Jeremiah Cross

I know this topic has been done before, but I havn't seen one since standalone came out. So here's the question; what vehicles vould you like to see in SA. My personal list: -Bicycles (never understood the alure until I tried one. I sometimes just went on long rides to look at the scenery) Motorcycles/ATV's -Dirt Bikes (Paniers could be an optional attachment to get cargo space) -ATV's (with cargo rack and/or paniers for storage, and assuming they fix the abysmal off road handling they had in the mod) -Old moto (from Operation Arrowhead, or maybe a Ural motorcycle. Again with paniers and possibly a side car.) Cars/Trucks: I like the list I've seen so far of Ambulances, police cars, fire trucks (particularly if they come with a turret style fire hose), white off-road pickup (one of my favorites, aside from the glaring white color you can see from a mile off. So more color variety would be nice, and a few variants already exist in ArmA.) and hummers (which I really can't get excited about, but whatever.) In the case of ambulances and police cars, having predetermined loot tables for the trunk would also make sense. In addition I also would like to see; -UAZ (My absolute favorite car for its balance of speed and maneuverability, as well as its ample space for gear and passengers.) -Sedans (bring back the hatchbach, GAZ, etc. They weren't the best, but they got the job done. and it stands to reason that they would be the most common.) -Bettie Vans (they're delightfuly quirky, and there's nothing like seeing a group of hardened, camo clad survivors armed to the teeth rolling around in one.) -Ural truck (The holy grail of cars for large groups) -The Off-road (land-cruiser) truck (its right hand drive, burly, and I'll admit a soft spot for them, as it was my first car ever. Still love the Brown Beast.) Aircraft: Let me start by saying that I've had every aircraft in the mod. Choppers are fun (i particularly like the little bird with bench seats) but IMO they kill the game. They make it too easy to get from place to place, and door guns are way OP. From an immersion/realism standpoint they ruin it for me. Planes are, relatively speaking, fairly intuitive to fly. Helicopters are incredibly complex machines that anyone without training would more than likely crash outright. Which is funny, because planes in the mod (and most games) take more skill to fly and particularly to land, as well as requiring more careful selection of landing sites than helicopters. If heli's ever make it into standalone, I can live with that, but if they are left out I'd be much happier. So, my list; -AN-2 colt (I love this plane, even when I had a huey, I would usually take my colt, which I dubbed the Jade Valkyrie) -USEC Maul (A great little plane for small groups, easy to land off runway, and plenty quick.) -Amphibious plane (I have an addon for arma which adds Cessna Skywagons of many varieties, including a few with pontoons. They seat about 4, and the ability to land on solid ground and water would be a real game changer without breaking anything. Though with the addon trying to land on lakes caused the plane to explode, so that could be a good thing to fix.) -Gyrocopter or Ultralight (surprisingly common actually. Could be a single or double seater, slow and with liimited cargo space, but an option for solo or small groups.) While we're on the subject of aircraft; -Paracutes (would take the place of a backpack, limiting how much gear you could carry, and may fail if damaged. Would also need to be repacked after landing.) And lastly, Boats: Aside from how painfully slow they were, and the lack of anywhere to go in them, I like that boats were in the mod. With Skalisky now having loot and viability as a camp location and the prospect of Utes and fishing being added, boats make more sense than ever. But really, more speed, please. -Fishing boat (From the mod. For larger groups who haven't found a plane yet) -Small Boat (Again from the mod. For smaller groups) -Row boat (Small and fairly slow, but better than swimming. Could seat 4-6.) -Sailboat (I'm hesitant on this one, as I'm not sure how far the mechanics could go in the games engine. I'm thinking along the lines of a little daysailer which could seat 4-6 passengers, and function off a set wind direction, lets say from the south. It would require tacking to go some places, but you could do it quietly. I recognize that this suggestion comes from my opinion that there should be some stuff to do in the game that, while it may not be the most effective method, may be the best or only method at the time. As I said, I used to go on bike rides to enjoy the scenery. It's those peaceful little breaks you get sometimes in the struggle to survive -a campfire converstion with friends, a quick rest at the top of a hill with a great view of the sunset, or a convoy rolling back into the camp you've spent so long building, after a succesful outing- that really bring this game to life for me though. I could see adding a pleasant sail down the coast or to an island to that list.) Anyway, those are my thoughts so far. And sorry for the terrible spelling/grammar, it's late and I just don't care. Any other suggestions for vehicles, their associated attachments and/or mechanics?

