Is it time to rework the the generator skill checks?

It's funny cus when you look at another similar game, Friday the 13th, they actually did it right imo. Where survivors tread the camp grounds carefully to find all the little things they need, by checking every little nook and cranny of the cabins while also running away from and also distracting the killer. I think doing something similar I'm DBD would be cool, where depending on the map you're on you have to find certain things like generator parts, gasoline, extra wires, and/or some fuses for the exit gate? Maybe change up the scavenger hunt for specific maps too, and make them more thematic to the map itself. I remembered seeing someone suggest something like on the Oni's map you have to find and light some candles that when lit would cleanse the air of evil spirit dark magics and open the way for the exit to appear for the survivors. Something like this could be fun to toy with actually.

Monstrum as well. I hype this game a lot (it's easily one of my favorite games of all time). If I may:

Monstrum is a game that came out the same year as DBD and is, in a way, the single-player version of it. You're on a cargo ship at night in the middle of the sea and every time you play a match the layout of the ship's rooms and hallways are randomized. The goal is to explore the ship and find escape items (which are also randomly placed, and it's a BIG play area) and combine them, loudly, and finally wait out the time it takes for the escape item to become ready to use. Meanwhile there is one of three randomized monsters roaming the ship and if it so much as makes line of sight of you, it will gun for you immediately. If it catches you, game over. Period.

Stealth and exploration is of prime importance in this game, you need to know when to hide, when to sneak, and when to make a break for it. But the thing is that there is no one reliable tactic because the foe and the placement of the items among the ever-changing maze is unpredictable. In this game it's not about finding an object and working on it, hoping not to expose yourself, it's about navigating a maze and trying to collect what you need until you've got enough to use one of the three escape methods. I have to admit that I prefer the "explore and find items" structure to "work on the static objects for a little while" structure, but this is just personal opinion. That said, I still very much enjoy the gameplay of DBD as it is.

Oh man, do yourself a favor and check out Monstrum. Watch a couple of longplays, see what you think. Not to hijack, but briefly:

• You are powerless. You have no defense. None. There is no fighting back.
• You are faster than all the killers, but not by much for two of them (more on that shortly). This is to allow you to try to desperately break line of sight and find a place to hide. And in this game, hiding is literal: Under bunks, under tables, in cabinets and lockers.
• Each match can be a minute to half an hour, depending on how well you do at finding the randomized items. Aside from flashlights and glow sticks there's not much more than throwables for distractions and the rare escape items (a submersible, a helicopter, and a life raft. Three to four items are needed to complete each).
• When you start the game you have no idea which monster you're against. You must tread very carefully.
• One monster can only be identified from a short distance by the loud stomps it makes when it walks. It is a massive creature called the Brute.
• One monster can only be identified by the flickering effect it has on the lights, as it's a paranormal entity that floats around the dark halls nearly silently called "the Fiend".
• The final monster is always in the vents, unseen, until it chooses whatever time it wants to pop out of one and try to startle and ambush you. This is the Hunter.
• You hear the footsteps of the Brute and see the flickering of the lights in a circular radius meaning you don't know if the monster is in the next room, outside the door, above you, or below you.
• There are always dead ends, and if you run down one when being chased, bye.
• The brute is about rushing you hard and fast, bashing down doors to get you. Against the Brute, you RUN. The Fiend is about immediately finding a hiding spot when you see those lights flicker. The Hunter can just show up anytime, almost anywhere, but is thankfully slower.
• When you're caught, it's very loud, in your face, and crunchy, lol.
• EDIT: Oh, almost forgot! While the three monsters have dynamic AI, they are always within a certain distance of you. If you run from the bow to the stern for example - itself a good minute or two sprint - the monster will magnetically be drug along with you. It won't always be right by you, but it's designed to never be far from you. Not for long. It doesn't know exactly where you are unless it sees you and watches you duck into a hiding spot, but nah, there's no sitting and waiting for it to leave you alone. It's always near. The fear comes from knowing that you have to get out there in the maze and expose yourself, hoping that you have a good exit plan for when you're spotted. And you WILL be spotted. And boy, the noises they make when you're spotted, lol.

The game is really, REALLY well designed. Wonderful spooky atmosphere. While I'm now quite used to it it was the only game besides Amnesia in which, for a good few weeks, I felt legitimate unease at wanting to play. It was fun, but it was SO tense that I almost didn't want to put myself through the experience. Overlooked game, very high quality.

No.

Do you understand what the actual point of skillchecks are?

They’re so Survivors can’t 100% focus on simply just their spatial awareness, and only worry about panning their camera.

Skillchecks give survivors something else to momentarily concentrate on periodically, giving a killer, even one with a 32m TR, a minor opportunity to still possibly approach from a position the survivor(s) may not yet have visual on.

But this is also why skillchecks aren’t made anymore difficult or complicated at base: Survivors STILL need to be allowed ample opportunity to concentrate on their spatial awareness while repairing a gen. You can’t make keeping tabs on the survivors surroundings more difficult, and making skillchecks more difficult and/or complicated than they are will unavoidably make spatial awareness more difficult.

You’re reasoning is that it might help slow gen speeds down. What it would also do unfortunately is indirectly buff every killer, particularly stealth killers. Going against a Ghostface on Lery’s will be unbearable with more difficult base gen skillchecks stealing away more of the survivors concentration over keeping an eye on their surroundings.

Not to promote myself but if you're interested I can send you one of my "deep dives" (several hours of me playing the game, commentary or not, your choice) if you'd like to see someone deeply familiar with the game having lots of fun with it. If not that's cool (can we even send private messages?).

I can understand preferring the multiplayer aspect, that's one of the things that makes DBD special. But Monstrum is a different beast, the sense of isolation and helplessness you feel when it's just you in a veritable maze with a killer who needs do nothing more than catch you for your game to end makes for a very tense experience. I like to call it single-player DBD. :)

When I'm on one by myself it's fairly boring, yeah. Some would say "up the skill checks!" but to me quick-time events are the bane of video gamedom, always have been. At least doing a gen with more than one person cuts the time a lot.

I didn’t say you didn’t know.

I asked a question.

You know what punctuation is? (Again, this is a question)