[BZ]Pacing and Surface Exploration
Catalytic
USA Join Date: 2020-08-12 Member: 263211Members
USA Join Date: 2020-08-12 Member: 263211Members
**There be spoilers ahead, matie. Turn back now if ye dare not see!**
A key part of SN:BZ is the ability to explore the surface of the game. Key parts of the story are found on the surface. You start on the surface. One of your initial pings/story elements is on the surface. Most of the blueprints are found in sites on the surface. So, exploration of the surface becomes a key part of the game and its pacing.
The cold suit is currently the key to exploring anywhere but the starting zones that are explicitly designed with the heat flowers and geysers placed to let you explore there. It's found deep in the Glacial Basin and you have to explore quite a long way to find it. If the game didn't have broken sections of the outdoors flagged "is inside", giving me 100/100 heat where I shouldn't have it, it would have been much more difficult to reach. Then getting the reagents for it requires some seriously gimmicky mechanics that aren't explained in the game.
My suggestion:
- Split the cold suit into three separate unlocks instead of giving all 3 with one scan.
- Place the gloves (10% protection) in the Delta Base
- Place the hat (20% protection/30% cumulative) in Outpost Zero
- Keep the chest/suit (50% protection/80% cumulative) where it is
- Then space Snow stalker fur objects in these earlier areas so you can make the items as you explore naturally through the story. Where? Perhaps in an Alterra container you open at these sites? Perhaps in the Outpost Zero lab? Perhaps in the world found near bones of a stalker's meal early in the Glacial Basin zone.
Alternate suggestion:
- Place a scannable, fully-made glove object at the Delta Base
- Place a scannable, fully-made hat object at Outpost Zero
- Keep the chest/suit where it is
- This way you still get the progression of explore time, but still have to do the current gimmick for full protection, but at an appropriate time in the game when you should have unlocked the tools to actually do it.
What this does is slowly give Robyn more independence as she explores the surface and progresses naturally through the story, so she's not tied to the heat flowers and heat fruit until well into the midgame. The progression allows for a slow ramp-up of the safe exploration time on the surface. It also reduces the roadblock of the stupid gimmick with collecting the fur that's currently in the game. If you're absolutely married to the gimmick, then only put two snowstalker fur objects at those bases, or just put fully-made gloves and hats at the bases, so by the time you find the chest/suit (50% protection), you should have the tool and be able to jump through the hoop to get the final and most effective piece of the cold suit, unlocking fully mobility to explore the Frozen River, late Glacial Basin, and Arctic Spires zones.
A key part of SN:BZ is the ability to explore the surface of the game. Key parts of the story are found on the surface. You start on the surface. One of your initial pings/story elements is on the surface. Most of the blueprints are found in sites on the surface. So, exploration of the surface becomes a key part of the game and its pacing.
The cold suit is currently the key to exploring anywhere but the starting zones that are explicitly designed with the heat flowers and geysers placed to let you explore there. It's found deep in the Glacial Basin and you have to explore quite a long way to find it. If the game didn't have broken sections of the outdoors flagged "is inside", giving me 100/100 heat where I shouldn't have it, it would have been much more difficult to reach. Then getting the reagents for it requires some seriously gimmicky mechanics that aren't explained in the game.
My suggestion:
- Split the cold suit into three separate unlocks instead of giving all 3 with one scan.
- Place the gloves (10% protection) in the Delta Base
- Place the hat (20% protection/30% cumulative) in Outpost Zero
- Keep the chest/suit (50% protection/80% cumulative) where it is
- Then space Snow stalker fur objects in these earlier areas so you can make the items as you explore naturally through the story. Where? Perhaps in an Alterra container you open at these sites? Perhaps in the Outpost Zero lab? Perhaps in the world found near bones of a stalker's meal early in the Glacial Basin zone.
Alternate suggestion:
- Place a scannable, fully-made glove object at the Delta Base
- Place a scannable, fully-made hat object at Outpost Zero
- Keep the chest/suit where it is
- This way you still get the progression of explore time, but still have to do the current gimmick for full protection, but at an appropriate time in the game when you should have unlocked the tools to actually do it.
What this does is slowly give Robyn more independence as she explores the surface and progresses naturally through the story, so she's not tied to the heat flowers and heat fruit until well into the midgame. The progression allows for a slow ramp-up of the safe exploration time on the surface. It also reduces the roadblock of the stupid gimmick with collecting the fur that's currently in the game. If you're absolutely married to the gimmick, then only put two snowstalker fur objects at those bases, or just put fully-made gloves and hats at the bases, so by the time you find the chest/suit (50% protection), you should have the tool and be able to jump through the hoop to get the final and most effective piece of the cold suit, unlocking fully mobility to explore the Frozen River, late Glacial Basin, and Arctic Spires zones.