Basebuilding/Fortification ideas

[Gunshow 7]

(Little disclaimer by me written post finishing the bulk of this) First off, I will apologise for this maybe coming across as unorganised or not flowing very well. I started to get carried away by the idea and took it in a few different potential directions, hopefully it is still coherent enough for people to see what I'm trying to get at. Also, I understand that this is very early Alpha stage and there are much more pressing matters which need attending to, i'm purely brainstorming ideas to you for discussion and/or criticism regarding far off future updates.

 

I know that Dean has spoke a lot about how SA would deal with basebuilding differently to the mod in that having the server have to handle enough dynamic objects in Chernarus that people could essentially fortify a building (or town, with enough manpower) would create far too much strain, hence his decision to work towards the more practical underground "instance" variation. I was wondering what everyones thoughts were on this, or if this decision has been set in stone in the mind of the DayZ devs because personally, while I can see the dilemma of having the server persistently keep track of survivor's moved objects, potentially causing lag or pop-in, the idea of an "underground" base seems very unimmersive to me and not very in keeping with the game's overall aesthetic. I would love the risk/reward payoff of going out to collect supplies (wood, sheet metal, nails, tyres, rope etc etc) and bringing them back to a either a building to barricade windows and doors if your numbers are few, or with a bigger group, a small town; making it your own in a Walking Dead Woodbury sense:

Obviously this would not be easy to create and would take a lot of time, but i'm just brainstorming. These walls wouldn't be impenetrable and would need someone to remain in the town to defend against potential threats whether it be zombies finding their way inside through a gap in the perimeter you've missed or has become damaged over time, or primarily, other survivors looking to take what you have, whether that be the haven you have created or the supplies you will have most likely gathered inside. I think that this could also add more reason for strangers to be willing to work with each other, although trust would be a big issue, because while I understand that some groups do recruit outside of DayZ and organise through metagaming means of Skype/Teamspeak, a large majority of people probably only actively game with maybe 4 other people they know, tops, meaning that to successfully expand they would need more manpower to achieve what they want, bringing me back to wanting to find people they can trust to help them achieve it. In terms of an endgame I think this could provide survivors with more to do and perhaps an overarching purpose in this post-apocalyptic world, as once they have established themselves enough food and water to live, they will want shelter and safety. I'd like to think that to more RP based players this would be something worth investing time in, as I love the idea of a group of survivors bumping into one another on a supply run to Zelenogorsk and deciding to work together for more than just "if I get killed, you kill who killed me and get my things". Perhaps eventually designating roles such as 'perimeter defence' or 'doctor' for example, although granted for the latter to work I think there would need to be more in the way of XP based upgradable skillsets, medicine perhaps learned maybe through reading books or through practice, giving people a reason they would think of someone as their specialist medic instead of just "the person who has the bloodbags". These skills would of course be reset upon death, rewarding players for the longer they have managed to survive.

Anyway, I digress...as an extension of this wall idea, again if you excuse the incessant referencing of the Walking Dead, the town Morgan created in "Clear" (S3E12) was filled with traps intended to keep the walkers out, this could also be introduced as a countermeasure ranging from simple traps outside of the perimeter such as spikes (Sticks+Axe/Knife maybe?) mostly to keep zombies away from the walls, to ones such as tripwires for the living.

Now, like I said, i'm very curious to see if any of these sort of unfinished ideas appeal to anyone else other than myself, so as I've lost my train of thought, please do discuss and expand where you see fit.

Edited January 3, 2014 by Gunshow

[Ubernaut 297]

Beans for your idea, sir. I, too, am not a big fan of the idea of underground bases. It would feel too much like "instanced player housing" in MMOs.

 

If you ever played on DayZ Mod servers that enabled basebuilding, it was a fantastic experience. Sure, abandoned/inactive player bases have to be cleared periodically for the map to not become cluttered, AND you have to have some areas (like the coast and major thoroughfares) that are no-build zones, but fortifying and defending a base are perfect for endgame.

 

The problem is that your base is so vulnerable when you and your friends aren't online. I don't know if there is a way around that, besides traps.

[TheWeedMan 132]

What about the trees...i want me treetop fortress with all its leafy camouflage and walkways.

[Gdaddy22 299]

I really like the idea of building your own "fortress", let's say you fortify a town just like in op's picture so nobody can get inside without breaking it, inside you have your tents, crates with supplies, storages with vehicle parts, and you can invite people to be the member of the fortress, if there's enough people there would be some people willing to patrol the area and kill any threats and keep the base safe.

 

Also if you have enough people in your squad you can try to attack someone's fort and take over. 

 

Maybe people will want to trade things to keep their base rich in supplies

 

I know it would be very difficult to do, but I believe if rocket says "YES WE CAN DO THIS" then they will be able to do this, maybe in late 2014/2015

Edited January 3, 2014 by Gdaddy22

[TheWeedMan 132]

It then will come down to proper turf wars.

