Add value to each character.

[steppers]

Each character should have their own stats along with water and hunger. I know this could require a lot of work but add basic rpg elements to the game. Players with higher stats get better outcomes when completing actions e.g. More berries, metal, wood. Doing certain actions slowly increase the relevant stats.

Possible stats: Gathering, (Berries, sticks, vines) Scavenging, (Metal) Discovery, (larger view) Swimming, (Yes, make people drown if they can't swim!) Construction, (Slightly faster build times) Combat, (More damage but not enough for one hit)

[mikejewell]

That sounds good, though we'd probably want to work those stats into the UI for the players somehow: we don't want to end up with too many screens blocking the game. Maybe little badges for 'swimmer', 'explorer', etc? Could add a message like "Joe has been awarded the Explorer Badge!"

[steppers]

Or small progress bars that appear when you mouse over the player icon?

[mikejewell]

It's probably more useful if it's on the right-hand player list - so you can choose the better swimmer for a task, etc. Plus if we're going to have a radial menu for task selection, plus player health, it may get a bit cluttered?

[steppers]

Sorry, I meant that we'd still have the icon to say who is better on the player list, but when you hover over the player in the list it comes up with additional progress information. Keeping it clean :)

[mikejewell]

Aha! That makes sense - It'd be cool if it could be there with the rest of the info. Let's work out what needs to go in the player box, and we can see what can fit in without needing rollovers - there's a bit of space there as it is.