Books Rebalance

[Unamelable]

Pretty obvious things that should be there from the beginning. Because it breaks the realism a little bit.

 

- If there is no light source nearby, the character will refuse to read the book.

- If a character is very tired he can't concentrate on reading a book (you can read 3 books in one day and only then go to sleep).

- Books DO NOT CURE DEPRESSION. It's very comical when a character who has read a random book and abruptly stopped being sad. it makes antidepressants useless.

- The character has a chance to get into a spoiled book. The contents cannot be read due to missing pages, or vandalism by children. The character will have to find a new book or read to the end, losing a small or large percentage of skill multiplier (can be modified in sandbox settings)

- If the book is on the character's specialization (e.g. Welder). He will not be bored when he reads it.

- When a character reads a book, it will receive a name (Read Book) which can be used later or re-read after 7 in-game days to get halved pleasure from re-reading it. Each re-reading reduces the pleasure from reading by 2 times (The same goes for TV programs, magazines or newspapers).

- Crosswords and riddles do not disappear after being solved and become “Used paper” which can also be used

Edited November 15, 2023 by Unamelable

[PoshRocketeer]

Light source thing makes sense, perhaps a modifier based on level of light rather than a simple yes or no check.

 

Wording of the second one's addendum is a little confusing, but I think what you're saying is that maximum your character can stomach 3 books a day before becoming burnt out on reading for the day, only able to read after a rest? Makes some sense to me, maybe fast readers are able to get through more literature in a day? Although, ultimately seems a bit arbitrary. Neutral on this one.

 

A good book curing depressive feelings is possible, and I don't see why not. As far as I can tell, "depression" in zomboid refers to the emotion, not the condition, and yes, they are different. Don't agree with this change, HOWEVER I think sadness in general needs a bit of an overhaul. One thing at a time, though.

 

The problem I have with the random spoiled books is the same problem as "random critical misses", it would be super annoying to search for a book for ages, read through a chunk of it, or haul it back to the base and crack it open only for it to have a chance to be destroyed and give you nothing. I think that it makes more sense to just imagine that spoiled books simply aren't lootable because your character wouldn't take them.

 

Totally agree with the idea that if your character's specialized into a skill, they should actually enjoy reading books about that skill. Maybe only for professions, or base it on your starting traits. For example if you get Handy or Amateur Mechanic, you don't get bored or actually gain happiness from reading carpentry and mechanics books/magazines respectively. Makes sense to me!

 

Definitely need a way to denote read books, instead of putting it in the text, a small icon on the top left of the book's inventory icon would be great. Something color coded, here's my thoughts:

-Red for something you CAN read.

-Yellow for something you've started reading but haven't finished.

-Green for fully read.

-Orange for fully read books that can be read again.

-Black for can't be read YET.

-Grey for books that you're over-qualified to read.

I think this would be great in general, both for 'readability' (pun intended), and implementing a re-read system would be pretty sweet. I can't tell you how many times I've re-watched Avatar The Last Airbender, King of the Hill, or re-read Harper Lee's novels.

Adding onto this, I think you should still be able to read books you're over-qualified for ONCE to get a small sum of XP, maybe roughly 1/4 of what you'd get from a TV show related to the appropriate skill. Would make those skillbooks less useless in singleplayer for anything other than fire fuel.

Agree that crosswords and puzzles should be turned into scrap paper when you've used them. 

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2023 by PoshRocketeer
Posted unfinished comment, whoops!

[getstoopid]

Think it was all said already the only thing I'd like to add is that for your first request there is a mod you may like

 

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2237300246

Workshop ID: 2237300246
Mod ID: NRK_NeedLightToRead

[Unamelable]

bump

[ArthurWeatherford]

On 11/15/2023 at 6:39 AM, PoshRocketeer said:

Light source thing makes sense, perhaps a modifier based on level of light rather than a simple yes or no check.

 

Wording of the second one's addendum is a little confusing, but I think what you're saying is that maximum your character can stomach 3 books a day before becoming burnt out on reading for the day, only able to read after a rest? Makes some sense to me, maybe fast readers are able to get through more literature in a day? Although, ultimately seems a bit arbitrary. Neutral on this one.

 

A good book curing depressive feelings is possible, and I don't see why not. As far as I can tell, "depression" in zomboid refers to the emotion, not the condition, and yes, they are different. Don't agree with this change, HOWEVER I think sadness in general needs a bit of an overhaul. One thing at a time, though.

 

The problem I have with the random spoiled books is the same problem as "random critical misses", it would be super annoying to search for a book for ages, read through a chunk of it, or haul it back to the base and crack it open only for it to have a chance to be destroyed and give you nothing. I think that it makes more sense to just imagine that spoiled books simply aren't lootable because your character wouldn't take them.

 

Totally agree with the idea that if your character's specialized into a skill, they should actually enjoy reading books about that skill. Maybe only for professions, or base it on your starting traits. For example if you get Handy or Amateur Mechanic, you don't get bored or actually gain happiness from reading carpentry and mechanics books/magazines respectively. Makes sense to me!

 

Definitely need a way to denote read books, instead of putting it in the text, a small icon on the top left of the book's inventory icon would be great. Something color coded, here's my thoughts:

-Red for something you CAN read.

-Yellow for something you've started reading but haven't finished.

-Green for fully read.

-Orange for fully read books that can be read again.

-Black for can't be read YET.

-Grey for books that you're over-qualified to read.

I think this would be great in general, both for 'readability' (pun intended), and implementing a re-read system would be pretty sweet. I can't tell you how many times I've re-watched Avatar The Last Airbender, King of the Hill, or re-read Harper Lee's novels.

Adding onto this, I think you should still be able to read books you're over-qualified for ONCE to get a small sum of XP, maybe roughly 1/4 of what you'd get from a TV show related to the appropriate skill. Would make those skillbooks less useless in singleplayer for anything other than fire fuel.

Agree that crosswords and puzzles should be turned into scrap paper when you've used them.   I know from personal experience how tough it may be to obtain a scholarship. This requires exceptional knowledge and abilities, something I have always struggled with. And nursing essay writing services helps me solve them. As a result, my scholarship opportunities have greatly expanded.

 

 

 

I like your approach and thoughts in this regard. For me, books have always been and are a special ritual.

Edited February 2 by ArthurWeatherford