I think they have a beer in game already; that Rasputen whatever stuff. Guitar and perhaps other instruments; hells yes. Smoking; again, hells yes. What part of "my character wears a cowboy hat and carries around a sawed-off" don't you understand? On the whole "smoking is terrible" subject: I don't think adding smoking to a zombie appocalypse game is ethically questionable, I do, however, think letting young and possibly impressionable kids (the assumed object of the ethical queston at hand) play a game like DayZ is.

Different, non-tactical vests would be good. Waistcoats and the like, seems there would be a lot more of those around than tac-vests. Give 'em 2-4 item slots and call it a day. A belt slot type of storage would also be nice. Fanny packs, belt pouches, holsters, etc. As well as the ability to put a sawed off in the chest holster like a BAMF.

Had a thought about ropes the other day. They're currently in the game and useless, but there are many crafting and utility uses I can think of for them, but one in particulalr has captured my imagination. Currently you can handcuff other players (though having them walk in handcuffs seems to cause them to break free, which should be fixed), and I've heard that you may eventually be able to put burlap sacks over their heads. Why not be able to hang other players as well? Bandits, being bandits, could have all kinds of sick fun with this feature, and Hero types could enforce frontier justice of a kind. Say you catch someone being a douche (or just someone, in case you're a bandit), cuff em, put a bag over their head and hang them by the neck until dead from a tree/bridge/bulding/whatever. You could even leave a note on thier corpse describing their crimes, or claiming ownership of the deed (pin it to their chest with a nail?). Other thoughts I had are the ability to put a rope around someones neck and lead them around (follow mode?), if they try to make a break for it, a mechanic based on comparative health of the players could decide if the captive is pulled to the ground or goes free when the rope goes taut. Another idea I had is, when vehicles are implemented, the ability to drag another player behind a car, eventually killing them, though slowly (dependent on speed/terrain?). It's a bit morbid, admittedly, and I'm not sure if the engine could support it well enough to be worth while, but it seems to me it would fit the game very well. People are already brutal to eachother, why not allow for a bit more expression in that brutality, whether it stems from cruelty or justice. Thoughts?

Of all the ideas I've seen for signifying membership in a group or clan, this is probably the best. Screw a grouping/guild system, truning friendly fire off, name tags, etc. A unique piece or several pieces of clothing to signify alliances is how it's done in the real world. Adding the ability to dye rags/clothing would only open this up further.

I think it would make more sense to just load up your bag with gear you need. If you play in a group, you could decide if anyone has a dedicated roll and just load them out accordingly. That way nobody bogs the group down and weakens them by being a defenseless target.

I like it, but perhaps have it replace the melee weapon rather than the rifle. Loosing the ability to carry a rifle (anti-player weapon) makes it seem like no real choice at all to me, whereas replacing the melee weapon (which I primarily use for walkers) would justify some consideration. Or if it replaced your backpack (doesn't make much sense for general supplies, but for medical supplies/ammo/engineering/vehicle repair items, oh yeah). Leave your backpack at camp and have a dedicated roll in your group without becoming an escort quest.

My understanding was that this would be handled by them moving in, fortifying and defending the structure. Unless you're referring to the instanced underground base idea.

Um, the proper way to shoot a bow is to hold it in your off-hand and draw with your dominant hand. And yeah, first world problems. Link is a lefty, if it bothers you so much, go play Legend of Zelda until you calm down.

The mod had variable vehicle speeds. I had my controlls set up so L ctrl+W was slow, W was medium, and L Shift+W was fast. Is that sort of what you were looking for?

