Factions / Trading / Player Types

[lithiumfox.av@gmail.com 9]

This Post is a work in progress!

I actually have quite a few ideas for a few things within the mod. I haven't exactly nailed it down just yet.

I will do some drawings and artwork to show and explain how i'd like to see things work as well!

lastly, dont be afraid to give your ideas! More ideas the better!

NOTE: All references to "Journal" is referring to the custom Journal i have in mind, not the stock ARMA 2 journal.

Journal System:

For immersion purposes, and for generic systems, I think there needs to be what's called a "Journal". Not the ARMA 2 journal, but maybe tied to the same keybind. It's a simple book that keeps tabs on your basic history, your Factions, your stats, and everything else.

My idea for this is that each survivor carries their own journal, called "[user]'s Journal", so if a PVP character DOES happen to kill someone, they can see the stats of the player. This also allows the player to keep tabs on their own stats without having another immersion breaking overlay on their screen.

Features:

• Faction's List/Creation system.
  
• Zombie Kill List
  
• Player Kill List
  
• "Journal" entries. (example: Traded 5 .45 ammo for 2 steaks)
  
• DayZ Survived
  

A) Factions List/Creation

My idea's for how factions will work is in the next section. How the factions list, how i would like to see it work, would be for factions to only be gained upon SIGHT of another player. Although, this COULD cause problems, it would be interesting to see that you would actually have to PHYSICALLY SEE a person in order to figure out what faction they are in, as well as to get into their faction. I will explain this system further in detail later.

Faction Creation ideas:

• Allow squad.xml to be shared in game and on forum/website.
  
• Allow "leaders" to be chosen, if any. could possibly have NO leader if you wanted.
  
• Would like to see implementation of faction logo from squad.xml somewhere on PMC model, or similar model.
  
• Allow custom naming, and when typing in Direct channel: Show faction name.
  

Factions:

Factions are something that, while you can just make and have in game through more manual means, would be given more meaning with support from the game itself. It's hard to be able to label yourself a faction without any distinguishing features or the ability to make your clothes a certain way or paint a giant skull with a minecraft block behind it!

My idea for in-game factions includes:

• gain small "perks" for being near each other, although perks would have to be decided.
  
• can put up "Banners" based on squad.xml of faction. Would be awesome if squad.xml could be tied to entire faction, overriding the one used on player.
  
• can "capture" area, Civilian faction wars. Could possibly be meta-gamed, however. Would have to work on way to implement without being lame.
  
• can create persistent camps in each server. Even though player can go to different server, it would be like visiting a different "location".
  
• Can gain or lose humanity as a "group". Your reputation is tied to the actions of your faction choice! Your fault for being a part of a group of bandits.
  
• Give "jobs" to players. Example: "LithiumFox- Food Procurement" "SicSense- Overwatch". Tied to in-game options, so you can't just type "blabla Sextoy" or something like that. Even though it might be funny.
  
• With jobs, assigning a medic will give them a "medic" skin. Assigning a weapons procurement would give ammopacks on their model, so on so forth.
  

Joining a faction:

In order to join a faction, one of the leaders, or if a leaderless group, any member of the group would have to invite you PERSONALLY, IN person. To do so, they would have to be within distance and looking at you, and choose the command option "Faction Invite". The player then, from there, can either use the command option "Accept Invite", or in cases of receiving multiple invites, go to their journal and accept the invite from there. They can also reject as well. Journal accepting and ignoring can be done at ANY time, but inviting has to happen in person.

Leading a faction:

Leading a faction lets you edit the name, members, and "jobs" of each member. From here, you can choose to step down and let the group be leaderless, disband the group, rename the group, or add other leaders. In order to be a leader you have to:

1. Create the group
   
2. Be voted as leader
   

I would recommend the leader get a specific styled model, or something to denote "leadership.", like a cape? Lol.

The leader can then designate a base camp by finding a spot and placing what's called a "Faction Marker". Further information about what this can do will be typed up later.

Role Playing / Trading

I feel like, for a Zombie Survival RP game, there isn't a lot of RP going on. It's just PvP bs Hunting disguised as "Surviving".

BS. If I'm running along the road and you snipe me and don't even BOTHER TO GO GET THE ITEMS OFF MY BODY, you are NOT "surviving", you are "hunting", and even if that, more or less for the thrill and to troll, not really for any other reason. You're doing it just to piss someone off, rather than for an actual reason. I get it: You're a sociopath who has no life and you find that fun.

I, on the other hand, do believe there is a way to get some sort of first person Fallout-esque styled RP in this.

Ideas:

• Trade Module, allowing people to see what item(s) are being traded. (optional idea, but makes it so you don't have to drop crap on the ground and lose it in the grass. )
  
• Allow for "humanity" points to be gained through use of trading module, although i'd make it pretty low.
  
