Hello again Survivors!
Last week we took a look at the changes regarding the Characters and Combat Systems!
This week we’re diving into a big change that will have a major effect on all aspects of the game: A Major Overhaul of the Stage System.
Before we get into the details, this update is a complete redefinition aimed at making the core of our game clearer. So, it’s going to be a bit of a deep dive, as it’s the result of a lot of thought and discussion. So, thanks for sticking with us through this detailed explanation.
As we mentioned in our previous Developer’s Note [So… Is it fun now? #2], we added “Farming Maps” to act as a link between the Story Maps. But after testing, the feedback on these farming maps has been “mixed,” and even “negative” in some cases.
We’ve had a lot of discussions about whether the farming map was necessary, and we’ve finally come up with what we think is the “final result” for the stage setup. It’s taken some time, but we’re excited to share it now. Let’s start by talking about why we’re rethinking the “Value” of the farming maps.
Issue 1: Were “Procedurally Generated Random Maps” Really the Best Way to Express Our Intentions?
One of the main goals for adding farming maps after Early Access was to break away from the linear map layout structure we had before. We wanted to provide more strategic options for progressing through the maps.
However, to achieve this, we needed to create a huge number of farming maps. Considering how actively we’re working on other content, manually creating all these farming maps turned out to be practically impossible.
So, instead of manually creating maps, we decided to go with a roguelike approach using procedural random map generation. Basically, we set up some rules around difficulty and layout, and every time you enter a farming map, a new one is randomly generated based on those rules.
By going this route, we could work within our current team resources and offer players a unique farming map experience every time they play.
But after testing it internally, we ran into a problem. This “Non-repetitive Experience” could actually feel like “Content Overload.” In other words, constantly changing farming maps might end up being overwhelming and make the game less enjoyable because it feels like it’s too much.
So now we’ve got two issues to tackle: we need to create farming maps that are realistic for our team to produce, but we also want to avoid just filling the game with content for the sake of it. This leads to the next challenge—figuring out what kind of experience we want to deliver within each individual map!
Problem 2: Is Making the Maps Bigger the Right Solution?
During the testing of existing farming maps, we identified a few issues: some players felt that the maps were too repetitive, while others thought the maps were too large, leading to unnecessarily long and tiring playtimes.
These conflicting feelings arise because we intentionally made the farming maps large. To create a vast number of expansive farming maps, we had to establish certain "Design Rules" for each part of the map.
Once players become familiar with these rules, even a randomly generated farming map can start to feel repetitive. Additionally, because of the map's size, playtime naturally increases, and without a strong sense of purpose like in the story maps, this longer playtime can feel excessive.
Despite this, the reason we aimed to make farming maps large was to offer a variety of combat experiences.
For example, on the same farming map, you might encounter three Blubbers in one room, while in another room, you face a group of four Blisters and twelve Knawers. Each scenario provides a distinctly different combat experience. Moreover, if a roaming SKulker is added to the mix, it can introduce yet another layer of variation to these combat encounters.
So, the idea that "a bigger farming map gives more diverse tactical experiences" is true. But it’s also true that having back-to-back tough battles without a break can start to feel repetitive and exhausting.
This got us thinking—are the combat experiences we’re offering really as distinct as we thought?
Basically, if each "room" in a "map" is giving a different combat experience but it’s still causing overall fatigue, then why not just shrink the "map" down to the size of a "room"? That’s how the idea came about.
Solution: What if we made each map the "smallest possible unit of experience" and gave players a bunch of these smaller maps to choose from?
Story maps, with their narrative and design goals, need to stick to their usual size and style. But since farming maps are just "routes" between story maps and don’t have that same narrative weight, we could make them smaller while still providing that "variety of combat experiences."
We also talked about taking this "route" idea literally—what if farming maps actually functioned as pathways that players navigate through, instead of just being a system that connects maps?
Based on this idea, we sketched out a simple stage structure. The story maps are the main objectives as you progress through the game. The farming maps, on the other hand, act as “Obstacles” on your journey to the next story map.
If the farming maps serve as these "pathways," then depending on your playstyle or how far you are in the game, you might choose to take a shortcut to the next story map, or you might decide to thoroughly explore the farming map for more resources. We concluded that giving you this kind of freedom and the variety of experiences that come with it would make the game more "fun."
So, What's Going to Change?
As we prepared for these fundamental changes to the stage system, especially for the farming maps, we realized that while the idea is great in theory, it would bring about significant changes. Naturally, we started some deeper discussions with a bit of concern.
Changing one thing leads to other changes, and we kept wondering if we should go through with all of them, and whether these changes would truly make the game more "fun."
For example, there were concerns about "how to handle movement between maps." In our game’s current setup, leaving a map usually means you’ve cleared it, and it’s natural to return to the hideout. But if we allow direct movement from one map to another, we’d have to consider things like how to manage the downtime in between, the pacing of map progression, and how it all fits with the combat system. These are just some of the many elements we’d need to think through, both system-wise and gameplay-wise.
We also had to think about how to handle the narrative appeal between story maps and farming maps. Even if we keep the story maps packed with narrative intent, if the farming maps lack that same narrative connection, they might end up feeling like just "filler." This could even disrupt the narrative flow of the story maps.
After discussing these concerns from multiple angles, we came up with a variety of ideas that would not only fit our game well but also make it more "Fun."
Starting next week, we'll share the specific direction our game’s stage system will take.
We look forward to sharing it!
Thank you, Survivors!
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