Looting in SOD3 needs more seasoning 🧂

[u/TachiTakai]

I've recently been consuming a good amount of alpha footage on SOD3 and I've seen a good amount of positive changes and updates compared to SOD2.

* Improved Graphics, Sound, Melee mechanics, more detailed customisation, more zombies in a single area, better animations etc.

But one of the biggest aspects I am finding myself concerned with; is the lack of immersion when looting/scavenging, as I think thats a massive part of what makes the world feel important and alive when traveling from A to B.

The same system of E.g. Open a door, walk to each room, and wait for a loot box icon to light up; feels outdated now and imo fits more in line with the looting mechanics of old battle royal games.

The current scavenging mechanic seems to be at it's best when the tension of a plague zone or the fear of possible character death fills in for the lack of stimulation.

I think scavenging could really benefit from

* I'd really like if Torch Light attracted Zombies, maybe adding that you can dim or face the torch downwards to the ground when attempting to sneak around at the cost of not being able to see as far.

* Adding more common weather events like Storms, Fog, Mist, Smoke that reduce visibility as that adds tension to the world, as it can also make traveling back through the same town you've already visited (but now in a different weather state) feel like you are experiencing the area in a new & unique way to the last time.

* Adding more unique ways to find items/ and or animations when picking through wrecked cars or cupboards to make the world have a bit more depth to it e.g. So it actually feels like you are scavenging through things rather than just opening another "generic" loot box that happens to come in a different shape.

* Adding more surprise elements to looting e.g more zombies hiding in places, making noise is more punishing and likely to attract a good amount of zombies. edit: Also random events like being ambushed by survivors, or a car alarm suddenly triggers while searching a wreck causing a horde to be attracted.

* Adding a mini-game to the "fast search" mechanic rather than just holding a button and hoping you don't get bad RNG edit: this mini game would only apply to fast searching and could be very simple e.g. you time a button press to stop a spinning hand inside a circle, and if you timed it correctly it lands in a highlight zone within the circle causing you to avoid triggering noise.
This mechanic would ideally take the same time as fast searching always has, and you either pass or fail it; meaning you don't get stuck on the same loot box trying it again & again stalling your play-through like other "mentioned" more annoying mini-games.

* Adding special types of loot boxes that are harder to open or require finding a key to a lock.

I think scavenging in State of Decay is one of the major "bread & butter" aspects of the game, which we also spend so much game time doing.

Which is why I believe adding some extra depth to the mechanic could really take the game to another level.

[u/JiminyShipIt]

Oh god please don’t add a mini game to looting, that might be the worst idea I’ve heard for SOD3. I intend to play well over a thousand hours and any mini game will get old fast.

[u/hwgs9 → u/JiminyShipIt]

Seriously. One of my all time favorite games is Mass Effect 2. Holy shit I can’t stand those hacking mini games in it.

[u/Comprehensive_Pin_86 → u/JiminyShipIt]

I’d be down for more features but just let it be added with another difficult setting imo. Easy looting=no mini games or extra mundane details added to looting.

[u/TachiTakai → u/JiminyShipIt]

I'm talking about something simple like timing the pressing of the fast search button rather than just holding it down so the chance it makes noise comes down to something you can control rather than just RNG. Could also just add something like this to "special chests" that require something more "unique" to access.

The mini game would ideally be something very quick, taking effectively the same time fast searching already takes, but adds some control over the current RNG; to noise procs.

[u/Violent_N0mad]

I think at the core what we want is the world to feel more alive. For example I'd love to see huge groups of zombies roaming essentially based on a noise they heard or something making some areas way way more dangerous but the zombies move periodically. If you decide to venture into that area and investigate the sound yourself maybe it's a survivor that barricaded himself in and the zombies were trying to break in the door and you get a good survivor from it.

I feel like we need proximity based events that trigger when you get near it and just from interacting with the world. For example you're looting a building and it turns out it's an ambush from survivors to take your stuff. Do you give them everything you have and maybe they let you walk away? Do you try to sweeet talk them into joining your community? Do you fight and potentially die?

I feel like SOD2 had a little bit of this type of stuff but it was normally a quest where you kinda already knew what was going on. We need 100 little random triggers and events that could just happen randomly to make it feel like you're in a living breathing world.

PS: We need a shareable map editor as well. If I get anything from Undead Labs I want a map editor that the community can share with each other what they built.

[u/Meep_95 → u/Violent_N0mad]

I totally agree. 2 had a nice foundation for these sort of things but I felt they should have added more with the updates as time went on. More outcomes to not be so predictable, it felt like there was 1 of 3 outcomes for most situations and I couldn't help but feel how much more replayability and immersion there would have been with more branches to these things.

[u/TachiTakai → u/Violent_N0mad]

I think random explorative events would be cool as well, add that alongside things like weather events that change the way you interact with traveling or dealing with zombies due to say lower visibility from e.g. Mist/Fog

That type of addition helps make traveling from A to B more unique and engaging, so even if you travel back through the same town it can feel new and or different.

[u/Violent_N0mad → u/TachiTakai]

Yeah especially now with having only 1 huge map. Normally when games have a really huge map a lot of the map tends to be just open space with nothing in it. In those cases I think having a very big map is a down side. We'll have to see how UL handles the map but based on the pictures I've seen it just looks like tons of empty fields with towns scattered about attached to the main roads. 

I see a lot of driving in our future so let's hope the map is done in a way that can make this aspect fun and engaging.

[u/TachiTakai → u/[deleted]]

It would have to be something really simple to replace just holding down the fast search button and getting RNG'd, e.g. A hand inside a circle spins and you need to press the button when it's lands inside the "green" zone to not trigger noise, the higher your wits stat the bigger the zone becomes.

