Dev Talk - Q&A
[h3]Dear Survivors, this is NAKWON Governing Committee.[/h3]
This Q&A list was written based on your questions on Discord.
Visit our official Discord and join the discussion.
[h3]Q. I have questions about the game UI.[/h3]
Please inform us about the UI placement, whether it will be minimized like EFT or not.
Such as the HP, stamina, weapon types and durability costs.
A. Currently, we are planning to show all essential information the player needs to survive.
However, we will hide or replace other elements that might spoil the gameplay.
e.g.: HP, stamina, and all available means with an immediate impact on survival will be shown.
But other elements that can be replaced by being displayed in another way such as a mini map, will not be included.
[h3]Q. I have questions about the item preservation.[/h3]
Will there be any insurance feature that allows you to get back the items even if you die, such as a secure container like EFT?
A. First, there will be no insurance system in the pre-alpha version. It means, you would lose everything you took with you if you died during scouting.
However, this is not the final specification.
We will keep on considering additional developments based on the user experience during pre-alpha session and the direction that suits our gameplay.
The system in EFT that you mentioned might be a reference for us during the development process.
But we want to avoid adding a definite method to obtain resources every time without having to lose anything.
[h3]Q. I have questions about scouting.[/h3]
“All citizens must join scouting regularly. It is possible to rest without scouting, but the number of Scouts that one may skip differs according to the Citizen Grade.” - from the scouting Guide for Novice Survivor.
Will I get some kind of penalty if I exceed the number of ‘rests’ allowed? (e.g., citizen class demotion, fines, etc.)
I want to know if real-time will be applied in the game (so scouting will be a daily mission) or will there be any other concepts of time in the game.
A. Here is the answer for your questions about scouting and concept of time in the game.
First, below is an explanation of the concept of time.
But your Fullness will decrease each day and food intake is required.
[h3]Q. I have questions about secondary creation (fan creation).[/h3]
Can I make any fan creation such as fan fiction or fan art based on the revealed story and information of NAKWON and post it in this Discord server or any other communities?
I will identify the source and will not use it for commercial purposes.
A. About this one, we will need time to discuss about it internally since this has not been discussed yet.
However, I personally doubt whether if any fan creation would be meaningful for the time being since we have yet to reveal all information and worldview, or let you experience the game properly.
Also, due to the worldview and story of NAKWON is rarely include in pre-alpha version, I think it would be better for fan creations to be made after the game is further developed with more organized worldview/information.
[h3]Q: I have questions regarding future plans related to rent, commission, consumption, and server wipe/reset?[/h3]
In EFT and Rust, since goods or supplies are piled up excessively, they reset the progress every six months.
I want to know if there will be server wipe/reset system.
Since if you are going to add server wipe, a lot of central systems would be necessary.
E.g.: If the rent is not paid, NAKWON's base facility will be locked and unavailable, or players will be kicked out from the base with a box filled with their items.
In any case, I wish there will be a balanced system in goods consumption.
For long-term returning players who got overdue rent and locked base, I think they should get some kind of protection.
Also, the durability and maintenance of the base could help in the continuous consumption of goods and items.
Such as aging facilities where pipes get old, so players would need new pipes or duck tapes.
A: Here is the answer about the direction of the housing and server wipe.
[h3]Q. I have questions about poisonous gas.[/h3]
I want to know the purpose of poisonous gas.
If it's a time limit during a game session, I want to know when the poisonous gas spreads.
A. The role of poisonous gas is the time limit.
We had various ideas to create a time limit until the escape. We conclude that pushing players out of the map by spreading poisonous gas is more suitable to our game instead of just a plain countdown clock.
If there was a countdown clock, players may feel anxiety throughout the game keep thinking about 'when' they should depart to the exit to make it on time.
Due to the nature of the game, you will need enough time to move and reach the destination.
But often, it's impossible to arrive at the exit using the rest of the time depending on the situation.
So, we visualized the time limit into a form of poisonous gas, inducing a natural escape by slowly pushing players from a random position at the end of the map each time.
Since we want this to work as a concept of the time limit, we have balanced this poisonous gas to spread slowly enough so you will have time to farm items.
At the beginning of the scavenge session, you will be informed which direction the gas will spread. Poisonous gas will start spreading very slowly which will get a little faster towards the end.
After 25 minutes, the poisonous gas will cover the whole map. It will be balanced through tests.
