Defining the Setting: How atmospheric changes can improve DayZ‏

[Zoring 25]

Hello everyone, It's a long read but I think the people playing this game have more patience than most!

I am a relatively new player to DayZ, I hope you take this to mean that I am coming with it with fresh eyes rather than as a pitiful noob, I also hope I don’t commit any faux pas in regards to what has been said before or what is in development already, as I am sure some of my ideas are in hand already.

Rocket has mentioned that he wants to define the narrative of DayZ, what happened to render the world as it is. I believe the key factor in the context of this game is the setting.

To define the narrative without building in a linear storytelling experience, the following items need to be strongly defined, once the setting is strongly established then the players’ experiences in this world forms its own narratives (as already is apparent):

- Location and year

- Time since the outbreak

- Response to the outbreak

- State of the globe now

- Survivors context

I believe the key is to build in a cohesive setting. Choose a year, choose a decade and build to that. You could pick 1980 or early 90’s and emphasise the Soviet setting (a setting rarely used in the world of games), you would lose out on some of the more modern toys in terms of ACOG scopes but generate a much stronger atmosphere, think STALKER or Metro 2033 these games paint fabulously bleak soviet-era pictures and still popular in the west. (Also female zombies! We don’t have them probably mentioned already)

Currently we are on a fictional Russian Island, set in a vaguely contemporary setting, but there is a mish mash of modern and old fashioned clothing, weaponry and vehicles. We have Russian civilian zombies wearing flat caps and Ushankas but all the military hardware scattered about is US and most of the firearms are US/European also. The native soldier zombies, and scattered miscellaneous corpses and equipment should be Russian, with Russian weaponry and vehicles found at military bases (AK, RPD, DSHk/GAZ, Ural etc.)

The time since the outbreak is a crucial factor in establishing the narrative, did the Zombie outbreak happen 10 years ago, is it a year, or two weeks after? The island itself is pretty bleak, it lends itself to it being at least a year, but it’s not in a state of decay that it could be a decade. If it has been a week the dead soldiers and bodies should be relatively fresh, but if it has been a year there should be little remaining of the bodies of the initial military forces engaged with the zombies, skeletal or completely decayed. As the lifecycle of Zombies has been mentioned by Rocket this would also mean that the military Zombies for the most part will be old ones (depending of course on Zombie decay time)

The response to the outbreak has to be thought out (this can be done in the background and evidence of it can be uncovered by players if they so choose, diaries, communiques, writing, military maps, something for future development). When the outbreak happened on a large scale what was the response, Chernarus is a backwater of sorts, and so any response there was probably lackadaisical compared to other areas. The local military forces would have mounted some sort of offensive, and there should be evidence of that, meanwhile the International airport could have been the scene of a UN or NATO taskforce (I personally like the idea of it being the UN, the nature of the outbreak not being known and treated as a peacekeeping mission means a varied international response which gives the ability to add a lot of different nations weapons and equipment to the game)

One of the things I liked most about World War Z was that the entire world hadn’t completely disappeared, the military was able to eventually hold back and turn the tide on the Zombie menace, Zombies are dangerous to Civilians, but an organized military could probably defeat them. There can be subtle evidence that the military is fighting back behind the scenes, such as helicopters, ambient jets flying over (perhaps the occasional flying AI Aircraft dropping napalm or bombs?) perhaps the occasional artillery strike on areas of heavy zombie concentrations or hearing occasional military radio chatter on military radios could even be coded in. The on-going military operations would also be one source of brand new and high level foreign military equipment for players (a crashed Blackhawk netting some M4 Carbines from a US spec op team, or finding a turned over UN APC with a FN FAL in it)

However we have to place this within the global context, how important is Chernarus globally, strategically and to Russia, does it have anything in it worth fighting for, or is it a backwater, neglected for a long time while major Zombie outbreaks have been fought, contained or lost in other more important areas. Messages or news updates on Radio/TV if possible could play (hope is not lost citizens! Survive! Aim for the head!)

