Starting Equipment

[ThatOtherGuy]

At least one person has complained (and proposed to remedy the problem with a mod), that some random people landing on a desert planet and immediately building solar panels out of scrap metal stretches the imagination a bit. Several things that are built from day 1 feel like they should definitely need some research or at least a minimum of infrastructure.

But how do you then start out? Well, why not drop a survival kit together with the escape pod?

It could contain some basic stuff, like:
- MREs (high nutritional value, keeps indefinitely, animals don`t eat it, neutral aesthetic value)
- a pistol or two
- a small solar cell or wind turbine (very quick setup, no materials required)
- a hatchet (for chopping wood, doubles as a melee weapon)

Some stuff that might become important in later versions, like:
- medicine
- a small pump, if water ever becomes a topic
- a signal flare (why would anybody want to leave our little accidental paradise?)
- boom-rat repellent

You could also pack a suprise into each one, randomized for each drop:
- a map (shows you ruins or geysers)
- performance boosting bio- or cyber-tech
- books (help training skills)
- universal translator (helps with faction relations)
- a deadly virus that instantly kills all your colonists (if you play Randy)

The advantage would be a slower and therefore longer and more meaningful progression, since you can start out rather primitively. Research would be vital, not just a luxury item.

What do you guys think?

[TimMartland]

Boomrat repellent?
I think starting equipment like this would be much better than the 'Big heap of metal and potatoes' approach. It would feel much more...survivory?
You could include prefab: a material that lets you build weak walls, doors and tables. They would take damage in storms and generally be flimsy, but would be good for the initial shelter.

[FtDLulz]

I like it. A lot. I don't really know what the purpose of a virus that kills you at the start would be though. Seems a bit annoying making your characters the way you want and then they just die.

[StorymasterQ]

A map, you say? So...maybe when we land, only the immediate vicinity is visible and not the entire map? The fear of the unknown would eat me alive

For the virus, it shouldn't kill everyone outright, but perhaps incapacitates those who were exposed to it. And by exposed I mean handled the corpse of the virus carrier. May be human, may be boomrat.

[FtDLulz]

For the virus, it shouldn't kill everyone outright, but perhaps incapacitates those who were exposed to it. And by exposed I mean handled the corpse of the virus carrier. May be human, may be boomrat.

Yeah, but maybe instead of incapacitating them, maybe it hurts them so much every second?

[StorymasterQ]

For the virus, it shouldn't kill everyone outright, but perhaps incapacitates those who were exposed to it. And by exposed I mean handled the corpse of the virus carrier. May be human, may be boomrat.

Yeah, but maybe instead of incapacitating them, maybe it hurts them so much every second?

So, FF's Poison status effect? That could do, but there should definitely be a notification for that. Could be a few hours up to a day after the first infection event, but the player needs to be notified that the colonists are losing health after each tick. A red event envelope, plus a note on the top right something like "3 colonists are poisoned" and list the colonists.

[porcupine]

I'd also like to see some randomization on the starting conditions.

Why 3 colonists?

This should be variable, maybe 2-6 say.  Maybe 2 really able colonists made it out, maybe 6 made it out, but they're the useless party, any combination of above.  Something on the more random scale of course (not pre-selected).  A random equipment/food/metal layout (maybe a bunch survived in an escape pod, the ship disintegrated in atmo though for example), imagine the challenge of getting 6 moderately useless people on day 1, with no weapons, and no food/metal.  Or rather 1 really talented SOB, with just a charge rifle, and his wits, etc. 

Obviously this accommodates different starting scenario's/lineups/etc. (the same line at the start of every game gets old after all), I bet the community could come up with at least two dozen [to be randomized] starting scenario's, I know I could come up with at least 4-5 on the spot.

I think this would add a chunk of early colony replay, maybe on a "harder" randy random sort of setup.

[ThatOtherGuy]

The InstaKill-3000 Nanovirus was actually a joke about Randy (sorry, I had lots of "fun" lately). But that is hard to convey online.

Since the focus seems to be on viruses now: I admit that the potential for storytelling is great. Just think of The Walking Dead season 4, which is the closest parallel I can come up with now. Your colony hangs on a thread, a disease slowly wasting away your people, until...until what?

That`s the whole problem, I see with the whole disease thingy. Masterwork Dwarf Fortress recently introduced a number of diseases and it turned out to be an extremely annoying feature. What can you do against a disease? Wait for a ship to pass by and sell you medicine? Send a colonist out to find medicine? Have your doctor research a cure?

How do you make sure that the action happens onscreen and you`re not trapped between being entirely powerless and having an automatic win. If Randy drops 50 snipers on your head, you can at least enjoy the franctic battle and go down in a blaze. If he drops an influenza on you, all you can do is wait (for a cure, for meds, for a rescue party, whatever). Remember the one time the "mysterious blight" destroyed three of your harvests in a row, killing off you budding colony and there was nothing you could do?

I`m not a naysayer, I`m just pointing out that a disease system needs some serious balancing or it becomes a killjoy.

And the survival kit is, I imagine in blissful ignorance of the technical details, a comparatively "cheap suggestion". That`s why I`d like to see it included. I`m not sure if a Fog of War system is necessary for the small maps we currently have. But since there seem to be ideas floating around to have you interact with different areas (like the neighbouring cities in SimCity maybe?), a map might still be useful. Or it could be a geological survey map, showing you the hidden geysers and other deposits.

As for porcupine`s suggestion: Why not make all those parameters part of an options screen with the check-box "Randomize"?