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. Inquiry about Classes in NAKWON[/h3]
If NAKWON is considered a hierarchical society, are there any fun elements beyond the benefits given according to one's class?
This could include the ability to exercise power over players of lower classes or the opportunity to elevate one's own class and become a member of the NAKWON Governing Committee.
A. There are currently no plans to introduce such aspects.
I believe that allowing direct influence between players based on their class could potentially cross the line into stress and discomfort.
However, there might be elements that allow users with the highest citizen class to have some influence over the overall management of NAKWON.
It is still too early to discuss this in detail, and we will consider this further in the future.
[h3]Q. Multi-queue squad system[/h3]
To ensure the game's growth and sustainability, having a significant player base is crucial, and enabling players to enjoy the game with their friends becomes a key factor.
While I understand the concerns surrounding the multi-queue squad system, maintaining a healthy player count, especially since the game is free to play, is essential.
Could you consider formulating strategies to address these challenges, such as implementing systems that evoke sufficient fear and risk associated with the multi-queue, and exploring the addition of a multi-queue play mode to accommodate more players?
A. As you mentioned, the scale of squads can ultimately influence the game's reach.
Hence, I understand that having an appropriate number of players is advantageous.
However, it's crucial to note that having more people on a team is good only when the game is fundamentally enjoyable.
If the game itself becomes less fun due to an increased player count, it would defeat the purpose.
Currently, the exploration in PvPvE mode is limited to 2 players, but this might change through various tests.
Additionally, apart from the PvPvE exploration, we are considering several other modes, including a 1-4 player co-op mode where teammates can engage in PvE exploration without any PvP elements, which I believe could somewhat fulfill the needs you mentioned.
While this mode might constrain the fun of farming for progression compared to PvPvE exploration, it provides a much easier and safer experience, allowing friends to enjoy playing together without the PvP aspect.
We plan to introduce this mode in the future. Supporting parties of three or more in PvPvE exploration might be challenging at the moment, but we will continue to consider it.
[h3]Q. What is the average playtime per game? [/h3]
Does the average playtime differ greatly?
A. According to the rules, it is difficult to standardize the playtime as it is possible to escape right from the start.
However, depending on player behavior, there are roughly three categories, as identified during the internal testing phase.
In the current version, the game initiates the poisonous gas after about 15 to 20 minutes, gradually pushing players out of the map.
We are continuously testing formats that guide players through the map naturally without causing stress during the farming phase.
[h3]Q. A suggestion about penalties based on infection[/h3]
Instead of using toxic gas to induce escape, it seems like a good idea to encourage escape through actions such as picking up and dropping items, and engaging in combat with zombies, which could raise the player’s infection rate.
Once the infection rate reaches a certain point a time limit can be posed in which the user must escape.
If the infection rate becomes high upon escape, implementing penalties such as treatment costs or purification time might be interesting as well.
A. We have considered the concept you mentioned early on in our internal discussions.
It seems quite attractive in the sense that players should naturally seek an escape as they explore.
This aspect could be effectively utilized when we introduce various types of exploration environments in the future.
However, if the contamination level doesn't continuously increase automatically, it might lead some users to simply wait it out at a low contamination level until the other users have left, thereby enabling definitive farming.
Therefore, even if we don't utilize toxic gas, incorporating some form of a time limit role on the map might be necessary, in addition to the concept you proposed.
Our main goal is to guide players naturally toward the exit, so any method that achieves this seamlessly will be considered.
We are developing the game with the approach of first establishing the rules for gameplay and then adjusting the settings accordingly, so we are open to making any necessary changes.
[h3]Q. I hope there is at least one way to kill zombies, whether it is difficult or easy. [/h3]
The current method where zombies always resurrect regardless of whether you shoot them in the head or continuously strike them with melee weapons seems rather peculiar.
The response to zombie resurrection in NAKWON related communities has been quite negative.
It might be a good idea to have a method such as making them pulp with melee weapons or making them impossible to resurrect by incinerating them.
Making pulp from a knocked-out corpse could make a lot of noise and take a long time, while incineration could be expensive but quick.
If that's not feasible, delaying resurrection by striking the body just before revival or setting the zombie's health low upon resurrection could be ways to go about this as well.