• Allow Factions to "truce", "remain neutral" or "become enemies" to other factions.
  
• Allow taking of Axes, cutting down of tree to make "shelters" or "walls"
  
• Allow finding of shovel or hoe and taking of seeds to make farm.
  
• FIRE! BURN THEM TO THE GROUND!
  
• Allow respawning NEAR faction encampment. (seriously, having to walk an hour to the north because some asshole sniped me is... a bit annoying. )
  
• Player skill trees! Allow players to become proficient as certain tasks, or let them retrain themselves and lose all their skills to do something else. (Eg. Medic can bandage and even repair people's blood. Instead of perfect blood transfusion everytime, an unskilled person would only give 25% blood return, where a trained medic could give 100%.)
  

Player Types / Dynamic Player System

Typing in Progress

[nuttex 51]

Factions:

There needs to be a way to create "Factions" within the game. Like a group' date=' you could even allow it to be sync'd to the website, and let people share a squad.xml.

[/quote']

DayZ, a dream come true, combined with another dream? God, that would be amazing.

[savini 587]

It would be cool to be able to choose a player model. Based on faction or player type. Also some skill sets.

Say someone chooses to be a "doctor" class. The characters bio could be along the lines of "used to be a surgeon until the shit hit the fan". The player would then be able to fix injuries with a greater chance of success. Maybe mechanic class? Shit like that. Could be neat.

Being able to choose a player model from something preset in the mod would be great. Then we could have factions of people that can have some sort of distinction.

I'm thinking of the biker gang from '78 Dawn of the Dead. Group of thugs roaming the map tearing shit up!

Though I'd choose a Rhodes type model if I could. With a skill set of total asshole ;)

[Guest Suffocation]

Wait, so its a dream within a dream... INCEPTION!

[griffinz 2816]

*A dream within a Nightmare

[lithiumfox.av@gmail.com 9]

Updated Post Again.

-Added More information about Factions

-Began work on Role Play ideas.

-Fixed up small errors.

-Made lists nicer

-Wrote Changelog about post since it's a REALLY LONG POST.

-Found out double posting merges your post with previous post. Quite interesting, i have to admit.

[sgtmensing 0]

I think all of these ideas should be included in the mod.

[lithiumfox.av@gmail.com 9]

Haha, thanks Mensing... And i'm not even done writing it yet XD Hahah. (I have about... 40% of my ideas just for these things alone written... Let alone i still want to draw some things up and maybe even take a crack of scripting it. Though, I would need someone to help me as I've never tried scripting before.

[munchy 9]

It would be cool to be able to choose a player model. Based on faction or player type. Also some skill sets.

Say someone chooses to be a "doctor" class. The characters bio could be along the lines of "used to be a surgeon until the shit hit the fan". The player would then be able to fix injuries with a greater chance of success. Maybe mechanic class? Shit like that. Could be neat.

I'm not sure that a class based approach would be the best way but maybe some sort of non-combat support "perks" as lithium said might be a good addon.

I love most of those ideas, just as long as it stays on the current trend of open ended fallout NV style game play I'm all for it.

[lithiumfox.av@gmail.com 9]

Not really a class based things, but lets say you find a book. You can "read" a book and go down that 'class' route. The reason i say this is because then you can't just be god-tier everything. You still have to rely on people, but if you find say "medical studies", a book that gives you the initial perk of "Base Medic" or something like that.

From there if you find other medical studies books, which should be relatively rare mind you, you can then gain more perks for yourself.

Probably a max of 4. So the first perk just makes it so bandages heal a little blood or can have the same effect of painkillers, or something like that, and blood transfusions give 40% blood instead of 25% or something like that.

I'm actually getting tired now from typing so much, lol. But that's the general idea is Open Ended.

You can also "delearn" your perk trend, go back and learn another one. And it uses up the book when you do.

[munchy 9]

BS. If I'm running along the road and you snipe me and don't even BOTHER TO GO GET THE ITEMS OFF MY BODY' date=' you are NOT "surviving", you are "hunting", and even if that, more or less for the thrill and to troll, not really for any other reason. You're doing it just to piss someone off, rather than for an actual reason. I get it: You're a sociopath who has no life and you find that fun.

[/quote']

Lol one thing I do take full pride in is out of every person I kill, which may have gone a little out of hand at one point....... ¬_¬ I ALWAYS check/rummage in peoples pockets/bags for sweets ALWAYS! If your gonna be psycho you may as well go full ear/scalp/finger/shoe stealing psycho.

[lithiumfox.av@gmail.com 9]

And i'm ok with that. I actually haven't finished my role-play stuff yet, so you'll like that. I'll finish it up tomorrow.

[rossrox 7]

These are all fantastic ideas.

[anzik 0]

I don't get it. Everything except 'faction' like logos, tattos etc. you already can do.

