How should manual healing/health regeneration work?

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How should the health system work?


  • Total voters
    42
How should health regeneration/manual healing work? As an example in the Far Cry games, instead of having one solid health bar, it's segmented into multiple mini health bars. If one bar is partially depleted, it'll fully regenerate. If you want to replenish the rest of your health bars, you have to do it manually.

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I found the health system in The Witcher 3 to be very basic. On easier difficulties, it would automatically regenerate, giving little challenge. On harder difficulties, it became a chore. The healing/potion effects of one item would cancel out the effects of an item of the same type, instead of adding upon it. I would quickly waste tons of food and potions without noticing, until it was too late. It became a chore to track the timer for item effects in the top left corner, and that BIG RED health bar became more of a nuisance than something that added substance to the combat system. Maybe this is just me, and you guys had no issues with the health system in The Witcher 3.

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What's your take on the health system for the Witcher, and how can it be improved in Cyberpunk.
 
What's your take on the health system for the Witcher, and how can it be improved in Cyberpunk.

Well, here is the realist approach: there should be no noticeable health regeneration and no items that instantly increase health. If you get shot, go to the hospital and wait a week to heal....^^
 
I have a few different ideas for approaching the health system.

One of the more practical ones is an overall health bar that obviously reduces as you take damage. You can give yourself temporary health by taking drugs (to represent adrenaline, I suppose), but the health doesn't stick around forever. The only way to fully regen yourself is to rest, visit a doctor, call Trauma Team, or something of that nature. Ideally, you'd not want it to be overly inconvenient, but you want it to have weight. You need to carefully prepare for combat, and make sure you're taking appropriate cover so as not to catch too many stray bullets.

This would emphasize the danger of combat and dissuade people from taking the violent approach to every scenario (which is even more ridiculous than a full-pacifist run).

Skilled techies may be able to stabilize themselves to some degree. Maybe to 50% of their health, but maybe only a limited number of times. Just a thought.
 
Something innovative would be appreciated, but if they give me a classic medikit/spray/inhaler with animation for "manual regen"
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and cyberware (IE nanomachines) for automatic regen I'm happy. No magic bullshit that happens "just because", it needs explaination that makes sense lore-wise and logic-wise.
 
I like Mybrokenenglish idea of the classic medikit/spray/inhaler with animation for "manual regen"
CDPR could put it with Snowflakez idea and depending how much damage you take your health wont top up to be full but slowly your max health reduces .
 
I voted both. Why? If we stay true to the pnp, quickheal drugs and nanites are available (effectively DOUBLING standard natural healing). The bad news is, these things are...well, expensive. The options for quick heal drugs/nanites should be available, but very expensive items.
 
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In general, I would say automatic regeneration is the best option. But I am definitely looking forward for something other than the usual health bar system.

For instance, we could have two types of damages. Let's say cosmetic and functional ones. So cosmetic damages are similar to having a shield or barrier. It's basically an extra layer of the health or functional system that tolerates a certain amount of damages before we start hitting the functional spots. Cosmetic damages would be only about signs of wear and tear. No real or functional damage is happening. However, they do not go away on their own, so V would have to go to the apartment to wash up or something like that.

If V becomes unable to sustain anymore cosmetic damages, then we are about to be hit in the functional layer. Hence, the implants. These functional damages should be able to tolerate much more hits compared to the cosmetic layer. However, if functional damages reach a critical level, then this will start to impact the functionality of V's implant(s) as the damaged implant will go into safe mode in order to avoid permanent damages, which can cause to temporarily disable a certain skill or perk until the affected implant(s) can reboot or auto-regenerate.

Such system will obviously make a Solo V the strongest in the cosmetic layer, but the weakest in the functional one. More muscles than brains I guess. A Netrunner is the weakest in cosmetic layer, but the strongest in functional ones as they have top quality implants that can endure severe conditions. But of course getting a very strong hit will directly go through the implant(s) that can immediately shut down an implant. Techies would be balanced between the two classes.

