Stealth kills, sneaking

[misce 15]

As a matter of fact, I'd wish the whole stealth/sneaking was taken to a whole new level. I love sneaking around, using dark corners, short sprints, timing etc. We should have more freedom of movement, better jumping mechanics (basic jumping, rooftop jumping, jumping on a victim from a small height), rolling...

 

We should be able to get a knife or any sharp object, sneak up on a zombie or a player, put one hand on their forehead (or mouth if it's a player) and slash their throat/stab them im the head/back without producing any noise, or at least as little noise as possible.

 

IMO the melee combat, as is ATM, is terrible. It's clunky (ok, it's pre-alpha) but what's even worse, it's "headed in the wrong direction" to begin with. We shouldn't fight melee like in Counter-Strike, swinging our knives/axes like it's 1998. Give us some cool moves and animations in the end product.

 

Fights are VERY important, but honestly I feel no tension at all when I see a zombie running towards me, as I should. There is no "scare" in the encounters. It's a boring routine. There is no real contact between a weapon and an object, just awkward aiming and what's supposed to be blood. Let my axe get stuck in the zombie's head, let me decapacitate them, let me cut off an arm, a leg, let me stab zombies/players repeatedly with a knife in panic. I don't know how much of all this is possible to code-in, but I'm pretty sure it's possible to at least improvize with a lot of things and improve them with respect to their current state.

 

I said in another post that zombies shouldn't get into a fist-fight at all. They should try to cling onto us and bite our necks, shoulders, arms, legs, any part of our bodies. It could be a large variety (so it doesn't get old) of premade animations depending on our and zombie's movement, position etc? IE, each particular situation has 5-6 alternating animations that randomly kick in (I'm crouching with my back turned to a zombie, and it jumps on my back, taking both of us down into a laying position so I gotta shake it off/punch it quickly; I'm crouching with my back turned to a zombie, it approaches me from behind biting on my shoulder...).

 

Also, make zombies do something sometimes, so that we have the chance to sneak up on them or be surprised by them. IE, make them gnaw on a fresh corpse in an apartment, or bang and claw on a locked door with a survivor inside, or whatever. Let them walk in on us while searching an apartment building. Let the whole group of zombies block an exit. Make us run for our lives. Give us occasional adrenaline rushes. They shouldn't just stand still in the middle of nowhere and be as predictable.

 

Straying from the subject a little (I'm getting carried away), but don't make all the apartments so generic. Not everything should be completely destroyed. Make some of them with actual stuff inside NOT in state of decay, so that it looks like someone left in a hurry, not being able to take all that he/she wanted to. I want to have goose-bumps imagining what took place there maybe only a few hours ago.

 

I'm in a no hurry, I realize it's work in progress. I just want to make sure the developers don't satisfy with the current mechanics/features and just polish it until the release day. We need variety, as the game is (obviously) based on a persistent world with repetition in mind. Which is awesome, but only if done right.

[Wh1spY 110]

You will be scared when the zombie running towards you have 20+ friends in the near future!
The zombies will move around in the future, and not just stand still as they do now.

But yeah, the zombies need improvement. I don't think the new path-finding and animations for zombies are in the game yet tho.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Wh1spY

[AP_Norris 1018]

I think we should have a few stabbing manoeuvres and such which leave you more vulnerable after a miss to anything vital but will do more devastating damage.

The advantage of blunt melee weapons would be their weight and effectiveness with the more defensive swings.

Blades should be able to do huge damage with a well placed stab, slashing should do relatively small damage against a clothed enemy but not needing smaller and quicker swings than blunt melee weapons.

[misce 15]

I think we should have a few stabbing manoeuvres and such which leave you more vulnerable after a miss to anything vital but will do more devastating damage.

The advantage of blunt melee weapons would be their weight and effectiveness with the more defensive swings.

Blades should be able to do huge damage with a well placed stab, slashing should do relatively small damage against a clothed enemy but not needing smaller and quicker swings than blunt melee weapons.

