Support NeoGAF

[Majukun]

what do you need to open locked shacks?
i had the ability lockpicking bu still wouldn't let me scavenge them.

 

[Toma]

However, quitting too soon risks upsetting existing customers. So there's a delicate balance to maintain. Overall, I'm aiming to do what I can until summer 2014, and hopefully have enough done for the game to seem "worth it" to customers. I'll continue to support it with bug fixes where I can, but I've been working on NEO Scavenger since early 2011, so I'd like to be starting on a new game this year!

Yeah, it would probably be a good idea to flesh it out in those regards for customers to not feel left unsatisfied, but you still have my axe (or shopping cart) for NEO Scavenger 2 day one
Wouldnt have even guessed that there are 90 of those encounters btw. I remember finding... 10-15 maybe.

 

[kiyomi]

Broke my previous record by being very cautious and sticking to one general area. It was working pretty well until I had two strangers approaching from different places and nowhere to really avoid them. Ended up in combat and unable to perform any actions, can't remember what happened but it was turn after turn of me getting battered to death somehow.

2 days, 8 hours.

I've only been playing this for a few hours since today (and plan on playing a whole lot more) but I'd love to see a NEO Scavenger 2, or whatever you decide to work on, dcfedor.

 

[NervousXtian]

There are actually quite a few of those random events in the game, but the way they trigger is complicated (and a bit limited), and might be contributing to the way you're seeing them.

In total, there are about 90 of them. However, this list is roughly split three ways into groups that you'll only see based on the way you've handle previous encounters. So one group will appear if you've mostly had neutral responses, one for selfish, and one for altruistic. When you start the game, you're considered neutral, so you're usually seeing that same neutral group at the beginning of each game.

Furthermore, each of these major groups are split into 10 minor groups of 3. A minor group tends to follow a certain theme (e.g. childbirth, crazies, a certain gang), and they'll appear in a certain order. (E.g. you have to find the woman giving birth before you find her again later with the baby already born). At any time, 10 minor groups can be seen, provided you qualify for the major group (selfish, etc.).

Finally, these random encounters almost always appear in urban or suburban hexes. I.e. they involve people and settlements, so no woodland encounters. There are more hexes than encounters, though, and they are randomly distributed across the map. So you'd have to visit most of the map to see all of them in the same game.

These random encounters are separate from the "canned" encounters, of course. Things like Hatter, Zom Zom's, and the Strange Forest are all landmarks on the map, and usually stay put. They are also much more involved, often including multiple choices, backstory, and more detailed rewards and consequences.

My future plans include adding at least a few more of those "canned" encounters: major locations and people to interact with, discover clues about your identity and history, and maybe figure out how to protect yourself against the wraith.

Time permitting, I'd also like to review the random encounters, to fix up some inconsistencies and flesh out some choices.

However, I'd also like to move on to NEO Scavenger 2 at some point (and other games), particularly so I can move into the more powerful Haxe-based engines. Flash has served me pretty well, but is becoming a limiting factor (notably, making Linux, modding, and save games tricky). The sooner I finish NEO Scavenger 1, the sooner I can make a new and improved game engine.

However, quitting too soon risks upsetting existing customers. So there's a delicate balance to maintain. Overall, I'm aiming to do what I can until summer 2014, and hopefully have enough done for the game to seem "worth it" to customers. I'll continue to support it with bug fixes where I can, but I've been working on NEO Scavenger since early 2011, so I'd like to be starting on a new game this year!

I'd love to see you start a NEO:S 2 that wasn't flash. This is a great proof of concept though, and I'll get quite a bit of enjoyment from it.

I'd love if it was more roguelike-lite though, and some chances to save.. I know it feels like cheating.. but I'd like to explore a little more in-depth.. there's some good systems in place.

Some things are kinda wonky, double clicking to move things in can be frustrating, as you have to click twice the right way.. hard to explain but it's weird. Some way to have vehicle and pack/avatar gear on same screen would be nice... it's annoying going through multiple tabs to get things right...

Is there a button to avoid double clicking.. that moves things by holding it down and clicking? It seems there is but I couldn't get it to work.. either for use,move, or destroy.

 

[Toma]

I'd love to see you start a NEO:S 2 that wasn't flash. This is a great proof of concept though, and I'll get quite a bit of enjoyment from it.

I'd love if it was more roguelike-lite though, and some chances to save.. I know it feels like cheating.. but I'd like to explore a little more in-depth.. there's some good systems in place.

Some things are kinda wonky, double clicking to move things in can be frustrating, as you have to click twice the right way.. hard to explain but it's weird. Some way to have vehicle and pack/avatar gear on same screen would be nice... it's annoying going through multiple tabs to get things right...

