The Castle Doctrine Forums

This is kind of similar to an idea i had before:
- each power source can only power up x number of components (doors, floors, etc. )
- as circuit complexity rises, it is also easier to break because an under-powered circuit would act like an un-powered circuit
- therefore as the complexity/importance of circuits starts to go up it becomes doubly expensive because you will want to have backup power sources to mitigate risk to the circuit

That's true, but it would have to be this way by definition to leave out magic dances.  The solutions would have to be 'general'.  If they want a very specific solution, they would have to take that random risk themselves (highly unlikely).

I think your infinite backpack idea could really balance this.  Will blueprints still be available to show things that the player has explored?

Well, I think this could really work,  because it won't be worth robbing a 10,000 house if you spend more than $5000 to do it.

how so?  because of the infinite but disposed backpack idea?

  I understand.  Honestly, I think what you suggest is one of those things you can't predict how it will play without actually putting it out there.  I'll help! 

Sorry, but this game takes place in 1991. 
The glass ceiling was still in place.

- half joking

Actually,  the game does have the wife earn some income, doesn't it?

It seems to me the problem is one of how can we keep houses from becoming ridiculously impenetrable aka non-fun.  This means that the choice for a home owner should not be how to make my house impenetrable,  but how to choose my vulnerability wisely.

One way might be to limit the complexity of the puzzles by limiting the power sources. 
For example:  suppose a power source can only power up to 4 electric floors,  or 2 doors etc.   Each electric device uses X power from the source.  If there is not enough power in a circuit, nothing in the circuit works. So even destroying 1 power source could wreak havoc on a very complex trap system.  This would probably tend to make traps simpler, and used in more judicious ways.  Especially if the power sources became more expensive.  (damn you destroyed my power source... destroying an entire trap system AND $500!!)
If this change made the traps too simple... you might even be able to restore the feature of not having blueprints.

EDIT: also finding a room full of power sources could be a boon to a robber, knowing they likely disabled everything if they water a couple of them....  and owners having rows and rows of electric floor and electric traps would just be cost-prohibitive.  Also,  power redundancy would be very expensive as well.

I actually disagree.  You could add randomness to the movement choice of the animals... this would really change the game of course,  but it is a way to destroy precise behavior mechanics.

Actually - now that I think of it, it could be a nice violation of the game MO.   
The game is 100% deterministic. 
Except:  when you commit a serious crime,  the consequences can never be fully predicted.

Yea... i thought about the message first too.   The reason i thought adding actual police units is better is twofold:
1) If implemented, it is still at least (in principle) possible to get more out of the house:  if you can get a police to go into a trap or they happen to spawn in places that don't hinder you.   So the idea that you can double burglarize is preserved - it should just be VERY hard,  and even HARDER each time with more police spawned (and as a bonus: even suggests the often improbable and chaotic consequences of real-life robberies and murders with the random placement of police)

2)  assuming the code is reasonably written, i wouldn't imagine would be too hard to add.  The feature would consist of:
- allowing a pitbull to use a gun against the player
- drawing the policeman assets
- modify the server to spawn police into a house after successful robbery
- balancing the # of police spawned based on the robbery/murder events

But of course this isn't my code and i could be talking out of my butt.

I think its a good thing really,  because you may have been super rich... you got robbed.. and robbed and robbed and robbed while you were away... they killed your wife and kids for good measure.  You suicide and start again with some useable cash.  Thats the game, no?