 

I like your comment with a risk vs reward attacks, IE left vulnerable if you miss a vital organ.

[AP_Norris 1018]

As every attack in melee should be risk vs reward.

Hopefully we get some proper blocking with the new physics engine.

An extremely heavy long handled weapon like a sledgehammer possibly having a chance of knocking something right from the players grasp.

I would like to see medieval weapons as the most effective end game loot for melee players, bringing higher value to the castles.

Things like warhammers, swords, double sided axes, a couple long polarms.

Some odd pieces of armour, chain mail shirt, breastplate, helmet.

The ultimate in zombie battler load outs, no loud gunshots, can fight without worry of bleeding.

[misce 15]

As every attack in melee should be risk vs reward.

Hopefully we get some proper blocking with the new physics engine.

An extremely heavy long handled weapon like a sledgehammer possibly having a chance of knocking something right from the players grasp.

I would like to see medieval weapons as the most effective end game loot for melee players, bringing higher value to the castles.

Things like warhammers, swords, double sided axes, a couple long polarms.

Some odd pieces of armour, chain mail shirt, breastplate, helmet.

The ultimate in zombie battler load outs, no loud gunshots, can fight without worry of bleeding.

 

I'm just worried my/our wishes might be tad too ambitious for the actual game.

[QbitzR 157]

Alpher.

 

As you have stated yourself. Its alpher tiem.

This means the melee combat as well as the Zombies (AI, models etc.) are merely placeholders for the final thing. (As subtracted out of this one dev talk with Dean Hall)

 

I am quite pleased with the melee system as it is now - cause it exists.

 

http://orcz.com/images/thumb/a/a2/Dayzstandaloneeawarning.jpg/400px-Dayzstandaloneeawarning.jpg <- this might be of interest too.

[AP_Norris 1018]

I'm just worried my/our wishes might be tad too ambitious for the actual game.

Rocket is a very ambitious person.

If you can get a portion of the community aware of a change that will improve the game probably done via Reddit (lets face it) he will undoubtedly look into and weigh up what he has to get it going.

But for anything to get attention you have to make sure you have people that think the same as you and also do a bit of research.

I don't like the idea of cutscene/ uncountable type animations, I would prefer real time combat where a player isn't forced into decisions.

Unless that decision is the fastest reach and grab ever to basically smoothen up what would otherwise be an unrealistic slashing move to go through someones heart.

I think the best system for melee in any current game for me would have to be Mount and Blade/ Chivalry: Medieval Warfare.

[AP_Norris 1018]

Oh, and anything singleplayer is probably to be avoidable.

Stuff like jumping on someone with a knife and throwing their knife in farcry 3 = definitely avoidable.

Arma built engines also handle two player interactive sort animations badly from my knowledge.

[Steel Experience 4]

Because of the type of game DayZ is I highly doubt a lot of things suggested here will happen, especially things like zombies jumping on you and you having to shake them off.

[misce 15]

Because of the type of game DayZ is I highly doubt a lot of things suggested here will happen, especially things like zombies jumping on you and you having to shake them off.

 

I don't think I follow. What type of game is that? Zombies don't engage in a boxing match, as far as I know, in any game/movie or whatever.

[mike miller 14]

IMO the melee combat, as is ATM, is terrible. It's clunky (ok, it's pre-alpha) but what's even worse, it's "headed in the wrong direction" to begin with. We shouldn't fight melee like in Counter-Strike, swinging our knives/axes like it's 1998. Give us some cool moves and animations in the end product.

 

the arma engine was not made for melee combat, so the devs have to completly build it up from scratch and im curious how that will come out if at all...

[misce 15]

the arma engine was not made for melee combat, so the devs have to completly build it up from scratch and im curious how that will come out if at all...

 

Discouraging... Because the zombies are all about the melee (and hopefully biting - fingers crossed). Rocket, is it at all possible to do anything about it or should I stop having false hopes?