I like the selection you have there. In the mod you had to fill jerry cans from fuel tanks (you may have noticed them around. They look like big propane tanks, usually behind buildings.) To keep your car running. Different cars had different size tanks, so some could run longer than others. Cars were somewhat uncommon, but not rare. Most of the cars in the world were static world obstacles, rather than vehicles you could repair and drive, but there were usually about 20 or so vehicles of different types in the world. Tires could go flat, engines break, fuel tanks leak, windows could shatter, and cars could take body damage. I would like to see a little more complevity in vehicle repair in the mod. Additions like cans of Fix-A-Flat, the need to replace car batteries, and being able to craft upgrades like window bars and such would be nice. I agree, if heli's are added, they should be much more difficult to fly. I don't know about the manual gear boxes, maybe on some models, but not all. You could use up/down arrows to shift, or something, but I think it would be more of a pain than an enhancement. Most people know how to drive cars, my problem with vehicles in DayZ is usually with the ones nobody would actually know how to operate, and which operate in a completely unrealistic fashion. The cars in the mod all had their slight differences, I thought, nothing staggering in most cases, but they had their quirks. Sedans were crap off road but blazing fast on road whereas most off road cars were slower than sedans and to big to handle in cities but hardly lost speed off road. The SUV was dangerously fast. The ATV was a bitch to drive off road, but tolerable, if not still a bit squirrely on road. The problem with differences in a cars handling in a game is that you have that sensory remove where you can't actually feel the vehicle. I do like the move away from military gear in SA, but it would make sense to have some military equipment left over, though I don't get what a Humvee would be doing in a former soviet state during a massive disease outbreak... I've actually been thinking that expanding on the chopper crash site idea from the mod could be pretty fun. Adding wrecked cargo/fuel convoys, freighter ships, cargo or troop planes, a massacred military patrol, etc. Perhaps even make certain items (avionics parts, electronic components, rare weapons and ammo, etc.) found only at these locations. My understanding after a bit of research is that most helicopters and more complex planes (jets in particular) take a special typre of aircraft fuel, though not the same type in all cases. Smaller fixed wing aircraft, like the ones I've suggested run on your standard gasoline, though often taking a higher octane content than cars (with the exception of ultralights and gyrocopters, which usually just run on regular unleaded.) But for the sake of simplicity in the game I would say, leave it as it was in the mod, where gas is gas. Or make two types of gas, which are found in distinct fuel tanks and have it somehow clear (if you think to look) which type of fuel the engine takes. This could make finding fuel more of a challenge, while adding an element of realism. Maybe even allow the use of either fuel in any vehicle, but using the wrong one will damage the engine over time.

Caches should be for storage, tents for getting out of the weather IMO. I have mixed feelings about base building. I tended to wander around the woods, hunting for food and drinking water from ponds in the mod. I did have a spot I called my camp, but it was usually just where I parked my vehicle and maybe kept a tent with backup gear (typically the basics, binos, matches, a hatchet, and a hunting knife.) I can see the draw of building a big clan stronghold, but with all the buildings added in the new map, I'm already missing the big expanses of wilderness I had in the mod.

Gamebirds like pheasants and grouse would be kind of fun to have in the forest. Just imagine walking through the woods or a field and having a few flush right in front of you. May waste a few rounds and a good pair of pants, but hey. Pidgeons in the larger towns could also be a nice touch. Have them flush when a player gets to close or in reaction to gunfire.

A few that I would like to see; Wool Blanket: Say you get all wet/cold after a swim, rain storm, or just because it's a bit nippy. Find a spot to hunker down (a house, under a tree, etc.) and use the blanket. Your character would wrap themselves up and sit for a bit, to get warm again. Removing wet clothes first would enchance the effect. Sewing kit: A small container to hold needles, thread, scissors, and the like. Used to repair clothing a bit (not fully, maybe up to damaged at best.), make new clothing (Rag coats, a Capote jacket sewn from the above mentioned blanket, fur clothes from animal hides, etc.) Animal hides: For the reason mentioned above. Would require some crafting to make a pelt into furs, buckskins, leather, etc. Trash bags/zip locks: A container in which to store items that need to be kept dry. Haven't tested it yet but I would assume/hope that in the rain or while swimming things in your pack could get wet. I would also assume that this would ruin or cause damage to certain items (matches, knives, axes, and electronics to name a few) Placing them in the bag would keep them dry. This mechanic could (and presumably does) apply to the pelican cases already in the game. Bags could be a more common and less durable alternative. Umbrellas: Not necessary, but delightfully odd in the Zombie appocalypse, could also double as a weak melee weapon. Booze: Vodka in particular. Drink it till you puke, use it to sterilize, make tinctures with assorted plants, etc. maybe even a poor mans stove/lamp fuel but would cause damage to the stove or lantern. When they add in a use for tools, have ultra rare leathermans, the holy grail of urban survival. Just a few thoughts.