A. I understand there is a lot of debate surrounding zombie resurrection.
Apart from the fact that it will take more than 5 minutes for the zombies to get back up and will not affect players on an individual level, it seems that the discontent is due to not being able to reduce the number of zombies on the map, and questions on why we should kill zombies if they would get back up again.
We are trying to find better ways through testing of this current version.
We hope that you share your opinions after the upcoming test so that we can make changes to improve our game. (The game must be fun, first and foremost, and the rest, such as lore, can be made to fit the gameplay.)
The current setting where zombies come back to life is because we decided that we needed such a system to utilize zombies in a PvPvE environment.
If players who enter the map keep killing zombies that would mean that towards the end, no zombies would be left and people would be playing as PvP.
That would diminish the zombies’ roles to ‘extras’ on the map, and ultimately would leave people to just fight each other.
Of course that is also a fun concept, but many other games already exist that do this.
We wish to provide a never-before-seen experience, something like this;
In normal PvP games, players camp at a certain area, or hide around the exit.
In PvPvE, you can perhaps throw a brick towards an area where a camper might be hiding out, luring zombies toward the noise and check if a player is really there.
Or if you are chased by a player that you cannot take down, you might be able to set off alarms of cars around you to bring zombies towards both you and that player, and create a chance to escape through the chaos.
To maintain the strategy, variables, and the fundamental tension of the game as above, it was necessary for the zombies to persist to some extent even in the latter stages of the game.
Therefore, a system was required where zombies are reintroduced based on the number that have been killed, or where previously deceased zombies are resurrected.
However, introducing new zombies had the potential for some illogical situations, as spawning zombies suddenly where players are located would not make sense(they would have to spawn randomly in areas where there are no players).
As a solution, we have opted for a system where dead zombies are resurrected after a certain period to maintain the number of zombies in the map.
However, as the intention is not to disrupt individual farming, we are providing a sufficient time interval for the resurrection.
Additionally, since the primary goal is not to kill zombies but to accomplish the player's objectives (such as clearing an area for farming), while zombies may resurrect later, we believed that this shouldn't be an issue.
We were able to confirm that the system is currently functioning as intended, but we would like to receive feedback from more users.
We have been establishing rules for better gameplay and fitting the settings around it.
We understand that the current setting of resurrecting zombies may not be appealing to everyone. However, we introduced this system under the belief that the game would be more enjoyable with this rule in place.
We welcome your feedback after experiencing the game, and we will continue to explore entertaining directions based on your input.
If we come to the conclusion that zombies should not be revived, we can certainly consider various approaches, as you suggested.
We will contemplate different methods, including those with high risk but low cost, and those with low risk but high cost. We appreciate your detailed suggestions.
[h3]Q. Server Population[/h3]
The Dev Talk primarily addressed the potential challenges in gameplay due to ping differences across various servers.
This has raised some questions for me.
South Korea boasts a vibrant gaming market, and some games have a bigger following among international users.
Having been a gamer for nearly 16 years, I've noticed that a game's success abroad doesn't always translate to a similar experience for Korean players.
Sometimes, we end up playing on foreign servers or feel somewhat excluded when playing with foreign gamers due to the scarcity of Korean players.
Additionally, the introduction of an in-game microphone feature could potentially compound these challenges.
While my question might appear broad, I'm interested in understanding how you perceive the issue of server population while developing the game.
Although it's still in the early stages of development and it may be too soon to think of these issues, as someone who loves games, I hope that projects I am interested in can be developed well and be loved by many users.
While I understand that it may take time to release, I hold the hope that such concerns will be effectively addressed until then.
A. As matching will be disabled if the distance between servers is as large as to have different in ping, most Asian countries will be able to match with each other.
We anticipate that the servers on the opposite side of the globe will not be matched due to ping issues.
However, we expect that countries within the same region will likely be matched together. Nevertheless, providing a definitive answer on this matter is challenging without accumulating data through actual testing.
Regarding country-specific matchmaking pools or restrictions, these aspects will be carefully considered and adjusted based on the player pool situation if the game proves successful.
[h3]Q. A suggestion and question about traps [/h3]
If I spot another scouter without the opponent seeing me, I would like to take advantage of the situation instead of just forcing a fight, and maybe set a trap.
I would try to set up cable traps (bomb type/noisy type), bear traps so he can't move for a few seconds while he tries to release himself from it, or attract zombies towards him in some way (for example throw glass bottles in the area, or maybe throw an item such as meat that zombies can smell).
