What's the point of death if it literary means nothing?

sabremansabreman usa Join Date: 2016-01-02 Member: 210765Members
I'm playing on survival and death pretty much only means that I get teleported and have to swim back to my previous location. I feel like there should be some harsher consequences, cause at this point I could just use dying as a way of refilling my hunger and thirst.....

Comments

  • RevivedShadowRevivedShadow Australia Join Date: 2015-07-28 Member: 206468Members
    You lose any items you've got since you went into your lifepod/base/etc.
  • sabremansabreman usa Join Date: 2016-01-02 Member: 210765Members
    But that's the thing, you can just pop into your sub real quick and bam, you're golden! I don't know, It just doesn't feel like there's enough of a threat to death (unless of course you're playing hardcore).
  • LordDerpLordDerp Netherlands Join Date: 2015-09-10 Member: 207871Members
    I'd prefer to not let this turn into dark souls-like death mechanics thank you very much
  • ShuryCZShuryCZ Czech Republic Join Date: 2015-07-07 Member: 206047Members
    Well, play hardcore, that should do it :) Few times, I was really pissed off when I lost all my inventory. And how should the game do it anyway? I cannot think of any way how to make the death in normal survival more punishing. Ideas?
  • lxhlxh Austria Join Date: 2015-03-13 Member: 202074Members
    ShuryCZ wrote: »
    Ideas?

    It seems the opinions are deeply divided on this issue.
    Don't know, maybe a sort of difficulty.ini with all relevant options could help?
  • Captain_PyroCaptain_Pyro Germany Join Date: 2015-05-31 Member: 205116Members
    I think the point of death is the same as in every other game. Not having to go from A to B again and wasting a lot of time.
    Losing everthing you collected since you last entered a base is a good mechanic in my book. You know when i usually die? When i'm out adventuring and collecting rare stuff ... and most important, when i don't expect it.
    I sort of save my materials inside my seamoths storage boxes, but dying with your seamoth in a hard to reach area can give you a lot of work to recover the damn thing.


    Also, what is the point of penalties for death in a game where you can save and reload your game anyways? If you wanna talk exploiting mechanics for gameplay advantages, think about that for a second.
  • lxhlxh Austria Join Date: 2015-03-13 Member: 202074Members
    what is the point of penalties for death in a game where you can save and reload your game anyways?

    Hehehe, captivating Captain! B)
  • JacaraJacara Washington Join Date: 2015-06-11 Member: 205391Members
    The game is still in development, in Betas most games are far more lax.
  • LordDerpLordDerp Netherlands Join Date: 2015-09-10 Member: 207871Members
    At least make it so that you can retrieve the lost objects when you die. If a Stalker nabs your final 5 hp from you, it doesn't make sense for all of your inventory to get lost. Then leave a rag-doll (or something similar) behind, which contains all the things that you 'lost'
  • DC_DarklingDC_Darkling Join Date: 2003-07-10 Member: 18068Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue, Squad Five Silver
    He ate you and all you had?
    I think losing stuff on death is fine. its not to punishing, but it is punishing.

    And with us no longer picking up fragments but scanning them, that problem is also a thing of the past.
  • LordDerpLordDerp Netherlands Join Date: 2015-09-10 Member: 207871Members
    Again, as long at it doesn't turn out the way Dark Souls has it now (in terms of frustration levels) then it should be fine
  • DokujakaDokujaka Sweden Join Date: 2015-01-20 Member: 200954Members
    What you lose is essentially time. You lost the time you spent gathering items and, if you're above 50% food you go back down to 50% so time you spent gathering and cooking/curing food is also lost. (Of course you can just kill yourself if you're at less than 50% to cheat your way back to half way full.) At this point there really isn't anything they can do to make a death more punishing without making the game really unforgiving. Alternately it's stuff that doesn't have any impact and just adds frustration. Only thing I can think of is that you respawn with some kind of injury that makes you slower or maybe makes you hungry faster.
  • PeterManizePeterManize Pandolite Join Date: 2015-12-28 Member: 210458Members
    Play the game on hardcore. I started playing it hardcore because first there is no autosave feature it sucks really, so i don't make the mistake when exiting the game without saving it first and lose everything, in hardcore you exit and save at the same time. Second its not the best challenge, but it is actually a good one (you don't have warnings about your O2 levels, i died a lot of times because i never payed attention. third, whenever you start a game you learn from your previous mistakes and deaths. It's much more rewarding, even though you everytime you die the game is literally:

    - Bad Lauck Mate, Restart!
  • WrattsWratts The Sweet Surland Join Date: 2015-04-28 Member: 203906Members
    sabreman wrote: »
    But that's the thing, you can just pop into your sub real quick and bam, you're golden! I don't know, It just doesn't feel like there's enough of a threat to death (unless of course you're playing hardcore).
    There's your problem. You should be playing Hardcore mode. Bam, problem solved. Everybody else who's happy with how it works now can stick to Freedom/Survival and is also satisfied.

    You're welcome! :D
  • TaiphozTaiphoz UK Join Date: 2016-01-01 Member: 210749Members
    Not sure if it was suggested but why not give us a Survival + game mode where it's survival but when you die you lose anything and everything your character had equipped.
  • VexareVexare Austin,TX Join Date: 2016-01-05 Member: 210942Members
    I think the point of death is the same as in every other game. Not having to go from A to B again and wasting a lot of time.
    Losing everthing you collected since you last entered a base is a good mechanic in my book. You know when i usually die? When i'm out adventuring and collecting rare stuff ... and most important, when i don't expect it.
    I sort of save my materials inside my seamoths storage boxes, but dying with your seamoth in a hard to reach area can give you a lot of work to recover the damn thing.


