Vault Test Tool Suggestion

Cylence · 2014-02-21 14:57:47

Summary

Many players will benefit from having a place to test tools.
This will allow for better houses and better robbers.
It also is in some way, a "learn it yourself" replacement for the lack of a tutorial on robbing.

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Tool Option during Vault Test

Current behavior:
When performing a vault test, you don't have access to tools.
Suggested behavior:
Allow an option to use tools in the vault test, but that run does not validate the vault

Details:
Check box option to use tools when pressing "Done" (Off by default).
When selected, you receive 5 of each tool to use (every run).
Backpack only hold's 8, so not sure how to display this or if you need to select the tools for the run.
During this run, death still applies.
On conclusion of the run (vault reached or exited), no validated vault.

Thematic reasoning:
You want to test your vault protection with items that are available to the robbing community.

Real World Effect:
A place to try out tools without having to buy them (the crowbar is unattainable at the start).
This will allow people to test out and see tool effectiveness and limitations.
Things like range and vision and timing can be learned in this mode.
You will not have to grind for money just to test these things.
This will lessen the amount of vault test deaths (i.e. run with tools first just in case, before doing a tool less vault test).
More complex houses requiring more than 5 of any tool to escape will still be at the same risk level.
This will increase awareness of how to build better homes by allowing you to see how damage affects your house.

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Conclusion

My current method. When I start fresh I look for a house with the situation I want to test, and then buy the tool to do so. However, it takes long and sometimes I can't find the exact scenario.

I like indicator lights for testing out electricity. There's nothing I can use to test out tool effects. This change will at least allow players to understand tool usage and tool prevention without having to grind for it.

LiteS · 2014-02-22 01:00:07

The most important tool test for me would be "How far can I throw a brick?" and "Could a robber angle a brick around this corner?" It doesn't really make sense to be destroying your own stuff though. But I agree, the game could use a sandbox type test area. I'm not sure how well a true one would work.

Why not just join one of the 50k servers?

eppfel · 2014-02-22 02:34:20

I think it is said in this forum many times, but this game is about to die in the most annoying and crushing ways. In my opinion your suggestion would not improve the game. You should fear not having thought about certain tools and also this would make robbing houses more difficult, what is not an improvement as well.
If you want to know how certain tools apply, just check the wiki and happy tile counting.
Also, the test server is a good recommendation.

Cylence · 2014-02-22 06:54:11

eppfel wrote:

I think it is said in this forum many times, but this game is about to die in the most annoying and crushing ways. In my opinion your suggestion would not improve the game. You should fear not having thought about certain tools and also this would make robbing houses more difficult, what is not an improvement as well.
If you want to know how certain tools apply, just check the wiki and happy tile counting.
Also, the test server is a good recommendation.

The test server is a good recommendation. However it would be nice if there was something on the main server to help new people figure these things out, instead of having to join other servers, just to understand tools. I'm sure a lot of new people would learn by doing.

I would even be fine if you can pick just 1 tool per run. My suggestion was to level the knowledge playing field and enable new people to teach themselves. There's plenty of things not explained in the wiki.

As far as the game being about dying, I understand that permadeath and losing is a main theme. Although, a crushing loss comes from understanding that you made a mistake, not one of being incorrectly informed. I also wasn't suggesting removing death from the vault test.

You say that it would make houses more difficult to rob, that only enforces the theme dying in someone's house. And the only reason houses would be more difficult, would be because people had better knowledge. They would also have better knowledge of robbing so it would balance out.

Indicator Lights are available for testing, why not tools? or one tool?

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#1 2014-02-21 14:57:47