History VideoGame / NeoScavenger

* ShortRangeLongRangeWeapon: Pistols in the game has extremely pitiful range of 10, which is half that of slings at 20.

* ShortRangeShotgun: Averted. The normal shotgun has a range of 30, the same as bows, while the military shotgun has the range of 61, which is 3/4 of unscoped .380 hunting rifle at 80. Meanwhile, melee combat takes place at range 0-3 (if you're using a spear).

* ShortRangeShotgun: Averted. The normal shotgun has a range of 30, the same as bows, while the military shotgun has doubled the range of 61, which is 3/4 of unscoped .380 hunting rifle at 80. This is while melee combat takes place at range 0-3 (if you're using a spear).

** Scavenging is ''always'' easier with a source of light. You can spend weeks finding flashlights, AA batteries, and [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality somehow]] extracting the electrical charge from ''any other'' kind of batteries to keep the [=AAs=] charged -- and a fully charged flashlight has only eighty charges, and you ''will'' waste them by forgetting to turn it off after using it. Or you can use a ''lighter'', which is also good for starting campfires, takes up a third of the space, and only loses about 1% of its durability per use; a fully functional lighter can be used ''one hundred times.''

-->The world? Hell. Who knows? I mean, who knows what happened to the world? Place's gone all sideways, and who the hell knows?\\
'''-Bernie, Tent City Junk Peddler'''

* YouGetWhatYouPayFor: When you're looking for footwear at the start of the game, you may find flip-flops and rag shoes in your scavenging efforts. Be sure to note their trade value is only a few bucks each, because both are so bad that you're better off being barefoot for a bit longer: flip-flops have a high chance of falling off every time you end your turn and rag shoes will give you blisters if they're worn for too long.

A free demo as well as the current version can be found at the [[http://bluebottlegames.com/main/node/2 developer website]], on [[https://www.gog.com/game/neo_scavenger GOG]], or on [[http://store.steampowered.com/app/248860/ Steam]].

** You can somehow extract ''electrical charges from batteries'' before consolidating them in a single battery. This is ''really'' noticeable around the Detroit MegaCity, where every tent city hex has an unlicensed power tap that Phillip "uses" to produce charges, which he then empties out and stuffs in his electronics. Even better, Phillip can do the same with a "Hot Brick" [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator RTG]] -- a freaking ''man-portable fission battery kitbashed out of a soup can.''

** The single most useful object you can find is a ''crowbar.'' Great for looting buildings, and while it's not ''the'' best melee weapon, it's one of the most durable; the broad spear will break after about a dozen attacks, but it takes several ''hundred'' to break a crowbar. On top of that, you can add a twine strap and wear it in a shoulder slot, freeing up your hands.

* EndlessGame: It is possible to survive in the game forever, as food and supply can respawn in the woods, and they can be bartered for.

##[[spoiler:You'll need the 99% useless Mechanic skill to dismantle a perfectly good rifle or shotgun for the stock]].

** The single most useful object you can find is a ''crowbar.'' Great for looting buildings, and while it's not ''the'' best melee weapon, it's one of the most durable; the broad spear will break after about a dozen attacks, but it takes several ''hundred'' to break a crowbar.

** The single most useful object you can find is a ''crowbar.'' Great for looting collapsed buildings, just as good for bashing people's heads in.

** ''Any and all firearms.'' They have great range and do respectable damage. However, at ''fifty bucks a shot'' , the only loot more valuable than bullets are antibiotics; they stack five, but that's more than a full bottle of whiskey. Hell, [[spoiler:even the Merga Wraith can be killed with a bow and arrow -- ''handmade ones'']]. The only enemies worth that kind of expense are the DMC Drones, which are only hostile if you're going for the Bragging Rights Reward. They're actually not even worth salvaging because they'll only fit in vehicles and otherwise have to be carried either by hand or with a strap... and even one in perfect condition(which you will never find in the field) is only five hundred bucks to its 51 inventory spaces.

** Medicine, medicine, medicine. Pills stack ten.

** ''Any and all firearms.'' They have great range and do respectable damage. However, at ''fifty bucks a shot'' ammo is the most valuable loot in the entire game. A stack of five is worth more than a full bottle of whiskey, and only takes up a single inventory space. Hell, [[spoiler:even the Merga Wraith can be killed with a bow and arrow -- ''handmade ones'']]. The only enemies worth that kind of expense are the DMC Drones, which are only hostile if you're going for the Bragging Rights Reward.

