Peer Pressure Dog Posted July 27, 2023 Report Share Posted July 27, 2023 I think it would be really interesting and build onto the experience of the game to have the handbook fill out as you discover new items, biomes, creatures, etc. Making it more like a journal of your characters adventures through the world. Maybe make it this old mysterious book you found with a few beginner guides and crafting recipes with plenty of room to expand. I also think in multiplayer this would be a cool way to promote exploration. Especially if you make a system where you can share pages of your handbooks with your friends for things they haven't discovered (with credit to the player who originally discovered whatever of course). Related to this but it might be way too far out there to be possibly done or just too stupid. As part of this new handbook idea I propose a system that would let you save screenshots on blank pages and add journal entries (with the screenshots being turned into more simple drawings somehow). It is currently 2am and this was just an idea that has been keeping me and I wanted to share. I would love to see what people think about it and what they would add to/change about my idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maelstrom Posted July 27, 2023 Report Share Posted July 27, 2023 The handbook needs to be there to help with how to do something that hasn't been done before, like crafting components for mechanical power, or how to make parts for crafting armor pieces, etc. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorfinn Posted July 27, 2023 Report Share Posted July 27, 2023 Progressive mode is pretty hard to do well. Particularly if it's tied to RNG events, like generating a particular source of information (scroll, book, journal, whatever) in a chest somewhere in a ruin, as there is no guarantee there will be a surface connection to that ruin. And if you are allowed to bypass that exploration by joining a multiplayer server and filling out the handbook by talking with someone who has the entire book filled, you reward not for playing the game, but simply for having the right friends. Alternatively, you could allow the player to craft things he doesn't have the recipe for, and then add it, like My Time at Portia does with recipes, but then you just reward those who play with the wiki open. Progressive mode works ok for set maps, and for things like lore which are interesting but not limiting to gameplay, but otherwise you end up having to calibrate the rate of filling out the handbook to the lower end of player skill. Which bores to tears those who are a bit more advanced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peer Pressure Dog Posted July 27, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2023 35 minutes ago, Thorfinn said: Progressive mode is pretty hard to do well. Particularly if it's tied to RNG events, like generating a particular source of information (scroll, book, journal, whatever) in a chest somewhere in a ruin, as there is no guarantee there will be a surface connection to that ruin. And if you are allowed to bypass that exploration by joining a multiplayer server and filling out the handbook by talking with someone who has the entire book filled, you reward not for playing the game, but simply for having the right friends. Alternatively, you could allow the player to craft things he doesn't have the recipe for, and then add it, like My Time at Portia does with recipes, but then you just reward those who play with the wiki open. Progressive mode works ok for set maps, and for things like lore which are interesting but not limiting to gameplay, but otherwise you end up having to calibrate the rate of filling out the handbook to the lower end of player skill. Which bores to tears those who are a bit more advanced. I meant for this to be world specific. I also don't think it should lock you from crafting something not in your journal. I am thinking of something similar to minecrafts recipe book, where you unlock how to craft things as you discover things. Like if you jump in the water in Minecraft you get the recipe for making a boat or if you break block you get all the recipes that involve that item. Also the game is already played with the wiki open, even with the handbook. Also the handbook is just a simple version of the wiki built into the game. That's why I think a system that gradually introduces gameplay mechanics one at a time would help new players. I remember it took me forever to understand how to fire pottery and the handbook didn't make sense until I saw a video on how to do it. Maybe my title was a bit stupid. I don't really want to replace the handbook but to integrate it in a lore friendly way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorfinn Posted July 27, 2023 Report Share Posted July 27, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Peer Pressure Dog said: I meant for this to be world specific. Sure but doesn't that turn out the same way? Some new player hops into a server, exchanges handbooks with one of the OG, and now has a more or less fully completed handbook? Give me an example to help me understand your idea. How would the system you envision make it easier for you to have figured out how to make a cooking pot? You have clay. Now what? Sometimes I'm a little dense. Are you basically saying the game needs a better tutorial? 2 hours ago, Peer Pressure Dog said: I am thinking of something similar to minecrafts recipe book I have no idea what that is. I take it minecraft has a recipe book? Edited July 27, 2023 by Thorfinn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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