CBT Design Document

General Server Overview

Forgotten Place is a session-based server with long rounds lasting 5-8 hours, combining PVE and PVP. The main focus is on roleplay, atmosphere, and faction interaction over the course of a round. There will be several game modes, but the first and primary one being built is a free-play mode with no particular objectives or conditions. The map will consist of several locations, each of which is a separate, self-contained map.

Factions

There will be 3 main factions available to play, plus minor roles. However, the primary focus is on the Lost — loners exploring Chernovodsk and trying to survive. They can interact with all 3 factions, freely explore the map, and pursue any personal goals, whether banding together or acting alone. It is the main role for fans of PVE, roleplay, and social interaction.

The second minor role is the bandits. Outcasts not accepted by any faction, living off nothing but plunder. This is a small group with free rein for robbery and murder. They won't have the same strength that fully-fledged factions have, and their numbers per round will be limited. This is a purely antagonistic role for fans of PVP activity and the challenge of being an enemy among all other players.

Society of Dawn

The first of the main factions is the Society of Dawn. A militarized faction made up of veterans from various standing armies of the CIS countries. They strive to build a stable society, fight the spawn of the phoenix particles, and bring order. Living out of an old army depot, they have the most impressive weapons and equipment of any faction. However, Dawn's numbers are not large, since only part of it was cut off in Chernovodsk.

Available roles include: Advance Group Commander, who makes all the decisions; Dawn Soldier, the faction's main fighting force; Dawn Scientists, capable of studying artifacts and turning them into various inventions and even weapons. There are also separate civilian roles: medic, technician, and others.

The faction's main goals are: recovering and studying artifacts, fighting bandits, maintaining a tense political standoff with the Hunters, who hold an opposing ideology, clearing out mutant lairs, and exterminating especially dangerous specimens.

Hunters

The second of the main factions are the Hunters — trackers who believe that what happened to humanity is the result of nature's revenge. They survive among the aggressive flora and believe in its spiritual nature. Some Hunters occasionally have anomalous abilities, which they consider gifts from nature, granted to them for offerings and following its order and rules. They craft clothing from mutant hides, and even use their bones when making gear. As weapons, they use old hunting rifles and shotguns, though Hunters sometimes manage to find far more impressive specimens of weaponry.

Available roles include: Elder Hunter — the faction's chief hunter, who manages all the other Hunters; Hunter, the faction's core members, who typically move in pairs or alone but band together when needed by an Elder Hunter; Junker, capable of crafting unique Hunter gear from mutant hides and remains; Hunter Medium, a person especially gifted by nature with a wide range of unique abilities.

The faction's main goals are: standing against the outsiders of the Society of Dawn, and making offerings of artifacts to Nature in exchange for unique bonuses.

Scavengers

The last of the main factions are the Scavengers — wandering mechanics who maintain and build connections across the shattered world, assembling unique weapons out of various materials. The Scavengers try not to conflict with anyone, preferring to trade with the factions and offer their services. The Scavengers own the only working radio station in the region. Through it, they try to stay in contact with the outside world and keep survivors informed of important events.

Available roles include: Trackers, the Scavengers' advance groups who search for various materials and scout the terrain; Mechanics, who craft the Scavengers' unique weapons while also doubling as traders; Chief Mechanic, capable of crafting rare and especially powerful weapons, and who coordinates the Trackers; Radio Operators, who talk to everyone who can hear the Scavengers' radio frequencies, keeping them up to date with the latest news and also using this to stay in contact with the factions.

The faction's main goals are: trading with the rest of the survivors, and searching for materials to craft all sorts of items and ammunition.

Map

The initial map for the CBT will be one large area centered on the Chernovodsk-4 railway station. Faction bases, which will be smaller home locations for all newcomers, will adjoin it.

The Chernovodsk-4 station itself is a vast area overrun by aggressive flora, but one that still holds plenty of interest. Adjoining the station is an entire ruined settlement of the same name; it has both small patches of woodland and the ruins of industrial buildings rich in valuable materials. Bandits operate among the remains of the settlement.

The map will feature points of interest that start out neutral. When captured, a point turns into an outpost of the faction that seized it, changing visually, and some of them may generate resources for whichever faction owns them.

In the future, the map is planned to grow with additional locations, leading to a significant expansion, but for the CBT and testing, this area will remain the primary one.

Economy

At the start of a round, factions will begin with limited supplies and materials needed for development. Players on the Lost side will start the round with a unique, self-selected starting loadout. The game will feature an element of initial loot scattered across points of interest. All of it will spawn randomly in different places each round, but will be logically tied to its zone (materials near some abandoned construction site, and so on), including random stashes and the remains of long-dead members of the Lost.

There won't really be a single unified currency, aside from rare exceptions in the form of shards — small, rare black anomalous formations that have become a common currency within Chernovodsk. These unique formations are fragments of dud artifacts, but they are fairly rare finds. Otherwise, for the Lost at their camp, a trader system with random bartering will be in effect. To give value to every item, the trader will offer exchange deals covering a broad range of different loot.

Trading between players will also play a major role, especially for the Lost. Factions will own unique items and also have the ability to craft them. Some factions, such as the Mechanics, may offer weapon upgrade services, fitting weapons with various modules.

Future Plans

By the end of the CBT, several foundational things need to be built for normal operation: a map that should include at least 3 fully-fledged locations besides Chernovodsk-4, ideally a persistent account meta-progression mechanic, and unique mechanics for each faction.

Meta-Progression

The plan is to create a much greater sense of value for life, while also keeping players engaged through character meta-progression. Character slots will be limited to 2-3 per round, and once a character dies, it will no longer be possible to play as them again — only as another character.

Overall, a general account-wide progression system will be created, so to speak. It will be split into 3 branches: Survival, Ingenuity, and Physical Conditioning. Experience will accumulate for various activities, unlocking levels, and each level will grant perks that can be spent on this progression. There will be a certain perk cap, so it won't be possible to fully max out all 3 branches at once, but branches can be reset to redistribute points. Combined with the ability to choose character traits, built on a point-based system, this will provide a solid degree of build customization.