What we'd like in Dayz.

[Lukey2k 13]

Let me start with this, this thread is in no way meant to slander the Dayz team in anyway, nor complain about the current state of the game. As I know, it's in Alpha, many people are complaining already and Rocket did say, don't by the game if you are expecting a finished product. It's Alpha for a reason.

Basically, I think a list is in order from the community of Dayz. A list of what we'd like to see be in the game.

I'll add any good ideas/points from other posts, and maybe we can influence the team to implement these ideas.

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Grouping system/friendly tagging system - Basically this is a must in my eyes, for the friends you make in-game and ones you already play with using TS3/Skype etc, it would be nice to have some type of grouping system/tagging system where you can see a name tag of some sort or something along these lines, just to make it more 'group friendly'.

Addition after some points, understandable some people wouldnt like this - Even being able to put an icon on a players back/arms would suffice. So you can easily recognise people, so think of a cape with a clan emblem, and how it works is whatever the player has on his/her most outer layer, the emblem shows.

Zombie Hoards - Personally, I believe a zombie game should have a level of difficulty, so being able to run around and losing zombies inside buildings shouldn't be possible. You should be scared, and trying to be a sneaky as possible. For instance, you should turn a corner in Cherno, and meet around 50 zombies just doing what they do, think of 'The Walking Dead' series for example, rather than several zombies dotted about, have hoards of them. I understand this could be harsh on servers and FPS, but I'm sure someway it's possible!

Distractions - This is referring to my last point, if there are such hoards, you should be able to craft/trigger distractions. Such as car alarms, smashing windows, or other craftable items you can remotely/manually trigger like radios or trip flares perhaps.

Crafting UI - As far as I understand the team is already on this idea, from listening to dev speaks, just putting it here in case. I see a lot of misc items in game at the moment; Tape, ropes, wire etc. It would be good to have some sort of crafting UI so we know what is possible to make.

Absolute weapon/vehicle customisation - Referring to my last point once again, I think it would be great if you could for example - Get a baseball bat, a hammer, and some nails and hit the nails into the bat, making a more power-full melee weapon. This shouldn't just stop there though. You could do it with standard weapons as-well, If you could attack a blade to the underneath of your rifle and then be able to use it as a melee weapon as-well as a firearm. I understand we have bayonets in game, but it would be great to be able to add your own preference to your weapon. Same applies for vehicles, you should be able to attach metal sheets to them, spikes, mount guns. Obviously this shouldn't be easy to do, because it would be chaos but something along these lines would be nice.

Tree/grass - Okay, this is a big one for me and I think it's fairly game-breaking. Basically, you see the foliage around your player, but at a distance it's not there. That shouldn't be the case, because if someones laying down in that 'grass' at a distance they're laying on an empty field. So, they may believe they're in cover of some sort when they're actually not. To have that the other way around would add a huge aspect to PvP.

Street lamps/building lights - Ive not noticed any street lights, and if they're about I do apologise. But if I'm correct and they don't exist, I think they should. Not a lot, a few dotted about  just to add a bit more immersion. You should also be able to turn on building lights, or certain buildings, by using the obvious light switch. This would give away your location, but that's up-to you to decide if you flick the switch or not. (maybe this could also attract zombie hoards?) Again, fair point made about this, no power stations on = no electricty. - However, lights flickering on/off rapidly/randomly would add some good gaming emersion, obviously flickering from the last drags of power running through the lines!
 
That's all I can really think of for now, I understand some people wont agree with my ideas and that's fine. Everyone has their own opinion. So any feedback would be good, as it's not for me more-so the Dev team of Dayz. Let's keep this thread clean and not a Flame thread.

Cheers, Lukey.

Edited December 17, 2013 by Lukey2k

[Lukey2k 13]

Herp derp, guess people would prefer to make threads complaining about the alpha being 'rubbish' when its in alpha rather than giving helpful feedback :[

[psychopigeon 32]

More social features, like you suggest about grouping. the kill on sight thing primarily comes about due to lack of communication and sense of community. I have no idea who's on my server, what they're like, so if anyone comes near me, they die.

