DayZ Single-Player

[LuckyTrident73 8]

Before everybody goes apeshit on me, I'm not raging or complaining about PvP in any way with this suggestion. What I am suggesting is a single-player/local co-op mode of DayZ that allows 1-8 players to relax, kick back, and blast zombies. My reasoning: Sometimes the usual grind of online play can become boring or too stressful to continue playing for extended periods of time, especially when I've acquired nice gear and there's more pressure to stay alive. I know this is part of the core functionality of DayZ - and I like that - it's what keeps me coming back to play. However, when I do need to take a break from the pressures of online competitive play I still feel a desire to continue playing the core DayZ gameplay. So my proposal is a local gamemode that uses a character separate from your online public profile where you can play with other friends in the same room and just fight zombies and explore the landscape. Loot tables and vehicle spawns could be adjusted by the players, as well as difficulty (zombie hearing and vision, base player health, and zombie health and damage; possibly also player's starting loadouts). Also could be the ability to edit the mission for different scenarios, such as creating a mission and storyline with the DayZ gameplay. It could also be played co-op, with the ability to turn friendly fire and general options (3rd person, tracers, nameplates, crosshairs, and death messages) on or off. Players could choose to spawn together and work as a team or spawn separately and hunt each other/compete for the best gear. Besides allowing the player to relax a little bit, a single-player gamemode could do wonders for DayZ's atmosphere. DayZ already has a perfect atmosphere, blending fear, loneliness, and wonder to create a game that is equally frightening and fun to explore. A single-player option could give players an escape from many immersion breaking characteristics of online, like side chat, hacking/scripting players, and server restarts. It could also give players a place to vent their anger or frustration after being killed online. I see very few reasons not to offer a modifiable single-player version of DayZ, besides the general argument that "DayZ wouldn't be fun without other players", which I would have to disagree with, or Rocket's bizarre stubbornness against letting the community mod his game (which I understand is still only a mod in alpha/beta, which I don't feel really matters that much). So tell me what you think. I for one am definitely in favor of a single-player experience. Multiplayer of course would still stay the most important part of DayZ, but why limit what the player can experience?

Edit: The amount of zombies that spawn from locations could be mofidied (x1/2, x1, x2, x3, etc.), as well as the amount of zombies that a player can alert at one time to increase difficulty levels.

Edited December 11, 2012 by LuckyTrident73

[beastoverlord 574]

I personally would find this rather boring after a while, but if it had a really hard difficulty then it might catch my attention for longer. I think it is a good idea for a lot of people out there that don't like the PvP and just want to collect. This would also be a good way to get players used to the game before they spawn in their first time and get sniped in Cherno/Electro. Even if it was a separate game, I think I would still buy it to play with a lot of my friend's that would be interested in this kind of setting.

[Tabris07 159]

I am also for this. The inclusion of NPCs in the singleplayer mode would also be cool. Like friendly survivors that you can trade with, and hostile bandits who you could have random encounters with.

[LuckyTrident73 8]

I personally would find this rather boring after a while, but if it had a really hard difficulty then it might catch my attention for longer. I think it is a good idea for a lot of people out there that don't like the PvP and just want to collect. This would also be a good way to get players used to the game before they spawn in their first time and get sniped in Cherno/Electro. Even if it was a separate game, I think I would still buy it to play with a lot of my friend's that would be interested in this kind of setting.

Don't get me wrong, I love the thrill of PvP. But it would be nice to have a zombies only type of gamemode.

[Welch (DayZ) 756]

Nice wall of text. It will stop anything logical from getting through!

But seriously, nice effort, but it won't happen. Just get your friends to play in an empty server.

[Steak and Potatoes 13480]

Don't get me wrong, I love the thrill of PvP. But it would be nice to have a zombies only type of gamemode.

What if your friends go full penis and smash you for you empty cans?

[LuckyTrident73 8]

Nice wall of text. It will stop anything logical from getting through!

But seriously, nice effort, but it won't happen. Just get your friends to play in an empty server.

Well it is the suggestions page but I was at least hoping someone would consider it :P

[Rage VG 4033]

For those who fall under the TL;DR category:

He simply wants a DayZ gamemode where he can just play with his friends, allowing him to customize settings to his liking and whatnot, without interfering with his actual DayZ character, as if he was in a Private hive, if you will.

I've been against this idea in the past simply because they wanted to change they DayZ experience to one of a single-player game. However, as you've said, if it doesn't interfere with anything else, there's literally no reason to not include it.

[Hetstaine 10852]

What if your friends go full penis and smash you for you empty cans?

you went full penis man..never go full penis.

[Brutter 0]

You, or whichever one of your buddies has the best rig, should find the server software and boot a private hive. Keep it password protected and pass out the IP info to the group. What me and my buddies did for a bit to escape the banditos.

[Failbait 60]

10/10 would play

[treecancer 43]

TLDR, OP does not understand what DayZ is. Sure you could make it singleplayer, but then it would not be DayZ, it would be something else entirely.

[Rage VG 4033]

TLDR, OP does not understand what DayZ is. Sure you could make it singleplayer, but then it would not be DayZ, it would be something else entirely.

