Developers of the zombie MMO H1Z1 provided some insights in an interview about why the loot system is so damn difficult to balance and what the next steps in the development of the game will be.
The US site mmorpg.com found two of the minds behind H1Z1 in Texas for an interview: Adam Clegg and Jimmy Whisenhunt.
The loot system considers many factors, which is why so much can go wrong
First, it was about the loot. The journalist remarked that it shouldn’t be so hard to get more loot into the world.
However, it is really challenging, it turned out. The loot system in H1Z1 consists of a whole series of interlocking systems. Containers (such as cabinets, trunks, lockers, or desks) generate loot depending on how many players are on the server, how many are nearby, how quickly they die, and how good their gear is. Thus, 200 newcomers need very different gear and loot than 200 veterans.
The loot system of H1Z1 is designed to adapt to players and their needs. All these triggers, conditions, and probabilities caused recurring issues in the early phase of the game: At first, there was no loot in the containers, then there was some, but it disappeared if not picked up quickly, and then everything was okay, but it didn’t work when too many players were near the container.
In doing so, they always wanted to avoid giving players “too much” loot: That would ruin the survival aspect of H1Z1.
H1Z1 is gaining traction
Otherwise, the team of H1Z1 seems to be in good spirits. Jimmy Whisenhunt reported that he has never been approached about a game he was working on as often in his career.
Even people who don’t like the zombie genre approach him about it.
At Pax South, H1Z1 seems to be a big topic. It appears that they have a game with significant hit potential in the making. At SOE, they believe this is due to the cross-genre nature of the game. The journalist from mmorpg.com cites the surprising accessibility of H1Z1 as a reason for its popularity.
These are the next steps
As the next step, H1Z1 plans to introduce a so-called “roadmap”, a structure that will allow the community to influence the development of the game.
On the technical side, it’s currently about finding solutions for handling many players, especially when wanting to grow the world as intended. Here, the strategy has also changed: One must respond to the many players. Their sheer number is probably the main source of current issues.
Furthermore, there are big plans for the game. For instance, they can envision that at some point every abandoned vehicle not only serves as decoration or loot but can also be repaired and made drivable . However, they will be cautious about this: The last thing one wants in a survival game is for everyone to be sitting in cars.
By the time that comes, they assume at SOE that there will already be a larger map. A representation of the current map in H1Z1 can be found here.