Now our survivor avatar, This is one I suspect is well under control with the sort of additional customization that Rocket is aiming for, and with gameplay being what it is, any initial identity in what you start with would soon be swept away as you scavenge for equipment and clothing. However when we begin, what is our starting point, are we a citizen of Cheranus? Are we ex-military, are we a ship-wreck survivor? What is the context for us being on the island, when you spawn in, you look pretty well equipped, ammo pouches, a more civilian or random appearance would help (without giving any particular advantage such as camo clothing).

As a side note there anyway to have our external appearance change on our clothing? This is probably outside the scope of the engine, but ammo pouches/grenades etc appearing on your body would be a very nice little feature. Perhaps camouflage kits for faces/hands or being able to improvise in some way (find a helmet, use a knife on a tire, take inner tube, apply to helmet, use knife on bushes, apply bushes to helmet, I know a ‘crafting’ system has been mentioned so this sort of thing falls under that scope)

In conclusion, the ambience and background of the world needs focus. This I believe can be achieved through a few changes, these changes will affect the gameplay in a positive way, altering how people play and experience the game and give DayZ a greater personal identity rather than a generic Zombie apocalypse setting.

Sorry for the lengthy topic! Hope I have raised some interesting points :)

Edited January 14, 2013 by Zoring

[beatSTV 631]

i would love to be able to read this unfortunately you have ninja text and i dont want to highlight it

[Zoring 25]

Fixed :)

[voddler (DayZ) 367]

I like the idea of the military still trying to fight back, adding helicopters flying over Chernarus would make the experience way cooler. What if they're here to kill you? What if they're here to save me? You will not know, the AI might react differently thinking you're a zombie? I don't know, but instead of helicopters being spawned you would see them crash. I know people have suggested that a long time ago, but honestly. Don't you think it would be cool seeing jets or helicopters trying to stop the plague?

One thing is sure, we don't know how long time the outbreak has been when we spawn.

[DemonGroover 8836]

I think that is part of DayZ - we don't know anything (apart from where our dead bodies are located)

However i would love to see some more "scenes" so to speak, giving a glimpse of response of the populace to the infection. Coming across a decimated army vehicle column, Infected roaming everywhere. Crashed jets, destroyed bridges, buildings that have been barricaded from the inside, suicide victims, boat wrecks, safe zones that were set up but have since been overrun...things like that.

[victusmortuus 1074]

I was about to make a thread but I guess i could put this in here. So personally I would love to see make shift signs on top of buildings with 'Survivors in here!', suicides in homes, ^^Nice ideas from the guy above me btw.

NSFW That's from TWD and it's really dark, now it'd be crazy if that was how some loot was distributed, taking it could cause humanity to drop with it being a grave in a sense but at the end of the day survival is key and you come first.

Edited January 11, 2013 by Victus Mortuus

[Hartraft 100]

It is good to have a bit of mystery as well though.

For all we know if we run far enough we could run into a wall and find out we are in a big dome and realise we are actually on the Truman Show. Or not.

[victusmortuus 1074]

It is good to have a bit of mystery as well though.

For all we know if we run far enough we could run into a wall and find out we are in a big dome and realise we are actually on the Truman Show. Or not.

And if i don;t see you...

I like the mystery as well it's what makes the Zombie genre so powerful as there is no definite cause (Satellite, plague, wrath of God') I just think a story of other NPC's in the form of blood scribbled writing on a wall or an old mans lootable letter to his son saying the things he couldn't get around to during the peace time. This could be a cool edition IMO.

Obviously the letter would have no help in your survival and is junk but it was invaluable to somebody at some point.