He does know what DayZ is, otherwise he would not be able to tell if this is already a part of the game or not. Why would he suggest a change to something if he doesn't know if that change is already implemented?

And he's not asking to change DayZ, he's asking for an add-on that'll let him play privately, with simplified changeable settings. That wouldn't disrupt any other players at all so there's no reason not to suggest it.

[sausagekingofchicago 4711]

[Fraggle (DayZ) 15720]

I guess you could argue that including a single player or "easy" mode would allow players to explore the map at lesiure and in detail without any threat from other players at all, which IMO shouldn't be possible. I guess you can still do this on an empty server but I think other players should always be a threat in DayZ, without that it's just not DayZ.

Also, DayZ is supposed to be intense and stressful. When you want to chill for a bit play something else, neck a beer and come back ready to go. One thing I am sure of is that DayZ is not aiming to keep everyone happy. It is what it is and that's it's strength. If we start diluting it to keep the masses happy then it will become another watered down concept that once had potential.

Edited December 11, 2012 by Fraggle

[Rage VG 4033]

I guess you could argue that including a single player or "easy" mode would allow players to explore the map at lesiure and in detail without any threat from other players at all, which IMO shouldn't be possible. I guess you can still do this on an empty server but I think other players should always be a threat in DayZ, without that it's just not DayZ.

Also, Chernarus is a map you can free-roam in on the actual ARMA game.

[treecancer 43]

He does know what DayZ is, otherwise he would not be able to tell if this is already a part of the game or not. Why would he suggest a change to something if he doesn't know if that change is already implemented?

And he's not asking to change DayZ, he's asking for an add-on that'll let him play privately, with simplified changeable settings. That wouldn't disrupt any other players at all so there's no reason not to suggest it.

you are taking my words too literally. What I mean is that taking out that human element and making it single player takes out a core element of DayZ making it something else. EX: A peanut butter&jelly sandwich with no peanut butter is just jam on bread.

[Rage VG 4033]

you are taking my words too literally. What I mean is that taking out that human element and making it single player takes out a core element of DayZ making it something else. EX: A peanut butter&jelly sandwich with no peanut butter is just jam on bread.

Yes, but if someone wants to eat jam on bread, does the fact you don't like it without the peanut butter mean they can't either?

[Dlcoates1 8]

Believe it or not, there already is a single player version. It's a modified version of DayZ allowing you to play on Chernarus. http://theguidez.com/dayzsp

Also, if you know how to port forward, you can use the mission file to play with friends on a lan network or private hosted server.

[Happymrsnowman 52]

Don't get me wrong, I love the thrill of PvP. But it would be nice to have a zombies only type of gamemode.

I just think you're looking for a different style of game. You're describing STALKER or Dead Island, or any number of other zombie games with open worlds and NPCs. While your idea isn't terrible, it simply doesn't apply to DAYZ. We're just talking two different games. Its kind of like how L4D didn't have a SERIOUS singleplayer component. Sure, it was there, but the game wasn't about that.

[LuckyTrident73 8]

Sorry about the big wall of text, I had alot of things on my mind and needed to get them out before I forgot them. Also, I figured a majority of responses would be somewhere around the lines of "you don't know what DayZ is about, you should go play something else". To clarify, I do know what DayZ is and I've been playing since right around the time DayZ came out, back in the days where there were only a few populated servers. That being said, I love the multiplayer aspect of DayZ, but still have a desire to play it single-player or co-op. Maybe I just want to play something more like Fallout or Stalker at the moment but I think as long as the multiplayer is not effected by single-player then there is no reason not to include it.

[Sutinen 635]

There has to be a singleplayer mode. If your internet is fucked (This will be a problem for me) or you just don't feel like playing online, you could still play.

I don't need any NPCs for it though. Just DayZ as singleplayer, no more than that.

Yes, and I said singleplayer MODE. I want the multiplayer mode to be the main focus, but I want a quick singleplayer conversion of it.

Edited December 11, 2012 by Sutinen

[logan23 118]

If DayZ ever made a single player mode it would not be the DayZ SA open world version.

DayZ single player would be something like this-

You play as a survivor or military character who plays out events/ missions that show the chaos of the actual outbreak becoming un contained.

You would have missions like in Arma2 single player where you have objectives.

At the end of the X number of missions on Cheranus or another map, you escape and watch as the final assaults are being done to get the survivors out.

This would allow NPCs to be present.

This type of mission could also be co op if they wish.

But this wouldn't happen till after the actual release if they did do it.

The trick is to show enough about the outbreak but not show everything.

[Failbait 60]

If DayZ ever made a single player mode it would not be the DayZ SA open world version.

DayZ single player would be something like this-

You play as a survivor or military character who plays out events/ missions that show the chaos of the actual outbreak becoming un contained.

You would have missions like in Arma2 single player where you have objectives.

At the end of the X number of missions on Cheranus or another map, you escape and watch as the final assaults are being done to get the survivors out.

This would allow NPCs to be present.

This type of mission could also be co op if they wish.

But this wouldn't happen till after the actual release if they did do it.

The trick is to show enough about the outbreak but not show everything.

I would play the shit out of this

[-Gews- 7443]

The only time I've wanted single-player was so that I could practice with the Winchester at different ranges.