Let's talk about Perma Death (No Bug talk)

[Stevez 3]

This topic is for general discussion about the perma-death system in DayZ SA, as well as potential alternatives, suggestions and Ideas, etc. This is not a 'bitch about bugs' thread

Please stay on subject

Note: This game is still in very early stages so certain features are not implemented and may result in below mentioned annoyance(s),

I must admit, I love this damn game, excellent potential and it really brings together everything I've ever wanted into one world. However, I am concerned about the whole perma-death thing in the long run, its awesome don't get me wrong i love it too, adds so much suspense to the world, in fact i think its a very unique pillar of the game..... but i kinda-sorta-might hate it as well. Like "seriously about to uninstall every-time I die" kind of hatred.

I'm afraid of mass loss of interest leading to the premature death of this exciting piece of work, because of excessive repetition. I mean lets think about one's self spending 10+ hours in one day's game walking miles and miles and miles in land on this googolplex sized map , slowly acquiring items, avoiding baddies, Finally getting to a point of survivability and then -dying for whatever reason (reasons irrelevant in this topic) and starting completely over from scratch. Then doing it all over again....and again..and again....and ag-. (Sorry my mind got stuck in a loop there).

I don't know......is it going to work long term? Shux... what is there to fulfill folks? People will invest thousands of hours into this game and never surpass (the equivalent of) level 1. But i don't know what else can be done to keep the gritty feel that makes DayZ SA so engaging, like i said not all features are present so it may be perfect once more options of survival are available but perhaps it's time to have a collaborative discussion about this.

 

I think the idea you are getting at, is the lack of progression. When base building and camps come into play, that will be solved. You will be able to store items like a bank system so when you die, you can go to your base and take whatever you have stored. This means if you find an extra mosen, you can store it for your next life and so on. Adds a lot of content to the game and this also means base raids! Raiding and protecting bases. The death system is fine the way it is, it makes you value your character and to be careful at all times. If they lessen that, then people will just attack everyone with less consequences. There will have been so many people that could have engaged on you in game and you will never know, because they were afraid to die to whatever it is you had.

Edited January 4, 2014 by Stevez

[ninjacalypse 551]

Indeed I am new and also believe its what makes DayZ, even said so in my post**. HAHA Its funny cause I don't believe I said or suggested anything about getting rid of it, or even that it was bad. I spoke positively about it (minus my sarcastic bit), if anything I meant to imply about adding TO it more so.  I'm only bringing forth my concern of future sales not meeting the mark and Bohemia scrapping this project before its done. The mod has lived for a couple years ya, but a standalone GAME needs to appeal to a broader audience and make sales or else it's a project not worth spending resources on in the business world. I personally can handle perma-death, as well as all of you here that's great, this isn't a thread about that, this is about Could perma-death  perma-kill DayZ SA before it's finished? I would like to see this stunning, in depth idea in it's finalized state eventually, that is why i bring this up, and that is why i bought this game in it's Alpha phase. To offer a perspective for the further development of the software, so lets all do that, together. 

** "....don't get me wrong i love it too, adds so much suspense to the world, in fact i think its a very unique pillar of the game..."

 

Permadeath was a feature of the DayZ mod, which has been pretty much responsible for a massive surge of sales of Arma 2 and Operation Arrowhead (you have to buy both to play the DayZ mod) and continuing sales.  It certainly hasn't hurt Arma2/OA sales.  It's not going to hurt DayZ SA sales.

[BL1P 252]

A neat progression system that would reward long life survivors would be if the standalone introduced new maps / Islands.

 

If you have been alive for a specific amount of time and online playing for a specific amount of time ! You would gain access to the new islands.

Each new island could have a level assigned to it.

If you die your level becomes the lowest level allowed on that server / island.

If you die too soon after that you drop down a lvl and can no longer join that server / island.

 

Not getting shot would be a reward so not getting into a fight would be beneficial, if you wanted the better loot on the higher islands that is.

 

Maybe :)

Edited January 4, 2014 by BL1P

[derpdiggler 69]

Quit trying to piss in the sandbox.  Progression?  Really?  REALLY?

 

The idea that someone that just bought the game is just about as dangerous as someone that's been playing for years is what makes this game.  You want to add levels?  Devs don't even like interfaces.  We get text messages stating our current condition rather than a hud, and you think they're going to want to add a leveling system?

 

 

This is a sandbox, not a theme park.  You're worried permadeath will kill the game?  Let me tell you something.  Making this game into every other game will kill this game.

 

 

As far as loot goes, we're in alpha and we know that zombies are far from final.  I think it's going to be a lot harder to just run back to your corpse to get your stuff, unless you're one of the cool kids that never leaves Balota.

[Bakercompany86 347]

Please don't change the death mechanic in this game.  It's one of the main reasons I play.

