NPC Survivors

[mogstat@gmail.com 10]

I searched but couldn't find a thread on NPC's

How about various NPC's that the zombies are chasing too.

What would you do if you were in Cherno and an npc child, say a little girl came running down the street with zombies chasing her.

What would you do?

Ignore her screams for help, she's just and npc?

Shoot the zombies and risk drawing attention to your self?

Shoot the girl and see what loot she has?

You could have all sorts of NPC: Farmers wife with double barrelled shotgun, military survivors, pretty young lady survivors.

The number of NPC survivors could be adjusted to the number of real players on the server so low population servers could have more NPC's than full servers.

ARMA2 certainly has the AI code for NPC's and the models, it should be relatively easy to implement.

Player density is an important variable in the player experience, playing on an empty server is a different experience to playing on a full one.

If the player density became more of a constant then the player experience could be fine tuned.

What do you think?

[Chris529 380]

I swear there have been threads like this, and the answer was no every time. I think rocket really doesnt want any NPCs to be involved at all.

[logan23 118]

I searched but couldn't find a thread on NPC's

How about various NPC's that the zombies are chasing too.

What would you do if you were in Cherno and an npc child, say a little girl came running down the street with zombies chasing her.

What would you do?

Ignore her screams for help, she's just and npc?

Shoot the zombies and risk drawing attention to your self?

Shoot the girl and see what loot she has?

You could have all sorts of NPC: Farmers wife with double barrelled shotgun, military survivors, pretty young lady survivors.

The number of NPC survivors could be adjusted to the number of real players on the server so low population servers could have more NPC's than full servers.

ARMA2 certainly has the AI code for NPC's and the models, it should be relatively easy to implement.

Player density is an important variable in the player experience, playing on an empty server is a different experience to playing on a full one.

If the player density became more of a constant then the player experience could be fine tuned.

What do you think?

I can only imagine how many players would shoot the kid screaming down the street - breaks her leg- so the Zeds would be busy an not go after the player.

OP- no there will be no NPCs in the game.

[m.w. vindicator 880]

How long was your search. There have been 443054 threads on this idea before and they all end with no. NPCs work great in other games but this is DAyZ and player interaction is the main goal.

[TacticalLeaf (DayZ) 5]

well at least we get the dog npc. But even if we did get the human npc whats the point of them i mean yes they might add some immersion in the game but we have players like other than the little girl thing the only thing we would even do is save them and get loot or kill them and get their loot so it would be the same as player just your killing a military personal or a farmer or even a little girl even if they did have loot dont you think it would kinda easy to get it from them by just putting a bullet in their head

[Failbait 60]

No.

[kingpootis102 28]

nope.avi

[harley001 315]

Rocket said no none zombie ai.

[Happymrsnowman 52]

Ain't gonna happen. The focus of the game in player interaction. PVP, not necessarily hostile, but what we're trying to build is a community not NPC cities. Think EVE, not WOW. Shabby metaphor, but it does the job.

[mzltv 2281]

ARMA2 certainly has the AI code for NPC's and the models, it should be relatively easy to implement.

Not only has the NPC arguement been quarrelled a million times over, but the AI is being stripped out of the ArmaII engine, so there is only one logic for NPC's (which will be zombie)..

[Michaelvoodoo25 3120]

Unless you have a single player element then no, there's no need for them. Other players can serve as a player interaction point.

[PracticalTactical 164]

No way man, AI zombies are glitchy enough as it is.

[CrimsonFuckr 0]

Actually on a server for a clan i am in, we have survivor and military AI wandering the map. I don't personally have the code, but i may be able to get it for this thread

[hatfieldcw 184]

My favorite server has been heavily modified by the admin, to roll it back to "early outbreak" status. The roads are mostly clear, there are more functional tents set up around various hotspots (not much loot, but ambience) and there are NPCs. They come in different flavors: Bandit and base soldier NPCs fight everyone, survivor and airstrip soldier NPCs just fight zombies and bandits, but if you shoot one they all know you're a douche by telepathy, and you have to fight them all.

