[SEASON 2] Stalkers RPG General Chat Thread (The Secret Clubhouse!)

[Neo Emolga]

I'll be honest, that is a real bummer. I really don't have much else to say on that.

In the future, I would have suggested that you had put down certain guaranteed ways Stalkers get their Dark Event continues-or, rather, specifically, that you put down that this is how they actually progress that Dark Event. 1 was obvious as daylight but 2 wasn't quite clear on this in any way other than 'don't spill every bean you have to everyone you meet.' Absolutely no mention of this was made anywhere, and while Dark Event 2 isn't a massive concern yet that is still kind of a mean move.

While I'm at it, that also really overemphasizes Security. To give you a rough idea of how strong that perk is in comparison to all others... In theory, a whole team of Security Pokemon could simply have the majority of their players (not even all of them) pick the Escort/Protect abilities, and then just Escort the Pokemon needed to unlock things while the Protectors shielded them. This sounds like crippling overspecialization, except the time potentially wasted needing to rescue other players or heal them from injuries is also negated, meaning that every night round can be spent searching while every day round can be spent escorting Pokemon point-to-point to deal with perk shenanigans, in other words mostly negating the time disadvantage, while simultaniously dealing a double-blow to both not being able to act and negating the primary method for Stalkers to gain information. It's not deliciously game-breaking but it will probably make you sad as there will be no Algome Oen/Erif Senucius for you. The final straw comes in when you realize that so many of the items are booby-trapped (and way too often with SAN, but that's different) that they also un-booby that on the spot, and if that isn't automatic, they will have a whole team to just un-booby it later when it becomes convenient for them, which means perked allies are also perfectly safe. The only thing keeping this from being perfectly viable is the potentially long time needed to even get at perked Pokemon in that case, but again, the time disadvantage from disarming all of that becomes irrelevant to the amount of time that could be spent safely searching. Even then, you could Diplomacy a few fellows with your non-Escorters to figure out who those are.

In other words, Security is so strong that there can be a strategy using only that perk to negate major elements of the game right out.

Even without a dedicated and unlikely cheese strategy, which would likely never surface in this format, I still say Security is overemphasized in its current state because the Stalkers really went all-out on booby-trapping everything that they've so much as stepped on, but can't say 'nerf it' because quite frankly the ability to search safely is so important right now it is not even funny. people are sincerely worried about just being unable to find anything out before the clock runs out, and with injuries/Berkserks to worry about, that's less people searching...

For future runs, may I suggest merely making Security nerf the trap's effects? Like, 2 damage traps become 1 damage instead, instead of outright nullified.

Yeeep, all valid points. Security originally started off as one of the least effective perks and I think in trying to make it more effective, it was probably made too effective.

Security is, as you said, pretty overpowered and it's something we'd like to nerf in future installments. I don't want to do it now because that's not quite fair to people that picked it. Although instead of it doing less damage for traps, it will have a chance of failure to disarm on items and only adds to evasion for traps the player runs into while Searching in the field rather than allows the player to avoid everything.

One of the major things that we did notice is that Security players absolutely have their hands full. There's too much for them to do, so there is a bit of compromise there in having to choose. They also end up doing a lot more of the riskier stuff and are pretty much the Emissary guinea pigs. That's got it's own challenges as well, especially when instead of being able to pick and choose where they want to go on their own, they have to carry out the will of the team because of what only they can do with relative safety. So there is kind of a price to pay with it.

From what I've noticed, these are mainly minor tweaks that are needed. Thankfully, they're not game-breaking and things still run pretty well even when they're there, but there's definitely points to consider when making plans for Stalkers RPG in the future. We've already been keeping a working record of observations and things we'd like to change for Round 3 of Stalkers. One big point is definitely to make it a bit smaller. XD Round 3 will probably be more of a small town or suburbia. Larger than Round 1, but smaller than this, although I wouldn't mind running another Round 1-sized Stalkers again with this new system in place.


It's all stuff I think would be great for a post-game discussion when we get to that point. We did add quite a lot of new stuff and while the game does need a tiny tweak here and there, I'm pretty satisfied with the results and I think it'll continue to get better. :3

[Noblejanobii]

is there an npc we need to protect at all cost atm?

The doublade probably since he might be able to teach exorcism to more people in the future.

[Suicune's Fire]

Yep, Neo and I are keeping a tab on things that need changing. It became pretty clear early on that Security was far too OP, but like Neo said, changing it mid-game is unfair to those who picked it.

As for Dark Event 2, well, that was MEANT to be a surprise. xD And now that it's happened, chances are that people are going to be much more careful. Don't forget that you have the syringes if you want to use them--anyone can use them anytime, and they are used at the START of a turn, and do not take up a whole action. For instance, you can take an Adrenaline Syringe at the start of a Search post, then in the same cycle you can take another action (provided you act within the time parameters). OR you can make ONE post with two actions; it's up to you. ANYONE can use these, so don't be shy! I haven't heard a single peep about someone wanting to use one. Verve syringes allow you to take one less point of Health damage, so you can utilise that when searching areas (even if it won't help sanity).

Sanity was introduced to ensure that one person doesn't go for all the important things, because that was an issue for round 1. Same with cycles. It also became sort of fun for Neo and I to factor in. xD But we'd be open to tweaking it in the future. It's mainly to help those who haven't done hugely important things so that they CAN do them. Health traps are just there because the Stalkers are cruel, which is why it's so much easier to heal.



Anyhow, like Neo said, we'll definitely have a feedback thread when this is all done! Everyone will be able to voice their ideas for changes and alterations.

[VeloJello]

The doublade probably since he might be able to teach exorcism to more people in the future.

Iirc he said he won't be able to do any more teaching for years. We don't have that kind of time. XD

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

Yeah I feel like the only way he will be doing more teaching is if our current exorcists meet an untimely end...

[EmeraldSky]

My biggest beef is that the game got a little TOO big and complex for its own good--so finding a happy medium for round 3 is something to think about.

Don't get me wrong, having more things to do in comparison to Round 1 is great, but in this case, I think it's become a double edged sword.

[Suicune's Fire]

Hey, guys. I've been a bit busy these past few days. Sorry for the delays. Hopefully the night round will be all finished up soon!

[AD]

I suspect Suicune Fire of being a stalker

[Morzone]

So that you don't have to go searching through the first post for everything Item related:

I've made a list Here of all the places that need items for something or have restricted areas we need to get into. NOTE: I did not include places that need certain perks or pokemon sizes to get into, I may add them later.

For those who are trying to figure out Embalm's identity, it may be a good idea to send a dragon or normal type to check out that trapdoor in their electrical substation hideout. Though you're probably going to need either security or high sanity (or both, you never know)

[sammy0295]

=Audio Recording 2= reversed


But I'm not sure if it's saying depth or death.
I think it's depth?