 

 

I don't want another game where death has little to no penalty.  This games penalty for death even trumps Dark Souls.

[Fabik 71]

This is a sandbox

no it's not.

[Mutonizer 78]

There is no real perma-death in DayZ sadly, mostly because how some players approach it.

 

People who use external communication and tools, rush back to their bodies/tents/base and whatnot, they're not experiencing DayZ and can't handle perma-death, they just have a small re-spawn penalty and want to play in a somewhat sandbox game with their already existing tribe/community/friends.

 

That's fine really, to each his own and you can't really do anything against it anyway. It's just not DayZ, it's something else.

 

If you don't completely and utterly wipe everything from your mind the moment your character dies in DayZ, then you don't have perma-death and we're just not playing the same game, is all I'm saying :)

[ZedsDeadBaby 2287]

I'm afraid of mass loss of interest leading to the premature death of this exciting piece of work, because of excessive repetition.

 

If that was going to happen, it would have happened in June of 2012.

[serenityrick 218]

Is this thread for real? 

[derpdiggler 69]

I know, right?

 

OP seems to think that the only games that do well are mainstream games that appeal to the mainstream audience.  Minecraft, bro.  Minecraft.

[djporternz 644]

no it's not.

Yes it is. DayZ is a sandbox in every single way. You're given a world and an enviroment and little in the way of restrictions on what you can and can't do. This is exactly what a sandbox is.

 

There are no enforced game modes, only emergent behaviour from the participants within the shared space. PvP is one emergent behaviour, PvE is another. Banditry, KoS, Heroism are all emergent behaviours that will ebb and flow within this shared space. This is the power of this thing we call DayZ. It can be whatever we allow it to be.

[Zedicologist 162]

That's the best part of Dayz.  Its not a casual mainstream kind of game.  This game is brutal.  It can be really rewarding at times but also is ruthless and unforgiving.  Perma death will always be in dayZ.  Starting over from scratch after you die is what keeps the game fresh.  So no go play something else if you cant handle it.

[Flight96 99]

Permadeath was a feature of the DayZ mod, which has been pretty much responsible for a massive surge of sales of Arma 2 and Operation Arrowhead.  It's not going to hurt DayZ SA sales.

This is all that really needs to be said...

 

To the OP: If your reasoning behind doing ANYTHING to perma-death (regardless of intention) is because you fear this game dying out and losing its fanbase/popularity then rest assured that it won't..

Edited January 4, 2014 by Flight96

[musketeer 33]

OP, I kind of understand where you're coming from. It's the same every time you respawn. Go to the same place, get the same loot, get killed, repeat. However, once tents. camps and vehicles are added you can have more of a permanent game on a server. Say you have a humvee that you keep in a particular forest and that you keep a mosin, pistol, some food and the likes in it. If you die, you can go back to the humvee instead of starting all over again. You could change location every week, trade, help people etc. This should add variety in the long run and keep you entertained.

[Iain365 11]

Easy, make a camp. Put stuff there. Don't keep all your eggs in one basket.

At the moment these will be cleared at server reset?

[mknudsen 0]

dayz says that's it an mmo, before I say much more, im really enjoying it, I don't mind so much the perma death. but with most mmo's perma death isn't so hard on persistence, so how will dayz relieve the price of perma death for the survivalist as the bandit will thrive.

 

im hoping for a spawn area of choosing, ie campsite, storage system to re-equip from gathered stock, base building sounds interesting, how big of a base will they allow. im waiting to see what incentives there will be to not kos.

best of all im thankful that they have allowed alpha invites, its awesome to watch a game develop.

 

I personally hope that when venturing out from your clan base, there isn't enough time to kos, that zombies and loot hording with base building keeps us busy. clan communites managing resources like farmed food or fossil fuels would keep the bandits completely happy raiding

 

I hope that they can increase the server population, or make a server a clan zone, that is linked via a persistent map, where you can travel to different zones to raid or trade. its still alpha

[Fabik 71]

Yes it is. DayZ is a sandbox in every single way. You're given a world and an enviroment and little in the way of restrictions on what you can and can't do. This is exactly what a sandbox is.

 

There are no enforced game modes, only emergent behaviour from the participants within the shared space. PvP is one emergent behaviour, PvE is another. Banditry, KoS, Heroism are all emergent behaviours that will ebb and flow within this shared space. This is the power of this thing we call DayZ. It can be whatever we allow it to be.

 

Are you kidding me ?

 

Sure you can move around freely (open world), but the amount of things you can do... 99% of the activities consist in shooting guns and driving various vehicles.

 

Even older games like GTA offer more varied gameplay...

 

ps: Minecraft IS a sandbox game.

[blacklabel79 949]

god....let beans rain..srsly....