Tunusa

I think that's part of the problem too, SA is constantly being talked about as nearly finished and about to be released only to see an update or vid showing that not only is it not close, but IMO (and it wont be a popular one here) it looks and sounds rather unimpressive considering the length of time that has passed since it was first announced. When I watched Rocket stream the SA the other day my jaw dropped.... cause I thought this is where they were a year ago.

i feel violated.

More story driven spawn points. Like in downed helis (no loot) or in over turned cars. Spawning in bed, in a cabin out in the woods next to a blood soaked stain where your wife used to be... or an apartment downtown with a trail of blood leading out the door. Even maybe a spawn point in a jail cell (all cell doors unlocked). A hospital spawn where you awake from a coma/recover from illness much like 28 days later. Something with a sense of what took place moments before, instead of just appearing in the woods running randomly with no idea where you came from and how you got there. This could also be interesting if these spawn points were adjusted according to humanity. A hero type would spawn in a hospital or in the back of a wrecked ambulance with access to blood bags and/or bandages, a bandit would be sent to jail to respawn. The worse his humanity the worse his starting point when he respawns. Perhaps in a cell at the far end of the prison, outfitted in bright orange jumpsuit with access to maybe a shank he finds in the prison yard while escaping. Or treading water a half mile out to sea. Something just slightly more crappy than usual. Not everyone would spawn at these places, just the players with extreme levels of humanity at time of death. Knowing your respawn will be a slightly bigger pain in the butt might reduce players going straight PvP all the time. Not with the intent of changing the game for players but just enough to add atmosphere and back story for your player and cause someone to think before killing that unarmed fresh spawn.

Just to be clear I am not assuming the dev team is going to ruin the game. I have faith in Rocket and others on the team that they have a direction they are aiming for and will produce something great when all is said and done. I posed the question to see what the community had to say. Because on one hand I agree that every ounce of added realism no matter how "boring and mundane" it is on the surface can really help suck a player into the world the devs are trying to create. On the other, I am unsure if all these little touches of realism when added together will still produce their intended effect months after first doing them and the "new" and "cool" factor has worn off. Too much of a good thing can be bad.

I had a debate the other day about "reality" shows and the amount of actual production that goes into them. My point was that people watch tv for entertainment, to escape their everyday life. If reality shows weren't somewhat scripted and produced for entertainment then all we would have is average people doing mundane things while we watched. This relates to DayZ in that the amount of mundane things like running for 45 mins, eating, drinking etc.. is offset by the amount of suspense it builds and fun had while not doing those things. Reading through the suggestions forum I have seen a ton of great ideas based around the desire for more realism. However as someone who was part of a small group of people who started tossing good ideas at the dev team for the original Planetside and watched it grow tremendously.. only to see by the time the game went retail it very vaguely resembled its original concept. This drove many of the "original" fans away. Do you feel like DayZ is at risk of falling to the same fate? Is there enough fun and interesting moments in the game to balance out a large number of additional, realistic but boring activities? If everyone on the server is too busy removing a splinter after going down a wooden ladder, or spending 45 mins looking for toilet paper have we veered off too much from the orginal draw to the game or do you think there is no balance needed because it all adds to the atmosphere of a survival game?

....and my response was suggesting a alternative to that. (yay we've gone full circle!) It's a large board with many good posters and great ideas and being rather new here I would really like to see a collective of the best ideas that may have escaped my eye. You will have to excuse my impatience but if a voting system or something similar will take some time to implement or get put on the back burner while other (more pressing) things are attended to, then my suggestion was something that actually could have been started and nearly finished already.

I completely agree, however the op seemed to want a more organized way of seeing the popular and good ideas sorted while remaining highly visible and easily accessible. My suggestion was just a way to do this right now quick and easy like without major changes to the board. If everyone feels that its too subjective to go about it that way, then some sort of voting system is the only way to go?

Have the mods create a pinned "best ideas" thread with a constantly updated list of ideas and links to the original threads. Based solely off of the general interest of the public, and what the trusted mods/devs feel is a good idea. Wont solve everything, but its a starting point. Locked of course so only mods and devs can add to it.

:) Of course I was joking for the most part but also meant to imply more of a diverse map rotation allowing us to see and experience elements of cultures other than what's already being played. I love the current locations and idea of being dropped into a country I know nothing about with street signs I can't read. The unfamiliarity adds to the suspense and helps pull you in. I would like to see the flip side to that as well. The flag idea was kinda legit, it would be nice to know what someone's language is before spending 5 mins trying to talk to them. The infection thing... I get that survivors are immune but.. eh I feel like even with the improved zombies they will eventually lack a certain lasting fear which is inherent in this type of game. but yea, thrown in just as build up to take a playful dig at my country as well as my brothers to the north. :) I stumbled upon some vids of gameplay (Frankie, Lewis and a few others) and was sold instantly. Love everything about it. At the time (early Dec) the stand alone was supposed to be released right around the same time I discovered the mod, so I just figured I would wait. and am still waiting... I dont know if its worth buying arma2 and downloading the mod now (and putting up with all the bugs) when the stand alone is just around the corner from release.

I havent had the chance to play the game yet, as I have been waiting for the standalone. I have watched a ton of vids/streams tho and noticed there seems to be a communication barrier between players that can take all too long to figure out. So just as an idea to throw out there...how about a flag patch for clothing representing the players home country? Could be removable, possibly only on military clothing and something to help identify others easier. A "turning point" where a player can get infected by a zombie and slowly change over after hours/days. Then once turned can play as a normal zombie (no weapons) where he must kill a player a day for blood to continue or decide to suicide and respawn. Also would like to see more maps. Like an American map where you start out with a high powered, fully automatic assault rifle, several grenades and a ton of food :) Plus a Canadian map where you start out with a bong... and the american military's phone number.