Thanks!
Nice!
> Well, sort of. Depending on your WORK attribute, your XP rate can vary very strongly - from 80% to almost 200%. But that's a different story.
Can you elaborate on that in a future post? Are you worried about meta-gaming based on however that mechanic works?
WORK is a bit of an odd attribute, so I'll address the experience rate aspect in a larger context.
When creating your character, you have to distribute limited number of attribute points accross 5 main attributes, including WORK. That means that every point invested in WORK is not invested in, e.g., PHYSICAL or CHARM etc., that means you have sacrifice either health or conversation options. However, every point invested in WORK, converts to a skill point which you can use to increase SPEECH, SCITEC, RANGED etc..
That means if you want to have skilled character, you invest in WORK. But if you don't, you end up with more attribute points to PHYSICAL, CHARM etc. which sort of represents a talented but inexperienced person (lower skill levels).
However, all that is static and fixed after the creation of character. In the game WORK affects the rate of how fast you are gaining XP/Stress. And the difference is quite noticeable - your XP coeficient is 40% at WORK 1 and 200% at WORK 5. That means that a typical side quest with nominal reward 10 XP will yield you something between 4 to 20 XP points.
Of course, that means you are getting level-ups much more often with higher WORK, so it seems max out WORK should be no-brainer. It is...but there are some minor caveats.
1) If you maxed out WORK, it means (as we discussed in the beginning) that other major attributes are lower. Your health is lower, or your chances of getting laid (a viable social mechanic) are limited, or your speed (AP points) are low, you cannot evade attacks as good as other character builds could. Basically, you have sacrificed some of your abilities already. And, bear in mind, these attributes usually cannot be increased in game via levelups or any other way, so that is significant sacrifice.
2) And the other thing - levelups are not necessarily exclusively good. You gain marks - conditional, situational tiny adjustments to your character (I will post about them next time) but there's a catch - on every even levelup besides a positive mark, you have to take also a negative one (e.g.
Overweight which reduces your speed, AP). And the more xp you get, the more negative quirks you accumulate.
In the end, maxxed out WORK could be too good and unbalanced, main thing that it should force you into a different play style if you choose to. After all, you can complete the game with all the attributes and skills at minimum.
Man each time I see your blog I get overwhelmed by the huge scope of the game.
How are you holding up and keeping focus?
And also congratulations! I stumbled across your project many times on youtube and Twitter. You have Good coverage
Thanks! Comments like this actually help a lot
. And happy to hear that our game is out there.
I don't know for sure, but I can guess that publicly available demo version and regular feedback from people, even just about GIFs like this, is a significant motivator. So, thanks! :D
Leveling up being a double-edged sword sounds like an interesting mechanic, curious to see how that feels in practice!
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