 

I thought I remebered reading about player hubs being implemented at some point

Edited December 17, 2013 by haarp

[Beck (DayZ) 1768]

I think lighting needs to be removed completely... where the hell it's everyone getting power from? The issue with the trees and grass is a client side graphic thing

[mercules 1290]

These are all things that have been asked over the last few streaming sessions and Dean has stated he would like to eventually get all of those in, but probably not right away during the Alpha. 

As for lighting it is there. I've seen several streetlights. Oh and Beck... It's not years after the outbreak... more like weeks and months. There will still be some power around.

[Target Practice (DayZ) 1335]

Meant to get to this thread earlier, but got distracted.

 

Grouping system/friendly tagging system - Basically this is a must in my eyes, for the friends you make in-game and ones you already play with using TS3/Skype etc, it would be nice to have some type of grouping system/tagging system where you can see a name tag of some sort or something along these lines, just to make it more 'group friendly'.

 

Do not like. I'm not one for the 'realism' argument - DayZ is a game designed to entertain, after all, but for me this is one of the very few cases where I'd like to see that element of realism retained. You know how you avoid confusion/friendly fire incidents amongst friends? Communication and awareness of your surroundings. If you can't manage to remember what the guy you're playing with is wearing or to communicate with them to ask 'is that you?', then god help any team you play with. I'm not anywhere close to being a hardcore gamer, but even I've got down the very basics of knowing who I'm playing with, where they're going and what's around us.

Adding this sort of thing is a shortcut for laziness in my opinion, and kind of defeats the point of a hardcore survival game. Surely figuring out a way of quickly identifying who your friends and who your enemies are is a major part of survival?

 

 

Street lamps/building lights - Ive not noticed any street lights, and if they're about I do apologise. But if I'm correct and they don't exist, I think they should. Not a lot, a few dotted about  just to add a bit more immersion. You should also be able to turn on building lights, or certain buildings, by using the obvious light switch. This would give away your location, but that's up-to you to decide if you flick the switch or not. (maybe this could also attract zombie hoards?)

 

As far as I can remember, there's no power on Chernarus. I think Rocket looked into this with regards to what would happen in a 'real-life' situation, and apparently once a power station completely shuts down, you aren't starting it up again any time soon without some serious hardware and technical know-how. If I recall correctly, I think DayZ is set a few years after patient zero, so power would very likely be out.

 

Sadly I can't find sources for any of that, so I'm aware that I could well be talking out of my ass. However, I'm not overly keen on having streetlights etc - I'd rather have no electricity and have to navigate by portable light sources.

[Lukey2k 13]

I think lighting needs to be removed completely... where the hell it's everyone getting power from? The issue with the trees and grass is a client side graphic thing

These are all things that have been asked over the last few streaming sessions and Dean has stated he would like to eventually get all of those in, but probably not right away during the Alpha. 

As for lighting it is there. I've seen several streetlights. Oh and Beck... It's not years after the outbreak... more like weeks and months. There will still be some power around.

 

That's what I thought initially Beck, no one to run the power stations = No power. Simples. But couldn't small towns have their own power soruce, so rather than my initial statement of lights being on, flickering off and on to add more beauty to the game? I guess that would be more fitting aswell.

 

 

Meant to get to this thread earlier, but got distracted.

 

 

Do not like. I'm not one for the 'realism' argument - DayZ is a game designed to entertain, after all, but for me this is one of the very few cases where I'd like to see that element of realism retained. You know how you avoid confusion/friendly fire incidents amongst friends? Communication and awareness of your surroundings. If you can't manage to remember what the guy you're playing with is wearing or to communicate with them to ask 'is that you?', then god help any team you play with. I'm not anywhere close to being a hardcore gamer, but even I've got down the very basics of knowing who I'm playing with, where they're going and what's around us.

Adding this sort of thing is a shortcut for laziness in my opinion, and kind of defeats the point of a hardcore survival game. Surely figuring out a way of quickly identifying who your friends and who your enemies are is a major part of survival?

 

 

 

As far as I can remember, there's no power on Chernarus. I think Rocket looked into this with regards to what would happen in a 'real-life' situation, and apparently once a power station completely shuts down, you aren't starting it up again any time soon without some serious hardware and technical know-how. If I recall correctly, I think DayZ is set a few years after patient zero, so power would very likely be out.

 

Sadly I can't find sources for any of that, so I'm aware that I could well be talking out of my ass. However, I'm not overly keen on having streetlights etc - I'd rather have no electricity and have to navigate by portable light sources.

