A new mechanic to improve late game: Skill specialization after lvl 10 (Crafting skills only)

[ZonaryQuasar]

Hello, it's me again with another suggestion!

Sorry if I'm "spamming" the forum with them. Often they are small in description but large in scope, so I'm creating a thread for them when I think that the suggestion could be better discussed with it's own thread, instead of posting on the "Small but important" thread. I know that this idea would take a huuuuuuuuuge time and effort to implement, so I'm completely fine if nobody likes the idea, but I want to suggest anyways (brainstorming is the key here).

 

This time, my suggestion is thinking about the late game experience:

Skill specialization (for crafting skills only, of course).

 

After you reach lvl 10 in a determined crafting skill (let's take Carpentry for example), you will have two different specializations to choose (that cannot be changed later). But how's that going to happen? This "two specialization options" could come in a book/magazine form, but more rare than the other books (spawn them just like the other books, you could find one even without having the skill, so you can keep it on your base for later). So after you read one of the two specialization books, you can't read the other.

 

This would be applied only for characters with professions. That means that the player could not create a unemployed character and reach lvl 10 in all crafting skills and specializing in each skills. 

The carpentry specialization would only be possible to Carpenters, for example. First aid specialization only to medics, and so on.

 

The specialization would open more recipes and gameplay options for the player to use, making each character more unique and thus increase replayability. The two spec options should be equally attractive to make players really weights on the balance of what is better for their character build. Also the idea of the specs is to improve the character just a little bit, and not making them the best professional of all time. It would be even better if all the spec options ties up with a new gameplay mechanic, but that may not be possible for every skill (and could be much more difficult to implement).

 

The specialization options could be something like this (these are only my suggestions, but be free to change/add your own ideas that can be way better than mine!):

 

Carpentry:

• Furniture Specialist (that of course would open more furnitures to craft)
• House construction Specialist (a new type of wooden wall with a different texture/more resistent maybe? or just more new wooden things to craft, for example a wooden fence gate, different kinds of wooden floors and walls, etc)

 

Cooking

• Vegs and fruits Cooker Specialist (more recipes with... vegs and fruits?)
• Meat Cooker Specialist (more recipes with... yeah you guessed right, meat)

 

Electrical

• Small electronics Specialist (can create new and unique kinds of small eletronics).
• Generator specialist (can create a new type of generator that consume less fuel I think?)

 

Metalworking

• Tools specialist (create better and more durable metal tools)
• Weld specialist (better at creating metal walls and fences or everything that needs to be welded)

 

Farming/First Aid/Mechanics

• I couldn't think of anything plausible for these.

 

Feedback is appreciated! Thanks

 

 

 

[providence1111]

I have always liked the idea of skill trees, but I don't exactly know how this directly adapts within the game in it's current state.   

 

A tree system could force players to make decisions during character progression which would end up with more specialized builds and combinations of skills and traits that would make gameplay very different between playthrus.  But skill trees in regards to say, crafting, it a lot less interesting.  For instance, choosing between woodworking and metalworking, or what kinds of autos you can repair doesn't necessarily make the game "more fun".  

 

In this regard the only thing that makes sense in a skill tree would be to gain specific traits\attributes at certain increments.  For Instance, maybe at level 4 carpentry you can choose to either get a speed boost or a strength boost.  Maybe at level 4 Aiming, you can choose to have higher accuracy at short range vs long range (sniper build vs cqc).  With melee maybe you choose between knockback, strength or speed, and with blades you choose between stealth, speed or slower blade deterioration.

 

This at the very least has the makings of producing more specialized builds over time, as long as it's well balanced and each attribute chosen makes and impact and none of them feel too overpowered.  

 

[pzfreak]

Farming:

indoor farming - gives time boost for indoor plants and expand time for outdoor ones

outdoor farming - boos to time outdoor and extend indoor

 

1st Aid:

Heal others

Heal yourself

 

Mechanics:

faster swapping parts for

stnadard

or heavy duty

or sport

cars

 

Forging:

1. better food

2. better materials find

 

 

 

 

 

[ZonaryQuasar]

17 hours ago, providence1111 said:

I have always liked the idea of skill trees, but I don't exactly know how this directly adapts within the game in it's current state.   

 

A tree system could force players to make decisions during character progression which would end up with more specialized builds and combinations of skills and traits that would make gameplay very different between playthrus.  But skill trees in regards to say, crafting, it a lot less interesting.  For instance, choosing between woodworking and metalworking, or what kinds of autos you can repair doesn't necessarily make the game "more fun".  