Is there a button to avoid double clicking.. that moves things by holding it down and clicking? It seems there is but I couldn't get it to work.. either for use,move, or destroy.

The game would lose a LOT of appeal for me as a lighter version, but maybe one could ponder an easy mode that has its own disadvantages (locking out some content which would mean higher difficulties could offer more/be more rewarding) to not make it feel like a cheap copout.

 

[dcfedor]

Is there a button to avoid double clicking.. that moves things by holding it down and clicking? It seems there is but I couldn't get it to work.. either for use,move, or destroy.

There is, actually. Normally, you'd press the 1 key to switch between "drag" and "take" modes. You shouldn't need to hold the 1 key, just press to toggle. If that isn't working, though, it could be a bug.

2 and 3 are meant to "use" and "destroy" an item, respectively, and since they can really cause problems if mis-clicked, I made them hold instead of toggle.

Re: saving the game in a non-permadeath way, it's something I've considered. One reason I'm reluctant to add it is because it fragments the userbase. Having two "modes" means that there are two games to balance (or one that just isn't balanced). And non-permadeath players will have a tendency to burn through more of the game's content faster than permadeath players. E.g. Trying every conversation option for the "best" outcome, or taking risks without any consequences.

On the other hand, if there are ways for me to make permadeath feel more "fair" and more in the player's control, then we get the benefit of permadeath's tension but also fairness. E.g. better tools for survival, or limited-use, "get out of jail free" abilities (ideally with high costs or consequences)

Re: fitting the vehicle and avatar stuff on the same screen, me too! I wish everyone had 2560x1600 monitors to fit it all

Broke my previous record by being very cautious and sticking to one general area. It was working pretty well until I had two strangers approaching from different places and nowhere to really avoid them. Ended up in combat and unable to perform any actions, can't remember what happened but it was turn after turn of me getting battered to death somehow.

Hm, that sounds a bit like being ambushed in your sleep (e.g. can't move when asleep, and can only advance combat turns). However, sleeping is usually pretty obvious, so if you didn't notice it, it could also have been a bug.

what do you need to open locked shacks?
i had the ability lockpicking bu still wouldn't let me scavenge them.

You need both the skill and lockpicks to open a lock. The game is pretty rigorous when it comes to small details like that (E.g. attaching a rifle scope requires not only the scope and rifle, but a tool and small parts, too)

 

[Majukun]

last time i died with one guy chasing me to kill me with a meat cleaver,not cool man,not cool.
the stranger,danger motto is definitely real in this game.

You need both the skill and lockpicks to open a lock. The game is pretty rigorous when it comes to small details like that (E.g. attaching a rifle scope requires not only the scope and rifle, but a tool and small parts, too)

damn,never saw the lockpick item at all.

 

[Cth]

First off, thanks to Toma for letting me check out Neo Scavenger. If I had missed out on playing this game I'd be kicking my future self

So, going into the game I'm pre-disposed to liking it -- just so you're aware of what I'm bringing to this "review". I love rogue-likes (specifically the randomness of level generation, encounters, etc). I love the survival/post-apoc genre.

I've seen others compare it to Fallout, which is apt, but I feel it had more in common with Wasteland with the layout, the picture/text combinations to set the scene, etc. That being said, Fallout is a good comparison. When customizing characters, you can take on additional flaws/perks to make your game even more challenging/rewarding.

Onto the game itself. It's what you make of it. If you want to explore, if you want to scavenge, go on the offense, etc. For my first playthrough, I had an insomniac, stealthy lockpicking, hacker type with medical skills. I managed to last about 2 days avoiding a few confrontations, ultimately succumbing to hyporthermia. In my inventory, I had some combat boots, plastic bags, a sleeping bag, berries, water bottles, string, shards of glass, and a crowbar. From time to time I'd find myself blind from exhaustion and hypothermia ultimately making my way east. I ran into a camp that was shipping captured people for food, and fled, hiding my footprints along the way.

The inventory system is like Diablo and those style of games, forcing you to decide how to maximize your storage space. When you equip certain items you add additional spots (like water bottles in your hand letting you store water, plastic bags in backpacks adding space, etc).

The combat system has a lot of interesting options as well. Being able to hide, advancing slowly, hasty retreats, etc. It felt like X-Com in a way, deciding how to best use your movement points to make sure you aren't leaving yourself in a bad position next round.

I've barely scratched the surface to be honest, and I can see myself playing this constantly. If you haven't picked it up in the bundle, you're missing out on a spectacular deal as it's well worth the non-bunded price.

To summarize, lots of options, great artwork, in depth yet simple interface system that lets you play a randomized game in a multitude of ways. The story itself seems interesting as well, but again I've barely scratched the surface, so there may be a lot of storylines I'm missing out on as is.

