Very Ape

The game can be terrifying enough when you're actually attached to your character. Hell, certain Arma 2 combat situations will get your heart pumping. Imagine if they made zombies scary-- mental illness wouldn't be necessary, you would panic and fuck up in no time.

Dynamic growth, even in the form of beards, makes you more attached to your character('s beard), and not just his gear.

I don't understand the logic wherein if the game is somehow released at a later date than expected, it will fail miserably. Isn't the first predictor of a game's success the quality of said game?

Perhaps you're overestimating just how sick you would be. Forget the whole 'blood' meter. Think of just spawning with less stamina, a slightly slower run, and a slightly shaky aim and hoarse breathing. Nothing you could immediately fix with antibiotics or blood bags. It'd be something that would, if you maintain a healthy diet, heal slowly over time. Away with the whole 'gear is life' mentality. I want to be scared for my character, not his gear. If I'm robbed at gunpoint, I want to at least have the satisfaction of thinking; "At least I'm alive," instead of thinking "Well, fuck this! I'm just going to go kamikaze on this guy's ass." When I rob people, they usually do this. There's no regard for their own lives, which kind of defeats the point of robbing at gunpoint, and takes the fun out of being robbed at gunpoint. This suggestion, along with dynamic growth (ie, tattoos, beards, hair length, scars) will make people so damn attached to their characters, that they won't stupidly risk their lives knowing their gear is safely stashed away.

Is there some subclass of DayZ player that has intense difficulty surviving other players upon spawning? If you play cautiously, there should be no issue. I don't ever remember being killed as a 'fresh spawn.'

I wanted to trade you, put down a satchel charge at the rendez-vous point, and blow it up as you arrive. Oh, the irony. But I don't have a satchel charge. :(

I already commented, but damn do I love this suggestion. This would make the game so much better.

Thanks to Beans King for this great idea, which I'd like to expand on. For the sake of keeping things simple, I've ignored any other medical procedures in the examples. They can easily be integrated alongside improvised bandaging. Also, I wrote this rather quickly. Feel free to add on to the suggestion, see this more as a brainstorming thread than a 'final version.' What if you could remove bed sheets to slow the bleeding of a dying friend? Imagine using household items to patch up your friend, in a fluid and intuitive way. Here's how it could work: Depending on how severe the wound, ie, how quickly the blood is draining from your body, you could use certain items to temporarily slow the bleeding. The equivalent of putting pressure on a wound, but hands-free. This would not stop the bleeding (only in some cases, with minor wounds), but rather slow it, depending on the intensity of the wound. example: My teammate is shot in the leg, and is bleeding from an artery I drag him inside of a house, notice that I'm out of bandages. And so I run over to the bed and remove the bed sheet. It is then added to my inventory (using more space than a regular bandage.) I go over to my friend and select ''Bandage friend (bed sheet).'' Since this is a rather major wound, the blood would only slow somewhat, and the bed sheet would become unusable after a certain time. But, let's say my teammate was clawed by a zombie, and his forearm is bleeding. I can use the bed sheet and it will stop the bleeding completely for some time. I would, however, need to find proper bandages.

In the heat of the moment, I hope people will be forced to use the infected rag over the sterile bandage.

Exactly! Just taking the time to find a pond, wash your clothes, trim your hair... It makes you feel more like you're surviving than just running around a giant deathmatch.

I love this suggestion. And about players worrying about spawn-rape; listen, it makes the game fun as hell. Bandits already do this. If they do it more, it'll make the game that much more challenging. The game should be tough from start to finish. Dealing with zombies, sickness, hunger, thirst, and bloodthirsty bandits prowling the coast to kill you? That's perfect. Add this suggestion to that of 'dynamic' changes such as tattoos and scars, and everyone will be very, very attached to their survivors.

That's why I think just having custom clothing will reduce PvP (plus the fact that you'll come to think of people as individuals, and not storm-troopers.) But dynamic customization is even better. You choose your base appearance, but things such as beards, tattoos, scars, clothing appear over time, influenced by your actions.

I think you'd be more attached to your character if you had the option to groom him, honestly.

Yes, yes, yes! People need to feel like they're actually making decisions-- improvising, if need be. As it is now, the medical system is just too 'gamey.' The clever survivor whose first instinct is to run into the bedroom to find a sheet, instead of immediately running across the city to find a hospital, should be rewarded. If you present enough possibilities, people will probably not consider all of them while under pressure.

