Locked storage - zombie dependant

[Xianyu 820]

So, nobody locks doors in Chernarus. Or well, I guess, a lot of people do (lol unenterable buildings). But the thing to remember... a lot of things are kept in safes. Not particularly useful things, like cash and documents. But some people keep guns in lockboxes. Especially the military.

What I'm thinking is this: Certain areas spawn certain zombies, yes? In a realistic sense, people would lock up their shit when the infection hit. To save it from looters. Weapons would be distributed, but some would remain locked in their cages and their storage rooms forever, the keys lost.

Theoretically.

Now who would carry the keys to these lockboxes? Why, the zombies themselves.

Think about it. There's a cop zombie in Cherno. So, shoot that bitch in the face. Search his body. You get a M1911 mag, woohoo! But you also get a key that fits the Cherno police station lockbox.

You can take this key to the police station, and loot the everloving f- out of that lockbox.

This has many, many advantages.

For one: it keeps loot out of the hands of passerby's, and allows higher-tier loot to spawn in that area. If the key only drops while the lockbox remains unopened, and has a low chance of dropping in the first place, then you know if you get the key, you can get a primary weapon, or ammunition, or some other rare drop.

Zombies become relevant. You no longer look at a zombie as a ZOMBIE. You look at it like a person. You think 'Where did this zombie come from? Could he have a key on him that will give me loot? And if so, where would I have to go get this loot?'

Loot is spread. Even after a dozen people go through an area, a person with one of these keys could still find loot in a barren wasteland of tin cans, razor blades, and toilet paper.

Banditry becomes sneakier. Kill a person for their key. Follow them to the lockbox, wait for them to open the case, and then ambush them. Set a trap near the box to catch unwary loot-happy people with a key, and take their stuff.

It adds flavour. DayZ is pretty lacking in flavor in terms of looting. Helicopters are the only break in the monotony of looting, and even then, it's just a random windfall. Searching for a key would be a methodical practise.

And, I figure, the key you get is tied to a certain lockbox on that server. No farming keys and then server-hopping at the lockbox for tons of loot.

For extra fun: The keys only work in certain geographic areas. Basically, in the towns. But the lockboxes are spread throughout the town in dynamic placement. You have to hunt them down instead of staticly finding them in the police station or military area.

Thoughts?

Edited March 16, 2013 by Xianyu

[m.w. vindicator 880]

This came up awhile back I believe.

I think I like the idea.

[Xianyu 820]

This came up awhile back I believe.

I think I like the idea.

I couldn't find anything in the search... but then again, it's hard to know what terms to search for.

[badluckburt 974]

I think this is a good idea. I kill zombies for the hell of it, going out of my way to off them but this would certainly add an extra dimension to the game and like you said, it would make higher-tier loot actually require effort to obtain. Safes could also be in the high-residential areas where ordinary zombies would be the key-carriers. It might be a good idea to restrict them to an area around the safes / lock-boxes while they're idling to not make it impossible to match box and key.

[Rekli 995]

that would require the key to be specifide to a certain lock box....there are a shit tonne of houses in chernaurus.....thus lots of lock boxes....and the zombies would travel....so finding a key in kamenka when the box is in cherno is sorta pointless....and how are you supposed to find the right one?...you cant really check every single lockbox without zombies/players raping you

good suggestion though

[Xianyu 820]

that would require the key to be specifide to a certain lock box....there are a shit tonne of houses in chernaurus.....thus lots of lock boxes....and the zombies would travel....so finding a key in kamenka when the box is in cherno is sorta pointless....and how are you supposed to find the right one?...you cant really check every single lockbox without zombies/players raping you

good suggestion though

You can if you're methodical and you search.

And really, if it takes ten minutes for players to get from Kamenka to Cherno, then bitch please, it'll take zombies HOURS with their meandering, random paths.

And the key could be inscribed with a clue as to where it's supposed to be used.

[Rekli 995]

You can if you're methodical and you search.

And really, if it takes ten minutes for players to get from Kamenka to Cherno, then bitch please, it'll take zombies HOURS with their meandering, random paths.

And the key could be inscribed with a clue as to where it's supposed to be used.

1.sigh

2.not my point and the new zombies are smarter nao so they'd walk there in around the same time

3.why would you put a clue on something you want to keep safe?

[Xianyu 820]

1.sigh

2.not my point and the new zombies are smarter nao so they'd walk there in around the same time

3.why would you put a clue on something you want to keep safe?

They're smarter so they... walk to a completely different town? Or run, along a road, in a straight line, as though they're chasing something?

Have you WATCHED the zombies' movements at all? Or do you just sprint past them and never pay attention to how godawfully slow they walk?

Clues can come in many forms. Military keys, for instance, would likely not be a simple affair. They'd be heavy-duty, and probably tagged with a locker number. Police lockbox keys likewise.

And then there are different keys for padlocks, etc. even the brand name printed on them could mean something.