 

[MrCompletely]

thanks, OP - you shot my entire day. I finally lasted around 3 days, fully clothed, well stocked pack, sleeping bag - only to get assaulted in my sleep and all my stuff stolen. Didn't last long after that.

 

[Majukun]

i feel really stupid asking for this..but how do i use things like sleds,cardboard boxes or box cart?

 

[Khronico]

i feel really stupid asking for this..but how do i use things like sleds,cardboard boxes or box cart?

Put em in the vehicle slot. Boxes cannot be used on their own in the slot though, I'm pretty sure. Also make sure to upgrade sled to sled with strap (sled plus 2 medium thread in crafting menu)

I think I finally got a good, lasting survivor going. Lasted almost a week so far with no major incident except a scrap with two blind scavengers.

 

[Toma]

Put em in the vehicle slot. Boxes cannot be used on their own in the slot though, I'm pretty sure. Also make sure to upgrade sled to sled with strap (sled plus 2 medium thread in crafting menu)

I think I finally got a good, lasting survivor going. Lasted almost a week so far with no major incident except a scrap with two blind scavengers.

I think you can put a box into a hand though.

 

[Toma]

First off, thanks to Toma for letting me check out Neo Scavenger. If I had missed out on playing this game I'd be kicking my future self

Impressions that are about as good as it could get, thanks for writing that up Really nice to hear you guys seem to overall enjoy and appreciate the game.

 

[NervousXtian]

i feel really stupid asking for this..but how do i use things like sleds,cardboard boxes or box cart?

Double click them in your inventory.

 

[NervousXtian]

There is, actually. Normally, you'd press the 1 key to switch between "drag" and "take" modes. You shouldn't need to hold the 1 key, just press to toggle. If that isn't working, though, it could be a bug.

2 and 3 are meant to "use" and "destroy" an item, respectively, and since they can really cause problems if mis-clicked, I made them hold instead of toggle.

Re: saving the game in a non-permadeath way, it's something I've considered. One reason I'm reluctant to add it is because it fragments the userbase. Having two "modes" means that there are two games to balance (or one that just isn't balanced). And non-permadeath players will have a tendency to burn through more of the game's content faster than permadeath players. E.g. Trying every conversation option for the "best" outcome, or taking risks without any consequences.

On the other hand, if there are ways for me to make permadeath feel more "fair" and more in the player's control, then we get the benefit of permadeath's tension but also fairness. E.g. better tools for survival, or limited-use, "get out of jail free" abilities (ideally with high costs or consequences)

Re: fitting the vehicle and avatar stuff on the same screen, me too! I wish everyone had 2560x1600 monitors to fit it all

I have to say, just a few days in, that sometimes death just doesn't seem "fair". Some things just seem off, speaking of realism. One drop of water fills a bottle, yet it takes quite a few bottles to top off your thirst. Then your thirst goes down pretty quick, so you're drinking an incredible amount it seems. Which as you progress matters less, but just becomes an annoyance as you're filling up all these bottles which take up space.

I don't mind perma-death either, just some runs you find the essentials pretty quick, others you last days and don't even find a lighter. I guess what I'd like is an "easier mode" where you don't get hungry as quick, you don't get cold as quick, you don't die of infection so quick, so they can get over that initial hump and actually start playing.

Certain elements like the forced intro, car, glow, etc don't scream as much rogue-like but RPG/Adventure.. so you might scare off some gamer's when they die so easy until they find the easy-mode

Spoiler

kill the wolf, skin into coat, don't get hypothermia.. but then you waste 2 traits you might not want to do that.. but really it takes out the whole bad luck of the draw you get on a number of playthroughs

I'm having fun, and its cool you're here... as this type of game scratches a real itch.

 

[Majukun]

best run until now..almost a week of survival (6 days and 20 h),reached the glow that you see during the first night,but died as i searched

Spoiler

the lake to get the permit to enter the city

destroyed by a werewolf..but i was wondering..is the game programmed so that you hurt yourself if you have a blade (in my case a meat cleaver) and you roll after you fall?because i did that and my character started bleeding,but i didn't see if before the wolf attacked me.

there's no way to avoid a werewolf once it spots you?i was like 40 "movement units" away from him,tried to retreat at least 10 times and everytime it was useless

it was a shame because it was a great run,good clothes,well fed,good weapons..and all ended because one night i met the bad wolf

 

[dcfedor]

but i was wondering..is the game programmed so that you hurt yourself if you have a blade (in my case a meat cleaver) and you roll after you fall?because i did that and my character started bleeding,but i didn't see if before the wolf attacked me.

there's no way to avoid a werewolf once it spots you?i was like 40 "movement units" away from him,tried to retreat at least 10 times and everytime it was useless

There isn't any code to injure you if you roll with a blade, so my guess is that you were cut by an attack from the dogman in an earlier turn. You can also get cut by scavenge results, which some people miss. (It'll say you injured yourself somehow in the building, and some folks just ignore it.)