Truth is, it's chased away a lot of players. Seasoned bandits don't like getting jumped by NPCs, because even though they're low-skill bots, they might get a lucky headshot on you, an dif you can't get to your body, nobody loots it, and you can't find the guy who took your DMR and kill him to get it back. It's intimidating for new players. They see a "Survivor" running past Balota and open up on him, then two minutes later NPC squads are hunting them through the woods. Once you get used to it, it's actually quite fun, there are some NPC military bases where you can get ammo and guns more reliably than from barracks, but there are always patrols, and they'll kill you if they see you. You can creep in under cover of darkness, but if you get spotted you're totally dead. A squad of eight or nine guys might get in, grab a couple sniper rifles or SAWs and get out with a few casualties, then divvy up the loot after everyone respawns. It's fun.

Edited April 16, 2013 by Beez

[Stoned Orangutan 31]

Rocket said No NPC's. Sorry :/

[Average Pegasus 646]

Rocket say No to NPC, He dont want any NPC in his game. So the only other survivor you see should be real people with real reaction.

[benny1994 3]

Seeing other NPC Survivors would be cool and realistic.... +1

[Rekli 995]

ehem.....NOOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!PLEASE GOD NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOO! ....

[Rekli 995]

Ipretty young lady survivors.

Are you suggesting we rape pretty young ladies? ALL FOR IT

[OTehNoes 21]

I think if I saw a little girl NPC on DayZ being chased by a crowd of zombies I'd laugh my ass off.

But no, no NPC's, what I like about DayZ is that if you see another person, DayZ is a very psychological game, having NPC's would take away from it for me.

[wisper 61]

The subject has been dealt before, but as in this thread mostly without objective arguments. (It is true that development said no to npcs, but that is a statement not an argument.)

Here some things to consider:

1. Technically speaking it is feasable without much extra trouble.

2. Realism is going to improve because there are people types that players are not willing to assume, but they exist in real life, (aka elders, children, cripples).

3. Inclusion of npcs might provide extra interest to players. For example saving an npc and then escorting them to some safe heaven might improve humanity, while causing the demise of such npc might "bring u closer to the dark side mu ha ha!" And that is not a quest!

4. There are tons of people we see every day, without interacting. How do we expect some players (or even more then just some) to fill the entire world at all times. If we log to an empty server, how is it going to improve our gaming experience?

5. Interaction with npcs does not need to have much involvement. After all this is a desperate survival situation, not a social event.

Just some thoughts, right or wrong, they still deserve more then a NOOOOOOO!

PS- I have the sneaking suspicion that a portion of the negatives comes from an unwillingness to face more then unarmed bots.

[Zarniwoop 1193]

Hello there fellow country man! :P

I just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents here cos I dont agree with NPCs in DayZ:

1. It has been done has it not? Its a trend nowadays in private hives to have NPCs around the map. Like having 838439 vehicles and the like.

2. I really dont get what your point is here. Care to elaborate?

3. I think player interaction is far more interesting than any interaction with an NPC. With NPCs you dont get any tension or adrenalin rush. You know their behaviour and know how to manipulate it. Its just boring. With other human players thats a different story. You dont know if you can trust them and you never know if they are gonna hatchet you to death once you turn your back.

4. This is a zombie apocalipse! Not the supermarket on a saturday morning! :P You dont meet people all the time and everywhere. If empty servers is your problem dont join them. Simplez!

Also: From what I've seen NPCs on DayZ servers are incredibly silly and OP at the same time. Once they might snipe you from 300 meters away(in a bush with a guillie) and the other time you might stroll up to them and they barely blink. If they are to be included (not for me thanks! They are fine as an admin option on private hives) they should be done right.

Cheers :P

[wisper 61]

Ok, here goes:

1. My point exactly. No need for much extra effort to implement.

2. Would you like to go through dayz as a 60+ year old with a constant back ache? I wouldn't, but the world does not consist exclusively of fit, 20 year olds. Npcs could take up the slack, while trying to save them could provide the player with an extra challenge, but not a permanent handicap.

3. One does not preclude the other. You can interact with players and npcs so the "rush" remains. Plus, if unpredictability is your beef, it is a simple matter to script a random attack yes or no to npcs' reaction senario.

