Temporal Shadow

[Thalius]

Got this idea from a glitch on our server, actually- An odd void of sunlight in an otherwise open and sunny location.

It could be interesting if, in areas of surface instability, there were randomly occurring "temporal shadows" that could fall over an area, and maybe even very slowly move/drift.  Temporal shadows could be small in size or large, and could be relatively brief lasting half a game hour or last for game-days at a time as they drift along and meander around in the unstable area.  Walking into these shadows would be much like being in a temporal storm, and severity would be random as well. The temporal shadow could be weak for a period of time and only increase spawn rate of surface drifters, but could intensify without warning to cause spawning of other types as well.

Since they would occur only in temporaly unstable surface areas, players would not have to worry about their base being overrun by a temporal shadow unless they choose to settle in or very near to a zone where such temporal shadows can occur.

Humbly submitted for consideration...
~TH~

Edited May 29, 2021 by Thalius

[Thalius]

Or perhaps rather than a meandering shadow, the whole unstable area occasionally falls under a temporal shadow, which could be weak or heavy, with heaviest shadow intensity at the heart of the instability.  This could happen any time with no warning, so traveling through an unstable area becomes more precarious.

The way unstable areas work at the moment, they are not really a huge deal- you just can't settle there or work in the area for a long period of time without using a temporal gear or killing drifters- neither of which is all that hard to do.

[Thalius]

As I continue to think on this a bit...

There have been suggestions and requests that there be some way for areas of temporal instability to be made stable. I can envision a challenging way that might be implemented along with this suggestion.

Consider what it would be like if, during the times that a temporal shadow falls over an unstable area, there appears at the heart of the shadow/area an objective for the player to confront- Something to be killed, something to be destroyed, something to be mended, a ceremony to perform... something. 

This objective could only be achieved during a shadow-storm, meaning of course that a player or players would have to intentionally venture into the heart of one of these storms to purify an unstable region.

I'd also suggest that whatever the "something" is that needs to be accomplished, there is a game setting that renders the remedy permanent or temporary and in need of maintaining (for those of us that want ongoing and re-occurring challenges)-  A "neglect the patch you achieved on the region's instability and you have to do it over again" sort of thing.

~TH~

Edited June 2, 2021 by Thalius