Base SI Durability / Seasonal Effects, Weather / Power management
Tyr07
Join Date: 2012-11-25 Member: 173208Members
Join Date: 2012-11-25 Member: 173208Members
Hello everyone,
I've read a few suggestions for temperature and had my own ideas I wanted to submit and contribute. I'm sure some of this is definitely on the drawing board, but...I really want to see some of this!
This will also involve SI.
Water temperature would drop based on depth. An additional update including seasons would be nice as well, being an alien planet it makes perfect sense for seasons not to be too significant in length to allow people to enjoy a wide range.
SI: Creatures attacking a base is one method of adding dynamic SI fun to the system, but sounds more difficult to repulse. SI needs to remain fun, and this game isn't about killing creatures so much for defense, so going to skip ideas on how that should work.
SI Durability and maintenance:
- <font color="#FFBC05">Corrosion:</font> Being near acidic waters could randomly (slowly) reduce SI from your maximum SI. (Think volcano areas)
- Random rooms can get breaches from this, calculate per part, not on entire base. Specifically calculate a parts individual SI and not just all parts taking damage from being below the SI threashold.
- SI values calculated for damage per part even from pressure. E.G Parts of your base with low enough SI would slowly take damage and leak, reinforcing your base affects an area, not entire base
This would mean some less well maintained parts of a base, perhaps maintenance tunnels or the such you would envision, might be flooded more! (Cool for abandoned bases look yes?)
- Value for amount of water entering vs automatic drains. E.G If it's slow enough, a room might be partially flooded for a long time, not an emergency, but cool for atmosphere, and something to be delt with eventually.
- <font color="#FFBC05">Drains </font> should be a device or unit attached to a wall / exterior. giving control to add more drains to the system for faster draining or better compenstation.
- <font color="#FFBC05">Dirty base:</font> Having water enter the base or as parts get damage could apply rust, dirt and damage effects to visually provide information of degradation of parts.
- Repairing parts wouldn't necessarily "clean" them, allowing a rusted old falling apart look for those who enjoy such visuals. As this is cosmetic, and for fun, cheap and easy tool to clean like a sonic cleaner using basic easy to get parts
- <font color="#FFBC05">Bases should slowly lose SI just through aging</font>. This isn't purposely to increase the difficulty of the game, as to add a little dynamic fun, so it should be a slow process that will add small leaks eventually, then big ones. Like a week or weeks (in game time) before enough damage is accumulated. Bases with an over abundance of SI take even longer.
- <font color="#FFBC05">Components should slowly degrade and break.</font> Not all, it would get annoying, but a few simple ticket items to add to some fun of maintaining a base. Examples: Power generators - solar panels could get a algae growing on them underwater or dust build up reducing effectiveness or nullifying it, requiring cleaning to get power up
- <font color="#FFBC05">Heat exchangers</font> (Read cold stuff below) build up ice on the exterior of the base and need to have it broken off (welder or knife would work)
- <font color="#FFBC05">Oxygen should be created out of water using a device</font>, maybe even make a use for hydrogen with an electrolytic separator. This part should also require maintenance or stops / reduces in function.
- Oxygen should be able to be stored in tanks, so once tanks are full, you can save power for awhile for other things by turning off the oxygen generator.
- O2 compressor if you choose to run pipes in from the surface.
Power Management:
- <font color="#FFBC05">Lights and oxygen should consume electricity</font>. This makes energy storage important if you use solar or other things as power will continually drain (Slowly, more for immersion than difficulty) if not producing enough / any power.
- <font color="#FFBC05">Ability to turn off oxygen production / lights.</font>
- <font color="#FFBC05">Ability to toggle power for multiple devices,</font> battery chargers, for example, in addition to other items I've recommended.
- Solar panels / generators should have hardly any power storage. Allow bases to use power cells, new item, power cell storage. Lets you control how much power you want to store.
Also a great feature so that you can still make use of existing power cells and just swap them out as needed for say, the cyclops, and have the base charge the dead ones.
(Shortcut would just letting power cell chargers also be cell storage that the base can draw upon)
- Cyclops power on and off, have it slowly drain power (I mean in a not annoying way drain of slow, like fairly slow), giving reason if you're going to be away for bit to power it down.