 

In this regard the only thing that makes sense in a skill tree would be to gain specific traits\attributes at certain increments.  For Instance, maybe at level 4 carpentry you can choose to either get a speed boost or a strength boost.  Maybe at level 4 Aiming, you can choose to have higher accuracy at short range vs long range (sniper build vs cqc).  With melee maybe you choose between knockback, strength or speed, and with blades you choose between stealth, speed or slower blade deterioration.

 

This at the very least has the makings of producing more specialized builds over time, as long as it's well balanced and each attribute chosen makes and impact and none of them feel too overpowered.  

 

 

Maybe this is the right path! And much much easier to implement as well. 

 

[ZonaryQuasar]

17 hours ago, providence1111 said:

I have always liked the idea of skill trees, but I don't exactly know how this directly adapts within the game in it's current state.   

 

A tree system could force players to make decisions during character progression which would end up with more specialized builds and combinations of skills and traits that would make gameplay very different between playthrus.  But skill trees in regards to say, crafting, it a lot less interesting.  For instance, choosing between woodworking and metalworking, or what kinds of autos you can repair doesn't necessarily make the game "more fun".  

 

In this regard the only thing that makes sense in a skill tree would be to gain specific traits\attributes at certain increments.  For Instance, maybe at level 4 carpentry you can choose to either get a speed boost or a strength boost.  Maybe at level 4 Aiming, you can choose to have higher accuracy at short range vs long range (sniper build vs cqc).  With melee maybe you choose between knockback, strength or speed, and with blades you choose between stealth, speed or slower blade deterioration.

 

This at the very least has the makings of producing more specialized builds over time, as long as it's well balanced and each attribute chosen makes and impact and none of them feel too overpowered.  

 

Maybe this is the right path! And much much easier to implement as well 

 

1 hour ago, pzfreak said:

Farming:

indoor farming - gives time boost for indoor plants and expand time for outdoor ones

outdoor farming - boos to time outdoor and extend indoor

 

1st Aid:

Heal others

Heal yourself

 

Mechanics:

faster swapping parts for

stnadard

or heavy duty

or sport

cars

 

Forging:

1. better food

2. better materials find

 

Maybe Indoor farming could be disabled until the player gets the specialization, instead of just giving a boost? I always find it weird that my character without any farming knowledge can put dirt on the ground and create a greenhouse lol that should be for experts only!

Edited July 2, 2019 by ZonaryQuasar
Somehow my commentary got duplicated, how do I delete the first one?

[Burger_Time]

Tbh all of this stuff looks too gamey to me. Why can't you be good at both if you learn it for a long time?

[ZonaryQuasar]

6 minutes ago, Burger_Time said:

Tbh all of this stuff looks too gamey to me. Why can't you be good at both if you learn it for a long time?

 

I think that let's say a Carpenter couldn't learn for example First Aid enough to be specialized at. Even with all the time you have ingame, even if you survive for like 5 years, how would you specialize in a field in medicine using only the few books you collected from the towns in Kentucky? Unless you had some study before. And also because if you could specialize in everything, you would be too overpowered and wouldn't encourage to create other characters. And because I never saw for example an expert in carpentry being also a doctor. Or you are a Ron Swanson or you are an Ann Perkins. You can't be both!

[Burger_Time]

6 minutes ago, ZonaryQuasar said:

 

I think that let's say a Carpenter couldn't learn for example First Aid enough to be specialized at. Even with all the time you have ingame, even if you survive for like 5 years, how would you specialize in a field in medicine using only the few books you collected from the towns in Kentucky? Unless you had some study before. And also because if you could specialize in everything, you would be too overpowered and wouldn't encourage to create other characters. And because I never saw for example an expert in carpentry being also a doctor. Or you are a Ron Swanson or you are an Ann Perkins. You can't be both!

I don't mean two different skills. Being worse at one because you learn the other skill is completely fine. But specialization thing seems like an unnecessary restriction.

[ZonaryQuasar]

3 minutes ago, Burger_Time said:

I don't mean two different skills. Being worse at one because you learn the other skill is completely fine. But specialization thing seems like an unnecessary restriction.

Oh you mean why can't the player gets the two specs from one skill? My idea at first was that a person cannot specialize in two fields within the same area of study (for example a medic that can't be both pediatrician and dermatologist). But I see your point, it could just be "reach lvl 10 > read all specialization books of that skill > profit". Something in me just loves skill trees and games where I have to carefully think what I want from my character build. I played too much RPGs like this lol