Limitless Sandbox Trait

[Luingar]

Simple suggestion. In sandbox mode, where we have the option of making zombies pathetic infantile creatures that couldn't tear their way out of a paper sack, much less into your flesh, surrounded by loot galore, you should also have no limits on traits.

No limit meaning you can have all the positive traits with none of the negatives if you choose, and possibly have the ability to take traits multiple times (stacking)

 

that way you can be a superman who can carry the world on his shoulders and be extremely resillient to infection, surrounded by strong and fast zombies that will destroy you at a moments notice.

[Kajin]

I thought it might have been a good idea to add trait points to the unemployed profession by default so there'd actually be a point to using it.

[Scyoni]

+1 to the unemployed thing.

 

That said, I do think sandbox mode ought to have an option for 'starting skill points'. If you wanted to make a super character because it's the sandbox, I don't see why not. *shrug* and whenever multiplayer becomes a thing, you could use it to force a handicap and make your friends use negative traits.

[Rathlord]

I thought it might have been a good idea to add trait points to the unemployed profession by default so there'd actually be a point to using it.

 

I think the actual point of unemployed was that there were no special things. It's not really meant to be a class, more a lack thereof. Used mostly for challenges and role playing, but also for baseline testing and similar.

 

I get that sandbox is so people can tailor the game how they want but I think a line does have to be drawn at some point. As the crux of the entire game is playing as a 'normal person' I'm not sure I'd be down for changing this; but it would be pretty easy to just modify the files yourself, or for someone to introduce a mod for it.

 

Since the devs don't really want this to be a "running and gunning superman" kind of game, even adding this option seems a little unlikely- people would make let's plays with those options etc. and the game would be not only falsely represented but also somewhat maligned by the entire idea of it.

 

All of this is, of course, just my opinion and doesn't reflect those of the developers necessarily.

[zombo]

If you added all the traits together, would you even have a "superman"?  Seems like your character is so weak and fragile in this game, loads of traits added on wouldn't actually make you very super .  But yeah, I get the idea of not wanting people to represent the game that way.

[EnigmaGrey]

There's a Mod for That.

[Rathlord]

I think the biggest benefit would be the tremendous lack of resources you'd need: very little food or water.

[Luingar]

I think the biggest benefit would be the tremendous lack of resources you'd need: very little food or water.

Not to mention the primary use i could think of this would be making myself as a person. While i do need a lot of sleep and am nearsighted , I'm a very light eater and i'm quite strong and able to carry a lot before being weighed down and while i do get sick somewhat frequently, the nearly never effect me very much. If i attempt to create myself in game as close as possible, i come out to -7 trait points. This makes me sad.

[MrZombifiedGamer]

I like it, I vote it up.

[Roach]

I think the actual point of unemployed was that there were no special things. It's not really meant to be a class, more a lack thereof. Used mostly for challenges and role playing, but also for baseline testing and similar.

 

I get that sandbox is so people can tailor the game how they want but I think a line does have to be drawn at some point. As the crux of the entire game is playing as a 'normal person' I'm not sure I'd be down for changing this; but it would be pretty easy to just modify the files yourself, or for someone to introduce a mod for it.

 

Since the devs don't really want this to be a "running and gunning superman" kind of game, even adding this option seems a little unlikely- people would make let's plays with those options etc. and the game would be not only falsely represented but also somewhat maligned by the entire idea of it.

 

All of this is, of course, just my opinion and doesn't reflect those of the developers necessarily.

I agree with this, you shouldn't encourage taking an easy route which ruins the entire element of fear and caution (which is what makes this game great).

[k12314]

Not to mention the primary use i could think of this would be making myself as a person. While i do need a lot of sleep and am nearsighted , I'm a very light eater and i'm quite strong and able to carry a lot before being weighed down and while i do get sick somewhat frequently, the nearly never effect me very much. If i attempt to create myself in game as close as possible, i come out to -7 trait points. This makes me sad.

 

I have the same problem. I am a light eater, brave, and very resilient to disease and sickness, but I am rather weak and out of shape. But I still don't have enough points to create myself.

[Rathlord]

Like has been said, it's easy to mod it if you need to. Also, I don't think many people have as many positive traits as they think; maybe that's just me being a cynic.

[tomga1]

They should create a hyper-sandbox with the ability to add ridiculous amounts of everything with sliders and shit just so people stop posting shit about "too many zombies" "zombies are too weak" "not enough ammo" "i want to run around with unlimited ammo just blasting shit all day with god mode".

[Brandon354]

I agree with this i can't create myself either, and like has been said this doesn't affect you if you don't want it to so there is no point in having it modded instead of actually implemented. I can't make me by a long shot when i go by the following:

 

Positives: I have good hearing, sight, I am quiet when moving, and I have a great immune system

 

Negatives: i can't run very long, I tend to dwell on the bad things, I eat a lot, don't expect me to drink with you, and I suppose if the zombie apocalypse were to occur i would be agoraphobic to some degree ( I would be panicked if i was out in the open with no good cover or potential fallback areas nearby).

[Rathlord]

Like I said above, I oppose it because I think it would be a bad representation of what this game stands for.

 

The same way you could add "My Little Pony" characters and I wouldn't have to use them, so it wouldn't affect me.

 

The same way they could add rape to the game and I wouldn't have to do it, so it doesn't affect me.

 

People would still watch Let's Plays of Joe Schmo on Youtube who doesn't bother to tell anyone he's setting it up to be a Call of Duty: Nazi Zombies simulator and people will go, "huh... another run and gun zombie game. Doesn't get my money."