Effects of cold temperature:
- Reduces SI. As temperature drops, you suffer SI penalties, reducing effective max SI.
- Internally base gets cold, which affects base durability, eventually causing leaks and causing you to lose hp (very slowly) over time.
- <font color="#FFBC05">Ability to install a heater in a room to increase the temperature through out the base</font>, limited range, further away, cooler the room. Airlocks should trap heat to make a room more effectively warm.
- <font color="#FFBC05">Frost effect on outside of base, and on windows, requiring heat to prevent it</font>, or sonic cleaner to clean it(mentioned above)
- Depending on difficulty level, this can be more of a cosmetic effect (Or an option to turn it off), or something that even provides a bonus when warm, like extra HP, vs negative affects from being cold at higher difficultiesl.
- Cold should not effect seamoth, cyclops, or that hand held thinger, it has moving parts that generate heat, leave em alone. (Externally for moving)
- Possibly increase energy usage of seamoth and cyclops (Since we can recharge them power cells now, thanks!) in cold environments to keep you warm.
- If cyclops or based powered down, ice builds up on the interior giving an icey abandoned look,
Seasonal effects / weather - Conceptually I envision this as a visual representation for different events within the game besides possibly just looking pretty which can include weather effects.
- Cold season - increases and or adds above affects listed (Winter). This would potentially add ice to the surface of the ocean as well, as an added difficulty option requiring you to break through the ice to get air from the surface.
- O2 compressors require more maintenance due to ice build up on intake (See SI durability concepts for oxygen)
- Stormy weather - Increases creature aggressivenes / spawns, more aggressive creatures, maybe some that only get stirred up by stormy weather?
Naturally this causes waves, overcast making it darker so lights need to be used more but not as dark as night. Thunderstorms could potentially damage surface equipment or the electrical discharges damage the base (You're safe thanks to your rubber suit!)
- Summer would be our current default weather.
- Rain could be a boon, more fish in the water, calmer waters.
- Other alien weathers for cool effects and interesting spawns and behaviors? I'd love to see suggestions, please comment below!
Some of these effects can be expanded on for resource regeneration. To give a more dynamic feel of say, fishing to extinction, is that it's a much slower respawn rate, but say a storm or rainy day occurs, and respawn rates are increased to balance the shortage. Lightning strikes could cause sand to turn into glass, regenerating a glass resource. (I love glass, regular glass maybe should be gatherable from sand and processed into glass.)
Some UI Changes - I love immersion, I love feeling like I'm there. Heck, soon I'll probably get an HTC Vive. So some UI enhancements I would love:
- Switch to an interactive physical object based system. This means I put a power cell or battery in my hot bar. I walk up to a power cell storage slot and click on it.
My character physically takes the power cell from my hand, inserts it, and activates it. E.G Insert, and twist or some effect.
Same deal for removing them, I click on the power cell, my character twists, turning off the cell / disconnecting it, then pulls it out, and it shows up in my hot bar if available or inventory.
No menu interaction required for these steps.
- Add interaction button / controls in a similar fashion for some above mentions, such as light switches, activating and deactivating equipment.
Some of these ideas would add a new layer of survival and difficulty, so should very much be optional components for the parts that increase difficulty.
Personally if games do not dynamically challenge me I get bored rather quickly, I'd put myself in the 'hard core' category of gamers when it comes to survival, and not everyone enjoys games in the same way. So creative mode changes to remove additional difficulty factors would likely be a good inclusion, and simply options when starting a survival mode game, if additional effects such as weather beyond cosmetic changes, etc, should be enabled.
Please add any ideas or suggestions you have that relates to my above ideas to this post. I love fantasizing about what this game could be. (I already love what it's become)
I've read a few suggestions for temperature and had my own ideas I wanted to submit and contribute. I'm sure some of this is definitely on the drawing board, but...I really want to see some of this!
This will also involve SI.
Water temperature would drop based on depth. An additional update including seasons would be nice as well, being an alien planet it makes perfect sense for seasons not to be too significant in length to allow people to enjoy a wide range.