Would a similar system be added?
A. I think traps that can be placed on the map, like bear traps, would definitely add a sense of tension and strategy to the game and make it more interesting.
We had the same idea and have some ideas for objects that can be placed on the map (like the traps you mentioned) that we will be working on in the future.
Unfortunately, due to our development schedule, we didn't have anything like that planned for this pre-alpha, but it's something we'll be working on in the future.
[h3]Q. Obstacles interacting with the environment on the Escape [/h3]
I am sure that there would be situations where I am surrounded by zombies, or fighting with another scouter(s), and I notice that I am no longer in condition to put up a fight.
I would try to run and close doors or gates behind me, so the Zombies/Souter(s) have it more difficult to reach me (maybe using padlocks/chains).
If I went through a window, maybe I could block it with a wood plank if nearby (obviously they could break the doors/chains/windows, but it would buy me time to escape).
Do you plan to add interactive features with the environment as such?
A. We also agree with the idea of objects blocking your opponent's path (ex. doors), and all doors will be available for use in this pre-alpha as well.
I often use them to outrun zombies.
However, if it's something weak like a glass door, the zombies will soon break it and follow.
We've also planned for doors that can be locked from the inside, but we ran out of time and didn't make it into the upcoming pre-alpha test.
We'll be working on those features in the future.
Thanks for the great ideas.
[h3]Q. How many people are there in one Scouting?[/h3]
A. The setting in the pre-alpha is for a total of about 16 people, including yourself.
This includes duo players, meaning if everyone were in duos, there would be 8 teams.
This setting is subject to change based on the results of future tests.
Unfortunately, in this test, we did not separate the matchmaking pools for singles and duos.
Since this is our first test, we weren't sure how many people would join, and if the matchmaking pools were separated, it would likely take too long to find matches.
Therefore, we had to allow singles and duos to meet in the same matchmaking pool for now, but we plan to separate them in the future.
This Q&A list was written based on your questions on Discord.
Visit our official Discord and join the discussion.
[h3]Q. Inquiry about Classes in NAKWON[/h3]
If NAKWON is considered a hierarchical society, are there any fun elements beyond the benefits given according to one's class?
This could include the ability to exercise power over players of lower classes or the opportunity to elevate one's own class and become a member of the NAKWON Governing Committee.
A. There are currently no plans to introduce such aspects.
I believe that allowing direct influence between players based on their class could potentially cross the line into stress and discomfort.
However, there might be elements that allow users with the highest citizen class to have some influence over the overall management of NAKWON.
It is still too early to discuss this in detail, and we will consider this further in the future.
[h3]Q. Multi-queue squad system[/h3]
To ensure the game's growth and sustainability, having a significant player base is crucial, and enabling players to enjoy the game with their friends becomes a key factor.
While I understand the concerns surrounding the multi-queue squad system, maintaining a healthy player count, especially since the game is free to play, is essential.
Could you consider formulating strategies to address these challenges, such as implementing systems that evoke sufficient fear and risk associated with the multi-queue, and exploring the addition of a multi-queue play mode to accommodate more players?
A. As you mentioned, the scale of squads can ultimately influence the game's reach.
Hence, I understand that having an appropriate number of players is advantageous.
However, it's crucial to note that having more people on a team is good only when the game is fundamentally enjoyable.
If the game itself becomes less fun due to an increased player count, it would defeat the purpose.
Currently, the exploration in PvPvE mode is limited to 2 players, but this might change through various tests.
Additionally, apart from the PvPvE exploration, we are considering several other modes, including a 1-4 player co-op mode where teammates can engage in PvE exploration without any PvP elements, which I believe could somewhat fulfill the needs you mentioned.
While this mode might constrain the fun of farming for progression compared to PvPvE exploration, it provides a much easier and safer experience, allowing friends to enjoy playing together without the PvP aspect.
We plan to introduce this mode in the future. Supporting parties of three or more in PvPvE exploration might be challenging at the moment, but we will continue to consider it.
[h3]Q. What is the average playtime per game? [/h3]
Does the average playtime differ greatly?
A. According to the rules, it is difficult to standardize the playtime as it is possible to escape right from the start.
However, depending on player behavior, there are roughly three categories, as identified during the internal testing phase.
