Reason and Explanation of Scavenging Site

https://youtu.be/KZihd7hDfLU?t=5136 (01:25:37-59)
“Everything is on Our side … all containers are Near … they are in My corner …”

          Legend of the mission "Scavenging Site"

After discovering the “Unexplored Site”, Manticore with the soldiers flies into place in order to “Explore”.
(In my opinion) Then there is a search and storage of resources for transportation to the Base.
But our activity attracts the surrounding Monsters, therefore we need to “Protect Crates” (we brought empty containers with us to pack resources).
Also, we need to “Kill All Enemies” for safe loading.

And Monsters, for their part, simply aggressively react to any new and incomprehensible stimuli (strange Containers and People).


This map should be a model for all “Scavenging Site” missions. The containers are grouped, and the soldiers are somewhere nearby and protect them from the Monsters that gather around.

Who likes the current gameplay and mission rationale?

Original in Russian

“Всё находиться с Нашей стороны… все контейнеры Рядом… они находятся в Моём углу…”

          Легенда миссии "Местность с ресурсами".

После обнаружения “Точки Интереса”, Мантикора с бойцами вылетает на место и делает “Разведку”.
(По моей легенде) Затем происходит обыск и складирование ресурсов для транспортировки на Базу.
Но наша активность привлекает окружающих Монстров, поэтому нам и нужно “Защищать Контейнеры” (пустые контейнеры мы привезли с собой, чтобы упаковать ресурсы).
Так же, нам нужно “Устранить Всех Монстров”, для безопасной погрузки.

А Монстры со своей стороны, просто агрессивно реагируют на любые новые и непонятные раздражители (Контейнеры и Люди).

load://30u80lc8Qo4BwmG8re05vEDsgsj.jpeg
Данная карта, должна служить образцом для всех миссий “Местность с ресурсами”. Контейнеры сгруппированы, а бойцы находятся, где-то рядом и защищают их от Монстров, которые собираются вокруг.

Кому нравиться текущий игровой процесс и обоснование цели миссии?

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As a beginner or critic sees this mission.

Resource Collection Mission - Ok.
Objectives:
Kill all enemies - always OK.
Crates protected [9/9] - but here we will dwell on more details.

What are these сrates? What are they doing here and how are they here? Why are the сrates scattered all over the map and on the roofs? Why are Monsters attacking them?
Only one answer - this is Resources, sounds unconvincing. And you “simply and thoughtlessly” fulfill the Mission’s goals, without understanding “What is happening here?!”.

An important note, you need to connect the game process and the story, the mission of “Scavenging Site” and “Ambush.” In case of unsuccessful “Scavenging Site”, the soldiers do not have time to search them and find themselves in the “Ambush”.

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Yeah, they stick out like a sore thumb, I thought during the backer builds that the resource crates were placeholders and that we’d get to see a variety of different graphics which would look a lot more like natural resources to be found in different environments.

Support on https://phoenixpoint.canny.io/feedback/p/consider-redesigning-scavenging-missions

Such setup won’t change that you can as well get multiple containers broken with one grenade and even with one AR shot or something.

Increase containers HP/Armor will fix aliens too long on containers.

For me the problem of those missions is they don’t scale well. They become quickly a guaranteed lost of resource.

If they didn’t stick out like sore thumbs players would complain they couldn’t see them or don’t know what to defend. Even with the indicator icons.

They are representation of some resources to be gathered. Yes, they look like some super cool future containers, but it is just visible representation of resources available in the surroundings. You can cosider them as blueprints, advanced pieces of equipment, tools, planks, food cans, vehicle parts etc.

Left by other humans. They can be considered to be some storages like footlockers, old boxes, safes, holes in the ground covered by some planks. But that would need a lot of new graphic objects and some algorithms to fit them into surroundings. This design was left as is right now to save time for other elements of the game.

Because people left them there not taken when killed or evacuated.

To prevent you from taking them.

Maybe later Snapshot will upgrade them. But who knows. This is really low priority problem for me. When SG won’t have much to do (fix PP1 or make a sequel) they can work on additional props to replace the old ones. :slight_smile:

You can have a middle ground though; something that fits within the aesthetic of the map as a whole, but stands out in its own right.

