Padlocks!

[miles98 15]

In the latest DayZ Devblog, they state that you would be able to put things in cupboards. I think it would be awesome if maybe you could find a padlock and key(together)and then you could lock a cupboard. I think that would be an awesome way to hide your stuff, however, maybe you could find Bolt Cutters too, and that enables you to break the padlock and access the cupboard, or if you also had a padlock yourself(maybe they could be very rare or something)then you could open the cupboard with your key. Maybe you could even lock whole buildings, but that might be a little excessive as people could go and lock important loot buildings like the school and fire stations.

Anyway, I think having padlocks would be a great way to add some more depth to the game.

Thanks!

-Miles

Edited February 5, 2013 by miles98

[joe_mcentire 2074]

a hatchet's enough to get in there!

[ollox 38]

Edit: ideas refined.

Something odd about DayZ is that everyone apparently left their front doors unlocked! Most places should start locked-up and you must break and enter to scavenge inside. Miles's ideas come into play when players then trying to re-secure these places for themselves. I think this is a nice idea if well balanced: padlocks must not keep everything safe indefinitely, but bolt cutters must also not be so powerful as to completely negate padlocks.

Limitations of Hatchets and Bolt-Cutters

Cutting through metal chains or chopping down a door takes a bit of time, this prevents players from quickly breaking in to hide or scavenge. Hatchets and bolt cutters should have durability, this forces the player to decide what is worth breaking into. It's not “realistic” to think a bolt-cutter would break after a couple of uses but remember that the person securing their property will probably be offline and unable to defend it, so I think this balances well.

Bolt cutters are also pretty heavy to carry around and don't have any other use (apart from possibly being a gory weapon!) so it will be unlikely for anyone to carry them unless them have a specific target in mind.

Tools

All tools, except lock-picks, deteriorate with use to force the player to choose their targets wisely.

Bolt-Cutters - Used to cut through chains, fences, padlocks and grills.

Hatchet - Can be used to hack wooden doors and boards.

Crowbars - Used to pry open wooden doors and weak metal doors.

Lock-Picks - Picking locks takes a long time (maybe this would require some skill?) and there's a high chance the pick will break. The plus-side to picks is they are very light to carry, but they are also quite rare.

Security Measures

Chains - Can be used in combination with a padlock to secure a gate or vehicle.

Boards - Used to board up doors and windows, whether broken or not. Boards also keep warmth and light inside so you don't expose yourself to the cold or your enemies.

Bolt – When attached to a wooden door this enables you to lock the door with a padlock.

Security Bar – Fitted to the inside of a door (yes this means you will have to stay inside to use it) to prevent it being kicked in or pried open, however, Wooden doors can still be hacked down. This is particularly useful for weak wooden doors since it's a cheap way to prevent a poorly-equipped opportunist from gaining access.

Security Grill – Fitted to the outside of a wooden door to guard it against axes. Grills can however be cut with bolt-cutters, this exposes the door for an axe to break it down.

Keys – Each door-lock and padlock has a unique key, but there will often be more than one copy, this allows you to share a lock with a friend. Unused padlocks can be found in hardware shops and will always come with at least two keys. Many locks will not have keys at all and will have to be picked or circumnavigated. In some rare cases you may find keys inside buildings that unlock locked doors in the same building or other buildings on the property, however, you will have to work out what the key is for on your own. Occasionally you may find keys for buildings that are nowhere near where you found them, for example: in a house you might find a key to the workplace of the person who used to live there. This is a fun idea since there could be clues around the house: letters with different addresses might give you some ideas of places to check, mechanic clothes and tools might suggest checking the local garages, etc. Of course, being Day Z, someone could have previously raided the house and removed vital clues but left the key behind, so you have to decide whether it's worth trying to discover what a key is for or whether there are enough clues to ever find out.

Lock Types

Padlock – Portable lock that can be applied to a bolt or chain to secure it in place.

Night-Latch - http://www.e-hardwar...Night_Latch.gif - Embedded pin-and-tumbler lock that opens from the interior without a key and locks upon closing the door. Used on many conventional house front doors.