Edited January 11, 2013 by Victus Mortuus

[Very Ape 748]

Having US military outposts would be nice, and would be good for plot reasons, as well as providing the much-liked NATO weapons. When I say plot reasons, I'm referring to the fact that helping a small ex-Soviet country would be the least of America's concerns if they'd been dealing with the same pandemic-- which brings me to my point; this would hint to the fact that Chernarus was the source of the outbreak, and that the United States' military intervention failed utterly.

Imagine a few scattered, hastily assembled US military bases and roadway checkpoints, all painting a very horrible picture. Toppled sandbags, machine gun nests littered with zombie and soldier corpses alike, and blood strewn across the walls (perhaps with cryptic, painted messages.)

[DemonGroover 8836]

....... and blood strewn across the walls (perhaps with cryptic, painted messages.)

Yeah, like:

Milk

potatoes

carrots

M14Aim

[iashford 73]

I wish DayZ standalone would have the same setting as the walking dead/the walking dead game... I don't mean the cartoony art style of course, I mean very saturated, colourful environments mixed with very bleak, gritty scenes (carnage everywhere, rubble, destroyed buildings, war-torn people etc) then Going into the forest and finding a farm that looks untouched, serene and nice, etc.

I don't know, I've just always like that look the most, as apposed to the uber bleak, depressing visuals of something like 'The Road'. I guess the setting I prefer is more suited to the initial stages of an outbreak/apocalypse, whereas 'The Road' style is more suited for 10 years after the world ended.

Obviously there can always be a blend. Once you lose blood, the world gets less saturated, more grainy, black and white etc. making things a lot more bleak. You can have both with just the change of visual filters.

[Zoring 25]

I think Very Ape has put my thoughts much more succinctly. I do not in anyway think that the plot should be explcitiely read to you, but the evidence of what has transpired should be built into the terrain, a heavy (expired) UN/Nato presence at the airfield, dead HAZMAT teams, scattered Russian outposts.

If Charneus isn't the site of the Zombie outbreak, maybe NATO thought it was, maybe they didn't know what was happening and thought the Russians had gone beserk, slaughteirng their citizens, you could have evidence of firefights between NATO and Russian forces as the troops on the ground nervously escalate into hostilites from the confusion. I believe all of these things you can build into the games atmosphere by crafting the world more coherently.

[Very Ape 748]

I think Very Ape has put my thoughts much more succinctly. I do not in anyway think that the plot should be explcitiely read to you, but the evidence of what has transpired should be built into the terrain, a heavy (expired) UN/Nato presence at the airfield, dead HAZMAT teams, scattered Russian outposts.

If Charneus isn't the site of the Zombie outbreak, maybe NATO thought it was, maybe they didn't know what was happening and thought the Russians had gone beserk, slaughteirng their citizens, you could have evidence of firefights between NATO and Russian forces as the troops on the ground nervously escalate into hostilites from the confusion. I believe all of these things you can build into the games atmosphere by crafting the world more coherently.

I like how you think! What you're detailing could be suggested to the survivor via military maps plastered on the walls inside of makeshift briefing rooms. Imagine a huge map of Chernarus dotted with Russian flags, denoting Russian military positions, and overrun cities marked with the foreboding "Z". This would suggest that they were actively monitoring (or fighting) the Russians and the infected simultaneously.

(edit: I realize the "Z" would be somewhat childish. But perhaps the symbol for biological hazard.)

While adding less subtle plot elements such as documentation the player can read may be planned for standalone (I think, or something roughly equivalent), more subtle elements like those outlined above should be implemented first to add to the atmosphere and keep survivors guessing. Foreshadowing, if you will. Personally, I would prefer the mystery to any form of "campaign" which would lead you to discover what happened. I'd love to come across more scenes of carnage; towns ruined, with craters left by explosions and bullet-holes riddling the ruined walls, in what appear to have been firefights interrupted by zombies.

The suggestion does have a practical use, beyond that of providing a darker atmosphere to the game, but it actually gives a good reason as to why the Americans were present, and adds some authenticity in finding NATO weaponry (and a place to actually go looking for some.)

