Scavenger animals. Also some infection stuff.

[SalamanderAnder (DayZ) 1747]

So we know that in the standalone, rocket has mentioned animals like deer. (which I think is an excellent idea. Every time I hike through woods I see bunnies and pigs and such, but I'm like "man, what if I just ran into a big ol' buck right now. I got this Cz 50...")

 

Anyway with that being said I just want to put out a few more suggestions for wildlife that might be interesting to see, and maybe very interesting when it comes to gameplay.

 

- Vultures, ravens, and mice love to feed on dead things. Mice are also especially attracted to humans because of the food waste we leave behind when we congregate.

 

So in areas where lots of players are dying, these kinds of scavenger animals should randomly spawn. Areas like Cherno, for example, might be crawling with rats. Vultures should actually pick on corpses that are; 

 

a: outdoors, and

 

b: not being eaten currently by zeds.

 

Since the zombies exhibit this behavior at times I feel like similar a.i. could be applied here. Ravens and other birds are already in the game, so I feel like they should be relatively easy to implement. They would also congregate in these areas.

 

This would be quite beneficial for players. Imagine coming over a hill to see Elektro, with vultures circling, ravens congregating on power lines. It'd be a clear warning sign, not to mention kind of spooky. That's one thing I really love about DayZ, is being completely paranoid by those little environment traces of player activity. Like a gate that's open, or empty cans in a field, or the sound of flies where a body was hidden. Imagine walking into the supermarket, hearing the sound of flies, and... squeaking? You turn the corner to find rats eating a corpse, and as you approach they scatter.

 

Here's another interesting point - what if you could kill said rats, and vultures? Just like rabbits, they should be edible. Just think about how grim it would be, eating a disgustingly gamey vulture  or rat that had been eating another human being. But it might become necessary, if you can't find anything else.

 

This wildlife could also tie into another function which I think should be implemented, which is for birds to fly away from gunshots. This might actually give a defensive player a chance to spot where they are being shot from and defend themselves, plus it would just be wicked cool to be watching cherno from a distance and hear shots, to see ravens and vultures suddenly flock up into the air. 

 

Which brings me to my next point. I was playing once and quite successfully farming a few zeds for their beans. (I was desperate and overcoming a nasty infection so gimme a break)

 

Anyway. I have a habit of hiding all the corpses I kill. This is because I know they will remain there and I do not like to risk being tracked. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that interacting with those disgusting bodies is actually a very good way to give yourself an infection. I mean think about it. One wrong move - say, wiping sweat off your forehead while you handle a corpse - and you could pass a transmittable disease into your tear duct, or in your mouth, ect.

 

And it should have some risk, in the game. The risk should be varied, of course, according to the zombie type. The viral zeds should have a higher chance than others. This also brings up another interesting vector possibility - player corpses. What if hiding the body of an infected player corpse had a risk of passing the infection on to that player?

 

This ties into another suggestion I made, which was to add medical mask items, maybe even gloves, as tool-belt items. While wearing said item, your risk of catching an infection from these activities would be greatly reduced. 

Edited August 7, 2013 by SalamanderAnder

[RedTailedLizerd 12]

I strongly agree with this idea. It's coherent. Makes sense. And is perfectly fair and logical.

[Welch (DayZ) 756]

Med-mask/biohaz suits sound like a fantastic idea....

 

And I want a coonskin hat, so plz coons!?

[Statik (DayZ) 2695]

You're not going to find vultures in Chenarus, but your idea with the crows is cool.

 

Also, your player is immune to the virus strand that zombies are suffering from. The infection your player gets is not the "zombie virus", it's just a common infection/illness. This means that getting "zombieness" in your eyes, mouth, etc, wouldn't get you infected.

 

EDIT: After some research, I think there might be certain species of vultures in parts of Southern Europe, and maybe Russia. I still think vultures would be weird and out of place though.

 

Edited August 7, 2013 by Statik

[AP_Norris 1018]

Vultures? I this isn't west, it east.

[h3l1x 327]

Vultures? I this isn't west, it east.

 

Oh rly? Also, consuming said animals should have a high chance of infection (not the zombie one, a generic bacterial infection) since they feed mainly on corpses.

[AP_Norris 1018]

Med-mask/biohaz suits sound like a fantastic idea....

 

And I want a coonskin hat, so plz coons!?

I want bearskin hat!

[SalamanderAnder (DayZ) 1747]

You're not going to find vultures in Chenarus, but your idea with the crows is cool.

 

Also, your player is immune to the virus strand that zombies are suffering from. The infection your player gets is not the "zombie virus", it's just a common infection/illness. This means that getting "zombieness" in your eyes, mouth, etc, wouldn't get you infected.