Mortice Lock - http://www.confused....;w=300&as=1 - Embedded, manually locking lock.

Door Types

Weak Wooden – Unmodified doors of this variety can be kicked in or hacked with an axe. After kicking in see “Forced Wooden”, after hacking down see “Hacked Wooden” and “Smashed Wooden”. These doors may seem pathetic but remember that forcing any door is very loud and will attract players/zombies.

Strong Wooden - These doors function the same as the weak variant except they cannot be kicked in, but can be pryed open with a crowbar, and they take longer to break down with an axe (costing more axe durability).

Smashed Wooden – This door has be totally destroyed in order to gain entry, either with explosives or an axe. This door can never be repaired, but can be boarded up.

Boarded-Up Door - Blockades a doorway. Can be destroyed with an axe. Functioning doors can also be boarded, along with “shattered” doors, to provide an extra level of security, although this obviously makes getting inside difficult for you too!

Hacked Wooden - This door has had a hole cut in it by an axe, this is done on doors fitted with a night-latch lock to allow the intruder to reach through and unlock them without a key. Can be repaired, see “Repaired Wooden”.

Forced Wooden - This door has either been kicked in or pried open and as a result the lock will no longer function, even if the door is repaired. (Padlocks will remain attached to the door and can be retrieved by picking or using a key). The door can still open and close but must be patched up with wood/board before a bolt and padlock can be fitted to re-secure it. See “Repaired Wooden”.

Repaired Wooden - This door was “Forced” or “hacked” but has been patched up with wood. No matter what strength the door was before it was Forced, it is now treated the same as “weak wooden”. If the door was hacked the old lock will still function, but if the door was “Forced” the lock fixture is ruined and you must attach a bolt and padlock to secure it.

Re-Enforced Wooden - This door in an upgraded weak or repaired wooden door. It acts the same as a strong wooden door.

Metal Door – This variety of door cannot be kicked-in, hacked or pried open, they must be picked or opened with a key. Some metal doors have embedded locks while others have bolts and padlocks. Metal doors cannot be modified

Edited February 19, 2013 by Ollox

[Garblax 4]

I really like the ideas from Ollox and Miles. Maybe you could use a padlock and chain to lock your car doors? Or even your bicycle? Haha

[THEKIDINABOX 1]

I think its an alright idea you have here.

[knifely 34]

Bolt cutters already exist in the arma world. I remember having to use them ti cut through a fence in ACE mod.

[-Gews- 7443]

Heh, continuing from the locked Urban Dead thread, this could lead to... dun dun dun... barricade strafing! Which would be awesome. ^_^

[lipemr 160]

a hatchet's enough to get in there!

you're watching too much movies dude.

[joe_mcentire 2074]

i am not sure... ok i understand it would be hard to destroy padlocks, but if the cupboard is made of wood....

Edited February 20, 2013 by joe_mcentire

[enforcer1975 1111]

You put too much thought into something that won't stop anyone in the end, you might stop one or two from getting your stuff but once the rumor spreads you will get a couple of well equipped visitors. Imagine we don't have to watch out like IRL when we try to break into a house in DayZ especially when the owner is logged off.. Nothing can resist explosives...

[FlashHawk4 44]

You put too much thought into something that won't stop anyone in the end, you might stop one or two from getting your stuff but once the rumor spreads you will get a couple of well equipped visitors. Imagine we don't have to watch out like IRL when we try to break into a house in DayZ especially when the owner is logged off.. Nothing can resist explosives...

Which does not, by any means, ruin the validity of this idea. Nothing is permanent in Day Z, including this.

[TheBanditBambi 5]

Whats wrong with a god ol' bullet to break a lock. Silenced guns could make breaking into doors very quiet.

[enforcer1975 1111]

Whats wrong with a god ol' bullet to break a lock. Silenced guns could make breaking into doors very quiet.

A lock can't be broken that easily with your standard bullet, that myth has already been busted, most times it makes more sense nibbling the surrounding material instead. Reinforced steel door surrounded by a brick wall...tear the wall down. ---> A chain is as strong as it's weakest link.