Human Resources

I’ve often wondered what writing Mondoid would be like if I were a Fireman. What background knowledge would it bring to the experience? Would being all rugged and handsome, and being proficient in sliding down poles [other career stereotypes are available] impact on the way I tap it out at the start of every week? Well, I shall wonder no more… We had originally planned, as indicated last week, to extend the ‘So what you doing?’ team interviews into this Mondoid – but seeing as there’s a lot of ongoing/dull stuff going on under the hood we thought it better to keep it till next time – when there’s more to discuss. Fret not, however, because we’ve got news on quite a big addition to the game that will have a sizeable impact on the ways you survive in both SP and MP. Starting professions and traits have been left untouched for far too long, and to rectify this we’ve currently got an internal test build being played for balancing/tweaks that should deepen your survival experience considerably. It’s got lots of positive feedback so far, and as such you’ll be seeing it as a part of Build 31. On top of the big stuff like NPCs, radio broadcasts and vehicles, you’re going to be seeing a lot more of this sort of activity as we make our run-up to 1.0. We need to start rounding off the game so it feels like a game – with progression, a few things to unlock and no area of PZ that feels undeveloped or unfinished. Traits and professions have been one of the worst offenders in these terms for a LOOOOONG time. If you’re reading this Mondoid close to the time of posting then Twiggy is currently streaming with the new system, and will be until the early evening GMT. So click here! And it should be noted that given his experience in making character builds in tons of survival games, specifically the amazing Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead that has been a huge inspiration, Twigs has been a huge help in this endeavour. CAREERS ADVICE In the new system Professions can now provide supplementary skill points, which directly tie into the learning speed of relevant skills as well as starting skill levels. This is to further diversify character creation, and to make professions feel like a character’s pre-zombies life has genuine impact on their survival experience. Less ‘blank slate’, basically. Examples:

• Fire Officer (3 blade, axeman)

• Police Officer (3 aim, 2 reload, 1 nimble)

• Park Ranger (2 trap, 2 forage, 1 carpentry)

• Construction Worker (3 blunt, 1 carpentry)

• Security Guard (night owl, 2 sprinting, 1 lightfoot)

Importantly, Professions are not all necessarily free, so we can create the potential for more powerful starting professions that will require negative traits to balance them out. Unemployed gives 8 points to start, which is very important for reasons that will be clear when we talk about the new traits later on. So, f’rinstance… you may pick the Carpenter profession, and right out of the bat that will give you 3 points in carpentry. This not only means starting on level 3, but the carpenter will gain a 50% boost to XP in that skill. The time that it takes to learn and upgrade Carpentry will then be tied to that multiplier throughout the character’s lifespan. The big idea is that with the new system ONLY a carpenter with starting carpentry skills can advance in carpentry at a