My Comprehensive List of Suggestions :)

[Danuta.]

Okay, Im going to give a point form list of ideas and suggestions in no particular order of importance, these will range from game design to storytelling:

- Character Accurate AI Behavior. Every killer should have strengths and weaknesses in more ways than they already do. Stuff like NVG Guy not being able to see in the light, Blind Guy being immune to the blinding effect of our mines but susceptible to the stun of them going off is amazing! Stuff like that! I think you guys can come up with some cool adjustments there!

- Character Specific Behaviors that make the Trial more difficult, these are Killers chasing us. Some are insane and some are quite intelligent and scarily competent, I think NVG Guy being able to flip breakers that shut off the lights in buildings would be sick, making us go and turn them back on again if we want him to leave us alone. Gooseberry using children mannequins as sensors/alarms that tells her where we are. Warden sabotaging generators. Stuff like that

- More Dynamic Objectives, I like the creativity in how these objectives relate to their programs and more specifically the Trial they're in but I think there is room for more unique objectives.

- Possibility of Failing Objectives & Being Put In Dire Circumstances because of that, something thats like the Battlefield 4 Map Changers but not as massive in scale. Like, if we could get captured by the Warden and wake up in a torture room where we have to complete skill checks or mini games to survive, if we fail the minigame he kills us in some spectacular way. You could have something like this for every killer, it would be an improvement on Dead By Daylights last stand mechanic when you're hooked but make it more immersive and cinematic (since that is a staple of Outlast..the cinematic experience of it all)

- We Shouldn't Be Punished For Leaving Players Behind...I know this sounds f****d up but hear me out, story-wise it doesn't make sense to punish us for leaving someone behind right? There is even a note we get if our Grade is a B, which literally critiques our group for promoting moral idiocy...well its not hard to argue that going back for a downed friend when the trail is about to end as being a morally idiotic decision..I have died plenty of times going back for people when I had already "Made It" not a big deal if yall dont change this though tbh Grades don't really matter...which brings me to my next point

- Grades Need To Matter. I can't emphasize this more, from a story telling perspective and a game design perspective, there is no point to Grading us if there isn't a punishment for doing poorly and a reward for doing fantastically. This is an experiment after all, Classical Operant Conditioning (which lore-wise is what they are structuring these study's from) involves punishment and reward systems. This sounds crazy but by making Grades matter more, you actually condition the fanbase...which is immersive..and fourth wall breaking in a way...which is AWESOME. If I get an A+ give me some item that I can use in the Sleep Room after thats just fun to play with, something I can flex on other Reagents! If I get an F or a D or something, give me a real consequence. Something that could make the next trial more difficult or some personal negative variator that only applies to me or something, and if people don't want to do a trial with that variator then create an opportunity, in the Sleep Room, in the form of a minigame with a catch, if you win the mini game your personal variators are removed...if you lose the minigame they get amplified or something like that.. the minigame should obviously be f****d up too, some personalized quick test that tortures/traumatizes us in some way.

- More Versions of the ending! I dunno what Red Barrels has planned for the story but Im sure they are taking it seriously. Personally I think Horror only works if it is immersive, lots has been done already to really immerse us and its effective but the ending being the same every time pulls me right out and kinda ruins the atmosphere. These are tons of people that come out of these tests Reborn, they are going to be given different tasks as Sleeper Agents and they'll be doing different things before Murkoff activates them, that almost needs to be addressed.

- Obviously More Cosmetics, but not just more, more brutal looking cosmetics. Story wise I imagine these people are making these outfits themselves, and they'll be using what they find in Trials to make these outfits...which happens to be horrific, bloody, gut splattered, rusted, pieces of scrap. Id like to see that incorporated in cosmetic designs. Also Murkoff rewarded outfits should (and currently do) look like they were made by Murkoff and obviously look higher quality than Reagent crafted outfits.

- More Sleep Room Activities! I love arm wrestling, add more prison games!

- Use The Sleep Room For Story Telling!!! I think the Sleep Room is a gold mine for story telling and creating more story driven content for Trials. I would love to see secrets that lead to secret areas and encounters, Id love to attempt to explore more of the facility in an attempt to escape it, but I think if we are given the option to do an Escape Trial then the stakes need to be Real. Meaning, if we die during the Trial, we actually lose something..at the moment the only thing to lose is our upgrades and rigs (losing cosmetics are off the table) I dunno, I see this game as a story driven Horror game and right now there are lots of elements that are missing that make this game a story driven horror but there are elements that make this game a story driven horror and by simply having these elements like the really cool tutorial and the personal Grading, lack of loading screens, Sleep Room, just. The consistency in the experience makes it feel like one of those one shot takes from movies. Like 1917, which is highly immersive. Opening new areas of the Sleep Room and creating hand crafted missions that take us to new and scary places while expanding on the journey our character is going through and the world building would just be spectacular.