I think fuel tanks, stations should only have a certain percentage of fuel that can run out and only be reset randomly by the hive...maybe between 3 - 6 weeks. This then encourages scouting parties, trades etc.

Bring in generators that can run lights for bases (car head lamps) to setup proper working towns and safezones. You could have players setting up shops and diners selling food and equipment in return for ammo or fuel.

[TheWeedMan 132]

Forum Lag Double post edit

Edited January 3, 2014 by TheWeedMan

[DevilDog (DayZ) 455]

A few questions I have about the under ground idea. Are they going to be linked to the character so which ever server he is on the bunker is on, or just on one particular server? There are issues either way but for me dedicating that much time/effort to something only to have the server shut down really will suck. Even with just the tents in ModZ I hated having a tent and the server never comes back.

 

2nd question is will other people be able to access your bunker? If I find it in the woods can I go steal your stuff?

 

 

I loved the base builder skill in Cherno Life. I spent so much time building different bases.

[Gunshow 7]

Bring in generators that can run lights for bases (car head lamps) to setup proper working towns and safezones. You could have players setting up shops and diners selling food and equipment in return for ammo or fuel.

Absolutely!, didn't actually think of the lighting issue. Excellent. That would be the job of whoever is running perimeter defence to man the lights. Obviously, with all this, the bigger you build, especially in large marked cities/towns, the higher chance you have of someone passing by and wanting what you have. Hopefully with an impressive enough display you'd think that the right survivors would rather join than oppose. Even if they did, I'd like to think they'd retreat and tell others so they can formulate something as a group

[Alpha Cowboy 17]

While I like the idea of underground bases as one option for gear storage, it should be the rarest type to find, should require a lot of tools, plus the item itself should replace your backpack when you find it if you take it.

IMO tents and vehicles should still be the bread and butter storage option, somewhat easy to find the item, somewhat easy to find and loot someone else's tent or take their car.

Custom bases have a lot of variables, are the purely player constructed (find the concrete, the wood, the nails and put it together how you want.) Would Dayz engine even support that? Piling stuff up in a town to fortify seems easier, but both are fraught with difficulty. And even if they are feasible, what's to keep people from server hopping to get inside?

[Gunshow 7]

I wouldn't go as far to say that fully custom bases as far as building it from the ground up should be implemented as I do think that, as you said, there are far too many variables to account for ontop of the engine not being compatible with that mechanic as far as i'm aware, although I may be wrong as I didn't have any contact with the mod or any of its subsidiaries, so don't hold me to that. The biggest thing I'm hoping for, which i'm sure is 100% doable as it has been seen on both DayZ the mod as well as ARMA3 is either dynamic, movable objects that can be put into vehicles if they're too large to carry on foot i.e. metal/tyres etc that can be arranged in/around a town to serve as walls. Tents would still be able to be used and accessed by yourself as well as anyone that comes across them, the walls would serve purely as a deterrent and as added immersion, although theoretically more options for storage could be thought of, possibly through the implementation of interactive cupboards/non-functional fridges etc that are currently in the SA but only as a static object.

In regards to server hopping however, I would hope that that particular issue will be resolved long before any particular progress in this field.

[DevilDog (DayZ) 455]

You would need a way to stop ghosting. I think this should already be in the game for high end loot spots. Make it so that anyone that logs out in that location automatically gets transported 100 yards in any direction when they log in.

[Desertpenguin10 2]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Your idea with base building Sounds a bit like Rust - on steam.

IMO I think your idea is really interesting :) I would love to see it implemented into the game at some point as it would add a whole new level to the game :)

Edited January 4, 2014 by Desertpenguin10

[TheWeedMan 132]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Your idea with base building Sounds a bit like Rust - on steam.

IMO I think your idea is really interesting :) I would love to see it implemented into the game at some point as it would add a whole new level to the game :)

Whats the point of a sandbox without sand?

Construction or town possession is what Rocket has in mind. He already stated some time ago a minecraft type concept only done in dayz form...this to me says buildable bases, underground bunkers, treehouses etc

[xtharkusx 7]

Gunshow i really like your ideas, sometimes i see  chapters of The Walking Dead and think like you.
what you explain is like  Dayz Origins or Dayz Epoch
I HOPE the developers get even a bit of those two mods and add it to the standalone, then i will be happy ;)

[jovial 17]

Whats the point of a sandbox without sand?

Construction or town possession is what Rocket has in mind. He already stated some time ago a minecraft type concept only done in dayz form...this to me says buildable bases, underground bunkers, treehouses etc

 

This is the main reason I'm playing DayZ (or rather not playing it atm, since these features are so far off :)). But I hope there will be more than simple instanced underground bases.