2 Cents From a Newbie

Immortallen · 2013-11-10 22:42:42

I've been playing the game for a little less then a week and I'm already hooked. I've gathered this isn't the easiest game to make suggestions for, considering a 100% fun experience isn't what you're aiming for. I'll try my best to keep these ideas within the spirit of the game.

The first time I saw a player hang themselves in my house, it creeped me out a bit. The image continued to unsettle me a bit a few time after that. So I wondered what it would be like if the hung corpse stayed there until either the owner of the house took it down themselves or another thief. I think it could add atmosphere if you go into someone house and fine one or more people hanging from the ceiling.

One thing that has discouraged me from robbing other people's houses is the fact that all your items disappear when you leave someone else's house. I understand why you put that in there, it gives robbing even more weight. However, it seem way more lucrative to get money from killing other robbers. The only time I tend to rob is if I have a bunch of tools from dead thieves. I think the calculation of items needed to reword was weight enough. But this might just be me, since I get plenty of people trying to rob me.

I would love a feature that lets you save tapes. My favorite part of the game is watching people who have either failed or succeeded in robbing me. One was so close to dyeing, and barely got to my safe with one last saw. I wish I still had that tape to watch again. Just fave or ten save slot would satisfy me.

Extra Credit is how I found out about the game and I have yet to regret my purchase. though I find it funny, when I was researching the game and looking up reviews I was baffled at how many people (even if they gave it a high score) said they did not enjoy playing the game, though messing with the level editor and creating your own strategies and traps is so much fun in my book. Then again I'm used to rouge like games.

Last edited by Immortallen (2013-11-10 22:46:39)

jasonrohrer · 2013-11-11 10:01:27

Thanks for the constructive feedback!

I too would be tempted to leave "hanging" robbers (and dead robbers, generally) in place forever. There's a practical reason why I don't do that, though----some houses literally have hundreds of deaths built up there. It would start to look like a civil war battle scene pretty quickly. I think it would go from creepy to silly really quickly.

There's also the idea of showing only the LAST person who came in there and died. But even there, I worry about how that would interfere with the visuals.... like, if there's already a dead robber in a pit, can you fall in that pit? And what would it look like to have two bodies in there? Or what about a dead cat AND a dead robber already in a pit. How could you see the cat?

That's the main reason why there can be at most 3 objects in any one spot (floor tile, mobile, and robber)---it becomes very hard to see what's there with so many things overlapping.

Anyway, I'll think about adding at least a "last dead robber" to the house somehow...

Glad you find the hung-robber image creepy.... it still creeps me out, too! And as I was pixel painting it, I couldn't believe that I was actually putting this in my game. Yikes. That's always a good sign (when I feel uncomfortable putting something in my game, I'm on the right track).

Losing all tools when you walk out the door was added long ago to balance the advent of the infinite backpack (you used to only have 8 slots TOTAL, with one item per slot---but that was broken when people starting building stuff that was 9 walls thick). So, now you have an infinite backpack.... why not just carry EVERYTHING, as much as you can afford, all the time? You know, 10 guns, just in case? You'll be happy to have them if you ever need them, and at least they can't be stolen while you're out robbing.

Even with an infinite backpack, I wanted robbers to make tough choices about what to bring along. I wanted them to get screwed sometimes by not bringing a ladder when, deep in the house, there was some spot that needed a ladder.

So, the fact that you lose all your extra tools after a robbery means that you have to think about what to bring. And you can't use your backpack as "safe keeping" for all your possessions while you're out robbing.

I get the point about this discouraging robbery. However, this game has a TERRIBLE zero-sum problem: every player wants to ROB multiple houses in a given life, but every player only PROVIDES a single house. So, the "robbery appetite" of the game will always be way more than what is available.

SO.... the game has to be balanced AGAINST robbers quite a bit. Otherwise, all the houses disappear to successful robbers very quickly. We went through many agonizing months with only 3 or so houses on the list at any one time.

I know it's not as fun as robbing, but you being motivated to maintain your house is a good thing for the game... one more house on the list. One more thing for new players to explore. And clearly, there are no shortage of would-be robbers.