Fuel pumps (like those at a gas station) wouldn't work if the power grid was down.

Had a thought today. What if food in DayZ had different nutritional values which affected your characters ability to survive, not as in buffs, but as in how healthy you are and how susceptible to disease and hypothermia. It would add difficulty not so much in finding food, but in having a somewhat balanced diet. My idea is to give each food item four values; Fats, Protein, Vitamins, and Calories. Fats would effect how well you could maintain your body heat. Either by lowering the maximum value of your body temperature or increasing the rate at which you lose it if you have a deficiency. Protein would be how much blood the food restores, which is already a part of the game. Vitamins would effect how easily you get sick and I like the idea of it affecting your total blood pool. The more vitamin deficient you are the less health you have. Or scurvy could be implemented, but that feels a bit harsher.=) Calories would either determine how much of your hunger meter is filled or how quickly it depletes (Like how in IRL foods high in carbs can fill you up just as fast as foods high in fat and protein but you'll feel hungry again much sooner.) This could even be include drinks. Sodas have some fat and calories to them and water doesn't, though water hydrates you better, increasing the time before you feel thirsty again. I also like the idea of being able to warm canned food up over a fire and having it and freshly cooked meat act like a heat pack for, oh lets say, ten minutes after heating. As it stands it wouldn't make much difference since the only way to cook is with fire, which warms you up anyway, but if they add camp stoves (which i think they should) it would be nice. Speaking from experience, camp stoves don't do much to warm you up, but hot food does. Also, what if (with the clothing in standalone already being planned on carrying diseases) you could prevent hypothermia by stripping down after a swim and lighting a fire until they dry (maybe a minute?). I don't know about this one, it adds realism, but also sounds like it would be a pain in the ass. Though that might not be bad since it would all but make a boat or chopper required for travel to islands, making them a more "endgame" type of location. A place you need to work towards getting to. Just a thought. On another side note, if camp stoves are implemented; screw looting propane bottles! Just fuel them up at a gas station. There are several types of camp stove that can run on unleaded gasoline. Some multi-fuel stoves can run on just about anything from alcohol to unleaded. Rather than carry around fuel bottles, just have the stove hold the fuel and run out after so many uses. I seem to remember match boxes and canteens used to do this. And if they didn't, they should. Twenty uses per match box and three drinks per canteen (1 liter/34oz. canteen roughly equals three 12oz. cans of soda, yes?) With the new water purification stuff it would make canteens more worthwhile IMO. Now they take up as much space as soda for, twice the work and you can get sick if you forget to boil the water.