As for avoiding a dogman, it can be hard, but it also depends on several factors. 40 spaces is more than enough to escape under normal circumstances. However, if you're dragging a sled or cart, you cannot run, so your chances are lower.

Similarly, if the enemy has more movement points per turn than you (due to you being injured, hypothermic, starving, etc.), it will also reduce your chances. Finally, the enemy's attack range can prevent you from escaping, but for a dogman, that shouldn't often be the case.

I have to say, just a few days in, that sometimes death just doesn't seem "fair". Some things just seem off, speaking of realism. One drop of water fills a bottle, yet it takes quite a few bottles to top off your thirst. Then your thirst goes down pretty quick, so you're drinking an incredible amount it seems. Which as you progress matters less, but just becomes an annoyance as you're filling up all these bottles which take up space.

Certain elements like the forced intro, car, glow, etc don't scream as much rogue-like but RPG/Adventure.. so you might scare off some gamer's when they die so easy until they find the easy-mode

I actually just made a change to water in my local dev build which should help with this. Many others pointed out some similar concerns about water, and I did some calculations which revealed that the bottle only holds about half as much as it should. I.e. it's a 500mL bottle, and each drop of water counts for 250mL of hydration.

So I've increased water stack sizes to 2, which means bottles can now carry 2x as much water. I'm going to see if this helps with the feeling of constantly finding and processing water, since it should theoretically be less frequent now.

As for the RPG/Adventure cues, the "car" is actually a good example of a safety net I added to help with this. If you suffer from hypothermia within the first 24 hours of the game, you find "the car," and are guaranteed a sleeping bag. Sleeping bags are pretty much 100% effective at restoring warmth, so players shouldn't have to die of hypothermia once they find one.

However, I think it might not be clear how to use them in some cases. It's tedious, and some folks might forget to use them or don't know how.

When it comes to "unfair" deaths, the "car" is an example of a solution I'd like to try before more drastic measures like non-permadeath or "easy mode."

As always, thanks for all the feedback, guys! The game has players like you to thank for being what it is. I don't always notice flaws or edge-cases in the game design, so it's handy to hear what other people experience when playing!

 

[doctorcdcs]

Sent you a key as well.

In case you didn't get my PM, a big thank you for the code. I've been playing this and it's been quite fun.

I'm now really tempted to buy the game just to support the developer. I would love to see how a fleshed out and complete game would turn out.

edit: is there any way to use the keyboard for moving around tiles?

 

[Majukun]

There isn't any code to injure you if you roll with a blade, so my guess is that you were cut by an attack from the dogman in an earlier turn. You can also get cut by scavenge results, which some people miss. (It'll say you injured yourself somehow in the building, and some folks just ignore it.)

As for avoiding a dogman, it can be hard, but it also depends on several factors. 40 spaces is more than enough to escape under normal circumstances. However, if you're dragging a sled or cart, you cannot run, so your chances are lower.

very strange,i'm pretty sure i was completely healed..only thing i can think of,is that the text for the attack of the dogman falled behind the text telling me that i was hurt,where and that i was bleeding.

also strange for the fleeing away from a dogman,i usually don't use carts or sleds exactly because i want to be able to run ,so it's not that,but still i was not able to run away from that dogman,maybe i was just unlucky

 

[NervousXtian]

I actually just made a change to water in my local dev build which should help with this. Many others pointed out some similar concerns about water, and I did some calculations which revealed that the bottle only holds about half as much as it should. I.e. it's a 500mL bottle, and each drop of water counts for 250mL of hydration.

So I've increased water stack sizes to 2, which means bottles can now carry 2x as much water. I'm going to see if this helps with the feeling of constantly finding and processing water, since it should theoretically be less frequent now.

As for the RPG/Adventure cues, the "car" is actually a good example of a safety net I added to help with this. If you suffer from hypothermia within the first 24 hours of the game, you find "the car," and are guaranteed a sleeping bag. Sleeping bags are pretty much 100% effective at restoring warmth, so players shouldn't have to die of hypothermia once they find one.

However, I think it might not be clear how to use them in some cases. It's tedious, and some folks might forget to use them or don't know how.

When it comes to "unfair" deaths, the "car" is an example of a solution I'd like to try before more drastic measures like non-permadeath or "easy mode."