4. No need to have tons of them. Just enough to "flesh out" the world. I guarantee u, catching a glipse of an old geezer, checking u out from the second floor window of the opposite building, or having an urchin dash across the street will pick your interest.

Ai is an issue... then again, I have seen players who could make good use of some scripting to replace their own "good sence" ;)

[Zarniwoop 1193]

Ok, here goes:

1. My point exactly. No need for much extra effort to implement.

2. Would you like to go through dayz as a 60+ year old with a constant back ache? I wouldn't, but the world does not consist exclusively of fit, 20 year olds. Npcs could take up the slack, while trying to save them could provide the player with an extra challenge, but not a permanent handicap.

3. One does not preclude the other. You can interact with players and npcs so the "rush" remains. Plus, if unpredictability is your beef, it is a simple matter to script a random attack yes or no to npcs' reaction senario.

4. No need to have tons of them. Just enough to "flesh out" the world. I guarantee u, catching a glipse of an old geezer, checking u out from the second floor window of the opposite building, or having an urchin dash across the street will pick your interest.

Ai is an issue... then again, I have seen players who could make good use of some scripting to replace their own "good sence" ;)

Hello

1. Indeed it does not take much effort, but I don't like the idea anyway. Human interaction (for me) is WAY more interesting. :P

2. I see what you mean, but here is the catch: We have a zombie apocalypse right? Survivors are supposedly the guys/girls who are immune to the virus and subsequently have a propperly working immune system. I dont think an old man with a dickey heart and a leaky bladder would even make it through the first stages of the apocalipse. Dont get me wrong I'm not saying it cant happen but it would be very rare. Also from a gameplay standpoint it would just encourage suiciding. Having a dissability like that permanently (cos lets face it an old man with health problems is hardly gonna get better with no medication and a proper environment) would just be silly. On the other hand there was an excellent thread somewhere in the suggestions saying that the player could start off sickly and weak and gradually get better if he treats himself right. That would give more meaning to the players' life and not just his loot. You can see it here: http://dayzmod.com/f...art-out-sickly/

On the subject of having them as NPCs seems too much like a quest to me. You would have to escort them somewhere and we all know that nearly every RPG has escorting quests and we all know how frustrating they where. Everything that reminds of a quest for me is boring. Sounds a bit too "gamey". The game makes you do stuff which is against the principles of DayZ IMHO. As said before in this thread.

To quote Rocket:

"Just because I did not script rules, doesn't stop anyone from making their own in game.

Are people so used to games shoving rules, tasks, stories down their throats that they can't handle it when something doesn't? Or would you like a world where the players actually get to do this? Not a structured and controlled environment that is "dressed up" as post-apocalyptic?"

3. I get your point but it is completely different when you know the other player is just as likely as you to do anything and everything to kill you and something else entirely to know that: "a random attack yes or no to npcs' reaction senario" is going to happen.

4. I think the world could not be fleshed out more with zombies and survivors roaming about. (OK I know it could be fleshed out more but please not with NPC geezers in houses and the like. Its an apocalipse after all and whatever you would meet would either be zombie/survivor looking for food or some(one) hiding place/camp. Remember DayZ is set quite a while after the apocalipse when everything has settled down a bit and not as it is unfolding.)

For me AI is the problem since you cannot have an NPC act just like a player without huge amouns of coding etc.

Cheers :P

PS add me on steam if you like: steveco95

Edited April 24, 2013 by Zarniwoop

[wisper 61]

U would be surprised as to who would outlast who in such a catastrophy. Long term fighting in Stallingrad or more recent in Lebanon showed that young fit people assume the "go fetch" roles, which means that they drop like flies, while elder, more experienced to hazards people, or people holding critical know-how would either avoid danger, or be preserved for what they are good at doing. So, in terms of realism, 50+ could be more often encountered then u think. But I still don't think anybody would willingly "cough and wiz" through dayz. So, if we are to have a more realistic demographic ratio, these people will have to be AI controlled.

As to the quest issue, the way I imagine it, u wouldn't need to accompany npc anywhere. Instead they could choose, or not to follow u if u offer to bring them to safety. They could die on the way, betray u, help u or just ignore u. No more coding difficulty then arma AI controlled team mates ;)

Edited April 28, 2013 by Wisper