mithrawndo

The thing is, even with 100 people on a server I am pretty sure I could easily find a hole to hide myself away in and go to watch TV whilst my skill trains. Is this desirable from a gameplay perspective? This means people not playing the game, using up bandwidth and slots to train their abilities. Making the ability totally passive nets the same result without having the need to use bandwidth or server slots. It's authentic, rather than realistic. In short, if people are going to go afk to do this, maybe we should just let them legitimately? Perhaps it should simply be a slight acceleration when logged in? I'm sure you can tell I'm very undecided on this fact!*This was my initial thought, but as I've pondered the idea further I'm not sure it's practical - see my above statement. A simpler mechanic would be that you must have the book in your inventory (information already stored by the central hive), and whilst you do you passively and VERY, VERY SLOWLY learn about the subject you choose. Only one subject at a time, so there would be no point in stocking up on books. Many subjects would require several books to learn, and all would require you to own a pen and paper. You won't learn anything if you don't take notes!**My thinking exactly. Don't add anything that makes a new spawned survivor less effective than a 90 day veteran, simply give those veterans a few perks - for as long as they remain alive. Let them feel the potential soul crushing that losing those perks brings, but allow them to come to the realisation that they can (after they have finished throwing their toys out of the pram) come right back in without any real disadvantage. Better in fact, as they have made a mistake... and that's the only real way to learn!The possibilities are limitless!Thank you for the kind comments so far, it's humbling to see a few people of like mind. As for the comments regarding timescales: These were very much an off the cuff figure and would require a large amount of tweaking if ever deployed. As I am not aware of the figure for the average player's survival time, I could not even begin to estimate as to what could be considered a reasonable scale - however regarding eve online, the timescales involved are frequently years in the case of effective control of regions as opposed to months. *It just occurred to me that the result of this proposal is actually the restoration of civilization: People sitting in houses reading books and learning to make stuff, whilst other people guard them. I'm not sure I'm OK with this anymore! **It's even potentially possible that your notes could become a valuable commodity, perhaps allowing for marginal acceleration in learning times.

It's not fixable, that was exactly my point. You can't fix this problem so why try? Just allow multiple characters, because people are going to do it anyway. By preventing people who only paid once from doing this, all you are saying is that you support Pay To Win. That's fine too, but I then say: If you're going to allow that, you might as well just sell items too! None of which I want, I'm just say that's how it is.

Having to repeatedly fix broken equipment to max your skills* would be a stupid design decision in anything other than a pay-monthly game. I hope DayZ doesn't plan to go this route, but I respect rocket's decision if this turns out to be the case. *Don't doubt that, just like in the world of warcraft and all it's like, you'd sit and craft a billion things you don't need to get your skillpoints. We don't need that time sink, we already have cross country running!

It's presently possible to have as many characters as you wish. Simply pay bohemia a further 23.99 euroes for each additional copy of dayz and enjoy your perks... Yeah. Fix this or every argument against multiple characters is moot.

Spend some time studying the map: There appear to be two fairly large city layouts planned in the north already - one north of the NWAF, another northwest of the NEAF on the new(ish) railway line.

If time allows, Dayz should include a skill tree. This skill true will do nothing but include flavour text, allowing you to customize your character to no end and for no good reason. Think of it like adding cowbell to a drum solo. This idea should only be considered if, by 2026 when this game is finally due for full public release, the development team have run out of other things to do. Beards on the other hand would be a wonderful metric by which one could add value to a character. Imagine this: You're keeping low inside the treeline, tracking another survivor as he makes his way along the road. You've still not seen his face, but you can see he's decently geared. Finally, you manage to flank around and are able to incapacitate him. When you finally see his face, you see a beard that must have taken three months to grow out, and with a moustache that has been waxed to a tip and extends practically a full six inches to each side of his upper lip. You and I both know, you can't kill this guy. He'd have to start growing that wonderful creation all over again!

...and the world would be a better place for it!