As always, thanks for all the feedback, guys! The game has players like you to thank for being what it is. I don't always notice flaws or edge-cases in the game design, so it's handy to hear what other people experience when playing!

Water thing seems like it should help, basically dropping in half what you'd need space wise in bottles. Though doesn't solve how much a of a pain it is to sterilize all that water since you still need so much to stay quenched.

BTW, I was one of the guys who didn't understand how to use the sleeping bag. I thought you auto used it when camping.. but you need to take it out, put it on the ground then put it in the camp to use. It makes sense, but it really is a pain. Also, I can't tell you how many times I forgot the sleeping bag.. which doesn't make sense as you'd never leave it in real life.. but its kinda out-of-site-out-of-mind.

 

[Majukun]

Tried some builds..until now,at least for me,the best seems to be :eagle eye,botany,strong and medic.malus are too rough to be used just for another skill,metabolism in particular is a death sentence
Eagle eye gives you access to your first blade and it's useful to avoid combat and search for good places to scavenge.
Strong is useful in battle,but the best use is to use it to boost the loot,so that you can find good stuff faster in the first part of the game when you have to find some clothes fast.
Botany pretty much eliminates the food problem,since you can live eating berries and fungus avoiding the poisonus ones that you scavenge from the forests.
Medic immediately gives you access to medicines and gives you your first container,useful for the beginning when you have limited space,also you can have a more detailed health status of the character

That's the best i've found,most of the others seems too specific,you usually die before you have the occasion to use them once

 

[Wanace]

When I select the "stretch" option on the graphics it just defaults back to the original resolution in the window when I play. I'm even choosing "save settings". Does this happen to anyone else?

Also a quick question about the "glow" in the east.

I

Spoiler

made it to Detroit

and talked to the

Spoiler

hatter. He told me about the quest to do find the urn, but then I used my tracking skill in there and he gave me a bracelet. I tried to reenter the city but was unable to.

Then I left and wandered around to the northwest thinking I should find this urn. However then I thought to myself, "oh, maybe I should've WORN the bracelet!" So I put it on, end my turn, and it immediately fell apart. :-(

Do I need the bracelet to get into Detroit? If it falls apart is there another way to get one? Or is that it?

Also is the urn location supposed to show up on the minimap?

I died anyway but I'm just curious in case this happens again, haha.

 

[dcfedor]

When I select the "stretch" option on the graphics it just defaults back to the original resolution in the window when I play. I'm even choosing "save settings". Does this happen to anyone else?

This is actually something I'm working on right now. There are some flaky settings on that page, and I'm hoping to make them more reliable. I think I've got the issues you're describing sorted out, but I'll have to test on Macs and Linux when I'm back at work.

As for bracelets "falling apart," that's a bit misleading. It actually just turns into a lower-priced version of itself, which is so you can't sell it back to the market at full price after using it. I actually made a few tweaks this week to hide those messages in cases like this (and when eating food, water, pills), since it tends to be more confusing than helpful.

Water thing seems like it should help, basically dropping in half what you'd need space wise in bottles. Though doesn't solve how much a of a pain it is to sterilize all that water since you still need so much to stay quenched.

BTW, I was one of the guys who didn't understand how to use the sleeping bag. I thought you auto used it when camping.. but you need to take it out, put it on the ground then put it in the camp to use. It makes sense, but it really is a pain. Also, I can't tell you how many times I forgot the sleeping bag.. which doesn't make sense as you'd never leave it in real life.. but its kinda out-of-site-out-of-mind.

In case it helps, you can load up the ingredients box at the top when sterilizing water, and then just keep clicking the "Confirm" button to spam through the whole list. It still takes in-game time, but at least your clicking and mousing is a bit better than setting it up for each run.

As for the sleeping bag, I still need to work out an optimal solution here. I'm hesitant to make it work when it's just being carried, since it seems like it might imbalance the sleeping bag (no need for clothes!). Maybe there's a way I can make it less tedious to use, and harder to misplace/forget.

 

[Majukun]

what do you need to cook meat?i had meat (small size,from a squirrel if i remember correctly),a branch and the campfire but the only result showed was the fire consumed and some ashes,no cooked meat

 

[RS4-]

This game is kicking my ass, wtf.

 

[Sub Zero]

First of all, I'd like to thank Toma for introducing me to the game and for making this very informative OT.

I played only for a couple of hours and was very impressed by the game. It is very similar to FTL as in getting your ass kicked is way more fun than actually winning. Really liked the attention to detail and the depth of the game. Even though it is graphically unimpressive it does a fantastic job at presenting it's world. When a bandit ambushed me or I was trapped in a arena, the game gave me a clear picture of what was happening.


