ToySmokes

Even though they aren't zombies, Dorn has a point, and they are good ideas

Hi everyone! I'll try to make this as short as I possibly can. This is my idea for a new, more dynamic interface: (This only works in 3rd person, but adjustments could be made so it also works in 1st person). As the player press the tab key a dynamic interface appears attached to the characters backpack. During this the player can still move his or hers character and perform any other task that he or she would be able to to without the interface. It also dynamically follows the characters movements, swaying depending on what way the character is turning. Then if the player wants to arrange something in the backpack or pick up something and decide where to put it, the player instead has to hold down the tab key. During this the character goes down in crouch, takes of the backpack and places it infront of himself/herself. The interface follows the character down and puts itself either to the right or left of the character, depending on what shoulder the camera looks over. This can also be changed while in the interface. On the opposite side of the backpacks interface there also appears a second box where all items in the characters immediate surroundings appear, much like how the current system works. Now the player is unable to move the character, but instead he or she can use the courser to arrange the items in the backpack and on the ground. Then as soon as the player is done he or she simply releases the tab button and the character puts on its backpack and return to the same stance that it was in before the player pressed and held the tab key. With this system in place, the player is always immersed in the world due to no overlays over the surroundings. The interface would also feel less clumsy and fit a lot better with the new "selection of target" thing that was showcased in the 30th of May Status report. I have attached one gif for how it looks when pressing the tab key, and one image for when holding it down. Pressing: (This also showcase how the interface would react when you drag items into it). Holding down: (The character is obviously not crouching ect, but I'm no skilled photoshopper so this was the best I could do).

Great video mate! You really captured some of the best stuff with the curret visuals of the game in my opinion.

@-Gews- Of corse the over all balancing of the damage inflicted per hit could be changed. One-hit kill might be too strong even considering the balancing I mentioned in the text. Don't you agree though that (if this idea where to be implemented) this idea would add a sort of "end-game" to the player in that sense that if you keep your character alive and well you will not only have great gear, but also be able to carry both firearms and more powerful melee weapons. It's like adding level restriction on weapons without the hard skills level mechanic, making it more organic instead.

Okey so without taking in consideration that the dev team has already thought of this, I wanted to share an idea that I think would balance the whole aspect of long and short melee weapons in DayZ. This is a long read but I believe it will be worth it if you care about helping improve the game. (All links go to the DayZ Wiki) Informational part (Idea at second caption) As all you survivors probably know already, the long melee weapons such as the firefighter axe, sledgehammer and the baseball bat all go on our characters back. Now, there has been some debate whether or not one should have to add a rope to the weapon to be able to carry it on the back. No matter how you feel about this I have another idea to bring to the table. As of now we have a lot of different one-handed melee weapons as well as two-handed melee weapons. Almost all the one-handed melee weapons can't be carried on our backs, and I believe all the long ones can. (Forgive me if I'm wrong, it was a while since I played the game due to me not having my computer. If I'm wrong just ignore these facts and stay with me). Obviously though there are some exceptions such as the machete. As of now there are no real pattern to how much damage a weapon inflict as far as I can see (Wiki stats here for all melee weapons). Idea Okay so with all that done, here are the actual proposal that in my world would add depth to the way melee weapons in DayZ work and also bring a new perspective of dealing with choices. Lets say that you have one short splitting axe (no information found about the short one on the wiki) in front of you to the left, and one firefighter axe to the right of it. You are free to pick one of them up and leave. My obvious choice would be the firefighter axe since it; Inflicts more damage to foes both by shock damage to the head and actual health loss, and... Can be carried on the back (The short splitting axe can't) My point is that there is no reason to pick up the shorter counterparts to the longer melee weapons right now. So my idea is that instead of us being able to carry the long melee weapons on our backs, we should only be able to carry the short ones, and limit it to when we have some sort of backpack, vest or a weapon holster on our character since otherwise the weapon would (realistically) have nothing to hang from. So what about the long melee weapons you ask. Now it instead seems like no one would even consider picking up the firefighter axe anymore, since we can't carry it on our backs and the damage dealt by the longer melee weapons only dubbels to the shorter melee weapons right now (In some cases not even that). So how do we solve this and make us actually facing a choice with those two melee weapons in front of us. Naturally we bump up the damage over all caused by the longer melee weapons to make them super powerful and effective. You would be able to one-hit kill humans as well as infected, hitting both body and head, making you super deadly up close (this is for the sharp melee weapons only. The obtuse ones have the same effect but in knock-out efficiency). The catch is that you would have to constantly carry the weapon in your hands since you can't place it on your back and it's to big to fit in a backpack. Also it would have a heavier swing (takes longer time to reach the target), making it possible for the other person to dodge or possibly parry the attack. Now to the short, one-handed melee weapons. You would be able to carry them on your back (assuming you have a backpack, vest or weapon holster on your character). But instead they are less effective, inflicting maybe three times less damage over all than the long melee weapons. On the other hand it would be handy in a situation where you need to quickly switch from melee to firearm since you can clear your hand of the melee weapon much faster (excluding the idea of throwing the long melee weapon away). The short melee weapons would also realistically speaking be faster swung against the opponent, making the attacks harder to avoid and/or parry. Soft skills (Additional idea) If this system I'm proposing would be implemented there is also a convenient door opening regarding the upcoming soft skills. My idea is that the more weight a character carries and the better he or she eats, the more weight he or she will be able to carry (if that makes sense). After eating good, cooked foot, drinking enough of good and purified water and carrying/lifting heavier weights per day, eventually the character would become stronger and be able to not only carry the short melee weapons, but the long, two-handed melee weapons as well, making that person both deadly at range (if they have a firearm in possession) and up close and personal. This adds a whole other depth to the character transformation and desire to keep your character alive, breathing new life to that whole "consideration" aspect of this game that Hicks always speaks about; (Deciding whether or not to engage or interfere in a firefight ect). It would also add one other way to see how "old" and experienced a character is (except for hair growth and possibly scars?). This way taking care of your character would pay off in a very concrete way. Regarding how long the span of not being able to carry long melee weapons to being able to, should be: Not to short like 3 in-game days, but also not to long like 250 in-game days. The idea is that it shouldn't take to long time, but you should have to work for it and stay alive a very long time. Also this would mean that the day-night cycle stays sped up like I believe it is now (Version 0.60). (The timespan examples are only just that; examples) That was it for me. Thank you for taking your time reading this! Open for a civilised discussion in the comments. Yours truly, ToySmokes

