What about changing the grid a bit?

pein · 2019-10-19 00:02:30

Jason came to discord after the Apoc craziness, and we were all talking about some ideas. One thing they mentioned was springs tapping out other springs. Which I don't like too much.

So instead I propose a different system

Instead of increasing the distance between springs or blocking adjacent springs, what about re-purposing some of them?

We don't need that many springs, and the above photo shows how we could have fewer springs but still the same system. A simple diamond grid where every second 40 tiles would have a spring, but diagonally just 40 tiles in any direction to get another spring.

Now, this could potentially limit the good locations so either:
-a bit of change on map generation so a bit higher change to have those springs in green or swamp (or just check first where would they be more optimal and offset the grid 40-40 tiles that way)
- instead of springs blocking out other springs, we would get different materials on those spots

IF the goal is survival, surely shouldn't be an issue that we get other kinds of resources from those spots?
-clay: after the swamp is empty, you need to gather more from another place, which can be around 200 tiles away, that is only viable via horse, and it's a quite long process for average players
you cannot eat clay, but pottery is made of it, so it's more convenient having enough bowls and plates. Additional use would be mixing clay with straw to make adobe, to make buildings, which realistically, never really happens.
-flat rocks: main usage is smithing stone, but we can roll tortillas on it, make paper, use on graves and roads. Kind of funny that Jason introduced it as a feature after ive been using them as desert roads against stepping on snakes.
Anyway, graves can have sentimental value and they aren't making survival easier, roads can be nice, but they aren't really feeding you, I guess you can run to access food quicker, but it also requires someone to make them, so I don't think it's too overpowered.
-limestone: the main usage is plastering walls to make them resist decay but can be easily griefed with a chisel, another use is cisterns, which you see way less than wells, maybe 50 cisterns across the map. The last use is carnitas, which wouldn't staple food even with infinite flat rocks.
-round stones: you got 3-4 activities you use them for, mainly smith, oven, floors, and then some other uses, 4-5 inside city is decent enough, most often there is 2 maybe. Making cisterns isn't too overpowered, even if most people don't know that they could destroy a cistern, no one really would make infinite cisterns anyway, kind of a lot of work. But people might make sharp stones, it seems like a reflex move, when a baby grows up, finds the only round stone and converts it into a sharp one, while there is another 8 sharp one around. Hatchets and stone hoe use up slowly the whole stones of the rift. I mean everything runs out, but seriously? late-game axes are more common than stones?
-big rocks: sue they can go ancient, and you can do some cool flooring, walling with them, but it isn't really a thing that would make your life much easier survival wise. if you could get some with a low chance, would be that powerful I guess.
-paint, chemicals or other things. Alum and other rare minerals are also just cosmetics and we use them up quick, players just do it for 2-3 clothes then yo ucant find any.

So, my suggestion would be, that those spring spots we leave out, would give another type of resource, not free, not infinite, maybe would require time or another type of resource (soil, food, or water?), certain cooldown, so can't be abused but would award patience and effort.

Mixed mode: would give some resources randomly like fishing/shrimping, could be a similar tool for it, some net on a straight shaft.

combine with the other idea going around: other types of metal randomly, with a low chance of getting out some iron.

Maybe players would need to upgrade it or it would only give thrash/nothing.
They could also function in a temporary manner, so you would need to check on them when you can acquire something out of them. It wouldn't be much, but those random resources would be good over time, to make a set of plates, a new cistern, a short road. Maybe make a fire near it, and mothers would try their luck while they feeding babies near the fire.

One other way to make them less efficient would be stone pickaxe which would require 2 shrp stone and a shaft to make it.

If we would make all the springs in the rift, it would last enough for days to come, without any kerosene, it's a bit inconvenient but certainly won't means that we ever get to a point where we couldn't make a new city and just burn kindling to get water with the newcomen setup.

ON the other hand, if we ever get a slack, we can stop running, we got food prepared and some time to do nice things like parks or buildings, it would be a nice boost to that.

DestinyCall · 2019-10-19 00:15:09

I like it.

I think this a better solution to the problem than "tapping out" nearby wells, which can be so easily abused to break good spots.

jasonrohrer · 2019-10-19 06:04:57

Destiny, you think a common griefing tactic will be gathering 10 stones, making a shovel, and then digging a shallow well in a less-than-prime spot so as to tap out the wells in nearby better spots?

And if that happens... then... worst case, you're stuck being forced to settle in a less than ideal spot, which might actually be interesting.

Point is, they can't completely spanner the game by doing this, so there's probably not going to be much motivation to do it.

DestinyCall · 2019-10-19 06:48:10

Griefers have done crazier things in the Rift.

Remember that time we ran out of juniper trees?

pein · 2019-10-19 13:27:29

even now people hiding pies

pickaxing kilns

stealing buckets

even dropping berries one by one on free tiles to make the bushes decay

plus the change you made for delayed stab, makes it very easy to steal things, run away, come back, annoy people and run away again

also disassembling things is faster than making them

overall I think having more building elements would be better, they don't help directly to survive, would shake up the meta to have a bigger amount of clay/plaster or flat rocks

DestinyCall · 2019-10-19 16:32:42

It would might also be interesting if the building supplies were clustered. So one town might get a lot of rich clay deposits and have an abundance of clay for adobe and pottery. Another town might get a bunch of extra flat rocks which could encourage construction of more fast roads. And a different town would end up with a natural bounty of big rocks for making stone buildings. Different towns would have easy access to certain non-essential building supplies and the ready availability of these resources would drive town development and uniqueness.

Towns would naturally become more visually distinct as players were inspired to build up the towns in different ways, depending on which resources were more plentiful.

Keyin · 2019-10-19 19:26:49

DestinyCall wrote:

Different towns would have easy access to certain non-essential building supplies and the ready availability of these resources would drive town development and uniqueness.
Towns would naturally become more visually distinct as players were inspired to build up the towns in different ways, depending on which resources were more plentiful.

+1 to more clustering. The map has always felt like there is no resource that is spawned really far away. No one will go through hassle of trade if everything is at arms length, and all skills are low barrier to entry (only need to look at recipes, items produced by master and apprentice are identical).

I think in order for trade to be less of a hassle than getting it yourself, you would need the resource to be half a life of horse riding away or more.

Why go through the hassle of trying to trade when I can find it rather easily, risk free, within a few hundred tiles?

Also, would be nice if there were no 'essential resources', everything having a viable alternative. Even if it was just a re-skin of the same resource, or a different extraction method.

For example clay could be broken up into earthenware, stoneware, and kaolin. Each has unique uses but could all be used to make some basic clay things. Notably, kaolin is used to make porcelain.

One Hour One Life Forums

#1 2019-10-19 00:02:30

What about changing the grid a bit?

#2 2019-10-19 00:15:09

Re: What about changing the grid a bit?

#3 2019-10-19 06:04:57

Re: What about changing the grid a bit?

#4 2019-10-19 06:48:10

Re: What about changing the grid a bit?

#5 2019-10-19 13:27:29

Re: What about changing the grid a bit?

#6 2019-10-19 16:32:42

Re: What about changing the grid a bit?

#7 2019-10-19 19:26:49

Re: What about changing the grid a bit?

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