[h3]Q. I have questions about the communication system.[/h3]
Can players use voice chat? If voice chat is available, I want to know how much it will affect the zombies since they are sound-sensitive.
How about emotes? An emote system would be great for some players who don't want to use voice/text chat during gameplay.
Also, when selling items at the trading center, will it be a simple way to register items for sale?
Or will it be the same as real-life trading, by writing a post describing an item for sale and contacting the buyers directly for a transaction?
A. Here is the answer to your questions.
[h3]Q. Will it support Xbox Controller, DualSense/Shock, Pro-Controller, and SteamDeck interface in the future?[/h3]
A. Here is the answer to your question regarding the support of various devices.
[h3]Q. I have questions about growth factors in the game.[/h3]
Since this is a survival game, I believe there are some factors that will change with time as the player progress.
I want to know whether if the character growth will be same as RPG games, where players can choose which one to master upon leveling up, or will the character naturally improves based on the activities done, or will there be a different/new method.
A. We haven't discussed this in depth, but our goal is to make growth factors to not feel unreasonable/unfair.
I think it's closer to the former since some players who are not good in activities wouldn't be able to grow in the latter case.
We want to make sure players have chances to grow even if they don't have skills.
We are going to discuss this in depth in the future.
[h3]Q. I have questions about body parts HP and penalty due to injury.[/h3]
Are you going to add body parts HP and debuffs depending on injury severity, like EFT?
A. There will be only one HP bar, but injury may occur at different body parts.
Currently, we don't have plans for HP for different body parts, but we are considering condition abnormalities caused by the injury at each body part (e.g., damage on the leg caused leg fracture debuff)
However, body part condition abnormalities have not been developed yet for pre-alpha.
[h3]Q. I have questions regarding stats and abnormal condition types.[/h3]
There are lots of different abnormal condition types in survival games such as DayZ, EFT, Don't Starve, and This War of Mine. EFT has the most types.
I want to know how many stats and abnormal condition types will there be for NAKWON.
A. Our goal is to make the game easy to understand in the beginning. So available stat are Fullness, HP, and Stamina.
However, we are planning to add more abnormal condition effects in buffs and debuffs form in the future so that you can experience various situations.
Abnormal condition (example): Hunger, fracture, exhaustion, cold, flu, etc
Hunger stat will be available in pre-alpha session.
[h3]Q. I have questions regarding the cost of this game.[/h3]
Do I need to buy this game, or can I play this game for free?
If I have to buy this game, I want to know how much will it cost to purchase the game.
A. So far, we are considering this game to be free to play with BM, such as battle pass. It's a bit different from the past, so I think players would be reluctant to play if they need to pay to play the game.
However, this is not confirmed yet.
Either way, there won't be any pay-to-win element in this game. We hope many people will enjoy this game.
This Q&A list was written based on your questions on Discord.
Visit our official Discord and join the discussion.
[h3]Q. I have questions about the game UI.[/h3]
Please inform us about the UI placement, whether it will be minimized like EFT or not.
Such as the HP, stamina, weapon types and durability costs.
A. Currently, we are planning to show all essential information the player needs to survive.
However, we will hide or replace other elements that might spoil the gameplay.
e.g.: HP, stamina, and all available means with an immediate impact on survival will be shown.
But other elements that can be replaced by being displayed in another way such as a mini map, will not be included.
[h3]Q. I have questions about the item preservation.[/h3]
Will there be any insurance feature that allows you to get back the items even if you die, such as a secure container like EFT?
A. First, there will be no insurance system in the pre-alpha version. It means, you would lose everything you took with you if you died during scouting.
However, this is not the final specification.
We will keep on considering additional developments based on the user experience during pre-alpha session and the direction that suits our gameplay.
The system in EFT that you mentioned might be a reference for us during the development process.
But we want to avoid adding a definite method to obtain resources every time without having to lose anything.
[h3]Q. I have questions about scouting.[/h3]
“All citizens must join scouting regularly. It is possible to rest without scouting, but the number of Scouts that one may skip differs according to the Citizen Grade.” - from the scouting Guide for Novice Survivor.
Will I get some kind of penalty if I exceed the number of ‘rests’ allowed? (e.g., citizen class demotion, fines, etc.)
I want to know if real-time will be applied in the game (so scouting will be a daily mission) or will there be any other concepts of time in the game.