I somewhat agree with you! While i read every status report in joy and I always get more or less hyped no matter what "news" they write about, I can't help but feel that they have left the survival aspect of the game a bit. Yes they are improving the Central Economy, which is VERY important for how this game is going play as they mentioned, but that seems to be pretty much it. Otherwise they are still expanding, it seems, on the concept of people running and gunning, don't caring about ammo amount or how much noise they are creating. I think it's a step in the wrong direction to add more guns and make them more enjoyable before they take a look at the other agressiv aspects of the game. What they should actually focus on is the hand and melee combat that would bring more depth to the actual apocalypse feel of the game in my opinion. If they won't try and focus less on the military aspect of the game instead of the "civilian" I feel like this game will never succeed in coming out of that period where nearly everyone run around in military gear and is shooting others just for fun constantly. Edit: Otherwise I am really enjoying the work the devs seems to put into their work and I am really happy to see things happening with the visuals, whether it's graphical or animations! Sorry if you find weird sentences. English is not my first language!

Just to clarify. Does this mean that there aren't any plans for clothes "dynamically" reacting to the players movement, the wind ect even after the new engine is fully in place?. I thought this was something that -at least- all the greater titles would have with the new (current) generation technology. Am I wrong and this is something hard for developers to do, or is it just that the Enfusion engine wont hold that "standard" when 1.0 releases? I'm just curious and would like an answer on this!

I really like this idea. It would really add this feeling of responibility over yourself. You can't just sit behind a truck and eat all your beans. It would take way to much time and you would be out in the open for anyone to kill you. As it is now you can basically get your stomach full while you're getting chased by three infected and in the middle of a firefight (overexadurated obviously). Enough about writing in the comments what you've already explained. Great idea and I really hope the devs consider going somewhere along these lines!

You do know though that they are working on a new inventory system...? I agree with you that the current system is not great, but we are soonish getting a new one

Yes it should. That is what I've always wanted and I can only hope for the devs to want that too (which I think they do). I think that's the idea for the future, to have no reload button at all. We will probably see some changes when the new inventory system (U.I) is replaced with the new one.

Will be worked on. True, but thinks it is mentioned that it will be worked on too. No this should deffenatly not get implomented, and it probably won't either since the devs have stated this. They want you feel the struggle to find those god damn bullets in the bottom of your pocket in the middle of a fight between you and a raging zed. In reality you can simply press a button and automatically reload. You will have to remember wher you put the bullets and then find them.

I'm all for a even rougher Chernarus! This would ofcorse add a new survival element which DayZ is supposed to have a lot of. If this gets implomented we will have thousands of complaining PvP-only players. But maybe it's worth that. Beans to you my friend since I'm to tired to discus this further ;)

You're right about what you're saying. World containers,as these are, are set to be worked on during this quarter of the year, so we might see something like this in the near future.

They re-implemented the placeholder "central economy" for now, as a early fix. I guess that's what was taking time

That's why we're here to test it so it won't at final release!