clean out another island with the right weapon (repeater rifle). Let's maybe do something about how little effort it takes to sustain on an island once you've obtained a few coal, iron and copper. Not enough friction as of now. (Combat Danger wise) "I'm on a boat"
I've been playing the game for a few years now and it's still raining inside my ship. why. Also, can we implement a way to transfer a vehicle using the "construction mode" function? (i'm sure this is in the process. I see this on the forums all the time.) "Make Storage Great Again"
It is almost a no brainer when it comes to inventory on a vehicle, or in a confined space. It is much more viable to place 50 stone on the ground instead of putting it in a container when you can only have 6 or more slots. I really like placing most of my items where i can see them instead of having to dig through 57 wicker baskets full of resin, feathers and bark. I've noticed in some cases, If you place 1 item of each thing on a table, you can easily walk up press tab, then drop the items over to the "vicinity" stacking it with what you already have. This is nice, because It's out in the open and I can grab what I need without having to find it. What are some things we can do to make storage a more purposeful thing to build. (other than locking it away from other players) This can correlate with my ideas on the harvesting, conveyors and similar items. "Globale Events"
I feel like a lot of what I've discussed so can be consoled with a few world events. Something like Hurricanes, Flooding, Plagues, whatever is easiest. Roaming packs of wolves. something to force defensive posture other than Enemy players. The problem with revolving all of your content around having to have more than one player is that you cripple the core gameplay. You would probably much rather have a strong game on its own, and work the pvp into that, instead of the opposite. "Sharknado"
Obviously, there is a reason the sharks are no longer in the game. I'm sure they will surface once again, but get those suckers back in there as they were a really good stress generator for those traveling at sea. They should be able to attack you on a raft as well. Most people are scared of sharks, even if they look like gray hotdogs. You need the sharks. If a movie can successfully combine sharks with something so implausible as a tornado, it should indicate that sharks are one of the best enemies / antagonist to have. BRING BACK THE SHARKS. lol
"Exploring"
Finding a new island is good for one thing. Going down in that mine and getting the Ylandium, Copper or Coal. The occasional Raider camp is COOL, keep doing that and make it better. But currently, It takes me like 5 minutes to walk around the island on foot. That's incredibly small. Exploring an island should be an investment and dangerous. Let's see what we can do about that, considering that is the entire purpose and premise of the game. to explore islands and build. I had one experience while playing this game that made me really interested. I was exploring this cave and found a statue. I dug around it, found a sword, picked it up, and a mummy or some kind of undead thing came out of the ground and tried to kill me. That was incredibly interesting and fun. Let's see more of that prefabricated trigger events, but more clever and not predictable. Harder, faster, more dangerous. By the way, that has never happened again. "ROADS"
I would assume some sort of land "Smoothing" tool is being implemented. However, I would like to see the ability to make pavement. Using a Nurb modelling system similar to the one in 3DS Max to achieve a surface between two points at whatever angle. The system would be best used with making waypoints on the ground. There could be 3 to 4 sized in width. So placing size 1 and then placing a size 2, the road would widen between the two points and adjust to whatever angle the player has indicated. If you wanted to make a road that contoured the ground, you would just simple place it on the ground, then adjust the bar to best sit flush on the ground. Or, if you wanted to elevate it like a bridge or raised highway, you can build frames up and place our waypoints along the structures.
Lots of information here, but I convinced a friend to play, and it's rapidly becoming uninteresting. Starting over is the only thing that keeps us interested for the time being, but how long can that last.
Keep up the good work! Hope to see some interesting patch notes soon.
