Starting with AI Survivors

[Coraxes]

Not sure what the upheaval is about sandbox somehow being inferior to survival. Seeing a lot of people elsewhere making such statements. There is nothing wrong with Sandbox. With games such as this, it is very, very unlikely two people are going to see the game as challenging exactly the same way. Sandbox is a godsend for this and players should feel encouraged to try it out, not shamed.

[ChosunOne]

Here are a few things to remember:

 

There will be other NPCs.  We don't know how they will interact but my hunch is that they will be much more dangerous than the zombies. 

 

I also think that the Achilles heel of NPCs will be that you end up trusting them too much and they will kill you.  It doesn't just have to be the fact that you are low on supplies that will cause NPCs to turn on you.  It could be an action you have taken weeks ago, the position you have assigned them, a friend that they have lost, the list goes on for potential reasons to kill you.  Imagine trying to  control your group of NPCs with North Korean efficiency only to find that they invited a rival group to take you out.  Of course you can try to prevent this as much as you can, but your survival is means guaranteed. 

 

A coordinated attack on your safehouse by other NPCs might leave your group in tatters, bleeding, and desperate for medical supplies.  In that moment who gets priority?  Will you be responsible for who doesn't make it? 

 

The ultimate difference might be that starting with NPCs changes the nature of your threats.  Choosing to survive on your own might mean you think zombies are easier to deal with than other people.  Even if you begin with buddy-buddy AI NPCs, your actions and events outside of your control might turn the closest of them against you.

[EnigmaGrey]

 

 

 

In survival no, in sandbox hell yes !

If you think its too easy even for sandbox you can make game piss easy right now in sandbox (max loot, exp x500).

I would like the option in the main game too, because even without it there is nothing stopping you from joining a group and being like "well dur I guess I'm of ultimatus magnus now". xP

But a key part of that is "finding" the group, not making and starting with it.

But its sandbox, the game is about surviving in zombie world and in sandbox options you can set zombies to none.

Survival - play it just like devs wanted you to play

Sandbox - as you like.

 

Sandbox is limited by the time that can be put into it, though. If they have no  plans to start you off with survivors, there might be no functionality such as proposed by the OP in the game. *Shrug*

We'll have to see what the NPCs come to to know.

[Gustav]

Well now. It's another day for me, and I had an idea I would like to share.

I would like to say this: If anyone mentions that NPC's aren't released yet - yes, I know this, I know this and I know this already. This is for when they eventually are released. (;

 

What if, at the beginning of the game/character creation screen, we could choose if we wanted to start with other survivors we could customise to our hearts extent (using the current character creation options)

 

Perhaps then, you could choose what kind of relationship you have with that person (work colleague, family, married, friends, etc) that strengthens how well you get along with that person... like a bolster in relations that makes it harder to piss them off, or if they like you in a survival group.

 

This sounds like it could be fun, right? Like a kate and baldspot kinda thing?

 

Leave your thoughts, extensions, questions, etc. c:

As long as normal random NPCs still spawn and build up themselves independently I love this idea!

[King jjwpenguin]

I dislike the idea of starting with it but i would like to see that some people may be known to the player. I'm not saying everyone knows you but im saying like a few survivors may be a friend so you don't need to befriend them as much or they may be a work rival so it may make the situation harder.

[Dan_hibiki]

I agree and disagree.

Agree because it reminds me to the begining of state of decay, and would be nice to see it as optional feature.

And disagree in the part when you say that you can create your companion's traits, i mean, creating a OP crew would make the game easier.

[Some Clever Username]

I want this but it is more of a sandbox thing!

 

It's also too awesome for words. I want this real bad.

[Kajin]

I know I've said this a thousand times, but I think it'd be a better all around feature if the NPCs you started with (in the main Survival mode, at least) had some kind of limiting handicap. Like, say, the NPC broke their leg and the best they can do is hobble around the base and heal while you expend vital effort and resources keeping them alive. But it's worth it in the end because their leg eventually heals and you have a loyal and competent ally from then on out. Or they get eaten by zombies and you've gained nothing for all the effort. Or you get eaten trying to get them out.

 

That would be a brutally fun way to play. Just check the "Start in a Group" listing and it gives you a group with some kind of dysfunction or another that you have to work around and change your method of play to compensate for it. Interesting stuff like that.

[Some Clever Username]

I know I've said this a thousand times, but I think it'd be a better all around feature if the NPCs you started with (in the main Survival mode, at least) had some kind of limiting handicap. Like, say, the NPC broke their leg and the best they can do is hobble around the base and heal while you expend vital effort and resources keeping them alive. But it's worth it in the end because their leg eventually heals and you have a loyal and competent ally from then on out. Or they get eaten by zombies and you've gained nothing for all the effort. Or you get eaten trying to get them out.

