discussion Leveling up system

[USMC 1st FR Jgb]

What about leveling up your player? Like most RPG survival games you can choose certain things to level up. Be nice to get a little bit more stamina or add on some more carry weight. Even have some books or something you can learn from to help your stamina, and weight like a exercise book or something. Will something of this nature be in final cut of the game?

[Bjern]

You can already level up skills while you play either by practice or reading specific books, and you can unlock badges that grant your character bonuses for future games. More books would certainly be nice!

 

Here's the list of books that we have so far...

Frontier Rifleman (+5pts Rifle Skill)
Guns! Guns! Guns! (+10pts Rifle Skill)
Wilderness Kitchen (+10pts Cooking Skill)
The Frozen Angler (+10pts Fishing Skill)
Field Dressing Your Kill (+10pts Skinning Skill)
Survive the Outdoors! (+10pts Fire Starting Skill)

 

So you can level up rifle, cooking, fishing, skinning, and fire starting skills by reading these books.

[Mewee]

How about push-ups for strength and stamina?

[nicko]

what is Guns! Guns! Guns! (+10pts Rifle Skill) ?

maybe a new one I need to find or a dud?

[USMC 1st FR Jgb]

Well I know bout those books but I was talking about books for better carry weight or stamina. The push ups are a really great idea good to pass time and get stronger. Use up stamina but in the end should help the stamina as well. I also know bout the badges I have to go back through them to see if there was one for weight. I remember seeing one for stamina, but what I'm talking about is like while you're playing. You should have the ability to choose and focus on certain stats to level up. Example like skyrim except with the whole armor and pickpocket and things like that.

[SteelFire]

Here's the thing with MMORPG type leveling systems... they're a placebo.

You level up and the monsters level up. Sure, all the pretty numbers look bigger, but comparatively, they're not. In reality, you're often going slightly backwards compared to the increases the monsters get. It's all just a mind game that really adds no depth to the game.

I'd rather have what's here, a relatively horizontal system that means no game region ever becomes obsolete.

If we ever had a system aside from the feats, I'd rather it be based on our activities and not in our control. For example: You're hiking around many kilometers everyday, you build up some strength and stamina, to reflect this exercise. You stop doing that enough, let your health drop low enough repeatedly or for extended periods, get sick, etc... take poor care of yourself... and you start to lose those benefits.

However, something like that is pretty complicated to implement and the feats are much simpler, much easier to balance, and much easier to add onto if desired.

[USMC 1st FR Jgb]

Yea but this isn't a Massive multiplayer online Role Playing Game " MMORPG" it's a survival RPG and the only monsters are the wildlife and weather. But I do agree with the more you keep in good health the better you player will be with stamina and ect.. I think the exercise options is a really good idea though but have multiple types like push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, maybe even a weight lifting. ( not sure how that can be implemented in the game though.... IDEAS) Also after looking at the badges there are none to give you more stamina just make it recharge faster, and no weight badge. (maybe be added in future.) 

[Karzee]

To me levelling up in games just makes a game easier. I won't use any of the badges i've earned so far simply because they make the game less challenging, less tense, and ultimately less fun. To start a new game and instantly be able to run further, be warmer, use less calories etc than the base game seems pointless when the whole point is to use your wits to survive.  

I do however like the in-game skills because they make sense that the more I do of something then the better I get. The only one of these that goes too far is the cooking one. I LIKED the introduction of the threat of getting parasites, and sometimes i'd have to take the gamble of eating bad meat just to survive, but now i've reached Lvl 5 cooking the risk has been taken away and now I just look at wolves as dinner. 

There have been some excellent suggestions and ideas posted on here that would give the game more depth but a large proportion of others would tip the balance and just make the game easier. I'd love The Long Dark to be MORE challenging and become THE survival game to test ourselves.