New: Skill & Level System – experience, levels and a skill tree for Stationeers
I wanted long playthroughs to feel like progress without making the game easier. So now there is XP for what you do anyway, levels up to 50 and small, fair bonuses.
In long playthroughs I eventually build my tenth base, dig the hundredth ore vein and cook the same food – and none of it counts. The Skill & Level System changes that: building, crafting, cooking, eating, drinking, mining, harvesting, repairing, IC10 programming and surviving outside give experience. With enough XP you level up, up to level 50, and get one skill point per level.
You spend the points with Ctrl+K in a skill tree with eight branches: food, drink, character, crafting, mining, farming, tech and – with my Exploration mod – exploration. Every skill has ranks, a minimum level and usually a requirement. With all points at level 50 you can max out only about half of it, so you have to choose.
It was important to me not to overdo it. Fully upgraded, each skill gives at most 10 to 15 percent – a little less hunger, a faster drill, thriftier tools, a few degrees more cold tolerance. Every effect works exactly where the game itself calculates, and each one can be switched off. Server owners can also adjust the strength of all effects, the level curve and the XP per activity.
So that nobody "farms" XP, there are rules: doing the same thing again and again gives less, building and dismantling right away is taken back, machines only count with a player next to them. The server calculates everything and saves it per Steam ID in the world. A small HUD bar shows your progress – top centre by default, but you can move it wherever it does not get in your way. Levelling up brings a large pop-up and a subtle sound from the game.
Dishes from More Food Recipes count when eating, and cooking with it gives cooking XP. The server and all players need the mod. As always in German and English. Have fun levelling up!
Everything else is in the guide.