Dev Talk - QnA
[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. How are you going to go about the weapons balance?[/h3]
As of now the crowbar seems to be the strongest, but I believe it would make sense to make stronger weapons more scarce, or nerf them.
A. The overall balance is going to go through lots of changes.
For now, we made the crowbar strong to pay homage to a different game, but it will be nerfed.
We are thinking to lower one level from its strongest point.
First I think we would change the whole TTK of going against Zombies, but as a lot of details are still under discussion, I will share once things are settled.
[h3]Q. How many concurrent users participated in the recent Pre-Alpha Test?[/h3]
I'm also curious about the total number of logins.
While I didn't face significant difficulties with matchmaking during gameplay, it felt like there were fewer players than expected.
Can you provide information on the minimum number of players in a session, especially in cases where only the minimum requirement was met?
A. It was up to about 5,000 on the first day, which you can check on sites like SteamDB.
There was almost never a minimum for a session, and it was always around 16.
If you felt like there were fewer players than you thought, it was probably because everyone kept moving around and didn't meet up.
[h3]Q. The risk of firearms[/h3]
In this test, it seemed like there was so little risk to the guns that you could just shoot a revolver as you’d like once you reached Elite Resident, and I'm wondering how that could be fixed.
A. We practically donated bullets during this Pre-Alpha, but later on they will be harder to find, presenting a significantly different obtain rate than now.
The bullets will be scarce, and there may be a limit to how many bullets you can bring with you in one session. (This is not finalized)
Also, the difficulty of the Zombies will be adjusted according to the skill level of the users being matched.
So in sessions with users who are skilled enough to wield guns, the Zombies will be more threatening, and using guns will not be as risky as it is now.
[h3]Q. Will splash damage be added?[/h3]
It seems odd that whether swinging a hammer or a crowbar, nearby structures take hits, but Zombies don't experience multi-hits.
A. I will consider it.
Allowing structures to be passed through was necessary to enable combat indoors.
Currently, depending on the weapon type, it allows for multi-hits with bladed weapons, but not with blunt weapons.
This was intentional, but we will reconsider this aspect in the future.
[h3]Q. How do you feel about the development of consecutive quests?[/h3]
I would like to ask your thoughts on unique, interconnected quests for each merchant or quests, like Tarkov, that are connected to the story.
Even if they are not interconnected quests, I'm curious if you have any plans to create separate quests for each merchant, story quests, or quests that are initiated in NAKWON and then completed in the game.
A. We haven't developed it in detail yet, but I'm considering a quest structure closer to MMORPGs.
This would involve a main quest with a continuous storyline (potentially progressed through various NPCs) and side quests, which can be repetitive or one-time-only, offered by various NPCs or systems.
I'm thinking more along the lines of typical MMORPG quest structures rather than the Tarkov approach. However, this may change in the later stages of development.
[h3]Q. Item Unlock[/h3]
If we were to develop in a direction similar to MMORPGs, what are your thoughts on items being unlocked not through the current merchant system of 'unlocked by citizen rank' but rather through completing specific quests?
A. Yes, we are considering various ideas, including this as well.
[h3]Q. Is the size of the map we've played on during the Pre-Alpha the final size?[/h3]
A. We'll expand it a bit more, but there's still some considerations.
Rather than expanding flatly, we are considering expanding the space by continuously adding interiors that can be entered.
For example, we plan to implement all floors above the 2nd floor of the NAKWON Arcade and continuously work on allowing access to various buildings that were previously inaccessible.
We believe that expanding horizontally reduces the likelihood of sensing or encountering the presence of others, so we are giving strong consideration to vertical expansion.
However, we will continue to explore better directions through testing in the future.
[h3]Q. I'm curious if there are plans to add content related to status effects in the future.[/h3]
It seems okay to add conditions like fractures.
A. We have plans to add various status effects in the future.
We are considering adding various status effects related to Zombies and PvP, but it is not confirmed yet.
