Add meaning to selecting start location

Hello everyone,

This is actually my first time posting something here so I hope I am doing it right!

Intro:
I really like the idea of selecting a starting location even though it’s very basic still. However, right now, after you have chosen a location where you would like to start, all it does is put your camera at that location. Once the game has loaded you still have the freedom to look around, see everything and basically just set up camp anywhere.

So my suggestion: Make the selection of your starting location before the game matter!

This could be achieved by - for example - disabling the player to deviate too far from the initial selected position. Another thing that could be added is a thicker/darker kind of fog of war so that you are not able to see the whole area right from the start, which basically forces you to set up camp at the initial selected location.

I am pretty sure there are many different ways to add some meaning to the selection of your initial location. But as of right now, it is not much more than a feature that does not add much to the game.

So I would like to ask the community here, please let your creativity go over this and let’s see what you can come up with!

Note:
I’m not sure whether or not some idea on this has already been posted, but if that is the case, then please let me know and accept my pardon for creating this topic.

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hey there @Faylon… welcome aboard! :smile:

you are indeed… you have a valid suggestion (in the appropriate forum)… :+1:

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Well, the area it loads for your game is already a bit smaller, I think, than the world map shown at the start of the game (the one in which you pick your starting location). So in that sense, it already works the way you suggest, a bit. However, once the world is no longer artificially bordered as it is now, that will again fall away. At that point, then, it will only matter in the sense that that’s the area you’re looking at, first. However, I actually think that’s fine: you get a better overview at the start and so can more easily find, say, a little area surrounded for the most part by mountains, that may be easy to defend.

my reason for saying no to this. now i get it but its a flaw.

[quote=“Phagocytosis, post:3, topic:6909”]
However, I actually think that’s fine: you get a better overview at the start and so can more easily find
[/quote] also another example is no berries or wood to get where you started so you move until you find a good spot with those. also the place you pick you most likely would go looking in about the same size as the map now to look for your perfect spot and not all around the world

[quote=“Faylon, post:1, topic:6909”]
Another thing that could be added is a thicker/darker kind of fog of war so that you are not able to see the whole area right from the start, which basically forces you to set up camp at the initial selected location.
[/quote] problem is making fog turn for what it is now that helps when picking a start place to a darker fog but i bet that will happen maybe.

it actually is a feature because that spot is in a box area that you can go around. later on its more of it gives a good look on where i think a good spot is but then its not so i move maybe half a area thats available now to find that good spot so its not a bad thing.

I like the idea that it has importance but I feel later on in game you’ll want to expand into a town of houses. this will then have a structure and system to it and the campfire n flag may be moved to accommodate it.

This removes the importance of the exact starting point. if there was a bonus for workers who sleep / work near the campfire/starting flag it could be something initially that would aid production and give importance of the starting location.

Also if the starting area is made super important it hampers players that make a mistake n wish to move there town a ‘bit’. Rather than forcing the player to restart to get the new starting location bonus having the ability to move at will allows more player freedom.

I meant it more as a feature for later, when there are multiple ways to choose from to survive. Because right now, you always take the berries first, but later in the development fase there might be other sources of food as well (right from the start). For example, you can also hunt for food (And there will probably come more in the future).

So basically what I was looking for is that you pick a spot and you have to start in that spot until you have explored more of the world. So this means that you have to survive with what has been given to you, whether it be berries or some other simple source of food. It also forces you to explore the world after you have built a bit of the settlement. I really liked the exploring aspect from other games.

The fact that you cannot deviate too far from the initial chosen spot does not mean that later in the game you can still advance to other locations. I just meant that you have to start in the area that is initially revealed to you. Once you set up camp, your settlers can explore the surroundings, which enables you to expand to other parts of the world.

I also did not mean for the initial revealed spot/area to be too small, which makes it difficult for people to find a good start. It could be fairly large still, but smaller than what it is now. Because now you pretty much have the freedom to start anywhere still.

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food is always the driving force for me when selecting that initial location… I’ll scour for a few minutes until I find a nice grouping of berry bushes…

this could of course be remedied by a few scenarios, with the simplest one providing the player with (more) starting food supplies…

1 Like