Hello all!
This is actually my first "real" post at the forums. I had in mind to make a bigger post about all problems with my project, but since I've just scrapped a whole lot of stuff, this'll do for now.
So basically my game is set in the old wild west, but with zombies (yeeehaaaw... :( how mighty original).
I draw heavy inspiration from Left 4 Dead and Doom the board game, but have it on a hex mat (I LOVE hexes).
I got a fat decks of loot, different skills and evil enemy stuff.
Now the real problem for me is that because I do have a free form hex mat and dynamically summoned enemies and encounters, I can't seem to "force" the players to do the mission at hand. Usually they just wonder where ever there is killing to do.
I've also made it worse for myself by wanting this concept of "there's always zombies in play, they're usually a minor threat, so please ignore them". But since players need loot to operate better, they go for the main source of it, and since there's always more zombies the circle is never ending.
I feel that setting just a time limit is too binary and limiting, and so now I'm trying to form up a system that's summoning creatures in intervals.
So the real question is that is there a "golden rule" of how much there should be time for barraging the players with enemy threats, and how long should they have to recuperate, in turns and in the whole game in general? How many waves of enemies should I have the players to deal with before the mission is over?
I also would like help for mission design. Since all my brain power goes to the internal working of the game, almost all of my play tests have been boring and monotonous battle testing, with one dumb mission I scratched together.
I need more engaging missions!
