Walter.ua

Getting hepatitis through melee combat? What are you supposed to do there, spray your blood into opponents' open wounds? Frankly, that's just not plausible, even though I understand this might make sense for in-game mechanics. The source of hepatitis infection is mainly blood - apparently it should be spread via blood/blood product transfusions. Btw, do you plan to implement direct player-to-player blood transfusions imposing blood type restrictions? That implies more options for hepatitis spread. As you mentioned viral encephalitis... maybe one of the risks of camping in the woods would be getting it from the mosquitoes and, mainly, ticks? That would make sense.

This is intriguing to say the least. You could even add the option of farm animals or critters as additional factor of disease spread/disease reservoir for anthrax and bubonic plague respectively or what not. My guess you are having an outbreak from military or CDC-kind installation in the way you envision diversity of infectious diseases... Simply too much rare shit broke loose. But this major implementation also has some worrisome sides. As a medical resident I have serious concerns about the very possibility of curing some of the above mentioned on background of total social havoc and deterioration. Rocket, you seem to be pursuing realism and that is just fine. But I doubt that cholera could be treated without constant and extensive crystalline infusions under monitoring vital parameters/functions. I doubt that you could treat B, C or B-D hepatitis without repeatable and protracted course of highly specified immunoglobulin injections over period of several months (and most drugs that you use in such instances require special storage conditions which, if not kept properly, will be of no use or become a direct threat to your health) I doubt that you can treat typhoid complications of perforating ulcers in intestine walls without the assistance of operating crew in well equipped operating room, and etc, etc... Simply put, if you add so many different complicated disorders and still claim that you pursue realism - there are a lot of additional factors to consider and recognize. In other words, many of those things you claim to implement will turn player into slumbering exhausted body struggling to crawl in any direction and recognize anything through blurred vision. And the only option to save them from practically inevitable death would be highly specialized medical assistance. Randomly consuming even broad spectrum antibiotics won't help if you are already in one of the abovementioned fully developed conditions. Obviously such professional help would not be available in Chernarus... We all know hospitals will be decimated first when all the shit gets real =) Still, my guess is you should diversify the variety of drugs (and assistance options?) even more if you are taking that route, so that you could picture treatment in war-like conditions as more or less plausible. I haven't seen anyone add medical conditions into such game environment so far. Anyhow I like what you are doing, I just want to emphasize that this is a very intricate and broad area you are stepping in. I wish some of my insights prove to be useful to your work. P.S. Hope B/C hepatitis is spread by blood transfusion the way you envision it. I guess that is the best possible option and pretty darn realistic as that's how it actually happens in most cases. Even though I am skeptical of possibility of prolonged whole blood/RBC storage, which is basically impossible, especially in field condtions(!), other blood products could be a source of parenteral infection, such as fresh frozen plasma. Which leads me to thinking that it requires freezer to be stored and that on its own requires electricity... and power cutoff is sort of instant in case of you-know-what... hospital generators? Won't last long. As I said before.. oh so many variables =)

Rocket suggested that if everything they try to implement considering the game/server architecture goes smoothly, theoretically game would be able to operate even with thousands of players. In such instance the map size becomes the major issue, and that is the point. In my opinion what really matters is the number of locations on the map which really draw players. Cherno, Elektro, NWA, Stary became the major hubs and deathmatching places. That's where the action takes place. Nowhere else pretty much. Dev team needs to find methods to pursue players to explore distant villages and other smaller locations somehow. Even the current Chernarus is huge, but lets be sincere about it - most of it are desolate woods or barren fields... They need to add more interesting and compelling locations and, more importantly, decent stimuli for players to explore remote areas. If the server population is more evenly spread then it is right now, then current-sized Chernarus can easily harbor hundreds more players. The question is how they can compel players to move out and explore inland and border areas. First humble ideas that come to my mind are pretty obvious: - change the loot distribution, make even small villages satisfying lootwise (still it's a big puzzle how to implement it, as the big cities obviously should have pretty much everything survivor could crave for in terms of food and basic equipment at least.) - make such major hubs that are abundant with stuff much, much more hazardous (zombie hordes, hiding and hard to spot zombies that swarm you on place and what not) and there should be more forces obliging players to keep off the big cities and go explore into the wild... The second thing which seems to be they are pretty much focused on right now is how to force player interaction. Current issue is, when two survivors meet, it in 95% of cases results in imminent shootout with death of less lucky one. How could players be coerced into hugging each other and sharing stuff on meeting rather then murdering? My guess is to make that happen the surrounding should be so dangerous and hazardous that only teamplay can promote survival. (Unless you are geared up like commando and have proper skills - only that could foster lone-wolf play, for a protracted but not-too-long time stretch) I seriously think that the new wound system and illnesses we have heard of strongly suggests that lone-wolf survival for all the time is not a route for securing long life-stretch in Chernarus. Anyway, looking for more stanalone news. Keep up the good work, Rocket!

I've got a simple and reasonable suggestion: remove the possibility of carrying blood/blood products in soldier's/survivor's inventory and option to give blood transfusion in field conditions. I am medical practitioner who deals with various blood products, plasma and transfusions. I'd like to assure that these actions are basically impossible. Blood requires certain conditions to be stored properly and when those are neglected the transfusion of such blood can cause massive damage or even death. The possible option for IV transfusions in field conditions are various IV volume expanders - crystaloid or colloid solutions. Former are represented by Hydroxyethyl starch (HES/HAES, common trade names: Hespan, Voluven) and many other. Examples of latter are of NaCl at 0.9% concentration or Lactated Ringer's. Actually they are first-line therapy for any hemorrhage, life-threatening or not. I surmise blood products in-game should be stored only in hospitals and certain limitations when carrying the into the field should be imposed (basically, the time-stretch when they remain usable). I must admit, whole blood trasfusion is a life-saving and *only* therapy that can save life when severe hemorrhage and shock occurred (Whole blood can't be stored for more than 7 days actually, other blood products can, if conditions are appropriate). To sum it up: Blood/blood products - usable for limited time when carried in backpack, require certain conditions for prolonged storage. But more potent in critical conditions. Blood volume expanders - capable of being carried with any other player's gear. Sufficient in most combat conditions.