Didn't really have any major issues. There is a some lack of variety in items, enemies and events but I hope this will get fixed by the time the full version releases. I'm also not a big fan of the UI and the menus as some things like the character creation and the combat screen can be confusing. Finally, I think a tutorial explaining the basic mechanics is quite necessary because this is not a simple game.

Oh, and I would like to make a request, please add Steam Achievements in the final version

 

[Nether!]

Man, I've spent a few hours playing now and I don't completely suck any more!
My last game I finally got both the HVAC and lights working in the cryo lab.
I also had two guns and I was doing great.
Then I used my gold medallion to make a squirrel trap and that ghost guy came and killed me.
I guess I can't take it off.

 

[NervousXtian]

So botany is ace. Let's you basically ignore worrying about food.. which is great.

I lasted a long time this last playthrough.. built up a huge stash.. made it to the Glow.. and then

Spoiler

died at Hidden Lake from sticking around too long.. that felt cheap.. especially with how long it took to get there.. but it was kinda cool.. but damn.. I was geared up

 

[coldfoot]

Looks incredible, like a better version of Don't starve where you're not racing against time.
Have the devs considered porting this to tablets?

 

[Toma]

Looks incredible, like a better version of Don't starve where you're not racing against time.
Have the devs considered porting this to tablets?

This version will likely finish development this year, but after that he wants to work NEO Scavenger 2 at least to make a ton of things easier and more adjustable. No clue how his next development cycle will affect porting jobs though.

 

[Majukun]

finally

Spoiler

I got inside detroit.
I was expecting much more inside..the dining room seems good but i was already well fed,i coldn't use the bank because i didn't have an account there,and at the medic center everything is incredibly expensive

so,the question is..where do i go from here?back to the cryo lab?

also..isn't there any way to know how much money do you have?I sold something at the shop but i have no idea how much i have ATM

 

[NervousXtian]

finally

Spoiler

I got inside detroit.
I was expecting much more inside..the dining room seems good but i was already well fed,i coldn't use the bank because i didn't have an account there,and at the medic center everything is incredibly expensive

so,the question is..where do i go from here?back to the cryo lab?

also..isn't there any way to know how much money do you have?I sold something at the shop but i have no idea how much i have ATM

It says on the left side of the screen. Above End Turn and time of day below Unhurt


I'm at the same exact spot.

Spoiler

Found the tribe, got the urn, got in Detroit... now I'm lost as to what's next..

 

[OTIX]

First game, I make a beefy melee character. Kill the dogman with my hands and then walk around scavenging tons of random stuff on my sled. Figure out how to make a broad spear and distill water. The other scavengers seem afraid of me. Manage to keep food and water up but eventually I have to sleep. Get woken by a dogman, I don't wanna abandon my sled so I decide to kick his ass. Do the melee flurry with my spear, some text scrolls up but I don't have time to read it because it's instant Game Over. What the fuck...

Give it another shot. Make it a few days, kill a few people. Get some good stuff. Suddenly I'm poisoned, shouldn't have eaten those damn berries. Poison level 3, diarrhoea and severe pain. The only meds I have are painkillers. I try scavenging everything I see with maximum noise but it's no use. All I can do is pop painkillers, drink loads of distiller water and eat all the food I got. I'm sure I'm about to die, but then somehow I ride it out and the poison is gone. Being Tough pays off, and maybe the negative metabolism actually helped as well. I notice that it's 6 am and I've been playing all night.

This game is seriously addictive and pretty great.

 

[Majukun]

yesterday i saved the file and today is not there anymore and i have to begin all over again..damn i was packed in that run

 

[Weltall Zero]

Bought thanks to Toma's recommendation. Actually bought the entire bundle, even though I already own and have finished Defender's Quest, which is an AMAZING game and the most addictive and satisfying tower defense game I've played aside from Plants vs Zombies.

 

[Majukun]

can't understand what happens with the werewolves...one moment i'm winning and he 's coughing blood,one moment later is game over ò_ò

also,I can say that sometimes the game is pretty unfair..you can be in perfect health,armed to the teeth,and then a guy armed with a rock comes,hits you in the head at the first try,stuns you,and continues the process until you are dead by brain damage,all without giving you the chance to counter attack,or if you do,you will just attack his arm,so still a hit,but nowhere as fatal as the ones you got.
Same thing happened against a guy with a sharpened spear,i had a meat cleaver,first hit is mine to his arm,the first of his attacks hits me in the head,blood everywhere,pain,stun,and then he proceedes to carve more holes into my body without me being able to even move one time.game over.

 

[dcfedor]

Thanks for the feedback, guys! Quite a few questions and comments, so I'll do my best to address them.