 

Well, the thing is. You're talking about realism. Let's look at it like this, if you were in a zombie appoclypse irl, you would easily be able to tell who your friends are, or members of a 'group'. By face recognition, right? However that's not possible in a game, so a grouping system is basically that but transfered into a game. Make sense?

 

In a game such as this where it can be quite hard to distinguish a player from another, and it is really not a viable tactic to keep saying on skype ''Is that you mate?''. Because lets face it, for one its annoying and by the time they say ''no'', youre dead.

 

That's why a tagging system/grouping system is certainly needed, it's just not viable to keep asking if thats someone or it isnt. Would you do that in a realistic scenario? Nope!

Even being able to put an icon on a players back/arms would suffice. So you can easily recognise people, so think of a cape with a clan emblem, and how it works is whatever the player has on his/her most outer layer, the emblem shows. I guess that would be better for people like yourself that wouldnt like a grouping system in game, because im aware you most likely not alone on that one bud.

 

----

 

Made some changes to original thread regarding your input peeps.

Edited December 17, 2013 by Lukey2k

[Target Practice (DayZ) 1335]

Well, the thing is. You're talking about realism. Let's look at it like this, if you were in a zombie appoclypse irl, you would easily be able to tell who your friends are, or members of a 'group'. By face recognition, right? However that's not possible in a game, so a grouping system is basically that but transfered into a game. Make sense?

 

In a game such as this where it can be quite hard to distinguish a player from another, and it is really not a viable tactic to keep saying on skype ''Is that you mate?''. Because lets face it, for one its annoying and by the time they say ''no'', youre dead.

 

That's why a tagging system/grouping system is certainly needed, it's just not viable to keep asking if thats someone or it isnt. Would you do that in a realistic scenario? Nope!

Even being able to put an icon on a players back/arms would suffice. So you can easily recognise people, so think of a cape with a clan emblem, and how it works is whatever the player has on his/her most outer layer, the emblem shows. I guess that would be better for people like yourself that wouldnt like a grouping system in game, because im aware you most likely not alone on that one bud.

 

The thing is, there's already a way of doing what you suggested IN the Standalone. Everyone's wearing different stuff, right? So if you want to be able to identify someone at a glance, make sure you know what they're wearing. If you're rolling in a group, ensure that everyone spawns wearing a red T-shirt or something. Sure, there's a small chance that you might come across someone else wearing a red T-shirt, but that's when communication plays a part.

It's absolutely a viable tactic to ask 'is that you?' every time you're not sure. It takes all of a second to say the words 'that you in the orange raincoat with the fire axe?' and then for them to respond 'yep' or 'no' as appropriate. It's not like you're transmitting the question in morse code or anything. How many players are you encountering if you're repeating it that many times that something that simple is becoming a chore?

 

As I said in my initial post, I just think it's a shortcut for the lazy and unwilling to improvise and communicate effectively. I don't buy 'facial recognition' as justification, as in 'real life' (as said before, not a fan of the real life argument, as it's a game, but hey-ho), you might not be able to see their face for whatever reason, or even a case of mistaken identity - we've all had that moment where we've waved at someone then realised with horror that it wasn't actually them...

[ken@thekab.com 37]

I actually like zombies moving slow in buildings.  It results in players taking cover in them to kill zombies and conserve ammunition.  If you remove it then you're better off running and strafing in an open field which is silly.

 

The bigger problem right now is there aren't enough zombies which makes it trivial to lose them, especially in a building.

[Lukey2k 13]

The thing is, in SA there are so many different skins/items now you're going to be constantly changing your apperance, so youll have to keep telling eachother you've got this on and that on, and if you're like me and play with a few friends at a time, it's really annoying. Espcially the ''is that you''. You should easily be able to tell in a game if thats a friend or foe, not having to depend on skype to ask. What if you don't have mics and playing with friends? = Sorry, you cant group? I respect your opinion, but I still stand strong behind the fact that a grouping/tagging system is certainly required for ease of gaming, it's not such an 'easy route out'.

[mercules 1290]

I actually like zombies moving slow in buildings.  It results in players taking cover in them to kill zombies and conserve ammunition.  If you remove it then you're better off running and strafing in an open field which is silly.