* TooAwesomeToUse: After the Early Game Hell, you're constantly warring between this and BoringButPractical. '''Loads''' of ingame loot can easily make hash out of life-threatening situations... if you haven't used them earlier or sold them at a market to buy a dozen [=BbP=]s.

** Medicine, medicine, medicine.
*** A single dose of antibiotics will cure you of ''anything'' [[spoiler:except the Blue Rot]]... but if you're moderately healthy, so will drinking some tannin tea and a good night's rest in a sleeping bag. Fifty bucks a pill, stacks of ten... Yipe. But if your immune system's in the red, nothing else can save you.

* MegaCity: The appropriately named Detroit Megacity, the only civilized place left in Michigan. The exact size of the city is not revealed. However, the part of the city seen on the map occupy roughly 20 hexes, and the slum around it also occupies around 20 hexes. Considering each hex is equivalent to ''1 square kilometer'', one can only imagine the size of the whole city.

##[[spoiler:You'll need the otherwise useless Electrician skill to modify a laptop battery to power it]].
##[[spoiler:You'll need the otherwise useless Mechanic skill to dismantle a perfectly good rifle or shotgun for the stock]].

##[[spoiler:And unless you hunt down the "Hot Brick" RTG, you're going to need to hit the DMC regularly to keep the battery charged]].

##[[spoiler:You'll need to kill at least two DMC Drones for the complete set of five components(possibly ''many'' more due to RandomDrop shenanigans), pissing off the only real civilization left in Michigan and cutting you off from the best shops in the game]].

* MagikarpPower: With the Electrician and Mechanic Skills you can repair the Cryo Facility's lighting and HVAC, turning it into the single most luxurious campsite on the map. However, their use throughout the rest of the world is negligible, so you burned four of your fifteen skill points just to make the early game easier. [[spoiler:Once you reach the DMC, you can use them to craft a Gauss Rifle]].

* MagikarpPower: The Electrician and Mechanic Skills have very few uses to justify the skill points you would spend to have them. [[spoiler: However, you need to have both skills in order to craft a Gauss Rifle.]]

* PowerUpLetdown: When you're looking for footwear at the start of the game, you may find flip-flops and rag shoes in your scavenging efforts. Both are so bad that you're better off being barefoot for a bit longer: flip-flops have a high chance of falling off every time you end your turn and rag shoes will give you blisters if they're worn for too long.

* WizardNeedsFoodBadly: Not just food, water and sleep as well. Philip will die without any of those.

** Melee attacks in general, since ranged weapon requires some finesse to use, not to mention the ammunition problem. Besides, it is very easy and cheap to craft a decent melee weapon.

*** A single dose of antibiotics will cure you of ''anything'' [[spoiler:except the Blue Rot]]... but if you're moderately healthy, so will drinking some tannin tea and a good night's rest in a sleeping bag. Fifty bucks a pill, stacks of ten... Yipe.

*** Sleeping pills. Double the effects of a night's sleep... for twenty bucks a pop.

** Guns in general. They have great range and do respectable damage. However, at ''fifty bucks a shot'' ammo is the most valuable loot in the entire game. A stack of five is worth more than a full bottle of whiskey, and only takes up a single inventory space. Hell, [[spoiler:even the Merga Wraith can be killed with a bow and arrow -- ''handmade ones'']]. The only enemies worth that kind of expense are the DMC Drones, which are only hostile if you're going for the Bragging Rights Reward.

* TooAwesomeToUse: After the Early Game Hell, you're constantly warring between this and BoringButPractical. '''Loads''' of ingame loot can easily make hash out of life-threatening situations... if you haven't used them earlier or sold them at a market to buy a dozen BBPs.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Guns in general. They have great range and do respectable damage. However, ammo for them are extremely rare and extremely expensive, so they tend to be ignored in favor of slings, bows and melee weapon.

* TooAwesomeToUse: Firearms. See AwesomeButImpractical above. However, they are necessary to fight the most powerful enemy in the game, [[spoiler: The Merga Wraith]].