Overall Gameplay
The single-player game for Flexible Survival deals with a lone survivor, trying to remain alive and sane as the infection ravages through the city. The infection has not yet fully taken hold. In most cases, enemies are single monsters who have not yet formed into groups or factions. The player has limited supplies remaining in the bunker they start in and cannot afford to continue to await rescue. As such, they must venture out into the city to seek the means to survive until the military rescue arrives. The base game lasts for 30 days, broken up into 3-hour turns, making a total of 240 turns. This time can be increased based on player actions.
Or not, as the player prefers. As almost every monster, as well as many NPCs, have endings based on succumbing to them, players may wish to explore the possible outcomes should they 'lose the game'.
When they encounter creatures, players must fight, flee or submit to the creatures and face the consequences. Combat is done on a turn by turn basis, with the player selecting their option from the list, then the monster is given an opportunity to retaliate. If either drops to 0 hp or less, they lose the fight, often with a victory or defeat scene playing out. (Sexual) contact with an infected creature will often result in the player becoming infected with that strain as well. Generally, if a player is victorious in combat, they can avoid changes as their 'nanite strain' was proven stronger and would not seek to incorporate traits from a losing creature.
As mentioned, the player's hunger and thirst increase over time and this must be dealt with regularly to prevent a decrease in player morale and to prevent death by starvation or dehydration. The typical way to gather these supplies is to scavenge for them, though they can also be found while exploring or as rewards for performing tasks for NPCs.
Throughout the game are various items, several dropped by monsters, and others found around the chaotic city, which players may wish to use. Many creature items are infectious and should be used with caution. Weapons are scattered around the game for the player to equip for combat.
There are a variety of locations which players can find, but they will have to explore or hunt to find them. These locations may hold items of interest to the player as well as NPCs with whom the player can interact. Many NPCs provide quests and/or are willing to be amorous with the player. There are also pets to be found in the game, which can help the player in combat and often come with ending additions of their own. Locations often contain their own unique set of monsters to deal with, so new players should be cautious when exploring new territory.
Game Start
The game begins by making a set of selections for your starting character:
- There are six basic stats: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina, Charisma, Perception, and Intelligence, each of which start at 12. The player selects one which will gain a +5 bonus (raising it to 17). This choice can affect your eligibility for starting Feats.
- The player chooses a gender for his or her character, either male or female. This affects dialogues and interactions with NPCs and can be modified or changed through the course of the game.
- Game mode is chosen next, with 'Bunker' as the standard.
- Select a basic feat from the list available, followed by a fun feat. These grant abilities to your character, bestowing skills or bonuses that affect game play, or even penalties to make it more interesting and add personal flair to your character.
- The final step is the option to remove some types of creatures to remove from the game. This removes characters, events and enemies from the game based on flags set on them. Current flags are: Furry, Guy, Girl, Hermaphrodite, Humorous and Hellspawn. For example, players adverse to M/M content or M/H and F/H content can preemptively remove much of this content by choosing the 'guy' or 'hermaphrodite' flags respectively. But keep in mind, use of these flags can greatly reduce the content in the game, as many NPCs, events and quests are either removed or locked from completion because necessary content has been removed.
Game Modes
There are 6 basic game modes given at the start of the game. These are:
- Bunker: This is the basic game play mode. You start fully human in the bunker with limited supplies.
- Caught Outside: A variant on the basic game where you made it to the bunker with minor infection (3 random infections), but are given the 'Spartan Diet' feat as a bonus.
- Rescuer Stranded: A harder variant on the basic game where you start with no supplies and only a cot in the bunker. A bonus of 300 points is awarded.
- Forgotten: An iron-man mode where you start with no supplies and only a cot in the bunker. Doctor Matt and Orthas are removed from the game, though you can still gain basic feats at the lab. A bonus of 600 points is awarded and game time is extended to 60 days to start.
- Researcher: A mode similar to bunker but you're immune to casual infection (You won't transform from losing battles) and have specialized equipment that allows you to collect the infection vials of those you defeat.
- Hard mode: Hard mode is a more difficult version of Forgotten, where weaker monsters now level up to keep pace with the player, gaining increased hp, damage and dexterity. The level window on encounters is removed, meaning powerful monsters can be encountered while the player is still at low levels. A bonus of 900 points is awarded and game time is extended to 60 days to start.