 

The bigger problem right now is there aren't enough zombies which makes it trivial to lose them, especially in a building.

 

ALPHA.

 

 

Important bugs and issues

 

Zombies

* Zombies clipping through floors/walls

* Zombies hitting through upper floors from the ground floor

* Low zombie numbers

* No zombie respawning

Zombies are a work in progress they are a very active area of development, we consider the current implementation a base level to commence further testing. Their AI was completely redeveloped, which means we need to come up with new (more efficient) methods of their interaction with the world, such as collision, as the ArmA way is not designed for thousands of AI to operate at once on this scale. This will be one of our most active areas of development.

[Target Practice (DayZ) 1335]

The thing is, in SA there are so many different skins/items now you're going to be constantly changing your apperance, so youll have to keep telling eachother you've got this on and that on, and if you're like me and play with a few friends at a time, it's really annoying. Espcially the ''is that you''. You should easily be able to tell in a game if thats a friend or foe, not having to depend on skype to ask. What if you don't have mics and playing with friends? = Sorry, you cant group? I respect your opinion, but I still stand strong behind the fact that a grouping/tagging system is certainly required for ease of gaming, it's not such an 'easy route out'.

 

But that's my point - there shouldn't be some kind of magic fix-it button for people who can't understand the finer dynamics of working in a group.

If you want to change what you're wearing every time you find a new pair of pants then there's nothing to stop you, but you should understand that doing that is going to have a knock-on effect that your teammates are going to have a hard time recognising you.

It's the same with communication - I tend to play in groups of 2-3, and we've never ever had an issue with mistaken identity in god-only-knows how many hours of DayZ, because we understand that communication is key. We're not some hardened group of hardcore gamers or ex-military types who take everything ultra-seriously - we're just three gamers who met on these forums and understand that if you're going to work together as a team, taking a second to keep your teammates informed on what's happening is a pretty key part of that. If we're looting a town, we'll tell each other when we're going into X building or when we're coming up behind someone. It's that simple.

 

What you seem to want is all the benefits of working as a team without any of the work that you have to put in. If you want those extra pairs of eyes, those extra weapons, you have to understand that there's a price for that, and that price is having to work to keep everyone on the same page.

 

I do understand what you're trying to get at, and in any other game I'd probably be agreeing with you, but in DayZ I think it's perfect the way it is. It's unforgiving but not unfair, and if you're willing to learn and improve your skillset, you'll reap the rewards.

[Lukey2k 13]

But that's my point - there shouldn't be some kind of magic fix-it button for people who can't understand the finer dynamics of working in a group.

If you want to change what you're wearing every time you find a new pair of pants then there's nothing to stop you, but you should understand that doing that is going to have a knock-on effect that your teammates are going to have a hard time recognising you.

It's the same with communication - I tend to play in groups of 2-3, and we've never ever had an issue with mistaken identity in god-only-knows how many hours of DayZ, because we understand that communication is key. We're not some hardened group of hardcore gamers or ex-military types who take everything ultra-seriously - we're just three gamers who met on these forums and understand that if you're going to work together as a team, taking a second to keep your teammates informed on what's happening is a pretty key part of that. If we're looting a town, we'll tell each other when we're going into X building or when we're coming up behind someone. It's that simple.

 

What you seem to want is all the benefits of working as a team without any of the work that you have to put in. If you want those extra pairs of eyes, those extra weapons, you have to understand that there's a price for that, and that price is having to work to keep everyone on the same page.

 

I do understand what you're trying to get at, and in any other game I'd probably be agreeing with you, but in DayZ I think it's perfect the way it is. It's unforgiving but not unfair, and if you're willing to learn and improve your skillset, you'll reap the rewards.

 

It's hardly about understanding it, it's just unnecessary bother.

[vashthestampede 3]

I think lighting needs to be removed completely... where the hell it's everyone getting power from? The issue with the trees and grass is a client side graphic thing

Well, realistically, some people use solar power to subsidize their overall energy costs... So, this would result in a minor amount of power being ran to [batteries/directly to the light source] operate such things. But I understand.

[psychopigeon 32]

The thing is, there's already a way of doing what you suggested IN the Standalone. Everyone's wearing different stuff, right? So if you want to be able to identify someone at a glance, make sure you know what they're wearing. If you're rolling in a group, ensure that everyone spawns wearing a red T-shirt or something. Sure, there's a small chance that you might come across someone else wearing a red T-shirt, but that's when communication plays a part.

