Thanks for the feedback.
Things took a very different path from where we started.
| RuneStorm https://www.runestorm.com/forums/ |
|
| After playing VCD, some suggestions to keep it interesting https://www.runestorm.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=113&t=78537 |
Page 1 of 1 |
| Author: | Slight0 [ Sun Oct 25, 2015 11:40 am ] |
| Post subject: | After playing VCD, some suggestions to keep it interesting |
So I'm the kind of guy who has to stack your crates neatly, unstack and line up your barrels, and of course cleanup all the blood and guts when he's hired to sanitize your facility. That being said, I had a lot of fun playing VCD for the first 6 hours, but noticed it started to get a bit repetitive once I got to the third level. It shouldn't, because this game I believe has a lot of potential and is already pretty fun. It needs some things to give it more longevity. I read your future plans post made in 2013 and saw some good ideas; some were implemented, some were not. I'll go through those first, before mentioning my own. Your future features Quote: -Alien infestation and tools to deal with it --Flamethrower (presumably for dealing with alien infestation) Was this ever implemented? I haven't tried all the levels so I may have missed it. This sounds like a great change of pace. An alien "infestation" of some plant or slime that grows periodically over time and you're tasked with flamethrowering it to death. Quote: -Broken equipment and ways of repairing it. There needs to be so much more of this. I see you guys started with the medkits, but what about broken vending machines that you need to restock and fix, lights that need replaced (disable the power to not get shocked!), glass/windows that need replaced (careful not to drop the glass pane and make more of a mess!), screws that need tightened, doors that are jamed, wires that need mended. Stuff like that would be so cool and breath fresh air into every level. I realize that we're trepidating outside of typical janitorial duties, but let's be honest, we're already fixing bullet holes, medkit bays, and cleaning up dead bodies and logging their deaths; we're already going beyond typical janitorial duties. You're more of a space janitor/repair man. My Suggestions Beyond what I've said about your previously listed features, here are some additional things to consider. Balance mopping vs other things Using the mop as it is is reeeeeally tedious. I get 3-4 daps on any puddle before having to "reload" via the bucket and I only get 5-6 reloads on a given bucket. Just consider making mopping a little more effective (ie buckets/mops last longer); it feels like 75% of the game is mopping up blood decals and running back and forth between the bucket vender. Afterall, a lot of the fun is not simply mopping up the decals, but actually finding those blood decals, finding the bullet holes then fixing them, and just exploring/appreciating the level. Picking up trash and stuff is weirdly fun and much more entertaining than the mopping portion of the game. Don't let the gameplay become mostly one thing, keep it varied; mopping is sort of taking over the majority of the gameplay. Upgrades that open up possibilities It'd be cool if there were some sort of ability to possibly upgrade the mop to increase it's effectiveness. Don't think of it as making the game easier, think of it as giving the player the opportunity to clean even dirtier and bigger maps than he could previously due to how long it would take. Upgrades should increase the spectrum of problems the player can solve; add gameplay not add some arbitrary stat to make gameplay easier, that's lame and not what people ultimately want. They want more possibilities. Maybe upgrades that allow the player to throw trash instead of just dropping it. This way they can develop new strategies and possibly complete maps that had areas that you had to throw trash in order to actually be able to clean it up for some reason. (throwing it through a hoop, small crevice?) How about a cleaning grenade that can soften up an area but at the same time making it slippery for a while and requiring you to walk in order to not hurt yourself/make a mess? More varied tasks Like was said earlier on your "fix broken equipment" point, there needs to be more things to do and fix; a more varied set of problems to solve. Replace lights, swap blown fuses and flip breaker switches, restock/fix vending machines, replace glass/window panes, mend broken pipes shooting out steam (turn the pipe valve), mend cut wires, replace damaged computer terminals, replace ripped out air vents, etc. All of these tasks would have caveats to them and I know you guys are capable of getting creative with them. For example, your bullet hole fixer can start fires if you're not careful which can damage equipment and create messes and requires you use a circular motion to fix the holes. Similarly, glass panes that need replaced could be fragile and shatter on impact creating tens of glass shards that need picked up. Lights would require that power be flipped off to be replaced possibly making the environment darker and more difficult to navigate. A computer terminal might require you to replace a few components (maybe you'd have to find them on the map), the insert a disk and go through some simple steps to install the OS (you already have the whole computer interface thing figured out, beautifully I might add). Vents would require you bring screws with you, line them up, and drill them in. Environmental Hazards Some levels should turn up the difficulty by adding some environmental hazards to navigate. Maybe a sparking wire that can create fires randomly that is not so easy to shut off at first. Malfunctioning doors that could crush you or at least somehow create a mess in the case that you don't want to bring player death into the picture. (I think you already do for multiplayer, it could be as simple as "the old janitor died, here's a new one, you got cloned, or whatever") Biochemical drums that will spill toxic waste if knocked over. Chemical spills in general that you have to navigate around. Things like this might require that you sort out player damage and death. If that's something you want to avoid then you could refactor the idea of hazards as just things that slow you down or create more work for you to do if you don't navigate them properly. Anyway thanks for considering my ideas if you had the time. I think you guys have tapped into a new spectrum of FPS puzzle/sandbox gameplay that could really take off if some things were fleshed out and developed a bit further. You're on the right track I think! |
|
| Author: | Black Eagle [ Mon Oct 26, 2015 1:59 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: After playing VCD, some suggestions to keep it interesti |
Thanks for the feedback. Things took a very different path from where we started. |
|
| Author: | Slight0 [ Mon Oct 26, 2015 10:29 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: After playing VCD, some suggestions to keep it interesti |
Black Eagle wrote: Thanks for the feedback. Things took a very different path from where we started. Any comments though? Are you planning on adding more fixable things? Were flamethrowers/alien infestation ever implemented? Are they on the roadmap? Are there ever going to be more challenging environments with hazards? Just curious as to what direction VCD is going. Please feel free to tell me that any or all of my ideas are dumb btw, I'm interested in what you think. |
|
| Author: | Black Eagle [ Tue Oct 27, 2015 2:04 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: After playing VCD, some suggestions to keep it interesti |
Yeah, we did want to add those things and many others, but when the technical challenges of everything increased(multiplayer and physics) it became harder to get more interesting stuff like cutting up alien infestations and fire to actually become do-able. We have no plans to add more broken equipment; VCD is coming to the end of its life-cycle and will likely not feature anything more substantial, feature wise. Mopping being too tedious; it certainly is! Unfortunately that's the way of janitoring. While VCD may not need to be so "realistic" about how dull and tedious being a janitor is, it is certainly one of the core elements that make the game what it is. So yeah, making that too easy would just make it feel weaker in a sense. Upgrade; this one is very commonly requested, and I can certainly see the appeal. Why at one point VCD could almost have gone down the usual path of upgrades, careers, experience, reward, etc. However, that would again have made the game less unusual and would certainly have changed the way you feel toward your tasks as a janitor. By keeping it un-rewarding, you are forced to find your own rewards. It's hard to explain, but it's an important distinction, although very subtle. Environmental hazards; I would love to have seen the game with a more "puzzle/obstacle" approach. But in the end it just never happened. The sheer load of fixing required for multiplayer and physics tore away most of the time for that, sadly. The lesson here is: Never make a game with physics AND multiplayer.
|
|
| Page 1 of 1 | All times are UTC - 6 hours |
| Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group http://www.phpbb.com/ |
|