Teemo (DayZ)

Greetings and salutations, survivors, griefers, bandits and bambies. A strange thought occurred to me just now after watching a video in which a couple of bandits force some bambies to fight to the death with axes. It dawned on me, that this kind of interaction was only made possible, because the players with the axes, cared about survival. Had this group encountered a solo bambi, he would have rushed them, in the hopes of a kill, thinking he was probably dead anyway. So I thought... All the best stories from this game, are only really possible, because people care about surviving. Well... How might one put emphasis on that? And I thought... What if, when the alpha and what not are more stable, they implimented an "average" alive time? So your average alive time would be showed, together with your longest survival time. Not in game, but in the main menu where you see your player. I honestly think that being reminded that you're about to beat your own record for staying alive, might give people an incentive to keep staying alive. It might even minimize wanton suicides, as that would affect the average timer in a very negative way. People can ignore it, and are free too, but like achievements in other games, studies show that we want these little goals. We gravitate toward achievements on a subconscious level, so I'm thinking it might just take the brunt of the blind charge we see so often... And yet, it's not forcing anyone to do anything. You can suicide all you want, if you don't care about it. It might just affect people enough though, to make them do what ever it takes to stay alive, which in turn might add a bit more tension to the game. Just a thought.

Public ranking would welcome instant grief. Bandits would target you, not because of your loot or a perceived threat, but simply to ruin your chance at beating your record. I dislike the notion of this inviting any form of meta gaming from others. It's purely meant as a personal motivational tool, albeit one that might just make people try a little harder to live, avoid unnecessary risks and thus, rub off on the way we play the game. In theory, if people care about living, they'll take less risks, meaning they'll attempt fewer suicide encounters, meaning they wont be as random once encountered, meaning they'll cooperate, meaning at least some of the reasons for KOS might vane. i.e there'll be less reason to shoot first, out of blind paranoia, because the amount of players who'll punch you in the head, might decrease, purely because these players now care about staying alive. It's naive and utopic... But it might just have a tiny impact, and frankly, that makes it worth it to me.

I have some spare beans from the survival thread... Have some.

Steam achievements would only pop up once, and then be forgotten. An indicator next to your character, every time you logged on, is a much more consistent motivator.

It still rings true. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. As long as zombies are a slight inconvenience instead of a formidable threat, players are going to be the only real long term challenge, and thus, that's what people hunt. Add hordes, barricades and what not, and people might try to hold off the undying hordes as they embark on their camps, which would promote teamwork... Lest they become overrun.

See this is where I disagree. Some people will still hunt players. But I'm hoping that this might make people less suicidal. If held up at gun point, I'm hoping people will play along, hand over their goods, and carry on if it means they get to survive. Right now, I find that people beeline straight for me, fists up, regardless of whether they're held at gunpoint or not. Heck, people with pistols seem more keen to go down, guns blazing, vs superior numbers with carbines, than cough up their beans. The stories that make DayZ so damn unique, don't happen when people just shoot each other. They happen when they don't. I'm merely wishing to give people an incentive to hope for the best. To try to survive. The system I suggest is entirely private. If people wish to brag, they can do so on their channels or via pictures, but once in game, it's your own little motivator, nothing else. Hence, it's a non-intrusive system. If you wish to ignore it, you are free to. That way, we don't impose arbitrary rules upon people. They're free to play as they see fit. Too many suggestions I see here, rely on people playing the game in a certain way. Here, I'm merely hoping to play to peoples vanities, instead of actively forcing them to change play styles, I'm trying to trick them into doing it. The griefers will remain, and bandits will be bandits... But maybe their victims will play differently, and frankly, that's a start.

Because you, Sir, are a scholar and a gentleman.

Each and every one of us started playing this game the same. Walking about like a bunch of muppets, out in the open, flashlights shining and without a ready weapon in our hands. We didn't immediately find cover when we saw another player. We stood up and greeted them. We let them close, as we tried to help or befriend them... We lost our beans. 1. Rule of DayZ club: Be Paranoid. 2. Rule of DayZ club: See 1. rule.