- Escape within 5 minutes: Only completes missions (and such) and escapes right away.
- Escape within 10-15 minutes: Completes missions, gathers items, and escapes.
- Escape within 15-20 minutes: Maximizes earnings and then escapes.
In the current version, the game initiates the poisonous gas after about 15 to 20 minutes, gradually pushing players out of the map.
We are continuously testing formats that guide players through the map naturally without causing stress during the farming phase.
[h3]Q. A suggestion about penalties based on infection[/h3]
Instead of using toxic gas to induce escape, it seems like a good idea to encourage escape through actions such as picking up and dropping items, and engaging in combat with zombies, which could raise the player’s infection rate.
Once the infection rate reaches a certain point a time limit can be posed in which the user must escape.
If the infection rate becomes high upon escape, implementing penalties such as treatment costs or purification time might be interesting as well.
A. We have considered the concept you mentioned early on in our internal discussions.
It seems quite attractive in the sense that players should naturally seek an escape as they explore.
This aspect could be effectively utilized when we introduce various types of exploration environments in the future.
However, if the contamination level doesn't continuously increase automatically, it might lead some users to simply wait it out at a low contamination level until the other users have left, thereby enabling definitive farming.
Therefore, even if we don't utilize toxic gas, incorporating some form of a time limit role on the map might be necessary, in addition to the concept you proposed.
Our main goal is to guide players naturally toward the exit, so any method that achieves this seamlessly will be considered.
We are developing the game with the approach of first establishing the rules for gameplay and then adjusting the settings accordingly, so we are open to making any necessary changes.
[h3]Q. I hope there is at least one way to kill zombies, whether it is difficult or easy. [/h3]
The current method where zombies always resurrect regardless of whether you shoot them in the head or continuously strike them with melee weapons seems rather peculiar.
The response to zombie resurrection in NAKWON related communities has been quite negative.
It might be a good idea to have a method such as making them pulp with melee weapons or making them impossible to resurrect by incinerating them.
Making pulp from a knocked-out corpse could make a lot of noise and take a long time, while incineration could be expensive but quick.
If that's not feasible, delaying resurrection by striking the body just before revival or setting the zombie's health low upon resurrection could be ways to go about this as well.
A. I understand there is a lot of debate surrounding zombie resurrection.
Apart from the fact that it will take more than 5 minutes for the zombies to get back up and will not affect players on an individual level, it seems that the discontent is due to not being able to reduce the number of zombies on the map, and questions on why we should kill zombies if they would get back up again.
We are trying to find better ways through testing of this current version.
We hope that you share your opinions after the upcoming test so that we can make changes to improve our game. (The game must be fun, first and foremost, and the rest, such as lore, can be made to fit the gameplay.)
The current setting where zombies come back to life is because we decided that we needed such a system to utilize zombies in a PvPvE environment.
If players who enter the map keep killing zombies that would mean that towards the end, no zombies would be left and people would be playing as PvP.
That would diminish the zombies’ roles to ‘extras’ on the map, and ultimately would leave people to just fight each other.
Of course that is also a fun concept, but many other games already exist that do this.
We wish to provide a never-before-seen experience, something like this;
In normal PvP games, players camp at a certain area, or hide around the exit.
In PvPvE, you can perhaps throw a brick towards an area where a camper might be hiding out, luring zombies toward the noise and check if a player is really there.
Or if you are chased by a player that you cannot take down, you might be able to set off alarms of cars around you to bring zombies towards both you and that player, and create a chance to escape through the chaos.
To maintain the strategy, variables, and the fundamental tension of the game as above, it was necessary for the zombies to persist to some extent even in the latter stages of the game.
Therefore, a system was required where zombies are reintroduced based on the number that have been killed, or where previously deceased zombies are resurrected.
However, introducing new zombies had the potential for some illogical situations, as spawning zombies suddenly where players are located would not make sense(they would have to spawn randomly in areas where there are no players).
As a solution, we have opted for a system where dead zombies are resurrected after a certain period to maintain the number of zombies in the map.
However, as the intention is not to disrupt individual farming, we are providing a sufficient time interval for the resurrection.
Additionally, since the primary goal is not to kill zombies but to accomplish the player's objectives (such as clearing an area for farming), while zombies may resurrect later, we believed that this shouldn't be an issue.