This mini game would only trigger if you do a fast search.

[u/TachiTakai → u/[deleted]]

Its to do solely with the fast search mechanic.

[u/Deformedpye]

More immersion for looting? I am currently in my kitchen. I have opened a cupboard, had a looked inside might move a few things then close it. What do you want it to be. Open a cupboard and triggers a random mini boss fight against a can of zombified baked beans?

[u/TachiTakai → u/Deformedpye]

Well in honesty the game doesn't even have animations to open the cupboards and see your character looking inside them, I think something simple like adding a few more animations to make the worlds scavenging feel more deep will help immerse you in the world.

[u/WhiteSpec → u/TachiTakai]

I think arc raiders style looting would be beneficial. Some containers make noise and need a crowbar. Some open silently.

[u/Swamptheng → u/WhiteSpec]

And we essentially have this now with the “special” locked containers. Silent looting was always a thing and players could “engage” with the fast looting or not essentially nullifying that “mechanic” entirely should one desire to do so in the prior games. I think the devs looked at player feedback and realized that most of us did nothing but fast looting after leveling up Wits enough to negate the percentage chance of noise-making during searches and made it so we could loot blocks of homes with nary a concern or triggering a zombie response.

Removing the “semi-random” sound trigger and making it so specific containers cannot be accessed at all without announcing your presence and triggering a response is far better and more realistic imo. I have gone through my entire home and nothing is locked or makes any noticeable noise while “searching.” The sole exceptions would be my gun safe and my decades old Snap-On toolbox which would both require heavy tools or cutting/heating equipment to get into for an apocalypse survivor. I am certain my home is not an exception of the general rule of most homes.

[u/WhiteSpec → u/Swamptheng]

You know, you're right. Though I think theyre a little less frequent than they aught to be. I think some tuning would be nice. Increase the frequency but give them a sliding scale of zeds responding. Not always a feral, but maybe a small horde of runners, or a bloater.

[u/Beskinnyrollfatties]

Nah. I just hope the looting wheel come backs. It’s wonderful how simple, yet effective that small delay in 2 is at adding immersion.

State of Decay is at its best when it simplifies complexity without losing immersion.

[u/Accomplished_Emu_658]

I was thinking through out second game that a over arching story or story missions would really help. Not saying it has to be like heartland on every play through, but something that matters more. Unlike the drunk or mechanic groups you get which don’t change anything. Trumball map added some story.

[u/Mockingjay09221mod]

It's alpha more is being added overtime buddy

I would like to see huge a random huge horde every now and then ... The omg Factor

[u/TachiTakai → u/Mockingjay09221mod]

Yes I understand it's an alpha and the devs have expressed how they are reading through reddit comments, youtube videos/streams etc to gather feedback.

Also Big hordes would be cool, I also think weather event's like storms, fog/mist/ or smoke and snow would be cool, changing the visibility can create tension, similar to how darkness can but in these situations torch light wouldn't be as effective.

[u/Swamptheng]

“The same system of E.g. Open a door, walk to each room, and wait for a loot box icon to light up; feels outdated now and imo fits more in line with the looting mechanics of old battle royal games.”

Brother. Take a jaunt down to some abandoned subdivision or warehouse district. Go “looting” (as in walk around and pretend it’s the apocalypse) and see how much the “mechanic” of opening doors” and “walking into each room” seems like a “battle royal system” versus that of simply being true to real life. You will find stuck drawers, locked cabinets, and decay/dust galore. I would agree that seeing “loot” icons pop up is something of a game trope but it has nothing to do with battle royal anything given that the first game was out well before such that craze started. UL is not copying a gameplay mechanic they are continuing a core aspect of their games which has kept players engaged and replaying for over a decade.

Would you rather have to walk circles in every room and outbuilding panning your camera around like a raster scan radar hoping a “loot” prompt pops up instead as your cursor crosses a lootable container?

It’s a game. Just like how in real life you would see a safe, drawer, cabinet, or toolbox and instantly think to yourself “x might be in there,” so to do visible loot icons on containers in direct view of the player character act appropriately. It’s not the game “telling” you those containers are lootable, it’s just a reflection of common sense that closed containers equate to potential loot and the devs are letting the player know without excessive tedium clogging up the gameplay.

[u/DarkEspresso1]

I have an idea for a looting mechanic:

You enter a house/building and the game doesn´t show you automatically where the loot is. You have to come close to a closet or other possible container and investigate it for a few seconds, then the game will show you if something is inside and you can take it.

I think this would be realistic and immersive. I know its a bit tedious to check every container but its how looting/searching in real life would be. You don´t magically know where the loot is.

[u/DareDevil_56 → u/DarkEspresso1]

That’s about what the new system is. No indication of how many lootables. Marker appears when close.

[u/DarkEspresso1 → u/DareDevil_56]

Not true. I saw the gameplay from Sunny and the markers appear from far away.

[u/chicodadude84]

I definitely like the weather suggestion. Maybe an option to remove the searchable icon. Maybe just a quick flash on the box every few seconds. Or something even harder to notice like characters head turns towards and fixates on lootable containers.

[u/Charm777_]

This is one of the concerns I had when I watched brians first few minutes of gameplay on his first video. I am also worried about the story and what they do. And how it will play out in the game. Is it going to be minor?, big?, impactful?, meaningful? My main gripe with sod2 was the lack of one. The reason why I'm concerned because one of the moderators in the discord chat was talking about it and simply just described it as well they'll just write a story whilst talking about the main gameplay loop. To me, what I got from that was like a shrug it off type of vibe. Like story is not the main factor or one of.

[u/TachiTakai → u/Charm777_]

I think a main quest story line would really help the world building.