My hiking backpack has a built in one. Like Commanderbash said, it's really just a bag holding water, that your backpack either has a small compartment for, just behind your back, or you stuff it in the bottom like everything else. The backpacks that are designed for them, then have a fixture for the tube, hear your shoulder, so when you wish to drink, you simply turn your head, bite to open the vent, and suck. Simple.

Varying stages of decomposition is a rather sexy idea...

Well seeing as people seem to find this angle to be at least worth consideration... How do we go about passing it on? How do we get some attention about this?

While I find this an interesting idea, I don't think it should prompt itself. I might be interesting though, if you could inspect people somehow... Or even just show it in the player log, when you press P, and see which players are on your server. Also... Now I want to be a Bean King =(

Then don't use P. The rest of us like to know we're on the same server as our mates, before we run for 40 min to find them.

I admire the fact that you expect to live long enough on a single character, for that to be relevant. Don't get me wrong, I do too... I just expect to be proven wrong ;)

Hang on guys... I got something in my pants, you need to see!

This is practically the same as teleporting closer to your friends. I know we all want army barracks, but frankly, if you just start in one, why make the rest of the map? Why even include the east coast...? If we all had instant access to Mossies, M4's and army helmets, we might as well play counter strike. Have you heard of something called "The Heroes Tale"? I don't mean to be condescending here, I mean it literally. The Heroe's Tale, is about pain. It's about sacrifice. Without these, they always make for a pretty terrible story. Well, this is no different. Without the hardship. Without the fear. Without the hunger or thirst... Without these things, your Mosin Nagant isn't special. There's a reason you care about your gear and want it back. There's a reason that fire axe makes you feel safe, and special. It's because you can remember when you didn't have one. And you realise it might happen again, so you cherish it, while you have. If you can select a better start point, you'll ALWAYS be in a bigger city, or near an army base, cus that's where you'll find these things. But it's not supposed to be like that. You're supposed to fight. It's supposed to be scary, and you're supposed to hate it. If you don't hate some bits... How can you love others?

The extra char's would quickly just become mules for storing rare gear. Really, no thank you.

I get why they don't, but I agree on a cosmetic level... It's a shame that you don't see more people in hoodies, beanies and what not, as you most likely would in a real apocalypse. Here, everyone jumps into camo gear, as they add not only more slots, but better chances of not being spottet by bandits. It's a shame. There's something familiar about a small pack, street clothing and a baseball bat, that just has a certain appeal. Still... As it stands, every single geared player will be wearing a stupid helmet, gasmask as it provides better camouflage colours than your face, green army gear, green army vests and a hunters pack, cus it doesn't stand out in the brush. Too bad really.

I reckon every one likes the idea... But I honestly don't see any plausible way in which this won't fuck up more than it fixes. Take any single MMO you can think of. As things became more and more accessible, they also became less and less important. Dungeon finders, lack of exclusive content. You name it. Things stop mattering, if you don't have to fight for it. If you can just teleport to your mates, even if they have to be out of combat for it to happen, then death is NOT a punishment. Death is the main thing DayZ has going for it. I'm comparing DayZ to regular MMO's because much of the structure and appeal is the same. You build your character, tell your tale, and immerse yourself in a world that's constant. To some extent. If you no longer have to have a "bad start" then no character will ever feel special. That fight is what makes this game. We all hate it, but we all hate death more, because of it. When you spawn with or near your mates, you're auto equipped. Everyone carries enough crap around to start you off. Hunger will never be an issue again, nor thirst. There's a shiny axe waiting for you, no matter where you are. This is ESPECIALLY true once we get tents and camps. It is of uttermost importance, that players can have undesirable starts. Without them, the desirable starts, rare gear or weapons are no longer a stroke of luck and good fortune, but an expected outcome of every encounter. Zoning in on your mates, is probably one of the most disruptive things you can do to this game. The very essense of it's appeal is instantly invalidated, if you never have to feel impending fear of being alone. It sucks. But everything you ever did, that mattered, sucked. That's why it's so damn rewarding when it pans out. Teleporting to your mates will make this instant call of duty. Even starting near them on the map, serves but a single purpose. To get you back in the action ASAP. Your death is no longer a cripling setback, it's merely a mild inconvenience. I pray they never do this. [EDIT] If EVERYONE is dead. If EVERYONE has to start over... It would be plausible to start them together. But joining existing players should be an absolute no-go.

