Modern Foraging Skill

[Mickey Kudlo]

So you walk into a market and see shelves with stuff on it.
You double click it to "forage" it and get goods based on your Forage skill.
Like a skill of 20 might give 1 Stale Loaf of Bread and 2 Cans of Soup.
And the shelf you double clicked goes empty.

What happens to the Empty Shelf?
A - nevers refills again, just a one time thing
B - refills after a set amount of time, like randomly between 1 to 2 real days
C - refills at a longer and longer rate each time someone forages it, like 1 day then 2 days then 3 days, etc

This of course assumes no one booby trapped it with a claymore mine.

[Greatest]

A means resources are finite and the first person to a spot has a huge advantage(and noobs that start late are screwed)

B means resources are unlimited but a player camping a spot doesn't get a huge advantage(probably best), but 2 real days might be too long especially at low skill levels when you'll barely get anything...

C means after a while a spot won't even be worth checking anymore...I can see this getting into weeks and then over a month.

is there any way to make it unique per player?  ie if a person just looted a store but another person walks in they have the same chances to loot(and each have their own timer)?  if so that  paired with option B might work better...

[Mickey Kudlo]

Oh i had thought about that option before but forgot. I do like it and it can be done but i wouldnt want it to respawn at all for a player. Once u forage it then that is it. Cuz u are gaurenteed some loot then i dont think it should respawn. That mixed with the occasional option B could work. Newb wont get screwed and veterans still can compete for loot.

[Greatest]

also instead of can of soup, how about can of dogfood

you can eat it but it has some drawbacks...would mean people have to forage more than just a few places close by. 

I like the show so I was watching walking dead on netflix and got to the episode where the kid was going to eat the dogfood...it got me thinking!

[Mongo]

A - Finite resources, probably not a good idea
B - Predictable forage locations, probably not much better
C - I have a feeling this would lead to very few forage locations pretty quickly. If this is done, I would cap it. For your example, I'd say go no greater than 3 days.

It would be nice if we could find a 'realistic' option. Really, "A" is the only realistic option, but it obviously will cause issues.

Honestly, I don't think scavenging in stores should yield much. I imagine the scenario being most stores are looted and empty, leaving very few supplies. Most of the supplies I imagine you would find from what other players have horded. So I guess A works. C is OK. B might work as long as it's a long respawn time by default. I don't think the players should be able to get any high-quality items from these locations though. Not sure where they would.... hmm..

[Mickey Kudlo]

A- finite resources gives farmers value. Why should anyone farm if they can keep getting some canned goods at a market that is a block away.

B- The locations could move around somewhat. They system could look for a randomly empty shelf or kitchen cabinet then spawn loot there.

C- a cap could work.

D- I still like this idea, where it tracks for each player. Not realistic but playable.

Option B and D mixed, looking good to me.

I imagine the scenario being most stores are looted and empty, leaving very few supplies. Most of the supplies I imagine you would find from what other players have horded.

The world starts off with everyone waking up at the same time so everything is in place as any normal day. But, what happens after that... who knows cuz players and NPCs and whatever can come in and mess with it. This isn't your typical zombie outbreak where it happens slowly and people have a chance to react. This happens, literally, overnite.

I don't think the players should be able to get any high-quality items from these locations though. Not sure where they would.... hmm..

The better your forage skill, the better and more stuff you will get. Like someone going into a gun store with Forage 10 would find a .22 revolver where as someone with Forage 50 could find a .44 magnum. So getting high quality items would be skill based, not location based, really.

[Greatest]

is it going to be all skill based or will luck(the attribute) have some play in it?  like someone with 20 skill 30 luck might have better pull than someone with 30 skill 10 luck, or is luck just a factor in your looting skill(I like the term looting better than foraging for these examples)?

[Mongo]

The world starts off with everyone waking up at the same time so everything is in place as any normal day. But, what happens after that... who knows cuz players and NPCs and whatever can come in and mess with it. This isn't your typical zombie outbreak where it happens slowly and people have a chance to react. This happens, literally, overnite.

But to replicate this scenario, you would need every single person who plays on the server to start at the same time to simulate everyone waking up on day 0 of the apocalypse.

The reality is you'll have most people joining several days+ after the start with no real explanation.. not that one is needed, but these people will not see the same beginnings as the rest.

If you went with option A, those people who started on day 0 will get the experience you're looking for while the majority of players will see

most stores are looted and empty, leaving very few supplies

Which I guess is fine, but it does make the game harder for each person that joins.