It blows my mind that thus far deaths don't seem to penalize you at all. Admittedly, all we've seen is a demo and at the first/tutorial level island at that. But it seems advancement is tied to park performance, itself link to contracts and management metrics (dinosaur authenticity, income, etc.). And at no point did a dev tell a player whose dinosaur had eaten somebody that such things will have consequences in the game -- at least in any of the videos I watched. I get it was a game reveal and of course the first thing invited players are going to do is let their dinosaurs out. So you're not going to discourage that. But it seems odd to me that at no point did somebody mention what happens when the headline crisis of the entire franchise -- people being eaten by dinosaurs -- inevitably occurs. And why wouldn't you? Ironically, I suspect most players welcome the consequences because it makes the inevitable escapes meaningful and tension filled. Plus it's a lot more visceral a rush than losing income or a contract.
Another, simpler mechanic could just be adding a Park Morale metric. Lose too many staff and performance goes down across the board for a time.
Ultimately I know it's early and they mentioned a sabotage event, something that might imply a system like I've outlined, so perhaps. But I can't help but think that such a system would be exciting, add tension to the game, and so be bragged about in the reveal to generate faith and hype. So its absence suggests, well, its absence. The focus on contracts and competing departments got a lot of attention... which is why I suspect that's the extent of the game's consequence system.
Tourists
The loss of a tourist should have a direct impact on park status, trigger new security requirements that must be completed before any new contracts can be taken, and have a financial loss. You have to pay out for the lawsuit, the increase in insurance, etc. And every time it happens it should get worse. Suddenly you're in a rush to manually fly the helo and tranquilize the escaped dinosaur because you've already lost 5 people and if you lose more the financial penalty doubles. Asset recovery is no longer a leisurely mini-game, it's a real threat. Maybe you have to lower prices because after an attack fewer people come to the island for a time or you even get shut down until the security improvements are made, costing you even more in lost revenue.Staff
The loss of staff should impact park performance. Maybe the loss is randomly assigned to a building, slowing down its performance. "Looks like we lost a geneticist -- incubating eggs is going to take longer until they can be replaced." Suddenly now after an attack when you get a report on who and how many died you're nervously waiting to see the damage. 7 staff? Could be a janitor, no consequence at the level of park management. A pilot? Expeditions will take twice as long. Cashier? Fast food location is going to underperform for a time. Lose too many of one type and they go on strike, costing you productivity and money. Herbivore feeders become less efficient because they aren't being refilled, causing your herbivores to get ornery and more likely to get in fights, causing them even more damage. Suddenly you're panicking when your dinosaur rounds the corner and a person in a white lab coat is cornered. "I can't afford to lose another geneticist! Please be a pilot!" An engineer is lost and now rides have a +5% chance of breaking down, hurting a guest and compounding the situation.Another, simpler mechanic could just be adding a Park Morale metric. Lose too many staff and performance goes down across the board for a time.
Ultimately I know it's early and they mentioned a sabotage event, something that might imply a system like I've outlined, so perhaps. But I can't help but think that such a system would be exciting, add tension to the game, and so be bragged about in the reveal to generate faith and hype. So its absence suggests, well, its absence. The focus on contracts and competing departments got a lot of attention... which is why I suspect that's the extent of the game's consequence system.