I keep seeing posts about instancing bases, or making it so that when you are offline no one can steal your vehicle or crap from your base. Why? Getting your crap jacked is part of the game. I also don't understand how adding the ability to dig out an underground base seems like a good idea. Experience leads me to believe it would result in a landscape filled with random, ugly holes for people to fall in. I'm just wondering why, if they are planning on adding a crafting system, it wouldn't work to be able to build a fortified base. They could add craftable barriers which are to high to hop over and would do significant damage to vehicles that hit them/can't be knocked down. Maybe would-be raiders would need a satchel charge to get through, though this could and should damage whatever is on the other side, potentially destroying valuable loot. Add lockable gates with a combination lock that the players would need to keep secret to all but their clan. I've read posts suggesting tow ropes or winches for vehicles, maybe these could be used to pull gates down. I can think of a pretty long list of structures and upgrades which could be added, granted some of them are probably less viable or advisable than others, but still. Storage buildings/boxes, booby traps, radio towers, power plants/generators, covered parking, crafting benches to allow for bigger crafting projects than what one could do in the wilderness (a dedicated "kitchen" for example, where you could cook and can food; assuming foods get a shelf life, of course.), just to name a few. To prevent peeps from just planting walls at really dickish locations, a part of base building could be that structures can only be placed within x number of meters of, I dunno, a clan flag, a work bench, a shack. Take your pick. Just have it so that the first thing you do when building a base is to set some form of primary structure that marks its limits. And before anyone asks what would prevent some douche from planting a base in the middle of Cherno, there is already a system in game for locating what region your toon is in. When you spawn in it tells you where you are. So bases would need to only be allowed in the Wilderness region(s). The only problem I can see that I can't get around is how would you stop a group of players from each dropping their own markers at max distance from each other and making a massive base. I suppose setting a minimum distance limit between markers would work, but if you pop a marker and it wont let you claim the area because another camp is nearby, half the work in camp hunting is already done for you. I definitely think camp building should be more than just popping down a few tents and maybe some razor wire if your really serious. At the same time, though, I really hate the idea of instanced bases and Care Bear rules about not stealing someone's stuff. I think adding fortified bases is the best alternative, as it combines both improved security for hard won loot, and the ability for players to build and change the landscape, making their mark on the world. That and raiding/defending one would be pretty epic. Thoughts?

Funny you bring this up. I was looting the warehouses at the harbor in Berezino the other day, and when I ran back to my car there was a Zed laying prone in front of it looking quite dead. He had his head on the ground and everything. I got about 10 feet from my car and its head pops up, it looks right at me and starts crawling. I was like "You tricky little mother!". Scared the crap out of me. If all the zeds are spawned in all the time in SA (which I seem to remember reading somewhere), i think just having crawlers play dead till you get close could be a good option. You could shoot them to be sure, but in a lot of cases that would just draw attention to you.

So basically you would need to add windage in addition to the elevation adjustments you can already make? The only way to make this match reality would be to have scopes start at a random setting which would need to be zeroed, and have each players view be set slightly off of zero in a random direction. In my experience though, even if a rifle is zeroed at 300m for one person, another could still use it with surprising accuracy for target shooting without any adjustments, let alone for hitting something as big as a person. It's a game, having to make minute adjustments every time you get a new rifle would be a pain. To make things more realistic, lets get rid of the reticule and only have iron sights or best guess from the hip. As far as a scoped Mosin, you can add a scope to one, but it typically requires changing the bold handle and tapping into the action for the mounting screws (IRL anyway.). But I'm all for adding mosins, I use to have one. You gotta love Russian engineering, ugly, dirt cheap, and practically bomb proof. As for the OP. Yes, please.

I've occasionally though a system like the Edge/Hindrance system in Deadlands might be an interesting addition to character creation. Basically, you gain a perk but at the cost of a weakness. Nothing really game changing, mind you. But maybe your character could be a medical student whose afraid of the dark; slightly faster at patching people up, but can become randomly panicked at night, causing the shakes and reducing accuracy. Or how about a Mechanic with a weak immune system, he can make minor vehicle repairs with only a tool box, but gets sick at the drop of a hat? A Hemophiliac athlete who bleeds more (or maybe bandaging could occasionally fail), but has more stamina and becomes winded more slowly. An Outdoorsman with a high metabolism who wouldn't get cold as easily but needs to eat & drink more often. They would be mix and match, though the similarity to Deadlands should end there. There shouldn't be a point value where, by taking several hindrances you can get a major edge. Just have it so you pick a perk and then a weakness. These are all just suggestions for traits, though I'm sure we could come up with a long list for both perks and faults. Just think of the potential for allergies. The problem is I like the idea because it would allow you to customize your character in a way that affects your interaction with the world, but doesn't really give you a huge game breaking edge. It would give your character a "role" and some added value in a group setting, but not a designated class. At the same time, I don't like it, though I'm not really sure why. Maybe I'm worried about the commitment if it were permanent. A fix to that would be the option to abstain and just have a basic jack-of-all-trades character like we have now. Thoughts?

