Things that will Make or Break Standalone (Opinions)

[OfficerRaymond 2064]

Before we go ANY further, I'd like to point out that I'm NOT talking about the Alpha, I'm talking months after release into the beta and/or full release. Now that that's out of the way, I'd like to use this thread as a discussion of what you personally think will make or break standalone as a game, mainly feature-wise. Feel free to post your own lists and give feedback or criticism on others lists (constructive).

 

Here's mine:

 

Make:

• (Semi-)Intelligent Zombie AI

Zombies aren't supposed to be 'smart' technically speaking, they're undead corpses. However, zombies in the mod are arguably worthless and agreeably annoying. I stopped being actually scared by zombies a week or two after I started playing the mod. What I think would make the standalone oh so much sweeter to play, would be a total revamp of how zombies work. Give them a hive mentality (if on zombie catches on to you, others do as well), give them more bodily endurance (lean more towards traditional zombie headshots to kill), and buff their damage so that people DON'T have the chance to survive an all out horde attacking them. For far too long have we dealt with pathetic zombies that seem to be in the mod merely to add the Z to DayZ. Yes, I know that zombies ARE being worked on in SA... obviously. Pathing, attacking, and functionality will all be different, but the way it is handled I think will either make or break the Standalone.

 

• Rag-doll Effects

Yes, rag-doll effects. IMHO it's a crucial element of us having an immersive experience. How many times do you see someone get shot in the head and just fall all silly like? Or the ever hilarious zombie deaths that look like bad acting in a Shakespearean play. This is a 2013/2014 game, rag-doll effects are crucial and the technology has been here for years now. Who could ever disagree with something like this?

 

• A serious Health/Crafting system

This is probably one of the most important things on the list. We HAVE to have something realistic. The mod doesn't do too bad when it comes to getting shot, damage is relative to area. But now that we have a separate engine aside from Arma II, I really hope it'll go much more in depth. Same going with food and drink. Hopefully the devs will make it more realistic. Who actually (and realistically) needs to drink and eat every half hour??? Make food and drink less common, and increase the time in-between when you need to perform such actions to survive. As for crafting... it's pretty self explanatory. Knives attached to guns with the option to use them as a melee weapon on zombies or players, flashlights on any gun, modifying vehicles, all of that. You know all those games that say that they have an amazing crafting system, and then you can't put anything on anything and it's impossible to figure out what to put on what? Don't let this be one of those... let it be simple and easy, but at the same time unforgiving with downsides.

 

• Character Value/Degradation

This is a tough one. How to add value to a character without adding an elaborate (and unwanted) skill system. This one is gonna be totally up to the devs as to what is done. Item and clothing degradation will hopefully be done with some leeway towards the user. Whatever is done, we really need to see more focus on the character themselves instead of what they're holding or wearing.

 

Break:

• Dealing with the same bugs as in the mod

This is what the Alpha is for, grinding and polishing. Not a whole lot to be said in this case other than hopefully all the kinks will be SWIFTLY handled.

• Heavy Focus on PvP

The most obvious one on here. It's the thing that destroyed the original feeling of the mod, and it's what will destroy the atmosphere of the Standalone if something isn't done to quell it. DayZ wasn't meant to be solely player on player, it was meant for people to have interactions and survive their environment (by also killing each other, but not for sport).

 

• Lack of post-apocalyptic feel

Roads should be cracked, buildings should have moss on them, rooms and walls having blood and trash strewn across them. It just won't feel like being in an apocalypse if it doesn't look like it's one. Nobody is there to maintain anything after all.

 

• A Bad Base Building System

Tents.... God awful tents... Nobody ever should have to use a tent to store anything ever again...

 

 

 

That's all from me for now. Feel free to share your lists or criticisms. I know many of these things have already been addressed and even confirmed, but this is not a "will it be there?" list, this is just a discussion of what you hope will be in the game, and what would make you want or not want to play it.

[dayz standalone 33]

I couldn't help myself from clicking your half life 4 link, even though I knew it could never be so.

[NagsterTheGangster 388]

I think the game will still takeoff even if PvP continues as is, but it would be awesome to see something else done with it.

