I agree with nearly everything you said Hakkla. I am of the thought that if someone disects a game and find that many flaws, then those flaws need to be addressed. Especially if those flaws take away from the realism needed for a person to suspend their imagination. I will say one thing, the atmosphere of the run down look of the facility does contribute to the horror of the game. However, I can't help but think that no facility in our time would ever look or function that way. I have hope that the people on this forum as well as Regalis can come up with ideas to eliminate many of the design flaws while maintaining the look of the horror. Now I am not well knowledged on blitz3D or if it has too many limitations for the developer to work with. If this is the case, then there will be very little Regalis can do to correct the issues. However, I am sure that he will do what he can to address most of them. The idea of the facility being laid out in a better way makes the most sense to me. mixing up SCPs with offices never did make too much sense for many of the reasons you listed Hakkla. I had always assumed that Regalis planned to work on the look of the game only after working through the kinks of the mechanics and programming.

As far as the doors, I like how mechanical they are, even if they seem a bit outdated and unnecessary. Since SCPs come in all shapes an sizes, one wouldn't want to rely fully on computerization, such as automated doors. If access to the servers or to specific computers become inaccessible, then having the button mechanisms would make sense to me. At least as a fall back to such a potential catastrophe.

I would also like to add one more point about the facility feeling empty and lonely as brought up by Mirocaine. There needs to be more background story of the facility. This will help with the problem with the facility feeling too empty. It will also address the problem without interrupting the flow of gameplay. In my opinion,the player needs to learn more about the site as he attempts to escape, which in turn will allow the player to learn about the site and what it was created for. What I believe we need to know is...Why is this site here? If the site is a temporary housing place for SCPs then why were they brought there? We also need to know what happens to class D's and the truth of their service for the foundation. Why do I say this when people could go to the Official site? Because a game needs to stand on its own. You can't assume everyone playing will be willing to go to the Official Foundation site just to learn unspoken truths about your game. A game must be willing to answer the questions it brings up. Just a few of the ones I listed would be examples. Not everything about SCPs and its exhaustive information base needs to be included, only what the player needs to know. I would also like to see more personal stories along the line of how Resident Evil 1 and 2 were. I'll explain. I used to get a lot of enjoyment reading the diaries, journals, and memos of people who were victims of the T and G virus while I played the main plot. It humanized the game for me and reminded me that there were many people affected by the events of the viral outbreak even though I will never get to see them. This is what I would like to see more of in SCP-CB. All of these ideas should help with making the facility feel like it once was a living, functional place. Adding the suicide guard is a great step but it shouldn't be the last.

This thread is too good to be dying like this. Thread CPR initiated.

Destructoid wrote:This thread is too good to be dying like this. Thread CPR initiated.

You don't know CPR.
DEFIBRILLATOR! I like the ideas presented here. We need DukeLovesYou to act out those lines about the Tesla gate.

i hope regalis can code the map-maker once he's allowed to use his laptop

Here's an absurdly long post full of reading material as opinions. I'd advise you to take some breaks while reading it.

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The offices and SCP-914:

I'll be concise. SCP-914 is overpowered. Here's a list:

• The game depends too heavily on the things it can output;
• Many of it's output items are frankly overpowered;
• No alternative paths exists; if one does not consider Gate A, then you pretty much need a rainbow of key-cards, and thus SCP-914.
• Given how SCP-914 can turn simplify the game's environment, the SCP can be too common, too easy to bump into.

How about a simple gas-mask that suddenly gives you unlimited sprint? Oh I know let's make an item that when put in SCP-914 will give out a gun!

It should be the layout of the map and it's several features to shape the course of gameplay. SCP-914 is a sure stop for any player. Here's a prosaic illustration:

"Uhm..." the player says as he opens the next rusted door. "Ah, um... - oh, great!... I've found...um, SCP-914!..." The player mindlessly head-bumps into the key-card reader and pulls out a yellow card from the inventory. Leaving the previous door open, it speeds to the containment area. Then, after carefully closing the blast doors behind, the player vomits the contents of it's inventory on the "Intake" booth and turns the machine's knob up to eleven. A strident metal clank is made and a rumbling, machine-like noise progresses in volume. After a while, an abrupt change in sounds signals that the produce is ready. Heading to the output booth, the player proceeds to stuff everything back in the inventory. And so, with all the new overpowered items, the player turns backs and says, glaring into the dark fog: "NOW I'm ready to get out of here.".

Regarding the offices, they are another absolutely necessary stop for the player (unless the MTF have been opening all the doors again). Again, if you can't find the offices, game over. (Note: the warehouse in 0.6.5 changed that a bit, but still).

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Items:

There's an item which begs to be mentioned first: SNAV-300 Ultimate. Let's read the gadget's features:

• Shows visited and unvisited parts of the facility;
• Shows where SCP's are and what they are;
• Does not need batteries.

Lost? Read the SNAV. Heard a sound? Read the SNAV. Have a feeling you missed something? SNAV. New room? SNAV. Qpoflmfphbs? SNAV.

Radio: It is known that the MTF and other facility personnel use the radio to communicate with each other. The MTF could tell for example that “All emergency communications will be redirected to channel 1, all commands to channel 4.”. Because it's not readily apparent. And few are willing to wad through minutes of static noise to get the correct channel.