Also, adding conditions like fractures in case of a fall was originally one of the goals of the Pre-Alpha, but it was omitted due to schedule constraints.
We will consider such aspects in the future.
[h3]Q. I saw that there were no crosshair options for the pre-alpha. [/h3]
Will it be added in future tests?
A. This was a deliberate decision, and we do not have plans to add any.
However we will consider it should the need arise in terms of gameplay.
[h3]Q. Will you add items from other games or anime/animations?[/h3]
A. The crowbar was an homage item for the pre-alpha.
We will consider these things whenever we can.
[h3]Q. I'm worried that too many status effects may interfere with gameplay and decrease immersion.[/h3]
Games seem to be more popular and enjoyable when they are slightly simpler rather than overly complex.
I'm curious about how many status effects you plan to introduce.
A. Although there will be many status effects, we are considering simplifying the ways to resolve them.
We don't want the game to become overly complex, so we'll ensure to implement them in an appropriate manner.
[h3]Q. Do you plan to keep the play test active while you further develop the game? [/h3]
Many Devs do and I am hoping that you will also keep the servers open and update the game alongside the player base and their feedback.
If finances are an issue, I'm sure most fans would support you financially.
A. Rather than a financial issue, we have a development issue.
I think it makes sense to do this at least when the game is at beta level.
Right now, it's not beta, it's not even alpha- it's Pre-Alpha, so even if it's open, there's very little to really enjoy, and there's nothing for us to reference in our development.
I really appreciate that you want to enjoy it even if you have to pay for it.
We'll see you again after we develop it better.
[h3]Q. Are you thinking about a title system? [/h3]
Something like where if you kill 50 Zombies you get the title “Zombie Friend”.
A. We haven't considered a title system yet, but we are considering an achievement system in the game.
Apart from Steam's achievements, you can think of it as a similar concept to achievements in MMORPG games, where you can earn rewards for completing each achievement.
However, we're still in the planning stages, so we haven't decided how or when this will work, and it could change at any time.
This Q&A list was written based on your questions on Discord.
Visit our official Discord and join the discussion.
[h3]Q. How are you going to go about the weapons balance?[/h3]
As of now the crowbar seems to be the strongest, but I believe it would make sense to make stronger weapons more scarce, or nerf them.
A. The overall balance is going to go through lots of changes.
For now, we made the crowbar strong to pay homage to a different game, but it will be nerfed.
We are thinking to lower one level from its strongest point.
First I think we would change the whole TTK of going against Zombies, but as a lot of details are still under discussion, I will share once things are settled.
[h3]Q. How many concurrent users participated in the recent Pre-Alpha Test?[/h3]
I'm also curious about the total number of logins.
While I didn't face significant difficulties with matchmaking during gameplay, it felt like there were fewer players than expected.
Can you provide information on the minimum number of players in a session, especially in cases where only the minimum requirement was met?
A. It was up to about 5,000 on the first day, which you can check on sites like SteamDB.
There was almost never a minimum for a session, and it was always around 16.
If you felt like there were fewer players than you thought, it was probably because everyone kept moving around and didn't meet up.
[h3]Q. The risk of firearms[/h3]
In this test, it seemed like there was so little risk to the guns that you could just shoot a revolver as you’d like once you reached Elite Resident, and I'm wondering how that could be fixed.
A. We practically donated bullets during this Pre-Alpha, but later on they will be harder to find, presenting a significantly different obtain rate than now.
The bullets will be scarce, and there may be a limit to how many bullets you can bring with you in one session. (This is not finalized)
Also, the difficulty of the Zombies will be adjusted according to the skill level of the users being matched.
So in sessions with users who are skilled enough to wield guns, the Zombies will be more threatening, and using guns will not be as risky as it is now.
[h3]Q. Will splash damage be added?[/h3]
It seems odd that whether swinging a hammer or a crowbar, nearby structures take hits, but Zombies don't experience multi-hits.
A. I will consider it.
Allowing structures to be passed through was necessary to enable combat indoors.
