I've recently played through the beginning again, And this got my head spinning.
1. I realized how much limitless potential the game has.
2. I thought about the surface a while, and I came up with something like this:
Why not have more surface levels? It would surely add more to the game, Not having to rely on elevators.
An upgraded map would be ideal for this idea, as It would help show where the players are and where they could go!
It would also mean that we could truly get a sense of how small we are, Inside or out of the planet.
As for the difficulty of each area on the surface, I believe that the map and difficulty should remain random, until you have discovered all the areas on that part of cradle.
What do you think? Comments would really help me decide how good or bad of an idea this is.
Also, If I'm copying anyone on accident, I'd like to know.
(Scrapped)
For the reverse engineering part, I've been thinking, Why not have some way to heal your allies? - It would certainly help, So why not have an item similar to that of a gremlin healing wand?
what would surface levels add to the gameplay, and why would we need them? you say that it would add soemthing without specifying.
besides, the energy of the core on the surface is very weak, and the monsters will probably be very weak.
as for healing, no. it would be too much powerful to handle. even slow and with risks, you can do a tactical retreat and heal, or you could heal after every battle, and so the game difficulty goes poof.
I would also be glad to say that Nick didn't want to add any sort of healing except what we already have, but I don't knoe how valuable is this statemement right now.