Both great ideas, I'll add them to the OP later! Changing bandages, especially the makeshift ones, should be a must.

You were walking through the woods. I can only imagine the pants-shitting terror you felt when a ghillie-clad Ape quite literally flew out of the darkness of a pine tree and gunned you down. I could tell by your immediate "spray 'n pray" shooting that the fear had gripped you; the mortal fright that becomes one close to death. I would like to think that my war-cry in direct chat contributed to that fear. You died, and all your material possessions became mine. All because you ventured too close to my pine tree. It's my goddamn pine tree. Stay away. edit: To be clear, I initiated the combat roll from the other side of the tree, so from his perspective, part of the tree turned into a vaguely humanoid bush-creature, arms extended, flying towards him while bellowing "GET AWAY FROM MY TREE!!" As this was happening, he started blindly firing ahead of him, although I was only in his peripheral vision.

Shit, I didn't even see that you were quoting someone else-- I'm sorry! But, yeah, toilet paper would be a pretty ineffective bandage, unless you had a fucking lot of toilet paper.

That would be excellent! And it gives players a difficult choice in combat; do I have time to craft this into a proper bandage, or do I just strap it on the wound right away? If my teammate is quickly bleeding out, I might not have time to craft a real bandage. And this suggestion isn't about toilet paper. Bed sheets, towels and certain clothing are the real focus, since they could be used as a bandage. Toilet paper is just ridiculous. When did I mention that in the OP? The bed sheet doesn't even need to degrade or 'fall apart.' The fact that your wound will keep bleeding, just at a slower pace, will be incentive enough to get a proper surgical bandage or craft your improvised bandage into a slightly better makeshift bandage.

Time to pick up the good fight, then.

That's a cool idea! You just gave me a neat idea for a suggestion, thank you!

The only time I ever came close in DayZ was when our car crashed, and we had to battle a horde of zombies. Two of my friends covered me while another friend and I simultaneously treated another friend. First dragging him inside of a building and then giving him epipen while my friend bandaged him. I do wish, however, that it would have taken a bit more than that. Having to had made actual judgement calls, ya know?

Exactly. As it is now, DayZ doesn't really give you the chance to make that many dramatic first aid interventions, which are silly fun.

Beans. It's more authentic, and makes the double-barreled a more viable choice for being a total badass.

I don't understand the hate. I don't do it myself, since I'm more of a 'hold-up' guy, but shouldn't you be at risk of death from the moment you spawn? People who stalk fresh spawns make the game challenging, it's fun knowing that I can't just breeze through getting the basics (bag, food, knife, etc.)

Lee Enfield in hand, I had a British kid at gunpoint inside of the Elektrogorsk church. I had shot at him first, before chasing him into the church, but as I was doing this another person started firing at us. He asked me not to kill him, and just as I was about to, I spotted a double-barreled shotgun near the altar. A diabolical plan hatched in my mind. I asked the boy to take the weapon, and forced him to exit the church, knowing fully well we were pinned down. Much to my surprise, he amiably agreed to the task, and ran out of the church. I expected him to die, or at least run away. I heard an exchange of gunfire, and the boy ran back inside the church, weapon lowered, cheerfully informing me that he had killed our aggressor. Stunned, I didn't kill him, unsure as to why he hadn't picked up on my clearly hostile intentions. But still, there was no trust to be had. I led him outside at gunpoint, allowing him to keep his pea-shooter, and led him to the supermarket. I was going to keep him around as cannon fodder. As I looted the buildings, he stood watch faithfully enough, but I was still planning on disposing of him when we cleared Elektrogorsk. As we stepped inside the office building, we were shot at. One bandit ran inside, and was put down by my Lee Enfield. We made our way to the roof, when another bullet struck me. I lost consciousness, and I heard the boy asking me if I was still alive, visibly worried. He was prone next to me. He dragged me to cover and bandaged me. But for some reason, he ran back outside, and was shot. At this point, I was stunned by his loyalty. Having been shot by a Lee Enfield, I knew that if I didn't act he would die. For some reason I can't explain, I charged outside and started dragging him to cover. I could have easily survived the firefight, had I left him, but I didn't. I was shot, and we lay there, our blood pooling around us, unconscious, and then death took us, together.