It's absolutely a viable tactic to ask 'is that you?' every time you're not sure. It takes all of a second to say the words 'that you in the orange raincoat with the fire axe?' and then for them to respond 'yep' or 'no' as appropriate. It's not like you're transmitting the question in morse code or anything. How many players are you encountering if you're repeating it that many times that something that simple is becoming a chore?

 

As I said in my initial post, I just think it's a shortcut for the lazy and unwilling to improvise and communicate effectively. I don't buy 'facial recognition' as justification, as in 'real life' (as said before, not a fan of the real life argument, as it's a game, but hey-ho), you might not be able to see their face for whatever reason, or even a case of mistaken identity - we've all had that moment where we've waved at someone then realised with horror that it wasn't actually them...

 

There's like 3 colour variations for the same backback, don't act as if everyone is wearing unique clothes - they aren't - and in most cases especially with the clown mask they all look the same.

 

A global friends list would be AWESOME, I meet so many people in game never to see them again

[mercules 1290]

There's like 3 colour variations for the same backback, don't act as if everyone is wearing unique clothes - they aren't - and in most cases especially with the clown mask they all look the same.

 

A global friends list would be AWESOME, I meet so many people in game never to see them again

 Orange, Blue, Yellow, Green, Red, Purple.... 1+1+1+1+1+1= 3 right?

BTW, Rocket has said he would like to have a grouping system in place someday but it is low priority and he isnt' certain how he would like to implement it yet. At the same time it was stated that the difference in clothes and gear will make it a bit more apparent who your friendlies are and that has been my experience, even in the dark.

Edit: How could I forget Purple?

Edited December 17, 2013 by Mercules

[AP_Norris 1017]

I thought there were violet backpacks... or did you put that as purple?

[Target Practice (DayZ) 1335]

It's hardly about understanding it, it's just unnecessary bother.

 

But why is it unnecessary? Because you don't want to learn to do it? That doesn't make something unnecessary.

 

I get what you're saying, and maybe down the line your suggestion of some way of having a custom 'patch' or logo or some in-game, in-universe way of identifying someone could have a bit of mileage, but I'm absolutely against this suggestion of a magical floating nametag or marker that's just going to be used as a crutch by players who are unwilling and/or unable to work together properly in a group. If you're going to do that, why not just turn off friendly fire altogether and have a 'bandits' and a 'survivors' team? (Alright, bit of a strawman extreme example there, but you get what I'm saying).

 

 

 

There's like 3 colour variations for the same backback, don't act as if everyone is wearing unique clothes - they aren't - and in most cases especially with the clown mask they all look the same.

 

A global friends list would be AWESOME, I meet so many people in game never to see them again

 

Erm.... aside from the whole 'counting' thing Mercules pointed out, you realise that you can change clothes, masks, hats etc as well as backpacks, right? That's a lot of potential combinations right there.

Edited December 18, 2013 by Target Practice

[Lukey2k 13]

But why is it unnecessary? Because you don't want to learn to do it? That doesn't make something unnecessary.

 

I get what you're saying, and maybe down the line your suggestion of some way of having a custom 'patch' or logo or some in-game, in-universe way of identifying someone could have a bit of mileage, but I'm absolutely against this suggestion of a magical floating nametag or marker that's just going to be used as a crutch by players who are unwilling and/or unable to work together properly in a group. If you're going to do that, why not just turn off friendly fire altogether and have a 'bandits' and a 'survivors' team? (Alright, bit of a strawman extreme example there, but you get what I'm saying).

 

 

 

 

Erm.... aside from the whole 'counting' thing Mercules pointed out, you realise that you can change clothes, masks, hats etc as well as backpacks, right? That's a lot of potential combinations right there.

 

I don't think you have to 'learn' something like that, it's basic common sense. It's just stupid to keep telling eachother small things like that, and asking if it's you or whatever. Especially when you're in high populated areas with people running left and right. You should be able to know whos who straight away with name tags not being there, so you can KoS. Not wait around and miss the chance to kill them. What im getting at is the two seconds you wait to ask if that's them, could be the chance you get to kill them and not. Small time frames are all you get in PvP combat situations. It's not about the fact I simple cannot 'learn' to tell the difference.