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Mistake-making:

Probably few players have seriously tried the Keter difficulty. I have, and I must say, it pushes the game to a completely different level. Even if you know the game fairly well, it works (until you die). And yet, the uncertainty, the danger both makes and breaks the game – there are too many things than can kill you too easily – too many ways in which a simple mistake could turn everything into dead-ends. In fact almost every thing in SCP:CB can kill you, one way or another.

I'm saying that the average player presses the F5 key more than the WASD ones. I think even Regalis tried to somewhat solve some issues caused by this, by making the loading screen much faster when already in-game.

A great part of learning is through trial and error. There should be more options for the players to understand the implications of their surroundings without getting their neck snapped. Take for example the “Strange bottle” you get after Very-fine'ing a medical pack. What would you do? If you use it, chances are you'll be dead some corridors away. Oops.

As a counter-example, take the eye-drops. At very-fine, they induce curious effects. After a while it seems like the player is going to die. It's a rather scary effect. Yet, it doesn't kill you. It seriously incapacitates you, and that's it. You are left to wonder what is going to happen next, but wait, you can live to see it! Survivability should be feasible when taking into account some risky decisions the player may take. Notice I say survivability, not immunity.

Note though that I think the Strange bottle and the very fine eye drops are well-made. Minor issue: few players would take the strange bottle as one more inventory slot if they thought that probably they weren't going to use it. It doesn't help the object much. Because I see players deciding to use that bottle in dire situations when they haven't got anything else.

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Blinking mechanics:

I've thought about the blink mechanics, and I've come to some ideas. Firstly, the player blinks at a fixed, rather slow rate for the entire game, which is odd. Also, it is not uncommon for players to die since they saw SCP-173 (or similar) and didn't notice their blink meter. In fact, the blink meter is hardly noticeable when looking at the opposite sections of the screen.

As a solution (and innovation), instead of the space-bar being for closing the eyelids, I can be for forcing the eyelids open.

Thus the blink meter would become obsolete – instead of waiting for the player to blink (and thus having to look at the blink meter), the player's blinking would be suppressed until it could blink normally again.

Of course, there is a limited time for the eyes to be open; they would automatically close after that time. Visual cues would be given as a qualitative sign of for how long the eyes can remain open: darkening of the peripheral vision, progressive blurring, loss of some hue perception. This would be for sustained sight.

Additionally, the player knows when the space-bar was pressed (and the blinking suppressed); and thus there's a temporal notion of how long can the eyes remain open.

For normal vision, the effects ought to be less intense. A simple peripheral darkening (achieved with a gradually fading gas-mask-like overlay) and the usual “black screen of blink” are enough.

You'd be required to press the space-bar while walking to avoid blinking, but this is a minor issue.

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The GUI:

As of now there are three main elements in the GUI – the blink and sprint meters, and the inventory. Two of them (the meters) are permanent.

The ideas surrounding the blink meter have already been discussed. So in theory and given the alternative blink mechanics, the gauge would become obsolete (thus unnecessary).

The sprint meter is also not absolutely necessary; most players sprint beyond the meter and only use it to see when they can sprint again. A lack of a sprint meter wouldn't be much of an issue. It would also force the player to develop an intuitive notion of how long does it need to wait before being able to fully run again.

Thus, with both meters obsolete, we are left with an empty GUI (save for the inventory). This leads to more a immersive gameplay – the player is occupied studying and looking at the environment and surroundings, and not at a rather artificial way of displaying data.

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Another alternative: if you sprint too long with the super gas mask, your muscles and heartget fatigued and you might exhaust yourself so bad you have to be immobile (or die) for a while. With regular sprinting, a heavy breathing sound could intensify until you would have to stop sprinting. The idea I have is the supermask suppresses the pain, not makes you super man.

I like the idea of having no HUD, reminds me of Dead Space which handled no physical HUD rather well.


Also, I think just about every room needs to look...different, and I mean this from an architectural stand point. I know the facility is supposed to be sterile and what not, but sometimes it is too...bland. There is this older game that I love: Area 51, SCP Reminds me of it so very much, and I think Reg could take some inspiration from it.

Basically, I'd imagine the facility to look much like Area 51 in the Area 51 game: The outside looks like your typical military instillation, on the inside the first few floors and below would look very industrial, while the lower levels look very futuristic and sterile.

Also, a thread I made that died, but I think Reg should look at: http://scpcbgame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=582

A Hideous Beast wrote:I like the idea of having no HUD, reminds me of Dead Space which handled no physical HUD rather well.


Also, I think just about every room needs to look...different, and I mean this from an architectural stand point. I know the facility is supposed to be sterile and what not, but sometimes it is too...bland. There is this older game that I love: Area 51, SCP Reminds me of it so very much, and I think Reg could take some inspiration from it.

Basically, I'd imagine the facility to look much like Area 51 in the Area 51 game: The outside looks like your typical military instillation, on the inside the first few floors and below would look very industrial, while the lower levels look very futuristic and sterile.

Also, a thread I made that died, but I think Reg should look at: http://scpcbgame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=582

I like this.

I think it should be the opposite way around - slightly futuristic, scientific, clean and sterile working offices and laboratories on the upper floors. As one progresses to the lower levels of the facility it gets more industrial, more warehouse-like, sturdier. The lower sections of the facility would be to contain SCP's.

As one progresses even further down there could be some sections directly above, and showing, open rock. Like what Destructoid said about the catwalk room having a cave or rock floor.

Maybe there could be some last levels made of heavy concrete for critical parts of the facility.

I imagine something like aperture laboratories from portal...