[OfficerRaymond 2064]

I think the game will still takeoff even if PvP continues as is, but it would be awesome to see something else done with it.

Well of course. I'm not discussing immediate death of the game here, just the long run. It'll be either a game like WoW where people enjoy it for years, or a game like CoD where everyone moves on after a year or two of the same thing. The fact that the mod has lasted this long is amazing, and its fate is rested on the shoulder of the currently amazing forum community we have, and people that adhere to what DayZ was originally meant to be.

 

I do agree with you on the fact that the game will no doubt be big. But where it goes from release is up to both the content the dev team puts forth, and the decisions the community decides to make.

Edited October 6, 2013 by OfficerRaymond

[Death_Dealer 3155]

they're undead corpses.

 

false

false

false

false

false

false

FALSE

 

 

Anyway good write up :)

 

I hope they implement an epoch-style base building system 

[OfficerRaymond 2064]

false

false

false

false

false

false

FALSE

 

 

Anyway good write up :)

 

I hope they implement an epoch-style base building system 

Alright, fine, they're infected citizens operating off of the basic primal instinct to attack.

 

You don't know if their body is still functioning, they technically could be re-animated dead people. We don't have a backstory. :P Whatever they are, they need to be more dangerous and scary.

Edited October 6, 2013 by OfficerRaymond

[Death_Dealer 3155]

Alright, fine, they're infected citizens operating off of the basic primal instinct to attack.

 

You don't know if their body is still functioning, they technically could be re-animated dead people. We don't have a backstory. :P Whatever they are, they need to be more dangerous and scary.

 

They are living people infected with a virus or something, hence why rocket has his brother or cousin (can't remember), who is a virologist, helping him with the mod and backstory 

[SFRGaming 718]

MAKE:

 

Any form of basebuilding, underground, above ground, modular, i dont care. Trying to find a nice set of trees to make an ATTEMPT to hide my stuff for atleast 1 hour before some lucky bastard flies over in a heli and sees it is getting VERY old.

 

New reload animations for EACH INDIVIDUAL GUN!

 

Comepletely redone sounds, weapon models, and vehicles.

 

Redone stealth system that uses the actual Zed's eyes and the direction it's facing. (kinda like skyrim but not as overpowered :p)

 

More STABLE (notice I said STABLE) offroad vehicles such as a UTV, buggy, sandrail, etc..

 

BREAK:

 

Vehicles similar to what is currently in the mod. (The vehicles we have now are unrealistic and the guy who designed them needs to be punished >:(  )

 

Same sounds and/or models from ARMA II

 

Donator Perks

 

Death Messages (ex. "[1337] LeGiTfOx has been killed by Bob at 259.83m"

 

The same old m16/m4 reload animation *cringe*

 

Pristine vehicles that dont belong (ex. the SUV)

 

The action bar being like WarZ (I have only seen it in the videos Dean has put out. I kinda like the idea but if it is anything like what WarZ has (yes I did play WarZ to get a review on it) then SA is a no-go for me)

 

 

 

These are my opinions :p

[wild_man 4442]

I like post and agree 90% what you saying :beans:

 

but please remember is online multiplayer game and pvP is maximum important for success for this game ;)

 

pvP is for me #1 priority, game need more way for kill, torture and catch player like prisoner :D

 

is fear of other player make dayz game that we love, ignore pvP and dayz become carebear heaven/gamer hell :o

[PeNguiN (DayZ) 10]

All very good points. 

I like how this is looking in the long run and not alpha. I just want them to get their server structure to where they need it (network bubble, Ai system, etc.) so that they can start working on what really draws people in, features.

I will try to say things you did not since I agree 100% with you, but I may repeat a little. 

Base building isn't really my forte, but it will be key to the game in the long run. Epoch isn't amazing but it provides some sort of end game and purpose to the game. Dayz stand alone will need to have some sort of purpose other than running around killing people. 

Performance will be key in the long run as well. If the game does not get heavy, and I mean HEAVY optimization to where people with decent pc's cannot get 45 fps on low, then no one is going to want to play. I have an ssd, 6870, and 965 BE which is not amazing but definitely up to par, (can run BF3 on high and get 60 fps), yet I get around 20-30 fps playing dayz after doing all optimizations. This is not playable no matter what anyone says. Choppy performance ruins a game. 