I think most MMOs have a policy that it's against the terms of use to let anyone other than a dependent use an account you own. I suspect BI will probably have the same terms in place when it comes around to sorting out all the legalities closer to release. Change your post Gangrene to read "son", and you have a point. As for the muling: What you describe is exactly what we used to do in Diablo 2. They tried to fix that too by putting a login timer in place. It didn't work.

This discussion would be much easier if we could just censor anyone who suggests any form of censorship. Regardless, beans to you good sir!

Pretty sure it's already possible to create a second character. Here's how: Create a new steam accountPurchase another copy of DayZ on this accountLog in. Simultaneously, if you wish. Makes you wonder about the abuse this could lead to, and how perhaps allowing character selection might not be such a bad idea. Sorry.

Plenty of unpleasant situations with current mechanics, and the game has barely been out. People will think of more ways to be an absolute asshat, as that's what asshats do. As for what it adds: When you take a leak or a poop, like eating you are incapacitated. Only more so, as you could drop your tin of beans and grab your rifle. If you've got your pants round your ankles in the bushes when some zombies or another player stumbles on you, you're in deep shit! Rule #3 Man, Beware of bathrooms!

<rant> Interesting you should ask that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJiE5v0s7oU If that's not enough, perhaps you should consider that without a zombie apocalypse people run around naked all the time anyway! What's your point again? Nudity is immature? I'm pretty sure immature people will find a way to act that way regardless of what mechanics you do or do not put into the game. All this llama over an unplanned feature, damn. Already people can throw up on one another - far more disgusting than being urinated or getting naked - and be restrained and be murdered via Acute Haemolytic Transfusion Reaction. You don't worry about the fact that someone can simulate sticking a needle in themselves, draw their own blood and then stuff it into your veins? That gives me the shivers even thinking about it - and I love that this game embraces that, albeit incredibly dark, mechanic. Christ, the needles and the existence of morphine alone will give this game the highest possible rating in almost every country going, if not get it banned already. As for you quitting the game: I'm going to call your bluff. I think you'll bend over and take it if the devs do add this - which I highly doubt they will! </rant>

Dayz is in alpha and does not have nor is required to have a rating at present. I understand the objections to defecation, though part of me does wish to reject the objections out of hand. Honestly though, that's a fight that isn't worth having because being able to take a poop isn't actually going to add anything to the game. Getting naked might; with the addition of weather conditions and potential hypothermia, stripping out of soaking clothes might actually be worth doing. I wouldn't complain personally if they made us all Barbie and Ken dolls, but that's another debate. The big one though is taking a leak: This is actually something that should be part of any good survival simulator, as (particularly if you are male) there are many, many uses for your urine. First and foremost, one can drink it when in the most dire of thirsts to prolong your life - and that's a very large part of what this game is about. Secondly, one can use it as you would any other liquid - to extinguish fires for example. Thirdly, urine contains amongst other things ammonia which is a very useful chemical and could easily see a viable place in the game as a clothing bleach and/or a cleaning agent - we did this for thousands of years, and whilst we tend to find our ammonia from other places now, where exactly are we supposed to find it in the apocalypse? Edit: Fourthly, one could fill their canteens with it, pass it to their friend and let them drink until their heart's content. Once they're fully hydrated, one may inform them that they've just drank several litres of your stored piss. No, I think this is a bit of a knee jerk reaction. Let the developers censor the game the way they choose and let's not threaten to sue them again, eh?

Interesting. I don't think it would take much resource for the game to take a screenshot once per minute, then instead of showing the black "You are dead" screen, once the server confirms your death it could start to flash the frames by one at a time, say at a rate of one image every tenth of a second (video geeks can advise on more useful numbers here, I'm sure) until it finally shows your body hitting the floor - and then the black "You are Dead." Neat, no?