SI: Creatures attacking a base is one method of adding dynamic SI fun to the system, but sounds more difficult to repulse. SI needs to remain fun, and this game isn't about killing creatures so much for defense, so going to skip ideas on how that should work.
SI Durability and maintenance:
- <font color="#FFBC05">Corrosion:</font> Being near acidic waters could randomly (slowly) reduce SI from your maximum SI. (Think volcano areas)
- Random rooms can get breaches from this, calculate per part, not on entire base. Specifically calculate a parts individual SI and not just all parts taking damage from being below the SI threashold.
- SI values calculated for damage per part even from pressure. E.G Parts of your base with low enough SI would slowly take damage and leak, reinforcing your base affects an area, not entire base
This would mean some less well maintained parts of a base, perhaps maintenance tunnels or the such you would envision, might be flooded more! (Cool for abandoned bases look yes?)
- Value for amount of water entering vs automatic drains. E.G If it's slow enough, a room might be partially flooded for a long time, not an emergency, but cool for atmosphere, and something to be delt with eventually.
- <font color="#FFBC05">Drains </font> should be a device or unit attached to a wall / exterior. giving control to add more drains to the system for faster draining or better compenstation.
- <font color="#FFBC05">Dirty base:</font> Having water enter the base or as parts get damage could apply rust, dirt and damage effects to visually provide information of degradation of parts.
- Repairing parts wouldn't necessarily "clean" them, allowing a rusted old falling apart look for those who enjoy such visuals. As this is cosmetic, and for fun, cheap and easy tool to clean like a sonic cleaner using basic easy to get parts
- <font color="#FFBC05">Bases should slowly lose SI just through aging</font>. This isn't purposely to increase the difficulty of the game, as to add a little dynamic fun, so it should be a slow process that will add small leaks eventually, then big ones. Like a week or weeks (in game time) before enough damage is accumulated. Bases with an over abundance of SI take even longer.
- <font color="#FFBC05">Components should slowly degrade and break.</font> Not all, it would get annoying, but a few simple ticket items to add to some fun of maintaining a base. Examples: Power generators - solar panels could get a algae growing on them underwater or dust build up reducing effectiveness or nullifying it, requiring cleaning to get power up
- <font color="#FFBC05">Heat exchangers</font> (Read cold stuff below) build up ice on the exterior of the base and need to have it broken off (welder or knife would work)
- <font color="#FFBC05">Oxygen should be created out of water using a device</font>, maybe even make a use for hydrogen with an electrolytic separator. This part should also require maintenance or stops / reduces in function.
- Oxygen should be able to be stored in tanks, so once tanks are full, you can save power for awhile for other things by turning off the oxygen generator.
- O2 compressor if you choose to run pipes in from the surface.
Power Management:
- <font color="#FFBC05">Lights and oxygen should consume electricity</font>. This makes energy storage important if you use solar or other things as power will continually drain (Slowly, more for immersion than difficulty) if not producing enough / any power.
- <font color="#FFBC05">Ability to turn off oxygen production / lights.</font>
- <font color="#FFBC05">Ability to toggle power for multiple devices,</font> battery chargers, for example, in addition to other items I've recommended.
- Solar panels / generators should have hardly any power storage. Allow bases to use power cells, new item, power cell storage. Lets you control how much power you want to store.
Also a great feature so that you can still make use of existing power cells and just swap them out as needed for say, the cyclops, and have the base charge the dead ones.
(Shortcut would just letting power cell chargers also be cell storage that the base can draw upon)
- Cyclops power on and off, have it slowly drain power (I mean in a not annoying way drain of slow, like fairly slow), giving reason if you're going to be away for bit to power it down.
Effects of cold temperature:
- Reduces SI. As temperature drops, you suffer SI penalties, reducing effective max SI.
- Internally base gets cold, which affects base durability, eventually causing leaks and causing you to lose hp (very slowly) over time.
- <font color="#FFBC05">Ability to install a heater in a room to increase the temperature through out the base</font>, limited range, further away, cooler the room. Airlocks should trap heat to make a room more effectively warm.
