Ok, I think now I’m ready to give some initial thoughts on balancing the game.
As you can see, in my last post I had described several issues with game balance. So, lets discuss which of them are actually issues and how to fix them
My thoughts:
- Problem number one - clouds are too OP. In version 0.3.4 cloud collecting was not an option, in 0.4.0, on the other hand, clouds are too dense. You can hunt other cells, it is fun, but there is a rule of the most viable option - if there is an easy strat, everyone will just use it. And it really hurst the game. I think lowering cloud density to 80% of the current rate should make the game more interesting.
- Problem number two - other cells are not a threat to you, because they are really easy to avoid. I think cell AI should not be complex, because they have no brains and they can’t be smart, so, let’s not touch that. Easy solution to the problem is to just make more cells. This can make the game too hard for other buids as well, so the solution should be more than that. I propose to adjust spawn rate with cell size. It makes sense - it is easier to reproduce when you are small. From a balance standpoint, this would make the game harder for abusers like me and easier for people who actually evolve and hunt stuff. The reason is that small cells are eating clouds and there are less resources for you to collect. On the other hand - there will be more prey for hunter builds.
- Problem number three - auto-evo. I suggest auto-evo to work not just once every ten minutes, but also each time you enter the editor.
- Problem nu,ber four - victory condition. Well, I guess we can do nothing with that atm.
- Problem number five - spawn place. I actually really like how you are spawned for the first time - there is nothing around you and you have to search for resources. I suggest doing that for every evolution. . This actually is a huge nerf for my strat and it makes cheesing the game three times harder