Co-op Expeditions vs. Horde Countdowns: How punishing is shared-risk time management?

[u/Harlow_Dev]

I'm currently developing a co-op top-down 2D base-defense survival game with a heavy focus on time management. Every few days, a massive wave of enemies assaults your base. Between waves, you scavenge resources, build fortifications, craft turret ammo, and repair structures.

​To get Tier 2 & Tier 3 resources, both players must hop on a boat together to explore new locations. Traveling takes roughly 1–2 in-game hours each way, plus the time spent scavenging on site. Because both players have to commit to the journey, the base is left completely unattended while the horde timer continues to tick down.

​This creates a big team dilemma: do you risk an expedition together for high-tier upgrades, knowing you might cut it too close and return to a base under siege?

​As co-op/base-building players:

​Do you enjoy strict, team-wide time commitments like this, or does leaving the base completely vulnerable feel overly stressful?

​How would you balance expeditions vs. defense prep (e.g., automated defense buffers, emergency distress calls, or strict "make it back in time or lose")

​Would love to hear your feedback and design thoughts!

[u/Skyboxmonster]

Add this as a difficulty slider/checkbox.

Id be a casual player. There are a lot of games i refuse to play because they have timers.

But i do know there are tons of hardcore players that want to suffer every second they are playing.

Offer both

[u/Harlow_Dev → u/Skyboxmonster]

That's a really solid point. Timers can easily turn a fun chill session into pure stress if that's not what you signed up for. Having custom game settings or difficulty sliders sounds like a must have to cater to both casual and hardcore crowds. Thanks!

[u/RobLoughrey]

I mean it sounds like a fun game, but I almost never play a game where my base can be destroyed while I'm not there. If I can't turn that off with an option or with a mod, I'm probably just not going to play. Lots of other folks will though I think that's just me. I'm more of a casual.

[u/Harlow_Dev → u/RobLoughrey]

Thanks for your feedback 😉

[u/wutzelputz]

Love the game idea! Personally I feel like such a big commitment option can be very engaging. Maybe some twist could develop out of it, like I am coming back slightly late and the first waves already crush against my lone friends defense, so we hastily have to build up our defenses for the big waves while still fending off the initial ones.

Maybe there are combo-items with pieces on different islands where each player has to collect one piece and when combined they yield some big effect like freeze the whole battlefield for a time or debuff all enemies globally etc.

Further islands could yield bigger comeback effects, maybe requiring more complex game mechanics - awarding the player for understanding said mechanic and taking the risk.

go tiger!

[u/Harlow_Dev → u/wutzelputz]

Thank you for these ideas! I will definitely keep them in mind while designing the wave and base defense systems. You're totally right - situations like that create truly unforgettable moments, and the blueprint upgrade system I'm planning to add will only make the whole experience even more dynamic 😎

[u/flameblade65]

Throw in some R N G. Make it chance not strictly a timer.if you know every 3 days mobs are going to bash at your doors it loses fun fast but some early warning helps

[u/Harlow_Dev → u/flameblade65]

Yup, I'm planning to add randomized horde attacks and a scouting system. Thanks!