I’ve been playing some Bitcraft Online and I think while it’s very grindy and a “second monitor” game in a lot of ways they do get many things right I hope we see:
- The world feels large and sailing around recovering lost shipments etc is a valid way to make a living and fund your play style.
- Finding waterways through a continent to travel faster from settlement to settlement feels rewarding. I want to sail down rivers and see if they can net me some intel on faster routes from a to b.
- Crafting feels interconnected, but the economy is alive enough that I don’t have to do everything myself. I can make money sailing around the seas picking stuff up and then buy what I need at various market places.
- Settlements end up having their own feels and cultures. Region chat has people who recognize each other and socialize, sharing stories and generally being rather friendly. If people ask for help there is usually someone there to lend a hand.
What thoughts it prompted:
- A map we have to uncover but could share portions of through a cartography skill would be awesome. I actually like the Dune Awakening system where it is a section per map so it isn’t just revealing everything and it makes you more direct in what you need. It didn’t really work here, and would be hard, but amazing if it worked.
- I hope player or NPC settlements are a thing. It would be great to see these little villages pop up for you to discover and interact with. Perhaps with NPC villages they could drop hints about where another settlement is nearby they’ve traded with. “Northwest in the valley by the big mountain” sort of thing.
- Sailing and different types of ships. Some for hauling, exploration, maybe fishing. This would be amazing to have and perhaps could offset the other mounts by not needing stamina etc. I’d love to see cargo ships helping people get to the far reaches or trade, open ocean vessels, etc. we had quite the fleet in AOC and it was fun to do fishing or trade runs.
- Being able to make my own little homestead somewhere and having unique good per region that could be valuable elsewhere. Salt for food somewhere, spices in other places, maybe valuable ore or lumber.
Again, just sharing some random thoughts, but quite a few of these are possible in NMS and I think it would be amazing to have some of these systems. Curious what folks think or what things you’ve been hoping for.