Combat Fairness

This comes up a lot, especially with new players. One big difference between NEO Scavenger and other RPGs (and even roguelikes) is that combat is designed to be a losing game. In most RPGs, combat is a way to hone skills and get stronger. In NEO Scavenger, combat whittles you down, and any fight can be your last.

Furthermore, all creatures you encounter play by the same rules. No special treatment nor buffs/debuffs because you are a player and they are AI. Your hits are subject to the same modifiers due to strength, melee skill, ranged skill, and toughness as they are. Weapons do matter a bit, but your strategy matters way more.

A good rule of thumb in NEO Scavenger is that "winners don't get hit."

yesterday i saved the file and today is not there anymore and i have to begin all over again..damn i was packed in that run

This sounds a bit like you have antivirus or cookie cleaner software deleting your cookies. (The save game files are stored as Flash cookies.) This link explains a bit about how you can avoid that issue:
http://bluebottlegames.com/main/node/762#comment-9780

I Got to Detroit, Now What?

Detroit isn't finished, so there are some loose threads you'll run into there. However, there should be half a dozen or so places to discover out in the wilderness, too.

There is at least one plot-related string of encounters to have in the DMC, but you can get yourself blocked from having them by making certain choices. In the finished game, this will still be the case, though there may be a few more services in which to partake.

In essence, I wanted to make an RPG where your choices had real consequences. Getting exiled, getting excommunicated from valuable services, or losing a valuable contact or lead in your investigation are serious possibilities. Make every choice carefully, because many conversations will get lost forever if you say something wrong.

That said, I am also trying to make the game non-linear enough that you might find the same info via other means. Or, you may find different info that helps in a different way. Like a detective with too many leads to follow, some will inevitably go cold, and your best bet is to work with what you have.

Besides, you die a lot in this game. Plenty of chances to try again later!

Will NEO Scavenger Be Available On Tablets?

I'd like to try this once I'm finished with the desktop version. I'm not sure how easy it will be, but I totally agree that it would fit that format well. Nice, calm, turn-based game to lazily play on the couch or during commute with a tablet.

Dying at Hidden Lake

This is actually a really good example of an encounter where choices matter, and the traditional RPG "bah, I can handle it" mentality will get you killed. There is nothing about that place that says "come on inside!" Anyone who goes there is looking for trouble. Anyone who lingers there get's what they deserve

Confusing UI and How to Play

This has long been one of the biggest weaknesses of NEO Scavenger, so I'm always trying to improve it. If there are specific things about the GUI that you can see being better, do let me know how. I can't guarantee anything is possible, but if it seems doable and would solve the issue, I'd like to hear it!

As for a manual, I do hope to have a better manual and/or tutorial in place for the final version. One of my mods, Malacodor, has already put together a How To Play PDF on my site, and users maintain a wiki that can be helpful, too.

Steam Achievements and Steamworks Integration

Sorry, but this won't be possible in the final version. The game uses Flash as an engine, and there is no way to integrate Steamworks with a Flash app unless I switch to AIR. But switching to AIR knocks out several of my Linux players, which I'm not willing to do.

So unfortunately, no Steamworks stuff in the final version. This is part of the reason I'm so anxious to start on a NEO Scavenger 2: better support for more advanced features!

How Do I Cook Meat?

It sounds like you had all the correct ingredients (meat, fire, stick), so my guess is that you just didn't see the little orange arrows above the crafting output window. If the ingredients you've selected can make more than one output, you'll get those arrows to cycle through the possible outcomes. I'm working on making this clearer in an updated UI as we speak.

Thanks again, guys!

 

[Majukun]

thanks for your answers

 

[Kuroyume]

Kind of dumb that the saves can be deleted if you clear your cookies. I do that almost every time I get off the laptop.

 

[Dire]

Just picked up a key because of the demo. This game is insanely fun.

One thing I really like is that in random events, like scavenging a building, you can modify the search in various ways and the resultant chances are clearly displayed. Something that would be pretty cool is more random events, similar to FTL, but with this same sort of setup. It's strange but the simple addition of displaying your [modifiable] odds rather than FTL's approach of "go check the wiki if you really wanna know.." makes it much more immersive and less like a memorize the right option type thing.

 

[Sarcasm]

Forty plus minutes and I still don't know what I am doing.

 

[Tesseract]

had a busy weekend tutoring my nephews, hopefully this week i'll play a bunch and post impressions.

 

[kiyomi]

Started up a game this morning and got even further than before, 3 days 18 hours.

However, once again, I was attacked during my sleep, and I tried to Roll Dodge about 8-10 times with no success of moving further away from my attacker. He was just constantly hitting me and the couple of occasions I attempted to Get Up, it was to no avail, and I just bled out. Still really enjoying the game, but I don't know whether I'm just picking bad places to sleep, or whether I'm doing something else wrong.