 

The "this doesn't affect you so it deserves to be added" argument is a logical fallacy. This idea seems to cross the line on what the game represents to me, which is why I wouldn't like to see it. And also easily modded XD

[Brandon354]

Like I said above, I oppose it because I think it would be a bad representation of what this game stands for.

 

The same way you could add "My Little Pony" characters and I wouldn't have to use them, so it wouldn't affect me.

 

The same way they could add rape to the game and I wouldn't have to do it, so it doesn't affect me.

 

People would still watch Let's Plays of Joe Schmo on Youtube who doesn't bother to tell anyone he's setting it up to be a Call of Duty: Nazi Zombies simulator and people will go, "huh... another run and gun zombie game. Doesn't get my money."

 

The "this doesn't affect you so it deserves to be added" argument is a logical fallacy. This idea seems to cross the line on what the game represents to me, which is why I wouldn't like to see it. And also easily modded XD

But that argument isn't any better i could put mods in and not tell Youtube and they would think the same thing, and honestly this wouldn't repel customers in the slightest. Your rape and my little pony arguments aren't good either because my little pony has nothing to do with this game and rape would just be a bad idea all around and I don't think I need to explain why. points are relevant to the game and isn't one of those things that cause people to look at a game with disgust. The bad representation you mentioned might sound bad to you but I am sure I am not the only here (people already posted) that is saddened just a bit when they can't make themselves and if anything this would improve the game not hurt it. If you are worried about survival times and thinking, this wouldn't be fair, then do survival for your times instead of sandbox.

[Suomiboi]

Dunno if this fits in the topic, but how about a random small trait that could be checked in the sandbox options. It could be positive or negative or none at all (or two but very impropable). Not like you'd have the athletic trait just because it wouldn't be realistic in my opinion, but for example the light drinker or resilient because these are things you can't really decide if you have or don't have in real life either.

 

Maybe this would be some sort of compromise with these two sides...

[Rathlord]

But that argument isn't any better i could put mods in and not tell Youtube and they would think the same thing, and honestly this wouldn't repel customers in the slightest. Your rape and my little pony arguments aren't good either because my little pony has nothing to do with this game and rape would just be a bad idea all around and I don't think I need to explain why. points are relevant to the game and isn't one of those things that cause people to look at a game with disgust.

 

But see you're wrong here because adding a mod is not the same as being included in the vanilla game. Not even close. Games aren't rated for content in mods and they aren't judged by them either, but they can be torn apart by their standard features. And personally having unlimited points would make me look at the game with disgust because it's the same trap so many other games fall into: unlimited points makes a points system arbitrary and useless. If there was going to be unlimited points, then they necessarily should have just not made a points system and instead just given you all the perks and called you Superman. It is the necessary, interesting, and meaningful decisions that make gameplay exciting and important.

[OndieJ]

I think it wouldn't be THAT bad to add it to the sandbox game at all. That is the freeform style of play. Myself... I won't do anything other than vanilla campaign the way that it is meant to be played or perhaps maybe hitting sandbox with ridiculously ridiculous difficultly settings for the fun of it but I don't see why you couldn't open it up for someone that wanted that superman cakewalk.

 

As a whole, I think having both extremes in the sandbox mode would do better for overall sales. To fix the 'lets play scenarios'... Just make all the selected options show up in a loading screen or something like that. Sure you can edit it out but you can edit everything

[EnigmaGrey]

It's an old argument.

What can change the nature of the game? Supporting token features that influence it's over-all reception.

Will Last-Stand turn us into a tower defense rather than a survival game? Only Robert Johnson knows!

(This is an intentionally irrational post.)

This really is something modding already supports, though. Just create a Profession or a Trait that gives you an abundance of points and you're good to go -- there's no need to argue whether it fits the game or not and whether it should be in the original product, when half-a-dozen lines of code, or a single file, can accomplish this in its entirety.

[Brandon354]

 

But see you're wrong here because adding a mod is not the same as being included in the vanilla game. Not even close. Games aren't rated for content in mods and they aren't judged by them either, but they can be torn apart by their standard features. And personally having unlimited points would make me look at the game with disgust because it's the same trap so many other games fall into: unlimited points makes a points system arbitrary and useless. If there was going to be unlimited points, then they necessarily should have just not made a points system and instead just given you all the perks and called you Superman. It is the necessary, interesting, and meaningful decisions that make gameplay exciting and important.

But I am not going for super man i am going for me but if someone out there wants to make superman let them don't restrict them. The points system would still have meaning as for those who wanted to follow it could still have it show up on screen it just wouldn't prevent you from starting a game if you went over the limit. It could even show up on the death screen when it shows your times ex: survived for 1 year Trait points : -10   or survived for 1 month Trait points: +1. Basically what you are saying is you wouldn't like it because you think it would fall into the same trap, well then don't play it in a way that does that but I don't see why you care what the rest of us choose to do (In single player anyway).

[EnigmaGrey]

The distinction is a bit hard to see, but you're trying to play the game separate from the established gameplay (professions and trait system).

Ask nicely in the PZ mods section and I'm sure someone will walk you through it. It's a fine product for a mod, or a start to modding.

[OndieJ]

 Oh it isn't necessary but the more that is packed in there the better. Comes down to what can be done in the allocated time and financial situation. Get the core and if you can pack more in, do it. Well... that's the way it SHOULD work

 

Mods will do ALOT extra and having that ability in any game/program is awesome but the more that's in the vanilla where you don't have to worry about someone updating their mods to work with future patches the better. The sandbox game is just that... for you to ef around in.

[Rathlord]

Again, telling someone to ignore a feature because they don't like it is not a valid argument; that's all I'm trying to say here.

[OndieJ]

But its all moot... it's not our baby to make