The Feedback Thread

[Ghost Matter]

Here are some suggestions of mine for the expansion. They're mostly about rebuilding after the zombie apocalypse, thus putting a greater emphasis on both zombies and apocalypse.

• Rebuilding the town with quests over a long time. Maybe even merchants!
  
• Opening new exits from the starting town after clearing a region. You stay in the same region but new clans and locations appear.
  
• Possibility to split your (player) clan and create a new one. When it simply becomes too unwieldy and the food upkeep is too high, it allows to split the work. The new clan is automatically allied to you and your other allies.
  
• Moving the clan to another town inside the same map. The new location is closer to the current objectives. It would take a lot of Expedition points (or another resource replacing it) though.
  
• Helping other clans grow with more than gifts and alliances. Sending them recruits, helping build new houses, merchants, eetc.
  
• Freeing new areas from hordes of zombies and helping new clans settle. Newly unlocked areas in a region are fully occupied by hordes of zombies. You need to clear out some space before the zombie threat at the gates is gone. Then after you can clear out space to settle new clans.
• Getting non-human clan members.

Another idea that links all of those above: a metropolis city for your clan.

• You have a main city for you clan where there could be merchants, clan members and other "city" features.
• When you move to a new region, you are actually clearing an area for a new outpost to be established permanently, thus pushing back the zombie threat further away from your main city.
• Completing quests and accumulating resources in a frontier (or march or outpost) region allows to improve the main city.
• You can spend some resources to get help from the main city, with certain risks (spies, enemies follow, losing the caravan on the way, etc.)
• When moving to the new frontier region, you can choose who and what to bring. Unfortunately, you can't bring all the clan/city members. The restriction is based on a certain number of resources accumulated and the upgrades to the city. You can go over the limit but if the city is not well-defended enough, it might take damage or even fall completely.
• This city could potentially be shared between characters. If so, there could be a much bigger shared stash (the Vault), only available when your character has finished with a region or if you spend resources to get temporary access to the Vault.
• Keeping the city happy and supplied is essential, else, they could break away and form a competing city/clan!
• It is possible, and sometimes necessary, to revisit cleared regions as a new enemy has appeared or another clan/city is trying to lay claim to its resources.
• The city also has a "job/quest board" where you can select the next region to visit with different objectives/victory conditions that possibly rewards a non-random object.

• If the main victory condition is not attainable anymore (for example, the other clans destroyed so no diplomatic victory is possible), you can still gain rewards for the region but they are not as great (bronze vs gold chest or no non-random reward).
• The addition of a main victory condition could potentially change the gameplay in a region a lot. For example, if the condition is "a diplomatic victory while allied to the Collectors", being at war with the collectors would something to avoid or fix. Right now, there isn't really any incentive not to destroy a clan you're at war with, even with the friends bonuses.
• The non-random reward is an encouragement to the player to play those quest board regions. If the player really wants the unique Axe, they might have to choose a more intimidating region. The item is automatically level-adjusted when it is given to the player.

• It is still possible to customize the regions' levels. It is also still possible to create a new region the "classic" way. The rewards are as good as the regions on the quest board but are random.

Alternatively, the player clan could not be responsible for a city, but be more like a mercenary, similar to Drox Operative:

• Clearing new regions improves relations with the city you give it to or chose the quest from.
• Other clans are trying to win regions before you (optional) and give them to cities, preferably ones who don't like you.
• Visiting the cities is still possible between adventures. And sometimes required when a new threat emerges, outside or in the city!

Even with all this, playing the "classic" Zombasite should still be possible, especially if the new mechanics demand more in terms of system requirements.


Seems like I wrote a lot! This is definitely outside the scope of this expansion but it might give some useful ideas.