Also, are values for clothing items just random? Because I found some blue jeans that were a much worse % in terms of their condition, but were valued at almost 3x the price of the ones I was wearing.

 

[Toma]

Started up a game this morning and got even further than before, 3 days 18 hours.

However, once again, I was attacked during my sleep, and I tried to Roll Dodge about 8-10 times with no success of moving further away from my attacker. He was just constantly hitting me and the couple of occasions I attempted to Get Up, it was to no avail, and I just bled out. Still really enjoying the game, but I don't know whether I'm just picking bad places to sleep, or whether I'm doing something else wrong.

Also, are values for clothing items just random? Because I found some blue jeans that were a much worse % in terms of their condition, but were valued at almost 3x the price of the ones I was wearing.

Where are you trying to sleep?

 

[kiyomi]

Abandoned houses and shacks mostly. They had high levels of Shelter and whatever the second attribute is (I forgot!), but it had poor Healing.

Also tried to Hide Tracks and Hide before sleeping.

 

[Toma]

Abandoned houses and shacks mostly. They had high levels of Shelter and whatever the second attribute is (I forgot!), but it had poor Healing.

Also tried to Hide Tracks and Hide before sleeping.

Hm, weird. Rarely had issues in houses and shacks.

 

[Majukun]

Started up a game this morning and got even further than before, 3 days 18 hours.

However, once again, I was attacked during my sleep, and I tried to Roll Dodge about 8-10 times with no success of moving further away from my attacker. He was just constantly hitting me and the couple of occasions I attempted to Get Up, it was to no avail, and I just bled out. Still really enjoying the game, but I don't know whether I'm just picking bad places to sleep, or whether I'm doing something else wrong.

Also, are values for clothing items just random? Because I found some blue jeans that were a much worse % in terms of their condition, but were valued at almost 3x the price of the ones I was wearing.

acquire something that allows you to see farther (binoculars,eagle eye skill,rifle scope) and try to be sure no one is in sight when you begin to sleep,that's the best i can give you as an advise to avoid being attacked in your sleep.following this I got attacked only once since i began playing,and the guy wasn't attacking me but picking up a sled that was in the building with me,we had a friendly talk and part ways.
also you can try build an item who makes noise and wakes you up if someone approaches.

as for the value of clothes..they get the value for the items that are in their pockets too..so a pair of rotten jeans with bullets inside the pocket can be worth a ton.

 

[NervousXtian]

I think I'm out of stuff to do. I'm fully kitted out..

Spoiler

beat the wraith.. shotgun blast took it out!

.. being as it's flash, if it's updated probably got to start again.. but is the Wikia up-to-date? I had a look over at it to see if I missed anything.. but all the places I see there I've done... is there a reason to go to the NW part of the map? I stopped at the enclave and I'm back at the Glow right now stocking up again.

BTW, I highly suggest Botany as a trait, along with Melee, Strong and Tough. Lockpicking was handy early for getting more gear quicker as well... I used the Insomnia flaw as it's the easiest to really counteract as the game goes on in my opinion.

..but the good thing with botany and strong is you can increase loot with strong and find food with botany. Which is the start is the 2 biggest obstacles you need to overcome once you actually figured out how to use a darn sleeping bag.

I'd say trapping would be worthwhile.. but meat just doesn't give you enough back on your meter to make all the extra steps worth it compared to botany. I think there's some balance issues there to be honest.. meat should restore quite a bit more than it does.. I can skin a squirrel, cook him, then eat him.. and it seems to only be a couple moves worth of the meter. I know berries don't do much, but they are so much easier to find and store up.. and later with upgrades you can just eat as you go for the most part. I've gone back and forth from Enclave to Glow I think 3 or 4 times now in this current game.

 

[NervousXtian]

Also, my best tip for someone starting out: might be considered spoilers, but not really...

Ignore the glow. It'll still be there later, don't worry.

Stay around the Cryo, it's your HQ for the first days/weeks.

Area's re-spawn loot. So there's no reason to go further out than needed, staying close to the Cryo with a set camp and bag is the easiest way to survive the beginning.

Don't bother heading for the Glow until you have at least full clothing, a good melee weapon, a good store of food and water, a good vehicle (cart), and a nice array of medicine. The loot seems stronger by the Cryo than the glow, so if you're aren't kitted up for the trek don't go.

 

[Majukun]

wow,i probbaly got lucky since one o them died of cardiac arrest after the first attack,but i have won a battle against TWO dogman leaders ò_ò

EDIT: two times ò_ò.maybe it's just the build,or maybe i'm getting better at this game.anyway,the north part of the map is full of those guys