 

EDIT: After some research, I think there might be certain species of vultures in parts of Southern Europe, and maybe Russia. I still think vultures would be weird and out of place though.

 

 

Are you for real? Vultures exist on almost every single continent in one evolutionary variation or another. They are a basic link in the food chain.

 

 

"Vultures seldom attack healthy animals, but may kill the wounded or sick. When a carcass has too thick a hide for its beak to open, it waits for a larger scavenger to eat first.[4] Vast numbers have been seen upon battlefields. They gorge themselves when prey is abundant, until their crop bulges, and sit, sleepy or half torpid, to digest their food. They do not carry food to their young in their claws, but disgorge it from the crop. These birds are of great value as scavengers, especially in hot regions. Vulture stomach acid is exceptionally corrosive, allowing them to safely digest putrid carcasses infected with Botulinum toxin, hog cholera, and anthrax bacteria that would be lethal to other scavengers."

 

 

Again, Statik. YOU CAN ALREADY GET INFECTIONS. I am NOT talking about the zombie virus. I'm talking about the BASIC infections you can contract from zeds which make your character cough. Drop your immunity crap. Those kinds of infections can get in your eyes, nose and mouth. Do you honestly think that the only way to catch a disease is to get it directly in your blood stream? All sorts of transmittable diseases, like the flu, for example, can be transferred by fluid contact with the mouth, eyes, or nose. Rotting zombie blood would be host to a number of infectious diseases as well as dangerous bacteria, all aside from the zombie virus. You would not want that shit anywhere near your moth. If you want to argue that point, why don't you go our and drink some straight dead animal blood? Probably not going to do it, are you? Because that would make you deadly ill.

Edited August 7, 2013 by SalamanderAnder

[Statik (DayZ) 2695]

Are you for real? Vultures exist on almost every single continent in one evolutionary variation or another. They are a basic link in the food chain.

"Vultures seldom attack healthy animals, but may kill the wounded or sick. When a carcass has too thick a hide for its beak to open, it waits for a larger scavenger to eat first.[4] Vast numbers have been seen upon battlefields. They gorge themselves when prey is abundant, until their crop bulges, and sit, sleepy or half torpid, to digest their food. They do not carry food to their young in their claws, but disgorge it from the crop. These birds are of great value as scavengers, especially in hot regions. Vulture stomach acid is exceptionally corrosive, allowing them to safely digest putrid carcasses infected with Botulinum toxin, hog cholera, and anthrax bacteria that would be lethal to other scavengers."

Again, Statik. YOU CAN ALREADY GET INFECTIONS. I am NOT talking about the zombie virus. I'm talking about the BASIC infections you can contract from zeds which make your character cough. Drop your immunity crap. Those kinds of infections can get in your eyes, nose and mouth. Do you honestly think that the only way to catch a disease is to get it directly in your blood stream? All sorts of transmittable diseases, like the flu, for example, can be transferred by fluid contact with the mouth, eyes, or nose. Rotting zombie blood would be host to a number of infectious diseases as well as dangerous bacteria, all aside from the zombie virus. You would not want that shit anywhere near your moth. If you want to argue that point, why don't you go our and drink some straight dead animal blood? Probably not going to do it, are you? Because that would make you deadly ill.

I don't see why you're so upset, I wasn't trying to offend you.

But are to really going to drink zombie blood? Your body can handle a single drop of blood. The infection you get from zombies is just an infection because you're getting scratched by dirty, bacteria filled nails.

The only way you're going to get an infections through your mouth, eyes, etc is you take in copious amounts, which would have to be intentional.

Edited August 7, 2013 by Statik

[SalamanderAnder (DayZ) 1747]

I don't see why you're so upset, I wasn't trying to offend you.

But are to really going to drink zombie blood? Your body can handle a single drop of blood. The infection you get from zombies is just an infection because you're getting scratched by dirty, bacteria filled nails.

The only way you're going to get an infections through your mouth, eyes, etc is you take in copious amounts, which would have to be intentional.

 

Not really... http://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/infectioncontrol/faq/bloodborne_exposures.htm

 

This is CDC information on infectious diseases for dental workers. I have friends who are hygienists and they all tell me the same things. Human blood and saliva can be extremely infectious, especially if it gets directly into your blood stream or into your mouth, for example. There's a reason infection control is so important in hospitals and dentists, where they use gloves and masks to handle patients...

 

Even the surface of zombie skin would probably be host to a number of dangerous bacteria and things life staph infection. It's only logical to assume that messing about with too many corpses could get you sick. I'm not offended, I'm just proving my point. If you say that there are nasty bacteria on the zombies, then touching them is an obvious way to increase the risk of giving that bacteria a vector into your body.

 

Anyway the post is mostly about the wildlife idea.

Edited August 8, 2013 by SalamanderAnder