 

The loot system really needs a massive overhaul as well. Running into a city and finding nothing is really a I don't want to be playing this game moment. Who wants to play a game if there is no way for them to get gear because it was already looted or didn't spawn. There needs to be more reliable loot because every 20 minutes I spend finding trash loot is 20 minutes I could have spent doing something else. Some would say this is the DayZ experience, but no, no one has fun doing that.

I could probably go on and on but I'm just not thinking too hard so I'll leave it at these, you really touched on the most important things. Basically, if the game is smooth and the animations are responsive, the game will do better. The slowness of Arma 2 was not meant for this style of play. 

Edit: Ah yes, can't forget hackers. If hackers become a problem, the game will die. As long as they can keep them to a minimum, and give some sort of server banning to admins, then the game shouldn't suffer. 
 

Edited October 7, 2013 by PeNguiN

[OfficerRaymond 2064]

I like post and agree 90% what you saying :beans:

 

but please remember is online multiplayer game and pvP is maximum important for success for this game ;)

 

pvP is for me #1 priority, game need more way for kill, torture and catch player like prisoner :D

 

is fear of other player make dayz game that we love, ignore pvP and dayz become carebear heaven/gamer hell :o

I disagree. PvP doesn't need to be such a huge focus in the Standalone. 99% of people have a "lets kill everything" mentality and don't care about survival, that is why the mod is in the state it's in. We need to move from this mentality to a survival one. I don't like forcing play-styles on people, and try to avoid it... However, I WILL force what DayZ was originally meant to be on people, and that is a zombie survival game. We aren't going to go any farther than just a game that is looked at as an attempt at a standalone survival simulator that is laughed at as a joke on forums everywhere if we continue down this massive PvP lined road. Whether people like to admit it or not )probably gonna get shit for this) but that is where the mod is at right now. It's basically Wasteland with aggressive melee NPCs is what it is. If Standalone doesn't change that, it'll turn into the same thing as the mod, an inside joke.

 

Edit: Ah yes, can't forget hackers. If hackers become a problem, the game will die. As long as they can keep them to a minimum, and give some sort of server banning to admins, then the game shouldn't suffer.

I agree with your points too.

 

Hackers will always be present in gaming, particularly PC gaming where it's so easy to access debugs and commands. What will be crucial is a good anti-hack program and devs making the game hard to modify.

[Remnant John 11]

Make:

proper base system - underground bases (even if small) would be absolutely wonderful

 

better fucking cars - i know they already mentioned totally redoing the cars, but they better be good

 

more guns! - i want to sit here and figure out if i want to grab a cz50 pistol or a cz100 pistol, i want to really get in depth with my gun choices.

 

Break:

bad fps issues

 

overpopulated servers

[Mullraugh 1151]

Make

 

Survival

 

Break

 

Run-and-gun

[-Gews- 7443]

Break:

 

-devblog muzzle flash

-poor performance

-feeling of "same old, same old"

-buggy zombies

 

 

Make:

 

-opposite of "Break"

[Rkelt 46]

I agree with you in all topics

 

I like post and agree 90% what you saying :beans:

 

but please remember is online multiplayer game and pvP is maximum important for success for this game ;)

 

pvP is for me #1 priority, game need more way for kill, torture and catch player like prisoner :D

 

is fear of other player make dayz game that we love, ignore pvP and dayz become carebear heaven/gamer hell :o

PVP is a good thing but that shoudnt be the endgame in Standalone. Banditry is ok, but if we are all bandits then the game will go on the pvp road,and KOS and the lack of trust,etc

[me@kevinkraft.net 10]

I would hate for the game to have missions and "story line". Well, it might work, but I'd rather not and the game be focused on survival.

 

If done right, I think it could be the next WoW. Zombies are popular enough. MMORPS (or whatever they are called) are popular too.

 

I am excited about the SA.

