How the Dog Mechanic work and more

[logan23 118]

How the Dog Mechanic work

I know there is talk about a possible Dog Companion sometime in the future.

I just wanted to toss in an idea how this Mechanic could work.

Two ways this can go-

1- Player just needs one item like Dog Food and then find a stray dog

Save the dog from some wild animals/wolves then have a chance to use the Food to lure and win over the dog.

2-Player must find 2-3 items in order to win over the Dog (For Ex. Dog Food, Collar, and a dog toy). Save the dog from some wild animals/wolves then have a chance to use the Food to lure and use the other items to win over the dog over.

A- When discovering a dog they will be seen being attacked and chased by 2-3 wolves. The player would need to kill the Wolves before the event plays out and the dog runs off with the wolves chasing and they despawn. Causing a player to kill the wolves will cost ammo and possible alert players/Zeds to your location but a Dog would be helpful to have.

B- If Wild animals like Wolves are not in the game then you would simply need to find the Dog and have the items as you slowly creep up to it. Running to the Dog or standing up as you move closer will startle the Dog and it will run away.

Once you win over the dog and it becomes your companion. You will use the commands used in Arma2 squad commands to get the Dog to attack, stay close, stop.

The Dog will have it's own icon where you must Feed the Dog and possibly even get it water by visit a lake or use your canteen.

If the Dog's icon starts to blink red then the Dog will die.

Be careful not to accidentally shot your dog which could kill it. Using bandages on Dog to heal wound. Dogs have a smaller health/blood number.

Dogs are fast and can attack another player, kill a cow or goat silently.

If the owner/player of the Dog is killed the Dog will run off into the woods.

Players can not steal someone's dog.

Unsure if a player should be allowed to get meat from a dead dog like you do for a Cow or Goat.

Dogs can also be used to track animals and even sense danger- player or Zeds.

The key mechanics of the Dog would work similar to what we see with Arma2's squad commands.

Also on the Topic of Wild animals as a side thought-

It would be great to have Wolves and Bears in the DayZ mod.

There would be hot spots where you will find them more often- the animals territory and are more violent in these section.

Day time- Wolves usually will spawn and then run away if the player get to close to them. But if the player has a Cold/sick or low blood the Wolves (3-6 pack) would not run but hunt the player since they will smell that the player would be the weak- like they do in real life. If players are in a pack/group 2-3 or more the Wolves will only attack if more then one of them is low blood and sick.

The game would do a check on the players in the area and would then spawn the Wolves that would match that AI behavior.

-Healthy single or group of players = spawn Wolves AI that run from players.

-Unhealthy/sick/wounded/low blood player(s) = Spawn Wolves with AI that will hunt and attack players.

Night time- Wolves are always on the hunt. If we can make the Wolves Eyes shine in the night would be great (unsure if that effect is possible- if not heavy breathing.

-If player is in a group of healthy players/ good blood count/ not sick/not wounded -then the Wolves will keep distance and will leave the players alone.

- If the player is alone (healthy or not) = Wolves will attack. If the group have more then 2 player wounded/sick in the group they will attack/hunt players

Camp fires will keep all animals away do to the smell of smoke (IE fire)

Bears-

Bears will be solo but there could be more in the area but they spawn by the number of one. They are never in packs.

Bears are like tanks they are decently fast but it will take a lot to kill one. Expect to unload a good deal of ammo to kill one. Bears if they get to you can do a very large amount of damage. Hope that you have a friend to help you.

Bears can be avoided since they only attack if you get close enough to them. They have a smell so line of sight will not protect you. If you fire from a distance the Bear will flee.

When shot at= trigger AI of Bear- Does check on location of player/ If player is under a certain # of meters = Bear attacks Player. If the player is greater then a certain # of meters = Bear flees

Using a smoke grenade will stop the bear from attacking or at least stun it as it is started by the sound and odor. (This gives a use to the smoke Grenades)

Night time Bears will be fewer and like Wolves they will not go near Camp Fires. If you hear a Bear at night its best to keep distance from the animal. Bears are less aggressive at night unless you walk very close to them.

(If you want you could introduce baby bears to mess with players and ask can they shoot the bear for food? would they shoot only the adult?)

Let me know what you think.

Was trying to build it in a more mechanics manner since i believe it will be more helpful.

[Never 237]

I don't think it'll work.

I'll skip over the clumsy 'be-friending' stuff and get to the core:

It'll be clunky, frustrating and because of that, useless. You won't even be able to use your dog half the time in combat because the time it takes to set the squad commands for it you'll be shot dead.

Loads of other issues but a huge one is its not even a very good or original idea. Seems most suggesting this have thought Zombie Apocalypse > Apocalypse > Fallout> OOH! Dogs! Even Fallout nicked the idea from A Boy And His Dog, the name Dogmeat is from that film even!

That said, implemented well, it COULD be pretty cool, but on the ARMA 2 engine based around squad commands...

..well thats going to be a annoying clunky mess.

[logan23 118]

I have heard that they do plan to allow players to find a dog and be able to have it as a pet/companion.

Agree that using the Arma2 squad command might be a bit clunky.

I don't know if they will simply give it it's one constant AI which would remove this.

Another solution is to place it as part of the Mouse Wheel list of commands.

That would be faster. You could set the animal's AI state:

-Dog Aggressive (go attack enemy)

-Dog Defensive (Defend if someone comes up in the Aggro space of the Player)

-Dog Passive (Do not attack and fall close to the Player till Player changes command to Aggressive or Defensive )

That would bypass the clunky Squad commands

[Yak 2]

Please do not add pets to this game, for the love of god!

[Wired 1]

I want to both hold a dog funeral and sabotage a dog funeral. Perhaps Sabotage my own dog funeral.

[duddbudda 33]

Dog Weddings!!!!

[logan23 118]

I can see it now.

A dog wedding where the two owner have guns aimed at each other..both telling the Ceremony person to hurry up!

How many of these Dog Wedding end with the Dog running off together while both owner are dead due to not trusting each other--- Death by Lead Poisoning. or bullet holes,...ouch

[Lukio (DayZ) 24]

- Before animals are introduced as companions, there should first be away to actually have a grouping / friend function i.e better socialize with other players.

- That whole "Quest" to get a companion sounds like some WoW thing or something - currently does not seem fitting for the DayZ environment.

- There are tons of dog huts around Chernarus (farm buildings) - why not randomly find a malnourished, leashed dog and just free him?

- Dogs should only be useful for hunting / retrieving animals silently, as they are animals zeds ignore them anyway

- Dogs should only be able to regain health by eating raw meat