If manual regeneration is a must, then I prefer having something like a repair tool that can fix a non-functional implant right in the field rather than having to go to a clinic or consume stuff, etc...

Or we can just go with something like Call of Duty as we will already have our hands full with exploring the complex world of Cyberpunk :D
 
I voted for manual healing, i just like managing resources during fights or a difficult mission. It can add an additional layer of tension where you decide how to use your meds more precisely instead of just hiding and waiting to get healed. Don't know if it will be possible but i also like the idea of having a character that relies mostly on these drugs to fight (kinda like a witcher).

Don't mind the potion idea from the Witcher, but hate the food thing that it had..Like eating a chicken or apple mid-fight lol. Pls don't.
 
It depends on how they make the combat. I think its gonna be "move or die" kind of combat, so manual might be the way to go.
 
I'd be fine with a mix of both like say naturally regenerating up to a certain point and then using a stim or some other item to heal the rest of the way up. Maybe having cyber or a skill that lets you regen more or faster for the people that want to focus on that.
 
I like Mybrokenenglish idea of the classic medikit/spray/inhaler with animation for "manual regen"
CDPR could put it with Snowflakez idea and depending how much damage you take your health wont top up to be full but slowly your max health reduces .
well, thanks, but in 2018 demo V actually gets her health back from that trauma team inhaler (screenshot above). So, kudos to devs. I hope it's still in the game.

P.S. oh, yeah, no food during combat. "let's have some instant noodles while bullets are flying". Nope.
 
I'd like if we don't lose any health is we break our cyber arm or leg. Just being noticed and losing control of the limb.

@Skipper_1O1 's idea is really cool though. I'd want to distinguish superficial wounds from critical wounds too. Superficial wounds could lead somehow to having scars too, and I'd find that really cool (like in the game Fable).

Or, having a distinction between stamina and blood... With stamina, if you lose all of it that would mean you're KO, the stamina would regen automatically, with time (or faster regen with drugs). As for blood, there are no alternatives : if your gauge is empty you either pass out or die (Trauma Team is the last chance!!). Then we could apply the existing healing items / methods to these two gauges : some does grant a few stamina but stabilizes the blood level for X minutes, some are made for having a blood boost for X minutes (means the blood will ALWAYS return to its current level as long as you're not healed by a true medic... meaning that there won't be any magic form of healing).
 
I'd lean toward a system along the lines of the suggestion by Snowflakes above. Temporary methods for health regeneration or dealing with minor wounds in the moment is reasonable. Healing major injuries should be more involved. I wouldn't be opposed to specialized, difficult to obtain, expensive items or gear providing exceptions to this system.

Eating an apple, puffing on an inhaler, etc. to immediately jump from near death to perfect health cheapens the experience, IMO. Not just for the combat itself either. When recovering from injury is so easy it removes much of the risk associated with combat. It changes the way you approach a game as the player. Not in a good way either.
 
lol I can't believe some people are unironically saying you should have to go to the hospital in game in order to fully refill your health after combat. In reality, I think the best way to do it would be to make health regenerate automatically while out of combat and manually while in combat. Games that regenerate health while in combat are always so boring. You just wait behind cover while your health refills, then pop out for 2 seconds before returning to cover, turning the game into wack-a-mole with extra steps.
 
Either full manual or similar to Death March in Witcher 3 (regen 1/s so it's noticeable in the early game but worthless later on).

Passive health regen is an overused mechanic IMO. While manual adds a lot of difficulty it also prevents the "I'll just stand in this corner to heal, then attack again" cheap cheese strategy (which I won't deny using but I still thinks it's silly).

Plenty of manual healing options and I'd be all set. I voted for "a mix of both", though, because like I said I like DM in that regard.
A tiny bit of automatic regen won't carry one through the game or even a single battle -- unless one is very good at not taking damage. :p

(Another thing: manual healing shouldn't be of the "eat 1437593798 cabbages for full health" spammy kind. Witcher 3's system is good in this regard as well, with the heal-over-time effects and no stacking 10 waters' effects.)
 
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