Edited January 11, 2013 by Very Ape

[m.w. vindicator 880]

I like the idea of the ultra rare chance to see a plane flying thousands of feet in the air. I don't think it should drop anything though.

Dropping bombs would be a glorious waste of resources.

Lets say that Europe, and Asia were wiped out. The infection originated from somewhere in Eastern Europe so the countries in the immediate vicinity had no chance. With modern trans global travelling the infection spread across the globe. But by then armies knew it was coming and quarantined certain areas.

Jet Fuel would be extremely valuable. The only reason anyone would use it is to transport very valuable things like people and food. If america survived they would probably try to evacuate areas under threat. Perhaps Moscow was in danger. Then it would make sense to see planes flying high over Chernarus as they went from America to Russia. This is simply a random example.

There shouldn't be random B-52s or Tu-95 Bears bombing Chernarus. But wouldn't it be interesting to hear the quiet roar of a jet thousand of feet high. This would add to the mystery without spoiling the mood.

Edited January 11, 2013 by Vindicator

[Zoring 25]

Very Ape, that is a really cool suggestion, everything you described could make it into the background of Cherno, secretly defined by the DayZ team and then hinted at throughout the entire map, conventional defences may have fallen in some areas easily, but things like the castle may have been heavily fought over and this can be suggested through the debris. I would love as you said to have the story foreshadowed and hinted at, then the players can piece together the story. Then as you said practically gives a reason for other weapons to be found.

The UN takes the intial response to what they think is a humanitarian operation (giving us European weaponary), they get wiped out by Zombies or panicky Russians, then NATO intervenes (US weaponary), fiighting the Russians, communications get cut off and local commanders try to marshall their forces signs on the walls "It's not the Russians!" biohazard warnings, all sorts of cool things

Another set piece idea is quarntine camps that have been overrun, a bunch of Zombies stuck behind chainlink fences with the guards dead or fled, civilian and soldier bodies scattered around.

Vindicator, agreed, it all depends on when the Zombie outbreak is supposed to have happened, is it still in the early stages, where people are un-aware of the extent or nature of the situation and the millitary is using its heavy hardware, or is it later, when infrastructure has broken down. One thing that they would have to keep going if Recon flights, UAV's or manned flights would be the most useful use of aviation fuel. Perhaps the millitary is still not aware of the nature of the Zombie infestation in Cherno and is bombing what they think are rogue Russian military concentrations.

Possible DLC/Map ideas are different periods of the Zombie infestation, DayZ one week into the outbreak, DayZ 5 years later.

[Clumzy (DayZ) 377]

These are some really awesome ideas. I kind of like the suggestions about more varied spawns, especially when considering this as well. I'm just thinking about waking up in a hospital, Walking Dead style, with dark scenes and hastily written warnings scribbled onto walls. Maybe your character has some sort of injury, and you'd get a chance to patch yourself up before entering the outside world. Or maybe you wake up in a crashed new chopper, that went down after the pilot turned. You may find yourself in a panic, trying to climb out of the heli while the re-animated pilot crawls towards you. These kinds of unique spawns would have to be pretty rare, of course, or they would get old pretty fast.

I also like the idea of a global backstory, but I would want to see a lot of it left to the players imaginations. Hearing cool theories about what's happening in the rest of the world, like the ideas in this thread, would be awesome. Maybe you see a random UAV flying around, or a still-functioning security camera, and begin to wonder if you're being watched in some sort of experiment. Or maybe you have your own backstory. I hope some sort of backstory like the ones mentioned above get added in eventually, they would give the game a lot of depth.

[1clash1 58]

Very Ape, that is a really cool suggestion, everything you described could make it into the background of Cherno, secretly defined by the DayZ team and then hinted at throughout the entire map, conventional defences may have fallen in some areas easily, but things like the castle may have been heavily fought over and this can be suggested through the debris. I would love as you said to have the story foreshadowed and hinted at, then the players can piece together the story. Then as you said practically gives a reason for other weapons to be found.