 

Theres also 40 ~ 80 people per server. The best gear is DPM/camo/Multi pattern trousers/shirt/jacket with the same colour vest, if you wan't to run around like clowns and rainbows be my guest. But a grouping system would make more sense so you don't have to look like a my little pony hero 24/7 while playing a game, because that puts you at a disadvantage once again, ''oh look, theres a rainbow running through the forrrest'' combared to being in a ghillie suit for example.

[Target Practice (DayZ) 1335]

I don't think you have to 'learn' something like that, it's basic common sense.

 

And yet you want a shortcut so you don't have to do it. You've almost proved my point there. This is why I don't want this magical 'friendly' marker, because it will give an unfair advantage to people who don't know how to or simply don't want to put the effort in to work as a team

 

 

Especially when you're in high populated areas with people running left and right. You should be able to know whos who straight away with name tags not being there, so you can KoS. Not wait around and miss the chance to kill them. What im getting at is the two seconds you wait to ask if that's them, could be the chance you get to kill them and not. Small time frames are all you get in PvP combat situations. It's not about the fact I simple cannot 'learn' to tell the difference.

 

Ah. And now it makes sense. You want nametags so you can waste every person you see who doesn't have a nametag. You don't want to have to think about what you're doing, because that would get in the way of all that left-clicking, right?

I don't like to criticise those who have the KoS playstyle, as I 1) see it as a necessary evil in moderation and that it keeps interactions between players interesting and uncertain and 2) there are some folks who do it in an interesting and entertaining way. However, the one thing I hate is when unimaginative players (both KoS and otherwise) start making suggestions to make up for the fact that they're not interested in using their brains and actually thinking of solutions to their problems rather than having it handed to them. If you want to play a deathmatch where you scavenge weapons and your teammates are marked for you, go check out the Wasteland mod for ARMA 2. That's not the idea behind DayZ, and whilst the KoS playstyle has its niche, the absolute last thing DayZ needs is a way of making it easier for players to kill other players without having to think about the consequences.

 

That's me done. I enjoyed the debate, and I appreciate your point of view as well as the fact we both managed to disagree strongly without getting personal. Best of luck to you out there.

Edited December 18, 2013 by Target Practice

[Lukey2k 13]

And yet you want a shortcut so you don't have to do it. You've almost proved my point there. This is why I don't want this magical 'friendly' marker, because it will give an unfair advantage to people who don't know how to or simply don't want to put the effort in to work as a team

 

 

 

Ah. And now it makes sense. You want nametags so you can waste every person you see who doesn't have a nametag. You don't want to have to think about what you're doing, because that would get in the way of all that left-clicking, right?

I don't like to criticise those who have the KoS playstyle, as I 1) see it as a necessary evil in moderation and that it keeps interactions between players interesting and uncertain and 2) there are some folks who do it in an interesting and entertaining way. However, the one thing I hate is when unimaginative players (both KoS and otherwise) start making suggestions to make up for the fact that they're not interested in using their brains and actually thinking of solutions to their problems rather than having it handed to them. If you want to play a deathmatch where you scavenge weapons and your teammates are marked for you, go check out the Wasteland mod for ARMA 2. That's not the idea behind DayZ, and whilst the KoS playstyle has its niche, the absolute last thing DayZ needs is a way of making it easier for players to kill other players without having to think about the consequences.

 

That's me done. I enjoyed the debate, and I appreciate your point of view as well as the fact we both managed to disagree strongly without getting personal. Best of luck to you out there.

 

I do understand that it would make the game 'easier' in that aspect of play. It would just be nice, but I completely understand where youre coming from. Adding a grouping system would kill some of the immersion you get from playing the game as it currently is, but at the same time I dont think it would ruin that. It would also work better with playing with people you dont know, and meet in game. Group up, and then have a group VoIP. Rather than Direct, however that could go to people teaming up and being bandits. People play how they like to play, friendly, bandits. I don't care, its a game and everyone plays how they wish to play, I kill on sight all the time, I have no need to make friends on the game and I want their loot! I play to PvP, not kill zombies! :)

 

Like wise, was good to not get personal like it could have easily done, I do completely see  where youre coming from and it does make sense. But I still think a tagging/grouping system would be for the best, team playing wise.