What do you want most in a Survival/Horror mod?

[LordGawaine]

Hi everyone! So I've been working on my first mod: http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=43906 which is a survival/horror type looking mainly to take place during a Zombie Apocalypse and I'm wondering what you would want most in this type of mod? I've got a small town up to test out right now (but all the navmeshes aren't finished as I'm not done) but you can't enter buildings as of yet.

 

I'm wondering what you would want most in this type of mod (and what you would not want to see). I'm new to modding, so likely there won't be any new meshes, etc... as this is a lot of work on it's own. I'm thinking that I really want to limit the amount of loot you can find as I feel that we find WAYYYYY too much in Fallout and I enjoy scavenging and would like to force the player to conserve ammunition, etc.

 

Anyway, any kind of feedback is very appreciated! I also need encouragement if this is something you would like to play ^_^

 

 

Edited September 17, 2011 by LordGawaine

[Jeux]

I think it depends on the type of horror you're going for. If you truly mean survival horror, then here's a few points of mine to consider, though I'll keep things brief so you can expand upon it yourself:

 

1.) The easiest way to create suspense it to surround the player with slightly overpowering enemies. Seeing as your mod will have zombies, this applies not to enemy strength but overwhelming numbers.

 

2.) Limit player abilities/resources. Since Resident Evil days, this forces the player to watch inventory second best to his/her life. 4 bullets left in the revolver? 7 zombies? Get creative or run.

 

3.) Atmosphere. Self explanatory. Pick a theme and create a style that best suits the theme of your mod. Best example would be Silent Hill.

 

4.) Time constraints. Probably the most annoying for the player to feel tension. Put a time constraint on a certain objective (or the opposite, stay alive for x amount of time) and they will most likely be squirming around the place in order to complete it. This requires some scripting, of course.

[LordGawaine]

I had changed the "zombie" body data so that you do very little damage to them unless you hit them in the head (we all know you have to shot zombies in the head) to make things a little harder and more "realistic" (lol). I've also tried to create a dark world and would like the player to use a flashlight to add to the suspense and atmosphere of the map.

[Jeux]

I tested your mod out too. Very nice atmosphere for someone who just started with GECK.

 

But

 

-Too dark. If there were less enemies, then this would be fine. But since there's a horde of them, its almost a bit unfair for one to take on that many enemies while blind. Even with a flashlight mod (which only goes so far)

 

-Enemies: either too many or too fast. Can you either reduce the spawning of the enemies or limit their movement script-wise? As stated before, its definitely a bit unfair, considering you just amped up their body data values.

 

-Minor terrain issues. Nothing groundbreaking.

 

This is just based off of what you have so far, not what I think you should add in the future. The post would have been twice as long if that's the case. Kudos to you for the effort though, its coming along nicely.

[x722ism]

Looks pretty cool. And very creepy. :thumbsup:

[Striker51z]

Yeah, you want a good atomsphere(judging by the picture its very good, maybe to dark, throw in some small lights here and there). You also want some creepy music to go with it(can be done via radio station). You also want to give the player some various ways of getting supplies. Could start with a trader thats not aggressive to you or the zombies and stick some small things like bats and such in various containers.

[thebic4]

good scripting CANNOT stress that enough like a horde of ghouls that run at you like crazy

[LordGawaine]

I tested your mod out too. Very nice atmosphere for someone who just started with GECK.

 

But

 

-Too dark. If there were less enemies, then this would be fine. But since there's a horde of them, its almost a bit unfair for one to take on that many enemies while blind. Even with a flashlight mod (which only goes so far)

 

-Enemies: either too many or too fast. Can you either reduce the spawning of the enemies or limit their movement script-wise? As stated before, its definitely a bit unfair, considering you just amped up their body data values.

 

-Minor terrain issues. Nothing groundbreaking.

 

This is just based off of what you have so far, not what I think you should add in the future. The post would have been twice as long if that's the case. Kudos to you for the effort though, its coming along nicely.

 

Yeah, when I play it the zombies move like zombies, I only uploaded the .ESP, I'll get to fixing them up eventually (they'll be slower, less crazy Ghoul-like, lol). Can you fill me in on the minor terrain issues? I thought I had the small town working right?

 

As for being too dark, I have been playing with this... I'm getting some odd light changes at different times, but it's better than it was. I do want it to be dark - that adds to the whole thing and using a flashlight. In this small town I don't want too many other light sources because there is no power - wouldn't make sense to have street lights, etc. I'm also trying to figure out how long ago I want the major chaos to have happened (would fires - which would give some light - still be going, etc).

 

Thanks for the other comments too guys! As for starting supplies - you won't start here in the real mod. I've got a place in my mind, and you'll likely come across a gun and some ammo, but not too much of course. And then there's always good 'ole blunt force. But I'm not sure how melee would work with very low body/limb hits as when you vats in melee it goes for the whole body correct?

 

I just started working on the location for a mission I think would be fun. "One way in, one way out!" You have to go down a long stretch of developed city but all entrances but one have been blocked off. Once you in, you can only go back the way you came and to complete the mission you have to get to the end of the road, do what you have to do, and get back.

[LordGawaine]

I'd also like to have the zombies reflect the location they are found around... ie: if I have a police dept. and a fire station... there should be zombies that look like they were police/fire fighters. I'll likely only be able to do that for now through the equipment I put on them and not through physical mesh changes to the Ghoul template. But I think that will work fine for now...

[LordGawaine]

Here's a 30 second teaser of the city part of my mod for the quest, "One Way In, One Way Out"