- <font color="#FFBC05">Frost effect on outside of base, and on windows, requiring heat to prevent it</font>, or sonic cleaner to clean it(mentioned above)
- Depending on difficulty level, this can be more of a cosmetic effect (Or an option to turn it off), or something that even provides a bonus when warm, like extra HP, vs negative affects from being cold at higher difficultiesl.
- Cold should not effect seamoth, cyclops, or that hand held thinger, it has moving parts that generate heat, leave em alone. (Externally for moving)
- Possibly increase energy usage of seamoth and cyclops (Since we can recharge them power cells now, thanks!) in cold environments to keep you warm.
- If cyclops or based powered down, ice builds up on the interior giving an icey abandoned look,
Seasonal effects / weather - Conceptually I envision this as a visual representation for different events within the game besides possibly just looking pretty which can include weather effects.
- Cold season - increases and or adds above affects listed (Winter). This would potentially add ice to the surface of the ocean as well, as an added difficulty option requiring you to break through the ice to get air from the surface.
- O2 compressors require more maintenance due to ice build up on intake (See SI durability concepts for oxygen)
- Stormy weather - Increases creature aggressivenes / spawns, more aggressive creatures, maybe some that only get stirred up by stormy weather?
Naturally this causes waves, overcast making it darker so lights need to be used more but not as dark as night. Thunderstorms could potentially damage surface equipment or the electrical discharges damage the base (You're safe thanks to your rubber suit!)
- Summer would be our current default weather.
- Rain could be a boon, more fish in the water, calmer waters.
- Other alien weathers for cool effects and interesting spawns and behaviors? I'd love to see suggestions, please comment below!
Some of these effects can be expanded on for resource regeneration. To give a more dynamic feel of say, fishing to extinction, is that it's a much slower respawn rate, but say a storm or rainy day occurs, and respawn rates are increased to balance the shortage. Lightning strikes could cause sand to turn into glass, regenerating a glass resource. (I love glass, regular glass maybe should be gatherable from sand and processed into glass.)
Some UI Changes - I love immersion, I love feeling like I'm there. Heck, soon I'll probably get an HTC Vive. So some UI enhancements I would love:
- Switch to an interactive physical object based system. This means I put a power cell or battery in my hot bar. I walk up to a power cell storage slot and click on it.
My character physically takes the power cell from my hand, inserts it, and activates it. E.G Insert, and twist or some effect.
Same deal for removing them, I click on the power cell, my character twists, turning off the cell / disconnecting it, then pulls it out, and it shows up in my hot bar if available or inventory.
No menu interaction required for these steps.
- Add interaction button / controls in a similar fashion for some above mentions, such as light switches, activating and deactivating equipment.
Some of these ideas would add a new layer of survival and difficulty, so should very much be optional components for the parts that increase difficulty.
Personally if games do not dynamically challenge me I get bored rather quickly, I'd put myself in the 'hard core' category of gamers when it comes to survival, and not everyone enjoys games in the same way. So creative mode changes to remove additional difficulty factors would likely be a good inclusion, and simply options when starting a survival mode game, if additional effects such as weather beyond cosmetic changes, etc, should be enabled.
Please add any ideas or suggestions you have that relates to my above ideas to this post. I love fantasizing about what this game could be. (I already love what it's become)
Comments
That would be really nice. Maybe a vacuum tube system or pressurized water to send items around the base to an exit node. Could spit out some water for a cool effect at the retrival point.
how about seismic events. earthquakes that damage your base krakatoa eruptions that blot out the sky for a few days
cosmic events. comets or meteors slamming into the ocean causing a tidal wave (spawns a lot of chunks and causes debris to fly everywhere, possibly smashing your base and subs)
Though! I have wanted a dimmer switch in the base so I can enjoy the spooky environments.
I thought that some unique atmosphere event would be really sweet, maybe some sort of ion storm that shuts down power, or maybe not power, but just the lights themselves.
It's true, its designed to withstand it, but nothing said without maintenance for an extended period of time. Even on earth we have tools and equipment designed to 'withstand' various environments, but the environments are still hard on the equipment, increasing the required maintenance.