Safe Zones break the main principle of the game... That everything is player made. You want safe zones, then gather your friends, set guards and make one yourself. But the game will never force it upon other players. It's counterproductive to the very philosophy of the game, and will in all likelyhood never see implimentation. You're right that barter communities would develop, but Rocket has made it clear, that if they're to develop in DayZ, then the players have to be the ones who are developing them. I reckon it might happen, if they fix server hopping, and start locking characters to servers, as you then get to know people, and have to get a long, so to speak... But frankly, I doubt it will happen here...

Bikes will most likely be implimented, but you will NEVER see a fast travel, teleport, spawn on friends function. Consider what you're saying for all of 3 seconds, and I'm sure you can think of at least 20 different ways in which that would ruin the immersion, tension and very aim of the game (the fight for survival) as well as trivialise the vulnerability of being alone... Not to mention the countless ways this could be exploited, should you find a fresh military base, teleport all your friends in, get loot, then teleport to the other end of the map and do it again there. Don't bother suggesting timers. No penalty for teleporting is severe enough for it to NOT be worth it, and it is entirely game breaking.

Oh, you know... Use pizza boxes, skateboards, if you're very lucky maybe a Sai, Nunchuck, Bo-stick or Ninjato... If you're unlucky though... You'll run into... Them. Just pray the rat isn't there...

Well frankly, that sort of proves why it should be there. The value of an average timer is purely percieved. It holds no real value, yet we care. We distinctly dislike being told that we could be performing better than we are. Without the average timer, the suiciding is still there, if you get a bad start. Now I'm not saying you can't suicide. By all means, go ahead, but if everyone cared about not dying, this would be a VERY different game, tension wise. Otherwise, I reckon people will only start caring, once they get close to their record, but with an average, there are two timers to consider. Also, by the time this would be relevant, the game would be in beta or even final release. By then, the kinks should be sorted, flow should be optimised and what you can and cannot do should be freely available and documented. And like I said. You're free to ignore it. But I kinda like the idea that if you're calous with your life... It'll be there to remind you, that you could be better. I think it's an important motivator.

Beat you to it, I'm afraid ;) http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/163066-name-of-the-game-survival/

I thought about including things like "top survivor" and such, but I tend to stay clear of tags like "bandits" and "heroes". Reason being, I don't consider myself a bandit. I don't kill unless I have to, but having to is a grey area. Someone comes to close to me with a weapon, or fists out, they get as much warning as I can give them, while still giving me enough time to take them down, should they ignore it. Having said that, I have squared off with people over loot, locations and just bumping into them. I don't go for the kill, but I am armed, and I bear no illusion that people will shoot me, if they see what I'm carrying, especially up north. No reason for them to trust me. If I encounter someone, I try to stay hidden, but if they spot me, I have to at least consider taking them out. Sometimes I deem I can get away if I don't, sometimes I obviously can't. In those time, I'm not going to wait for them to try and get me first. But I still don't consider myself a bandit. So I don't think you can hardcode some rule where you deem people bandits. Just like in the early days of the mod, where people would get the bandit skin, purely for defending themselves. I'd much rather just look at top survivor, all inclusive, if we have to get competitive about it. Having said that, I honestly think it'll work fine as a private, personal motivator. I suspect people will upload pictures of their survivor to brag, and streamers gain a new lvl, by showing how long they've been alive for. Suddenly you can do Ironman runs, as people can see whether you died or not between streams. I reckon it'll work nicely without adding all sorts on top of it.