Currently, depending on the weapon type, it allows for multi-hits with bladed weapons, but not with blunt weapons.
This was intentional, but we will reconsider this aspect in the future.
[h3]Q. How do you feel about the development of consecutive quests?[/h3]
I would like to ask your thoughts on unique, interconnected quests for each merchant or quests, like Tarkov, that are connected to the story.
Even if they are not interconnected quests, I'm curious if you have any plans to create separate quests for each merchant, story quests, or quests that are initiated in NAKWON and then completed in the game.
A. We haven't developed it in detail yet, but I'm considering a quest structure closer to MMORPGs.
This would involve a main quest with a continuous storyline (potentially progressed through various NPCs) and side quests, which can be repetitive or one-time-only, offered by various NPCs or systems.
I'm thinking more along the lines of typical MMORPG quest structures rather than the Tarkov approach. However, this may change in the later stages of development.
[h3]Q. Item Unlock[/h3]
If we were to develop in a direction similar to MMORPGs, what are your thoughts on items being unlocked not through the current merchant system of 'unlocked by citizen rank' but rather through completing specific quests?
A. Yes, we are considering various ideas, including this as well.
[h3]Q. Is the size of the map we've played on during the Pre-Alpha the final size?[/h3]
A. We'll expand it a bit more, but there's still some considerations.
Rather than expanding flatly, we are considering expanding the space by continuously adding interiors that can be entered.
For example, we plan to implement all floors above the 2nd floor of the NAKWON Arcade and continuously work on allowing access to various buildings that were previously inaccessible.
We believe that expanding horizontally reduces the likelihood of sensing or encountering the presence of others, so we are giving strong consideration to vertical expansion.
However, we will continue to explore better directions through testing in the future.
[h3]Q. I'm curious if there are plans to add content related to status effects in the future.[/h3]
It seems okay to add conditions like fractures.
A. We have plans to add various status effects in the future.
We are considering adding various status effects related to Zombies and PvP, but it is not confirmed yet.
Also, adding conditions like fractures in case of a fall was originally one of the goals of the Pre-Alpha, but it was omitted due to schedule constraints.
We will consider such aspects in the future.
[h3]Q. I saw that there were no crosshair options for the pre-alpha. [/h3]
Will it be added in future tests?
A. This was a deliberate decision, and we do not have plans to add any.
However we will consider it should the need arise in terms of gameplay.
[h3]Q. Will you add items from other games or anime/animations?[/h3]
A. The crowbar was an homage item for the pre-alpha.
We will consider these things whenever we can.
[h3]Q. I'm worried that too many status effects may interfere with gameplay and decrease immersion.[/h3]
Games seem to be more popular and enjoyable when they are slightly simpler rather than overly complex.
I'm curious about how many status effects you plan to introduce.
A. Although there will be many status effects, we are considering simplifying the ways to resolve them.
We don't want the game to become overly complex, so we'll ensure to implement them in an appropriate manner.
[h3]Q. Do you plan to keep the play test active while you further develop the game? [/h3]
Many Devs do and I am hoping that you will also keep the servers open and update the game alongside the player base and their feedback.
If finances are an issue, I'm sure most fans would support you financially.
A. Rather than a financial issue, we have a development issue.
I think it makes sense to do this at least when the game is at beta level.
Right now, it's not beta, it's not even alpha- it's Pre-Alpha, so even if it's open, there's very little to really enjoy, and there's nothing for us to reference in our development.
I really appreciate that you want to enjoy it even if you have to pay for it.
We'll see you again after we develop it better.
[h3]Q. Are you thinking about a title system? [/h3]
Something like where if you kill 50 Zombies you get the title “Zombie Friend”.
A. We haven't considered a title system yet, but we are considering an achievement system in the game.
Apart from Steam's achievements, you can think of it as a similar concept to achievements in MMORPG games, where you can earn rewards for completing each achievement.
However, we're still in the planning stages, so we haven't decided how or when this will work, and it could change at any time.