Floppy ragdoll rpg sandbox with physics-based combat · By
I enjoyed this game called grounded and in this game you can run around and do. stuff... like beat the game or RUN AROUND bc running around and finding new locations enough times will give you a mutation, same with other things, so what if similarly you have it so certain stats are only increaseable via action
So the final concept maybe is doing certain things like killing an enemy enough times will give an affinity for that enemy or maybe just a multiplier for stats instead, running around will EVENTUALLY give a movement speed upgrade and wasting energy will give a small multiplier for max energy or energy regen, perhaps even making energy get used slower.
this is my final post, bye!
Big fan of the idea, as the game stands (and has stood for years now) the leveling isn't necessarily rewarding, and lacks "tangibility" if that makes sense. For an example, the physics combat is incredible and impactful, but I don't feel any more powerful after leveling up my damage stat, since the only difference is the enemies die a bit faster. I think taking it in the physics-based direction may be a good idea.
Some ideas to throw out there:
- Meteor book casts a larger meteor the more brains you have, the larger the meteor, the larger the blast radius and knockback, maybe the sound could also change (overlay an earth-shattering noise of some sort that starts silent at lower brain levels and eventually hits 100% volume at a certain level of brains, making the meteor sound like an earthquake eventually)
- Muscle could directly influence the swing strength, with stronger muscles allowing you to lay down A Thousand Whacks with an average sized sword, and also letting you use huge weapons more efficiently. Perhaps the standard boss-reward Draginslayer is way too heavy to be used unless you have a certain level of muscles (a physics-based limitation), could keep players interested in having a training montage to use the coolest sword in the game. Also, unsure if this is possible without a lot of work, but destructible terrain would be quite interesting, especially with all the large weapons swinging around the place.
- Pineapple gun could benefit from more bullet size, firerate and velocity as your sense increases, effectively becoming longer range the better you are at shooting stuff. Though i'd also recommend a rework of some sort on this weapon, maybe taking away the explosive rounds for starters, with an interesting way to get them back (which i'll get to next)
- Volatile juice: another consumable type of juice which makes weapons explosive. maybe at a trade-off, making swords heavier, making spells fly slower, and reducing the fire rate on guns (just spitballing, i don't know if the trade-offs would be fun to play, but if explosives somehow turn out overpowered i guess there's options for balancing it). Anyway, this juice makes swords explode on hit, with a larger explosion the harder the hit was. Bullets are the same deal
- Different weapons could benefit from two stats at once, like hybrids of sorts. Such as a magical sword that chains electricity through multiple enemies taking both muscle and brains to wield effectively, or a Big Evil Cannon that has so much recoil that you need the muscles to mitigate its effects, but also the sense to hit your targets. Could even put in a hypno-bow that can convert a target to fight for you, keeping them under the spell for longer the more brains you have, and buffing them proportionally to your sense level.
The noita perk system sounds like a great baseline to work with, i'm interested in what you come up with there
Also, a grievance i've had is how barren the map is outside of the main bosses, it's randomly generated of course, and it's got different biomes and structures throughout that you can raid for some loot, but without unique greater threats it feels more like a post-apocalyptic stroll throughout an uncaring world where you're way too far from home and miss it dearly, despite knowing there's nothing comforting or new awaiting you there.
I know it's difficult and sort of a "treadmill" to keep introducing new bosses and storylines, and i'm not a game designer so i can't quite help you there, but i know things feel very strange and off-putting after beating every available challenge. The game is technically infinite, but it feels crushingly and claustrophobically finite as is.
Love your game, i've been following it for 5 years and counting, and it's genuinely one of my favorite indie titles due to the physics-based combat that's exactly what kid me always wanted from a game, i'm also biased towards weird games and aesthetics.
But yeah, looking forward to it!