 

That would be a brutally fun way to play. Just check the "Start in a Group" listing and it gives you a group with some kind of dysfunction or another that you have to work around and change your method of play to compensate for it. Interesting stuff like that.

That sounds cool but I would also like to play as a dude and his brother fighting the apocalypse without having to fix his leg or something else. But if they do add this in a I guess hardcore players could give them a dysfunction if you want.

[Kajin]

I imagine it could be more lenient in sandbox. But that would take fun out of the game so I'd avoid it, personally.

[Redwood]

I believe they said you could start with a wife or somthing like that I don't believe they spawn with you and you would have to find them this was a long time ago so it may have changed and not sure if it's just for sandbox

[syfy]

I believe they said you could start with a wife or somthing like that I don't believe they spawn with you and you would have to find them this was a long time ago so it may have changed and not sure if it's just for sandbox

if that had been said before, it would have surely been quoted or referenced in here by now. probably by Enigma or Rathlord

[gorolho]

I agree and disagree.

Agree because it reminds me to the begining of state of decay, and would be nice to see it as optional feature.

And disagree in the part when you say that you can create your companion's traits, i mean, creating a OP crew would make the game easier.

 

But the thing is: people will decide either to make an OP crew or make a crew which work together/a crew which follows the player will or needs (see as a medic expert, engineer, cooking chef, etc). The second part is what would make the game interesting, to create your own storyline, try to see this thread idea as a "you can either do x or y", you don't have to make an OP crew, even if you have the power to do so.

I believe they said you could start with a wife or somthing like that I don't believe they spawn with you and you would have to find them this was a long time ago so it may have changed and not sure if it's just for sandbox

 

That would be cool also, it would bring to the game new ways of playing, like missions and storylines created by the own player. Today what we can do in-game is basically "I'll have to go to x place and secure that place", "I must stay in my first house and clean the neighborhood". With NPCs we would have some interesting missions like "I have to get my brother to our uncle's farm the fast as possible".

[Redwood]

It was in a mondoid a long time ago. I could be thinking of somthing else (it was atleast 1 or 2 years ago) I'll see if I can find it

[King jjwpenguin]

I think i saw it too but i cant seem to find it.

[Ewok]

You're not thinking about Kate and Baldspot are you? The old tutorial that is planning to make a trimphant return one day? That's the only official reference I've ever heard about that involves starting with an 'NPC'.

[Suomiboi]

 

I believe they said you could start with a wife or somthing like that I don't believe they spawn with you and you would have to find them this was a long time ago so it may have changed and not sure if it's just for sandbox

if that had been said before, it would have surely been quoted or referenced in here by now. probably by Enigma or Rathlord

 

In before either.   

It was in a mondoid a long time ago. I could be thinking of somthing else (it was atleast 1 or 2 years ago) I'll see if I can find it

Found it:

 

Q. “With introduction of NPC’s, can we expect something like ‘up to 3 NPC friends’ on spawn, with customizable looks, names, professions and even your relationship to them?” from LeoIvanov.

 

A. We actually have some interesting plans regarding this. Certainly in character customization you should be able to specify that you’re married, or have a brother/sister who may be around. One day we’d like to do a kinda G.O.A.T test style Choose Your Own Adventure before you start playing (you could revert to standard character customization if you wished).

 

This would detailing key events in your life and choosing what you do, to shape your character. Then perhaps a bunch of questions about the day of the apocalypse. Were you travelling down the highway to meet your wife from work maybe, or laid in bed after pulling a sickie at work?

 

This would define your starting circumstances, and may add additional quests for your character to try and complete during the game, such as reuniting with lost loved ones and so on.

This is a while off, of course, but it’s something we’ve talked about a lot. (Lemmy)

From here.

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[b133d_4_u]

This would be a great addition! But, I agree with Kajin in saying that it should be nerfed in some way. One idea is to link it with the traits system. Maybe each extra person could cost around 2-3 points, and you'd have to accept more negative traits in order to get more starting NPC's.

 

EDIT: Also, I loved that State of Decay allowed you to start off with other survivors. They did that so well, in my opinion. They didn't just hand it to you, either. They made you work for it, and once you got them, you had to keep them happy and healthy. When one person died, everyone got sad. That made sense. If someone got bitten, you had the choice of taking them out yourself, or waiting to see if they got better. That provided a moral dilemma. I'm sure the devs don't want to copy SoD, but I think if they implemented this feature, they should make it resemble SoD. Choosing to survive on your own would mean less babysitting, and thus would provide a viable alternative to starting with a group.

[Svarog]

I'd love this in sandbox. I'm a roleplayer, anything that allows for creation of more immersive scenarios is fkin awesome.

Also, I don't really understand the argument of survival vs sandbox. The difference between the two is that survival is sandbox with dev's preset options. Personally, I found survival too easy. Sandbox is a blessing for that reason, I love eight months after the apocalypse preset or starting off with no power and all loot at very low.