ALSO, it's just a fact of the "phase of life" that you're in. You have a mature house. You have a ton to lose. At some point, someone will rob you blind, and at that point, you'll start over again with a new life and nothing to lose. Robbery is a young man's game. A poor man's game. Rich people don't burgle houses because they don't need to. Enjoy it while it lasts.

And.... about keeping tapes.

Currently, while you are still alive, tapes are held for 10 days. That's quite a while.

It's really important to me that you lose EVERYTHING when you die. That your former life is really just a memory. Actually, the one place you "live on" is in the tapes of other people that you robbed. As long as they're still alive, they can watch your old life on their tapes for 10 days. BUT... your tapes, like your house and family, are GONE.

Though... I do imagine some sort of third-party tool coming along that lets you watch saved tapes. Just like the castleDraft (and other) map sharing tools. HOWEVER, though I'm excited by the existence of these tools (and I use them myself when discussing the game with others), I don't want to build any kind of "permanence" into the game itself. This is a game that is about impermanence at its core.

(Also, to clarify, in the admin view, the tapes are held for 5 days after you die.... so I can still look up those tapes, in case there's a bug in the game that I need to investigate.).

I agree that it's strange that some folks haven't found the game to be engaging. It's a really hard game, and I think that some people never got past mastering the basics, which is necessary for it to become engaging.

Immortallen · 2013-11-11 10:36:10

Wow, thank you for the fast and very informative response.

Perhaps only the first suicide appears in the house, not any corpses caused by a trap. And if a robber wants to remove it you can make it where they either just touch it to take it down or you have to use a club.

I had a feeling you wouldn’t want anything kept after death. I didn't realize there was a time limit on the tapes, so far my houses haven't reached anywhere near ten days.

Oh, one more idea, what if just the player could see how much his house is worth, as in what all the items he/she uses in the house are worth together. This total would not count paintings, items, or current spendable money. People robbing can not see this net worth. It could be a even bigger blow to the player when they died because they also see how much money they have spent fortifying their home.

I'm sorry if you've already addressed this elsewhere, but I was wondering what you think about the conservancy surrounding the game. I can tell you never meant to make it a sexist game, but it still has gotten slammed for it. I read somewhere that you are pro-gun, and yet people could easily interpret this game as anti-gun.

Last edited by Immortallen (2013-11-11 10:37:40)

largestherb · 2013-11-11 11:59:33

i think i fraps'd a few good tape, if you reaalllllyyy want to keep them you can always try that!

regarding the cost of house, you can import your house to http://castledraft.com/ and it'll tell you how much it costs to build

Immortallen · 2013-11-12 00:11:02

I'll check fraps out.

True, but it would be cool to see your defensive net worth build up every time you fortify your home, without having to recreate it each time.

Last edited by Immortallen (2013-11-12 00:11:51)

jasonrohrer · 2013-11-13 13:33:08

A tally of total money spent on a house so far (fixing it up, changing it, etc., not just its current state) is an interesting idea!

Regarding the controversy, well, interesting stuff there. I am NOT "anti-gun," in that I don't thing guns (or any other potentially dangerous thing) should be outlawed. People need to take responsibility for their own actions. That doesn't mean that I'm pro-gun, though! I also think heroin should be legalized, and gambling, and prostitution.... but I don't necessarily think those are GOOD things that I'd want to involve myself in. I just don't want to make choices for other people.

I chose not to drink, but I don't want to stop you from drinking.

Anyway, I've written a bunch of articles about this in the blog:

http://thecastledoctrine.net/news.php

See the archives for most of them, particularly "Addressing some confusion"

ukuko · 2013-11-13 15:30:07

jasonrohrer wrote:

A tally of total money spent on a house so far (fixing it up, changing it, etc., not just its current state) is an interesting idea!

This would be really neat!

The Castle Doctrine Forums

#1 2013-11-10 22:42:42

2 Cents From a Newbie

#2 2013-11-11 10:01:27

Re: 2 Cents From a Newbie

#3 2013-11-11 10:36:10

Re: 2 Cents From a Newbie

#4 2013-11-11 11:59:33

Re: 2 Cents From a Newbie

#5 2013-11-12 00:11:02

Re: 2 Cents From a Newbie

#6 2013-11-13 13:33:08

Re: 2 Cents From a Newbie

#7 2013-11-13 15:30:07

Re: 2 Cents From a Newbie

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