Developer Proposed Game Mechanic Updates: Improve Scavenging Missions
Support — Phoenix Point

The problems we want to resolve:

•Protecting crates can feel a bit random.

  • The player often does not feel rewarded for actual good gameplay, but the luck of deployment.

•Pandorans destroying crates makes some sense, but not for other factions.

•The AI does not manage target prioritisation well between attacking crates and enemies.

•The intended risk/reward balance needs improving.

•They feel like the usual ‘kill all enemies’ mission.

•Scavenging missions can get tedious and repetitive.

  • They were intended as an early game source of resources, but they are actually discovered throughout the gameplay as you explore.

We have a number of broad solutions, and could possibly implement one or more of them.

Solution 1

•Soldiers need to go to crates and collect the resources from them.

  • They pick up a resource item and carry it.

•They can evacuate any time with what they have.

  • There are multiple evacuation points to make this easier.

•Enemies have infinite reinforcements.

•Enemies don’t attack crates.

Why these changes?

•Risk/reward balance now has player agency.

•Actually feels more like a scavenging mission.

•Makes the mission type much more distinctive.

Solution 2

•Add new mission types for scavenging sites.

•Retrieve vehicle.

  • A vehicle is deployed in the level (enemies to the intruders, neutral to Phoenix).

  • You must get a soldier to the vehicle to take control of it.

  • Then evacuate with all soldiers (on the far side of the map).

•Rescue soldiers.

  • A small group of 1-3 independent soldiers is fighting against enemy attack.

  • Get to them to take direct control of them.

  • Then evacuate with the whole squad.

  • The soldiers join Phoenix.

Solution 3 – Upgrade Scavenging Sites

•At a certain time in the game, scavenging sites are upgraded.

•The threat level increases by 1.

•The rewards are higher.

•Add mutagen crates

•The map tilesets are different.

Solution 4

•Place crates near your soldiers’ deployment.

•Becomes a protect crates mission.

•Kill all enemies.

  • From Virtual containers, take Virtual resource packs, and carry it in Virtual inventory.
  • It is difficult to imagine a soldier carrying a backpack: concrete, boards, 5kg of apples and a stack of microchips.
  • If the mission is endless, how do we know in which container which resources?

Any rewards, but NOT increased resources from the mission. More XP, SP, PP for a difficult battle.

Still boxes, more boxes …

Solution 1: So early in the game, when one has raw recruits with no strength and they can barely carry 1 extra ammo magazine & 1 medkit, they are supposed to go scavenging. Then they only get what they can carry back, virtually nothing.

Solution 1 is decent. Could do with a touch of fleshing out.

Why does solution 2 need to be separate? I’ve been saying forever that rescue missions should be a thing. Independent soldiers who join PP great, a vehicle convoy of civilians caught in a Pandoran ambush awesome, the crew of a crashed faction airship yes please. A lot of variety can be had through the creative use of existing map assets.

3 doesn’t really make a lot of sense. The three primary resources I can see finding in abandoned warehouses, bases, towns, etc., but mutagen? Maybe at an old military base or former research lab but not in general. Also why would the amount of resources suddenly increase for no reason.

4 I don’t like at all, it encourages start point turtling/camping which is bad enough already.

How is this implemented in technology theft mission? It’s Good?

2 I do not understand, but is it possible to fix Scavenging first?

remove mutagen from 3

4 it had to be done initially

Sure 4 is just a very minor rework of the existing mission but at least now you have to prioritize what to try and protect since you generally can’t cover everything. Moving all the crates near the spawn point and leaving everything else the same would get boring incredibly fast. It’d be better to just leave the missions alone and simply boost resource amounts across the board to make up for expected crate losses. Save them all big reward, save half get the amount you currently get saving them all.

I see your opinion on how to - delete the mission and just give resources. Just because you are tired of the design of these missions. This is what they want to fix.

I don’t know where you pulled that out of but it certainly didn’t come from me. I’m good with scavenging missions just the way they are.