A. Here is the answer for your questions about scouting and concept of time in the game.
First, below is an explanation of the concept of time.
- Concepts of time:
It won’t be related to real-time. Each player will have their own ‘date’ in the game.
It will not flow in real-time, and it will only flow every time you do any act of spending the day.
- Scouting: One day will pass after scouting.
- Sleep: One day will pass upon sleeping.
But your Fullness will decrease each day and food intake is required.
- Number of scouting:
To prevent the act of only sleeping by saving a large pile of food,
we made a rule where you are allowed to do other activities without scouting for certain number of days, after you completed one scouting.
[h3]Q. I have questions about secondary creation (fan creation).[/h3]
Can I make any fan creation such as fan fiction or fan art based on the revealed story and information of NAKWON and post it in this Discord server or any other communities?
I will identify the source and will not use it for commercial purposes.
A. About this one, we will need time to discuss about it internally since this has not been discussed yet.
However, I personally doubt whether if any fan creation would be meaningful for the time being since we have yet to reveal all information and worldview, or let you experience the game properly.
Also, due to the worldview and story of NAKWON is rarely include in pre-alpha version, I think it would be better for fan creations to be made after the game is further developed with more organized worldview/information.
[h3]Q: I have questions regarding future plans related to rent, commission, consumption, and server wipe/reset?[/h3]
In EFT and Rust, since goods or supplies are piled up excessively, they reset the progress every six months.
I want to know if there will be server wipe/reset system.
Since if you are going to add server wipe, a lot of central systems would be necessary.
E.g.: If the rent is not paid, NAKWON's base facility will be locked and unavailable, or players will be kicked out from the base with a box filled with their items.
In any case, I wish there will be a balanced system in goods consumption.
For long-term returning players who got overdue rent and locked base, I think they should get some kind of protection.
Also, the durability and maintenance of the base could help in the continuous consumption of goods and items.
Such as aging facilities where pipes get old, so players would need new pipes or duck tapes.
A: Here is the answer about the direction of the housing and server wipe.
- Server wipe:
The cycle of resources acquisition/consumption is critical in games where players can preserve and accumulate resources.
Since the motivation will get weaker as the time goes, if resources accumulate indefinitely.
Therefore, many of the Loot-Escape genres, including EFT, provide the motivation to play by periodically wiping players' resources.
However, I think there are many cases where you feel progressing the game is meaningless due to the forced wipe and results in quitting the game.
So we're approaching in a way that material assets should not be wiped, and we are trying to create lots of cases where players may choose to consume resources for gameplay progress. We are trying to make sure consuming resources to be reasonable and provide benefits accordingly.
- Housing:
I'm thinking of housing as one of the consumption factors of resources.
We are considering a structure where each player can choose the type of accommodation they can stay for a certain period of time, so that they can endure the benefits/cost of housing according to their own choice.
Therefore, players will need to choose whether to stay in an accommodation where rent is free with only minimal function or an accommodation with many benefits and functions but expensive rent has to be paid up front.
This way, players will need to consume and collect resources during the process.
It's very similar to your concept that the base facility will be locked and unusable if the rent is not paid, with all their items being put in a box.
If you are in a good accommodation where you can place a lot of furniture and then moved to a cheap accommodation because you cannot afford the rent, you won't be able to place all your existing furniture which means you won't be able to activate some of the effects.
However, even if you didn't login to the game for a long time, you won't be behind on your rent.
This game has nothing to do with real time and time will not pass if the player didn't act.
The goal is to make sure that everyone can enjoy the game either for a short time or long time without the pressure of time attack.
[h3]Q. I have questions about poisonous gas.[/h3]
I want to know the purpose of poisonous gas.
If it's a time limit during a game session, I want to know when the poisonous gas spreads.
A. The role of poisonous gas is the time limit.
We had various ideas to create a time limit until the escape. We conclude that pushing players out of the map by spreading poisonous gas is more suitable to our game instead of just a plain countdown clock.
If there was a countdown clock, players may feel anxiety throughout the game keep thinking about 'when' they should depart to the exit to make it on time.
Due to the nature of the game, you will need enough time to move and reach the destination.
But often, it's impossible to arrive at the exit using the rest of the time depending on the situation.
So, we visualized the time limit into a form of poisonous gas, inducing a natural escape by slowly pushing players from a random position at the end of the map each time.