- Fine Tune The Movement System, it feels f***ing great. Its more snappy and reactive while still feeling a bit immersive like the previous games. Personally I think it just needs to be more forgiving when vaulting, the direction I have to be facing when vaulting is too narrow, open it up a bit, if you need to add a new animation for when Im half looking at something I can climb over then do it cuz itll be more immersive and itll feel better. Remember though, if our movement gets updated then the AI HAVE TO GET UPDATED TOO. We can't have either without the other. Otherwise the game either becomes too easy or too hard for the wrong reasons.

- I want to be able to drag my downed friends, there are plenty of times where two of us go down halfway to the exit and because of how long it takes to crawl/get revived, either scenario can quickly end in everyone dying. I think adding a drag mechanic would help with this and again be more immersive (if you haven't caught on immersive is the word of the day here) again though, to maintain the horror aspect, this mechanic can't be better than crawling or reviving but rather equal to. Meaning we only drag them marginally faster than they crawl, and its not something that keeps us stationary so long that we get hit and die. Also another way to balance the game if you include this mechanic in the future is to make the enemies hit harder by default. I almost want to make this its own suggestion but whatever, I think enemies dont hit hard enough until you get to Program X, which makes the game WAY less scary, it doesn't really matter if I get hit 3 times but it should. In general, it just should. The level of fear this game is going for is undercut by how beefy my health bar is and I don't think this game should be the type of game where I can just eat hits and run away like im fine..which brings me to my next point!

- Add Injuries that actually affect our movement!!! Something the other games have done! This (along with probably most of my suggestions) would probably be complicated but man it would be amazing. If I get hit I should feel it in my movement, I should limp or make more noise when i open a door quietly cuz my arm is messed up, or place stuff slower and louder, etc. I think this would promote more resource sharing amongst friends and I think it would make the game more cooperative and scary. Also as a side note, if this is something Red Barrels/you decide to include then I think it only makes sense to also include another animation set for friends helping injured friends walk, like bracing their arm over their shoulders and walking alongside them, control wise, the injured player controls everything, the helper just speeds them up, this would also mean that helpers would have to trust the injured person enough to even help them to begin with..which would be pretty fun!

- I think there should be more ways to heal my health, drinking magic juice is cool but why not include some animations of us bandaging ourselves or something more Far Cry like, where we fix broken bones, or if its dire enough, stitch ourselves back together if we find a surgical kit or something! Again this would add to the immersion, the fear, the everything in my opinion.

- More Programs and Trials obviously, which include new objectives, new killers, and new maps. This is a given but better said than not.

- Customizable Trials! This is more down the line thinking, but once the game has been out long enough I would like to see the game acknowledge that there are Reagents who are very skilled and have lots of experience in the Trials...how crazy would it be to make them design a Trial.. just a thought!

- This Game Should Be Aware Of Time. I think this game should evolve, what I mean is the story being told is historical canon in the Outlast Universe, so comparatively there should be events that happen which we can participate in but these events should be one-of-a-kind, like Public Events in other games but more story driven while also being communal.

Thats all I can think of for now! I think this game has potential to really become something special for Horror fans. Something that is as genre defining as Dead By Daylight and Left 4 Dead. Both those games focus on the fun arcade experience more than the immersive Horror experience and while games like Phasmophobia and Demonologist exist, they are in their own very specific niche while this game has a design that I can see replicated in very different ways that doesn't have to be strictly Outlast flavored, that being said. I look forward to seeing where this game goes in the future, when it comes to multiplayer there seems to be a struggle between immersive story telling and fun multiplayer experience. Which has always been odd to me considering everyone loves a good story driven game and everyone is fascinated by good story driven horror games.

Btw I don't expect any of what I mentioned to be included in the game, these are mere ideas that I wanted to share in hopes that they happen.

Cheers!

[Nihil]

Hey man nice ideas i liked most of them...hopefully they make it to the final game this game has a lot of potential

[Dezpo]

I didnt read all but there some very good ideas, especially for make killers more intelligent / have different skills and weakness.
So you need to adapt to each klillers and change ur gameplay, sometimes you would need to be more stealthy and sometime where its better to run away.

[Danuta.]

Thanks guys! I really hope they overhaul the AI in general. Just imagine going up against something like the Alien Isolation AI in this game! We'd definitely die more but it would be so crazy if we escape lol, personally Id bite the bullet of failing trials more often just for that experience