Fresh Servers Spawning Open Doors/Gates

[- Karma - 75]

I thought of this today and wondered if it might not be interesting.  Right now there is a bit of metagame that happens when coming up to locations to loot.  A high percentage of the time, zombies present and closed doors says "this area hasn't been looted and there are no other players around."  Zombies not present and doors open says "this area has already been looted, and possibly someone is still around - I better pay attention and be careful now."

 

The Zombies being around problem may/may not be taken care of by Zombie respawning.  Theoretically Loot Respawning could fix the open door problem, because then you never really would know.  But my suggestion aims to put players in a bit of an emotional bind - if you walked into a town right after a server restart and didn't really see any noticeable zombies and saw that a few spots had open doors, would you not pause to consider your options?  Possible play it really carefully and find a vantage point to see if anyone was around?

 

I would say if the Devs were to implement this idea start with 50% of doors/gates being open, test it on the experimental server and adjust from there based off of feedback.  It would be another fun little way to take some of the metagame out of the game.

 

What say the masses?

[Steak and Potatoes 13480]

I voted no, my character needs the workout from opening doors.

[Geckofrog7 1168]

IMHO I think it would detract that feeling of "Oh crap, someone's been here!" paranoia feeling..

[- Karma - 75]

I voted no, my character needs the workout from opening doors.

 

Way to kill my topic, with your official title, and fancy beard picture... <sob>   :P

[Problematic 71]

I don't really think it's meta-gaming anyway - if you come across houses with wide open doors in a post-apocalyptic setting I would assume the houses were empty regardless of the situation. Allthough, now I think about it if people died in their houses I can't imagine their walking corpses shutting the door behind their dead asses so it would actually make sense that a portion of the doors would be standing open. 

 

So I'm finding myself going for the third option and feeling this is one of the most useless posts I created so far on this forum :P

[RyanK (DayZ) 40]

i close every door i walk through so that anyone coming into town behind me will waste their time searching a sifted town as i move further away. sometimes ill leave doors open on a building with good loot that i cant carry just so people will overlook it

[blackberrygoo 1416]

i close every door i walk through so that anyone coming into town behind me will waste their time searching a sifted town as i move further away. sometimes ill leave doors open on a building with good loot that i cant carry just so people will overlook it

This guy has my beans for this is exactly what I do lawl . I've actually kept a backpack full of loot inside an apartment next to a fire station on the floor for at least a good three hours and noone went into the apartment cuz I left the door open , so ya it's kind of meta gaming if you wanna call it that , so this might not be such a bad idea .

[ImageCtrl 719]

Not voted, the servers are not supposed to restart. Not worth the work temporary.
(nice idea random doors open when servers are supposed to restart, but this is not the case)

Edited February 4, 2014 by NoCheats

[- Karma - 75]

Not voted, the servers are not supposed to restart. Not worth the work temporary.

(nice idea random doors open when servers are supposed to restart, but this is not the case)

 

Not just on restarts (which, lets be realistic, it'll happen on occasion) but whenever a server starts.  Most updates/patches will cause a restart anyway.  The point is, you log in and you know for sure the server just reset for whatever reason - it is all about fear of the unknown.  That's my point.

[skyline-gtr 130]

Not voted, the servers are not supposed to restart. Not worth the work temporary.

(nice idea random doors open when servers are supposed to restart, but this is not the case)

 

Good point, I agree.

[TEST_SUBJECT_83 465]

Why?

There is already plenty of reason to loot a house that has it's door already open.

1. People don't need the same things you need.

2. People miss things all the time.

3. You never know if some douche just opened a door on his way through without going in.

4. You never know what someone else has dropped.

[Chaingunfighter 917]

i close every door i walk through so that anyone coming into town behind me will waste their time searching a sifted town as i move further away. sometimes ill leave doors open on a building with good loot that i cant carry just so people will overlook it

 

Jokes on you; I search every building I can. I've actually found good loot in places I've seen people exit and enter where they obviously did not look carefully enough, or left it behind. I always check everywhere, you never know when you'll luck out.

[LaughingJack (DayZ) 767]

While I totally understand and support this idea (just because it would feel a lot more realistic ;)) and I want to add that It'd be awesome if some of the closed doors should be locked and you should be able to run them in, smash them open or pick the lock etc., there are some similar threads already existing...e.g.

 

http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/167283-doors-randomly-open-closed-on-server-reset/

 

(and for locked doors and ways to open them, even more ;))

 

I already make this sometimes, just because i can (and I'm good equipped)...I open doors without taking anything...I put some of my food in a house that has normally 0 loot...I gather all the loot of one small village and put it into one room (If you have ever seen 20 tshirts, beanies and shoes in the church of Novy, chances are good that it was me ;))

Edited February 4, 2014 by LaughingJack

[- Karma - 75]

I already make this sometimes, just because i can (and I'm good equipped)...I open doors without taking anything...I put some of my food in a house that has normally 0 loot...I gather all the loot of one small village and put it into one room (If you have ever seen 20 tshirts, beanies and shoes in the church of Novy, chances are good that it was me ;))

 

That is so fantastic - now I'll know if I ever come across that.  You'll get random beans one day on the most recent post you've made and maybe not know why.  But it's because those t-shirts saved someone's life.

 

@TEST_SUBJECT_83 - it's not about whether or not to loot houses with open doors.  It's about removing the metagame of "Oh, that door is open, someone has been/still is here."  All the points you made are good ones, and I personally operate the exact same way as you and chaingunfighter.  I'm just saying, it becomes an ambience thing - a little bit of a mind job for those not quite jaded in their playing experience, who still feel the thrill of a possible encounter.

[carcinovich 156]

... I want to add that It'd be awesome if some of the closed doors should be locked and you should be able to run them in, smash them open or pick the lock etc. ...

You. I like you.

[TEST_SUBJECT_83 465]

While I totally understand and support this idea (just because it would feel a lot more realistic ;)) and I want to add that It'd be awesome if some of the closed doors should be locked and you should be able to run them in, smash them open or pick the lock etc., there are some similar threads already existing...e.g.

Some houses should have locked cabinets, drawers, and safes that you need to pick.

If it's locked in a cabinet or drawer, that's wood so we can put that crowbar to use!

If it's a safe you would be to find the key or code either somewhere inside the house

or on a nearby zed roaming the houses somewhere close.

Or maybe there are super rare lock picking or safe cracking kits somewhere?

[liquidcactus 719]

Servers should spawn with some doors open I do believe.. for authenticity to the game.. of course some house/shop doors would be left open after people shit their pants and left.. SHEESH

[AP_Norris 1018]

IMHO I think it would detract that feeling of "Oh crap, someone's been here!" paranoia feeling..

That shouldn't be visible before you even approach a building with something like an open door.

There should be fresh mud tracked in or something else.

[- Karma - 75]

There should be fresh mud tracked in or something else.

 

Oh but for next gen engines....

[AP_Norris 1018]

Oh but for next gen engines....

DayZ has footprints, only they disappear after a few seconds.

This is completely possible.

When it is raining or you're near a damp area your boots could have the muddy status for a wee while after you leave that muddy area, often long enough that you track mud onto roads or indoors, mud shouldn't show up on grass though.

[- Karma - 75]

Hmm, well once more graphics optimizations have occurred we may very well see this - at least, extended the footprints beyond a few seconds.  Thanks for the tip, I've never noticed before!