We were able to confirm that the system is currently functioning as intended, but we would like to receive feedback from more users.
We have been establishing rules for better gameplay and fitting the settings around it.
We understand that the current setting of resurrecting zombies may not be appealing to everyone. However, we introduced this system under the belief that the game would be more enjoyable with this rule in place.
We welcome your feedback after experiencing the game, and we will continue to explore entertaining directions based on your input.
If we come to the conclusion that zombies should not be revived, we can certainly consider various approaches, as you suggested.
We will contemplate different methods, including those with high risk but low cost, and those with low risk but high cost. We appreciate your detailed suggestions.
[h3]Q. Server Population[/h3]
The Dev Talk primarily addressed the potential challenges in gameplay due to ping differences across various servers.
This has raised some questions for me.
South Korea boasts a vibrant gaming market, and some games have a bigger following among international users.
Having been a gamer for nearly 16 years, I've noticed that a game's success abroad doesn't always translate to a similar experience for Korean players.
Sometimes, we end up playing on foreign servers or feel somewhat excluded when playing with foreign gamers due to the scarcity of Korean players.
Additionally, the introduction of an in-game microphone feature could potentially compound these challenges.
While my question might appear broad, I'm interested in understanding how you perceive the issue of server population while developing the game.
Although it's still in the early stages of development and it may be too soon to think of these issues, as someone who loves games, I hope that projects I am interested in can be developed well and be loved by many users.
While I understand that it may take time to release, I hold the hope that such concerns will be effectively addressed until then.
A. As matching will be disabled if the distance between servers is as large as to have different in ping, most Asian countries will be able to match with each other.
We anticipate that the servers on the opposite side of the globe will not be matched due to ping issues.
However, we expect that countries within the same region will likely be matched together. Nevertheless, providing a definitive answer on this matter is challenging without accumulating data through actual testing.
Regarding country-specific matchmaking pools or restrictions, these aspects will be carefully considered and adjusted based on the player pool situation if the game proves successful.
[h3]Q. A suggestion and question about traps [/h3]
If I spot another scouter without the opponent seeing me, I would like to take advantage of the situation instead of just forcing a fight, and maybe set a trap.
I would try to set up cable traps (bomb type/noisy type), bear traps so he can't move for a few seconds while he tries to release himself from it, or attract zombies towards him in some way (for example throw glass bottles in the area, or maybe throw an item such as meat that zombies can smell).
Would a similar system be added?
A. I think traps that can be placed on the map, like bear traps, would definitely add a sense of tension and strategy to the game and make it more interesting.
We had the same idea and have some ideas for objects that can be placed on the map (like the traps you mentioned) that we will be working on in the future.
Unfortunately, due to our development schedule, we didn't have anything like that planned for this pre-alpha, but it's something we'll be working on in the future.
[h3]Q. Obstacles interacting with the environment on the Escape [/h3]
I am sure that there would be situations where I am surrounded by zombies, or fighting with another scouter(s), and I notice that I am no longer in condition to put up a fight.
I would try to run and close doors or gates behind me, so the Zombies/Souter(s) have it more difficult to reach me (maybe using padlocks/chains).
If I went through a window, maybe I could block it with a wood plank if nearby (obviously they could break the doors/chains/windows, but it would buy me time to escape).
Do you plan to add interactive features with the environment as such?
A. We also agree with the idea of objects blocking your opponent's path (ex. doors), and all doors will be available for use in this pre-alpha as well.
I often use them to outrun zombies.
However, if it's something weak like a glass door, the zombies will soon break it and follow.
We've also planned for doors that can be locked from the inside, but we ran out of time and didn't make it into the upcoming pre-alpha test.
We'll be working on those features in the future.
Thanks for the great ideas.
[h3]Q. How many people are there in one Scouting?[/h3]
A. The setting in the pre-alpha is for a total of about 16 people, including yourself.
This includes duo players, meaning if everyone were in duos, there would be 8 teams.
This setting is subject to change based on the results of future tests.
Unfortunately, in this test, we did not separate the matchmaking pools for singles and duos.
Since this is our first test, we weren't sure how many people would join, and if the matchmaking pools were separated, it would likely take too long to find matches.
Therefore, we had to allow singles and duos to meet in the same matchmaking pool for now, but we plan to separate them in the future.