[SA, Map design] REAL incentives to team up.

[WiFiN 55]

So, why does everyone shoot eachother? There is almost nothing anyone can't get from another without killing them (oh look, triple negative). So if you see a person, anything you can possibly want from him is his gear, and what is better opportunity to do it? Yeah. kill him. It's that easy.

The only exception is blood transfusion, but if you're experienced enough, you can just use food and depend on NO ONE, EVER.

So right to the topic. Scavenging is easy right now. Zombies are no threat, loot is in known locations and spawns in bunches.

Scavenging can be easily turned into the reason to team up. How?

Add some locations that are impossible to reach on your own, though yeld better loot (quantity\quality). here are some types:

• Open sesame. Elevated areas, fenced off areas, ledges, debris which you can only climb only when lifted by someone else. Also, entrances that have to be kept open by someone else (who thus have to stay outside or vise-versa) - heavy hatches, gates, bent metal sections. This might lead to some interesting scenarios.
  
• Strengh in unity. Obstacles that can be surpassed with set amount of people. For example seesaw-like contraption that requires some weight to get to some elegated ground, or really huge hangar door, or car that has to be flipped.
  
• For whom the bell tolls. Can be an addition for previous two. An obstacle that will certainly alert other players and zombies in the area and make them converge on the source. So while one is scavenging, the other will have to cover him. Examples are: creeky doors or car trunks, tripflares at military camps. Security alarms in shops and offices and on certain cars, crows that swoosh in the air if alerted.
  

The skill system won't come very soon I guess, so we need something to make people team up.

This will make the world more interactive and bolster teamplay. "Go, I'll hold them off!" drama ensues.

I'm looking forward to your own types and ideas in regards of such locations or mechanics.

Relay it to Reddit and twitter if you like. I demand no credit if it reaches the dev team and finds it's place in the SA.

[Josh225 129]

I think with the new looting mechanics and hopefully harder zombies combined with disease in standalone should be more than enough to balance out the whole death match going on. As for needing another person to help you into an area it seems like it will just become a matter of: Player 1 needs Player 2 to help him past X obstacle. Player 1 and Player 2 help each other through obstacle to better loot. Player 1 shoots Player 2. Although I think it's a good idea that we could expand on.

[asdzx9@gmail.com 12]

Its a nice idea, yet i think the solution for the deathmatching lies within the zombies. If you make them impossible/real dificult to fight unless you have your back watched it would ok. But this could be a good feature to encourage teamwork nontheless.

[WiFiN 55]

Well, you both are right - we have a lot of DM due to zombies not being a threat. Though as I said, it will be your choice to team up for better\more loot and risk getting shot, or loot cars and sheds, sifting through trash and canned beans on your own. The variety and ability to choose is always good.

And I think that "well, just make the zombies good" is a bit shallow. At the moment the map is just some geometry with loot, cars and zombies scattered around. The places described in the OP will make the world more interactive, while making players to team up for some cause.

Edited April 13, 2013 by WiFiN

[liquidmind 320]

I think the main problem with teamwork-related features is, that having one or two friends, will take away all the need for teamwork with strangers.

If you are a 3-man-team, being able to run wherever you want, do whatever you want, will not stop you from Killing on Sight.

What I got from the Plans for leveling, it should be very difficult for a team of 3 to have all the skills required to survive. One might specialize as a medic, one as a builder and one as a mechanic, but at one point you might need to rely on the help of others to accomplish something.

But I agree that the new spawn-mechanics themselves will change a lot about gameplay. Having them all spawn on server-start, will quickly deplete the most obvious looting-spots, driving players into more distant regions. Not having a few spots that everyone loots over and over again, will vastly reduce player-encounters and therefor player kills.

Currently, camping in cherno, elektro, stary or at nwaf will definitely get you some kills within the next hours. once people spread more, camping in one spot will be less efficient and people will get bored of it faster than they do now.

[WiFiN 55]

Only beans? No more comments\ideas?