full image - Repost: Mission System Overhaul - Command Center Expansion (from Reddit.com, Mission System Overhaul - Command Center Expansion)
Mining:
Exchanges:
Donations:
PROBLEM:Shorly - current mission system is structureless random unpredictable stream of annoyance (artistic exagerration - not to be taken personally).Its problems:1.Spawning ("choosing") mechanism is a mess - when missions spawn they automatically spawn their corresponding elements: sometimes useful stuff, like cars, and most times infuriating - like well-armed hostile enclaves.Player cannot preemptively decline missions - any type of cancelling is available during the mission and specifically made to look like mission failure.2.Spawning timing is a mess - missions do not cooperate with anything, including each other - they will spawn in batches disregarding what player is doing, including what other missions they also spawn - they can spawn difficult unfair missions (Warlord - weapons for all) in early game, where player cannot win it, or spawn several important missions on different ends of the map, or not spawn anything when player has nothing to do and needs sources of progression elements.3.Mission types are a mess - there are 4 general mission types:1)Enclave missions - missions given by enclaves, they are most normal.- Regular missions.- Special Enclave questlines.2)Ambient goals - missions spawned when player is exploring the map. They are very varied in quality, difficulty and rewards, but generally enjoyable.3)Personal goals - special questlines attached to survivors. These are quite useful and interesting questlines, which exist in big variety, but for some reason mostly spawn only 3-4 of them. The problem with them is that they are too interesting and the game keeps pushing same personal goals when player wants to explore different ones.4)Leader goals - pseudo-questlines - a group of separate missions that vary EXTREMELY in quality and structure.These are WORST types of missions:Builder's questline is basically an attempt at tutorial that asks player to build, craft and change bases.Trader's questline is for some reason results in 3 SAME enclave bonuses - assault on Plague Heart - which is OPPOSITE of what Trader is supposed to be about.Sheriff's missions are probably most interesting, but also have extremely weird desicions - for example, asking player to solve disputes WITHOUT TELLING HIM WHO IS WRONG.Some of the missions can result in amazing unexpected rewards (one sheriff's mission can reward a supply drop WITH TWO RUCKSACKS), some missions can mess up enclave's reputation (sheriff's disputes), some missions can result IN A SURVIVOR LOSS (trader's mission about helping convicts) and some missions are barely missions and more like time wasters ("build gym, build generator, craft 3 consumables, etc."). In general, leader questlines are annoyances that clutter up mission flow and it is better to just not have a leader instead of engaging in them, but what's worse is that they can spawn without player assigning a leader of that type - they just do and player has to deal with them.4.Mission rewards are a mess - missions are a source of almost every important progression element of the game - resources, eqiupment (even special zed-consumables), unique facility mods, and even transport.The problems are:Reward is never connected to the difficulty of the mission - most missions with best rewards are extremely easy and a lot of hard and time-consuming missions have simple reward.Rewards are very random - they fixated to the specific missions, but the mission spawn is pure random - player can sometimes get his hands on incredible advanced equipment and facility mods (Advanced Biochem Station) in the early game, or sometimes clear the map off the Plague Hearts and never see these elements, which he would probably really want and most probably earned at some point.For special enclaves, for example, there are amazing rewards such as variety of supply drops callable once a day - extremely important and useful tools on lethal difficulty, where resources at a deficit. These bonuses depend on a type of special enclave - distillers give food, automechanics give salvaged cars, medics give medicine and soldiers give zero cost followers (yeah, these suck and should give ammo supply drops instead). The problem is that player has zero control which special enclaves and when to spawn - all they have somewhat challenging questlines that also don't care at which level of progression player is and they spawn regardless which bonus player would prefer in their playthrough.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------State of Decay houses an impressive variety of missions, but the system itself has problems in it's fundamental design that need to be addressed:Lack of structure and progression - mission system doesn't correlate difficulty of the task with reward, doesn't take player's progression into accound and don't have any type of progression that would make process of interacting with system coherent and balanced. Absolutely no cooperation with other systems and between missions themselves - most of the times missions spawn against each other and whatever player wants to do. They disrupt the gameplay flow instead of enhancing it - only sometimes they fit perfectly well.Complete lack of control from the player's side - again, because missions are a great source of vast variety of useful progression elements they are perfect to be a tool in player's hands to make desicions, but instead it just shoves random challenges and rewards.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SOLUTION: Give player control for system mission by expanding Command Center facilities' functionality:Instead of enlaves, personal goals and leader missions being spawned randomly (which means removing them from random spawn) - these would be inserted as callable missions in Command Center.Instead of inviting regular enclaves throug radio by paing 150 influence and waiting for cooldown this functionality will be free and has little cooldown, but the amount of invited enclaves will be limited by Command Center's Tier (5 enclaves/10 enclaves/15 enclaves).Instead of special enclaves spawning randomly they will also be invited by the player through Command Center - player would be allowed to have a (2/3/4) amount of special enclaves on the map - one type of each. That way player would tactically decide which questlines he can complete and which bonuses he needs in this run most.Instead of Personal Goals happening randomly player would also "explore survivors' goals" and get to choose whatever Personal Goal he wants to complete - that chosen Personal Goal would be assigned to current survivor. Amount of personal goals available to be completed will depend on the level of Command Center (2/4/6).Leader type missions will be distributed around other mission types ("given" to ambient goals or enclave missions etc.) or completely removed from gameplay.Bounty Broker will no longer be an npc standing somwhere on the map, but a command center menu option, where amount of concurrent bounties will depend on level of Command Center (1/2/3) and the reward will be delivered to the base by Cash Beaumont's henchmen instead of recieved through dialogue.In addition to randomly spawned ambient goals player will be able to "call" for missions by choosing the reward type he needs - the reward quality will depend on levle of Command Center.This approach will allow player to engage with different types of missions at his own pace and according to his goals and needs.The idea behind logic is that by upgrading Command Center community develops more complex and efficient practices and standards of diplomacy and enclave interaction - because of that it recieves respect and notoriety and gains ability to invite more advanced factions, important specialists and general wanderers to their territory to cooperate and help each other.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This is how Command Center progression would look like:I. Basic Command Center:2 outpost slots.5 regular enclaves allowed to be invited.2 special enclaves allowed to be invited.2 personal goals allowed to be explored.1 bounty is allowed to be assigned.Player can call easy ambient missions for basic rewards (20 minutes cooldown): weak weapons, basic consumables, some crafting materials, etc.II. Command Center Level 2:3 outpost slots.10 regular enclaves allowed to be invited.3 special enclaves allowed to be invited.4 personal goals allowed to be explored.2 Bounties are allowed to be assigned.Player can call challenging ambient missions for advanced rewards - (40 minutes cooldown): normal weapons, good consumables, good zed-consumables (zedeye, zedrenaline), good random facility mods, random rucksacks of resources, etc.III. Command Center Level 3:4 outpost slots.15 regular enclaves allowed to be invited.4 special enclaves allowed to be invited.6 personal goals allowed to be explored.3 bounties are allowed to be assigned.Player can call Echo lab, Network and Red Talon ambient missions for special rewards (60 minutes cooldown): special equipment (weaponry), advanced zed-consumables (scentblock, bloater gas grenades), special facility mods (Advanced Biochemical Station).-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------CONCLUSION:I believe that by reworking the mission system this way:A large chunk of annoyance could be eliminated from the game.Command Center facility will receive second layer of interesting and meaningful progression.Base management and global planning will receive additional layer to desicionmaking.System mission will become a lot more enjoyable by allowing player to mainly engage with it on his terms.Vote for this Wishlist suggestion here: https://ift.tt/6u8nhON
Social Media Icons