Sheepdogwoof

Heres a bunch of stuff that I've been thinking about for a Zombie survival Horror game for YEARS, but I know I'll never get into the gaming industry so I might aswell help out the DayZ Devs with some improvements that I've always wanted to see, so lets get started. EDIT: New idea I just had, Death Screams: -When a player is killed by either a shot to the body or when they are torn apart by Zombies, they will let out a loud death scream that echos around the vicinity. I feel it would add SO much immersion, imagine walking through quiet woods, all of a sudden -BOOM- "AAAAARGGGHHHHAAARGRAHHHHHH" and then silence afterwards, warning you of the danger. Dogs: -VERY rare, domesticated dogs mostly died off pretty quick since infection as they have a hard time adapting to no masters, locked indoors, no hunting skills, etc. -Because of this I would suspect only breeds such as German Shepards, Rottweilers, Cattle Dogs, Border Collies, and other more predatory or robust dogs could be found. -Most would avoid you, go rabid, maybe even a few infected dogs -However some, with memories of their human masters who they once loved may be more friendly towards you, and in exchange for food will start to follow you around from a distance, over time and over the course of several feedings, it will gradually stay closer and closer to you, representing that it trusts you more. -Perhaps with small piece of wood and string you could fashion a dog collar and engrave a name you choose onto the wood, just a thought, not necessary. -Once "tamed" they will follow you around and attack any Zombies that you shoot at, if injured, they heal obviously better than humans do just as in real life, lick their wounds to stop bleeding, and after a few hours should fully heal on their own, though you could easily add some mechanism to speed the process, maybe use your own bandages on them or something. NEXT. Player Infection: -I was thinking that infection should NOT be curable, but only slowable, meaning you could introduce a new icon along with the hunger, thirst, etc, that shows how long until infection, after being bitten ofcourse. -Each time a Zombie hits you, there should be a small chance of them inflicting a bite aswell, after two hours your vision will start to blur and you will have massive headaches, 15 minutes later, you will die and come back as a zombie after a short while. EDIT: NOT A CONTROLLABLE ZOMBIE... THAT WOULD JUST BE DUMB. -By slowable I mean that you should add a new, semi-rare form of pill that doesn't kill the infection completely, but restarts the timer. Yet another thing to have to manage, IF you get bitten. -Your zombified self will be easily recognizable as a fallen player, giving more incentive to kill those zombies, as they still carry all the gear that the player died with. NEXT. Sleeper Zombies: -After a long period of inactivity, zombies will fall to the ground, seemingly dead, and can be snuck past easily enough, though any gunfire or loud running will wake them up. NEXT. Vehicles personalization enhancements: -The ability to modify vehicles using gear and objects you find, barbed wire fencing, knives, Stop Signs, wooden planks, literally anything you could think of. Nail wooden planks to the sides for extra protection from both gunfire and Zombies, then add an extra layer of protection with barbed wire fencing. Tie two Stop signs to the hood of the car, extending to either side, possibly decapitating zombies as you drive past. -Spray cans to colour your vehicles, maybe your bandit clan has a symbol or banner? Spray it onto the hood of your vehicles and drive into battle against rival clans. -More vehicle types, hippy vans, armored trucks, Mobile homes! Imagine driving around in your ultimate moving fortress of Zombie death, a mobile home covered in knives and barbed wire, a ladder to the top with make-shift guard rails of wooden planks. You could drive while your buddies shoot and snipe from up top. NEXT. Base kits: You should be able to dismantle army tents you find, the ability to dig trenches with shovels, set up barbed wire perimeters, wooden palisades, towers, etc. actually FORTIFY a set base for yourself and friends or clan-mates, a place to defend, a place to call home, a place to store supplies, a place to plan your scavenging from. NEXT. Tracking: -All living creatures, human or inhuman should leave tracks, depending on weight. Rabbits leave close to nothing, and after only 20 minutes, all traces of them being there are gone. Players have a unique style of walking obviously, they dont randomly shamble about as zombies do, you should be able to tell that by looking at the tracks, zombie footprints should be arranged oddly, toes pointed strangely away or towards eachother. Where as Survivors have a regularly, both foot pointing in the direction they were facing. -Depending on how much gear you are carrying, how many guns, how much food, everything, should deepen your tracks and cause them to stand the test of time better than someone with close to or no gear at all. -Rubber shoes should be added to the "loot table" dampening how obviously your tracks appear, and decreasing the time it takes for them to fade away, also decreasing footstep sound by a drastic amount. NEXT. Zombie Run Speed: -Fix it please, they run far too fast and zig zag all over the damn place, while some might say that it should remain this way for difficulty's sake. There is no way that something that essentially has no brain would know the serpentine maneuver, and would be able to coordinate their legs THAT well. They should shamble, running is fine, but either make it the same as the player's or slightly slower, and their animation should not look as if they are the same as any other person, sprinting, give them limps, lurches, etc. You know what I'm talking about, we've all watched the Walking Dead, those zombies can run, but their run gives off the feeling that they obviously don't have much control, and simply go towards food, with no predatory instinct really, just mindless hunger. NEXT. Melee Weapons: -Baseball bats, shivs, knives, machetes, daggers, letter openers, ceremonial swords, pencils, ANYTHING SHARP. -Surprised they aren't in the game yet, its terribly annoying when you have a single Zombie standing over some loot, but you KNOW that the entire building is surrounded and that if you take the shot, there's no way out. I understand the hardcore element of having no melee weapons, but think about it. In real life, you'd probably want as many silent ways to take out Zombies as you could. Aaaand there ya have it, thats all I can remember right now, but I know that I had far more than whats written here. Please send the link to the post around and spread the word to get the Dev's attention! Want this game to be even more amazing than it already is :) Also, Planes. that is all.

K great. Everybody knows that they've been suggested a lot, but these are my versions of those suggestions... so you can stop telling people when 1 Everybody knows, 2 we can write what we wish on the forums.

I should be more specific. I think it'd be interesting, and very possible, to add the Zed infection to players. What I don't like is the player actually PLAYING as the Zed afterwards. Rocket loves ideas that add to the difficulty of the mod, and this would be a nice touch. If, when you became a Zed, you we're shown the "game over" screen, but your body stayed behind as an AI controlled Zed rather than a corpse, it'd be perfect. Nonono hellno, I never said anything about playing as a Zombie... no idea how anyone would even come to the conclusion that I suggested that from what I said.