Temporal Storm Events

[runnybabbit]

20 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

Rather than making some special resource though, the idea was to allow players to freely scavenge current storm loot

That's fair. I was thinking something that wasn't dropped from monsters, so that they remained the 'inefficent hazard' the game seems to be going for, but I get that there's already plenty of special doodads that don't really do anything worthwhile.

In my mind's eye I had something that collects upon the ground because compulsively picking things out of dirt under time pressure is a tried and true gameplay mechanic, Stardew Valley et al.

This has got me thinking, what if a small number of surface flint and stones replenished after a storm? Could solve the multiplayer flint issue I've seen raised. 

[Bruno Willis]

1 hour ago, runnybabbit said:

This has got me thinking, what if a small number of surface flint and stones replenished after a storm? Could solve the multiplayer flint issue I've seen raised. 

This would work really well for ordinary storms rather than temporal storms. In real life stones slowly work their way out of the ground in pastures, and farmers have to continually gather them up and build walls with them or get rid of them somehow. A storm could wash some of the soil away, bringing up new stones. It could also knock dead branches down from the trees, refreshing the sticks on the ground in forests. I would love it if collecting fallen wood was a legitimate long term strategy.

Ordinary storms are a great opportunity to refresh the landscape.

For temporal storms, I could imagine rusty spikes and things spawning temporarily on the ground, as well as loose rusty gears rarely? Then they'd fade out in the same way the last few rust foes do at the end of the storm. 

[LadyWYT]

1 hour ago, runnybabbit said:

This has got me thinking, what if a small number of surface flint and stones replenished after a storm? Could solve the multiplayer flint issue I've seen raised. 

I'm with @Bruno Willis on this one: it's an idea more appropriate for natural storms or creeks/riverbanks rather than temporal storms. As for resource issues in multiplayer...my general opinion is that resources will always be an issue when it comes to big servers. If there is a convenient option, players will almost always take it without hesitation.

 

12 minutes ago, Bruno Willis said:

For temporal storms, I could imagine rusty spikes and things spawning temporarily on the ground, as well as loose rusty gears rarely? Then they'd fade out in the same way the last few rust foes do at the end of the storm. 

 You know what, I like it. It fits what we've seen of Rust world breaches in reality, and stuff like rusty gears, metal spikes, and scrap metal is still useful without being too useful, if you get my drift. Rusty gears are always useful for buying stuff, and metal spikes can serve as rudimentary traps. Scrap metal can make dye, scrap weapons, and scrap bombs, and if there was some crude scrap armor the player could fashion that could be yet another early game niche. Pair that with the suggestion @MKMoose made about there being a collectible resource before/after the temporal storms hit, and I think it's an idea that works very well without changing too much about the storms themselves, while getting more use out of existing game assets.