    Also, what is the point of penalties for death in a game where you can save and reload your game anyways? If you wanna talk exploiting mechanics for gameplay advantages, think about that for a second.

    Exactly my thoughts on this issue! I could easily just do a quick 'save' before entering dangerous waters and the reload that if I die so there doesn't really seem to be much point to heavy death penalties.

    I too almost always die in some unexpected way when I'm pushing myself to the limits (just one more node!) and my inventory is full. This is a pretty steep penalty of time and resources especially when resources are finite.
  • Raisonbran648Raisonbran648 Join Date: 2011-05-19 Member: 99575Members
    edited January 2016
    It is a problem that the penalty for death is effectively 0 for starvation after your store items or enter your base.

    I think that death should have more consequences than it does now, but still not make the game too difficult. Maybe it give your base some damage and use some power? Maybe a respawner that you build damages the hull of your base.

    That way it gives you a reason to build bulkheads to control flooding if you died too many times at the same base and some chambers flooded. Maybe once the "spawning" room / device becomes flooded you can no longer spawn at that base until you repair it.

    I'm not really sure how charge flippers could be balanced though, because after you have a welder and charge flippers the penalty would basically disappear again. Unless the welder is given durability and eventually dies even if you keep charging it or putting new batteries in. Getting crash powder is not very fun, I would much rather collect food any day!
  • DokujakaDokujaka Sweden Join Date: 2015-01-20 Member: 200954Members
    Maybe it give your base some damage and use some power?

    You already wrote this in your post but that's a penalty that also loses meaning. It's basically what I meant with not really being able to think of any meaningful penalties. It's just frustrating to repair, especially when you have the charge flippers. Not only did you die, now you have to clean up your base which just takes time. Doesn't cost you any resources.

    I think some kind of damage debuff would be the simplest. Maybe you move slower and need to eat/drink more often for a while. Using first aid to shorten the amount of time you're injured. It doesn't cost resources more than the ones you might have lost when you died. You can keep on playing somewhat unhindered and it will go away on its own.
  • Raisonbran648Raisonbran648 Join Date: 2011-05-19 Member: 99575Members
    Dokujaka wrote: »
    Maybe it give your base some damage and use some power?

    You already wrote this in your post but that's a penalty that also loses meaning. It's basically what I meant with not really being able to think of any meaningful penalties. It's just frustrating to repair, especially when you have the charge flippers. Not only did you die, now you have to clean up your base which just takes time. Doesn't cost you any resources.

    I think some kind of damage debuff would be the simplest. Maybe you move slower and need to eat/drink more often for a while. Using first aid to shorten the amount of time you're injured. It doesn't cost resources more than the ones you might have lost when you died. You can keep on playing somewhat unhindered and it will go away on its own.

    I thought about it and also suggested the welder have a durability. That way it eventually will cost you crash powder. Also that's exactly what I am suggesting is a simple frustration for death. A new player can survive and explore just fine without a base and just use the lifepod and still enjoy the game even if they die frequently.

    I think a debuff like that is too harsh of a punishment. It effects their ability to survive, so it will create a death spiral where one death triggers more frequent deaths in the future. If you can't find water and die, and now you swim slower and need more water, the problem has compounded. You won't easily be able to escape from that spiral.

    Since bases are purely a luxury as far as survival is concerned, flooding a whole base with water and being unable to respawn in it is a choice they can make and be responsible for. As long as they understand that respawning in a base damages it. Like some ns2 style infantry portal device that "overloads" their base, dealing some damage.
  • DokujakaDokujaka Sweden Join Date: 2015-01-20 Member: 200954Members
    Hmm. Yeah, I guess it depends on how harsh the debuff is I guess. I honestly don't mind not having any real penalty, not sure how much value it would add to the game. Maybe if they added something like terraria, various levels of loss when you die. Easiest you just lose whatever resources you gathered. Medium you also lose gear and hardcore... Well. Just as it is now.
  • SporkWitchSporkWitch Rochester, NY, USA Join Date: 2016-01-11 Member: 211254Members
    I'm one that actually LIKES the extremely harsh penalties of games like EVE Online and Dark Souls. They're great for those games, making all decisions have import and forcing you to think seriously about how you're going to approach a given situation, and prepare for the unexpected.

    They're NOT good mechanics for a game like this. For survival sandboxes like this, the existing mechanic of losing any loot you were holding is sufficient. It provides an inconvenience, but avoids significant frustration or any risk of a spiral like RaisonBran mentions above.

    I do like the idea of requiring an actual base to respawn, though. We could do it with some type of medical facility, and if you don't have it then you ONLY respawn at the escape pod (no more respawning in the cyclops or a single room with a hatch).

    To flesh it out a bit, I propose the requirements be 1) a room that is not flooded, 2) one or more modules (bed / star wars bacta tank obviously, maybe even require one or two other things be placed in the room to count it), 3) the base must be powered, 4) there must be enough stored power to run the medical equipment.

    This would have the added bonus of providing a new point to bases and rooms. As it stands, even in experimental, the only point to bases is storage (lockers and aquariums) and a moonpool. This would give us a new type of room. Could even use it for medical attention without needing to use consumables. Possible power cost, maybe 1 power per hit point for healing while you're alive, 200 power for a respawn (and if the base doesn't have that 200 available at time of death, you respawn at the escape pod).

    Yeah, probably not the best forum for all this brainstorming, but it seemed relevant, and might provide a nice option that doesn't make the game too harsh, while also adding even more depth (no pun intended) to the game :)
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