Since we want this to work as a concept of the time limit, we have balanced this poisonous gas to spread slowly enough so you will have time to farm items.
At the beginning of the scavenge session, you will be informed which direction the gas will spread. Poisonous gas will start spreading very slowly which will get a little faster towards the end.
After 25 minutes, the poisonous gas will cover the whole map. It will be balanced through tests.
[h3]Q. I have questions about the communication system.[/h3]
Can players use voice chat? If voice chat is available, I want to know how much it will affect the zombies since they are sound-sensitive.
How about emotes? An emote system would be great for some players who don't want to use voice/text chat during gameplay.
Also, when selling items at the trading center, will it be a simple way to register items for sale?
Or will it be the same as real-life trading, by writing a post describing an item for sale and contacting the buyers directly for a transaction?
A. Here is the answer to your questions.
- Communication system:
No related features have been implemented in the pre-alpha version.
We are still considering adding voice chat, but we haven't discussed this in depth.
Also, 'voice chats affecting zombies' is certainly interesting but on the other hand, we are worried that it could be too stressful and being abused. We are going to discuss regarding voice chat after the pre-alpha session.
Also, we don't intend to include text chat during scavenging, which means there won't be emotes either.
Instead, we are thinking of adding body movements to communicate. However, it is not confirmed because we have not discussed this in depth either. - Trading center:
This is scheduled to be developed after the pre-alpha session so the direction has not been confirmed yet.
However, I have been thinking of applying an easy way so many players can use it comfortably (registration/search/transaction for sale, etc.).
Even though it would be more realistic if you do the transaction directly, I think the discomfort will increase as you play.
The trading center will be developed after pre-alpha, so the possibility of a change in direction is always open.
[h3]Q. Will it support Xbox Controller, DualSense/Shock, Pro-Controller, and SteamDeck interface in the future?[/h3]
A. Here is the answer to your question regarding the support of various devices.
- Console: Unfortunately, we don't have enough time to support this in the pre-alpha session.
Also, since we need to develop the game even more after the pre-alpha, it's difficult to answer when it will be supported.
However, since the UI was designed in consideration of consoles from the beginning, there is a possibility that consoles will be supported if the circumstances allow. - SteamDeck: Same as above. It is currently not supported.
[h3]Q. I have questions about growth factors in the game.[/h3]
Since this is a survival game, I believe there are some factors that will change with time as the player progress.
I want to know whether if the character growth will be same as RPG games, where players can choose which one to master upon leveling up, or will the character naturally improves based on the activities done, or will there be a different/new method.
A. We haven't discussed this in depth, but our goal is to make growth factors to not feel unreasonable/unfair.
I think it's closer to the former since some players who are not good in activities wouldn't be able to grow in the latter case.
We want to make sure players have chances to grow even if they don't have skills.
We are going to discuss this in depth in the future.
[h3]Q. I have questions about body parts HP and penalty due to injury.[/h3]
Are you going to add body parts HP and debuffs depending on injury severity, like EFT?
A. There will be only one HP bar, but injury may occur at different body parts.
Currently, we don't have plans for HP for different body parts, but we are considering condition abnormalities caused by the injury at each body part (e.g., damage on the leg caused leg fracture debuff)
However, body part condition abnormalities have not been developed yet for pre-alpha.
[h3]Q. I have questions regarding stats and abnormal condition types.[/h3]
There are lots of different abnormal condition types in survival games such as DayZ, EFT, Don't Starve, and This War of Mine. EFT has the most types.
I want to know how many stats and abnormal condition types will there be for NAKWON.
A. Our goal is to make the game easy to understand in the beginning. So available stat are Fullness, HP, and Stamina.
However, we are planning to add more abnormal condition effects in buffs and debuffs form in the future so that you can experience various situations.
Abnormal condition (example): Hunger, fracture, exhaustion, cold, flu, etc
Hunger stat will be available in pre-alpha session.
[h3]Q. I have questions regarding the cost of this game.[/h3]
Do I need to buy this game, or can I play this game for free?
If I have to buy this game, I want to know how much will it cost to purchase the game.
A. So far, we are considering this game to be free to play with BM, such as battle pass. It's a bit different from the past, so I think players would be reluctant to play if they need to pay to play the game.
However, this is not confirmed yet.
Either way, there won't be any pay-to-win element in this game. We hope many people will enjoy this game.