Journal = pen and paper near keyboard

Faction and related stuff = talk to people, vote your leader by talking, assign your roles...

Or am I missing something?

[lithiumfox.av@gmail.com 9]

I don't get it. Everything except 'faction' like logos' date=' tattos etc. you already can do.

Journal = pen and paper near keyboard

Faction and related stuff = talk to people, vote your leader by talking, assign your roles...

Or am I missing something?

[/quote']

Some people don't want to escape the game world to do stuff in the real world.

I'm one of those people.

[anzik 0]

Why would you escape the game world? Just write it down. AFAIK this was pretty common in old days when games were hard.

This journal thing seems to me so artificial I dare to say its against the spirit of this mod (If I get it right of course).

But as I posted before, I completely agree that some sort of identification marks might come handy, which of course for teams mean, there has to be some managed way to obtain them... just I don't like when even so basic things like social interaction is proposed to be implemented.

[litoralis.nMd 1]

If anyone ever saw the old 1994 movie called "No Escape" starring Ray Liotta.

There was a penal island on a unmarked atol in the pacific, the prisoners were left to their own devices, and create tribes. One tribe set up as settlers on a peninsula, and they horded books, (and liquor).

The Devs should go rent this box office flop, it's got some very well thought out gameplay ideas, even if they didn't translate well to the big screen movie.

No Esacpe on IMDB:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110678/

Book it was based on:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Penal-Colony-ebook/dp/B004VTHSA6

We could also have a Bartertown run by Tina Turner and Master Blaster :) .

regards,

[midhaven 0]

Thats alot of suggestions, good ones but alot. I would rather they take babysteps improving all aspects of the game rather than focusing all their energy for weeks trying to build a faction system. But maybe thats not what you meant.

One easy way to have "factions" is if they were to add diffrent clothes as loot. Atleast that way everyone could dress diffrently and you'd be able to recognize a faction/group.

[Derranged 2]

I fully agree and support you with this idea. This would expand the mod even further then it has already gone and would bring even more players to the database.

Thank you for your awesome idea and I hope it will become part of the game one day!

~Derranged

[{Op4}Mcface 0]

Pretty good ideas, except for the player controlled area part.

the last thing I want to do is have to deal with a groups of "super 1337" "bandits" with NVG's and SAWs guarding 10 different areas across the map. that would just turn it into a PVP game with some arbitrary zombies running around.

[oktyabr 53]

Not really a class based things' date=' but lets say you find a book. You can "read" a book and go down that 'class' route. The reason i say this is because then you can't just be god-tier everything. You still have to rely on people, but if you find say "medical studies", a book that gives you the initial perk of "Base Medic" or something like that.

[/quote']

I'm not really into constrained RP. I appreciate a game that encourages it as a byproduct of the programming rather than programming specifically for it. That means I'm not a fan of games with perk systems, levels, etc. either. But that's just me!

I DO like the book idea but think I would be happier with it used in a simpler way... Find a book, it takes up a limited book slot meaning that you can only read one book at a time. You aren't really learning permanent skills from the book, you are more or less using it like a guide or reference manual, more or less. It could even take the map slot so you would have to choose between map or book. Scatter the books like other objects and as long as you have that book in your possession you get a "perk" of that specific type.

For instance a "First Aid" manual might let you stop bleeding without bandages. You could still use the same amount of time and even the same animations but you wouldn't need to use up a bandage to do it.

"Wilderness Survival" might let you start a fire without matches (rubbing two sticks together?) and might let you forage for wild berries and roots and things as well.

"Automotive Repair" might be required to get that engine running again.

"Helicopter Flight Checklist" might be required to fly a heli.

And so on.

[Guest]

the game is almost perfect as it is , isolating people who don't want to be part of some group is just going to cause the same people playing all the time whereas a new player will see all this info when they join and just say "f*** it"

[oktyabr 53]

I like the idea of building a "trading post" by collecting certain items. This could look like a campfire with some large tents around it, whatever. Once assembled it radiates over a certain area and broadcasts to players entering it that they have just entered a "No PVP trading zone". Players in this area cannot be injured by bullets. This would make a safe place for anyone, even bandits, to come and trade extra gear, barter for blood transfusions, meet up, maybe have some moonshine and a steaming bowl of rabbit stew, etc.

You could maintain the zone by feeding the fire with wood every few hours or something similar. Once the zone is empty of players, or completely abandoned, and the fire runs out so does the no-PVP zone. Zombies might also spawn randomly around such an area.

[grounddog 12]

The skill tree would be really nice actually.

If it is possible to do such a thing for it.

[Aerograt 0]

Corps, territories and trading are the primary things I think of when I'm reminded of EVE, and DayZ could definitely benefit from them. Having squads fight over territory would be much more interesting than this blatant, solo ganking we have now.

Oh, and the pirate potential that could arise from trading... Mmmmmm, that makes me moist.