Objective suggestion: finding your family

[zmazly 0]

I think DayZ would be great with more objectives.

What about finding your family? I think this would be a really immersive objective because it has an emotional aspect to draw you in and make you part of the world. Finding your family is a pretty standard plot in zombie fiction so I think it would suit the game perfectly as an objective.

It could be implemented quite easily. Just say every time you spawn you also spawn three corpses in random buildings throughout the world. This could be done clientside so they would only be visible to you (but tracked by the server). All you had to do was hunt around until you found them. When you found a family member you could examine the body and find out how they died. Then you could drag them outside and bury them and put up a cross.

Finding all three family members could earn you a special skin or something which made you less visible to zombies.

As to locating the bodies, maybe you could find letters which would give you clues where they were.

[alexander_q 6]

I'd thought something similar. I think you'd need to start with some sort of clue, and go from there (shouldn't just be a blind search) and you should receive some kind of buff or bonus once the mission is complete.

That being said, I've never gotten to the point where objectives weren't already emerging naturally from the necessity to survive, so I'm not convinced that DayZ needs something like this.

[zmazly 0]

I don't agree that there are always objectives. It doesn't take long to get everything you need to survive in the wilderness if you loot one of the main towns. And if you aren't interested in fixing vehicles there's nothing for you to do. I've been in the situation several times where I've finished collecting supplies and weapons and suddenly been at a loss for what to do.

For people who don't have a problem being a bandit it's fine, they can just go into a town and ambush people and that gives endless entertainment. But I don't like attacking other players so I don't have anything to do in the game once I've collected all the survival loot.

[hoik 415]

You might like a look at this http://dayzmod.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=6791 , it covers some different threads about more longterm gameplay (its good stuff :D )

[zmazly 0]

OK I'll look at that, thanks.

[ronson537 0]

What a nice misson go find you're dead family bodys so encorging to play

[zmazly 0]

Well it's kind of grim, I admit it, but I think it fits with the grimness of the post-apocalyptic scenario and the hardcore nature of the sim. Plus it would be easier to implement than having living characters in the game. I mean, you wouldn't know they were dead until you found them, looking at it from a role-playing perspective. So it would be a kind of narrative.

Failing that I'd love it if other people could come it with suggestions for story-oriented objectives that could be generated dynamically. I just think the game would be so much better with some kind of immersive, narratively interesting objectives which could get you to relate to your character. Maybe you could be looking for your missing puppy. Or a childhood toy you lost. Just something, some quest to keep me in the game world. Even a very difficult one would be fine, like finding one single object with no idea where it is. Just to give me something to do. At least then you'd have an excuse for going into towns and getting into dangerous situations.

[Lukio (DayZ) 24]

Of all the possible places, why would my family be on this unknown piece of land that I was washed ashore on? Would need some solid backstory first.

[zmazly 0]

Of all the possible places' date=' why would my family be on this unknown piece of land that I was washed ashore on? Would need some solid backstory first.

[/quote']

You could have been at a sales conference overseas when the zombie outbreak happened. On the boat back there was one guy who was infected. He spread the infection all over the boat and it sank and you swam back to shore.

[adamtheheretic 106]

tl;dr for the thread but I read the original post, I don't like the idea of prescribed objectives.

Currently the thing that attracts people to the game (me atleast) was the survival sandbox element.

[Benz (DayZ) 0]

I hope your talking about single player, because that would be pretty retarded on a server.

[vision1776 42]

I like where the idea is headed. I also think there needs be some objectives for those of us that aren't bandits sitting in the tree line watching the north east air strip. I think it should be possible to reclaim towns from the zombies. That could be another excellent objective.

[tagg 13]

like the general idea..

and in each journal/paper/whatever you find on your family... could be just some simple writings of them meeting up, what they experienced.. AND the end result = 'base camp' with a skin/clothes/supplies.. /shrug

example.... brothers: YOU, Bob, Bill

you find bob, bob has a journal 'washed up on the beach, cant believe I survived the boat/plane/___ crash... seems to be around noon, but cant be sure... I see a town in the distance, going to make my way there ' *next page* ' I reached the town... smelled god awful, but dont seem to see anybody yet. The setting sun adds an eerie feel... will have to find shelter in one of these homes'

*next page* 'I Found someone! an older lady stumbling along... I started running towards her and called out... she seemed startled as she had fallen over... but when I leaned down to help her up she tried to bite me!... it was then that I noticed the same smell from earlier was coming from her, and...*insert description* I had to kill her.

*next page* well it is morning and you guess who I found!!! I had hardly left the home I picked out when I heard a yell for help... IT WAS BILL! somehow he survived too *next page* it has been a month since I last wrote in this old journal... We had been doing well, finding supplies as we went along, keeping it an old house we made our 'base camp', even found a few guns with ammo to fight off these... whatever they are.. but it seems luck is no longer at my side... while scouting an abandoned warehouse in ___ we let our guards down after not seeing any activity... one moment we were doing one last check of the place, the next... we were surrounded! We took them all down, but not before one bit my leg.. seems broken... Bill carried me to a room with a lock on the door and left to go back to the Base Camp for supplies... it is two days journey both ways... Hope he makes it back...

*2nd to last page* The wound is infected and I feel myself slipping away... I dont have long... to Bill: I am sorry I didnt take your advice about keeping alert... If you find anybody else from our family, tell them I love them.. Good luck TO anybody else who might find this: If you see a man around 6'1, brown hair, wearing a black jacket... please give this to him... he had been somewhere around ____*town name*

*last page* I have putt this under the dor so that u are safes from me when you back... Do not open dor as I am out of suplys and dont wish to hurt anyon... Take care Keep alert Bob ' (spelling failing as his humanity succumbs to the zombie/infection)

then later on in another town you find another body/journal for Bill and it either A. tells the location of the next person to find(say... a dad or something) or B. location of the 'base camp' with ... a skin/clothing maybe, or ... supplies (yeah... kinda morbid finding a skin... but whatever xD)

(this all is depending on whether it is a thing you kinda start with and travel towards his end location finding things on the way... or ... find his body and you only get updates as you find more family... OR!!! he is just a random zombie that spawns in each town for you to find to start the 'family search')

edit: ok... so.... I kinda wrote more then I had thought I would for the journal thing... x-x doesnt have to be that long (or could be longer... whatever) =P

[hoik 415]

Hey zmazly (and others),

I had a think of how to implement a family like structure into the game and came up with this: http://dayzmod.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=28359

It might go a little far - but I think you might like it (or not, either way let me know :) )

[Chimonanthus 9]

As a reply to Zmazly,

I must say I support FishIsTwonk's post.

The idea is you're supposed to live with other players (with them or against them).

I strongly believe the only "family" you should ever find in this game are the friends you will meet along the quest of survival. With this fully alive family, your goal is to survive all together :D I believe that's the point of DayZ. Shapping their own experience in this "survival sandbox" zombie game.