The UN takes the intial response to what they think is a humanitarian operation (giving us European weaponary), they get wiped out by Zombies or panicky Russians, then NATO intervenes (US weaponary), fiighting the Russians, communications get cut off and local commanders try to marshall their forces signs on the walls "It's not the Russians!" biohazard warnings, all sorts of cool things

Another set piece idea is quarntine camps that have been overrun, a bunch of Zombies stuck behind chainlink fences with the guards dead or fled, civilian and soldier bodies scattered around.

Vindicator, agreed, it all depends on when the Zombie outbreak is supposed to have happened, is it still in the early stages, where people are un-aware of the extent or nature of the situation and the millitary is using its heavy hardware, or is it later, when infrastructure has broken down. One thing that they would have to keep going if Recon flights, UAV's or manned flights would be the most useful use of aviation fuel. Perhaps the millitary is still not aware of the nature of the Zombie infestation in Cherno and is bombing what they think are rogue Russian military concentrations.

Possible DLC/Map ideas are different periods of the Zombie infestation, DayZ one week into the outbreak, DayZ 5 years later.

DayZ 2017 (A mod for DayZ) is set 5 years after the outbreak.

[1clash1 58]

I think Very Ape has put my thoughts much more succinctly. I do not in anyway think that the plot should be explcitiely read to you, but the evidence of what has transpired should be built into the terrain, a heavy (expired) UN/Nato presence at the airfield, dead HAZMAT teams, scattered Russian outposts.

If Charneus isn't the site of the Zombie outbreak, maybe NATO thought it was, maybe they didn't know what was happening and thought the Russians had gone beserk, slaughteirng their citizens, you could have evidence of firefights between NATO and Russian forces as the troops on the ground nervously escalate into hostilites from the confusion. I believe all of these things you can build into the games atmosphere by crafting the world more coherently.

I agree with your points about Hazmat teams and an expired UN presence at airfields, however in regards to your secondary ideas;

For a start it would be the UN that would go in, not NATO.

Also, I'm pretty sure if there was a zombie outbreak in Russia the rest of the world would find out and not for think that the Russian military had decided to massacre vast swathes of its population.

Additionally, Russia would likely ask for military help and coordinate responses with the UN troops sent in. Clashes between Russian troops and UN troops would be counter productive and worsen the situation in their country.

Russia is part of the UN security council and as such could veto any UN military intervention in their country and as such you wouldn't have a situation where the UN went in without Russia's consent so fighting between UN and Russian troops seems highly unlikely.

[Zoring 25]

Clumzy, Yes I love the idea of that, being able to wake up in a chopper, hospital or some similar situation randomly situated would be really cool, although the majority of time you spawn you would be random civilian if you occasionally spawned in as something unique with a unique outfit that would be really fun. You would start with no extra advantage, just a different set of clothes, Army Pilot, sailor, hospital gown, Russian tankman (with one of those cool tanker padded helmets). Then you build in a timer so you only have a chance of spawning as one of these rarer skins after a certain time, so people can't kill themselves to get it (say, 2-3 days).

Agreed on letting the players piece together the background of the apocalypse for themselves, throw in some twists and have it guessed about on the forums, they can build in lots of clues into the scenery and the players can try to construct some sort of timeline for themselves, would be fun, Green Mountain has a site of a massacre or some sort already, more pieces like that would be great.

ComradeClash, well you are right, the exact details of the backstory can be plotted out and figured in a sort of logical historical context. It also depends on 'when' they decide to set it, I would love personally love a Soviet Union era Russia to be the setting of the hidden backstory, what seems like a 'rogue state' or just the good old Iron Curtain confounding national security agencies.

Also pre-internet, it's amazing how much harder it was to obtain information before everyone had smart phones! If there was a zombie outbreak now it would be all over facebook and there would be no confusion :D