 

Warz wasn't horrible, other than I got banned for no reason. I did get a refund though :)

[rossums 2190]

Make:

• Less emphasis on letting the morons run around shooting everyone and more emphasis on teamwork to 'advance'.
• More emphasis on the 'low-end' with melee weapons and lesser guns such as shotguns and hunting rifles.
• Emphasis on 'crafting' for early advancement rather than 'loot x' constantly.
• More emphasis on survival aspects (disease/temperature)
• Benefit to having a longer last character, some form of 'progression' but nothing artificial or character facing numbercrunching.

Break:

• Donator perks
• Safe zones
• Common weapons and ammunition
• Bad zombie pathing
• Kill messages
• Pandering to the noobs that want it easy.

If DayZ wants to get anywhere it just can't continue to be a bad sandbox shooter.

There MUST be more emphasis on survival or all it will do is attract the PvP idiots at launch who will then move on to the next 'big' thing and leave a terrible game for the rest of us.

[dgeesio 1034]

break-  not interested in buying dayz SA if at any point live server tools are/will become available so admins can see where you are on map or spawn gear in.

 

so it would be great for devs to comment on this before release. if they are in at any point no buy for me. its worse than cheats. i love playing the game but the admins that abuse the tools are as bad as hackers and basically can do what they want.

 

modding/private hives. no to this. Dayz standalone " standalone " says it all . dev stuff yes. anyone else apart from maps that are tested then no.

[beavis_5000 111]

Gameplay wise I believe zombies are going to be key in what can make this game and how much the game has to do with surviving in a Zombie apocolypse.

 

Right now the only part zombies really play is giving away someones position.

 

I think no matter where someone is if they fire a shot they should get swarmed hard, that would do a great deal it cutting down KoS in itself.

 

They need to make this a serious zombies game.

[OfficerRaymond 2064]

• Good Animations

This was a serious issue when we saw the E3 presentation. Over the last few devblogs it has been discussed and looks much better. Your avatars movements should be fluent and realistic. No jittery movements or getting stuck in animations like in Arma II. Vaulting, crawling, crouching, and everything else needs to be fluent. We also need more animations... I don't know if I'd go this far, but if a sniper is looking at me, I wanna be able to flip him the bird before I run away.

 

• Crosshairs

In my opinion crosshairs SUCK. Not that they aren't useable, it's that they're TOO useable. So far we've seen placeholder cross-hairs in devblogs that are different from Armas OP green lines. They shouldn't be in-game at all. I personally don't even ADS anymore, I just find it much easier to use crosshairs unless I'm using a sniper rifle. Force players to use iron sights to shoot at things and only fire 'from the hip' in emergency situations.

[mercules 1290]

 But now that we have a separate engine aside from Arma II, I really hope it'll go much more in depth. Same going with food and drink. Hopefully the devs will make it more realistic. Who actually (and realistically) needs to drink and eat every half hour??? 

 

 

Ask any marathoner how often they need fluids and how many calories they need while running. ;) If you sit in one place without moving you don't really need to eat or drink much at all but most of us while paying are running the equivalent of 1-2 marathons per gaming session. I remember casually commenting to a friend the other night, "I am only 3 klicks away from you now." That is a short marathon and I had been running for a while. I only used 2 drinks and 1 food on that run too. ;)

[Kerbo 198]

Break:

Having to hunt for the magic place to open a gate/door

[methr1k2dop3 323]

I love the aggressive pvp.

It makes the world a more dangerous place.

[King of kong 1117]

BREAK:

Head Shot Z's: NO. These are Infected Humans who've gone insane, not the living dead. I'm all for speedy and tough zombies, but headshot Z's? No. Perhaps make them optional whe you make a server.
 

Edited October 8, 2013 by King of kong

[Siberian (DayZ) 527]

I like post and agree 90% what you saying :beans:

 

but please remember is online multiplayer game and pvP is maximum important for success for this game ;)

 

pvP is for me #1 priority, game need more way for kill, torture and catch player like prisoner :D

 

is fear of other player make dayz game that we love, ignore pvP and dayz become carebear heaven/gamer hell :o

curious why dont you just play Wasteland ???

 

its EXACTLY what you want..

 

Dayz isnt "PVP is maximum importance for success"...