I like the idea of just the four standard seasons, though maybe sped up a bit. I can't see spending my play time over three whole months just trying to keep warm and fed. Another idea to add hunger to winter would be to replace canned goods with Frozen canned good during that season, given the lack of any heating systems. You would need to heat them over a fire to eat them, changing them to Warm canned foods. This could even act like a heat pack for a little bit before degrading back to normal and then frozen food. Some animals could be seasonal, but most game animals don't hibernate, though having them be more scarce in winter makes sense. Perhaps in winter they could drop less meat as well, seeing as wild animals tend to lose a lot of weight during the winter. Fall is the best time for hunting, not only because most species are in the rut, and hence pretty stupid, but also because the animals are all fattened up for winter. The way I see it playing out would be much like the seasonal cycle has been for most of human history. Spring would be a nice respite from the winter when you would try to start restocking supplies and getting back to optimal health. Summer would most likely be the time of war, due to both players being recovered from winter and COD kiddies being off school. Fall would be the time for harvesting and stock piling supplies for the winter. Winter would be a period of pure survival, where the acquisition of food and shelter becomes priority, again probably a time of pretty intense violence as well due to competition for food and other supplies.

I like the ideas of corpse decay in particular, and adding crows instead of or in addition to the sound of flies is a great idea. More ambient wildlife in general would be a nice touch. Overall I think many of these are good ideas, but implementing them all would really bog down the servers. Personally I don't think DayZ should be made into a happy homemaker simulator, but adding a need/option for some personal hygiene (shaving & bathing especially) could be a nice touch (dirty=increased chance of disease?) As an avid hunter I would like to have some way to track animals and other players, a skill and list based tracking system like most MMO's have would be right out, but so would a trail of sign being put out every time a player interacts with something, just too much data. But decaying corpses, birds and other animals that sound the alarm when a player is near, decaying campfires, etc. could be viable. A few points though, cooking a rat would kill off any bacteria or viruses, removing the risk of infection (assuming it was fully cooked.). Also shooting an animal doesn't ruin it's pelt, in fact killing it with a knife or an axe would do far more damage to an animals skin than a bullet hole or two. But I love the idea of being able to craft clothing from animal hides. I would also add deer to the list of animals.

Actually, I've been told by several friends who were in Iraq and Afghanistan that tampons can be used to treat gunshot wounds, and many soldiers carry them for this reason. I mean think about it, it's sterile, comes with a convenient easy to use applicator, is literally designed to absorb blood, and it has a string for easy removal. That said, unless they're implementing monthly cycles for female characters (Extra damage during PMS, but needs chocolates and tissues for a week afterward? There's a potential use for TP.) I really don't see the point. And I can assure you, as a married man, there is a difference between a Maxi-pad and a tampon, and heaven help you if you buy the wrong one.

Actually you can, though flat-lining from heart failure is different from flat-lining due to massive trauma. The question is, if your friend just got torn apart by zombies or pumped full of bullets, why would you want to revive him?

I appreciate the amount of thought that went into the OP, very refreshing. Most posts are more along the "Hey lets add skills." or "I want more medical stuff." That said, I disagree. I like the idea, and in another game I would probably support it, but it's just not what DayZ is. Besides, with a skill raised by use system, I still don't think you'd have a problem with people grinding out skills, What are they going to do, stand around shooting each other then bandaging up? They'll eventually run out of supplies and need to make a town run and probably get eaten. :D I've written a few posts with ideas for how to add depth to mechanical and medical repairs, so I'll keep this brief. What i would prefer, at least for medical and mechanical repairs, is a more in depth system where the player has to learn by trial and error, deduction or being taught by a more experienced player, how to determine the best course of action based on audio and visual cues (coughing engines or rattling coughs. Not big loud clues, but subtle ones you need to look for, and be able to understand their meaning.) And yes, I think improper medical treatment should result in further injury, infection, or even death. We don't need mini games, they'd just get tedious. Granted, with this system, you could just look at the Wiki to find all this out, but there really is no system that can't be circumvented in some way. Metagamers gonna metagame. If any new skill or player knowledge based system is implemented, it should keep an eye out for metagamers, but focus on rewarding those who want to experience the game for what it is.