Lovely sales pitch. I read the whole thing in the voice of Billy Mays. You sir, have my beans. Just to nit-pick: A gator clip is a synonym of a crocodile clip used in electrical engineering (and when not conductive, to hang your clothes!), those things you hook onto your belt are actually gator clamps (slide and lock rather than spring loaded). Not that it matters, but I felt that what I giveth with one hand, I should take away with the other!

I would argue that removing someone's freedom and/or life is a far more debasing act that defecating on them. I'd also like to echo that only an idiot would ever put something like "Press p to poop" in their game. </thread> please!

Thank you VictorM, I've done as you suggested. I strongly suggest you do. There are I believe already plans to implement checking for a pulse and your suggestion ties in nicely with this. Good luck!

Understood, but the OP was dealing with the issue of loot spawns being ransacked before they reached them the "fair" way. I was merely pointing out that he was trying to solve an issue that shouldn't exist in the real game. Server hopping for tactical advantage is a much more difficult nut to crack, and the current solution in place is to my mind probably the best one. However it does come with it's drawbacks; Introducing new people to the game can be an infuriating experience as they don't understand why they have to wait when you jump between servers!

I like the idea though my suggestion would be to also add knife stances as an addition, rather than replacing the current orientation. Right click to swap between under and over arm stances?

This. Books should exist as reference manuals to be used in repairing weapons, vehicles and anything else that requires technical knowledge. In this way they would really just be an ingredient, albeit a reusable one. I'd also like to see them exist and able to be read. This game is about patience, and a lot of the books in the game are public domain: I'd love to be sneaked up on and kidnapped whilst sitting on the beach reading a book!

It's a tried and tested "literary" idea; there are several Infection/Zombie themed films, books and television series that have the protagonist enter the fictional world with nothing but the clothes on their back. In 28 Days Later the poor guy walked out into the mayhem wearing nothing but a surgical gown. I seem to remember The Walking Dead did something similar with Grimes In Shaun of the Dead the only thing they had was a pen and a "henry" In Dawn of the Dead (2004) she has to climb out of a window with nothing but the clothes on her back. In fact I have to go back to the original 1978 version of said film before I find the protagonist armed with anything at all! It's an alpha folks. Currently we have absolutely no back story, no introduction - nothing. I do presume they plan to set the scene a little more than just dropping us in blind.

Getting a bit ahead of ourselves aren't we? I believe it's a cliche to say but this is only the alpha. What you suggest is quite sensible and I don't intend to criticise, but in all honesty it sounds like a balancing issue - which would be dealt with much, much further down the line. The game currently has (I think) 7 guns altogether and most use their own size of ammo, meaning that when spawn rate balancing is done near release (which could be as late as 2017, we don't know!) it should be easy enough to make scarcity a real problem. On the flipside there are already a swathe of genuine and makeshift melee weapons and I'm sure there are plans to add many, many more. As for the single shot, given that you will need to find three elements to make your gun truly effective - magazines, guns and ammunition - I really don't see it as a problem once the loot issue is solves. Again, the problem lies with the current loot spawn mechanics and I'm certain that is somewhere on Bohemia's list.

Any smell system is really part of a greater atmospheric system - so for example whilst firing a pistol in the open wouldn't leave a smell for more than a handful of seconds, a full on firefight in an enclosed space would leave a smell that lingered for some minutes*. Think of it as polluting the atmosphere** within a certain radius upon firing, with a decay that dwindles over time. More shots (or more fires, more bodies and so on) means greater accumulation of scent and hence more time required for the air to clear. *This may be prohibitively difficult given the design of the game (see indoor rain for details). Time will tell! **No, that wasn't a fart joke. No, I don't think farts should be part of the game. Yes, it's mildly amusing.

A standings/rep grinding system? See Eve-Online and piracy to learn why that doesn't work well. I'd be running around the starting areas randomly bandaging people and force feeding them antibiotics so that I could go on another killing spree. Though when I say it like that... The price for being a douche in the real world is that eventually you will be left all alone. So should it be in DayZ.

I never carry a knife. I don't like this idea at all. However I do approve of the idea of being able to rifle through cutlery drawers.